Book Series Review: Jack West Jr.

 Thrillers, in truth, have never been my favourite genre when it comes to books. Neither was I a fan of the Dan Brown wave that has seemed to overtake every title on the market as the one of the best historical thrillers. Yet, everything changed when I read Matthew Riley. His series on “Jack West Jr.” was the perfect blend of history and action, sticking to details when it was important but knowing when to keep mum to let the mystery build. The series itself was launched in 2005, reaching its conclusion in the seventh primary work released in 2021. Seven books over 16 years seems like an awfully long time, but the wait has been worth the ending. Before we get there, there are a few things that really irk me when it comes to this series. 

Riley is a big believer of plot twists and one of the ways he implements this is through the “death” of characters. He has a habit of conveniently fridging people until they're required again by the protagonist - Jack West Jr. At some points it feels like he could not work them into the plot somehow, as that would have made the book that much shorter. At the same time, an unforeseen consequence that this convenient fridging has is that the plot armour becomes overplayed and ridiculous. Mostly used just for the cliff-hanger, the deaths of beloved characters throw the reader off-balance, and bring them back to help the protagonist through when there is no other way out.

The fact that this convenient fridging occurs leads me to believe that the series is more writing-convenience centric and thus inconsiderate about the reader. Riley forces the reader to go through the process of grieving for a character.  When closure is finally achieved, the character is then magically resuscitated, reader’s feelings be damned. This sort of callousness put me off greatly as I read on. In this same vein of achieving maximum shock factor,  Riley will not bring up certain facts and contexts until it is absolutely necessary to the plot. This means that he could have mentioned something in his first book, and he expects us to remember as we read it being invoked in the concluding book. He then attempts to make this new context fit naturally into the plot, thereby covering potential plot holes. This kind of writing comes off as haphazard and poorly constructed in my eyes, as he builds a story that is riddled with conveniences, coincidences, and contradictions. 

Riley’s hate for the American and British governments, their  branching institutions, and the British monarchy is an overarching theme. He hates the US for what they are doing with Australia and it shows through the extreme violence and villainous arcs that they undergo. However, he distinctly separates American characters from American institutions and Royals from Royal institutions: firmly establishing that while institutions can be and are inherently evil and corrupt, individuals can be innocent or work through a redemption arc through great pain.

The presence of romantic and sexual relationships takes a completely different turn in Riley’s thrillers. While many titles in the genre explicitly devote a great deal of the word count to sensual scenes, Riley takes the contrary route as his novels focus exclusively on the thrill aspect of the plot. Flirting and sexuality is subdued throughout the course of the series - a choice which has unintended consequences. The love interest arc for the protagonist comes out of nowhere. The only woman on the team of military individuals gets married to the protagonist just for the sake of giving child a maternal figure and semblance of a heteronormative family structure. 

The protagonist himself is a Steve Rogers-like figure: one of a kind selfness - bordering self-destructive -, and completely asexual except for the few flirting scenes and allusions to sex through indirect mentions here and there. 

The only other romantic relationship is much more natural between two other protagonists - Lily and Alby. The progression of their relationship from friends to best friends to lovers to family was a trope I spotted from a mile away, and brought a smile to my face as I saw it bloom.

Following from this, the world-building is masterfully executed. From the secret, underground world of royal society to designing maps, perilous labyrinths, and ancient traps for our heroes to navigate, Riley has it all. As can be deduced from the custom made maps for many of the books, Riley is someone who takes pride in how challenges and spaces are revealed and experienced by the reader - an aspect of writing in which he excels. The many plot devices are well-researched - better than Dan Brown and infinitely more satisfying than the holier-than-thou tone of Dan Brown's series. Information regarding military facts, bases, exercises, gadgets, technological functioning, etc. is explained with great care and simplicity. Furthermore, he is not afraid of having fun and playing around with many myths and histories explored in the series. His playful imagining of more realistic alternatives made me question my own perspective each time, and opened up my eyes to news questions to be explored: events I greatly enjoyed. 

Finally, most books are self-contained. For a series written over 15 years, you need to read all books for context and progression of larger plot and storyline. However, each title can be read as a stand-alone if you do not wish to make the effort. Riley bypasses the problem of explaining everything to new readers by explaining or alluding to past events in an understandable manner. 

This is truly what sets Riley apart from the thriller writers I have encountered so far. His handling of complex historical contexts as well as extensive worldbuilding is accomplished masterfully. He explains each event, each new addition of lore and material in such a way that I never felt dumb or that I wasn’t able to understand. Besides that, his inclusion of detailed illustrations just adds to the professionalism and in-depth understanding that Riley has of his world, and in an unlikely move, the needs of his readers. 

The series overall was a great joy to read, and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to anyone looking for thrillers with not much gratuitous violence and senseless sex.