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After four Sydney Bristow books, the Alias novels turn their attention to her CIA colleague Michael Vaughn.

Just as the first told of Sydney's apparent recruitment into the CIA (actually, SD-6 masquerading as the CIA), The Pursuit tells how Vaughn was accepted into the CIA, his training at Langley and his first mission.

Unlike Sydney, who had no prior interest in joining the Agency, joining the CIA is something Michael Vaughn has wanted to do since he was a kid. Consequently, when we first meet him, he's on tenterhooks, waiting to see if the CIA will accept his application.

Of course, they do, but before we get to Langley, we have some cloak-and-dagger stuff as Vaughn background and aptitude are checked out. We also get to meet fellow recruit Akiko Schwartz, who ends up becoming Vaughn's partner when the pair jet off to Brazil for a mission.

The bulk of the novel is taken up with Vaughn and his fellow trainees' time at The Farm training facility. This is a little repetitive, and I guessed the "twist" about the annoying Nick Pastino straightaway. It seemed so obvious that I assumed that this was merely a distraction for the real twist. Unfortunately, it was the real twist.

Vaughn and Akiko's first mission and its aftermath takes up the final quarter of the novel. As with Sydney's early missions, it's hardly breath-taking stuff, with its immediate aftermath reported after the event - either to keep things simple or to meet the 200-page limit. There's also a subplot involving a journal that Vaughn receives in the post that doesn't really add to the plot and the resolution to which is a bit rubbish.

Overall, a reasonably entertaining read, but as with the previous novels, one that you can easliy knock out in a couple of hours. back to the top

THE PURSUIT

Written by LIZZIE SKURNICK

BANTAM BOOKS

$5.99


RATING: 6/10


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