Reviews

	IT'S A WINNER! Richard Gilchrist's debut novel is a winner! If you like tight, hard-edged thrillers in the tradition of Brad Meltzer or Vince Flynn, you should do yourself a favor and pick this one up. Gilchrist's protagonist, Phillip Givens, carries us through one gut-wrenching scene after another. The pace starts fast and Gilchrist keeps his foot firmly applied to the accelerator, right up to the ending that will leave you breathless. I'm looking forward to seeing more of Gilchrist's work.      Author Gregory McCarthy - Austin, TX   A PERFECT FIRST NOVEL! I think the spirit in which any book is written carries within it so much of the author that you cannot but see it as part of that creative being. To celebrate that creativity you must read `Up Close and Impersonal'. Mr. Gilchrist's successful completion of his first novel is also proof that you can start anywhere in life, at any time and change your perspective despite the many 'boxes" that hold you within set dimensions or those you created for yourself throughout your life. It is definitely intriguing to read about someone who is not the author and yet a lot of him. I do not want to be stuck like Philip Givens, the novel's protagonist, between two linear worlds. I do not want to perceive my life in parts of past and present and not a whole. But like him, I might not be able to get out. Then again, and in Richard Gilchrist's own style, I might find my answer in exactly what Phillip Givens does at the end. If I did, you'll have to read on to know how to find your own.        Salam — Phoenix, AZ