"The City in These Pages" reviewed again

[realthog]

And again favourably, this time by I.E. Lester at Polu Texni:

John Grant’s The City in these Pages is a hardboiled crime novella, dressed in science fictional clothes. Set in the city of New Amsterdam - an analogue of New York - two cops investigate a series of bizarre murders where the victims are the heads of the gangster families. Due to its sf overtones this is very unlikely to be read by traditional crime story fans. That’s a great shame for the majority of this book would be just their kind of thing. David Langford’s introduction compares this to Ed McBain’s tales of the 87th Precinct and it’s a very apt one.

But this comparison can also be extended to the classic PI novels. Grant has nailed the style down perfectly. It’s gritty yet full of humour. The city is a grim place and full of danger, yet people love it. You can imagine this is a world where people will compete to tell gory tales, each trying to outdo the next - trying to prove how their neighbourhood is more violent and more scary then everyone else’s. And running through it all is a mystery just as implausible and surreal yet easy to accept as any in the classic pulps.

 

Comments

[alaneer.livejournal.com]

Very nice :) Congrats!

[realthog.livejournal.com]

Many thanks!

[norilana.livejournal.com]

Fantastic! :-)

[realthog.livejournal.com]

Thanks! There was some singin and dancin goin on, you can bet!

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

Lovely.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

Many thanks! Before you ask, Pam's coping with the obvious consequence in her usual phlegmatic way.