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The Man With The Red Tattoo
Raymond Benson Book Review

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Plot Summary of The Man With The Red Tattoo
"THE MAN WITH THE RED TATTOO

Putnam, Jun 2002, 23, 95, 272 pp.
ISBN: 0399148841

On a flight from Tokyo to England, passenger Kyoko McMahon becomes violently ill before dying. At about the same time near Tokyo, Kyoto's parents and her older sister also die. In England, the coroner believes that Kyoko died from a strand of West Nile disease, but only ten times deadlier than the normal strain.

James Bond attends the G8 summit in Japan to provide added protection to his country's leadership. He also investigates the deaths of the McMahon family, as the patriarch was a Scottish citizen and the CEO of a powerful pharmaceutical firm. Bond prefers not to return to Japan as he has bad memories though he appreciates the grace and beauty of the women. He soon works with his old friend Tiger Tanaka and agent Reiko Tamura in a race against a doomsday clock. Japanese Mafia Yami Shogun Goro Yoshida plots an end to western domination especially kicking America off his beloved nation's soil through a strand of virus that makes the deaths of the McMahon seem slow and gentle.

THE MAN WITH THE RED TATTOO is the best of the neo-Bond light tales. Raymond Benson returns Bond to what makes the character interesting to readers, yet humanizes 007 with his bad memories of Japan. The story line is quite exciting with global implications yet simplistic. The support cast is fun especially the return of Tiger and the villain who seems a lot like Bin Laden, as he wants the American presence off his beloved island nation. Mr. Benson makes a case that he is the heir to Mr. Fleming.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of The Man With The Red Tattoo
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 60%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%




Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story: - present (2000-2010)
Spying/Terrorism Thriller Yes
Cloak & Dagger Plotlets: - main char. spying/sabotage - stopping a saboteur/spy - preventing bomb/biohazard/disaster
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Who's the terrorist enemy here? - generic terrorists
Search for technology? - special war tech.

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - government investigator
Age: - 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use? - just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race - British
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - revenge
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
Asia/Pacific Yes
Asian country: - Japan

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths? - 5-7
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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