bals@nutmeg.DEC (Once, accident. Twice, coincidence. Three times is enemy action.) (02/03/86)
The latest in John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series, "The Lonely Silver
Rain" continues to hammer on the the theme MacDonald first established in
"The Green Ripper." (Some plot spoilers of "The Lonely Silver Rain" and
other books in the series follow):
NOTE to readers -- The following won't make much sense to you unless you
have a fairly strong acquaintence with McGee. If you don't, I suggest
that you skip "Silver Rain" for the moment, and pick up one of the paper-
backs in the series. Start with one of the earliest ("The Quick Red Fox"
for instance) and work your way up. You'll enjoy the later books much more.
Consider the early McGee. Self-proclaimed Lancelot with the bent lance and
rusty sword. Lover of good jazz and White Horse gin. Salvage expert who
specializes in beating con men (and women) at their own game. The early
books not only highlighted McGee's cynical brand of self-examination, they
were strongly plotted books with fiercely memorable characters. The joy for
living burned out from these books like small suns.
Things started to change in "A Tan & Sandy Silence." From the opening epigram
to the closing lines of the book, there was a general malaise upon McGee. He
stumbled through the story, uncovering a mystery through accident, and nearly
got himself shot. The book concluded with McGee noting that it was time for
more reliance on brains than reflexes.
The next few books became the weakest of the series, as MacDonald traded a
slim storyline for more rapes of McGee's confidence. White Horse gin went off
the market, Miss Agnes got a new engine, the Flush was blown up!
Then we come to "The Green Ripper," certainly the ugliest book of the series.
McGee comes face-to-face with evil personified, and is almost destroyed by it.
Suddenly, his past victories appear worthless, his lifestyle a vacuum, the
future meaningless.
And here we are at "Silver Rain." McGee and Meyer are bitching at each other.
McDonald spends a good portion of the book (effectively too, for what he's
doing), detailing McGee's transfer of his treasured jazz collection over to
cassette tapes -- and we're left with the image of us all trying to carry our
pasts into the present. The main plot, as in all of the later books, is
uncovered in the first few pages and limps to a forgettable conclusion.
Still, there's hope. Mysterious little wire cats are appearing on the decks
of the Busted Flush, and their ultimate meaning brings the one way ray of
light to "Silver Rain." I won't spoil it for you, but consider what past
character might have a relation to "cats" and you might just guess the
surprise in store for McGee and readers.
And that brings me to an interesting thought. MacDonald reportedly has already
written the book (working title, "A Black Border for McGee") bringing the
series to an end. I'd been guessing -- as MacDonald has worked in filling out
his character -- that Meyer might become the "new" McGee in later books. Now,
with "Silver Rain," perhaps there's another answer. He wouldn't be thinking
of ... Nah! He couldn't. Could he?
As you may have guessed, John D. MacDonald is one of my favorites, as is McGee.
I've read everything in the series, nearly every word that McDonald has
written elsewhere, and I'm still not satisfied.
Fred Bals (DEC -- Merrimack, NH)