“Love. Loss. Revenge.” After reading the tag line for Wilbur Smith’s new thriller I didn’t hold much hope. Pick three of the most generic words relating to literature and these three would probably come out in the top five. As the famous author reaches 80 it has been reported that he is working with co-authors to try and release around two books a year in a bid to crack America. It therefore seems simply inevitable that his works will become more bland and cliché.

However, Vicious Circle defied my expectations by being only one of these two things. Yes, it was cliché and formulaic at times but bland it certainly wasn’t. Smith has rammed his latest novel so full of shocking, explicit and graphic scenes; I had a permanent grimace on my face as I read it. It is this superfluous use of shock tactics that is Vicious Circle’s downfall. The plot has much potential, especially nearer the beginning when Smith focuses on Islamic extremism and youth disillusionment in Britain but this was abandoned part way through to focus on the gruesome antics of a rich disinherited psychopath and his accomplice.

This book is not for the fainthearted – Smith writes in grisly detail about child rape, incest, prostitution, murder and, horrifically, innocent people being eaten alive by pigs and crocodiles. It appears as if Smith has employed the most shocking and controversial devices in his catalogue in a desperate bid to get more readers. Whilst Vicious Circle has the potential to be a fast paced and gritty action story, Smith sells out, filling it full of distasteful and at times sickening content that merely distracts from the plot. ]

“Love. Loss. Revenge.”? More like: “Excessive wealth. Murderous psychopaths. Moral depravity.”

Jessica Murray