cover image Taroko Gorge

Taroko Gorge

Jacob Ritari, Unbridled, $15.95 paper (256p) ISBN 978-1-936071-65-4

Two drunken Americans stumble into trouble in Taiwan in Ritari's uneven debut. Peter Neils, a jaded middle-aged journalist, and Josh Pickett, a young photographer with half-baked Buddhist pretensions, are on assignment in Taiwan and, on an off day, take a pleasure trip to Taroko Gorge. While enjoying a beer-fueled jaunt through the canyon, the men cross paths with three singing Japanese girls who have broken away from the rest of their class, which has traveled to Taiwan on a senior trip. When the girls don't meet up with the rest of the class at the appointed time, Peter and Pickett volunteer to stay and help the despondent teacher search for his missing students. Add to the mix a small group of students who decide to stay at the gorge, the shifting suspicions of a hard-boiled detective, and a typhoon, and the narrative becomes quite tense. Narration duties are shared by several characters, but the older characters don't work as well—Peter's crustiness, for instance, is not quite convincing. The atmosphere is nicely done, but the big reveal is a let down. (July)