- Hardcover: 281 pages
- Publisher: Minotaur Books; First U.S. Edition edition (31 Aug 2010)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0312646968
- ISBN-13: 978-0312646967
- Product Dimensions: 24.2 x 16.9 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,834,337 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Devil
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I am a big fan of Ken Bruen's work, right from the early London based, Bradt and Roberts stuff, through Jack Taylor and into the American Books. As a result I had this in my wish list for three months ahead of publication date and awaited the delivery with building excitement.
However I found this to be a profound disappointment - it was as if there were no further boundaries to push with Jack Taylor's character, so the fantastical and unbelievable character of the title was introduced, complete with hackneyed "Old Irish sayings" regarding the "Divil" at the start of the chapters.
It was very baggy, with the spectre of the Devil intended to create some atmosphere of menace but becoming both trite and comical, as the book progressed. This lacks all of the style and grim grounding that made books such as "The Killing of the Tinkers" so absorbing and the referencing to this book in "The Devil" only served to remind me how far the author has slipped from these earlier heights
However I found this to be a profound disappointment - it was as if there were no further boundaries to push with Jack Taylor's character, so the fantastical and unbelievable character of the title was introduced, complete with hackneyed "Old Irish sayings" regarding the "Divil" at the start of the chapters.
It was very baggy, with the spectre of the Devil intended to create some atmosphere of menace but becoming both trite and comical, as the book progressed. This lacks all of the style and grim grounding that made books such as "The Killing of the Tinkers" so absorbing and the referencing to this book in "The Devil" only served to remind me how far the author has slipped from these earlier heights
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I found Ken Bruen's latest novel 'The Devil' to be something of a pager turner .
I am a huge Bruen fan and have read most of his novels and was intrigued at this departure from his usual genre, pitched somewhere between those of crime and horror.
I think he has pulled off the cross genre tale fairly well , like Tom Piccirilli and Joe Lansdale have also done.
The story rattles along at a furious pace , with the usual musical and literary references , quoting from the Stones 'Sympathy for the Devil',appropriately, and commenting on the state of the nation at the same time.
I really like Bruen's style , sometimes like early Ellroy , sometimes like Block or Sallis , but still essentially his own.
The characters, Taylor himself , Ridge , and Stewart who we have encountered in previous Taylor novels, are very well drawn and totally believable albeit flawed.
If you like Larry Block , James Sallis, James Lee Burke, Allan Guthrie , you're bound to like this!!
I am a huge Bruen fan and have read most of his novels and was intrigued at this departure from his usual genre, pitched somewhere between those of crime and horror.
I think he has pulled off the cross genre tale fairly well , like Tom Piccirilli and Joe Lansdale have also done.
The story rattles along at a furious pace , with the usual musical and literary references , quoting from the Stones 'Sympathy for the Devil',appropriately, and commenting on the state of the nation at the same time.
I really like Bruen's style , sometimes like early Ellroy , sometimes like Block or Sallis , but still essentially his own.
The characters, Taylor himself , Ridge , and Stewart who we have encountered in previous Taylor novels, are very well drawn and totally believable albeit flawed.
If you like Larry Block , James Sallis, James Lee Burke, Allan Guthrie , you're bound to like this!!
Format:Hardcover
First Sentence: I should be in America.
Jack Taylor's second attempt to leave Ireland ends with Irish customs; his attempt at sobriety ends at the airport bar. The journey he does take is one of a mysterious stranger who seems to know a lot about him, and the death of those who come into Jack's life. Has the Devil come to Jack in this life rather than waiting for him in the next?
From the first page, and first chapter heading, I remember how much I love Bruen's voice. You hear and see Ireland in every word; and not just through the inclusion of the Gallic. There is a poetry to his writing and acknowledgement of one who has known the dark side of mankind.
The writing is impeccable and spare; not a superfluous word. The dialogue is spot on. The story is brutal and profane and not always pleasant to read. The brutality of the story is often offset by wry humor.
Jack isn't a character one is supposed to like. He is, however, one of the most compelling characters being written today. He is a dark angel; very dark, but you want him to survive and to succeed. With all the past books, I always felt the hope of possible redemption for Jack. In this book? Possibly not--but then again, possibly. For Jack, the reader cannot help but have hope.
This is the first time Bruen has introduced an aspect of the metaphysical, which I liked, and an ambiguous ending, for which I didn't care as much.
"The Devil" is a book of actual and metaphysical suspense. It is dark. It is sharp. It stays with you. This is a series which should be read in order. All I know is that I shall always read Bruen's next Jack Taylor book.
THE DEVIL (Noir/Metaphysical-Jack Taylor-Ireland-Contemporary) - VG+
Bruen, Ken - 12th in series
Minotaur Books, 2011
Jack Taylor's second attempt to leave Ireland ends with Irish customs; his attempt at sobriety ends at the airport bar. The journey he does take is one of a mysterious stranger who seems to know a lot about him, and the death of those who come into Jack's life. Has the Devil come to Jack in this life rather than waiting for him in the next?
From the first page, and first chapter heading, I remember how much I love Bruen's voice. You hear and see Ireland in every word; and not just through the inclusion of the Gallic. There is a poetry to his writing and acknowledgement of one who has known the dark side of mankind.
The writing is impeccable and spare; not a superfluous word. The dialogue is spot on. The story is brutal and profane and not always pleasant to read. The brutality of the story is often offset by wry humor.
Jack isn't a character one is supposed to like. He is, however, one of the most compelling characters being written today. He is a dark angel; very dark, but you want him to survive and to succeed. With all the past books, I always felt the hope of possible redemption for Jack. In this book? Possibly not--but then again, possibly. For Jack, the reader cannot help but have hope.
This is the first time Bruen has introduced an aspect of the metaphysical, which I liked, and an ambiguous ending, for which I didn't care as much.
"The Devil" is a book of actual and metaphysical suspense. It is dark. It is sharp. It stays with you. This is a series which should be read in order. All I know is that I shall always read Bruen's next Jack Taylor book.
THE DEVIL (Noir/Metaphysical-Jack Taylor-Ireland-Contemporary) - VG+
Bruen, Ken - 12th in series
Minotaur Books, 2011
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Series keeps developing in unexpected directions
Since the first Jack Taylor novel, The Guards (2001), Bruen has mixed melancholy and violence in equal shares. Read more
Published 11 months ago by James Haworth
A Diabolical Novel
Taylor meets the Devil - or does he? I expected some amazing surprise to left field the ridiculous notion that the great Jack Taylor is dancing with the Devil himself. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Shuggy
Jack Taylor's Nature Meets Supernature
I am always surprised by Ken Bruen. His books are certainly not formula mysteries. In fact, I am not sure that I would call this a "mystery" at all, but it certainly is a... Read more
Published 24 months ago by Robert B. Richey
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