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Joe Kurtz #2
Hard Freeze
Revenge has never been served so cold.
Joe Kurtz, former investigator and convicted felon, is on parole. But the years he spent in Attica didn't make his old haunts any safer. Back on the streets of Buffalo, he's already marked by a local Mafia don.
As if watching his back weren't enough work, Kurtz has also been hired by a gravely ill John Frears, whose daughter met a grisly fate at the hands of a murderer. Frears wants one thing before he for Kurtz to find the fiend that the authorities couldn't. But the calculating killer -- a master at changing identities -- has a little unfinished business of his own. Dodging a contract on his head and tracking a serial killer on the loose, Kurtz plunges headfirst into the icy waters of revenge as both victim and avenger.
Joe Kurtz, former investigator and convicted felon, is on parole. But the years he spent in Attica didn't make his old haunts any safer. Back on the streets of Buffalo, he's already marked by a local Mafia don.
As if watching his back weren't enough work, Kurtz has also been hired by a gravely ill John Frears, whose daughter met a grisly fate at the hands of a murderer. Frears wants one thing before he for Kurtz to find the fiend that the authorities couldn't. But the calculating killer -- a master at changing identities -- has a little unfinished business of his own. Dodging a contract on his head and tracking a serial killer on the loose, Kurtz plunges headfirst into the icy waters of revenge as both victim and avenger.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
About the author
Dan Simmons
230 books12.4k followersDan Simmons grew up in various cities and small towns in the Midwest, including Brimfield, Illinois, which was the source of his fictional "Elm Haven" in 1991's SUMMER OF NIGHT and 2002's A WINTER HAUNTING. Dan received a B.A. in English from Wabash College in 1970, winning a national Phi Beta Kappa Award during his senior year for excellence in fiction, journalism and art.
Dan received his Masters in Education from Washington University in St. Louis in 1971. He then worked in elementary education for 18 years—2 years in Missouri, 2 years in Buffalo, New York—one year as a specially trained BOCES "resource teacher" and another as a sixth-grade teacher—and 14 years in Colorado.
ABOUT DAN
Biographic Sketch
His last four years in teaching were spent creating, coordinating, and teaching in APEX, an extensive gifted/talented program serving 19 elementary schools and some 15,000 potential students. During his years of teaching, he won awards from the Colorado Education Association and was a finalist for the Colorado Teacher of the Year. He also worked as a national language-arts consultant, sharing his own "Writing Well" curriculum which he had created for his own classroom. Eleven and twelve-year-old students in Simmons' regular 6th-grade class averaged junior-year in high school writing ability according to annual standardized and holistic writing assessments. Whenever someone says "writing can't be taught," Dan begs to differ and has the track record to prove it. Since becoming a full-time writer, Dan likes to visit college writing classes, has taught in New Hampshire's Odyssey writing program for adults, and is considering hosting his own Windwalker Writers' Workshop.
Dan's first published story appeared on Feb. 15, 1982, the day his daughter, Jane Kathryn, was born. He's always attributed that coincidence to "helping in keeping things in perspective when it comes to the relative importance of writing and life."
Dan has been a full-time writer since 1987 and lives along the Front Range of Colorado—in the same town where he taught for 14 years—with his wife, Karen, his daughter, Jane, (when she's home from Hamilton College) and their Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Fergie. He does much of his writing at Windwalker—their mountain property and cabin at 8,400 feet of altitude at the base of the Continental Divide, just south of Rocky Mountain National Park. An 8-ft.-tall sculpture of the Shrike—a thorned and frightening character from the four Hyperion/Endymion novels—was sculpted by an ex-student and friend, Clee Richeson, and the sculpture now stands guard near the isolated cabin.
Dan received his Masters in Education from Washington University in St. Louis in 1971. He then worked in elementary education for 18 years—2 years in Missouri, 2 years in Buffalo, New York—one year as a specially trained BOCES "resource teacher" and another as a sixth-grade teacher—and 14 years in Colorado.
ABOUT DAN
Biographic Sketch
His last four years in teaching were spent creating, coordinating, and teaching in APEX, an extensive gifted/talented program serving 19 elementary schools and some 15,000 potential students. During his years of teaching, he won awards from the Colorado Education Association and was a finalist for the Colorado Teacher of the Year. He also worked as a national language-arts consultant, sharing his own "Writing Well" curriculum which he had created for his own classroom. Eleven and twelve-year-old students in Simmons' regular 6th-grade class averaged junior-year in high school writing ability according to annual standardized and holistic writing assessments. Whenever someone says "writing can't be taught," Dan begs to differ and has the track record to prove it. Since becoming a full-time writer, Dan likes to visit college writing classes, has taught in New Hampshire's Odyssey writing program for adults, and is considering hosting his own Windwalker Writers' Workshop.
Dan's first published story appeared on Feb. 15, 1982, the day his daughter, Jane Kathryn, was born. He's always attributed that coincidence to "helping in keeping things in perspective when it comes to the relative importance of writing and life."
Dan has been a full-time writer since 1987 and lives along the Front Range of Colorado—in the same town where he taught for 14 years—with his wife, Karen, his daughter, Jane, (when she's home from Hamilton College) and their Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Fergie. He does much of his writing at Windwalker—their mountain property and cabin at 8,400 feet of altitude at the base of the Continental Divide, just south of Rocky Mountain National Park. An 8-ft.-tall sculpture of the Shrike—a thorned and frightening character from the four Hyperion/Endymion novels—was sculpted by an ex-student and friend, Clee Richeson, and the sculpture now stands guard near the isolated cabin.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
March 6, 2023
"Their moral development has not even evolved to the point where they will avoid pain and punishment if their whim dictates otherwise. Other human beings suffering means absolutely nothing to them. The clinical term is 'sociopath,' the real word is 'monster."
Initial Thoughts
The sensational Dan Simmons Deep-dive continues as once again he takes a jump into that marvelously gritty, hard-boiled world of crime fiction in his second installment of the 'Joe Kurtz' trilogy...Hard Freeze. Are you ready for some explosive, balls to the wall action? Yeah, me too!
I read the first book, Hard Case, last month and enjoyed it immensely. Main man Joe Kurtz is not your typical protagonist. After doing eleven years hard time for launching some scumbag out of the top floor of a high-rise he went straight to work with the mafia on his release, utilising his extensive skill base as a private investigator to find a missing accountant. And of course iced a load more scumbags in the process.
If you like your morally grey characters like I do, Kurtz is the man for you. In any other book this guy could easily be a villain, but there is a small trace of a good man buried under that hard exterior. You just don't see very much of it. Let's see how he gets on in this outing.
The Story
This one starts with a bang as Kurtz finds himself bombarded by hit men hired by the Farino family, who now want him dead. He's done a great job making enemies but that doesn't phase him one bit as he manages to wriggle his way out of some impossibly tight squeezes.
After taking care of business he then meets a dying violinist, in his favourite jazz club, who thinks Kurtz may be able to help him locate the man who raped and murdered his young daughter some twenty years ago. Only problem is he supposedly committed suicide right after committing the heinous crime. But the musician is convinced he's seen him living and breathing and wants Kurtz to bring this guy to justice.
Then there's the problem of Angelina Farino Ferrara, the remaining daughter in the crime family, who wants to make a name for herself with the help of, you guessed, Joe Kurtz. In return she's got some valuable information that could send Kurtz on a bloody revenge mission where no one gets out alive.
These two plots weave together fantastically as they look set to collide in an explosive finale. If you want to find out who's left standing, you're going to have to read it for yourself.
The Writing
If you seen my review of the first book in this series then you'll know this is crime fiction that's stripped down to the bare bones. It's tough, relentless, gritty and littered with dead bodies. Exactly as it should be. You don't get one second to catch your breath.
What stood out for me in this one is that the city of Buffalo, NY, is in the midst of a snow storm and Simmons does a fantastic job of nailing the frozen streets and unforgiving environment. It matches the overall tone in this one perfectly, with its chilling plot, and the title for that matter.
The Characters
Hard Freeze certainly contains a range of quirky characters that fit the narrative perfectly and provide a lot of entertainment. Don't get me wrong, this is far from Simmons' best work in this department. But for this type of story they don't really need to be. Still, if you're looking for a realistic, nuanced cast then this may not be the novel for you.
The star of the show is of course Kurtz who has a smartass mouth, but the toughness and skills to back that up. If you look at things logically then he is not a likeable character, but I still could not help myself in rooting for him. And that my friends is largely down to the despicable villains he's taking out.
Yes there is a fine cast of awful antagonists circulating round the dark and dingy streets of Buffalo. The two main villains of James Hansen and Emilio Gonzaga were both extremely well done, particularly the former who was an extremely creepy mo fo. But star of the show for me was the smoking hot but unquestionably deadly Angelina Farino. She's all kinds of that morally grey that I love so much and you can never quite tell what side she's batting for.
