Susan Dawson - thirty-four, with pale skin and pale blue eyes - was standing behind and to the right of the presidential podium.
I laughed at how the woman's age was slipped into the sentence, as if it really matters at this point.
She spoke into the microphone hidden in her sleeve. "Prospector is moving out."
Sounds like either a take down or a cliche Hollywood opening is about to materialize. Like many books in today's market, this one begins with a movie deal in mind. Honestly, this is how one expects a movie to begin (as many have already), but not necessarily a book. That's not to say that this opening is all wrong, but telling a story using the written word provides advantages no other medium has, and it would behoove a writer to use them, instead of replicating a movie opening.
Nevertheless, this book does open with a scene, some characters and one presumes some budding conflict. By page 2 there is some back story, but it's good back story - brief and filled with conflict, that sets the opening scene in prospective, with recent terrorist attacks.
Verdict: Pass (barely)
Sincerely,
Theodore Moracht
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