Average customer rating:
- Great Read
- Unabridged Audio Book
- Atmospheric and well-written
- Strong Woman
- An entertaining read
|
Killshot
Elmore Leonard
Manufacturer: HarperTorch
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
 General
| Mystery
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Leonard, Elmore
| ( L )
| Authors, A-Z
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
Paperback
| Leonard, Elmore
| ( L )
| Authors, A-Z
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Leonard, Elmore
| ( L )
| Authors, A-Z
| Mystery & Thrillers
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Paperback
| Leonard, Elmore
| ( L )
| Authors, A-Z
| Mystery & Thrillers
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Mystery & Thrillers
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Mystery
| Mystery & Thrillers
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
All 4-for-3 Deals
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Split Images
-
LaBrava
-
Unknown Man #89
-
The Hot Kid : A Novel
-
Hombre
ASIN: 0060512245
Release Date: 2003-01-28 |
Book Description
It's not Carmen Colson and her ironworker husband Wayne's fault that they were in the real estate office when a pair of thugs walked in with extortion on their minds. But as far as aging Ojibway Indian hit man Armand Degas is concerned the Colsons are going to have to pay dearly for seeing too much . . . and for the damage Wayne inflicted on Armand and his sicko partner Richie Nix with a tire iron. The cops here in middle-of-nowhere Michigan can't help Carmen and Wayne out, and the best the Feds can offer is the Witness Protection Program. So ultimately it's going to have to come down to one wife, one husband, two killers . . . and one lethal shot.
Download Description
E-book extras: "Martin Amis Interviews 'The Dickens of Detroit'"; Elmore Leonard's "If It Sounds Like Writing, Rewrite It"; "All By Elmore: The Crime Novels
Customer Reviews:
Great Read.......2007-07-14
Was not familiar with this author's work before (although movies have been made for several of his books). Thought this book was a great lark! A well-written action story with memorable characters. A wry sense of humor pervades the story-line. I found it hard to put down and have now put Elmore Thomas on my author's list for more reads by this creative writer.
Unabridged Audio Book.......2006-10-04
Rider Strong reads this book with an impassioned, evocative style. I really like the way he reads one of the main characters, Armand Degas, an Ojibway. He gets the deep tone and cadence down pat. It must have been how Elmore Leonard heard the character as he was writing Armand.
The ADHD-type 35-year old adolescent criminal Ritchie is read in a snotty tone with a sniveling pace - perfect.
While it's often hard for men to voice women's characters, I thought Rider Strong did a decent job with the women of this story. Leonard's female characters are some of my favorite literary women. Killshot's Carmen Colson is realistically feminine, brave AND human all at once.
Atmospheric and well-written.......2006-03-27
Since I am a fan of the movie adaptations of Elmore Leonard's works ("Jackie Brown," "Be Cool") I've been wanting to start reading his books. This is the first I've read and I was most impressed with his writing style.
I was amused to find him not at all sympathetic toward police or U.S. Marshals, although he did seem to like his FBI character; in fact, if anything, he seemed most sympathetic toward Blackbird, his assassin character. Despite gaping holes in this character, his was the most filled in one in the bunch and by the end you almost found yourself wondering if he could be redeemed.
The Colsons, the couple who find themselves on the run after accidentally being caught in the middle of an attempted protection shake-down by an ex-prisoner, Richie Nix, and Blackbird, are presented initially as the perfect married couple, but as the strain of the chase gets to them, the strains they have kept hidden within their marriage start to come out. Perhaps to a certain degree this book is about how everyone faces the strain of day-to-day living by hiding how they feel? I hesitate to say, as I believe everyone will get something different from this book - however, I feel that there may be a deeper meaning hidden within this story.
I can't wait to go on and read more of Mr. Leonard's books, and accumulate more of them as well - I only have two more at this time, but will be on the lookout for more at my favorite 2nd hand and discount stores (which is generally where I buy my books - otherwise, as many books as I buy, I'd be in severe trouble . . . )
Strong Woman.......2006-01-04
The key character in Leonard's "Killshot" is Carmen, the wife of a steelworker. She has a strong heart, a love of her somewhat uncommunitive husband, and a strong belief in defending her home.
Detroit is again the setting for this mob-related thriller, and Leonard has invented two truly scary killers, Richie and Blackbird. Carmen must stare down these killers and defend her home. Whether she can do this while alone remains unknown until the end.
