Scan barcode
posies23's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this book better the second time I read it. I remember reading it in the early 1990's after hearing good things about Lansdale's short stories. It showed up at a paperback exchange in Issaquah, WA, where I was living at the time. I remember thinking it was okay, but not really enjoying it enough. I don't think I read any more Lansdale until I picked up THE DRIVE IN a few years later.
This is Lansdale' first published novel, and it's a short, violent, and explicit police procedural about the search to find a particularly nasty serial killer. If that description turns you off, then I'd recommend you never, ever pick the novel up, because it doesn't shy away from the gore and nastiness.
If that description doesn't bother you, then it's worth a read. Lansdale does some interesting things with characterization and plot, although he'd go on to write much better novels later in his career. He pays homage to Ed McBain's 87th Precinct novels, and although he does just "go for the gross" at times, he also balances the gore with some good writing and interesting choices. (For example, the protagonist is African-American, which was almost unheard of at the time.) Sure, there are some clunky sections, but it's worth a look, especially as a look at a young writer pushing the envelope of what's acceptable within a genre.
Taken along with TEXAS NIGHT RIDERS, it's an interesting glimpse of Lansdale writing in distinct genres, before he decided just throw it all out the window and write whatever he wanted. (Which, of course, wound up being a mix of several genres all at once.)
(And really, what's up with that ZEBRA edition's cover??)
This is Lansdale' first published novel, and it's a short, violent, and explicit police procedural about the search to find a particularly nasty serial killer. If that description turns you off, then I'd recommend you never, ever pick the novel up, because it doesn't shy away from the gore and nastiness.
If that description doesn't bother you, then it's worth a read. Lansdale does some interesting things with characterization and plot, although he'd go on to write much better novels later in his career. He pays homage to Ed McBain's 87th Precinct novels, and although he does just "go for the gross" at times, he also balances the gore with some good writing and interesting choices. (For example, the protagonist is African-American, which was almost unheard of at the time.) Sure, there are some clunky sections, but it's worth a look, especially as a look at a young writer pushing the envelope of what's acceptable within a genre.
Taken along with TEXAS NIGHT RIDERS, it's an interesting glimpse of Lansdale writing in distinct genres, before he decided just throw it all out the window and write whatever he wanted. (Which, of course, wound up being a mix of several genres all at once.)
(And really, what's up with that ZEBRA edition's cover??)
drewdietsch's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A wonderful example of the "telling" part of storytelling being so important. Our familiarity with this kind of story - thanks in part to its influence on later popular horror/crime books and movies - is an asset for Lansdale to give us His Voice, and boy howdy, it's a voice that SINGS. His strengths are all here in his first published novel that plays like the best '80s movie never made. The climax is a rocket of perfect pacing. Messy but in the most inspiring of ways. In a better world, this is given the same spotlight as Red Dragon and Carrie.
empress_pengy's review
3.0
3.5/5.0
Noir-ish splatterpunk. I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. While at times the writing was a bit stilted & the bad guy was fairly easy to predict for fans of the genre, the mystery was still solid and the MC was actually quite well rounded.
The main negative comes in the short story that was tacked on in my edition. There was no real resemblance to the character that had been developed in the novel - only the names were really the same.
Noir-ish splatterpunk. I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. While at times the writing was a bit stilted & the bad guy was fairly easy to predict for fans of the genre, the mystery was still solid and the MC was actually quite well rounded.
The main negative comes in the short story that was tacked on in my edition. There was no real resemblance to the character that had been developed in the novel - only the names were really the same.
More...