A Serpent Uncoiled [Paperback]

 

 

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A Serpent Uncoiled was my first encounter with author Simon Spurrier, but it's one I'll never forget. The book is Spurrier's second crime book after Contract published in 2007. In addition, Spurrier has written several licensed novels and writes as a graphic novelist for likes of Marvel, D.C. and 2000AD. And this last is apparent in his writing I think, because besides being wicked, witty, scary and mysterious, A Serpent Uncoiled is written in a very visual style. The story is almost filmic and it's very easy to picture what the places Dan visits look like or how he sees during his drug-induced hallucinatory episodes.

The book oozes plot, because Shaper's case is labyrinthine. Moving from what seems to be nothing more than a threatening hoax letter to the most frightening murder plot Shaper has ever encounter, the story keeps the reader on her toes. Every time I thought this time Shaper (and I) had figured out the real culprit, we'd turn another twisting corner and it would turn out I was wrong. But despite the numerous twists and turns and dead ends in the case, the plot never became too clever for its own good, rather Shaper's conclusions were logical based on the hard evidence and often backed up by his instincts, even taking into account that Shaper isn't always the most reliable of observers.

Shaper's world is weird and delusional, due to his emotional trauma and his resultant drug abuse. Shaper intuits his way through the case based on hunches derived from his drug-induced fata morganas. For someone completely sceptical of the New Age bollocks, as he calls them, Shaper gets pretty close to having visions himself, a fact which unsettles him mightily when he acknowledges it. The scenes describing Shaper's delusions are frightening, revolting but entrancing at the same time - at times they are even beautiful - but they are never less than painful. The way Spurrier makes these hallucinations part of the plot - not just moving it forward by providing clues for Shaper distilled from his subconscious, but also making them a large part of Shaper's motivation to take the case and his need to protect Glass - is very deftly done and is one of the things that makes this novel unique.

The other factor that makes A Serpent Uncoiled unique is Shaper. The mystery at the heart of this book is compelling, but Shaper makes it special. He's funny, wry, vulnerable and damaged and needs to redeem himself in his own eyes. Glass offers him that opportunity and sets something in motion that will change Shaper's life. Through meeting Mary, Glass' assistant in his efforts to remember his past, Shaper's broken heart starts to mend, not very fast, but at long last the wounds are starting to scab over. He finally detoxes, not his usual three day detox-jojo routine, but truly detoxing. He deals with his past, in the form of the Corams and in the process sets himself free to move on to his own fate. If the book doesn't exactly end on a happy note, it does leave one hopeful for Shaper's future.

Spurrier's writing is intricate and deliberate. He scorns neither profanity nor complex words and seems to expect the reader to be smart enough to keep up with his strange vision. In this manner he weaves not just a classic noir crime novel, but a tale of a man twisting free of his past which is as memorable as it is dryly funny. A Serpent Uncoiled is a great book, not for the faint of heart, but very much recommended. It's out from Headline on August 4th.

This book was sent to me for review by the publisher.

A Serpent Uncoiled is the second novel from North London's Simon Spurrier. Spurrier, a man of many talents, is a decorated graphic novelist, screenwriter and writer of prose novels, and with this offering, invites us into a London more sordid and depraved than the worst imaginings of us mere mortals.

The protagonist is Dan Shaper, ex-underworld enforcer turned private eye (a term he loathes). Plagued by a sickness stemming from guilt at his misdeeds, he spends his days self-medicating with an arsenal of drugs that would shame Keith Moon. Building up a tolerance to the drugs, Shaper is forced into regular periods of nightmarish detox in order to sustain their long-term effectiveness. It is on the cusp of one such detox that Shaper is called upon by a enigmatic quasi-guru by the name of George Glass, and tasked with protecting him from his impending murder.

It should be pointed out, A Serpent Uncoiled is no mere private eye tale; this is a book unlike anything else in the genre. While there are perceptible nods to the tradition of hardboiled detective fiction, this is about as non-derivative a novel as could possibly be conceived. Spurrier's prose style is complex; he has a rich lexicon and he's not afraid to use it. The opening paragraph, a sublime piece of scene-setting, is a case in point -

"London hacked up its lungs and glistened.

