Batman: Dark Victory (Jeff Loeb & Tim Sale, 1999)

The only beef I have with Batman: Dark Victory is that it's a novel that relies on you having read it's predecessor (The Long Halloween) to understand what's going on. Fortunately, I have and whilst Dark Victory follows a very similar premise to Halloween (Batman, Gordon et al are on the search for a serial killer who murders on holidays), it is, in true sequel fashion, it is a continuation rather than a retread, with character motivations and plot points consequential of events that happened in the previous novel.

Like most of the prominent Batman graphic novel, Dark Victory is dark, brutal and somewhat pessimistic. You can see key influences in terms of style and dialogue that Christopher Nolan pinched for his epic Batman sequel and whilst Dark Victory is not as well known as The Long Halloween (which, in fairness, is the one where much of The Dark Knight's style came from), it's something of a shame as it is equally interesting and shocking. I didn't even mind that they introduced Robin.

I am somewhat biased towards anything in the Batman-verse but I liked Dark Victory as much as the likes of The Long Halloween, The Dark Knight Returns and The Killing Joke. Jeff Loeb and Tim Sale collaborated on yet another Batman novel called Haunted Knight and have given Catwoman her own yarn called When In Rome (set during her six month disappearance in Dark Victory) both of which I'm eager to read.

Batman is my homeboy.

4.5/5

American Tabloid (James Ellroy, 1995)

Think JFK by way of the film adaptation of L.A. Confidential and you have American Tabloid.

I have always been fascinated with much of modern American history dating from the communist witch hunts of the 50's through to Watergate and the Frost/Nixon interviews. It's this back drop that Ellroy uses as the basis of his Underworld USA trilogy (Tabloid is followed by The Cold Six Thousand and Blood's A Rover) and whilst much of what happens is based around real life moments in history such as J. Edgar Hoover's continued crack down on communism and the Bay of Pigs fiasco, the central figures are entirely fictional, as are their actions. The Kennedy's, Hoover, Jimmy Hoffa and Howard Hughes are all prominent figures in the narrative but this is Ellroy's take on America and, as such, there's a seedy underbelly that is exposed and a world where everyone, no matter how good their intentions, ends up corrupted or chewed out.

Whilst there were certain historical moments that were skimmed over (the Cuban missile crisis is only mentioned in passing), for the most part, the book is near note perfect. The initial set up of labyrinth connections and sub plots pay off in spades as the narrative is given room to breath in the middle act, all of which is neatly rounded up in the build to the assassination of JFK. There are crosses, double crosses, double and triple agents whose loyalties are tested when all sides they're infiltrating end up at odds with each other. There are no heroes here, only varying degrees of filth and even the historical figures, most noticeably Jack and Bobby Kennedy and J. Edgar Hoover, are portrayed in a scathing light.

As a complex tale of greed, corruption and political espionage it's a winner. As a character study of those involved in politically motivated organised crime you end up hating everyone. And the main crux here is involvement. From the blistering set up, Ellroy's prose and staccato, urban language put you in the time frame where violence is a necessary evil and casual racism is a way of life (one character is a die hard member of the Klu Klux Klan).

If you haven't read any Ellroy I recommend you start here. Hand's down one of the finest novels ever written. It makes you feel somewhat dirty afterwards but it's seriously compelling and gripping stuff.

It was Time magazine's novel of the year (1995) for a reason.

5/5

The Killer Inside Me (Jim Thompson, 1952)

“Probably the most chilling and believable first-person story of a criminally warped mind I have ever encountered,” boasts the cover of pretty much every copy of Jim Thompson’s controversial novel. The quote comes from Stanley Kubrick and whilst I did find the first-person account genuinely unsettling at times, I wouldn't rave about it as much as he did (though it still is very good).

Arguments have stemmed with regards to both the book and it’s recent 2010 film adaptation in terms of its violence, especially concerning the violence directed at women. Whilst I don’t condone the nature of these chapters (and can imagine that they’ll be very difficult to watch on film) they do what they’re supposed to do: make the reader feel physically repulsed. The casual nature of the narrative is, as Kubrick said, quite chilling and the sharp bursts of misogyny from a man who eventually goes on to explain his general hatred for women are shocking and horrid. Coupled with the fact that much of the rest of the violence our protagonist commits is never really dwelled upon in nearly as much detail makes those moments of misogyny all the more repugnant. Did I like them? No. I find them somewhat problematic and in light of the new film, the debate on their necessity will be a long drawn out affair.

