Young Ben Carrington
has just lost his father in a climbing accident just after
his latest and tallest hotel has opened. After an entrepreneur
gets to see both Ben and his mother in action when an air
display goes wrong he has a suggestion for them. For Jason
Truby is assembling a crack team to become a rescue organization
called Gemini Force and only wants the best. But Ben is still
at school which he hates – does he have what it takes
to join the team?
This
is Gerry Anderson’s last project before his death, a
series of books instead of screen entertainment. When he died
his son found a writer to make the idea come to life and this
is it. If you are a fan of series like Thunderbirds you will
be familiar with Anderson’s trademark scenario of a
rescue team doing daring missions; this is another such. Ben
gets to participate in some daring assignments, more than
one of which have topical themes. This is very much a setup
of a series with much of the tale devoted to meeting the characters
and setting up the idea of a top secret base. Due to this
there is some space between the exciting parts but fortunately
not enough to drag. We are used to watching this type of thing
rather than reading about it but I enjoyed using my imagination
to envisage it all. There are some surprises and Ben doesn’t
have an easy time of it or even make all the right decisions
– this is very much a tale of somebody having to grow
up fast. I found it an enjoyable read; anybody who enjoys
Anderson’s work is also likely to find it entertaining.
Now the ground work has been done I look forward to reading
Ghost Mine, the second in the series when it come
out later this year.
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