cover image Survival Game

Survival Game

Philip Kerrigan. Crown Publishers, $17.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-517-56582-7

In this headlong thriller, a round of survival games on a Scottish island turns into real war when a murderer starts picking off members of the group. Led by a Vietnam vet who is now a ""businessman, playboy, and TV chef,'' the weekend warriors find their survival skills put to the ultimate test. The violence is vivid, extensive and memorable, though probably too graphic for some tastes. Kerrigan (Dead Groundp achieves a quick pace through a taut, almost laconic style: sentences are staccato short, a few paragraphs are no longer than one word, and some chapters consist of only two or three paragraphs. His extensive use of dialogue is a sound idea, but when he ventures into more elaborate descriptions, the narrative sags, and when he takes refuge in trite devices (``Peter had no idea he was about to be shot'') the reader may wince. Moreover, the characters are animated cliches: a corporate climber, a menopausal male, the token woman. Still, by hurtling along in breakneck fashion, the novel generates a fair amount of tension, enhanced by some surprising twists of plot. (August)