Ideally you'd read this as a companion to watching the series: watch an episode, read the recap, and on to the next. Read that way, binge-watch style,Ideally you'd read this as a companion to watching the series: watch an episode, read the recap, and on to the next. Read that way, binge-watch style, the series is displayed in all its glory and is intensely immersive. In this sense Sepinwall delivers the full package, meshing fandom and criticism. You can also read this independently, which I've also done, but that only works if you've seen the series because Sepinwall discusses so many discrete details that only fully register in concert with the visual of the episodes. So although not designed as a standalone theoretical discussion, it is laced with powerful insights and points of argumentation that also make this a book to reference when engaging in a critical analysis of the series....more
"With all that was going on in his life, this was just another kick to the balls he'd have to suck up and take." And that line is pretty much the secr"With all that was going on in his life, this was just another kick to the balls he'd have to suck up and take." And that line is pretty much the secret sauce in this unrelenting page turner. Been a while since I powered through a book beginning to end. Can't quite go 5 stars because there were some loose ends and stray things that kind of popped me out of the flow at times, but really those are just quibbles. Awesome crime-noir. The pacing and characterization reminded me of Gil Brewer at his best. What we have here is an unlikeable asshole who keeps making mistake after mistake - a series of self-inflicted kicks to the balls - and his life comes tumbling down. And, yet, he gets off the mat, kicks back, and we kind of want to root for him, but he keeps reminding us what an asshole he is, so maybe we don't. Loved the ending. This was a really tough narrative arc to resolve - at least in way that wasn't cliche or trivial or too easy - and I think Reichenbaugh totally delivered. The third-person narrative here is superb, totally from within the character, and that's really what makes this all work. Thank you sir may have I have another (kick to the balls). Hell with the quibbles, this gets all the stars....more
This is the first Ray Garton book that I've read and this will be a mixed review, but I'll give him another go because the last third of this one, witThis is the first Ray Garton book that I've read and this will be a mixed review, but I'll give him another go because the last third of this one, with the build-up to huge cresting climactic scenes and the tasty denouement, was excellent.
The title and the premise - private investigator living in a trailer park - seemed to hold a lot of promise. But it starts off with a weird structure and a lot of character buildup in the first three chapters. Nothing much happening until about page 23 when our (theoretical) protagonist is confronted with temptation. So I wasn't really liking the slow start and ended up taking several months to actually finish this, picking it up and setting it back down over and over until until I finally got locked from the last third to the finish.
Ultimately this book totally delivers as all the plot points are pulled together, but have to say there is a lot of wasted words and long sections of boring description and exposition that doesn't advance plot or character.
Nice mix of crime/noir and splatterpunk, if you need a label. Seedy northern California trailer park. Private Investigator who's scrapping the bottom, stripper with a retarded teenaged daughter who is a knockout, drug-dealing junkies and a meth lab, and purveyors of internet porn. Just your run of the mill trailer park. So what could possibly go wrong? Everything right?
If the prose had been edited lean this would have been kick-ass. A lean screenplay could also do this justice even with we've seen its ilk before.
The storyline is a bit slower than Vol 1, but it's Joelle Jones art, so maybe I don't care so much about the pacing.The storyline is a bit slower than Vol 1, but it's Joelle Jones art, so maybe I don't care so much about the pacing....more
Ah, so this was the final issue Thuglit. My favorite story was probably "Prowl" by James Queally. "Flip the Record" by Patrick Cooper and "A Bad Day iAh, so this was the final issue Thuglit. My favorite story was probably "Prowl" by James Queally. "Flip the Record" by Patrick Cooper and "A Bad Day in Boat Repo" by Nick Kolakowski were the other standouts....more
Draws you right in with its compelling premise: 10 people locked in a walk-in freezer during a mass killing attempt at a grocery store. Fast-paced andDraws you right in with its compelling premise: 10 people locked in a walk-in freezer during a mass killing attempt at a grocery store. Fast-paced and chock full of action. The dialog gets corny at times and the POV is a bit wonky, but this is a nasty quick and fun read....more
On the fence with this ending volume. Art (Sean Phillips) and color (Elizabeth Breitweiser) are awesome. Brubaker really takes the meta-fictional aspeOn the fence with this ending volume. Art (Sean Phillips) and color (Elizabeth Breitweiser) are awesome. Brubaker really takes the meta-fictional aspects to their full conclusion and I suppose after all the series he's done he felt the need to question and pontificate on narration, which is fair enough, but I wonder why he felt the need to bring readers along on that writerly navel gazing journey? Storytelling parallels life seems to be his big idea, the lesson he wanted to impart. That and the world is F'd up and killing people who deserve it is OK and probably a reasonable response. Reminds me a bit of R.D Laing's The Divided Self and its notion that schizophrenia is the natural response to the F'd up world we've created. He asks why isn't everybody schizoid? Which is kind of what Brubaker asks here: why isn't everyone doing what Dylan does? All it takes for evil to triumph is for the good to do nothing, right? Ok, maybe it's more nuanced than that, but these were my first thoughts on finishing Vol 4....more
Stunning conclusion to the series, both draining and satisfying. As with Brubaker's Criminal series, I think this is the best crime-noir writing we haStunning conclusion to the series, both draining and satisfying. As with Brubaker's Criminal series, I think this is the best crime-noir writing we have right now....more
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