The atmosphere of Detroit is somewhat modified as Carmen and her husband enter the Witness Protection Program and leave for Cape Girardeau, Missouri, along the Mississippi River. Some of the most interesting scenes take place when her husband goes on the river in his new job, and Carmen is left behind again, all alone.
A movie of "Killshot" is being produced now, with second unit shooting in Cape Girardeau. Movie and Elmore Leonard buffs are sure to hope that the intensity of this thriller can be captured well on film.
Larry Rochelle, Author of the Palmer Morel Mystery Series: BLUE ICE, GULF GHOST, BOURBON AND BLISS, DEATH AND DEVOTION and DANCE WITH THE PONY
An entertaining read.......2004-09-09
An ironworker and his wife are being hunted down by a professional hitman and a murdering ex-con. Wayne Colson and his wife Carmen found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Armand and Richie, two lifelong criminals, are very poorly attempting to extort money from Carmen's boss. The inept thieves harebrained scheme is to walk into his office and take the money. But they are in for a surprise.
Wayne is visiting his wifes office the day the gangsters attempt to grab the money. They mistake him for Carmen's boss and a melee ensues. Wayne gives the crooks a real good lambasting and they take off empty handed.
When the goons trackdown the man responsible for giving them the beating, they want revenge. The Colsons, in an effort to save their lives, enter the Witness Security Program. They soon find out they might have been better off to try and make it on their own.
This was the first book I have read from Elmore Leonard and I really enjoyed it. The dialogue is funny and smart. But I felt that the story was a little thin at times.
Book Description
When the pop star Glory dies while mountain biking on the world-famous Flume Trail high above the east shore of Lake Tahoe, Detective Owen McKenna and his Great Dane Spot are plunged into a harrowing investigation with more victims than clues.
Owen's investigation goes nowhere until he gets a taunting call from someone who speaks with a synthetic voice. While Owen can't figure out why a sick killer with a robotic voice is murdering people in exotic ways, he knows it has something to do with a huge money-making scam.
Owen needs Spot and search-and-rescue dog Natasha to literally sniff out the killer because the bodies are piling up and Owen's name is at the top of the killer's list...
Customer Reviews:
BOMBS, BODIES, BULLETS, AND BLOODSHED!!!.......2005-07-14
In Tahoe Killshot, author Todd Borg takes the reader up the mountains, through the towns, into the woods, down the bike trails, on the water, and on the winding roads of the Lake Tahoe, California, area in another one of his whirlwind murder mystery thrillers featuring his now famous cast of characters: private investigator Owen McKenna, his trusted dog Spot, and his girlfriend Street Casey. Borg brings these characters to life and puts them in a place he knows best: his home town. He uses this formula to write a truly convincing murder mystery that has bodies, suspects, and motives piling up with each turn of the page. From the opening scene to the surprise ending, Borg will have you under his spell and keep you guessing as friends become suspects and accidents become murders. And if this is your first time reading this author, you'll be happy to know there are three other "Tahoe" thrillers waiting for you to read.
BEST of BREED (just like Spot)!.......2005-04-26
Todd Borg does it again. Tahoe Killshot is a page-turner.
When I started the book, I was thinking I had an idea of where Todd would be taking us, but my ideas were pleasantly battered into little pieces by page 20 or so. Todd takes Owen Mckenna, private eye, his dog Spot, all 170 pounds, and best of all the reader on a seriously wild ride.
I can't recommend reading this book without reading the previous three. Certainly you would be able to follow the plot and character development, but without the background, the characters would be less vivid - especially the minor characters in Killshot that were major characters and more developed in the previous novels.
I encourage anyone who has read the first three to buy and read this book. If you haven't read any of these books, just drop the cash right now and buy the lot (of four). I promise you won't be sorry.
Todd Borg is a most excellent author. Tahoe Killshot is an excellent read!
A trail that is as complex as the Flume Trail bike path.......2004-11-03
Todd Borg and his wife [...]own three Great Danes, which provide constant inspiration for their character of Spot in Borg's mysteries. Three prior books, TAHOE DEATHFALL, TAHOE BLOWUP, and TAHOE ICE GRAVE, set the stage for the newest Todd Borg mystery, TAHOE KILLSHOT.