Final Thoughts
As you can tell I'm getting really into this trilogy of hardboiled crime and can't wait to get fired into the last in the series...Hard as Nails. It's a perfect homage to the famous writers of the past who clearly inspired Simmons when writing this one. In fact, I'm enjoying it so much I'm now getting the itch to read those famous authors like Raymond Chandler, Richard Stark and John D. Macdonald and it's one I fully intend to scratch.
These Joe Kurtz PI crime books are better than most of the run of the mill action movies that are flooding TV nowadays and if you're after something fast paced that will lift you out your seat I'm thoroughly recommending them to you.
Bloody, violent with absolutely no fluffy stuff. Just what the doctor ordered.
See you all next month when I wrap this series up. Thanks for reading and...cheers!
February 27, 2023
Absolutely riveting- but note: don’t come griping to me about cozy mysteries or Georges Simenon or Chandler or even Hammett.
This is a pure, senseless, murderously violent, action packed classic Pulp detective dickaround nonsense set on 11.
Or maybe 12.
It’s out of the Richard Starkish school but the over-the-top violence recalls classic, early (1st 3 novels) Mike Hammer/Mickey Spillane. Hammer on one of his vengeance trips.
The plot? Give me a frickin’ break! The plot’s all over the place.
Lucky I didn’t have a stroke on this high-octane stuff.
Christ on crutches!
This is the 2nd entry in the -as far as you know- three entry series by an expert in the field of crime/detective hardboiled genre: Dan Simmons & the Joe Kurtz series.
Its pulp-like hero can’t be killed. Beat him half to death, leave him in the Buffalo, New York snow to freeze to death or break one of his legs, arms or 3 of his ribs to bleed out from his wounds - he’s like a Universal Pictures’ Frankenstein… he’ll come back around with revenge on his mind.
Start at the top.
Read the 1st entry in the “Joe Kurtz” series by Dan Simmons (Hardcase) and move on from there.
These are available in e-book or Kindle format last I checked.
If you like this kind of brouhaha whatta ya got to lose?
Read it or don’t. You think I care?
Dan Simmons is a gift to fans of hardboiled fiction in the 21st century.
This is a pure, senseless, murderously violent, action packed classic Pulp detective dickaround nonsense set on 11.
Or maybe 12.
It’s out of the Richard Starkish school but the over-the-top violence recalls classic, early (1st 3 novels) Mike Hammer/Mickey Spillane. Hammer on one of his vengeance trips.
The plot? Give me a frickin’ break! The plot’s all over the place.
Lucky I didn’t have a stroke on this high-octane stuff.
Christ on crutches!
This is the 2nd entry in the -as far as you know- three entry series by an expert in the field of crime/detective hardboiled genre: Dan Simmons & the Joe Kurtz series.
Its pulp-like hero can’t be killed. Beat him half to death, leave him in the Buffalo, New York snow to freeze to death or break one of his legs, arms or 3 of his ribs to bleed out from his wounds - he’s like a Universal Pictures’ Frankenstein… he’ll come back around with revenge on his mind.
Start at the top.
Read the 1st entry in the “Joe Kurtz” series by Dan Simmons (Hardcase) and move on from there.
These are available in e-book or Kindle format last I checked.
If you like this kind of brouhaha whatta ya got to lose?
Read it or don’t. You think I care?
Dan Simmons is a gift to fans of hardboiled fiction in the 21st century.
January 6, 2013
Somebody has put a contract out on Joe Kurtz and Kurtz wants to know who and why. Meanwhile, a dying concert violinist wants Kurtz to find the man who killed his daughter twenty years earlier. But the killer died in a house fire decades ago. Or did he...
Simmons' second love letter to Richard Stark's Parker and similar crime fiction characters is almost as awesome as the first. From the opening with the Attica Three Stooges trying to whack Kurtz while he gets a bite to eat to the shit storm of violence at the end, Simmons delivers the goods.
Kurtz grew as a character in Hard Freeze. He inched closer to having a relationship with his daughter Rachel, whom he's never spoke to. He took Frears' case despite not being initially interested. I just hope the missed appointment with his parole officer doesn't bite him in the ass in the next book. Millworth was a more than adequate villain. While I'm officially tired of serial killers, Millworth was well done.
The thing that sets Kurtz apart from the imitators is that Simmons doesn't waste time talking about what a hard ass Kurtz is. The proof is in the pudding, as they say. Simmons writing is top notch and he doesn't try to imitate Stark's style, another thing that sets him apart from the competition.
That's about all I have to say except to watch for a Spenser reference early on. It seems Arlene doesn't like Susan Silverman either. Hard Freeze is nearly as good as Hardcase. Nab it if you get the chance.
Simmons' second love letter to Richard Stark's Parker and similar crime fiction characters is almost as awesome as the first. From the opening with the Attica Three Stooges trying to whack Kurtz while he gets a bite to eat to the shit storm of violence at the end, Simmons delivers the goods.
Kurtz grew as a character in Hard Freeze. He inched closer to having a relationship with his daughter Rachel, whom he's never spoke to. He took Frears' case despite not being initially interested. I just hope the missed appointment with his parole officer doesn't bite him in the ass in the next book. Millworth was a more than adequate villain. While I'm officially tired of serial killers, Millworth was well done.
The thing that sets Kurtz apart from the imitators is that Simmons doesn't waste time talking about what a hard ass Kurtz is. The proof is in the pudding, as they say. Simmons writing is top notch and he doesn't try to imitate Stark's style, another thing that sets him apart from the competition.
That's about all I have to say except to watch for a Spenser reference early on. It seems Arlene doesn't like Susan Silverman either. Hard Freeze is nearly as good as Hardcase. Nab it if you get the chance.
January 1, 2011
Joe Kurtz’s To-Do List
- Help Arlene find new office space
- Get $35,000 by Monday to expand business
- Find out why someone is hiring people to kill me
- Get dirty cops off my back so they don’t send me back to prison
- Threaten my daughter’s drunk asshole stepfather
- Meet guy about job. Claims he saw his daughter’s killer at the airport even though he supposedly committed suicide. Not sure what he wants from me.
- Talk to daughter of the Mafia family I had all those problems with. See if she is the one trying to kill me. If not, what does she want?
- Buy long underwear because this winter has been bad even by Buffalo standards.
**************************
Dan Simmons started this hard-boiled crime series as a tribute to Richard Stark’s Parker books, but while the Joe Kurtz character is definitely a bad-ass, Simmons had done a nice job making him his own character and not just a Parker rip-off. While Joe is more than willing to use murder to solve problems, he also has more scruples than Parker like refusing to take money that he could easily steal. Kurtz also has more personal connections than Parker does like his partnership with Arlene in their web based people-locating business or his looking out for a daughter that doesn’t even know he exists.
There’s a lot of threads going on in this story, and they all come together nicely into a big violent ending that I didn’t see coming. My only complaint is that there’s a few too many coincidences that drive the plot for my taste. Still, the blunt Kurtz and his adventures in the underworld of Buffalo have made for a couple of great hard-boiled crime novels.
Simmons also made me laugh out loud by doing a brief scene where Arlene bitches about the later books of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser series.
- Help Arlene find new office space
- Get $35,000 by Monday to expand business
- Find out why someone is hiring people to kill me
- Get dirty cops off my back so they don’t send me back to prison
- Threaten my daughter’s drunk asshole stepfather
- Meet guy about job. Claims he saw his daughter’s killer at the airport even though he supposedly committed suicide. Not sure what he wants from me.
- Talk to daughter of the Mafia family I had all those problems with. See if she is the one trying to kill me. If not, what does she want?
- Buy long underwear because this winter has been bad even by Buffalo standards.
**************************
Dan Simmons started this hard-boiled crime series as a tribute to Richard Stark’s Parker books, but while the Joe Kurtz character is definitely a bad-ass, Simmons had done a nice job making him his own character and not just a Parker rip-off. While Joe is more than willing to use murder to solve problems, he also has more scruples than Parker like refusing to take money that he could easily steal. Kurtz also has more personal connections than Parker does like his partnership with Arlene in their web based people-locating business or his looking out for a daughter that doesn’t even know he exists.
There’s a lot of threads going on in this story, and they all come together nicely into a big violent ending that I didn’t see coming. My only complaint is that there’s a few too many coincidences that drive the plot for my taste. Still, the blunt Kurtz and his adventures in the underworld of Buffalo have made for a couple of great hard-boiled crime novels.
Simmons also made me laugh out loud by doing a brief scene where Arlene bitches about the later books of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser series.
