kw: book reviews, mystery, short stories, asian theme
I thought a bit before I started reading Singapore Noir, edited by Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan. I like a well-written mystery, and this collection promised good writing, but just as a hammer can be used either to build or to destroy, good writing alone is no guarantee of a worthwhile reading experience.
Of the 14 stories, 11 are murder mysteries, although one is from the point of view of the victim and thus is no "mystery" at all, just noir drama. One is ambiguous, probably involves a murder, but is more about a curse based on native magic and another relates a disappearance that just might have been a killing. The one that is clearly not about murder searingly exposes class envy and cross-cultural love (or something like it, to use the Editor's phrase). Is it a surprise that I skimmed many of these, preferring not to have my nose rubbed in the grime of ugly things?
The last story of the collection deserves mention, the one story that made me unreservedly glad I'd read it. "Murder on Orchard Road" by Nury Vittachi does involve a murder, a very ingenious one. A chronically overworked Feng Shui master finds himself juggling overlapping events amidst high drama while solving the murder almost as an afterthought. Very clever and very well done.
Singapore is an odd place, sometimes called "Disneyland with a death penalty." If the vision of these authors is clear, one can see why.
Showing posts with label mystery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mystery. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 08, 2014
Saturday, August 15, 2009
This agent always gets his ghoul
kw: book reviews, fantasy, mystery, spies
It has been nearly fifty years since I read through my mother's collection of James Bond books. I guess that is time enough to warrant various parodies and other takeoffs of Ian Fleming's superspy. Simon R. Green's favored genre is supernatural horror with mystery mixed in, so his latest series, as yet untitled, places erstwhile members of the Bond family in such a setting. The Spy Who Haunted Me is the third in this series, which has titles that echo Fleming's.
Green borrows other tropes, including the name of his protagonist, Edwin Drood, from Charles Dickens's last, unfinished novel. The earlier Drood is the victim of a rather inept murder plot. This Drood is a force to be reckoned with. His cover name, Shaman Bond, and references to his famous "uncle James", establish the other connections.
The setting: Six secret agents, including Drood/Bond, are enticed into a sort of scavenger hunt through five seemingly unsolved mysteries, including Loch Ness and Roswell, New Mexico. The prize? The secrets of the most famous Independent Agent of them all, Alexander King, a failing nonagenarian.
In the world of this series, humankind is at risk from all the fantastic dream creatures we've imagined over the millennia, and more, including 53 kinds of space aliens (until a 54th shows up). The Droods, a large clan either gifted with second Sight, or so endowed by courtesy of a torc, a special amulet and necklace they wear, take on the challenge of protecting humanity from all of them. Magic has its place alongside science, and its facile use is a requirement for the Droods and several other classes of protective agent, even some CIA operatives.
It is really hard to say more without giving away too much. Half a century ago, I found Ian Fleming too enamored of sadism and graphic sex; reading him was less enjoyable than it might have been. Simon Green has fewer flaws, and is a better writer, with some rather cool ideas, even if many of them are treated like a magician's rabbits, pulled one after another out of a hat with little logic to hold them together. Fun escape literature.
It has been nearly fifty years since I read through my mother's collection of James Bond books. I guess that is time enough to warrant various parodies and other takeoffs of Ian Fleming's superspy. Simon R. Green's favored genre is supernatural horror with mystery mixed in, so his latest series, as yet untitled, places erstwhile members of the Bond family in such a setting. The Spy Who Haunted Me is the third in this series, which has titles that echo Fleming's.
Green borrows other tropes, including the name of his protagonist, Edwin Drood, from Charles Dickens's last, unfinished novel. The earlier Drood is the victim of a rather inept murder plot. This Drood is a force to be reckoned with. His cover name, Shaman Bond, and references to his famous "uncle James", establish the other connections.
The setting: Six secret agents, including Drood/Bond, are enticed into a sort of scavenger hunt through five seemingly unsolved mysteries, including Loch Ness and Roswell, New Mexico. The prize? The secrets of the most famous Independent Agent of them all, Alexander King, a failing nonagenarian.
In the world of this series, humankind is at risk from all the fantastic dream creatures we've imagined over the millennia, and more, including 53 kinds of space aliens (until a 54th shows up). The Droods, a large clan either gifted with second Sight, or so endowed by courtesy of a torc, a special amulet and necklace they wear, take on the challenge of protecting humanity from all of them. Magic has its place alongside science, and its facile use is a requirement for the Droods and several other classes of protective agent, even some CIA operatives.
