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jhoffmann's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
simsian's review against another edition
2.0
I'm a big fan of Justified so I liked the idea of Leonard revisiting the character after the show took off. I should say now, I've never read Leonard before, so what comes next may be a denunciation of this work or of his style in general. I'm not sure.
There is no point to this book. It had the feel of watching the first three episodes of a season of Justified. The initial investigation/arch of the novel is summed up before the halfway point and it just meanders on through a couple more subplots, never finding any where to lay its hat. Sadly, it also rehashes events from the first couple of seasons of the show, so if you're a fan, you already pretty much know every scene.
The writing is way too sparse for me and I wouldn't hold that against it except that I really feel like the book was just spending time with a fun idea of a character that never made it out of the writer's head. By Leonard's own admission, the character was born out of a meeting with a man named Raylan. That's it. I'm afraid Timothy Olyphant has done far more for the character than Leonard did.
Maybe the genre and style just aren't my thing, but I know plot well enough to say this novel doesn't have one.
At least the show is back on tonight. Season 5!
Edit: the man does write great dialogue though...
There is no point to this book. It had the feel of watching the first three episodes of a season of Justified. The initial investigation/arch of the novel is summed up before the halfway point and it just meanders on through a couple more subplots, never finding any where to lay its hat. Sadly, it also rehashes events from the first couple of seasons of the show, so if you're a fan, you already pretty much know every scene.
The writing is way too sparse for me and I wouldn't hold that against it except that I really feel like the book was just spending time with a fun idea of a character that never made it out of the writer's head. By Leonard's own admission, the character was born out of a meeting with a man named Raylan. That's it. I'm afraid Timothy Olyphant has done far more for the character than Leonard did.
Maybe the genre and style just aren't my thing, but I know plot well enough to say this novel doesn't have one.
At least the show is back on tonight. Season 5!
Edit: the man does write great dialogue though...
born_traveler's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book because I’ve watched a few episodes of the TV show.
laurat's review against another edition
1.0
The story began okay, but then became pretty disjointed. Not too impressed with the main character and was disappointed by the lack of mystery in the plot.
sronicker's review against another edition
2.0
Finally finished, and I totally did not enjoy the book at all. There were truncated sections and pieces of story lines that didn't fit in the the chapter as it was laid out. There was at least one unintentional typo but so many more instances of bad grammar that I can only assume it was intentional. I like characters "speaking" in dialect, like Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn. But there were times when the characters weren't using bad grammar and syntax the narrator was! Call me a grammar nazi or whatever, but it's distracting when bad grammar makes whole sections virtually unintelligible.
moreadsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Poor planning left me almost without a book to read for the weekend for the second time in a month. Luckily, Timothy Olyphant, I mean, Raylan was sitting on the FT table at work on Saturday, so the day was officially saved. Normally I don't want to have a specific picture of someone in my head while I read a book (I refuse to watch the movie version of The World According to Garp for this reason), but in this case, let me tell you that it was not a problem at all. I'm going to write a review of this book, not Olyphant, but I can't get away with not saying that I think he's a pretty attractive individual and after reading this book, I'm even more convinced that his being cast for this show was an excellent idea. Walton Goggins and Nick Searcy were pretty damn fine choices as well.
Leonard just has such an exquisite way with dialogue (even though he does use the 'Must of' or 'Should of', which drives me insane. Must've!). The story is interesting enough, what with the kidney stealing and the mining company dropping rocks on people's houses and the lady gamblers, but it's the dialogue that makes this a real treat. B stole the book from me so I can't come up with the exact quote, but something about a guy taking Raylan out back to teach him some respect for the mining company, and Raylan says, If I don't show up, practice falling down until I get there. Hilarious. My only qualms are the logistics of the kidney thefts - how long do those things last? Because I was under the impression that once they were removed, they didn't last all that long. Also, the sex scene at the very end was atrocious, even if it did star Timothy Olyphant, I mean, Raylan.
*Edited to add: turns out that my father-in-law taught that "practice falling down until I get there" line to my husband when he was a teenager. Father-in-law's stock has certainly risen around my house.