July 7, 2024
Страшно динамичните и опасни приключения на Джо Курц продължават в „Замръзване“! Бившият частен детектив отново е сериозно застрашен от двете, враждуващи помежду си мафиотски фамилии... Другата дъщеря на Фарино се е завърнала от Италия и предлага на Джо важна информация, свързана с отмъщението му, но също така и очаква помощ от него. Оказва се, че в Бъфало се е установил зловещият сериен убиец Хансън, който е под поредната фалшива самоличност, а и планира следващите си безмилостни престъпления. Междувременно Пруно свързва Джо с известния цигулар Фриърс, който търси опитен детектив, тъй като дъщеря му е била убита преди 20 г. от въпросния Хансън. Следва супер интересно и напрегнато действие... Дан Симънс определено е добър и в писането на трилъри!
„— Не сме сигурни, че я е направил.
— Би било опасно да предполагаме нещо друго — каза цигуларят.
— Ще е глупаво — отвърна Пруно — да градим плановете си на предположения относно намеренията на врага… Трябва да преценим способностите му и да се подготвим според заключенията си.“
„— Не сме сигурни, че я е направил.
— Би било опасно да предполагаме нещо друго — каза цигуларят.
— Ще е глупаво — отвърна Пруно — да градим плановете си на предположения относно намеренията на врага… Трябва да преценим способностите му и да се подготвим според заключенията си.“
February 3, 2024
Kurtz hunts down a serial killer, while himself being hunted down by a mob boss. An unrelenting symphony of hardboiled crime, with extra servings of violence and action but also some poignant moments that lend depth and sympathy for Kurtz and his multitudes of misfortune. The serial killer character is particularly memorable, not only vile and calculating, but Moriarty level clever and deceptive, all beneath a thick shell of civility and piety that makes him particularly revolting.
June 27, 2020
"Suffer fools. Then make them suffer."
- Dan Simmons, Hard Freeze
Harder
Book 2 of 3 in Dan Simmons, hard-boiled, Joe Kurtz novels. I just finished Hardcase and returned for some fast narrative, wit, and violence. Dan Simmons, like Steven King, is hard to just pin down into one genre. Obviously, he is best known for his Hyperion novels and his horror novels, but if you look close one big organizing theme of all his books is literature. His Hyperion Cantos allude to Keat's great poems. Other novels are influenced by Dickens, the War Poets, Homer, Dante, etc. He likes his literature. So, even when Joe Kurtz is existentially beating the hell out of a bad dude, he is only a couple breaths away from throwing out a Nabokov reference. In that way, these novels sorta pay tribute to John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee novels. Neither MacDonald nor Simmons are Raymond Chandler, but they still surf, imho, one wave higher than Jack Reacher. I'm not sure, I haven't read enough Lee Child or Dan Simmons.
- Dan Simmons, Hard Freeze
Harder
Book 2 of 3 in Dan Simmons, hard-boiled, Joe Kurtz novels. I just finished Hardcase and returned for some fast narrative, wit, and violence. Dan Simmons, like Steven King, is hard to just pin down into one genre. Obviously, he is best known for his Hyperion novels and his horror novels, but if you look close one big organizing theme of all his books is literature. His Hyperion Cantos allude to Keat's great poems. Other novels are influenced by Dickens, the War Poets, Homer, Dante, etc. He likes his literature. So, even when Joe Kurtz is existentially beating the hell out of a bad dude, he is only a couple breaths away from throwing out a Nabokov reference. In that way, these novels sorta pay tribute to John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee novels. Neither MacDonald nor Simmons are Raymond Chandler, but they still surf, imho, one wave higher than Jack Reacher. I'm not sure, I haven't read enough Lee Child or Dan Simmons.
August 19, 2023
Пата-кюта - лошите избити, добрите почти непокътнати, а Джо Курц се готви за следващата патаклама, която неминуемо ще се заформи в живота му!
Много добра кримка, издържана в стила на старите майстори от занаята!
P.S. Интересно ми е, дали третата част ще излезе под логото на различно издателство. :)
Много добра кримка, издържана в стила на старите майстори от занаята!
P.S. Интересно ми е, дали третата част ще излезе под логото на различно издателство. :)
December 1, 2021
An improvement on the first book in this series in every way. The thing that constantly amazes me about Dan Simmons is his astounding ability to drastically adjust his style to write in ANY genre. The man is a chameleon. Reading this, you would think this guy has been writing hard-boiled crime novels his whole career.
Simply put, if you like the first Kurtz book, you will definitely love this one. Simmons masterfully weaves together multiple compelling threads into one tight story, packing a big punch and racking up a large body count along the way. The cat and mouse game between Kurtz and the extremely psychotic main villain is done especially well. And there are some VERY satisfying moments to behold by the book’s end.
Simmons, I salute you yet again. And I can’t wait to read Hard As Nails. Joe Kurtz is a character I love spending time with.
4.25 stars.
Simply put, if you like the first Kurtz book, you will definitely love this one. Simmons masterfully weaves together multiple compelling threads into one tight story, packing a big punch and racking up a large body count along the way. The cat and mouse game between Kurtz and the extremely psychotic main villain is done especially well. And there are some VERY satisfying moments to behold by the book’s end.
Simmons, I salute you yet again. And I can’t wait to read Hard As Nails. Joe Kurtz is a character I love spending time with.
4.25 stars.
August 19, 2020
Който го може, го може!
Дан Симънс, подобно на единствения и неповторим, №1 в личната ми класация, Stephen King, е автор - хамелеон; автор, чувстващ се еднакво комфортно в която и да било жанрова територия и чиито книги, независимо дали са фантастика (Хиперион, Кухият човек, Илион, Олимп), хорър (Песента на Кали, Лешояди, Ужас, Лятото на страха, Децата на нощта, Призраци през зимата) или (поне за мен) жанрово неопределени (Петата купа), винаги ми допадат в по-голяма или по-малка степен; автор-ерудит, умело вмъкващ препратки към всевъзможни литературни произведения и най-различни области на познанието, поради което докато го чета почти винаги се ровя в бай гугъл, за да доразчепкам поредната бележка под линия.
Е, получава му се и при кримките, макар тук стилът му да е доста по-изчистен и ония протяжни, сякаш безкрайни изречения от по половин стандартна страница, да не се срещат често.
Замръзване е вторият роман от поредицата Джо Курц, за бивш детектив, излежал дванадесет годишна присъда в Атика и излязъл, без вече да може да практикува официално занаята си. В 220 стр. Джо ще трябва да реши доста ребуси - да избегне ударите на наемни килъри, да залови гнусен сериен убиец, да излезе сух от назряващия конфликт между две мафиотски фамилии, да се справи с алкохолизирания пастрок, поел грижите над щерката на бившата му партньорка...
Ясно е, че в този кратък обем нещата няма как да не са на тъгъдък, но пък лично аз се забавлявах на макс. Уместно е обаче да се запознаете с Куфарът (вече достъпен за свободно четене в Моята библиотека), защото препратките към първия роман не бяха една и две...
Дан Симънс, подобно на единствения и неповторим, №1 в личната ми класация, Stephen King, е автор - хамелеон; автор, чувстващ се еднакво комфортно в която и да било жанрова територия и чиито книги, независимо дали са фантастика (Хиперион, Кухият човек, Илион, Олимп), хорър (Песента на Кали, Лешояди, Ужас, Лятото на страха, Децата на нощта, Призраци през зимата) или (поне за мен) жанрово неопределени (Петата купа), винаги ми допадат в по-голяма или по-малка степен; автор-ерудит, умело вмъкващ препратки към всевъзможни литературни произведения и най-различни области на познанието, поради което докато го чета почти винаги се ровя в бай гугъл, за да доразчепкам поредната бележка под линия.
Е, получава му се и при кримките, макар тук стилът му да е доста по-изчистен и ония протяжни, сякаш безкрайни изречения от по половин стандартна страница, да не се срещат често.
Замръзване е вторият роман от поредицата Джо Курц, за бивш детектив, излежал дванадесет годишна присъда в Атика и излязъл, без вече да може да практикува официално занаята си. В 220 стр. Джо ще трябва да реши доста ребуси - да избегне ударите на наемни килъри, да залови гнусен сериен убиец, да излезе сух от назряващия конфликт между две мафиотски фамилии, да се справи с алкохолизирания пастрок, поел грижите над щерката на бившата му партньорка...
Ясно е, че в този кратък обем нещата няма как да не са на тъгъдък, но пък лично аз се забавлявах на макс. Уместно е обаче да се запознаете с Куфарът (вече достъпен за свободно четене в Моята библиотека), защото препратките към първия роман не бяха една и две...
October 11, 2020
Симънс ги може и трилърите: “Замръзване”: http://knigolandia.info/book-review/z...
