The Numbers Game Review

The Numbers Game
By Miles Watson

Here’s one way I define a terrific writer – someone who writes so well that I will read their works no matter what the subject. I read Watson’s The Brute earlier this year and was so impressed with his writing that I enjoyed a wartime story. Even more – I wanted to read anything else he wrote about wartime because of how vividly he could word-paint his setting and characters.

The Numbers Game is about Maurice Mickelwhite, a math geek who would rather be home teaching mathematics and calculating numbers than flying for the Royal Air Force. The numbers told him that the more he flew, the less likely he’d survive. Not only had he calculated the numbers, but he could explain to his fellow pilots how to interpret them. Maurice knew that there was a point where a pilot could reach the fatal number, but he didn’t want to calculate his own, given all of the missions he had already flown. 

Maurice was frustrated about how others reacted when he tried to share his calculations  – the other pilots, the authority figures, and the mathematical community. He was obsessed with calculating his numbers and being the smartest guy in the room. HIs hubris turned into contempt for anyone who wasn’t worshipping at the throne of his mathematics.  Was Maurice delusional? An awkward introvert with poor social skills? Both?

Once again, I admired Watson’s gift of presenting a tight, compelling, and complete novella. I was quickly invested in the novella, since my great-uncle was in the RAF during World War II and died when his plane was shot down. Watson  drew me into the story, characterization, and inevitable conclusion. 

I don’t know if I’ll ever be a wartime genre fan. I do know that I appreciate Miles Watson’s fabulous writing and plan to keep reading his novellas and short stories.

I received this book from Black Coffee Book Tours with a request for an honest review.