Heart of Gold by Samuel Colabufo, Published 2024
A quick question for writers of current fiction: are you inspired by films and TV series, or do you write hoping to make one or the other?
I say that in no way disrespectfully – in fact, quite the opposite. As readers of this column know, I am a fan of fiction that lets me “see” the action and characters of a book – almost as if I’m watching a movie. When I revisit a particularly good novel, I’ll “see” the same people and setting as in my first reading, though perhaps with more detail and insight.
I have been struck more than once in recent years by how very much some new writers will move the reader in a shot-by-shot piece that might include a one-page chapter, or a series of “quick cuts” as a lengthier scene unfolds.
Heart of Gold is such a novel.
The premise is intriguing and in the mold of what, for this reader, makes for a good thriller: the writer introduces us to an idea or thing of which we were unaware, and not only uses that thing as a centerpiece for the story, but makes it an objective in a kill-or-be-killed plot where the good guys or bad guys will prevail in an edge-of-the-seat chase.
In this story, the concept is Rh-null blood, something possessed by such a minuscule number of people that they, at least some of them, rely on each other to maintain a supply should the need arise.
The bearer of such blood disappears, leading his reformed-alcoholic adopted brother and his abandoned girlfriend to chase him down. They eventually enlist the help of a large, talented and angry master of many trades, a newspaper reporter, and eventually a Mossad operative; they are doing battle with a mysterious cabal of people who need the blood, evidently to save a senior member of the group. But there is more – a very mysterious effort is being made to erase the past and memories of people in a way that they can re-enter life as an entirely new individual. And how does this tie into the blood?
Each character has a back-story, and it would be here if anywhere I’d make a (mild) criticism: there are quite a few, and while they are indeed, distinct personalities and serve unique purposes, it does sometimes challenge the reader to keep vivid track of each one. In this regard, the film-like story line runs into the one significant flaw I’d level at it: that in a movie, the movie itself does the work of SHOWING us which character we’re listening to and watching, while in a novel, we’re required as readers to conjure up the image and background each time we encounter a, particularly minor, character again after a few pages of fast-paced story.
That said, the story never loses you, and each major character is fascinating, well-imagined, and stays true to his or her drives and purpose. Dare I say it makes for a perfect beach or by-the-fire read. And if you look, there just may be references to such esoterica as MacBeth (a possible reference to the betrayed Duncan, whose “silver skin (was) laced with his golden blood,”) or to the disciples (a crew of 12 who assemble at the denouement to help the endangered man with golden blood). If not, the writer isn’t so ordinary in his writing or story as to demand we not imagine!
But here is an additional payoff for local readers: much of the action takes place right here in Central New York, Cicero and Oneida Lake, to be specific.
As we follow the good guys on a trek to find the missing man, we end up on the shores of that broad and shallow lake to the north of Syracuse, and for this reader, it conjured up memories of water skiing, boating, a cottage by the lake, and even a house visited out on Long Point Road. As the Texas and New York natives traveled down Route 31, turning onto Mud Mill Road, and viewing with new eyes the sights and scenes of the shores of Oneida Lake, I was both intrigued and entertained at the idea that a sophisticated and well-oiled cadre of bad guys could be operating at such a high level right on the shores of the humble but beloved lake.
So while this book will come alive quickly for you with a fine and entertaining style, humor and solid narrative, it adds one more reason for a local reader to enjoy it as we see nearby sights as the backdrop for a fast, entertaining, and original thriller – where the stakes are high, the characters believable, and the plot revolves around concepts that are just out-there enough, and just real enough, to keep the reader both guessing, and determined to find out “what happens next.”