It is really hard to say more without giving away too much. Half a century ago, I found Ian Fleming too enamored of sadism and graphic sex; reading him was less enjoyable than it might have been. Simon Green has fewer flaws, and is a better writer, with some rather cool ideas, even if many of them are treated like a magician's rabbits, pulled one after another out of a hat with little logic to hold them together. Fun escape literature.
Monday, November 24, 2008
An amplified autobio
kw: book reviews, fiction, mystery
I've never watched Law & Order, so the face on the cover meant nothing to me. But the title was intriguing. I am Not a Cop! is by Richard Belzer, who plays a detective on the TV show, "with Michael Black", Belzer's co-author and a seasoned policeman.
As the author makes clear in his Epilogue, the story and all characters are fictional, except that he lent his name and something of his personality to the lead character. That character is well-read, and often quotes an old book or movie…kinda reminds me of Captain Kirk in the original Star Trek, who also had an apt quote or two per episode.
The caper starts off with a missing friend, a Russian emigré who is at the point of retiring from being Medical Examiner. There is a surprising plot twist (one of the few I didn't see coming) regarding the missing man, so I'll take this in another direction. The story involves the involvement of the Russian mafiya in the diamond trade, and the very down-on-the-street aspect of the international shenanigans involved in laundering "conflict diamonds".
The Belzer character is something of a martial-arts expert, so there is a bit of rough-and-tumble every couple of chapters. There are also humorous scenes at the dojoun or school where he works out. The aging former movie star in old Kung Fu flicks, the proprietor's grandfather, has the part of the wise master…with a dash of John Wayne thrown in.
While it is the stock understanding that a smaller man can vanquish a larger one using martial arts, it is not so well known that this is only true if the larger man is entirely ignorant of fighting. Otherwise, a back-room rule applies: twenty pounds of muscle is worth two belts. That is, the bigger man will still win. The fight scenes lack versimilitude because of too much explainery. Anyone in a real fight who has to think it through that much, will lose. Fighting successfully is a matter of reaction, not analysis.
Every amateur detective needs a sidekick, preferably an attractive young woman. This one is Kali, a smart black woman with an attitude, who has been assigned by the studio to keep Belzer from getting into too much real-life trouble when he's off playing amateur cop as he tries to find his friend. She is soon recruited to take an equal part in the troublemaking. Just for spice, a similarly lovely Russian woman gets involved. It appears the missing M.E. has a long-lost daughter who also hopes to find him.
Flaws aside, the book is a page-turner, and for me, a welcome reprieve from the recent steady diet of nonfiction.
I've never watched Law & Order, so the face on the cover meant nothing to me. But the title was intriguing. I am Not a Cop! is by Richard Belzer, who plays a detective on the TV show, "with Michael Black", Belzer's co-author and a seasoned policeman.
As the author makes clear in his Epilogue, the story and all characters are fictional, except that he lent his name and something of his personality to the lead character. That character is well-read, and often quotes an old book or movie…kinda reminds me of Captain Kirk in the original Star Trek, who also had an apt quote or two per episode.
The caper starts off with a missing friend, a Russian emigré who is at the point of retiring from being Medical Examiner. There is a surprising plot twist (one of the few I didn't see coming) regarding the missing man, so I'll take this in another direction. The story involves the involvement of the Russian mafiya in the diamond trade, and the very down-on-the-street aspect of the international shenanigans involved in laundering "conflict diamonds".
The Belzer character is something of a martial-arts expert, so there is a bit of rough-and-tumble every couple of chapters. There are also humorous scenes at the dojoun or school where he works out. The aging former movie star in old Kung Fu flicks, the proprietor's grandfather, has the part of the wise master…with a dash of John Wayne thrown in.
While it is the stock understanding that a smaller man can vanquish a larger one using martial arts, it is not so well known that this is only true if the larger man is entirely ignorant of fighting. Otherwise, a back-room rule applies: twenty pounds of muscle is worth two belts. That is, the bigger man will still win. The fight scenes lack versimilitude because of too much explainery. Anyone in a real fight who has to think it through that much, will lose. Fighting successfully is a matter of reaction, not analysis.
