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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
There was *so* much going on in this one. As with all of Hammer’s books it was impeccably written, but I did start to lose track of characters at some stages, just because there was so many.
I will definitely be searching out the remaining Martin Scarsdin books that follow this one. While it was a lot, it got me hooked!
I will definitely be searching out the remaining Martin Scarsdin books that follow this one. While it was a lot, it got me hooked!
adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Scrublands reads a bit like a middle-aged, straight, white, cis-male journo's wet dream. Hilariously improbable names (Mandalay Blonde?! Doug Thunkleton??! FFS) and an overly-convoluted plot spoil an otherwise ripping yarn. You can really feel the desert-dry heat radiating off the page. Chris Hammer knows what he's talking about when it comes to the Hay plains and the Riverina. He should do, since he covered it extensively a little over a decade ago, at the height of the last drought. The one before this one. I enjoyed reading this one but can't bring myself to forgive Hammer for the Byzantine machinations within his story and the unlikeliness of many elements. That said, I went all the way to the end because I needed to know whydunnit.
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I’ve taken a long time to get to Chris Hammer and I’ve arrived at Scrublands, the first in the Martin Scarsden series.
It’s vey well written. The characters have enough complexity and obscure motivations to engage me, as journalist Scarsden finds himself in a much more complicated situation than he anticipated when arriving at the fictitious Riversend to write a piece on how this tiny town has dealt with a mass murder nearly a year ago.
The town, its substantially larger neighbouring town and the surrounding scrublands are well described. Many country towns have a memorial to fallen soldiers. Here in Riversend, it is the frequently-mentioned Anzac soldier, standing, head bowed.
The town, its substantially larger neighbouring town and the surrounding scrublands are well described. Many country towns have a memorial to fallen soldiers. Here in Riversend, it is the frequently-mentioned Anzac soldier, standing, head bowed.
Though the quality of his writing is high, and I’ve already praised his characterisations, I think the plot surpasses the characters, which I would say are “fully two-and-a-half dimensional” — which is high level for this genre in my experience. Though to be fair, in Scarsden we have a well rounded character who sees that the certainties of certainty are an insufficient basis for life. If anyone has recommendations for well-written crime with well-developed characters, I’d welcome that.
I like that our crime solver is a journalist. That role positions the character well to investigate in a location and go elsewhere in a subsequent book. As a reader of The Age newspaper for over sixty years, I feel a bit nostalgic as he refers to the Fairfax Press, once proprietor of that and it’s Sydney sister-paper. Fairfax (Scarsden’s employer) was taken over soon after publication of the book and that media publisher, long upheld as Australia’s beacon of quality journalism, is no more. Nor are the papers as highly regarded as they once were, though they continue to publish. The economic pressures that led to this form a background to this tale.
Just this morning while pondering something, I concluded that an idea original to you that is also unique, must be very rare. Late in the book there is a convergence of plot lines with a book I finished a week ago — Susan Abulhawa’s Against the Loveless World. I doubt that the American Palestinian author Abulhawa had read Scrublands, but there it was. And I can wonder where they got the idea. Probably from actual events.
I can see why Hammer is so highly praised by those who enjoy Australian rural noir. Happily for this reader, there are more Scarsdens in the series. #areadersjourney
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I enjoyed this book because I like books that employ the geography and climate as a “character” in the story. The heat and drought set the tone—despairing. The plot was a bit twisty, meaning you weren’t sure who the good guys and bad guys were all the time, and new elements were added along the way. The pace was a bit too slow, but maybe that fit with the languid oppressive heat. I hope the author tightens up the plot and/or pace on the next one, but I will definitely read another of his books.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
medium-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