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| Found Wanting | 
 enlarge | Author: Robert Goddard
Publisher: Bantam Press
Category: Book
List Price: £14.99
Buy Used: £6.73
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Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 809
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.3
ISBN: 0593060237
EAN: 9780593060230
ASIN: 0593060237
Publication Date: September 11, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: New and unread. Minor shelfware to book. Same-day dispatch. UK Seller. Overseas delivery via priority airmail. Our worldwide delivery rates are very fast; please view our feedback for proof of a quality service.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 Formulaic and lazy. Only good for a really long flight. October 10, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It is a while since I read a Goddard novel, and this reminded me of all the reasons why I stopped. I finished it only because I was jetlagged and wide awake, with nothing else to get me through a night in Hong Kong. The Goddard formula has simply worn out.
The protagonist is like virtually every other Goddard hero: middle-aged, in a rut, romantically unconnected, unprepared for the challenges ahead, but then unexpectedly resourceful when times get tough. He will also find romance along the way. There is a lame attempt to make this a surprise, but it is screamingly obvious nonetheless.
There are far too many characters, both past and present, and their behaviour and motivations are rarely plausible. Conversations are preposterous. The plot lumbers through the cities of Northern Europe towards the inevitable one-on-one showdown with the villain. The book ends with a feeble wordplay on the title (one of the characters is called 'Wanting'.)
There is also a lack of attention to detail. When the hero is trapped in the boot of a Mercedes, he hears a whirring sound which is explained as the electric aerial. Modern cars haven't had self-extending aerials for years. In fact, Goddard seems to have a problem with cars. In an earlier novel (I forget which) a character drove a Bentley at least 20 years before the first one was created.
On the plus side, the basic research around the Romanovs and what became of them after the Ekaterinburg massacre seems to be quite thorough, and probably could have formed the basis of a passable thriller, but that is not what is delivered.
Avoid. If you want some enjoyable hokum for a journey, then try Dan Brown's 'Deception Point'. It is a modern conspiracy thriller that has nothing to do with Da Vinci, and bowls along with sufficient pace that you don't notice the flaws until you have finished.
 Left me wanting.....a bit more. October 6, 2008
It's certainly true that the books of Robert Goddard have taken a downward spiral in the last few years. Maybe it's his fairly prolific output - 20 books in virtually as many years - or it could be that his format of historical and past events invariably having a deadly impact on the present is becoming a bit tired. Either way, as an avid fan, to my mind only 1 in 3 of his recent books has come anywhere close to the excellence of his earlier work.
This latest novel follows the fortunes and misfortunes of one Richard Eusdon, disillusioned civil servant (aren't they all?) who is asked to courier some valuable items in a locked briefcase and deliver it to his terminally ill friend Marty Hewitson in Europe. A simple task? No such luck. Eusdon is very quickly embroiled in a frantic and life threatening jaunt through Scandinavia, by turns in pursuit of and trying to escape from a variety of villains, and at the same time trying to unravel the mystery of the briefcase contents. This much we know - a lot of people want to get their hands on it, and it's in some way linked to Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family, executed (or were they??) by Bolsheviks in 1917. As usual there is the combination of real historical figures and made-up characters - fact interwoven with fiction, and on more than one occasion the reader is tempted to thumb through the history books to find out which is which.
So is this book a disappointment or a return to form? The truth is it's somewhere in between. It was the first Goddard book in a while that I found very difficult to put down - it's a page turner, and it moves at an unstoppable pace. In addition to this, it aroused my interest to find out more about the Romanov dynasty and in particular, Anna Anderson, the most famous and allegedly most plausible of the so-called "Anastasia claimants" - women purporting to be the Tsar's daughter, having escaped the family massacre. I'm sure all this interest would please the author and is part of his motivation for including the historical elements as he does.
On the downside though, Goddard's strength has always been that he brings a very complex plot to a satisfactorily simple resolution. All loose ends are tied, all questions answered. This is definately not the case here. After a long night's reading, the ending seemed very confusing and unneccesarily convoluted, and Like a previous reviewer, I found myself trawling back through the book afterwards to try and put all the pieces together - without, I have to say, much success. Too many characters are introduced (often with the same surname) too late in the game, and I found myself wishing I could get a look at the family tree diagram that our protagonist finds on a wall during his adventure. Moreover, the reader is left wondering if the secret at the heart of the story really would be considered by anyone, important enough to warrant its relatively high body count. Who really stands to lose anything by its discovery? Or was this one of the many things I felt I had missed.
One final note. I had my suspicions that this book had been completed before some very recent real-life developments in the Romanov saga, and wondered if Goddard's ending might be scuppered as a result. I don't want to give away too much about this, but suffice to say, as it turned out, these developments were included, cleverly interwoven in the story and indeed their authenticity questioned sufficiently as to leave the reader suitably intrigued. All in all ,a good read. But yet again, not of his best.
 FOUND AT LAST ... BUT WANTING ... ? Robert Goddard October 4, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Well, I haven't read the book yet - just the reviews. Say What ?
I find RG one of the few writers that I can pick up and actually read without getting sick of the characters. I see some "reviewers" felt the book was a tad "poor" while others rated it just above some other "failures". Funnily - I liked the "failures" they mention so I'm rather non-plussed about the whole thing.
I've found RG's earlier works very good - but the endings a little contrived and some of the characters actions "unbelievable". Also, the behaviour of some is a little hard to accept. But, I like the recent one where a few old favourites return for another "dance". Also, the fact that they age like me - or us - is something I like. Unlike James Bond - we all do age. The links to real events helps as well.
So, I am looking forward to this one - "Found Wanting". We are off on holidays next week and its Number One on my "to read" list (Number Two is the latest Dick Francis). Will finish the "review" upon my return ... :)
Tim.
Enjoyable thriller September 24, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I don't agree with some of the other reviewers who gave the book a low rating. I'm a fan of Robert Goddard, have read all his books and enjoyed this one. It had the author's hallmark twists and turns in the story, plenty of surprises, double-crossing galore and the interweaving of historical fact with fiction. It's not in the class of Painting the Darkness, but is still worth reading.
My husband has read the book and he agrees with the detractors: he found the book implausible and nothjng like as good as previous books.
 Poor Robert! September 24, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Robert Goddard has written some great books and is probably my favourite author. This book is however another disappointment. I agree with other reviews that neither this or Name to a face comes close to what he has done in the past. Working within narrow plot lines as Goddard does it is vital that he has a good idea and a tangible one to begin with. This after 20 or so novels maybe getting more and more difficult to achieve.
Still we live in hope!
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