Reviews

Belfast Noir by Brian McGilloway, Ian McDonald, Garbhan Downey, Eoin McNamee, Glenn Patterson, Ludy Caldwell, Stuart Neville, Ruth Dudley Edwards, Claire McGowan, Arlene Hunt, Lee Child, Steve Cavanagh, Adrian McKinty, Alex Barclay, Gerard Brennan, Sam Millar

Only show reviews with written explanations

erincataldi's review against another edition

5.0

A collection of stories that packs a punch. Each crime/thriller/mystery short story is beautifully crafted and readers will lose themselves in the powerful and engrossing prose. The setting is the dark underbelly of Belfast. All the grime, murder, and violence found in Belfast shows itself in these stories. I can honestly say that there is not one story I didn't like, the dog fighting one was a little rough, but overall, I found myself totally digging all the stories. Some of the contributing authors are big names like Lee Child and Alex Barclay and others are little known, but amazing emerging authors. This noir anthology is a must for anyone interested in this genre, and even for those who aren't (like myself) because it's an impossibly hard to put down collection. Belfast show's its true colors (ie bloodstains) in this gritty collection. Thoroughly enjoyable!

mariandy's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

3.5

claudiaohare's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

a fantastic collection of short stories painting various aspects of life in belfast from school girl's crushes, fanatic paramilitaries, seedy thugs and heartbroken widows ~ vivid and captivating

gohoubi's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

bgg616's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Adrian McKinty and Stuart Neville have put together a terrific collection in the latest in the Akashic noir series, Belfast Noir. This volume introduces readers to several writers they may not have previously known including Steve Cavanagh, Claire McGowen, and Garbhan Downey. There are several authors included - Alex Barclay, Arlene Hunt and Sam Millar - who have a number of novels behind them but will be new to American readers . This collection shows us the range of what can be considered “noir” and stories range from comic to thrillers to violent (though never too graphic). Brian McGilloway’s opening story is a perfect introduction to the collection as it straddles both the past and present, and both sides of the border. The Troubles hover in the background and are sometimes forwarded as in Ruth Dudley Edward’s story Taking It Serious. I loved the premise of Glenn Patterson’s story Belfast Punk Rep which mentions Terri (Hooley we presume) and Good Vibrations (the record store and label). Perhaps my favorite story structure was Eoin McNamee’s Corpse Flowers, in which story segments are based on CCTV footage. I definitely want to read more of Sam Millar’s character Karl Kane, who has his own series of books. The Introduction “The Noirest City on Earth” by McKinty and Neville describes the evolution of the new generation of Ulster writers, giving much of the credit to a group of poets in the early 1970’s, including Seamus Heaney, Paul Muldoon, Ciaran Carson, and Michael Longley (among others), who “produced the greatest body of Irish literary work since the Celtic revival”. The short Foreword by David Torrans, proprietor of the only independent bookshop in Belfast, No Alibis, cements the link between the literary revival of the 1970’s instigated by poets, and crime fiction. For me the connection makes sense as Torrans and his shop provided the book tables with scores of poetry volumes at the Seamus Heaney Commemorative Conference at Queen’s University, Belfast in April of this year (2014). Additionally, Torrans hosts book launches and programs including authors and musicians beyond the mystery genre. This volume will make mystery readers around the world aware of Belfast’s great literary tradition.

sethmoko's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Collection of short stories all set in Belfast - even organized by streets I don't know.

A nice mix - discovered some authors I want to check out more of, which is I guess the point of a collection like this.

kristengbaker's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

This is a great collection of stories. I thought they captured the grittiness and history of the city while introducing well-developed characters. I was familiar with several of the authors included, but will definitely be looking into others that I haven't read before.

lep42's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

ericwelch's review

Go to review page

2.0

I'm not much of a fan of short fiction. Often I find that authors either don't know when to bring the story to a close, or, they end them too abruptly. But I do like to discover new authors through collections, and the series of city-based Noir tales published by Akashic (soon they might run out of cities; I doubt we'll see a Pelican Rapids Noir) can occasionally be a gold mine for finding new authors. How many I discover will affect my rating.

Edited by two favorite authors, Adrian McKinty and Stuart Neville, this one is devoted to stories in or around Belfast. There were a couple I really enjoyed, some others that were just OK, and a few that got quickly skimmed after reading the first couple pages. Generally, those written by authentic Irish authors fared the best. Unfortunately, there were too few stories that gripped me.

cdcsmith's review

Go to review page

4.0

As with most anthologies, some of the stories I really enjoyed and some, less so. I think the only negative I truly have for this book is that I have never been there, never mind lived there. As much as I've read (fiction and non-fiction) about the area, I don't have the same connection with the place as I did with Boston Noir. That isn't the fault of the writers, it just is. It's staying in my permanent collection though. I've also been introduced to a couple of writers I wouldn't otherwise know. I'll be looking to read more of their work.

More...