by George Alec Effinger (1987)

The cyberpunk novel, When Gravity Fails delivers in it’s vivid sense of place and atmosphere. It’s the 22nd century and while some technological advancements have altered life incredibly, there are still scummy, red light districts and plenty of nere do wellers to occupy it. The lived in vitality is probably due to the author’s personal experiences in the French Quarter of New Orleans that  bears no small resemblance to the novel’s setting. In this case, the area is in the ascending Middle East (which has grown past the now fractionated West as a global power) and called Budayeen. It’s gated off from the rest of the region and home to our drug addicted semi-reluctant detective protagonist Audran.

This hard boiled, glamorized macho druggie persona was part of the my only issues with the book. I read lots of hard boiled genre books with equally questionable characters and even prefer to read about a severely flawed hero than the infallible type. Still, I tend to get understandably rubbed the wrong way by such characters when the author has no hint of humorous loathing, or at least eye rolling.

The plot is straight up noir, with little to distinguish itself aside from the plenty of modified prostitutes and crime lords and fictionalized technology. The idea mind modification is interesting and leads to added plot twists. Aside from body modifications that are no mystery to our modern world, Effinger imagines people wiring their minds for full personality modules (called “moddies”) while allows for James Bond and Nero Wolfe to make unexpected appearances. “Daddies” are like add ons which allow the user to have a certain skill while installed, like speaking an unknown language.

If you’re a fan of noir and cyberpunk, When Gravity Fails is perfect summer time fodder, if you’re unsure, it’s worth a try if you don’t mind grisly stuff.

See more: Books 1980s Mysteries Noir Sci-Fi

Be the first to leave a comment →
Posted on July 11, 2010

by David Peace (1999)

David Peace‘s Nineteen Seventy Four is both a typical and atypical serial killer drama. Typical in that it focuses on a overly creative killer who leaves behind a trail of the kind of imagery pop-pulp authors can not seem to write enough of these days; typical in that I could almost exactly envision the BBC series it would spawn (actually, as I’ll mention later, 1974 – along with the other books in the quartet – has already been made into a series which will be in theaters soon); and typical in its gritty toughness.

Yet it’s atypical in just how gritty and tough it gets. This book, filled with violent beatings and equally violent love, is one that gets your hands and mind dirty. It’s also atypical in its staccato voice, which makes the giant, convoluted web of conspiracy, corruption and madness a little side-of-the-head-whoppingly hard to follow.

There were definitely times where I had to re-read pages, lost in the pacing, the references to British pop culture of the seventies, and the slang. Not to mention a list of character names that confuse, not in a Dostoevskian way with their complexity, but in their commonality (Johns, Roberts, and Eddies abound).

The first part of a quartet (I have the other three coming in the mail), Peace’s heralded crime drama was inspired by the horrific crimes of Peter Sutcliffe, aka The Yorkshire Ripper, though the child killer here is only one part of a whole cast of genuinely horrible people that litter the city. Heroes are not to be found in this world, which makes this a recommendation with a particular admonishment: this novel is not for the faint-hearted and it is not for those that want to feel good.

The theatrical release of the adaptation (starring among others, Sean Bean) comes to IFC Feb 5 but the entire series is available on DVD for region 2 players.

Click here for the rest of Nineteen Seventy Four

See more: Books 1990s Mysteries Noir

Be the first to leave a comment →
Posted on January 31, 2010

By Lisa Reardon (2004)

Lisa Reardon is known as the queen of redneck noir and Mercy Killers is actually the second novel of her’s that I’ve read – Billy Dead being the first – and, like Billy Dead, it’s no cake walk. The world she creates is a grim one rife with abuse, death, drugs, poverty, alcoholism and hopelessness around every corner.

The time is the late sixties and the novel follows a group of trashy friends from early tragedy to the Vietnam years. Some of them go into combat, none come back the same. I won’t give too much of the plot away but, suffice to say, bad things happen to bad people.

What makes the book so readable (albeit depressing) is Reardon’s voice, which somehow makes the characters compelling and sympathetic or, if not exactly sympathetic, at least understandable in their rottenness. After doing some research on the author after finishing the book, I may have figured out why she’s so in tune with the sordid world she depicts!

Just a few months ago, Reardon was jailed for attempting to murder her father with a shotgun. He survived the attack, a fact that prompted her to say “I just cannot believe I missed. I will never get another chance.” Read the full article here.

Click here for the rest of The Mercy Killers

See more: Books 2000s Noir True Crime

Be the first to leave a comment →
Posted on November 15, 2009

The definitive message behind the enthralling but dreary The Friends of Eddie Coyle, which stars an aged Robert Mitchum as a career small-time criminal, is that crime does not pay.

Far from the usual glamorized Hollywood image of criminals, everyone here is a snitch, a backstabber, a thief or about to go down with barely a penny to their name. It's a tough, unsentimental look at the world of crime, the shots are somewhat bleak and harshly lit, and even the action sequences, while still tense, are non-stylized.

Mitchum, who I adore in anything, is superb as the weary and desperate Coyle. Director Peter Yates, whose resume is uneven (he helmed the iconic Bullitt, the weird Mother, Juggs and Speed and Krull but later served time on a sentimental D.B. Sweeney vehicle), is also at his best.

The film is based on a best selling novel by George V Huggins, who was a major influence on James Ellroy.

See more: Movies 1970s Crime Drama Noir

Be the first to leave a comment →
Posted on September 21, 2009

When you're dealing with a writer like Jack Vance (probably the most recommended author on this blog), even his minor entries read like major feats of awesomeness compared to most books you will read.?Galactic Effectuator is a slender compilation of two novellas about Miro Hetzel, a private detective willing to take on cases that take him to the furthest reaches of his galaxy.

The first story takes us way out to the absolute edge of the Gaean Reach (the region of space containing planets civilized by humanity) to a planet called Maz, a border planet overseen by an uneasy alliance of alien cultures inhabited by a most interesting and unusual race of native warriors called the Gomaz. Maz is a stopping point for rogues, people who want to disappear and tourists who consider themselves 'adventure travelers' longing to catch a glimpse of the bloody, ritualistic and regular Gomaz inter-tribal battles.

Hetzle heads to Maz to uncover the truth behind corporate espionage and meets a surly assassin driven nearly insane by an elaborate prank and an intriguing lady he wouldn't mind taking out on a date.

The second book concerns a much more personal matter when a man, after being drugged and abducted, realizes his manhood has been surgically replaced with someone else's, making it impossible to sire his own children. immediately (and correctly) suspecting his wife's former suitor, the mad surgeon Faurence Dacre, he turns to Hetzle for help.

Hetzle makes for a charming, witty sleuth in the tradition of Sherlock Holmes. He even gathers all the players in a room at the end as he announces his findings. Set in the always brilliant world of Vance's imagination, the fusion of detective and fantasy genres is absolutely delightful.

See more: Books 1980s Noir Sci-Fi

Be the first to leave a comment →
Posted on July 6, 2009