Book 24: The Illegal
Interestingly, The Illegal turned out to be a pseudo-fantasy in that it takes place on current-day earth, but in the made-up, neighouring, island countries of Freedom State and Zantoroland. The protagonist is a black long-distance runner who is living as an illegal resident in Freedom State after escaping a corrupt government regime in his Zantoroland home. He ends up on the run from an inordinate number of people including the police who are rounding up illegals to deport them, his running coach/agent who only wishes to profit from his race victories, a corrupt Zantoroland government who has kidnapped his sister for ransom, a tenacious wheelchair bound reporter and a determined teenage prodigy film-maker. I’m actually pretty sure there were more, but that sentence was getting overly long. In addition to being chased, he also manages to acquire an equally mismatched group of friends along the way who provide him with support and refuge.
There are lots of reasons to dislike this story. The coincidences are a bit unwieldy. The good and evil characters lack subtlety. The parallels to apartheid or, say, any number of societies that simultaneously fear and oppress minority cultures, are a little too in-your-face. The pace of the story starts like a marathon and ends like a sprint. However, I still liked it. In the end, I chose to just enjoy the story and ignore any morals, if delivering morals were even his intent. The story is a feel-good story where the good guys win and for that reason alone, it’s likeable enough. But it’s also well-written with good characters, which is a bonus.
Rating: Borrow it. I don’t see needing to read it a second time.
