The author brings his Australian cultural
background and his professional life as a journalist into this brilliant read.
The characters may be recognisable as a type within the broadcasting world -
but these characters are everywhere - you don't need to know the BBC to
recognise the workers, the grafters, the smooth talking bastards, the egotists,
the ones who think that their job is more important than anyone else's, even if
they know less than others! Once I started reading this book on holiday, I just
didn't want to stop. I had no idea where the book was going and how it would
end. I certainly didn't expect it to end like it did. Mr. Richardson had me
hooked. No spoilers - just to say the characters were fleshed out beautifully.
The gambling problem and the demanding mother added nice touches to the torment
being gone through by the main character. And yes, as someone has already said,
it would make a great film. - Amazon review by Brian
Empringham.
"A labyrinthine tale with a blinder of an ending.
Heart stopping stuff. I am glad you didn't tell me how it ended before I began
reviewing it." - Jan Woolf, editor, London.
"A fantastic cracking spy thriller. Very
realistic." - Book reviewer Rob Minshull talking to Steve Austin on ABC Radio Brisbane.
"I was deeply sad when I finished it [The
Mortal Maze]. It is a fabulous book: a page turner, real people, fantastic
background. I really did love it. It cries out for a sequel. And if you do one,
don't clean up our hero too much." - email from former Fleet Street
investigative journalist Eric Clark.
"Ian Richardson has written a page turning
thriller that screams to be turned into a blockbuster film. It has all the
ingredients and characters to make a box office success. A flawed foreign
correspondent, troubled by a gambling addiction, a penchant for exotic escort
girls and drinking whiskey from the bottle; his old, avenging school chum, who
becomes the world's most wanted terrorist, and a duplicitous, immoral spymaster
who manipulates the reporter with devastating consequences. Their personal
epiphanies come far too late. To say any more would spoilt the plot."
- Amazon review by Malcolm
Brabant.
"Wow! What can I say - absolutely loved it!
The story was so interesting and completely different to anything I had read
before. The characters just came to life and the ending was completely
unexpected and just brilliant! Congratulations." - email from Kevin
Tavener, Bendigo, Australia.
"The Mortal Maze was part of my
holiday reading - and a very good part it was! I particularly enjoyed the
frictions and conflicts between the resident members of the BBC's news bureau
team and the special correspondent followed by the relief manager who were
flown in to work at the bureau. I also very much enjoyed the way the
relationships between the members of the bureau team itself were portrayed. As
well as these, I found Ian Richardson's storylines were most compelling...
though some were more than a little sad." - Amazon review by Peter Udell,
London.
"The Mortal Maze is
entertaining, fast paced with well drawn believable characters, and is well
worth a few hours of anyone's time. In fact, it's something of a page turner
and difficult to put down; I read it in two sittings. Written by an author not
unfamiliar with the troubles and tribulations of TV journalism in foreign
lands, it has a genuine feel for the sometimes problematic relationships
between journalists and diplomats as well as the demands of the editors back
home and the realities on the ground. I had to smile at the groans from the
journalist 'hero' and his irrepressible cameraman when HQ in London sends in
the self important 'heavyweight' as the story develops in significance. I look
forward to a follow up." - Ben A. Amazon review.
"I thoroughly enjoyed this well researched
& very well constructed fast moving topical thriller. It is full of twists
& turns & had me gripped from the start to the climactic finish. I
would love to see it made into a film!" - anon, Amazon Customer
"A terrific fast-paced read! I was well and
truly hooked from the start. I loved the feisty characters and loved loathing
one or two of the BBC high-ups. A great insight into what goes on behind the
news in dangerous territory. I recommend." - Carole Bentley, Amazon review.
"A well-plotted novel packed with incident and
featuring sharply drawn relationships between some convincing characters, this
lively and topical thriller fairly zips along from the start, gathering pace
until the dramatic finale. The author makes the most of his journalistic background
without overdoing the use of an insider's knowledge of technical detail and
jargon." - T. Luard, Amazon review.