The unfortunate thing is that these moments overshadow the rest of the narrative, which, by all accounts, is a well thought out and very compelling noir novel. It’s brief at only 220 pages but as Lou Ford’s situation worsens the dread permeates throughout. Especially after the protracted scenes of violence, the fact that he is the narrator does nothing the stem the readers’ hatred for a man as despicable as he.

Had it not been so misogynistic, I probably would’ve enjoyed it a hell of a lot more. I just can’t find any reason for those chapters other than to shock.

4/5

The Girl Who Played With Fire (Stieg Larsson, 2006)

As far as sequels go, The Girl Who Played With Fire (TGWPWF) ups the anti in pretty much every way. This time round, our girl of the title, Lisbeth Salander, is on the run after being implicated in the murder of three people, all of whom happen to be involved in the exposing of Sweden’s sex trafficking business. As with it’s predecessor, everything is far from what it seems and what follows is a labyrinth thrill ride that, whilst having a certain element of disbelief, jumping the shark if you will, come the final reveal (something The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (TGWTDT) managed not to do), the journey there is much faster paced and thrilling till the cliff-hanger climax.

So why only 4 points instead of 5? Well again, like TGWTDT, this one suffers from a workman like prose that almost hinders the story. Think Dan Brown but not quite as ridiculous. Also, the first 200 pages are just flat out dull, with Salander taking a year long break in Caribbean that includes a sub-plot that not only goes nowhere but also does nothing to add to the main narrative. Larsson also seems obsessed with the mundane. Frankly, I don’t give a tinkers fuck what Lisbeth decided to buy in IKEA whilst refurbishing her apartment, yet Larsson, in the books most painfully dragged out sequence, spends pages telling us.

But, after putting up with the boredom, I was rewarded with a hugely entertaining piece of pulpy modern crime fiction. The twists are satisfying, the plot progression seems almost pitch perfect and there are plenty of characters you love to hate. I don’t think it’s as good as the first one (although that itself was scuppered by it’s final 100 pages) but it’s also quite a bit different.

There will be a good long pause before I move onto the final chapter, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest. In the meantime I might indulge in some more James Ellroy, having just purchased his Underworld USA trilogy.

4/5

Blockade Billy (Stephen King, 2010)

Whilst being quite enjoyable to read, the main problem with Blockade Billy is that it’s ultimately a pointless endeavour. At only eighty pages long, it begs the question as to why this was released as a separate publication when there have certainly been longer works in King’s back catalogue that were part of his ever growing collections of short stories (e.g.: The Mist in Skeleton Crew and The Little Sister of Eluria in Everything’s Eventual).

It’s still pretty good though. Not a masterpiece but certainly no failure. In typical King fashion the story centres around a baseball player by the name of William “Blockade Billy” Blakely who, whilst being very popular, harbours a dark secret. As it turns out, said secret isn’t anything we haven’t read about before in King’s work and as it turns out, the majority of the time is spent setting up how great the man is at baseball. King is obviously an avid fan of the sport but after the first game, it gets a little tiring, even at such a short page count.

It’s entertaining enough. I would consider it a middling story if it were included in a collection.

It also comes with a “Bonus Story” called Morality, which is almost the same length. I haven’t read it yet.

3/5

The Forever War (Joe Haldeman, 1974)

The closest I’ve delved into science fiction, in terms of literature at least, would be Stephen King’s The Tommyknockers, which despite featuring extraterrestrials, is most definitely a horror story whichever way you cut it. My problem with sci-fi has always been the fundamental similarities the genre has with fantasy, a genre that I have always struggled to get into. So when a friend of mine recommended The Forever War, I was immediately sceptical.

As it turns out, it now ranks as one of my favourite books. It deals with the very nature of light travel and the repercussions of relativity in terms of travelling from one side of the galaxy to the other through wormhole like gateways named colapsars. In essence, although our protagonist is enlisted in the war for what feels like four years, back on earth well over 1000 years have past. In that time, the human population has grown out of control and, as a way of birth control, the world governments have actively promoted homosexuality to the point where being heterosexual is considered abnormal.

I loved it. It reminded me of a more anti-war version of Starship Troopers without the bugs. The scenes of war are brutal and intense (as is the initial training regime that opens the book) and the ramifications of coming back to such a radically changed world is just fascinating.

It’s bleak and is quite openly anti-war (Haldeman himself is a veteran of Vietnam) but I don’t think I have read a book quite so engrossing and brilliantly written since Stephen King’s Wizard and Glass.

It is up in my top five books of all time for sure.

5/5