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zach_collins's review against another edition
2.0
Better than the juvenile Transmetropolitan, but this will probably be my last time to read Ellis. Some great dialogue (swearing is truly a lost art, and Ellis is one of the few writers I know of who can still get some mileage out of those tired four-letter words) but the characters were just blah and the the mystery/investigation was anything but thrilling. When it became obvious what the killer was doing and why (spoiler alert, creating gun art because he was crazier than a snow-cone salesman in Siberia) I hoped Ellis would focus more on the humor, but nope, just steadily trudging toward the end with very few surprises and about as many laughs. Oh well.
misterjay's review against another edition
4.0
Warren Ellis' novels read a lot like his comics, which is to say, fast, angry, high tech, and full of guns. And may all the gods bless him for that. Gun Machine starts with the tried and true story of a cop who has settled so deeply into his job that he may never again see the light of day. Until the day his partner is gunned down in front of him and a chain of events is set in motion that leads our hero on a quest through Manhattan in chase of a serial killer that has been at work for over two decades.
It's fun. Read it.
It's fun. Read it.
delsim's review against another edition
4.0
Fun, fast-paced thriller. If you like Abby from NCIS, you'll enjoy this book, there are two Abby-like CSI characters. I didn't realize Warren Ellis wrote the graphic novel that the movie Red is based on.
rick_k's review against another edition
4.0
Gun Machine is a dense and fast-paced work, which is perhaps expected from a author who traditionally writes comics and graphic novels, but what most struck me was how complex the characters were and the attention to agency and venue (how they modulated their personalities based on their company, location and situation). It really became apparent in Talia's house, but is seen throughout and is quite remarkable. Similarly this story is a great example of umwelten (overlapping, unique environments created by the perceptions of the characters). Serial killer novels rely heavily archetypes and Warren Ellis does a superb job rendering both the damaged hero and killer's method, mythology and madness.
medium_dave's review against another edition
4.0
Very good and I liked it a lot more than Crooked.
It reminds me of a more grounded Fell, which I've got no problems with, because Fell was very good.
A fast, mean read.
It reminds me of a more grounded Fell, which I've got no problems with, because Fell was very good.
A fast, mean read.
kidclamp's review against another edition
3.0
This is one of those reviews where i feel like i need to start by saying I enjoyed the book
There is a lit to like here, the main character is a good soft boiled detective with just enough quirks to not seem like a caricature, the ply moves along at a good clip with out burning too many pages or sacrificing descriptions, and the whole idea if the book is compelling. But there were some definite flaws.
Ellis obviously enjoys highlighting the darker side of human nature. The background murmuring if the police band radio throughout the book feels a bit indulgent with is laundry list of horrors. While I liked the supporting characters fir the most part too, there were once again parts that felt unnecessary like explaining a lot about the sexual relations of the one CSU and her Amazon girlfriend.
Indulgences aside, the real problem here is that the book geeky like a pot boiler, building to a great climax, but when it hit the end, everything came out a little flat. the end wasn't bad, or unbelievable, just somehow disappointing for a story that peaked so much action and excitement in for most of it's pages.
There is a lit to like here, the main character is a good soft boiled detective with just enough quirks to not seem like a caricature, the ply moves along at a good clip with out burning too many pages or sacrificing descriptions, and the whole idea if the book is compelling. But there were some definite flaws.
Ellis obviously enjoys highlighting the darker side of human nature. The background murmuring if the police band radio throughout the book feels a bit indulgent with is laundry list of horrors. While I liked the supporting characters fir the most part too, there were once again parts that felt unnecessary like explaining a lot about the sexual relations of the one CSU and her Amazon girlfriend.
Indulgences aside, the real problem here is that the book geeky like a pot boiler, building to a great climax, but when it hit the end, everything came out a little flat. the end wasn't bad, or unbelievable, just somehow disappointing for a story that peaked so much action and excitement in for most of it's pages.
rocketiza's review against another edition
2.0
Almost stopped reading a couple times for how dumb it had to be for him to make things work, like for instance there's a hole in the wall to an apartment just full of guns that the cops don't place someone on to like, make sure no one grabs a gun, or the lead character meeting the wife of suspect randomly in new york because the deli makes the best goddamn sandwiches of course she'd go way out of her way to go there.
themichellegray's review against another edition
3.0
This book had lack of mystery, poor representation of schizophrenia, and felt like a knock-off of a James Patterson novel. The only saving grace was the amount of gruesome details; while they actually made my stomach turn, it was extremely impressive writing.
thegoodmariner's review against another edition
5.0
Like Joe Hill, Warren Ellis is an author whose work I first came to know through his stuff in comics (mostly Transmetropolitan and his Xmen run). And also like Joe Hill, I'm glad I braved that jump from his graphic writing to his straight prose. This book was fantastic. And I really NEVER read crime/mystery stories. But I recommend this one for anyone who wants a fairly quick read and a complete page-turner. There really isn't a moment in the book that lags and the narration is surly but eloquent.
traciemasek's review against another edition
2.0
Two stars is maybe a little harsh, considering this is a genre book, but I just wanted it to be better than it is. There are parts where it really picks up speed, especially when Tarrow first meets the CSUs, but I dunno, for whatever reason, I just didn't love this. Tarrow starts to feel almost like a real character by the end, but nearly everyone else is a caricature. The history lessons peppered throughout it are so, so forced and painfully expositional. And I also just completely do NOT buy that the killer had gotten away with over 200 murders without anyone noticing a connection.
But really I think the reason I didn't like this book much is the little parts where Tallow listens to the police scanner and it relays horrific crime after horrific crime, all supposedly just happening all the time in NYC, nbd. I guess I get that it's supposed to be indicative of the dark, almost comic book world of the book, but it just pissed me off and took me right out of the story because if any one of the crimes on the police scanner happened in this city, it would be a tragedy of epic scale. But then again, this is a work of fiction. And I can admit it was a fun, quick read.
But really I think the reason I didn't like this book much is the little parts where Tallow listens to the police scanner and it relays horrific crime after horrific crime, all supposedly just happening all the time in NYC, nbd. I guess I get that it's supposed to be indicative of the dark, almost comic book world of the book, but it just pissed me off and took me right out of the story because if any one of the crimes on the police scanner happened in this city, it would be a tragedy of epic scale. But then again, this is a work of fiction. And I can admit it was a fun, quick read.