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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
"The Heretic" avoids many of the cliches of the noir detective novel--especially that of the unspeakably beautiful woman that the hard-boiled protagonist inevitably engages in explicitly-described sex with. Yeah, I know. Many readers expect and enjoy these gratuitous interludes. But I found it refreshing that the main women characters were presented in a realistic way, with back stories and lives of their own. The protagonist's secret life as a closeted gay makes him a very unusual noir detective and liberates the story from the shop-worn sexual conventions of the genre.
I also liked the setting in 1970s Glasgow. McIlvanney deftly sketches the historical city, so its gritty streets provide a vivid backdrop to the sectarian violence that pervades the action and drives the plot.
An engaging read. I recommend it.
I also liked the setting in 1970s Glasgow. McIlvanney deftly sketches the historical city, so its gritty streets provide a vivid backdrop to the sectarian violence that pervades the action and drives the plot.
An engaging read. I recommend it.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I found this book quite difficult to get into, probably because it's quite different to what I usually read. The book is set in Glasgow in the 1970s and follows a detective, Duncan McCormack, in solving a number of crimes.
The imagery is excellent and I felt as though I really got a feel for the gritty Glaswegian streets. It is a very 'Scottish' book and I regularly came across local terms and phrases that I just didn't understand, however, it did fit well with the story.
I found the book a bit slow to get into and the story not overly interesting; however, as it unfolded and everything started to link together, I found it quite enjoyable.
I hadn't realised that it was the second in a series, and I haven't read the first book. There are references to it, and I'm guessing it would help to have read it in terms of knowing more about the characters. However, this does work as a standalone novel, and I didn't feel as though I was missing any information having not read the first.
The ending was excellent and brought everything together nicely. It was a clever story and well written.
My thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for sending me an ARC in return for an honest review.
The imagery is excellent and I felt as though I really got a feel for the gritty Glaswegian streets. It is a very 'Scottish' book and I regularly came across local terms and phrases that I just didn't understand, however, it did fit well with the story.
I found the book a bit slow to get into and the story not overly interesting; however, as it unfolded and everything started to link together, I found it quite enjoyable.
I hadn't realised that it was the second in a series, and I haven't read the first book. There are references to it, and I'm guessing it would help to have read it in terms of knowing more about the characters. However, this does work as a standalone novel, and I didn't feel as though I was missing any information having not read the first.
The ending was excellent and brought everything together nicely. It was a clever story and well written.
My thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for sending me an ARC in return for an honest review.
Massive spoilers for The Quaker so read that first (which I hadn't). Anyway it's a solid polis procedural, very Glasgow, a little too literary, a few anachronisms for 1975 (scrunchies, video entryphones, sliders? no) but it's complex and balanced and if you want an old-style, Maryhill and doon-the-watter thing, it's fine.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A standard Glasgow gangland police procedural, full of bent coppers, violence, sectarianism, prostitution and foul language. I was bored before I even got halfway through - I feel I've read this book a million times before. Nothing in it makes it stand out from the overcrowded field. Glasgow gangland has been done to death - please let's bury it now, and move on. There's more to Glasgow and Scotland than this.
Somehow McIlvanney never makes me feel he's writing from knowledge - it always feels like he's writing from research, and there are odd little anachronisms and word choices that slightly jar my Glaswegian ear. I know it's totally unfair to compare him to his father, whose books reeked of authenticity, but honestly Liam asks for it by setting his books in the same time and place as William's classics of the genre. He's clearly trying to inhabit his father's territory, but the problem is William actually lived there and then - Liam doesn't and didn't. I wish he'd write books set in New Zealand where he's lived for years, or if he must try to get in on the crowded Scottish crime scene, then I wish he'd set his books in a different time period or take them out of Glasgow. Then perhaps it would be possible to avoid comparisons that don't work to his advantage. I believe he has the basic skills to do much better than this formulaic stuff, and I hope one day he will.
Somehow McIlvanney never makes me feel he's writing from knowledge - it always feels like he's writing from research, and there are odd little anachronisms and word choices that slightly jar my Glaswegian ear. I know it's totally unfair to compare him to his father, whose books reeked of authenticity, but honestly Liam asks for it by setting his books in the same time and place as William's classics of the genre. He's clearly trying to inhabit his father's territory, but the problem is William actually lived there and then - Liam doesn't and didn't. I wish he'd write books set in New Zealand where he's lived for years, or if he must try to get in on the crowded Scottish crime scene, then I wish he'd set his books in a different time period or take them out of Glasgow. Then perhaps it would be possible to avoid comparisons that don't work to his advantage. I believe he has the basic skills to do much better than this formulaic stuff, and I hope one day he will.
dark
mysterious
tense
this was pretty OK, but not nearly as good as the first book in this series. i suggest reading them in order. i found this difficult at first. i was just not drawn in. but the later part of the book carried a punch.