Afterburn

This is the second Harrison Book I have read.  The first was Havana Room which was an absolutely fantastic read and whilst Afterburn is an entertaining read, it doesn’t quite match that of the Havana room.

The main protagonist is Charlie Ravich. A former Vietnam vet who is now a successful and shrewd businessmen who crosses path with Christina Welles, who has recently come out of prison and there are several people who want to find her.

What Harrison does extremely well is the set-up, which is also style-wise evident in the Havana Room, which makes his books a good read. One interesting thing, was reading this after recently reading In The Lake of The Woods which also features a Vietnam Vet. Tim O’Brien the author, was writing about the Vietnam history of his character from experience, whilst Harrison is writing from well researched notes. The differences are subtle, but as a writer myself, I found it interesting to compare the two.

It’s a bit hard to write why I didn’t like Afterburn as much as the Havana Room as I would be giving away the ending. That is not to say the ending is a disappointment, just after being along for the ride in the set-up , I think the book lets you off a stop to early. I would still recomend reading it, but if you haven’t read the Havana Room, then read that one first.