Book review: The Twain Maxim, by Clem Chambers

Mark Twain's maxim is as follows: "A mine is a hole in the ground with a fool at the bottom and a crook at the top."

From this tortured beginning, analyst and author Clem Chambers clambers back on to surer ground with a no-holds-barred tale of derring-do, death and diamonds.

He may be of the financial thriller school of novelists but Chambers has another dimension - and several more gears - to his prose.

The story has rogue marketer Baz Mycock milking investors with the tease of mineral wealth in an inaccessible part of Africa.

However, Baz hadn't anticipated that monied whizzkid and adventurer Jim Evans (think Richard Branson but cool) would be so bored with his wealth he'd take a more than active interest in his fledgling investment.

Jim is lured out to the jungle where his life becomes very seriously threatened and he needs his gadgets, wits and friends at their sharpest.

Chambers has a tendency towards the "one leap and he was free" school of plotting (brace yourself for the K9-a-like doombah). However, he cannot be faulted for mashing up a thrilling, page-turner with jeopardy around every corner.

His evocation of Africa - chaos, anarchy, beauty and flies - has a ring of authenticity and he's a useful guide if you have a million to drop.

An exciting ride.

– From June 2010