Pegasus Descending

I’m a huge Burke fan and have first editions of most of his novels. His use of language, his manner of putting words together to create images that linger is simply unsurpassed by any other living American author, but I have to say that this one wasn’t up to his usual magic. Louisiana stays just as fascinating (though tarnished a good bit with time, pollution and drugs) but the characters seemed more shallow or flawed. Clete the enigma is simply past the age of lusting after young women–or should be . Dave is focused too much on his alcoholic past. Too many characters with too many stories/plots get convoluted in what would have been a fine story with fewer of them intertwined. And I missed the mysticism that floats through some of his other novels. His novels are still better than the Connelly’s or Coben’s out there, but just not up to his usual.

What characters you have created and sustain in your novels. Dave is terrific but Clete is off the charts good. Make a movie about this book or any of your books and choose John Goodman to play Clete.

The words you choose and descriptions you weave are like photographs. The reader is there and can see what you see. Your characters are very real people with all of their faults, frailties and strengths. A very real pleasure to read your books.

JLB is an amazing writer. HIs descriptive language is wonderful. The stories always have twists and turns so that it is difficult to predict the final outcome. The characters come off the pages at you so that you feel that you have known them for a long time. You feel like you are there when he describes New Iberia or Montana. I hate it when the last page is turned. But then I can’t wait t for the next JLB masterpiece to come out – no matter whether it’s in Montana or New Iberia. I know it will be hard to put down.

Few if any writers of popular crime fiction today are as adept with the English language as James Lee Burke. Whether he’s describing personal dysfunction, the sounds and smells of Cajun country, the philosophy of violence or the irrestible characters who move through his Dave Robicheaux stories, Burke is the master. But he not only knows how to string words together: he also spins a tale that holds your interest tightly until he finally turns you loose at the very end, when the person you don’t think did it, turns out to be the one who did. Of course, Burke writes the same novel over and over: Dave and Clete and the wonderfully conceived character of Sheriff Helen Soileau, confronting the evil rich people and crooked officials around New Iberia, Louisiana. This novel is no exception. However, this familiar Burke plot is one that we his fans have come to know and feel comfortable with. In this book, Dave and Clete are getting up in age and are starting to mellow — just a little. In other words, they’re starting to grow up. But lest you think this spells tedium for the reader, think again. Burke manages to keep the fuses lit and there is enough righteous and often violent retribution to keep his fans satisfied. All in all, I think this may be Burke’s best Robicheaux novel. Unlike many successful novelists with a long chain of successes behind them, Burke just seems to be getting better and better. Which is very good news for his fans.

This series is one i never forget . I’ve been , briefly to Louisiana , it’s beautiful but I don’t think I’d want to live there but when you see it through Dave Robicheaux ‘s eyes it calls to you .. His love for his wife , his best friend Clete and Sheriff Helen I a beauty all in its own . Mr..Burke finds a way to make you understand and empathize with the kind of people you would shy away from . Poetic justice at its finest

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