Reviewing a novel is somewhat of a new experience for me. I confess that it has been several years since I last read a work of fiction, let alone reviewed one. I had all but forgotten the simple pleasure found in "curling up with a good book." It was a joy rediscovering this, as The Counter is indeed a good book.

I admit to some initial skepticism. As anyone who had actually learned to count cards and play blackjack is aware, it can be tedious. There are exciting moments, to be sure, but these are offset by hours of "grinding it out." Often, advantage play can be about as thrilling as watching grass grow. Is it possible for a novel centered around advantage play to be technically accurate and entertaining as well? With The Counter, this question is answered with a resounding "Yes!"

The protagonist is a young man named Raven Townsend. Recently graduated from a small college, he is the product of a tiny town in Maine. He has led a sheltered life, and is almost incredibly naive. He has a good head for numbers, an exceptional memory, and a burning desire to succeed at anything he attempts - in short he is ideally suited to be a card counter.

His early, fumbling attempts at advantage play are met with mixed results. He learns from his mistakes, refines his system, and eventually becomes one of the top card counters in the world. His small town values are brought into question as he is exposed to the glitter of Las Vegas and the shady world of high stakes gambling.

The reader follows Raven as he plays Mississippi riverboats, Las Vegas, Reno, Foxwood's in Connecticut, Atlantic City, and even a foreign casino or two. Team play, back-offs and barrings, pit bosses, corrupt cops, and a shuffle-tracking computer are all woven into the plot.

It is obvious from the first page that the author is an experienced advantage player himself. Our hero is confronted with the small problems inherent in the advantage player lifestyle (weight gain from a diet of comped gourmet meals) as well as the large ones (being thrown out of casinos for counting cards). While a few of the events might seem somewhat improbable, there is not one single instance in which an experienced player might find himself/herself thinking, "No, that just couldn't happen."

The author takes a bit of dramatic license at times - Raven doesn't seem to lose very often.

The book is fiction, yet some of the characters appear to be based on real people. One in particular stands out - even the name is similar. (No, I'm not telling.)

An oddity - while the book apparently takes place in the present (casinos are using computers to detect advantage play - a fairly recent development), there is no mention of advantage player websites such as www.advantageplayer.com or for that matter, of the Internet at all. Some time spent at these websites might have saved our young hero a lot of grief.

Yet the author is obviously Internet-savvy. At his website (www.kevinblackwood.com) one may find out a bit about him, read the answers to some Frequently Asked Questions, or ask a question via e-mail. Naturally, the book may be ordered there.

The plot drags just a bit in the early chapters as we learn about Raven's adolescence. He is a fully developed character, not a mere stereotype, and it is necessary to know a bit about what makes him tick in order to fully appreciate the events to follow. The reader's patience is amply rewarded. Like a locomotive, the book slowly picks up speed until it roars to a riveting climax. I finished the second half of the book in one sitting, and I predict that most readers will do the same. Don't start this book late at night!

The book definitely succeeds as entertainment, and it works on a higher level as well. The reader will find himself/herself pondering questions such as, "Is the casino environment inherently corrupting?" and the age-old classic, "What happens when the pursuit of money overrides one's basic moral values?" Yes, the book will actually make one think. What a concept!

As an advantage player, I found The Counter to be a good read. Would a "civilian" (to borrow author James Grosjean's term for non-advantage players) feel the same? To find out, I gave the book to my administrator at my business. She knows that I spend a lot of time in casinos, but her own gambling experience is limited to a few coins in the slot machines on infrequent casino visits. I asked her to read the first few chapters as a favor to me, and finish it only if she wanted to.

She finished it and returned it in a few days. She found it highly entertaining, and said that the author did a good job of explaining the technical side of advantage play - she had no trouble understanding what was going on. In addition, she expressed outrage at the injustice of casinos barring players merely because they are skillful at the game. She also said that she now has a better understanding of "what you do on all those Las Vegas trips." So, perhaps this would be a good book for a spouse or significant other who is having difficulty understanding the difference between advantage players and mere gamblers.

The book ends with the protagonist still at a young age, and his future unclear. Will there be a sequel? Only the author knows, but I certainly hope so.

The Counter, a novel by Kevin Blackwood. Read it. Enjoy it. And loan it to a friend.

The Counter may be ordered from the online catalog.