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Jun 2016
10:16am, 22 Jun 2016
10,387 posts
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Columba
Sorry, Daz.
(About collaring Bint's Magnus Mills).
Am in Youngest Son's flat, and last night found a copy of "The Great Gatsby" on his bookshelves; almost certain it was my copy, or rather my mother's, originally (Penguin, 2/6d) and he's happy for me to take it away so I have something for the train home later today.
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Jun 2016
11:36am, 22 Jun 2016
6,595 posts
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Seratonin
I forgot to say earlier that I had finished the final part of the Leo Demidov trilogy by Tom Rob Smith. I enjoyed this series. All three books are different and not written to a formula. They are all worth a read if you like political thrillers with a twist. A quick synopsis of the books in order:
Child 44 - Set in 1950's Russia a serial killer is on the loose killing young children. The Stalin regime being "a perfect state" does not allow the concept of a serial killer. Leo Demidov is an officer in the KGB recognises the links between the children's deaths and risks his life and career in pursuit of the killer. (the book paints a chillingly vivid picture of the fear and suspicion that pervaded life within Russia under Stalin)
The Secret Speech - Leo now heads up a Homicide Department in Moscow. High profile figures are being killed and they seem to be being targeted by a group of underground radicals. One of Leo's daughters is kidnapped and he is forced to undertake a secret mission to release a radical prisoner from a Russian gulag to secure her release. Also, "private" transcript of a speech given by Khrushchev to the Politburo condemning aspects of Stalin's regime is surfacing across the country. (this book paints a picture of the criminal underground, gulags and ends In Budapest at the height of the Hungarian uprising)
Agent 6 - A black American Communist visits Moscow to perform a concert. This sets off a chain of events which leads to his assassination outside the UN building in New York 20 years later. The official story is that he is killed by Leo Demidov's wife who is heading up a group of Russian school children on an official concert tour to improve US/Russian relations. Leo cannot accept the official version but given his KGB past cannot leave Russia. (this book switches between Russia and the US. It gives an idea of what it would have been like for a US citizen to have been a Communist during the 50's and 60's. Interestingly, the book spends some time in Afghanistan during the Russian occupation)
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Jun 2016
11:49am, 22 Jun 2016
11,925 posts
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mulbs
nicely done Seratonin  you've tempted me
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Jun 2016
12:17pm, 22 Jun 2016
1,664 posts
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DazTheSlug
Apart from Magnus Mills, other authors I have read for the first time recently that have inspired me to get more by include Paul Auster, Will Self, Thomas Pynchon, Elmore Leonard (and now Mikhail Bulgakov!)
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Jun 2016
12:21pm, 22 Jun 2016
11,929 posts
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mulbs
Daz - did you enjoy the Master and Margarita?
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Jun 2016
12:25pm, 22 Jun 2016
9,377 posts
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Sharkie
Haven't read any Elmore Leonard for a few years Daz ... but I was a woman hooked after the first one. He's an excellent writer IMHO. I felt the same about Paul Auster but one I tried to reread recently left me cold. All down to mood at the time I guess.
Loved Master and Margarita but it's nearly 50 years since I read it!
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Jun 2016
12:28pm, 22 Jun 2016
9,378 posts
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Sharkie
Once I got used to it I really liked the way Elomore Leonard tackles dialogue.
Then again senility might be taking hold and I'm thinking of another American 'crime' writer....
George V Higgins? Mmmm, perhaps I am. He's VG too.
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Jun 2016
1:26pm, 22 Jun 2016
6,613 posts
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Seratonin
I don't read a lot of historical fiction but I am currently reading book 2 in Robyn Young's Insurrection trilogy (Insurrection/Renegade/Kingdom). It is the story of of the tension and politics between Scotland and England during the reign of Edward I. The books are written with the character of Robert Bruce as the sympathetic hero.
I had previous read Robyn's previous trilogy (Brethren/Crusade/Requiem) which is about the Knights Templar and the Crusades.
I am not learned enough to know how close to real life her books are. I guess she does a lot of research on the historical facts and then weaves these into her stories. She writes well and the books are paced to keep you interested in the story.
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Jun 2016
1:28pm, 22 Jun 2016
1,665 posts
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DazTheSlug
I'm about 3/4 through M&M and finding it ASTOUNDING - like a cross between Kafka and Alice In Wonderland!
I read GVH's "The Friends Of Eddie Coyle" last year and it was a 10/10 jobby (I love the movie also)
crime-writer-wise lined up to try include: James Ellroy, James M. Cain, Jim Thompson, Richard Stark, Richard Price...
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Jun 2016
1:40pm, 22 Jun 2016
9,379 posts
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Sharkie
My fave rave GVH is 'Outlaws' but I don't own it and fear it's out of print. But would I love it as much if I found it now? Always a risk!
I suspect I would love M&M as much as my teenage self. I only read it because I knew it was part inspiration for Sympathy for the Devil (one of my fave rave* Stones songs of all time)
* sorry about constant use of 'fave rave'. Am child of the 1960s. Am in fact baby boomer.
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