I've read a bunch of author, I.D Russell's novels in the past. He is someone I discovered while watching his film adaptation of his comedy thriller; The Killing Death. There, I liked the silly type of humour that also came with moments of bloody horror. Earlier this year, Russell sent me a whole bunch of his more recent novels, the first of these I chose to read was his comedy action novel; GO Team Agents of C.A.N.U.C.K "Bitter Rivals/African Assault".
I might be mistaken, but I believe this novel is a spiritual sequel to The Revengist series; a comedy crime trilogy. The GO Team are a secretive Canadian elite special squad who carry out dangerous missions around the world that few others would be able to complete. Set in the 1980s, the once powerful GO Team is now a shadow of its former self, with the outfit only having three agents to its name. Hunglo is the Asian kung-fu expert, Brutal Suzy is an expert sniper, while Doll-Face (Jessica) is the newest member and an all rounder. During a routine mission, these agents discover America's flashy and non-secret version of GO Team, their one named Uncle Sam Squad, soon becomes known worldwide for always getting the job done with minimal casualties. With Uncle Sam Squad beating GO Team to their every mission, the Canadian outfit get closed down, seen as no longer needed. Desperate to stay relevant, the team go rogue, certain if they carry out one last mission, that their use to the world will be recognised.
First off, GO Team is a great novel. The humour is transferred here effortlessly, and it very rarely misses. To be honest, I came here for more of Frank Malone. This detective character may be a clone of Police Squad's Frank Drebin, but I adore the character and his matter of fact literal view of the world. Sadly for me, Frank barely features here. Mentioned in passing, he only makes on appearance for a third of a single chapter. He was on glorious form when he did appear, and the rest of the book was so entertaining that his mild role wasn't an issue.
The book's title suggests a double header, but Bitter Rivals and African Assault flow together much more smoothly than that. The only real link between the two are the chapters dedicated to sadistic dictator Mbunga, demonstrating how cartoonishly evil he is. For all the breezy larger than life characters, there are some strong moments of darkness, including a few scenes of torture and plenty of harsh threats. Though, mostly, the novel runs more comedic than anything else.
GO Team felt like action figures brought to life upon the pages. Each character has a strong personality and iconic look. This vibe was purposeful, with the story never trying to take itself super seriously. One amusing mid-book part has GO Team trying to infiltrate Uncle Sam Squad's huge and impractical mobile fortress. This whole part screamed M.A.S.K to me (something I loved as a child), especially with the location of a petrol station named Boulder Hill. As a child I had the M.A.S.K base, of course set at a petrol station with that same name. That whole part of the book had GO Team at its best, funny, exciting, and unique in equal measure.
The protagonists of the novel reminded me a bit of the characters from Archer. Not so much incompetent, as competent, but constantly finding themselves in ridiculous situations. They were a likeable bunch, so were fun to follow around.
You may well wonder what a review of a comedy action novel is doing on a horror blog. Initially, my excuse was that the novel includes Frank Malone; a character who has feature in comedy horror novels previously. For purists however, there is horror in a form that was very close to my heart, that appeared in the closing sections, but which I won't speak of for fear of spoilers. I enjoyed GO Team Agents of C.A.N.U.C.K "Bitter Rivals/African Assault". Sure, the portrayal of the African characters all being prone to superstition did feel a bit antiquated, but mostly the novel was forever on point. Maybe the 'African Assault' part of the novel could have been extended slightly, to feel less like a fever dream (taking place over the back third of the novel), but overall, this was a wonderful blend of comedy and action.
SCORE:
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