Redback by Lindy Cameron

Redback Reviews

• 
  Karen

  I originally read and reviewed REDBACK when it was released in 2007 by MIRA Press, so when Clan Destine (run by Lindy / I'm her web wrangler by way of declaration) republished it, I was really really interested to see if it would hold up well, particularly given that it has a number of quite topical references (okay well some digs as well) for the time.
  
  At the time I mentioned that REDBACK is a quite a step away from Cameron's Kit O'Malley series - it's very much a big, pacey thriller, peopled with strong characters (male and female), a complicated yet disconcertingly believable multi-threaded plot and a hefty dose of subtle humour.
  
  An elderly British Lord is wined, dined and slaughtered. An American Journalist is following leads for a story on computer war games. The son of a wealthy Saudi family doesn't follow the path his father and uncle have set out for him. A hostage situation in the Pacific; a man dies in Japan; plans for mass destruction are triggered in Texas; a team watches and waits in Pakistan; a politician is shot dead in Sydney; and a young man is seduced in Paris. All of these threads slowly build their own individual tension and the connections start to be revealed.
  
  Redback is a covert, very low profile hostage retrieval team. There is a reason that they were sent to that small Pacific Island and that reason slowly reveals itself as the team become involved in something much bigger than just hostage retrieval. Connections from that island, around the world, into terrorism, organised crime, money and influence reveal themselves as REDBACK builds momentum towards, amongst other things, the SETA conference to be held in Sydney - with major international political figures attending.
  
  REDBACK's many threads are told in a series of, mostly short, chapters which address each plot element individually until the book starts to move towards the final conclusion and a web is revealed. Whilst this does have a feeling of chopping and changing the story elements, it works because each chapter quickly advances the story and then you dart somewhere else for a look at what is going on in that corner. The choppiness gives the whole thing a sense of urgency, compelling the reader to continue on - increasing the sense of foreboding or excitement at what is to come. This is enhanced by the strength of the main character's of each thread. You don't forget who Bryn or Jana are. You know about Scott and how the story of war games is starting to get bigger than he ever expected. You know the team who are quietly (but impatiently) watching events in Pakistan, feeling frustrated by not being allowed to act. You know that Jesse-Jay in Texas is easily manipulated and you know what he's about to do.
  
  Now as I said at the start I was interested to see if the book would hold up 3 years on from its original timeframe. Undoubtedly there's some humour in being able to match the Political movers in REDBACK against some well-known players at the time the book was originally written. But I don't think you lose a lot of the suspense, or the intrinsic problem with .. well let's face it a politician is a politician is a politician and the little quirks may come and go with individuals, but the basic behaviour is all too sadly always the same. Much of the intrigue, the action within the book, the events that are occurring throughout the plot are unfortunately dateless and still quite chillingly believable.
  
  In 2007 REDBACK was one of my favourite books of the year, and in 2010 it was still a rippingly good read. Fast paced, fantastic characters and great intrigue this is just flat out a good thriller.
  
  I said at the time of the first release that I hoped REDBACK was finishing where another book could very well start off - not being sure if that was the plan at all. But Lindy - I know there's another book in your head and all I can say is Please Please Please.....
  
• 
  Adam

  The deaths start in READBACK on the first page, and the action is fast paced and relentless. A peer of the realm is killed, a video game company exec is forced to commit ritual suicide, a train is blown up in Europe, assassination attempts fail and succeed, havoc is wreaked worldwide, but are they unrelated events or part of some global conspiracy?
  
  Central to the plot is a hostage situation on a Pacific island, a crack team of hostage recovery agents moves in to save the day, only to be faced with a farcical cock-up from another group seemingly attempting to achieve the same result. Luckily for the hostages, the Australian team, the Redbacks, get the hostages off with minimal fuss, leaving the supposed American team with empty hands and red faces. Bryn Gideon, the enigmatic Redback commander, has to wonder what American group could be so unprofessional to wreak such havoc.
  
  Gideon's team gets pulled into the global events, as does Scott Dreher, a US journalist who is chasing his own conspiracy theory.
  
  The action and even the politics in REDBACK are amazingly real, as is the political infighting. The characters are well drawn and extremely interesting. I loved the enigma that is Bryn Gideon. There was both power and poignancy in the portrayal of the US Defence Secretary, Nate van Louden. The comedy in some of the interplay within the various political camps was well placed and assisted in the pacing, producing a finely crafted roller-coaster ride.
  
  In case you couldn't tell, I loved REDBACK. It left me wanting more, and I can't wait for the Redback team to be let loose again.
• 
  Damo

  Redback is a grand action thriller set on a global scale reaching from Texas, through Luxembourg and on to Peshawar, Pakistan. Author Lindy Cameron has hatched an ingenious terrorist plot, spread by terrorist leaders on many fronts. To counter them she has introduced a brand new group of highly trained operatives known as the Redback Retrieval Group.
  