Джо Курц е бивш затворник, който е участвал в твърде много мръсни неща навремето. Сега се опитва да се прави на частен детектив на дребно с разни безобидни поръчки, но не може да вложи душата си в това начинание – нито има дом като дом, нито офис като офис, и не държи особено това да се променя. Но спокойствието му е нарушено, когато някой възлага на познати нему убийци да му светят маслото – и тяхната некомпетентност дори го обижда. Тръгвайки по дирите на поръчителите, той се свързва в крайно нестабилен съюз с наследничка на загубила сили и влияние мафиотска фамилия, с която е имал вземане-даване навремето. Тя мечтае да пречука този, който е поел бизнеса на семейството ѝ, но има много спънки по пътя си.
Издателство "Изток-Запад"
http://knigolandia.info/book-review/z...
Джо Курц е бивш затворник, който е участвал в твърде много мръсни неща навремето. Сега се опитва да се прави на частен детектив на дребно с разни безобидни поръчки, но не може да вложи душата си в това начинание – нито има дом като дом, нито офис като офис, и не държи особено това да се променя. Но спокойствието му е нарушено, когато някой възлага на познати нему убийци да му светят маслото – и тяхната некомпетентност дори го обижда. Тръгвайки по дирите на поръчителите, той се свързва в крайно нестабилен съюз с наследничка на загубила сили и влияние мафиотска фамилия, с която е имал вземане-даване навремето. Тя мечтае да пречука този, който е поел бизнеса на семейството ѝ, но има много спънки по пътя си.
Издателство "Изток-Запад"
http://knigolandia.info/book-review/z...
December 18, 2018
Интересно се получи. След „Куфарът” очаквах нещо подобно - безумно и изпълнено с задъхващо действие, но Симънс успя за пореден път да ме изненада. Романът Hard Freeze е горе-долу два пъти по-обемен от предшественика си и Симънс е вкарал цялата си способност да навърже заплетен сюжет. Резултатът е по-скоро ноар трилър, от колкото пълп. Все пак авторът успява да заобиколи клишетата от жанра, особено тези свързани с коравия, нещастен, симпатяга за главен герой. Джо Курц е способен, но далеч не е Джон Рамбо, нито Хъмфри Богард, а проблемите които го напалатват на камари могат да катурнат и най-коравия копелдак. Освен това успява доста добре да се развие в течение на повествованието, но пак да си остане малко или много мистерия. А антагонистът е мнооого на място – свръхинтелигентен психопат, изнасилвач, убиец, религиозен екстремист, хамелион – ммм!
Буквално месеци след събитията в „Куфарът”, Бъфало щата Ню Йорк отново ще се превърне в кървава баня, в центъра на която е нашето момче. Не му стигат старите награди за главата, проблемите с пробацията и алкохоликът опекун на може-би-дъщеря-му, а се оказва, че още някой иска да го види мъртъв и то някой скръндза, защото по петите на Курц са плъзнали всички второразредни килъри в щата; плюс последната издънка на фамилия Фарино си е дошла от европа и има планове за него; плюс добрият му приятел Прино му изпраща умиращ от рак клиент с трогателна история, която Курц някак взима присърце, колкото и да се прави на непукист; плюс затварят му офиса и трябва да намери 35 бона до края на седмицата; плюс... абе мазало.
Симънс я подкарва на няколко сюжетни линии, които в движение се събират една в друга, докато не доведат до Тит Андроникова финална сцена. Отново литературните референции са на ниво и обхващат от класическа литература, през филосовски трудове, до криминални романи. След всяка негова книга списъкът ми за четене нараства в геометрична прогресия (е, може би аритметична, айде). Да веидим третата, че не я долюбват много читателите.
Буквално месеци след събитията в „Куфарът”, Бъфало щата Ню Йорк отново ще се превърне в кървава баня, в центъра на която е нашето момче. Не му стигат старите награди за главата, проблемите с пробацията и алкохоликът опекун на може-би-дъщеря-му, а се оказва, че още някой иска да го види мъртъв и то някой скръндза, защото по петите на Курц са плъзнали всички второразредни килъри в щата; плюс последната издънка на фамилия Фарино си е дошла от европа и има планове за него; плюс добрият му приятел Прино му изпраща умиращ от рак клиент с трогателна история, която Курц някак взима присърце, колкото и да се прави на непукист; плюс затварят му офиса и трябва да намери 35 бона до края на седмицата; плюс... абе мазало.
Симънс я подкарва на няколко сюжетни линии, които в движение се събират една в друга, докато не доведат до Тит Андроникова финална сцена. Отново литературните референции са на ниво и обхващат от класическа литература, през филосовски трудове, до криминални романи. След всяка негова книга списъкът ми за четене нараства в геометрична прогресия (е, може би аритметична, айде). Да веидим третата, че не я долюбват много читателите.
July 29, 2018
Hard Freeze is the second installment in the Joe Kurtz trilogy, and it did not disappoint.
We pick up almost where we left off with Hardcase, which is where I think I slipped up, as it has been 2 years since I read Hardcase so I think a quick refresh would have been useful, but it isn't essential.
It took me a while to get into the story, mainly because it starts with 3 story lines that merges into 2 and then merges into 1. I found this rather difficult to follow to start off with but the way Simmons does this is brilliant and all the pieces start to fit together so perfectly, which really helps the pace of the story.
For me, this really picked up about 1/3 of the way through the novel, the action scenes were fantastic, and the small cast of characters were just enough for me, and all had their part to play. Dan is so good at creating characters that you despise. We saw this in The Terror with the character, Hickey, and also in Endymion with Nemes. In Hard Freeze, we come across Hansen. What I really enjoyed about Hansen is that we got to see things through his eyes, and read his thoughts, excuses and reasons for committing the horrific acts he has carried out is quite disturbing, but also interesting to read.
I also have to mention how great Joe Kurtz is, his personality is cold but witty, and he definitely has about 1 million things going on in his head at any one time to try and plan his next step. A truly brilliant character!
Overall, I do recommend Hard Freeze, and the rest of the Joe Kurtz trilogy. I am not someone who normally reads crime novels, but I have thoroughly enjoyed this novel - probably more so than Hardcase - and I look forward to reading Hard as Nails in the near future.
We pick up almost where we left off with Hardcase, which is where I think I slipped up, as it has been 2 years since I read Hardcase so I think a quick refresh would have been useful, but it isn't essential.
It took me a while to get into the story, mainly because it starts with 3 story lines that merges into 2 and then merges into 1. I found this rather difficult to follow to start off with but the way Simmons does this is brilliant and all the pieces start to fit together so perfectly, which really helps the pace of the story.
For me, this really picked up about 1/3 of the way through the novel, the action scenes were fantastic, and the small cast of characters were just enough for me, and all had their part to play. Dan is so good at creating characters that you despise. We saw this in The Terror with the character, Hickey, and also in Endymion with Nemes. In Hard Freeze, we come across Hansen. What I really enjoyed about Hansen is that we got to see things through his eyes, and read his thoughts, excuses and reasons for committing the horrific acts he has carried out is quite disturbing, but also interesting to read.
I also have to mention how great Joe Kurtz is, his personality is cold but witty, and he definitely has about 1 million things going on in his head at any one time to try and plan his next step. A truly brilliant character!
Overall, I do recommend Hard Freeze, and the rest of the Joe Kurtz trilogy. I am not someone who normally reads crime novels, but I have thoroughly enjoyed this novel - probably more so than Hardcase - and I look forward to reading Hard as Nails in the near future.
October 24, 2020
Джо Курц отново разчиства сметки, намесва се в игрите на мафията, но най-интересното беше намесата на сериен убиец превъплащаващ се като хамелеон в различни социални прослойки и уважавани професии. Именно криминалната нишка пре��извика донякъде интереса ми и повиши малко оценката.
Много мислих каква оценка да дам. Като цяло е по-добра от Куфарът, имаше повече екшън, повече обрати и много куршуми. Но това не ми е от предпочитаните жанрове и затова оценката ми няма да е висока. Все пак, за да я разгранича от пошлата първа ще дам 2,5 и ще ги закръгля към 3*.
Много мислих каква оценка да дам. Като цяло е по-добра от Куфарът, имаше повече екшън, повече обрати и много куршуми. Но това не ми е от предпочитаните жанрове и затова оценката ми няма да е висока. Все пак, за да я разгранича от пошлата първа ще дам 2,5 и ще ги закръгля към 3*.
October 31, 2023
Hard Freeze book 2 in the Kurtz series by Dan Simmons doesn’t mess around, Kurtz goes straight ahead, and it’s a blizzard that follows.