Owen McKenna is a retired San Francisco cop turned private eye when homicide duties became too much...as in the accidental shooting of a child. McKenna, his Great Dane and animal soul mate, Spot, return to duty when a famous singer, Glory, is killed on the Flume Trail situated in the mountains to the east of Lake Tahoe. McKenna quickly discovers that a mysterious caller by the name of Faith witnessed some damning piece of evidence. Faith is killed in a horrendous explosion which pulverizes her boat and nearly kills McKenna and Spot. When McKenna interviews Glory's bodyguard, his life is suddenly in peril and some man with an electronic voice is dogging his footsteps and attacking at every turn:
"It was like he had a seizure. He jerked and thrashed. I pulled myself up to my feet. He jerked so hard, the chair fell over sideways. The vacuum fell away and the man slumped away from the electrified lamp. I limped over toward him and kicked at the wooden handrail. It flew across my office. I was bending down to pull off ski mask when he kicked up hard. He foot caught me in the groin. I bent like a pretzel, unable to breathe. It took all my concentration to reach across the desk and grab the phone cord. The man was standing up, staggering. I swung the phone by the cord, and it wrapped around his neck and hit him on the head."
Todd Borg's tales are nail-biting page turners, packed with action and labyrinth plots. His characters are well wrought, interesting, and each intensely unique. His relationship with Street, his girlfriend, Glennie, his platonic friend, and Diamond, the Mexican cop with brains and brawn to match, combine with McKenna's own sense of justice and persistence to weave a wonderful yarn. Borg incorporates the beautiful backdrop of Lake Tahoe, along with the music business, a crooked non-profit, and even public office to create a trail that is as complex as the Flume Trail bike path, where the story begins. Borg's proof is in the pudding. A great read!
Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer
Average customer rating:
|
Killshot
Alibrandi
Manufacturer: Pinnacle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0523403755 |
Product Description
5 massmarket paperback Titles By Leonard - Maximum Bob - Killshot - Mr. Paradise - Split Images - Stick
Average customer rating:
|
Killshot
Elmore Leonard
Manufacturer: Arbor House Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OM2AAW |
Average customer rating:
|
Killshot
Elmore LEONARD
Manufacturer: SOLD
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OP1WZS |
Average customer rating:
|
Killshot
Manufacturer: Recorded Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
Mystery
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Books on Cassette
| Audiobooks
| Formats
| Books
Thriller
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Books on Cassette
| Audiobooks
| Formats
| Books
General
| Books on Cassette
| Audiobooks
| Formats
| Books
General
| Mystery
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Thrillers
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1402522649 |
Product Description
Description: New York Times best-selling author Elmore Leonard is the whiz of the crime novel. He is a Grand Master Award winner of the Mystery Writers of America who has crafted such smash hits as Out of Sight and Bandits. When Wayne and Carmen Colson stumble across an extortion scheme, their quiet life becomes a desperate fight to survive a pair of ruthless killers. Hiding in the witness protection program, they quickly learn its not exactly the safest place to lie low.
Book Description
In the enchanted city of Turai, the royal family is corrupt, the politicians can be bought, and the civic guards have better things to do than guarding. Thraxas may look unprepossessing, being overweight and not quite overbrained, and more interested in pursuit of his next glass of beer than pursuit of justice, but if you're in trouble in Turai this portly private eye is probably your only hope. Turai is no stranger to death in all its forms-except that now a silent and insidious variety of death has entered the city, and no one knows who will die next. What they do know is that everywhere Thraxas goes in his search to recover a missing magical jewel, the mysterious death has been there first, leaving the dead or dying as its calling card. Thraxas hasn't a clue, but he does have a pressing shortage of funds, and if stopping the unseen, unknown silent killer is what it takes to recover the jewel and replenish his wallet, he'll take the job. But will he solve the mystery, or join the dance himself. . . ?
Customer Reviews:
Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03
Very amusing, dodgy academics, chain mail bikini wearing scholar genius, pot head head sorceresses, evil orc wizards, multiplying sorcerous items and a publican with relationship issues.
Oh, and a pie shortage. A terrible, horrible, calamitous event. Who cares if the city crumbles, politicians die, unicorns ravish maidens, or whatever, if you can't get a decent meat pie?
In other words, very fun. Thraxas will do what is needed and right, to ensure his food supply.
