ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 3, 1995 TAG: 9512050030
SECTION: BOOKS PAGE: F-4 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: BOOK REVIEW
Smoke.
By Donald Westlake. Mysterious Press. $21.95.
"Smoke" certainly isn't Donald Westlake's deepest novel, and it may not be his funniest - though it does have one long scene involving a cellular phone that had me convulsed with laughter. It's a wonderfully imaginative tale that puts some sharp, new twists on a familiar literary theme, the invisible man.
Westlake's guy is Freddie Noon, a New York thief. He happens upon his transparency when he breaks into a research institute, sponsored by the tobacco industry, where two gay scientists are working with skin cancer. The details of Freddie's transformation aren't too important. Westlake is much more interested in how invisibility affects Freddie's life both professionally and personally. He's also interested in how a branch of capitalism as aggressive as cigarette manufacturers might consider using an invisible man. The two villains, a corrupt cop and an amoral lawyer, are terrific characters.
But at the center of the story is Freddie's relationship with his girlfriend, Peg. She has trouble dealing with a man who's never "there," in a manner of speaking, but she doesn't want to give up on Freddie, either.
Given the material, this novel has more slapstick and physical comedy than Westlake's recent work, particularly his tabloid satires, "Baby, Would I Lie?" and "Trust Me on This." Like all of his fiction, "Smoke" is entertaining and smart. I hope it's the beginning of a new series.
- MIKE MAYO, Book page editor
Myst: The Book of Atrus.
By Rand and Robyn Miller with David Wingrove. Hyperion. $22.95.
In the cabin of a sunken ship sits an empty table. You touch the table and a book - the book of Myst - appears, seemingly pulled from the table itself
"Myst: The Book of Atrus" is not a novelization of the popular computer game and will give away no hints or secrets. Instead, it is a history, a "prequel" of what comes before: the story of Atrus as he learns to make miniature worlds like Myst and its four ages. The novel ends with the very words that open the game.
Physically, the book is beautiful. The cover looks like scarred, embossed leather, and inside the pages are delicately stained. Sketches, like the ones from Atrus' library, are scattered throughout. If looks were all, this might be the book of Myst itself.
Although richly conceived, the story is disappointingly weak. The beginning, dealing with Atrus' early life and education, is slow but starts to pick up after his father, Ghen, appears. The second half is much more engaging, with conflicts between father and son, world-threatening disasters, romance and the details that begin to explain, in a way, the world of Myst. To its credit, the novel "Myst" does not rely heavily on the game. But without a strong plot, the book's best feature is the way it complements the game, answering questions and expanding the world of Myst even further. As the Millers say in the introduction, "We hope it answers many questions and raises a few more."
- WENDY MORRIS
Silent Night.
By Mary Higgins Clark. Simon & Schuster. $16.
Nobody writes suspense novels better than Mary Higgins Clark, but "Silent Night" certainly isn't one of her best. On an acknowledgments page, Clark states that the idea for this pithy Christmas tale came from her editors at a dinner party. This reader can't help thinking that the book is something the successful author dashed off to cash in on holiday book-buying.
In "Silent Night," the Dornan family finds itself devastated when Tom, husband of Catherine and the father of two young boys, is diagnosed with leukemia and needs immediate spleen surgery. The family travels to New York for his medical care where a series of misadventures further tests their faith and resilience.
Parts of the novel are quite moving and parts are successful, too. I just can't get rid of the thought that Mary Higgins Clark wrote "Silent Night" with one hand tied behind her back and the other on her bank book.
- JUDY KWELLER
Wendy Morris lives in Blacksburg and works in Roanoke.
Judy Kweller is a public relations free-lancer.
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ABBY ADAMS. Donald Westlake, author of "Smoke."by CNB