The Problem. “Kurtz ate his hot dogs and considered the problem. First, he had to find out who had ordered the contract on him. No, scratch that. First he had to deal with the Three Stooges, but in a way that allowed him to find out who had put the contract out. He ate slowly and looked at the logistics of the matter. They weren’t promising.” … “in Attica with them, everyone had known them only as the Three Stooges. White men, in their thirties, not related except via some sexual ménage à trois that Kurtz didn’t want to think about, the Stooges were dirt stupid but crafty in their mean and lethal way. The Stooges had made a career of exercise-yard shank jobs, taking orders from those who couldn’t get at their targets for whatever reason and contracting their hits out for pay as low as a few dozen cartons of cigarettes”
The Place. “KURTZ LIKED BUFFALO winters because the Buffalonians knew how to deal with winter. A few inches of snow—snow that would paralyze some wussy city such as Washington or Nashville—went all but unnoticed by Buffalo residents. Plows plowed, sidewalks got shoveled early, and people went on about their business. A foot of snow got people’s attention in Buffalo, but only for as long as it took to push and plow it into the ten-foot-high heap of earlier-plowed snow.” …Some get used to it. “Kurtz had no idea how Pruno and some of the other winos who refused to stay in shelters more than a few of the worst nights managed to survive such winters. But surviving the winter was Pruno’s problem. Surviving the next few days and weeks was Kurtz’s problem.”
A Hotel is not a home. “The hotel had been going downhill for the past ninety years and seemed to have reached a balance point somewhere between total decay and imminent collapse. Over the preceding decades, the hotel part of the building, the lower five floors, had gone from a workingman’s hotel to flophouse to low-income housing center, and then back to residential flophouse. Most of the residents were on welfare, lithium, and/or Thorazine.” Visitors “ plainclothes cops were like snakes or nuns and always traveled in pairs. Kurtz could see the two sets of footprints in the plaster dust he’d left covering the center of the stairs. Brubaker, who had the larger feet—Kurtz had noticed before—had a hole in his sole. That sounded about right to Kurtz.” Roused. “Kurtz could finally stand, he staggered a few steps, opened the window, and vomited out into the alley. No reason to get his bathroom all messy. He’d cleaned it just a week or two before.”
Family. “tacit control of the Farino family was currently in the hands of their traditional enemies. When Angelina thought of the fat, fish-faced, blubbery-lipped, sweating pig-hemorrhoid that was Emilio Gonzaga determining the Farinos’ destiny, she wanted to rip both his and her brother’s heads off and piss down their necks.” … “this power-sharing thing, this idea of the three of us running things—” Emilio’s veneer of education slipped as he pronounced the word tings “—it’s what the old guys, the Romans, our ancestors, used to call a troika.” … “The point is that you benefit, I benefit, and Little Ska…Stephen…he benefits the most. Like old times, only without the rancor.” Gonzaga pronounced the last word rain-core.”
And Psychopath. “His plan had been to kill as many people as possible—including his coughing, wheezing, useless mother—and then, like Huck Finn, light out for the territory. But a combination of his genius-level IQ and the fact that first period had been gym—Hansen did not want to go on his killing rampage wearing silly gym trunks—made him think twice.” … “ time to settle scores later, he knew, when it would not require going on the run for the rest of his life, with the cops chasing what he already thought of as his “larval identity.”
Private Investigator. “Pruno had given Kurtz a reading list before he left for prison, and the first book Kurtz had read was Madame Bovary. He was reminded now of how Emma Bovary’s corpse had looked after the arsenic had killed her. Johnny Norse’s eyes were flicking back and forth like cornered rodents. He shook his head and Kurtz kinked the oxygen lines again, holding them kinked this time until Norse’s gasps were as loud as Cheyne-Stokes death rattles. “Some…cunt…of a P.I.…found the connection…between Falco and Levine…and us snatching the kid. Emilio—” He stopped and looked up at Kurtz, his corpse mouth twitching in what might have been an attempt at an ingratiating Johnny Norse smile. “I didn’t have…nothing to do with it. I didn’t even know who they were talking about. I didn’t— Kurtz reached for the oxygen hose. “Jesus…fuck…all right. Emilio put the word out. I…delivered it…to the drug dealers…Falco and…Levine. You got what you ...”
Moral Education. “Frears had gone to Princeton as an undergraduate but had transferred to Juilliard for his junior year. Then something truly strange: John Wellington Frears had volunteered for the U.S. Army and had gone to Vietnam in 1967. The note said that he had been with the Army Engineers, a sergeant in charge of demolition and disarming booby traps. He’d served two tours in Vietnam and one year in the States before returning to civilian life and beginning his professional music career.”… “It is folly,” said Pruno, “to form policy based on assumptions of the enemy’s intentions…judge his capabilities and prepare accordingly.” … six stages of moral development. Level One was simple avoidance of punishment. Moral boundaries are set only to avoid pain. “Level Two was a crude form of moral judgment motivated by the need to satisfy one’s own desires,” said Frears. “Level Three was sometimes called the ‘Good Boy/Good Girl’ orientation—a need to avoid rejection or the disapproval of others.” “Stage Four was the Law and Order level,” said Frears. “People had evolved to the moral degree that they had an absolute imperative not to be criticized by a duly recognized authority figure.” “ Nazi Germany,” said Kurtz. “Stage Five individuals seem motivated by an overwhelming need to respect the social order and to uphold legally determined laws. The law becomes a touchstone, a moral imperative ” “A Level Six individual makes his moral decisions based on his own conscience in attempts to resonate with certain universal ethical considerations…even when those decisions fly in the face of existing laws. United States was founded by Level Six minds,” said Frears, “protected and preserved by Level Fives, and populated by Level Fours and below.” Kohlberg’s dream was to find a Level Seven personality.” “Jesus Christ?” “Precisely,” Frears said with no hint of irony. “Or Gandhi. Or Socrates. Or Buddha. Someone who can only respond to universal ethical imperatives. They have no choice in the matter. Usually the rest of us respond by putting them to death.” … “testing showed that there were many people walking the street who can only be classified as Level Zeroes. Their moral development has not even evolved to the point where they will avoid pain and punishment if their whim dictates otherwise. Other human beings’ suffering means absolutely nothing to them. The clinical term is ‘sociopath,’ but the real word is ‘monster.’”
Action story ensues, Monster, Wise Guys and Cops … Kurtz? “Arlene set the big pistol on her curio cabinet and opened the door. “How’re they hanging, Joe?” “Still low, wrinkled, and to the left.” She batted ashes out onto the stoop. “You came all the way over from whatever Dumpster you’ve been sleeping in to tell me that?”
Not to leave you hanging, but you can read the book…
The Problem. “Kurtz ate his hot dogs and considered the problem. First, he had to find out who had ordered the contract on him. No, scratch that. First he had to deal with the Three Stooges, but in a way that allowed him to find out who had put the contract out. He ate slowly and looked at the logistics of the matter. They weren’t promising.” … “in Attica with them, everyone had known them only as the Three Stooges. White men, in their thirties, not related except via some sexual ménage à trois that Kurtz didn’t want to think about, the Stooges were dirt stupid but crafty in their mean and lethal way. The Stooges had made a career of exercise-yard shank jobs, taking orders from those who couldn’t get at their targets for whatever reason and contracting their hits out for pay as low as a few dozen cartons of cigarettes”
The Place. “KURTZ LIKED BUFFALO winters because the Buffalonians knew how to deal with winter. A few inches of snow—snow that would paralyze some wussy city such as Washington or Nashville—went all but unnoticed by Buffalo residents. Plows plowed, sidewalks got shoveled early, and people went on about their business. A foot of snow got people’s attention in Buffalo, but only for as long as it took to push and plow it into the ten-foot-high heap of earlier-plowed snow.” …Some get used to it. “Kurtz had no idea how Pruno and some of the other winos who refused to stay in shelters more than a few of the worst nights managed to survive such winters. But surviving the winter was Pruno’s problem. Surviving the next few days and weeks was Kurtz’s problem.”
A Hotel is not a home. “The hotel had been going downhill for the past ninety years and seemed to have reached a balance point somewhere between total decay and imminent collapse. Over the preceding decades, the hotel part of the building, the lower five floors, had gone from a workingman’s hotel to flophouse to low-income housing center, and then back to residential flophouse. Most of the residents were on welfare, lithium, and/or Thorazine.” Visitors “ plainclothes cops were like snakes or nuns and always traveled in pairs. Kurtz could see the two sets of footprints in the plaster dust he’d left covering the center of the stairs. Brubaker, who had the larger feet—Kurtz had noticed before—had a hole in his sole. That sounded about right to Kurtz.” Roused. “Kurtz could finally stand, he staggered a few steps, opened the window, and vomited out into the alley. No reason to get his bathroom all messy. He’d cleaned it just a week or two before.”
Family. “tacit control of the Farino family was currently in the hands of their traditional enemies. When Angelina thought of the fat, fish-faced, blubbery-lipped, sweating pig-hemorrhoid that was Emilio Gonzaga determining the Farinos’ destiny, she wanted to rip both his and her brother’s heads off and piss down their necks.” … “this power-sharing thing, this idea of the three of us running things—” Emilio’s veneer of education slipped as he pronounced the word tings “—it’s what the old guys, the Romans, our ancestors, used to call a troika.” … “The point is that you benefit, I benefit, and Little Ska…Stephen…he benefits the most. Like old times, only without the rancor.” Gonzaga pronounced the last word rain-core.”