Buy this book.......2007-08-25
If you enjoy sword and sorcery buy any of the Thraxas series. It is an interesting and funny take on what happens when the hard living swordsman hits middle age.
A fantasy P.I. in a fantasy Rome.......2007-06-19
An amusing novel in a series of books about a private investigator in a fantasy version of ancient Rome called "Turai".
A little like Glen Cook's "Garrett P.I." series, but this reminded me even more strongly of Lindsey Davis's "Falco" novels about an informer in the real Rome.
This is the fourth and most recent to date in a series comprising
Thraxas
Death and Thraxas
Thraxas & the Sorceres
Thraxas & the Dance of Death.
Like Marcus Didius Falco, the hero of this book, Thraxas, is an investigator with a lot of enemies. Like Falco, he has a lovely associate, though instead of a razor-sharp senator's daughter, Makri is a part human, part Elf and part Orc, lethal with a sword, and sometimes wears a chainmail bikini described as "one of the smallest garments ever seen in the civilised world."
Like Garett but unlike Falco, Thraxas lives in a city where sorcery and magic add their dangers to the usual crop of merely human villains.
In this fourth book in the series, Thraxas is hired to recover an extremely important magical jewel which has gone missing. But every time he gets close to the missing item, he finds a collection of dying or recently killed victims instead. Soon everyone from senators to the press is blaming him for a mysterious wave of murders, and the public are making bets with bookmakers on how many people will get killed before Thraxas's latest case has been resolved.
Meanwhile Makri is falsely accused of theft and Thraxas is falsely accused of cowardice. With his licence to investigate suspended, Thraxas is in big trouble - but not nearly as much trouble as the city of Turai will be in if he doesn't find the stolen jewel before certain other people do ...
Entertaining if a little silly. If you have read and enjoyed either the Garett P.I. or Marcus Didius Falco series, and don't object to a little escapist fantasy, you will probably enjoy the Thraxas books.
If you enjoyed this or other books about Thraxas, have not previously heard of Falco, and would like to read an even better series about a similar character in the real world, then I recommend youtake a look at the Falco novels, the first of which is, "The Silver Pigs" by Lindsey Davis.
Never get between a P.I. and his ale, well maybe 15 ales.......2002-10-01
Sorting out other people's problems may pay the bar bill, but his sometime assistant Makri, is getting in trouble for being a swot, his landlord is getting between him and a good dinner, and the Next Great Orc War still hasn't started....
Thraxas isn't back at the Avenging Axe, he's working an unpleasant case, is the subject of an interesting bet, and isn't enjoying it at all...again
Book Description
In the enchanted city of Turai, the royal family is corrupt, the politicians can be bought, and the civil guards have better things to do than guarding. Thraxas, the overweight and somewhat disreputable private eye working out of an even more disreputable neighborhood, has often grumbled about that sorry state of affairs. Unfortunately, the state of affairs has suddenly gotten much worse, and Thraxas has more to worry about than where his next meal and beer are coming from. The city is under siege by an army of rampaging Orcs, and now he not only has to regularly take part in standing guard duty on the stout walls, the only thing between the Orcs and Turai¿s destruction, but he also has a mystery to solve. A ship has managed to slip past the hordes of Orcs and made port in Turai. It was carrying a powerful magical talisman called the Ocean Storm which, used by the enemy, could raise a storm powerful enough to topple the city walls and let the Orcs in to pillage and slaughter. And it, along with the captain of the ship, mysteriously disappeared as soon as the ship had docked. If Thraxas doesn¿t locate the Ocean Storm before it falls into the wrong hands, Turai will be doomed. Which could seriously interfere with the big card game that Thraxas had been looking forward to. . . .
Customer Reviews:
Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03
Very funny. This one made me laugh out loud several times. Thraxas is a man you want at your side. Although maybe not when you are having pizza, or it is your shout and you are trying to keep up. :) Despite a lot of fondness for various narcotics, intoxicants and baked goods, Thraxas knows where his towel is. The half-orc with the pointy ears does cause him many problems, but is incredibly good at the slayage when he needs a hand.
Not what it's cracked up to be...........2005-10-13
The plots are OK, but it is not the laugh-romp promised by the cover blurbs. I know it never is, but there was very little comedy about this. It had its moments, but Thraxas will never take a permanent place in the halls of fantasy.