Every amateur detective needs a sidekick, preferably an attractive young woman. This one is Kali, a smart black woman with an attitude, who has been assigned by the studio to keep Belzer from getting into too much real-life trouble when he's off playing amateur cop as he tries to find his friend. She is soon recruited to take an equal part in the troublemaking. Just for spice, a similarly lovely Russian woman gets involved. It appears the missing M.E. has a long-lost daughter who also hopes to find him.
Flaws aside, the book is a page-turner, and for me, a welcome reprieve from the recent steady diet of nonfiction.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Pets and their people solving mysteries, Berenson style
kw: book reviews, mystery, animal fiction
The Cat Who series by L.J. Braun leads the pack when it comes to animals that solve mysteris for their humans. The various series by Agatha Christie set the standard for mental thrillers that a sharp reader can figure out just ahead of the estimable H. Poirot or Miss Marple.
Laurien Berenson's Melanie Travis mysteries are replete with animals, mostly show dogs, that lend color but few clues. They are instead meant to provide cover, as the swirling silks of a magician, that help her hide the clues in plain sight. Without very diligent mental discipline, the reader gets the point just behind Ms. Travis—or whatever her married name is, in the lastest. And, where would Melanie be without her Aunt Peg?
That latest, Raining Cats & Dogs, is an enjoyable romp. Melanie is doing her best to compete in any arena where her aunt hasn't already dominated the field. So she begins training recently retired Faith (her champion Standard Poodle) in an Obedience class. This is not your ordinary "heel, roll over, play dead & shake hands" class. Many class members are seriously into getting their dog certified at various levels of competitive Obedience.
As a side project, many of Melanie & Faith's new classmates go to a retirement home to provide a couple of hours of companion dog service to the residents there. Of course, not all is well, neither in the class nor at the retirement home. These people have been together 'way too long, and it shows.
A tone I notice in the book, is that the scattered action—looking for a bigger house for a blended family that includes five full-size Poodles, getting used to a very new marriage, sharing a kid with an ex-spouse (fortunately, very amicably)—is justly suited to the Boomer and X generations. While my life has been on the quiet, conservative side, very many of my age-mates and their grown children seem to live in a maelstrom. I suspect that they won't just die when their time comes, they'll be pulled apart by the social whirl.
The thread I was able to unravel, was Melanie contriving to have a cat visit the woman who doesn't like the dogs. A satisfying touch. Otherwise, I was simply led down the garden path as the story unfolded. Matches my life...
The Cat Who series by L.J. Braun leads the pack when it comes to animals that solve mysteris for their humans. The various series by Agatha Christie set the standard for mental thrillers that a sharp reader can figure out just ahead of the estimable H. Poirot or Miss Marple.
Laurien Berenson's Melanie Travis mysteries are replete with animals, mostly show dogs, that lend color but few clues. They are instead meant to provide cover, as the swirling silks of a magician, that help her hide the clues in plain sight. Without very diligent mental discipline, the reader gets the point just behind Ms. Travis—or whatever her married name is, in the lastest. And, where would Melanie be without her Aunt Peg?
That latest, Raining Cats & Dogs, is an enjoyable romp. Melanie is doing her best to compete in any arena where her aunt hasn't already dominated the field. So she begins training recently retired Faith (her champion Standard Poodle) in an Obedience class. This is not your ordinary "heel, roll over, play dead & shake hands" class. Many class members are seriously into getting their dog certified at various levels of competitive Obedience.
As a side project, many of Melanie & Faith's new classmates go to a retirement home to provide a couple of hours of companion dog service to the residents there. Of course, not all is well, neither in the class nor at the retirement home. These people have been together 'way too long, and it shows.
A tone I notice in the book, is that the scattered action—looking for a bigger house for a blended family that includes five full-size Poodles, getting used to a very new marriage, sharing a kid with an ex-spouse (fortunately, very amicably)—is justly suited to the Boomer and X generations. While my life has been on the quiet, conservative side, very many of my age-mates and their grown children seem to live in a maelstrom. I suspect that they won't just die when their time comes, they'll be pulled apart by the social whirl.
The thread I was able to unravel, was Melanie contriving to have a cat visit the woman who doesn't like the dogs. A satisfying touch. Otherwise, I was simply led down the garden path as the story unfolded. Matches my life...
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