And Psychopath. “His plan had been to kill as many people as possible—including his coughing, wheezing, useless mother—and then, like Huck Finn, light out for the territory. But a combination of his genius-level IQ and the fact that first period had been gym—Hansen did not want to go on his killing rampage wearing silly gym trunks—made him think twice.” … “ time to settle scores later, he knew, when it would not require going on the run for the rest of his life, with the cops chasing what he already thought of as his “larval identity.”
Private Investigator. “Pruno had given Kurtz a reading list before he left for prison, and the first book Kurtz had read was Madame Bovary. He was reminded now of how Emma Bovary’s corpse had looked after the arsenic had killed her. Johnny Norse’s eyes were flicking back and forth like cornered rodents. He shook his head and Kurtz kinked the oxygen lines again, holding them kinked this time until Norse’s gasps were as loud as Cheyne-Stokes death rattles. “Some…cunt…of a P.I.…found the connection…between Falco and Levine…and us snatching the kid. Emilio—” He stopped and looked up at Kurtz, his corpse mouth twitching in what might have been an attempt at an ingratiating Johnny Norse smile. “I didn’t have…nothing to do with it. I didn’t even know who they were talking about. I didn’t— Kurtz reached for the oxygen hose. “Jesus…fuck…all right. Emilio put the word out. I…delivered it…to the drug dealers…Falco and…Levine. You got what you ...”
Moral Education. “Frears had gone to Princeton as an undergraduate but had transferred to Juilliard for his junior year. Then something truly strange: John Wellington Frears had volunteered for the U.S. Army and had gone to Vietnam in 1967. The note said that he had been with the Army Engineers, a sergeant in charge of demolition and disarming booby traps. He’d served two tours in Vietnam and one year in the States before returning to civilian life and beginning his professional music career.”… “It is folly,” said Pruno, “to form policy based on assumptions of the enemy’s intentions…judge his capabilities and prepare accordingly.” … six stages of moral development. Level One was simple avoidance of punishment. Moral boundaries are set only to avoid pain. “Level Two was a crude form of moral judgment motivated by the need to satisfy one’s own desires,” said Frears. “Level Three was sometimes called the ‘Good Boy/Good Girl’ orientation—a need to avoid rejection or the disapproval of others.” “Stage Four was the Law and Order level,” said Frears. “People had evolved to the moral degree that they had an absolute imperative not to be criticized by a duly recognized authority figure.” “ Nazi Germany,” said Kurtz. “Stage Five individuals seem motivated by an overwhelming need to respect the social order and to uphold legally determined laws. The law becomes a touchstone, a moral imperative ” “A Level Six individual makes his moral decisions based on his own conscience in attempts to resonate with certain universal ethical considerations…even when those decisions fly in the face of existing laws. United States was founded by Level Six minds,” said Frears, “protected and preserved by Level Fives, and populated by Level Fours and below.” Kohlberg’s dream was to find a Level Seven personality.” “Jesus Christ?” “Precisely,” Frears said with no hint of irony. “Or Gandhi. Or Socrates. Or Buddha. Someone who can only respond to universal ethical imperatives. They have no choice in the matter. Usually the rest of us respond by putting them to death.” … “testing showed that there were many people walking the street who can only be classified as Level Zeroes. Their moral development has not even evolved to the point where they will avoid pain and punishment if their whim dictates otherwise. Other human beings’ suffering means absolutely nothing to them. The clinical term is ‘sociopath,’ but the real word is ‘monster.’”
Action story ensues, Monster, Wise Guys and Cops … Kurtz? “Arlene set the big pistol on her curio cabinet and opened the door. “How’re they hanging, Joe?” “Still low, wrinkled, and to the left.” She batted ashes out onto the stoop. “You came all the way over from whatever Dumpster you’ve been sleeping in to tell me that?”
Not to leave you hanging, but you can read the book…
June 13, 2020
Knallharte Actionunterhaltung aber mir fehlt nach wie vor das gewisse Etwas.
July 19, 2015
You know, I was curious as to where Simmons was gonna go with this series after the ending of Hardcase in which . The first novel was just so cover-to-cover entertaining and well written that I was kind of worried that the author might have second-book issues with this one. Mr. Simmons, I'm sorry I doubted you. Hard Freeze is every bit at the same level as the first book, occasionally providing even more grim thrills and badassery. People who have liked Simmons' other stuff but are skeptical/unsure about the crime genre should really give this series a shot. One more good book and Simmons will have written what will surely be one of my favorite crime series (even if its relative brevity makes me kinda sad.)
Without presenting any overt spoilers I can say that this book makes clear the format of the Kurtz books; the ongoing saga of the mob power struggle for control of Buffalo continues while Kurtz grapples with what I like to think of as this series' kind of Monster of the Week plot (there was one in Hardcase and as I'm almost halfway through it I can testify to one being in Hard as Nails too). Both stories are thoroughly entertaining, but I really get my kicks watching Kurtz play cat-and-mouse with these fuckin' weirdos that Simmons is so good at coming up with. The villain in this book really takes the cake, though; he's an identity-less chameleon of a gleefully sociopathic rapist/murderer. Seriously! If I can borrow some slang from my British Isles brothers and sisters a true hardman like Joe Kurtz deserves to have the creepiest, grossest, most competent killers to grapple with and Simmons gives him this in buckets.
One skill of Simmons' that shines clearly in all of his books be they horror, sci-fi, historical, whatever is his gift for setting. Dude kicks ass at this shit as readers of his Hyperion books will know, and even if Buffalo isn't as immediately compelling as the Valley of the Time Tombs, Yggdrasil or God's Grove it's still thoroughly-detailed and alive feeling, inhabited by all the greasy and sketchy people and places that a good crime tale needs. I probably mentioned this in my Hardcase review, but I always appreciate Simmons taking the time to find an original setting for his stories as literally fucking ALL of the crime books I've read are set in L.A. or New York. Listen, there's a reason that most of these stories are set in those cities and I just read and thoroughly enjoyed Andrew Vachss' New York via Blue Belle, but it was clever and ballsy to do something different and Simmons obviously pulled it off.
These books were obviously intended as pure fun for both the reader and author, and they surely are this. There's a wry, often very gallowsy sense of humor running through the entire series even though it deals with some pretty dark, violent shit. I love reading books where the author's sense of fun writing them is palpable and these books are some of the most intense fun-vibe-giving ones I've ever read. That said, they're not a goofy pastiche, send-up, parody or tongue-in-cheek homage. They almost certainly are a homage, but they're one taken seriously by the author and written with all of his very considerable skill and power as a writer. I know that probably sounds a bit contradictory, but Simmons is just that good of a writer; he just pushes all the levels to max and just lets the reader deal with it as they will. As I mentioned before, these books seem to be a bit under-read both by Simmons fans and in general so I encourage even the mildly curious to try them.
Without presenting any overt spoilers I can say that this book makes clear the format of the Kurtz books; the ongoing saga of the mob power struggle for control of Buffalo continues while Kurtz grapples with what I like to think of as this series' kind of Monster of the Week plot (there was one in Hardcase and as I'm almost halfway through it I can testify to one being in Hard as Nails too). Both stories are thoroughly entertaining, but I really get my kicks watching Kurtz play cat-and-mouse with these fuckin' weirdos that Simmons is so good at coming up with. The villain in this book really takes the cake, though; he's an identity-less chameleon of a gleefully sociopathic rapist/murderer. Seriously! If I can borrow some slang from my British Isles brothers and sisters a true hardman like Joe Kurtz deserves to have the creepiest, grossest, most competent killers to grapple with and Simmons gives him this in buckets.
One skill of Simmons' that shines clearly in all of his books be they horror, sci-fi, historical, whatever is his gift for setting. Dude kicks ass at this shit as readers of his Hyperion books will know, and even if Buffalo isn't as immediately compelling as the Valley of the Time Tombs, Yggdrasil or God's Grove it's still thoroughly-detailed and alive feeling, inhabited by all the greasy and sketchy people and places that a good crime tale needs. I probably mentioned this in my Hardcase review, but I always appreciate Simmons taking the time to find an original setting for his stories as literally fucking ALL of the crime books I've read are set in L.A. or New York. Listen, there's a reason that most of these stories are set in those cities and I just read and thoroughly enjoyed Andrew Vachss' New York via Blue Belle, but it was clever and ballsy to do something different and Simmons obviously pulled it off.
