Chaser

It seemed as though 30 stick-figure characters were introduced in the first few pages. Most of the villains were given titles, “the…” instead of names . The attempts at humor were scatological and would have been perfect in a middle school locker room. The good guys didn’t do much to justify the praise they gave themselves and each other. Nothing and nobody to root for and no clue as to why the authorities couldn’t find and apprehend the leading villain. The writing style was perhaps average for this genre, but certainly did nothing to enhance the ridiculous plot lines or the unappealing characters. This is a really bad book.

Okay, so Jack ain\’t what she used to be and Harry can only be overly offensive for so long. I like Konrath and I feel he is poking fun at himself and his characters. They are always over the top. Was glad to see the guys from \”What Happened to Lori\” show up. Chaser leaves you hanging though. You know what has to happen in the next one, of course, you don\’t know who all will be involved.

This is a very solid four, just-barely-edged-out-of five-star selection. Let me say at the outset, this particular book is NOT one of my favorite Konrath selections. Matter of fact, I’ll have to un-recommend it for anyone who’s squeamish (a huge problem for me) or who abhors, under any circumstances, humor that reduces itself to puns of an occasionally juvenile and scatological nature. I avoid the former, but have known to heartily embrace the latter. I liked this one because of its “latter,” regardless of all the one- and two-star naysayers, also because of the details I surprisingly find so many reviewers complaining about (someone once said, “In a tale I enjoy it’s not always the destination, it’s the journey.” Oh, yeah…that was me) and the frequent scene and character changes, the details that bring a setting alive. The characters are well-developed, although there are some mysteries that remain about their previous lives, each is very clearly good or evil, and even the good ones have an edge that makes you think might be worth exploring in greater detail. If there was anything I found annoying, it was Harry’s tendency, toward the end, to babble – even when he wasn’t whacked out under anesthesia. That and the name of Harry\’s pet capybara, who deserved better. But there\’s redemption in the self-deprecating and gallows humor, many of the intelligent folk I know aren\’t above engaging in such efforts, so in my life it\’s true to form; rather sad for those who do not. Unfortunately I have to shorten my list of absentee turnoffs with yet another caveat, because – although the primary plot does resolve – it leaves one fairly vital aspect open, which makes it a cliffhanger: My number one reason for marking any author DNR. (Konrath is probably the only author I\’ve found over the last 20 years or so who could persuade me to essentially buy a subsequent edition, but for a more subtle reason than to get the cliffhanger resolved: I simply love reading his work. Matter of fact, of the dozen or so contemporary authors I consistently read, he is the only one whose newsletter I\’ve signed up for and whose blog I am reading from day one.) If you’re still interested, and for those who are keeping score, here are the standings: (1) Zero paranormal/supernatural/magic components; (2) No profanity (I consider less than four instances to equal none); (3) No gooey romance; (4) One semi-explicit sex scene, but there is a somewhat consistent sexual undertone; (5) Violence (wet but not graphic enough to offend me and I\’m pretty gore-sensitive); (6) No graphic child abuse; (8) No animal abuse; (9) No alternative lifestyle agenda or promotion; (10) Grammar and punctuation police, come ahead on: I know you\’ll find something.

Without Kindle, I probably would have never found this author. Absolutely love Konrath’s books. A little far fetched at times, but that’s what imagination is about. Always a good read, the kind where you ignore other things you should be doing because you are too busy turning pages. Scary, funny, crazy, thrilling…. and love that he will give you a rating of what to expect on each category before reading!

When I was a child I LOVED the sideshow at the circus – all the different and VERY unusual characters on display. This book has characters stranger than anything PT Barnum could have ever imagined, all bound together in a complex but maintainable plot – you have to pay attention, but the characters are so crisply drawn that it is not a great effort to keep track. And the new characters keep arriving – the tension is high, and the plot keeps winding, unfolding and doubling back – and the ending is suitably exciting and bloodthirsty to satisfy the wildest taste. It\’s an exciting and a compelling read. And of course the characters and relationships from earlier books have to be reviewed, and while the book does end – it also leads to the next book. One warning from the beginning – each chapter is told from the point of view of a different character, so you need to be sure to check out the \”title\” at the head of each chapter, which tells you who is speaking. I missed that for the first couple of chapters, but confusion led to understanding and I thoroughly enjoyed the adventure.

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