The Core Dump

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Posts tagged with ‘hard-boiled’

Review: Thirteen

Posted 4 weeks, 1 day ago

Thirteen is a splendid near-future thriller with shades of noir and cyberpunk. Richard K. Morgan has created a complex and unfortunately believable dystopia in which humans are being genetically engineered to function better in certain roles, such as the title’s variant thirteen, engineered to be better soldiers.

The plot is well constructed and fast, with plenty of mayhem amid the question of what makes somebody more or less human, and Morgan’s world creation is first-rate.

Thirteen is about as good as it gets. Highly recommended.

Note that this is a very graphical novel both when it comes to violence and sex.

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Review: Cruel Zinc Melodies

Posted 3 months, 1 week ago

Cruel Zinc Melodies continues Glen Cook’s often wonderful Garrett, P.I. series, a heady mash-up of old-school hard-boiled private investigator fiction and swords-and-sorcery magic.

Unfortunately, Cook phoned this one in. The plot is all over the place with way too many subplots that never gel, and the laconic “P.I. voice” comes dangerously close to a parody of the genre rather than a homage.

Only for the hard-core fan of the series.

See all Glen Cook reviews at The Core Dump

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Review: Right as Rain

Posted 10 months, 1 week ago

Taking place in the seedy underbelly of Washington, D.C., George Pelecanos’s Right as Rain is a hard-boiled novel about racial tension set among drug dealers, junkies and corrupt cops.

Pelecanos writes with economy and grace, taking the time to bring his characters to life. The plot itself is not that special, but the characters and the vibrant portrayal of the crumbling city itself provide plenty of power to Right as Rain.

The feel is similar to HBO’s excellent The Wire, a show for which Pelecanos wrote several episodes.

If you liked The Wire, Right as Rain will do you solid.

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