The November drizzle held off for the first time in three nights, but the air seemed choked regardless: a clammy ambient moisture caressing slick bricks and grey, leafless trees. On ledges through Soho, pigeons choked in moronic bedragglement, while brave smokers lurked in smoggy palls outside steaming pubs, muttering at the indignity. In doorways along Oxford Street tramps clutched at dreaming dogs for warmth, and in Camden even the dealers - initially optimistic at the break in the rain - took to lurking near kebab shops and club queues, leeching excess heat, to mumble their mantras."

This is a London reminiscent of Gotham City at its worst, but the horrors that lurk there go far beyond deranged asylum escapees or corrupt cops. Through Shaper's anthropomorphic Sickness, a potent brew of warped hallucinations and delusions, and a storyline incorporating Eastern mysticism, Spurrier creates a world acrimoniously divorced from reality. There is a powerful fusion of distorted mental imagery and the preternatural, which, combined with the unabashed violence, often leaves one reeling.

Just as the atmosphere is dazzlingly weird, so are the cast. Aside from Shaper, there are; Vince, a stereotypical enforcer in every respect bar his overt homosexuality (and covert bisexuality); the mystic George Glass, who claims to be 3,000 years old but suffering from amnesia; desirable but entirely deceitful clairvoyant Mary, and the Coram family, Shaper's one-time employers, consisting of spoiled underworld offspring Dave and Phyllis, and their indulgent mother Maud, a corpulent lounge lizard who oversees their criminal enterprise. For characters this perfectly absurd, one is usually forced to look to Sir Terry Pratchett.

However, this is by no means the Discworld, and Spurrier is as bloodthirsty as the best of crime writers. The violence, though shown through the prism of Shaper's fractured sanity, is graphic, and A Serpent Uncoiled should be approached with caution by the squeamish. Indeed, this is by no means a mainstream read. The prose is admittedly less accessible than that of much crime fiction, but this is a refreshing approach. With each elegantly sculpted paragraph, Spurrier refuses to be dictated to by the whim of the `average reader.' As a result, those of us with the staying power have been gifted a book than fully deserves to become a cult classic. As of late July, this is the most original book of the year, and it will take a work of staggering outlandishness to wrest that title from Spurrier's claws.

What an amazing writer this guy is. The prose soars and dives like manic poetry. Its almost too extravagant at times and certainly the sheer quantity of it threatens to overwhelm. But this is dangerous stuff from an author who may go on to create his own genre.

There are some flaws. As others have said Simon Spurrier has created an amazing caste of characters, most of them grotesques, and handles them like a puppet-master. But he doesn't quite make us care enough about those characters, they just remain odd-balls, and so the relationships don't quite have the depth they need. The author can write it so that we can see it but we don't really feel it.

But never mind, even as it stands this book could become a classic and if Mr Spurrier ever manages to dilute just a little of his comic-book origins and add in just a little more literary depth we would have a very special writer indeed.

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2.0 out of 5 stars Too much at the same time
Sometimes simplicity is the best path. The serpent uncoilled is a novel writen like a comic book... No suspense,no thrill. Everything too obvious.

Published 5 months ago by Jupiter

4.0 out of 5 stars Original crime fiction with a New Age twist.
I don't read as much crime as I do, say, horror or sci-fi, but even so, I can't imagine there are too many crime novels quite like A Serpent Uncoiled. Read more

Published 6 months ago by Kamvision

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant new voice in the urban fantasy scene
Every occult detective has his or her point of differentiation. Race. Gender. Exorcist. Demon. Slayer. Vampire. Teenager. Ageless. Sex addict. Zombie. Immortal. Read more

Published 6 months ago by J. Shurin

4.0 out of 5 stars Just don't mention the Krays
If you love crime with an Urban Fantasy twist, a flawed lead character and a twisted plotline that will keep you guessing then you've come to the right author. Read more

Published 6 months ago by Gareth Wilson - Falcata Times Blog

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