Fun but not wonderful.......2005-09-25
. This is the first book in a popular British series that seems to have reached ten books so far, starting in 1999, although the first US printing was in 2003. I wouldn't agree with the Guardian's "Blindingly funny!" quoted on the cover, but it's amusing enough and a rather different take on a fantasy-mystery in a Classical-like setting. Thraxas was an investigator for the king of Turai until his fondness for strong drink and low company got him fired; now he scrapes out an existence as a private investigator who's very good at what he does, at least as long as he can stay sober enough to function. Turai is an extremely corrupt city, so it isn't surprising that the royal princess wants to hire him to recover some "letters", or that her brother the crown prince is involved in drug smuggling, or that the traditionally incorruptible elves are acting in a very peculiar manner. With the help of his half-human, quarter-elf, quarter-orc sidekick, the beautiful female warrior Makri, and the sometimes help, sometimes hindrance, of Hanama, the head of the Assassins' Guild, Thraxas manages to bring things to a satisfactory resolution (well, fairly satisfactory), including a last-minute payoff of a gambling debt that was otherwise going to get him offed. There's a good deal of humor, though it's more in the Tom Holt or Glen Cook line than Terry Pratchett or Robert Asprin, if you've read those authors.
Not terrible, but not great either.......2005-04-08
This was not the worst fantasy novel I've read, but it wasn't the best either. The cover marketed the book as being funny, but I didn't find anything laughable in it. If you are looking for a laugh, don't buy this book. If you are looking to be mildly entertained, check it out from a library. I can't honestly recommend anyone who loves fantasy to buy this book. There are a great number of better authors out there.
One of the most annoying things about the series is that the author has about 3 or 4 "catch phrases" that get over used by every character in the story. It get's really tiring to read "I'll come down on you like a bad spell." for the 30th time.
The plot is not original and the story wonders all over the place . The main character is clever enough to figure every thing out in the last couple of pages, even though he acts like a complete idiot through the entire book and can't put 2 and 2 together when the answer is staring him in the face.
You might love the book or you might hate it. Me? I think it's "so so" with nothing outstanding to recommend it.
Immensely entertaining series, with a lot of heart........2004-09-17
The real name of the author of this series is
Martin Millar. You can go to http://www.thraxas.com/
to see what sort of fellow Thraxas is.
There are seven books in the series
so far, and the eighth is to be published in Spring 2005.
Each one seems better than the preceding to me.
This edition contains the first two.
The Thraxas stories have been translated into several
languages and have a worldwide following.
Unlike many science fiction and fantasy works, in these
stories you get to know the characters through their own
dialog and actions rather than second-hand through
descriptions. Anyway, Martin Millar is amazingly creative
and I eagerly await the next installment!
Average customer rating:
- Not Free SF Reader
- Politics becomes complex and envelopes his life in this riveting adventure.
- terrific private investigator fantasy
- This is Book 5
- Will someone get it right already?
|
Thraxas and the Sorcerers (Thraxas)
Martin Scott
Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Comic | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Contemporary | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Epic | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Historical | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Comic | General | Literature & Fiction | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Contemporary | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Epic | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Historical | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:
-
Thraxas and the Dance of Death (Thraxas)
-
Thraxas at War (Thraxas)
-
Thraxas Under Siege (Thraxas)
-
Death and Thraxas
-
Thraxas
ASIN: 1416521240 |
Book Description
Thraxas would rather be anywhere than at the Assemblage of the Sorcerers Guild, but the perpetually indigent private eye badly needs the fee. The Guild is meeting to elect a new head sorcerer and Cicerius, the city¿s Deputy Consul, is determined that the new head of the Guild will be Lisutaris of Turai. Toward that end, he wants Thraxas to be an undercover agent, working behind the scenes, with a temporary appointment to the long-vacant post of Tribune of the People as cover. Aside from the fee, it is not wise to say ¿no¿ to Cicerius. But Thraxas will soon have plenty of reasons to regret taking the case: when he learns that the most deadly assassin in the Assassin Guild is coming to town, reportedly to eliminate Lisutaris; when the sorcerer most favored to win the election is murdered and Lisutaris is the prime suspect; and when it begins to seem very unlikely that Thraxas will live to collect his fee. And even if Thraxas does survive, can Turai itself survive having a loose cannon like Thraxas as a government official?
