Are You Afraid of the Dark? by Sidney Sheldon
Sidney Sheldon is one of my mom's favorite authors, so we made a bet - I would read one of her books if she read one of mine. On the positive side, I think I'm getting her hooked on Harry Potter. On the negative side, I had to read Sidney Sheldon.
The plot revolves around several unusual deaths around the world. The only connection between the deaths is that the dead people all worked for the same company, Kingsley International Group. KIG is a think tank originally begun by Andrew Kingsley, but after a workplace accident, run by his younger brother Tanner. Two of the murdered men's wives begin to seek answers, but soon their lives are in danger as well. There's also a sub-plot centering on climate change and the odd weather events that global warming appears to be causing around the world. It has a few not-too-startling twists. It also has some odd little quirks that must be addressed.
Let's start with facts, though. This novel was written in 2004 when Sheldon was about 86. He died three years later. In his early years he wrote for Hart to Hart, I Dream of Jeannie, and The Patty Duke Show. After finding all this out, some of the idiosyncrasies of the novel make sense.
First off is the atmosphere of the book. The action is contemporary, but it feels like it takes place in the 1990's. Somehow I pictured all the women in suits with enormous shoulder pads. I think one of the reasons for that is Sheldon's overuse of the endearment "darling." No "babe", "honey", not even a "dear". It made me crave a "sweet cheeks" or a "boo". But then when you think of Sheldon's TV work, it makes sense.
The second oddity is how Sheldon handles technology. Again, this takes place in 2004, so not so long ago. But when the characters go to a cybercafe to do an internet search, Sheldon actually writes out the Google web address. I'm pretty sure even in 2004, most readers would assume just by reading that the characters were doing an internet search what the web address would be without the author having to spell it out. In another part, one of the characters is talking about tracking people by GPS, but again, Sheldon spells out the acronym. Despite how he seeks to impress the reader with his technological "prowess", when a couple of characters go to a bank to close their accounts, the teller has to riffle through a file cabinet to find the account info. Now my mom worked in a bank, so even she had to admit this was completely ridiculous. But the man was 86 years old when he wrote this. He was probably really proud of learning web addresses, and considering the technological bent of the novel, that would have been where he would have focused his research, not on the daily running of a modern bank.
Honestly, I can't remember ever reading a novel that was so dated, and I've read a lot of classic novels. That doesn't mean it's necessarily bad. It may be a stretch of the imagination here and there, but knowing the facts about Sidney Sheldon made it easier to forgive the flaws and just enjoy the ride, which was probably in a Delorean.
The plot revolves around several unusual deaths around the world. The only connection between the deaths is that the dead people all worked for the same company, Kingsley International Group. KIG is a think tank originally begun by Andrew Kingsley, but after a workplace accident, run by his younger brother Tanner. Two of the murdered men's wives begin to seek answers, but soon their lives are in danger as well. There's also a sub-plot centering on climate change and the odd weather events that global warming appears to be causing around the world. It has a few not-too-startling twists. It also has some odd little quirks that must be addressed.
Let's start with facts, though. This novel was written in 2004 when Sheldon was about 86. He died three years later. In his early years he wrote for Hart to Hart, I Dream of Jeannie, and The Patty Duke Show. After finding all this out, some of the idiosyncrasies of the novel make sense.
First off is the atmosphere of the book. The action is contemporary, but it feels like it takes place in the 1990's. Somehow I pictured all the women in suits with enormous shoulder pads. I think one of the reasons for that is Sheldon's overuse of the endearment "darling." No "babe", "honey", not even a "dear". It made me crave a "sweet cheeks" or a "boo". But then when you think of Sheldon's TV work, it makes sense.
The second oddity is how Sheldon handles technology. Again, this takes place in 2004, so not so long ago. But when the characters go to a cybercafe to do an internet search, Sheldon actually writes out the Google web address. I'm pretty sure even in 2004, most readers would assume just by reading that the characters were doing an internet search what the web address would be without the author having to spell it out. In another part, one of the characters is talking about tracking people by GPS, but again, Sheldon spells out the acronym. Despite how he seeks to impress the reader with his technological "prowess", when a couple of characters go to a bank to close their accounts, the teller has to riffle through a file cabinet to find the account info. Now my mom worked in a bank, so even she had to admit this was completely ridiculous. But the man was 86 years old when he wrote this. He was probably really proud of learning web addresses, and considering the technological bent of the novel, that would have been where he would have focused his research, not on the daily running of a modern bank.
Honestly, I can't remember ever reading a novel that was so dated, and I've read a lot of classic novels. That doesn't mean it's necessarily bad. It may be a stretch of the imagination here and there, but knowing the facts about Sidney Sheldon made it easier to forgive the flaws and just enjoy the ride, which was probably in a Delorean.
Comments
Post a Comment