If you think it's an update on the times and spirit of Buchan, the author has beaten you to the meta-punch.

I've read Robert Goddard before, but not this trilogy. I haven read the first two books, it would have been helpful to keep the characters straight. Max was placed into many scenarios and came out of them unfazed. Robert Goddard weaves a story that makes me want to live during the time he describes in his story. He makes me feel that it was romantic for everyone, and he makes history come to life. I've recommended this story to my readers.

This is the third in a trilogy which I hadn't realised when I started reading it. V it's an old fashioned style of appt thriller. The hero is trying to find out what happened to his father, a world war 1 flying ace. He died during the Paris peace negotiations. The action mainly takes place in Japan and at first I found it difficult to keep track of the unfamiliar Japanese names. There are lots of twists in the plot and some out and out baddies who you know will lose in the end.
I'm sure Robert Goddard fans will enjoy this slightly different series of his, but I found it disappointing.

Imagine, if you will, that you planned to write a complex and exciting novel or a film set in several exotic places and with a large and varied cast of characters.

To prepare for the job, you start a story outline. First this happens then that happens. This character and then that one are introduced. The story shifts locations, time, POV, flashbacks emerge, motives are identified. This character dies here; those characters fall in love. The story line grows longer and longer and bits of dialogue occur to you. Maybe you are using Scrivener and write the dialogue in little notes. Suddenly one day you are offered a good job so you compile the outline and dialogue you have written and send it off to a publisher as if it were a novel and for some reason that publisher agrees to print the book.

That expanded storyboard could be this book.

I received a review copy of "The Ends of the Earth: A James Maxted Thriller" by Robert Goddard (Grove Atlantic) through NetGalley.com.

Non-stop action and adventure in post-WWI Japan


In 1919, pilot James ‘Max’ Maxted sets out to uncover the mystery behind the death of his father, Sir Henry Maxted, who was murdered a few months earlier in Paris. His investigations lead him to Japan and one of Sir Henry’s enemies, the formidable Count Tomura. Max assembles a team to travel to Tokyo and meet him there to investigate a lead but, upon their arrival, they are informed that Max has been killed on the orders of a German spy, Fritz Lemmer. Shaken by the loss of their friend, Sam Twentyman and Malory Hollander persevere to uncover the truth whilst facing betrayals and persecution from the Tokyo authorities. However, not all is as it seems, and over the next few days, events are set in motion that will result in secrets that have been kept for almost 30 years finally being revealed.

Whilst it was very clear from the first few pages that this was a sequel (in fact the third book in a trilogy), I found it remarkably easy to catch on to what was going on and was able to follow the plot with little difficulty. The author manages to successfully re-introduce characters from the previous novels and explain their backstories in a way that is succinct and informative without feeling like it would be repetitive for those who have read the previous instalments. As a result of both this and the fast-paced plot, I found myself rapidly drawn in to a post-war adventure filled with mystery and conspiracy which, whilst not exactly an original theme for a book, worked extremely well and was very entertaining to experience.

The characters in the story, particularly Max and his friends, are well-constructed and believable and I felt invested in their fates despite having only minimal knowledge of their history. As well as this, every character in the story seems to have a role to play in the overall plot, meaning that there were few unnecessary background filler characters to get bogged down with. Even the more extreme characters (such as spies and assassins) feel realistic and fit in to the story well. Plot-wise, Ends of the Earth had plenty of action, suspense and adventure to keep you turning the pages, with multiple cliffhangers and surprises throughout. The pace never slows down and the writing is extremely easy to follow, yet manages to create both atmosphere and complex characters without the need for excessive descriptions. At the end of the book, most of the loose ends seem to come together, creating a conclusion that was both satisfying but also left potential for further reappearances from some of the characters.

My one criticism of this story would be that a couple of times I had to double back and check who some of the people were in the context of the story, particularly those with Japanese names that were difficult to differentiate from each other. Additionally, I feel that I would have enjoyed this book even more than I did had I read its predecessors, but it can definitely be experienced as a standalone novel with no trouble.

Overall, this was an excellent book and I am quite disappointed that I didn’t read the first two instalments beforehand. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction or a good adventure novel and will happily read more by this author in the future.

Daenerys

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.