skbreese's Full Review: Chuck Logan - Absolute Zero
This is my contribution to Epinions member Stephen_Murray's Minnesota W/O in honor of writer Sinclair Lewis' birthday, February 7th. My subject is an action/adventure thriller set in the icey winter in the Land Of 10,000 Lakes.
Author Chuck Logan has written a series of suspense novels, all built around a hard- nosed, practical, former police officer turned Northern Minnesota Resort Manager, Phil Broker. In Absolute Zero, after his wife leaves him, taking their 3 year old daughter, Broker seeks to purge himself with fresh air an hard work, by closing down the resort, and retreating to his uncle's wilderness lodge in Ely; in the Minnesota Iron Range.
Upon arrival, Broker discovers that he has been assigned to serve as a wilderness guide for three clients from the Twin Cities, Milton Dayne an Attorney; Allen Falken, a Surgeon, and Hank Sommer, an action Writer. Broker finds that his crew is not used to roughing it, when Sommer is constantly arguing about money with his wife, Jolene, on the cell phone, and declares that he can't paddle a canoe due an inguinal hernia.
When Broker and his clients get caught in a blizzard while kayaking, Sommer saves Broker's life, but ruptures his colon in the process. Broker and Falken manage to get Sommer to a small hospital in snowbound Ely, where Falken has to perform emergency surgery. Sommer survives the surgery, but slips into a coma, and Falken blames the local Nurse Anesthetist, Amy Skoda. When Sommer's estranged wife Jolene shows up, and his CPA, Cliff Stovall, turns up dead, Broker begins to suspect foul play and initiates his own investigation in the cause of Sommer's medical condition. He stirs up a hornets nest, as it becomes clear that Sommer's coma was no accident.
This novel is filled with colorful characters such Sommer's wife Jolene, whom he met at an A.A. meeting, and whose stunning beauty makes her the desire of every male character in the story. Others include Jolene's violent, crude, gold digging, young boyfriend Earl Garf, and a wacky ostrich named Popeye, who comes to Broker's aid, distracting his attacker.
Logan tells his story from a unique perspective. While the story is primarily related via first person narrative through Broker's character, Logan also interweaves Sommer's stream of consciousness thought processes as he lies in a hospital bed, observing the events that his injury set in motion.
Although early in the book, the adventure sequences move with almost breakneck speed, the action slows down considerably, and the story drags a bit near the middle. It picks up speed again in the last few chapters, with a literal flurry of activity that leads to an exciting, but rather abrupt ending.
While this novel has received high accolades from most reviewers, I was not particularly impressed with Logan's writing style. While his characters were interesting, they were somewhat lacking in depth as demonstrated in the following excerpt, which probably includes the most detailed insight into Broker's psyche:
"Broker drove east on I-94 and tried to see Jolene as a lush who was one drink away from insanity and death... he didn't have a lot of insight into conditions like chronic drinking. He'd been one of life's stock troops. He'd met problems fast, in your face, and on the street. He knew how to cuff them and collar them; how to stop the bleeding, clear the airway, and treat for shock. Other people toiled over the long haul, behind closed doors, to mend the collateral human damage."
Logan does a much better job of capturing the pulsating drama of the perils of mother nature in the Northern Minnesota wilderness:
"the icewater shattered his blood into red pins and needles. But it was ice water ten yards from the shore because Broker felt the reassuring slip-slide of mossy stone under his boots. He pushed up and shot the surface. With his heart and lungs booming too big for his ribs, he bit off chunks of glassy air, then he hugged his life jacket, ...blinked up into streaming snowflakes. Couldn't see where the snow stopped and where the stinging water started."
The title of book, Absolute Zero, is defined in physics as the theoretical temperature at which all molecular activity ceases. This is the physical parallel to Sommer's declining brainwave activity, as he races against time, and limited mobility, to help Broker identify the person responsible for his coma.
While I had a few quibbles with Logan's writing style, I found the book to be a fairly enjoyable reading experience. I would not classify it as a compelling page turner, due to the uneven pacing, and the fact that mystery of Sommer's coma is revealed well before the end of the story, leaving it with somewhat of an anti-climactic ending. However, it's not a bad way to spend a few winter evenings, preferably in front a warm, glowing, fire.
Other books by Chuck Logan featuring Phil Broker:
Hunter's Moon
The Price Of Blood
The Big Law
Vapor Trail
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