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A review by misterjay
L.A. Noire: The Collected Stories by Megan Abbott, Joyce Carol Oates, Lawrence Block, Joe R. Lansdale, Andrew Vachss, Duane Swierczynski, Francine Prose, Jonathan Santlofer
4.0
It would be tempting to dismiss L.A. Noire: The Collected Stories as a marketing gimmick if only the stories were not so good. The stories, after all, are based on Rockstar Games' 'L.A. Noire', a mystery and crime video game centered in Los Angeles in the nineteen forties. As such, the idea of having a volume of crime stories set in the same world and based on some of the same characters and plot points might seem a little heavy handed.
However, in assembling the volume, Rockstar Games pulled in some of the best crime fiction writers around (including one of my favorites, and the reason I bought the book, Joe R. Lansdale) to produce these stories. And they are good.
Although there are only eight stories, and they are different in tone and in style, they work together to showcase the world of the game. What kind of people inhabit this environment and end up in these situations? How do these crimes come about? The book answers these questions without ever stooping to unnecessary exposition, or, worse, marketing speak.
In short, this is a volume of crime stories that any fan of the genre will want to read regardless of whether they have played the game on which the stories are based.
However, in assembling the volume, Rockstar Games pulled in some of the best crime fiction writers around (including one of my favorites, and the reason I bought the book, Joe R. Lansdale) to produce these stories. And they are good.
Although there are only eight stories, and they are different in tone and in style, they work together to showcase the world of the game. What kind of people inhabit this environment and end up in these situations? How do these crimes come about? The book answers these questions without ever stooping to unnecessary exposition, or, worse, marketing speak.
In short, this is a volume of crime stories that any fan of the genre will want to read regardless of whether they have played the game on which the stories are based.