As he gets deeper
and deeper into the world of professional blackjack
play, and as his bankroll grows from a mere $5,000
to over $800,000, he becomes the foil, pawn, and
then scapegoat of some very well-drawn, shady characters
(one of them highly reminiscent of the late, great,
blackjack guru Ken Uston).
He finds himself banned
by casinos in Vegas, Mississippi and the Islands;
he is hoodwinked by his cronies. He discovers that
the girl he loves, a throwback to a time when women
ruled the moral roost, is repelled by his career
choice and disgusted with his growing immorality.
His father, a man of simple vision and strong principles,
is also disheartened by Raven’s inability to
see the hollow nature of his lucrative blackjack
calling. The book insightfully creates a dramatic
tension between characters -- father/son, friend/friend,
casino/counter, lover/beloved -- and among partners
in the business of blackjack. However, the moral
struggle within the character of Raven himself is
at the core of the book.
The title itself can
have various meanings. The “counter” with
the small “c” is Raven, and what he counts
are cards and money and, as the book revs up, his
mistakes. But the “Counter” with a capital
“C” can also stand for the Creator, God,
or the Great Spirit of Raven’s part-Indian
heritage, who counts our ways and numbers our days.
Raven is indeed on a quest for knowledge and, despite
his fundamentalist leanings, he experiments with
a “vision quest” (ala Carlos Castenada
who wrote The Teachings of Don Juan), participates
in an archeological dig in the holy land, and examines
his conscience throughout.
The book’s climax
is both tense and exhilarating. It ends...well,
that’s for you to find out.
While there is some
intermittent and occasionally awkward dialogue,
along with some corny witticisms here and there,
on the whole and in its parts, Blackwood’s
literary style is smooth, consistently straightforward
and admirably concrete. This is a novel I can recommend
to anyone interested in a good read. Congratulations,
Mr. Blackwood, on a job well done.
The
Counter Book Review
Good
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