Customer Reviews:
Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03
Business is a bit slow for Thraxas, but he perks up a bit when he learns that the Sorcerers are meeting in the city to decide who should run their outfit.
Thraxas, to quote, was 'as happy as an elf in a tree'. He knew that this would involve mayhem and murder, and as overflow, he was likely to get a job out of the whole situation.
Politics becomes complex and envelopes his life in this riveting adventure........2007-08-04
Martin Scott's THRAXAS AND THE SORCERERS joins others in the Thraxas series and will best be appreciated by prior fans. Here winter has come to Turai and Thraxas is hired to go undercover at the Sorcerers' Guild elections to be sure the right man is elected. Politics becomes complex and envelopes his life in this riveting adventure.
terrific private investigator fantasy .......2005-06-16
In wintry Turai, the Transport Guild hires Thraxas the Investigator to uncover which of the sorcerers is stealing precious dragon scales. Thraxas freezes his butt off hiding at the docks to observe what happens. He captures Rexox in the act and refuses a bribe although the criminal confesses owning senators to do his bidding; all Turai wants is a warm bed by a fire perhaps with a beer to ease his going to sleep.
Deputy Consul Cicerius hires the Investigator as an Observer at the upcoming Sorcerer's Assemblage that gathers to elect a new leader. The city trying to regain its once influential position insists the next chief come from Turai; however the best candidate Lisutaris is addicted to thazis. Named a tribune so he can get inside, Thraxas is to insure Lisutaris is elected. However, the Tribune has a new issue to deal with; an unknown assassin has stealthily begun murdering folks using sinister magic, but the sorcerers are all at a lost as to how, who or why. Thraxas is on the case.
The eighth Thraxas private investigator fantasy is a terrific tale as the hero seems as fresh as ever. This time he "defeats" the daughter of his client in a battle of words, stops a connected thief, embarrassed to be amongst the sorcerers having flunked their entry test years ago, and challenges a silent serial killer. The story line is action-packed and the magical world of Turai seems genuine (a trademark of the series). However, the reason this tale and its predecessors are fun and intelligent is the consistent asides based on observations and conditions from the beer-bellied star.
Harriet Klausner
This is Book 5.......2005-05-07
Rodney Meek (elsewhere on this page) writes a review, but his second paragraph refers to Book 6 (Thraxas and the Dance of Death, the one with the green jewel), which comes AFTER this one. FYI.
Will someone get it right already?.......2004-05-11
Martin Scott, Thraxas and the Sorcerors (Orbit, 2001)
What a fantastic idea. Take a hardboiled detective, put him in a swords-and-sorcery setting, and see what happens. Unfortunately, a fantastic idea doesn't always work out, and this particular fantastic idea seems to have hit more than its share of potholes. In fact, not a single fantasy hardboiled detective that's crossed my desk to date has stood the test of time (or even the test of fifty pages).
The most recent of them is Thraxas, the title character in Martin Scott's series of comic novels. Thraxas and the Sorcerors is the fifth novel in the series, but I don't think I lost anything major by not starting with the first book. Actually, I think I saved myself four books of cliché, execrable editing, plot holes, and various and sundry other devices that make this, perhaps, the least interesting and exciting book I've read since I had the misfortune to inflict myself with the pain of Iris Johansen.
Someday, someone will manage to write a great hardboiled fantasy story. And I will happily subject myself to the swine to find the pearl (as I know it will be). Now it's time to move on; I have to keep looking. (zero)
Book Description
In the enchanted city of Turai, the royal family is corrupt, the politicians can be bought, and the civic guards have better things to do than guarding. Thraxas may look unprepossessing, being overweight and not quite overbrained, and more interested in pursuit of his next glass of beer than pursuit of justice, but if you're in trouble in Turai this portly private eye is probably your only hope. Winter's on its way to Turai, and so are an army of Orcs. Thraxas may have been a hero of the last Orc War (according to him) but he's got absolutely no intention of getting mixed up in this battle and is planning to keep his head well down-preferably buried in a big steak pie. Unfortunately, his next case has him in an investigation at the war ministry. A Senior Councilor has been murdered. With a cake . . .
Customer Reviews:
Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03
Still highly amusing. Thraxas just cannot get the hordes of females out of his office, for any reason. Even worse, they drink his grog. Does get the odd favor out of them, but the problems are probably worse. Have to agree with him about the flowers, too. A private investigator's life is tough enough, without hordes of harridans hanging around haranguing him harshly.