These books were obviously intended as pure fun for both the reader and author, and they surely are this. There's a wry, often very gallowsy sense of humor running through the entire series even though it deals with some pretty dark, violent shit. I love reading books where the author's sense of fun writing them is palpable and these books are some of the most intense fun-vibe-giving ones I've ever read. That said, they're not a goofy pastiche, send-up, parody or tongue-in-cheek homage. They almost certainly are a homage, but they're one taken seriously by the author and written with all of his very considerable skill and power as a writer. I know that probably sounds a bit contradictory, but Simmons is just that good of a writer; he just pushes all the levels to max and just lets the reader deal with it as they will. As I mentioned before, these books seem to be a bit under-read both by Simmons fans and in general so I encourage even the mildly curious to try them.
July 10, 2016
Cuando compré el libro yo no sabía que era la segunda parte de una trilogía, lo compré en una feria del libro porque estaba barato.
"El sufrimiento de otros seres humanos no significa absolutamente nada para ellos. El término clínico es «sociópata» y la palabra apropiada es «monstruo»
Les ahorraré tiempo: es la típica novela negra con un anti-héroe al que todo le sale bien (el seductor, el que no falla un tiro, el que puede derrotar a cien hombres armados usando solo un destapa cañoOk. Eso no.) y un villano quien también se sale siempre con la suya... hasta que conoce a nuestro protagonista. La formula del éxito de millones de películas y series.
La historia es interesante, sin mas. Los personajes son variados en comportamiento y objetivos pero no logran estar lo suficientemente plasmados.
Conforme el libro avanza la situación del nuestro protagonista anti-héroe se complica y se torna mas prometedora. Las últimas páginas te mantienen en vilo hasta terminar el libro pero tampoco es algo propiamente original.
Lo Mejor: No aburre en ningún momento.
Lo Peor: Desconozco la razón pero no logró atraparme del todo.
Una novela interesante para pasar un buen rato. Lo he pensado y tengo que decirlo: la historia me hubiera gustado más si estuviera en una película y no en un libro.
"El sufrimiento de otros seres humanos no significa absolutamente nada para ellos. El término clínico es «sociópata» y la palabra apropiada es «monstruo»
Les ahorraré tiempo: es la típica novela negra con un anti-héroe al que todo le sale bien (el seductor, el que no falla un tiro, el que puede derrotar a cien hombres armados usando solo un destapa caño
La historia es interesante, sin mas. Los personajes son variados en comportamiento y objetivos pero no logran estar lo suficientemente plasmados.
Conforme el libro avanza la situación del nuestro protagonista anti-héroe se complica y se torna mas prometedora. Las últimas páginas te mantienen en vilo hasta terminar el libro pero tampoco es algo propiamente original.
Lo Mejor: No aburre en ningún momento.
Lo Peor: Desconozco la razón pero no logró atraparme del todo.
Una novela interesante para pasar un buen rato. Lo he pensado y tengo que decirlo: la historia me hubiera gustado más si estuviera en una película y no en un libro.
October 27, 2020
This is the second of three Joe Kurtz hard-boiled detective novels that Simmons wrote. Good stuff for John MacDonald fans. My problem was that I was thrown out of the story (the suspension-of-belief, if you will) early because of lazy editing. On page two, Joe goes into Ted' Hot Dogs and gets two dogs, onion rings, and a cup of coffee. On page three, he starts on his second dog and takes a drink of his Coke. What? If there was some magical transubstantiation that turned his coffee into Coke it should have been explained in the text. Sure, it's a minor point, but it bugged me nonetheless.
October 30, 2021
A child rapist / murderer, unimaginably intelligent, who uses his intelligence, not to take down pendejo elite who make the world into a fascism, but to take on aliases, with power, to help him rape and murder even more teenage girls. That's who this story is about.
Joe Kurtz, an ex PI, ex military, is taking him on. Joe Kurtz is also extremely intelligent, and extremely dangerous. You'd never think he'd be able to get out of the straits he's in, in this story, but he does it!
I like the ending, for all the violence done to the bodies. It's not what you think.
Frears, a world famous violinist, who is dying of cancer, and whose daughter was raped and murdered by the violent criminal in this story, explains to joe Kurtz what he has learned from Lawrence kohlberg, the philosopher who had a theory that human beings passed through stages of moral development, just as they have to pass through Jean Piaget's stages of development.
" 'Level one was simple avoidance of punishment. Moral boundaries are set only to avoid pain. ...Level 2 was a crude form of moral judgment motivated by the need to satisfy one's own desires. ...Level 3 was sometimes called the good boy / good girl orientation -- a need to avoid rejection or the disapproval of others. ...Stage 4 was the law and order level. People had evolved to the moral degree that they had an absolute imperative not to be criticized by a duly recognized authority figure. Sometimes entire national populations appear to be made up of stage 4 and lower citizens.'
'Nazi germany,' said kurtz.
'Exactly. Stage 5 individuals seem motivated by an overwhelming need to respect the social order and to uphold legally determined laws. The law becomes a touchstone, a moral imperative unto itself.'
'ACLU type who allow the Nazis to march in skokie,' said kurtz. 'is stage 5 the top floor?' Asked kurtz.
Frear shook his head. 'Not according to the research that professors KohlBerg and Frederick were carrying out. A level 6 individual makes his moral decisions based on his own conscience and attempts to resonate with certain universal ethical considerations.. even when those decisions fly in the face of existing laws. Say, Henry Davidson Thoreau's opposition to the war with mexico, or the civil Rights Marchers in the south in the 1960s. Professor Frederick used to say that the United States was founded by level 6 minds,' said frears, 'protected and preserved by level fives, and populated by level fours and below. Does this make any sense, Mr kurtz?'
'Sure. But it hasn't done a damned thing towards telling me why you left juilliard and went to the Vietnam war.'
Frears smiled. 'At the time, this idea of moral development was very important to me, Mr kurtz. Lawrence Kohlberg's dream was to find a level 7 personality.
'who would that be?' said kurtz. 'Jesus christ?'
'precisely,' frears said with no hint of irony. ' or Gandhi. Or socrates. Or buddha. Someone who can only respond to universal ethical imperatives. They have no choice in the matter. Usually the rest of us respond by putting them to death.'
'hemlock,' said kurtz. Pruno had made Plato's dialogues required reading for him in attica.
'Yes.' frears set his long, elegant fingers on the metal briefcase. 'Lawrence kohlberg never found a stage 7 personality. but he did find something else, Mr kurtz. His testing showed that there were many people walking the street who can only be classified as level zeros. Their moral development has not even evolved to the point where they will avoid pain and punishment if their whim dictates otherwise. Other human beings' sufferings means absolutely nothing to them. The clinical term is "sociopath," but the real word is "monster." ' "[The premier imperialist's rulers.]
And here's the part that's violent that I liked. The level zero, Hanson, child rapist/murderer, gets his comeuppance. And it's not even Joe Kurtz who does it:
"100 yards away through blowing snow, snug in the driver's seat of the Cadillac suv, Hansen heard none of this. He turned the ignition, heard the V8 roar to life, set the heater to maximum, and flipped on the halogen headlights.
He had just raised his hand to the gear shift when there came a soft tik-tik and 32 lbs of C4 explosive rigged under the floorboards, in the engine compartment, behind the dash, and especially carefully around the 40 gallon fuel tank, exploded in tight sequence.
The first wad of explosive blew off Hansen's feet just above the ankles. The second batch of C4 blew the hood 100 ft into the air and sent the windshield flying. The main packet ignited the fuel tank and lifted the two and a half ton vehicle 5 ft into the air before the SUV dropped back onto burning tires. The interior of the Cadillac immediately filled with a fuel-air mixture of burning gasoline.
Hansen was alive. Even as he breathed flames, he thought, I'm alive!
He tried the door but it was buckled and jammed. the passenger seat was twisted forward and on fire. Hansen himself was on fire. The wood and polymer steering wheel was melting in his hands.
Not knowing yet that his feet were gone, Hansen lurched forward and clawed at the dashboard, pulling himself through the jagged hole where the windshield had been.
The hood was gone; the engine compartment was a well of flames.
Hansen did not stop. Reaching up and over with hands of molten flesh, he grabbed the optional roof rack of the Cadillac and pulled his charred and burning legs out of the wreck, twisting free of the interior, dropping himself away from the Flaming mass of metal.
His hair was on fire. His face was on fire. Hansen rolled in the deep snow, smothering the flames, screaming in agony.
He crawled on his smoking elbows farther from the wreck, rolling on his back, trying to breathe through the pain in his lungs. He could see everything clearly, not knowing that his eyelids had fused with his brow and could not be closed. Hansen held his hands in front of his face. they hurt. He saw in a surge of disbelief bordering on a weird joy that his fingers had bloated like hot dogs left too long on the charcoal grill and then burst and melted. He saw white bone against the black sky. The flames illuminated everything in a 60-yard radius.
