(Original Review, 1980-11-15)


Here is how Michael Crichton describes Amy, the principal love object in "Congo": "She could be coy, she responded to flattery, she was preoccupied with her appearance, loved make-up, and was very fussy about the collar of the sweaters she wore in the winter." Although she is quite short, Amy weighs 140 pounds. She has a vocabulary of 620 words, which is remarkably good for a gorilla. Karen Ross, the other female in "Congo," is almost six feet tall, attractive but ungainly. She is a mathematical prodigy, brilliant but insensitive, determined to succeed at any cost. Her feminine wiles have been confined to technology. 

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There's nothing wrong with a bit of baggy. And certainly there's little or nothing 19th century without that touch of cellulite. And that's mostly where all the masterpieces live. No waste. But no bounty either. Conrad's prose is too parsimonious for anything to get very close to masterpiece status. I like him fine but he was a writer who tied his boots too tight almost on purpose. He wrote better about the sea than anything else and yet did relatively little of it. You're right (in a tiny, limited sense) in that the strangely neglected “The Secret Agent” is probably his best - full of surprises and real pleasures - does “Greenwich” like no one ever did.

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Book# 4, in the Warrior Shorts

Another short read I squeezed in between appointments 63 pages is definitely not taxing. Each book has snippets into one of Zeb’s team member. This time in a jam packed action adventure is Bwana.

Young girls are disappearing and most are never found again. After rescuing two girls in Paris from a gang, Gwana sets to find those behind the trafficking ring. His quest will bring him to Russia and his tracking will lead him to a familiar place in the Congo. 

Great storyline, filled with action and suspense. The plot although too short is strong with vivid scenes. We know a little more about Gwana, this huge and very capable ex-special forces agent.

I am not a fan of short stories but I definitely make exemption regarding Mr. Patterson.

This is a poor example of a Tintin book. A white man goes to africa to hunt elephants for their ivory. Worst book in the series