Following in the footsteps – pun intended – of critically acclaimed debut Alice And The Fly, James Rice’s second novel showcases a similarly terse, tense, yet playful writing style that will appeal to fans (like me) of 90s-era Irvine Welsh. Although Walk is rather less stylised than, say, Trainspotting, there’s the same sense of grit and unpredictability, whilst still following a satisfying story arc, with perils to overcome and well-written characters at the tale’s heart.
I enjoyed the book, and the narrative’s spin on adventure writing; as a former promoter of the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize, I would urge the publishers to submit this there, and all who are interested in the burgeoning genre of modern adventure writing to read this. Certainly, we are taken on a journey, here, into a familiar and then increasingly unfamiliar wilderness; and there’s a very well-done twist at the story’s conclusion that won’t fail to thrill, too.
Walk is a good book: finely written, and imbued with a lively, fresh energy that makes it, as they say, unputdownable. Not sure it’s one to take on that camping holiday – but you can judge for yourself by reading the book, which I would heartily recommend.
Walk, James Rice (Hodder & Stoughton)
Price: £18.99. Info: here
words MAB JONES