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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
This book has a decent premise but it all feels like it needs some fleshing out, both the plot and the characters...perhaps especially the characters. The female characters seem to barely exist as little more than the faintest of outlines and I frankly have no idea why two of them (out of three) are even in the story. Nick Mason, the anti-hero, is okay but I feel like his own lifetime of bad decisions has landed him in his current situation and so he sort of deserves the mess he's in. As for pacing, things started out well but felt more rushed towards the end and overall the story had a superficial feeling. I think this may be the start of a series but I it works as a standalone and I may leave it at that.
I really enjoyed this start of a new series by Steve Hamilton. It was quick and interesting . It left room for speculation on what will happen in his next adventure.
Intriguing start to a new series by Hamilton. Mason is an interesting character with a purpose. He also has many flaws, which you really want to see in a lead character. It makes him more relatable. Looking forward to more adventures with Nick Mason.
Great story. The story didn't really have an ending, though. Maybe the author is setting up a sequel.
I heard a review of it on the radio that made it sound good but it wasn't.
Story about a guy who makes the wrong choices and ends up in prison. After 4 years he is introduced to one of the truly bad guys who appears to control things in the prison and also lots of things on the outside. He makes a deal to get out of prison and work for the guy for the remainder of his prison sentence (20 years).
He ends up doing things he doesn't want to like killing people but has to in able to stay alive and have no harm come to his family. The author describes the inner turmoil the guy is going thru after making these choices and how he wants to get out of it. Talks about corruption in the police department and one cop who is trying to get justice.
He ends up doing things he doesn't want to like killing people but has to in able to stay alive and have no harm come to his family. The author describes the inner turmoil the guy is going thru after making these choices and how he wants to get out of it. Talks about corruption in the police department and one cop who is trying to get justice.
Hmm... it's a good way to start a new series, I guess. I'm already all in on Steve Hamilton so this was fine and fun for me. If I was encountering him for the first time, I'm not sure I would have enjoyed this quite as much. Also "Nick Mason" is about the worst name for a convict turned samurai assassin that I can think of. It's bland, bland, bland.
There are some great set pieces and some weird bits left hanging. The speed with which Mason becomes a ruthless killer in order to ensure he can see his wife and child combined with the speed with which he gives them up and starts a relationship with another civilian is all a bit daft, but I'm nitpicking. Perfectly acceptable read for lazing on the couch.
There are some great set pieces and some weird bits left hanging. The speed with which Mason becomes a ruthless killer in order to ensure he can see his wife and child combined with the speed with which he gives them up and starts a relationship with another civilian is all a bit daft, but I'm nitpicking. Perfectly acceptable read for lazing on the couch.
Nick Mason goes to the Big House for 25-to-life, but gets a reprieve. He may be out of prison, but he is not free. He is at the end of a tether tied to Darius Cole, a crime overlord on Chicago’s South Side. All he wants is another chance with his daughter.
I picked this up on a whim -- hadn't heard of the author before, but it had some pretty nice blurbs, so I figured I'd give it a shot. Unfortunately, it's an almost cartoonishly generic and derivative bit of crime fiction. Basically, Nick Mason in prison for a long time -- but he's actually a good guy at heart. He was a thief who teamed up with the wrong guy once, a federal agent got killed, and he's took the fall for it, even though he didn't pull the trigger. Luckily, a crime lord who runs his Chicago empire from jail pull some strings to get him freed, but the catch is that he has to do whatever the crime lord tells him too (probably kill people). I've read enough crime fiction to at least be willing to go along with the idea that a crime boss in prison has enough juice to get a decorated detective to recant his testimony, but what I can't at all figure out is how the crime boss singled Mason as a promising talent to invest in -- this only happens because the plot demands it.
Meanwhile, there's an elite crime squad, who -- oh, yeah -- are corrupt too. Their paths will definitely cross with Mason's. There's also a nice pet store owner, who falls for Nick for no apparent reason. There are a bunch of fancy vintage sports cars... I dunno, there's not much to recommend here -- I guess the action sequences are well written, although even in those, it's hard to swallow that a small-time thief can suddenly morph into a special forces action hero. At the end of the day, it's not awful, but it's also not very good.
Meanwhile, there's an elite crime squad, who -- oh, yeah -- are corrupt too. Their paths will definitely cross with Mason's. There's also a nice pet store owner, who falls for Nick for no apparent reason. There are a bunch of fancy vintage sports cars... I dunno, there's not much to recommend here -- I guess the action sequences are well written, although even in those, it's hard to swallow that a small-time thief can suddenly morph into a special forces action hero. At the end of the day, it's not awful, but it's also not very good.