The book was fine. I’ll be honest, I had higher hopes for Slow Horses and in the end I reckon that the genre just isn’t quite for me. I bought the book on a lunch break. I was specifically looking for something light that would become a good bedtime companion, and ironically wanted to avoid anything resembling a John Grisham thriller or any sort of crime series. However, the attendant helping me flipped my perspective and I walked out with Slow Horses. I was told the book was funny, enthralling and potentially could leave me hooked on an impressive series however for me, I found it difficult to follow and the story failed to ever hook me in.
As mentioned, the book has spawned a long running series and has been made into a television series on Apple TV no less, but perhaps this where the content makes more sense. From the get go the book read as though it was intended for the screen, and after an admittedly impressive opening chapter quickly devolved into almost clumsy maze of characters and stories which I found confusing to picture and difficult to follow.
The story ultimately follows the rejected agents of the British Secret service who have been iced out from regular operations. However after a hostage situation quickly takes the country by storm, a web of conflicting interests and duplicitous agents leave this rag tag group of unlikely heroes in the drivers seat to save the day.
There was a lot to like about this book. It presented a subversion of terrorist stereotypes (which is more than relevant today) and linked it to changing media and cultural movements. I also really liked how the book presented both the public politics of the situation and the office politics of the secret service.
Where I struggled though was generally the construction of the story which quickly changed between scenes and characters to the point where it impacted by relationship and understanding of the characters. I found it hard to understand what was going on at times, and even who’s voice I was listening to in certain parts. Even the protagonist role seemed to shift as the book places River in the role only to have Jackson take the mantle by the end of it.
I think my difficulties in picking up the vibe of the book after those early chapters hit my confidence and my patience. It left me rushing towards the end and further impacted my comprehension of the story. There certainly were thrilling moments though, including the first chapter train station scene and the countdown to the final moments. However the constant whiplash of scene changing, frequent introduction of new voices, and unnecessary minor plot twists made this a challenging read for me, which also unfortunately lacked the level of humour I was told to expect.
There’s certainly a lot left in the book and its characters to explore, and perhaps the later books in the series benefit from the already established characters. I’m sure the story also played out well on screen and I would be happy to watch just to see what I missed in the book. Overall though I’m glad I read the book, but for now I’ll leave the sequel on the shelf.
ehhere 
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