Leonard just has such an exquisite way with dialogue (even though he does use the 'Must of' or 'Should of', which drives me insane. Must've!). The story is interesting enough, what with the kidney stealing and the mining company dropping rocks on people's houses and the lady gamblers, but it's the dialogue that makes this a real treat. B stole the book from me so I can't come up with the exact quote, but something about a guy taking Raylan out back to teach him some respect for the mining company, and Raylan says, If I don't show up, practice falling down until I get there. Hilarious. My only qualms are the logistics of the kidney thefts - how long do those things last? Because I was under the impression that once they were removed, they didn't last all that long. Also, the sex scene at the very end was atrocious, even if it did star Timothy Olyphant, I mean, Raylan.
*Edited to add: turns out that my father-in-law taught that "practice falling down until I get there" line to my husband when he was a teenager. Father-in-law's stock has certainly risen around my house.
ericwelch's review against another edition
3.0
Fans of the TV Series “Justified” (I am) will recognize all of the plots in this set of short stories tied together only by Raylan’s presence: the nurse selling kidneys, the coal mining VP trying to get contracts signed, etc. (He barely figures in the story about the poker-playing girl.) I regret Leonard won’t be able to write any more, but regretfully this is not one of his better works. Ironically, the TV series holds together better as a novel, especially in its portrayal of the coal-mining areas of Kentucky. This book might have been marketed as a series of short stories.
I don’t know, but have a suspicion that this book was written after, or perhaps simultaneously, with the scripts for the TV series 2nd season as a way to capitalize on the fame of the TV series. No matter, it’s a wonderful modern-day western replete with bad guys and quick-draws. In real life, Raylan would have drowned in paperwork writing up his extravagant use of bullets.
I don’t know, but have a suspicion that this book was written after, or perhaps simultaneously, with the scripts for the TV series 2nd season as a way to capitalize on the fame of the TV series. No matter, it’s a wonderful modern-day western replete with bad guys and quick-draws. In real life, Raylan would have drowned in paperwork writing up his extravagant use of bullets.
sistermagpie's review against another edition
3.0
Light, fun novel that's really more like three short stories that wander into each other, almost like a day in the life of Raylan Givens. The characters are all just interesting enough to make it enjoyable to spend the little time with them we do, and they all have that unique outlook of Harlan. The kind that puts loaded shotguns underneath old lady's sheets at nursing homes.
As a fan of the TV show, what I really missed was the actors bringing the lines to life. They're clever on the page, but wonderful when delivered well.
As a fan of the TV show, what I really missed was the actors bringing the lines to life. They're clever on the page, but wonderful when delivered well.
francomega's review against another edition
3.0
Standard Leonard except...I felt like it was written in an alternate universe. Basically, this book follows US Marshall Raylan Givens through the same storylines as the TV show "Justified," but out of order. The characters are all there, but they play different roles as they did on TV. It was all very confusing.
darwin8u's review against another edition
3.0
“I always felt, you don’t have a good time doin crime, you may as well find a job.”
― Elmore Leonard, Raylan
I'm just going to review this really quick. Raylan is built on three main stories/episodes that are all loosely tied together. It wasn't the best Elmore Leonard out there, and in some ways this novel seems destined to suffer from the success of the Raylan Givens franchise (see F/X series). The novel almost seemed written with the guarantee of options that the book would get used in the existing series. It holds no surprises and few major disappointments. Most risks taken by Elmore Leonard were taken years earlier. This is a safe novel sold to safe readers.
― Elmore Leonard, Raylan
I'm just going to review this really quick. Raylan is built on three main stories/episodes that are all loosely tied together. It wasn't the best Elmore Leonard out there, and in some ways this novel seems destined to suffer from the success of the Raylan Givens franchise (see F/X series). The novel almost seemed written with the guarantee of options that the book would get used in the existing series. It holds no surprises and few major disappointments. Most risks taken by Elmore Leonard were taken years earlier. This is a safe novel sold to safe readers.