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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
I really wanted to like this more than I did.
It was fine, but I get tired of plots where the main character gets dropped into a new version of their life and keeps stubbornly insisting on looking for things from their old life. And his obsession with events from his original timeline feels forced. The author even comes out and says, "I know that I can't predict the future, but I can remember things from my past, that might change the future here", while still showing how nothing in the new timeline is at all similar to the previous one.
I dunno. It seemed like a good idea, but that just didn't really get there.
It was fine, but I get tired of plots where the main character gets dropped into a new version of their life and keeps stubbornly insisting on looking for things from their old life. And his obsession with events from his original timeline feels forced. The author even comes out and says, "I know that I can't predict the future, but I can remember things from my past, that might change the future here", while still showing how nothing in the new timeline is at all similar to the previous one.
I dunno. It seemed like a good idea, but that just didn't really get there.
I've read and followed Jason Starr's writing for years. He epitomizes what I consider to be true "noir" crime fiction, something that most people today confuse with "hardboiled" stories about wisecracking tough guy PIs.
Starr's stories often start with a loser and the reader follows him down a path to complete and utter destruction. There are no happy endings. The stories leave this reader feeling a bit sick. And yet, they're tight, fast reads that are so brilliant, I can't get enough of them.
THE NEXT TIME I DIE is a near-classic. While Starr has of late veered into more occult, horror, fantasy worlds (in this case, a guy who dies and comes back to life in a strange variation of his former one), the basic elements of a brilliant noir tale are here, and I couldn't put it down.
In my opinion, Starr is up there with Goodis, Thompson, Highsmith, and the other noir titans. He is that great, and he's been so his entire career.
Starr's stories often start with a loser and the reader follows him down a path to complete and utter destruction. There are no happy endings. The stories leave this reader feeling a bit sick. And yet, they're tight, fast reads that are so brilliant, I can't get enough of them.
THE NEXT TIME I DIE is a near-classic. While Starr has of late veered into more occult, horror, fantasy worlds (in this case, a guy who dies and comes back to life in a strange variation of his former one), the basic elements of a brilliant noir tale are here, and I couldn't put it down.
In my opinion, Starr is up there with Goodis, Thompson, Highsmith, and the other noir titans. He is that great, and he's been so his entire career.
I don’t need the entire phenomenon happening here to be explained, but give me something. I am way more likely to read books from the attempted sci-fi genre here (like maybe a Blake Crouch) than the crime aspect, and this just isn’t quite there for me.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Steven Blitz is having a tough day. He's defending a psychopathic serial killer whose trial starts on Monday and he needs to work on his opening statement. His wife, Laura, wants a divorce and is leaving him for another woman. He's been having terrible migraine headaches. Laura kicks him out of their house and on the way to his brother's home, he stops for gas and gets stabbed, bleeding out in the snow and the dark.
But other versions of Steven Blitz, "who’ve made different, better decisions than this version" of Steven Blitz made, are living happy lives right now, aren't they? AREN'T THEY?
In "The Next Time I Die", Jason Starr successfully blends the humdrum, aggravating details of everyday life with alternate timelines in an entertaining showcase of suspenseful paranoia.
But other versions of Steven Blitz, "who’ve made different, better decisions than this version" of Steven Blitz made, are living happy lives right now, aren't they? AREN'T THEY?
In "The Next Time I Die", Jason Starr successfully blends the humdrum, aggravating details of everyday life with alternate timelines in an entertaining showcase of suspenseful paranoia.
A perfect marriage of crime fiction and science fiction, The Next Time I Die is a fun page-turner that handles ideas of multiple realities and butterfly effects simply and cleanly — if you’re not generally into stories that include such things but enjoy crime fiction, this is worth reading. Addictively written, rich with suspense and morality play, TNTID is a lot of fun and I recommend it.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Twilight zone meets true crime meets well developed characters and plot. This is an author to keep an eye on.
This isn’t a four star book. It is either five stars or three stars. Both are equally true it seems.