Hansen tried to scream for help but his lungs were two sacks of carbon."
See what I mean? Now imagine that happening to the rulers of the Imperial power. Laugh out loud.
Joe Kurtz, an ex PI, ex military, is taking him on. Joe Kurtz is also extremely intelligent, and extremely dangerous. You'd never think he'd be able to get out of the straits he's in, in this story, but he does it!
I like the ending, for all the violence done to the bodies. It's not what you think.
Frears, a world famous violinist, who is dying of cancer, and whose daughter was raped and murdered by the violent criminal in this story, explains to joe Kurtz what he has learned from Lawrence kohlberg, the philosopher who had a theory that human beings passed through stages of moral development, just as they have to pass through Jean Piaget's stages of development.
" 'Level one was simple avoidance of punishment. Moral boundaries are set only to avoid pain. ...Level 2 was a crude form of moral judgment motivated by the need to satisfy one's own desires. ...Level 3 was sometimes called the good boy / good girl orientation -- a need to avoid rejection or the disapproval of others. ...Stage 4 was the law and order level. People had evolved to the moral degree that they had an absolute imperative not to be criticized by a duly recognized authority figure. Sometimes entire national populations appear to be made up of stage 4 and lower citizens.'
'Nazi germany,' said kurtz.
'Exactly. Stage 5 individuals seem motivated by an overwhelming need to respect the social order and to uphold legally determined laws. The law becomes a touchstone, a moral imperative unto itself.'
'ACLU type who allow the Nazis to march in skokie,' said kurtz. 'is stage 5 the top floor?' Asked kurtz.
Frear shook his head. 'Not according to the research that professors KohlBerg and Frederick were carrying out. A level 6 individual makes his moral decisions based on his own conscience and attempts to resonate with certain universal ethical considerations.. even when those decisions fly in the face of existing laws. Say, Henry Davidson Thoreau's opposition to the war with mexico, or the civil Rights Marchers in the south in the 1960s. Professor Frederick used to say that the United States was founded by level 6 minds,' said frears, 'protected and preserved by level fives, and populated by level fours and below. Does this make any sense, Mr kurtz?'
'Sure. But it hasn't done a damned thing towards telling me why you left juilliard and went to the Vietnam war.'
Frears smiled. 'At the time, this idea of moral development was very important to me, Mr kurtz. Lawrence Kohlberg's dream was to find a level 7 personality.
'who would that be?' said kurtz. 'Jesus christ?'
'precisely,' frears said with no hint of irony. ' or Gandhi. Or socrates. Or buddha. Someone who can only respond to universal ethical imperatives. They have no choice in the matter. Usually the rest of us respond by putting them to death.'
'hemlock,' said kurtz. Pruno had made Plato's dialogues required reading for him in attica.
'Yes.' frears set his long, elegant fingers on the metal briefcase. 'Lawrence kohlberg never found a stage 7 personality. but he did find something else, Mr kurtz. His testing showed that there were many people walking the street who can only be classified as level zeros. Their moral development has not even evolved to the point where they will avoid pain and punishment if their whim dictates otherwise. Other human beings' sufferings means absolutely nothing to them. The clinical term is "sociopath," but the real word is "monster." ' "[The premier imperialist's rulers.]
And here's the part that's violent that I liked. The level zero, Hanson, child rapist/murderer, gets his comeuppance. And it's not even Joe Kurtz who does it:
"100 yards away through blowing snow, snug in the driver's seat of the Cadillac suv, Hansen heard none of this. He turned the ignition, heard the V8 roar to life, set the heater to maximum, and flipped on the halogen headlights.
He had just raised his hand to the gear shift when there came a soft tik-tik and 32 lbs of C4 explosive rigged under the floorboards, in the engine compartment, behind the dash, and especially carefully around the 40 gallon fuel tank, exploded in tight sequence.
The first wad of explosive blew off Hansen's feet just above the ankles. The second batch of C4 blew the hood 100 ft into the air and sent the windshield flying. The main packet ignited the fuel tank and lifted the two and a half ton vehicle 5 ft into the air before the SUV dropped back onto burning tires. The interior of the Cadillac immediately filled with a fuel-air mixture of burning gasoline.
Hansen was alive. Even as he breathed flames, he thought, I'm alive!
He tried the door but it was buckled and jammed. the passenger seat was twisted forward and on fire. Hansen himself was on fire. The wood and polymer steering wheel was melting in his hands.
Not knowing yet that his feet were gone, Hansen lurched forward and clawed at the dashboard, pulling himself through the jagged hole where the windshield had been.
The hood was gone; the engine compartment was a well of flames.
Hansen did not stop. Reaching up and over with hands of molten flesh, he grabbed the optional roof rack of the Cadillac and pulled his charred and burning legs out of the wreck, twisting free of the interior, dropping himself away from the Flaming mass of metal.
His hair was on fire. His face was on fire. Hansen rolled in the deep snow, smothering the flames, screaming in agony.
He crawled on his smoking elbows farther from the wreck, rolling on his back, trying to breathe through the pain in his lungs. He could see everything clearly, not knowing that his eyelids had fused with his brow and could not be closed. Hansen held his hands in front of his face. they hurt. He saw in a surge of disbelief bordering on a weird joy that his fingers had bloated like hot dogs left too long on the charcoal grill and then burst and melted. He saw white bone against the black sky. The flames illuminated everything in a 60-yard radius.
Hansen tried to scream for help but his lungs were two sacks of carbon."
See what I mean? Now imagine that happening to the rulers of the Imperial power. Laugh out loud.
February 18, 2014
Buffalo ex-con PI Joe Kurtz is on the trail of a serial killer, crooked cops and the mafia don who put a contract out on his partner. What's entertaining to me about Joe's character are the Machiavellian plans he devises and executes to deal his unique brand of justice to assorted bad guys. This is a great series!
May 13, 2008
Dan Simmons has a better flair for hard-boiled crime action stories than you would guess from his horror and Scifi books. I really enjoyed the action and twists/turns in this one. Easy read yet will keep you engaged.
June 11, 2019
This was a decent hard-boiled mystery story. It is very action driven. There are no clear good guys and bad guys just action everywhere. Joe Kurtz is blunt and gets the job done with a ton of collateral damage. I didn't like any of the characters, but the story definitely kept my attention from start to finish.
May 1, 2022
Read in 2003. Simmons is without peer as an American writer.
April 21, 2015
This installment is VASTLY superior to the first novel in this series.
Better story, better written. Where the first novel read like a screenplay (all dialogue and short bursts of prose), this one is more of a novel.
At the very least, there's some character development. You find out more about Kurtz's criminal history. You fill in some holes in regards to his relationship with his "daughter." Kurtz comes off this time around as more sympathetic in general. More real character than cookie-cutter action hero.
The best character development, however, is reserved for the villain. The novel centers around a search for a sadistic serial killer. Dan Simmons lets the reader in on the secret of who it is pretty early on, allowing the tension to come from waiting for the other characters to figure it out.
I've stated before that my love for the work of Dan Simmons has no boundary, and I was nothing if I wasn't disappointed in the first Joe Kurtz novel. But this installment is considerably closer to the Dan Simmons I have grown to love and admire.
Better story, better written. Where the first novel read like a screenplay (all dialogue and short bursts of prose), this one is more of a novel.
At the very least, there's some character development. You find out more about Kurtz's criminal history. You fill in some holes in regards to his relationship with his "daughter." Kurtz comes off this time around as more sympathetic in general. More real character than cookie-cutter action hero.
The best character development, however, is reserved for the villain. The novel centers around a search for a sadistic serial killer. Dan Simmons lets the reader in on the secret of who it is pretty early on, allowing the tension to come from waiting for the other characters to figure it out.
I've stated before that my love for the work of Dan Simmons has no boundary, and I was nothing if I wasn't disappointed in the first Joe Kurtz novel. But this installment is considerably closer to the Dan Simmons I have grown to love and admire.
June 29, 2012
Facile et ludique mais on sent qu'il a été écris aussi rapidement qu'il est lu. La plus partd de personnage de ce livre sont récurrant et comme je n'avais pas lu le ou les précédent(s), j'ai eu l'impression de prends le train en marche. Heureusement c'était un jour de grève...
June 4, 2015
awesome! Simmons can surely write in any genre he chooses... yeah, people will say this is liner for a litter box, but isn't this genre supposd to be typically stereotypical and cornball anyway??? i am off to get the next Kurtz book, kitties need a change of paper :)
March 23, 2011
Not my kind of book... too much psychopathic violence. But it was well done and made compulsive reading.
Read
July 30, 2014So boring- had to quit
June 13, 2019
Dan Simmons has skillfully interwoven three story lines in this fast-moving, action-packed suspense tale. A few parts are not quite credible, but overall, this is an enjoyable book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews