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ptstewart's review against another edition
3.0
River said, “We were wondering what’s going on.”
Puzzled, Lamb stared at River, then plucked the cigarette from his lips and stared at that instead, then returned it to his mouth and stared at River again.
“Eh?”
“We were—“
“Yeah, I got that. I was having a what-the-fuck moment.” He looked at Katherine. “You’re a drunk, so wondering what’s happening is a daily experience. What’s his excuse?”
Dead Lions lacks some of the thrill of Slow Horses. Without the 48 hour deadline, we feel less rushed, less pressured, and slightly less engaged. However, forgoing this timeframe gives us greater opportunity to take a peak at the scenery, so to speak, and it’s looking pretty good. Herron has yet to make a character particularly likable; in truth, I don’t really care for any of them, least of all River, but the characters have an uncanny ability to speak to the reader. Be it their blind determination, their grief, their snark and humor, or their sporadic and surprising displays of cunning, we can’t help but be at least a little interested. Chief among my lauds of Herron is his structure, which begs the reader to pay a-fucking-ttention, or you’ll miss something as he weaves between characters, settings, and intel. Sure, Dead Lions misses some of the sexy quality that Slow Horses had in the form of more than one beheading, but it steps up to the plate with the same intelligence and wit that tells the reader to strap in: something good is coming.
Puzzled, Lamb stared at River, then plucked the cigarette from his lips and stared at that instead, then returned it to his mouth and stared at River again.
“Eh?”
“We were—“
“Yeah, I got that. I was having a what-the-fuck moment.” He looked at Katherine. “You’re a drunk, so wondering what’s happening is a daily experience. What’s his excuse?”
Dead Lions lacks some of the thrill of Slow Horses. Without the 48 hour deadline, we feel less rushed, less pressured, and slightly less engaged. However, forgoing this timeframe gives us greater opportunity to take a peak at the scenery, so to speak, and it’s looking pretty good. Herron has yet to make a character particularly likable; in truth, I don’t really care for any of them, least of all River, but the characters have an uncanny ability to speak to the reader. Be it their blind determination, their grief, their snark and humor, or their sporadic and surprising displays of cunning, we can’t help but be at least a little interested. Chief among my lauds of Herron is his structure, which begs the reader to pay a-fucking-ttention, or you’ll miss something as he weaves between characters, settings, and intel. Sure, Dead Lions misses some of the sexy quality that Slow Horses had in the form of more than one beheading, but it steps up to the plate with the same intelligence and wit that tells the reader to strap in: something good is coming.
theogb451's review against another edition
5.0
Good spy thriller
Enjoyed this as much as book 1. Herron's way with writing is really excellent, the characters strong and bright.
As before, the TV adaptation brings in more action as well as pulling back a little on all the spy layers but broadening the plot.
Looking forward to watching S3 and then being able to compare.
Enjoyed this as much as book 1. Herron's way with writing is really excellent, the characters strong and bright.
As before, the TV adaptation brings in more action as well as pulling back a little on all the spy layers but broadening the plot.
Looking forward to watching S3 and then being able to compare.
sarah_kearney's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
jamelon13's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
valentina_f's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
vickig81's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
justin311's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
wduckworth's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.0
lauraborkpower's review against another edition
4.0
This would be a three-star instead of a four-star book if not for the narrative style of Herron, which I love.
His narration is omniscient, as it was in the first book of the series, and in this story he bookends a hypothetical cat entering Slough House with a hypothetical mouse entering Slough House. It is clever and fun, and it fit the story perfectly. The omniscient narrator also allows the reader into each and every character's head, into the past, and into the future. Herron knows how to use this, though, and doesn't give too much away or let us get much ahead of our characters.
I also enjoyed the Die Hard distraction-for-thievery aspect of this story. Herron even alludes to the movie as Louisa (I think) stands on the roof of the skyscraper with a quipping villain. Anything that plays with Die Hard is good by me. And I found that the narrator, Michael Healy, has an accent a bit like the late Alan Rickman, so it all came together nicely.
I'm looking forward to continuing this series.
His narration is omniscient, as it was in the first book of the series, and in this story he bookends a hypothetical cat entering Slough House with a hypothetical mouse entering Slough House. It is clever and fun, and it fit the story perfectly. The omniscient narrator also allows the reader into each and every character's head, into the past, and into the future. Herron knows how to use this, though, and doesn't give too much away or let us get much ahead of our characters.
I also enjoyed the Die Hard distraction-for-thievery aspect of this story. Herron even alludes to the movie as Louisa (I think) stands on the roof of the skyscraper with a quipping villain. Anything that plays with Die Hard is good by me. And I found that the narrator, Michael Healy, has an accent a bit like the late Alan Rickman, so it all came together nicely.
I'm looking forward to continuing this series.