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ibnjah's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
bugeys's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
GAY RIGHTS
johnkuznik's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.75
annamikulec's review
adventurous
dark
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
5.0
shaunthehugo's review
adventurous
dark
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
nickzee's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
6pminhell's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-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? Yes
3.75
dragonbonechair's review
4.0
“Heat 2” by Meg Gardiner and Michael Mann is both a prequel and sequel to Michael Mann’s 1995 classic LA crime drama “Heat.”
The book follows the main characters from the film: Vincent Hanna, Neil McCauley, and Chris Shiherlis. The book is divided into a prequel set in 1988 and then a sequel set after the events of the film. There is also a brief recap towards the beginning of what happened at the end of the film.
The book cuts across not only decades but locations. In addition to LA, we spend time in the book in Chicago, Vegas, the border of Mexico, Singapore, and Paraguay. This gives it a different flavor than the movie particularly the scenes in Paraguay, not only because of locale but because of that story beat being focused a lot on computer hardware and malware.
The strongest part of this novel is definitely the stretch of the book that takes place in 1988, the prequel part. Because it is the prequel we get to spend time with Neil, something we obviously couldn’t do in the later parts of the novel. The 1988 sections of the book also do the best job of being in service to the film, fleshing out the characters. While this was not necessary it does make future watches of the movie a richer experience. You understand a little bit more of why the characters behave in the ways that they do in the film.
The sections with Chris in Paraguay were my least favorite due to him being so removed from both the world and characters from the film. This didn’t ruin my enjoyment but it just wasn’t as compelling as other story beats.
My reason for giving it less than five stars has to do with the 2 dimensionally drawn antagonist of the novel, Otis Wardell. Whereas Neil serves as a nuanced foil to Hanna in the film this dude is one step away from twirling his mustache. A morally depraved sadist who I feel was written that way for Chris and Neil to play the role of “good guys” for lack of better phrasing. The world of Heat that Mann has crafted features so many multi faceted individuals that this antagonist was disappointing and uninteresting when stacked up next to not only the characters introduced in the film but also others we meet for the first time in this novel.
On a personal note, because I loved the character, I do wish we could have spent more time with Lauren, Hanna’s step daughter from the film. She gets one scene and it’s a phone conversation. Same for Charlene and Justine, barely any time is devoted to them. We spend so much of the film with these ladies only for them to be pushed aside for new female characters who for the most part I didn’t have an affinity for. One of whom gets fridged for man pain, a trope that feels dated for a novel written in the 2020s. I know the novel is set in the 90s, it doesn’t mean it still needs to follow tired tropes from that decade as well.
Other than that I think fans of the film will appreciate reading this. It is cinematic with the clever and sharp dialogue we loved from the movie. I also recommend reading and listening to the audiobook at the same time, the narrator’s Pacino voice for Hanna was a standout voice character.
I had a good time reading about how Neil, Vincent, and Chris they became the characters we loved from the film but also where their lives took them post 1995.
The book follows the main characters from the film: Vincent Hanna, Neil McCauley, and Chris Shiherlis. The book is divided into a prequel set in 1988 and then a sequel set after the events of the film. There is also a brief recap towards the beginning of what happened at the end of the film.
The book cuts across not only decades but locations. In addition to LA, we spend time in the book in Chicago, Vegas, the border of Mexico, Singapore, and Paraguay. This gives it a different flavor than the movie particularly the scenes in Paraguay, not only because of locale but because of that story beat being focused a lot on computer hardware and malware.
The strongest part of this novel is definitely the stretch of the book that takes place in 1988, the prequel part. Because it is the prequel we get to spend time with Neil, something we obviously couldn’t do in the later parts of the novel. The 1988 sections of the book also do the best job of being in service to the film, fleshing out the characters. While this was not necessary it does make future watches of the movie a richer experience. You understand a little bit more of why the characters behave in the ways that they do in the film.
The sections with Chris in Paraguay were my least favorite due to him being so removed from both the world and characters from the film. This didn’t ruin my enjoyment but it just wasn’t as compelling as other story beats.
My reason for giving it less than five stars has to do with the 2 dimensionally drawn antagonist of the novel, Otis Wardell. Whereas Neil serves as a nuanced foil to Hanna in the film this dude is one step away from twirling his mustache. A morally depraved sadist who I feel was written that way for Chris and Neil to play the role of “good guys” for lack of better phrasing. The world of Heat that Mann has crafted features so many multi faceted individuals that this antagonist was disappointing and uninteresting when stacked up next to not only the characters introduced in the film but also others we meet for the first time in this novel.
On a personal note, because I loved the character, I do wish we could have spent more time with Lauren, Hanna’s step daughter from the film. She gets one scene and it’s a phone conversation. Same for Charlene and Justine, barely any time is devoted to them. We spend so much of the film with these ladies only for them to be pushed aside for new female characters who for the most part I didn’t have an affinity for. One of whom gets fridged for man pain, a trope that feels dated for a novel written in the 2020s. I know the novel is set in the 90s, it doesn’t mean it still needs to follow tired tropes from that decade as well.
Other than that I think fans of the film will appreciate reading this. It is cinematic with the clever and sharp dialogue we loved from the movie. I also recommend reading and listening to the audiobook at the same time, the narrator’s Pacino voice for Hanna was a standout voice character.
I had a good time reading about how Neil, Vincent, and Chris they became the characters we loved from the film but also where their lives took them post 1995.