Lone Star Press

Warren Ellis writes one character very well, and this is a novel about that character. Mike McGill drinks, finds colorful new ways to swear and chain smokes his way across the country in search of a book. In his Thompsonesque journey, he meets perverts and deviants as he follows the book and interviews the motley crew of previous owners. It is Fear and Loathing with more sex and less drugs. Along the way, McGill reveals a surprisingly tender and vulnerable aspect to his character that undercuts his badass wise-cracking image. In short, it was just about exactly what I expected with a few fun moments.

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Kenneth Branagh wonderfully underplays the beaten-down detective Kurt Wallander in these three 90 minute movies that played on BBC in 2008. Based on novels by Henning Mankell, these stories are set in Ystad, Sweden and highlight a real divide that Wallander sees in the violence washing over the next generation. The dreamy unreal setting is highlighted by long loving shots of the countryside and endless shots of people through windows. Very stylized.

The violence in these movies is quick, surprising and deadly. The mysteries are clever and the characters are delightfully flawed. Branagh delivers a touching performance and was up for an Emmy for this role. The DVD extras have interviews with Mankell and Branagh and a bit about the process of making the little movies. Excellent stuff. In particular, FIREWALL has the best cold opening of anything I have seen in the past few years.

With luck, this will run as long as Inspector Morse.

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Matthew Sturges has pulled off a mean feat with his second novel. He has constructed a grounded and believable fantasy world and populated it with relatable characters. If his first novel, Midwinter was The Dirty Dozen with elves, then Office of Shadow is a Robert Ludlum style Cold War thriller with elves.

Powerful political figures fear the worst as a terrible ultimate weapon is used to destroy an Elven city. Knowing that their enemies will use the weapon again, Queen Regina Titiana orders the Office of Shadow to find and stop the weapon before it can be used again. The narrative follows Perrin Alt, Lord Silverdun from Midwinter as he gets drafted into service as a shadow in the Queen’s service. He is aided by an ex-soldier nicknamed Ironfoot and the delightfully unhinged Sela.

The action moves right along and the ending satisfies. I hope he writes another.

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