`You're A Cold Fish, Harry.' This is the story of a former mercenary named Harry Exton who is recruited by an old compadre into a `game' in which soldiers of fortune are sponsored by wealthy investors (called Voices, because they're only heard on the telephone) to fight it out gladiatorial style in a variety of settings, from the nighted English countryside, to an abandoned tenement, to the very streets of London. There's a lot of `dosh' to be made, but Harry doesn't like being boxed in. After a particularly deadly game, on a whim to test his Voice, he wonders aloud what would happen if he were to up and quit. That's enough for the Voices, and in the very next game Harry is set up for the kill. But Harry X is a lot more resourceful than they think...
This is a great thriller which is bookended by a wounded Harry telling his incredible story to the doctor treating him. While the concept sounds like Hard Target, forget that bit of fluff. This is an extremely well crafted bit of British noir. The action is completely believable (if surpassingly violent at times). There are no slow mo two gun jumps from the fireball here. This is hard hitting, driven plotboiler with a lace of cool. The characters are as hard boiled as they come, and the story culminates in a classic twist.
The art here is gritty and realistic - perfectly married to the writing. And is it just me or does Harry look a great deal like Sean Bean?
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