  Dr Jana Rossi, along with 35 other conference attendees from various countries, are being held captive by a militant group on the resort island of Laui in the Pacific. It seems that negotiations with Australia and the US aren't working and their lives could hang in the balance indefinitely. So when an efficient team of specialists come in swiftly and rescue everyone without casualties on either side, she is both impressed and curious as to their identity. It turns out we have all had our introduction to the team of Redbacks, led by Commander Bryn Gideon.
  
  The rescue mission is quickly overshadowed by a series of horrific attacks around the world, each resulting in devastating destruction and loss of human life. The attacks appear to be isolated incidents, unrelated to one another. There is a train bombing on the French-Luxembourg border, a massive bomb blast on a building in downtown Dallas and an attack on a US military base that takes out two state of the art helicopters. They're the types of attacks that lead everyone to immediately assume that al-Qaeda has struck again.
  
  While all of this death and destruction is taking place, US journalist Scott Dreher has made what he thinks could be a critical discovery on a pirated copy of a popular computer game. The virtual world in which the shoot-em-up is set looks a little too real for his liking. When he tries to interview the game creator in Japan he finds that the man has been murdered, but not before he leaves a dying message for Scott. Now the assassin is hunting Scott, too.
  
  Cue yet another storyline and a team of Australian operatives aided by the CIA are sitting in Peshawar, Pakistan where known terrorists have been meeting on a daily basis. Frustrated by their "observe only" orders the Australians are left to tail their quarry from cafe to cafe while waiting for something to happen. The longer they wait the twitchier they get and the more convinced we become that trouble is brewing in the northern Pakistan city. One thing is certain, we're returning to this waiting game for a reason, it's just a matter of how it will be linked into the rest of the story.
  
  This is a well-constructed, multi-plot storyline that switches us to different locations from chapter to chapter in order to cover events that are taking place around the world simultaneously. The effect is a sense that everything is happening at once. While an assassination takes place on one side of the world a building is being blown up on the other. The result: chaos. For the reader it's a case of hang on for dear life. Lindy Cameron does a superb job of holding the story together under a tight reign, controlling what threatens to blow completely out of control.
  
  A word on the tone of the book, now. Although the stakes are undoubtedly high, as is the death toll, the tone of the books tends to settle more at the lighter end of the scale, particularly the dialogue that passes between the members of the Redback team. Put it down to the laconic Aussie attitude if you like, but it certainly puts you firmly in the cheering section when watching them operate.
  
  Another noticeable feature worth mentioning is that even though the story is dotted with catastrophic events, their impact is softened by minimising the gratuitous descriptions of the after effects. Bombings take place but we're not forced to live the devastation caused, instead we focus more on chasing down the culprits.
  
  Redback is a tense thriller that swings wildly from location to location building In intensity as it progresses. The reaction of the Redback team is inspired in that they are a crack force that is largely unfettered by government motivated commands or military regulation. They are free to move quickly and decisively ensuring the action sequence takes precedence over petty squabbling.
  
• 
  Amanda

  Loved this book - had to stop myself from reading it at points as I was so invested riding along with the story line. From start to finish the book is a fast paced action adventure and you have to hold onto your seat as you join the ride. This is a book that you need to be focused for as it chops and changes quickly between locations and incidents.
  
  Redback starts with the death of a Lord, progresses through kidnappings, bombs, assassinations, attacks in various parts of the globe. The Redbacks are a crack Australian Retrieval Team who enter the picture when saving hostages from an island; Scott Dreher is a journalist doing research on war-game training and Jana Rossi just happens to end up in the mix of it all! These people and few others end up having their worlds collide and are able to finally join some of the dots to figure out what is happening around the globe and that these incidents aren’t isolated but part of a bigger picture driven by the power and greed of money!
  
  I am hoping that there is possibly a sequel to this amazing book! Loved the journey
• 
  Katka Chudá

  it took me a long time to read it, i sometimes got lost in the plot but it was good
• 
  Newtown Review of Books

  A beautiful-yet-deadly commander of a crack retrieval team; terrorists of US, European, Arabic and Asian strains; high-tech comms systems implanted into earlobes; assault helicopters; conspiracies; multiple explosions … Add a frank delight in the genre and you have Lindy Cameron’s page-turner Redback.
  
  Read full review here:
  http://newtownreviewofbooks.com/2012/...
• 
  Robert

  fast paced, intriguing and humorous - actually, really bloody funny in places. I loved the characters in this book. and I found it very refreshing to be able to read a story with such an Aussie feel to it, rather than the typical Americanisms in just about everything else out there. I'll definitely be looking up Lindy's other books.