"Excellent thriller: rattling good yarn. Works
on several levels; critique of hypocritical foreign policy, skewering of BBC
bureaucracy, portrait of Middle Eastern country, deft characterisation."
- Amazon review by Stephen
Jessel, Paris.
"I really enjoyed The Mortal Maze, a vivid and
compelling read. The settings and characters were powerfully evoked, and the
narrative gripped me as it moved towards its climax. It was great to follow
both the working and the personal lives of the characters. I was particularly
entertained by the scenes in the BBC team's office, and by the interplay
between the folk in the field and those at headquarters. I look forward to
further adventures with Jackson Dunbar!" - Email from Steve Cockayne, UK.
"A fast paced novel, full of authentic
journalistic references and fascinating detail about the Middle Eastern
setting. Richardson weaves a complex plot with dexterity, interweaving
carefully crafted characters' subplots and storylines to a thrilling
climax." - Full review here. Beth Pevsner,
Durham University, County Durham, England.
"I really enjoyed it [The Mortal Maze].
Having no knowledge of news agencies working in foreign countries, it was quite
eye opening for me. Not having a HERO as such, rushing in to save the day was a
nice change. The ending threw me, not used to that sort of thing happening in
novels these days." - email from Max O'Callaghan, Alice Springs,
Australia.
"A pacy and plausible thriller. It took me a
while to get used to the present tense approach but I soon became absorbed in
the plot. It would work well as a movie. - David McNeil, Amazon review.
"Good entertaining read and an excellent
insight into aspects of the media that may not be apparent to the casual
observer." - anon. Amazon Customer.
"I liked the storyline and the setting and
fact that it was based on a fairly small tightly-knit group of people. I could
imagine the office and the scenes where the mosque is blown up and the final
bomb in the park were very vivid. I didn't find [Jackson] to be a sympathetic
character. I liked other male characters who had life, especially Pete, Mack
and Binnie (oddly enough)." - email from Ruth, London.
"The story was exciting and enjoyable and
there were times when I didn't want to put the book down. It was a jolly good
read." - Barbara Nash, London W5
"Fabulous!. I found it impossible to put down.
I continued reading well into the night, always thinking to ' bookmark at the
next page', but no, I read it to the end! A fascinating novel with an unusual
and interesting series of plots that could only be authored by someone with a
deep journalistic experience of the subject matter." - email from John
Mole, Ringwood, Melbourne.
"The author's knowledge of broadcasting and of
the Middle East sets the novel against a colourful and authentic background,
making the startling twists and turns of the plot all the more
believable." - Colin Emmins, University of the Third Age (U3A). Read full review.
"It was a thoroughly enjoyable and gripping
read. Jacko is a plausible and endearing character and despite his human
weaknesses you want to know that he'll be safe from the dangers he seems to be
hell-bent on putting himself into. It was hard to put the book down and turn
off the light!" - email from Gail Jones, Crickhowell, Wales.
"Fast moving and thoroughly enjoyable. An
excellent insight into the way news works, some of the unpleasant people who
work in it and the strong professional rivalries. Plausible plot - who are the
Government spooks in the broadcast organisations? I was so hooked that I got
through the last 20 minutes according to Kindle in 12 minutes because I wanted
to find out what happened." - Amazon review by JRExelby.
"Fantastic. I absolutely loved it [The Mortal
Maze] and found it hard to put down. I read it in three days and had to ration
myself to how much I read at a time. Will there be a sequel?" - David
McClure, Brill, England.
"Fast-paced and absorbing, this novel written
in the present tense by a former BBC journalist who really knows his stuff,
draws the reader in to the terrifying world of terrorism in today's world from
the perspective of a BBC news team on the spot in an Arab capital under attack.
The sometimes horrific twists and turns kept me involved right to the end. Hard
to put down! It would make a great film." - Amazon review by musiga24,
UK.