Once a hero, always at war..........2006-04-20
Scott's THRAXAS AT WAR joins others in the series to also blend fantasy with humor and a tough of PI irony. Here the seedy, broke Thraxas faces a city in trouble whn the Orcs attack under a new leader's rule. He was a hero in the last war but he wants no part of this one - until his investigation at the war ministry involves him anyway.
Average customer rating:
- Fun and Funny Light Reading
|
Death and Thraxas
Martin Scott
Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Comic | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Historical | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Comic | General | Literature & Fiction | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Historical | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:
-
Thraxas
-
Thraxas and the Sorcerers (Thraxas)
-
Thraxas at War (Thraxas)
-
Thraxas and the Dance of Death (Thraxas)
-
Thraxas Under Siege (Thraxas)
ASIN: 0743488504 |
Book Description
The city is Turai, where sorcerers and assassins-sometimes, it's hard to tell them apart-ply their wares, the rulers are corrupt, the politicians are worse, and the civic guards might try to solve a crime, except that they've really got better things to do. Overweight and somewhat uncouth, Thraxas may not look like a man of action, (and he'd rather pass on the action, thank you, and order another beer), but if you're in trouble in Turai this portly private eye is probably your only hope. Not that Thraxas himself has much hope in the first of the two complete novels in this volume-A judge has fined him almost every guran he has, two old enemies have threatened his life, and his old commander in the army, after promising a solution to Thraxas' problems, has just turned up dead. Naturally, Thraxas is the prime suspect . . . . In his second case, Thraxas has received a message from an old friend in trouble in the Elvish Isles, and since the elves have no experience in investigating, Thraxas is hired to do the legwork. Naturally, as soon as he arrives in the Isles, things start getting weird. But when the going gets weird, Thraxas gets going. . . .
Customer Reviews:
Fun and Funny Light Reading.......2005-01-01
This book is about a sort of private investigator, Thraxas, who has the typical bumbling traits of a comic detective, including a rude manner (more offensive than hard-bitten) and an obsession with beer and gambling. Together with his sometime sidekick Makri, an escaped gladiator from the Orc Pits who is the first female student to attend the Guild College who works as a chainmail bikini-wearing waitress at the local tavern the Avenging Axe and just so happens to be the best warrior in the entire city of Turai, they run around offending people and solving crimes.
This is basically just fun comic fantasy, not epic or life-changing, but wonderful for anyone who likes the Hawk and Fisher series or Terry Pratchett's novels. I highly reccommend it.
Customer Reviews:
Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03
Entertaining hardboiled low rent, PI with a sword and the very occasional spell. When one of Thraxas' clients is arrested, he has to find out what is going on. This involves a political conflict involving some dangerous monks, some dangerous sorcerors, and lots of people that as usual are not big fans of the big bloke. Luckily Makri is still around to lend a hand.
Books:
- Light of Asia: Buddha Sakyamuni in Asian art
- Manhattan Is My Beat
- Married to the Mop (Charlotte Larue Mysteries)
- Mayflower Families Through Five Generations: Descendants of the Pilgrims Who Landed at Plymouth, Mass., December 1620 (Vol. 18, Pt. 1: Richard Warren--4 Generations)
- Milk and Honey (Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus Novels)
- Mistletoe And Murder (Daisy Dalrymple Mysteries)
- Morson and Dawson's Gastrointestinal Pathology
- Mrs. Pollifax and the Golden Triangle
- Murder at the Margin (A Henry Spearman Mystery)
- Murder at the Vicarage (Miss Marple Mysteries)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Kosovo : Contending Voices on Balkan Interventions
- Blood and Vengeance: One Family's Story of the War in Bosnia
- The Temple of the Golden Pavilion
- Voices from Legendary Times: We Are a Bridge Between Past and Future
- A-List #6, The: Some Like It Hot: An A-List Novel
- Comprehensive Organometallic Chemistry III, 13-Volume Set, Volume 1-13: From Fundamentals to Applica
- AK-47: The Weapon that Changed the Face of War
- Design Synectics: Stimulating Creativity in Design
- The Maya, Seventh Edition
- UNUSUAL UNDERTAKINGS: A Military Memoir
