The Bang Devils (2003)

by Patrick Foss

Two expatriate Americans and a half-Japanese punk plot to ransom a wealthy businessman. Unfortunately, the businessman is not what he seems and, naturally, the scheme does not unfold as planned. Author Patrick Foss held my interest with his fast-paced plot and some unexpected twists.

 

Patrick Foss

I especially like a section toward the end where he reveals how the seemingly helpless captive has outwitted his captors and set in motion a series of events that will put him back on top again. However, some problems really damaged the story for me. First, I found the characters annoying. Having lived in Japan, I can confirm the accuracy of Foss's presentation of shallow gaijin who are deluded by the ego-stroking that white foreigners can receive in that country. Unfortunately, those people are not interesting and Foss does not make them interesting. I needed at least one character with a degree of self-awareness to break the flow of self-pity and whining in which these conspirators indulge. I was also annoyed by the frequent references to movies. I know that Foss was trying to illustrate the cinematic mindset of his characters, but too much of it comes across as sloppy writing--if you can't describe it well yourself, just reference a movie that most people have seen to give them an image. Ultimately, it's probably not worth the trouble.