Customer Reviews

Asking for the Moon (Dalziel and Pascoe Mysteries)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I did not realize that this book was a collection of short stories when I first picked it up. But this is not your usual collection of short stories. These four stories are wonderful snapshots of the Dalziel and Pascoe partnership through their years working together. Dalziel is still at his sharpest here, even in the fanciful story "One Small Step" where Pascoe brings him out of retirement to solve the first murder on the moon. Yes, that's right, I said moon. As I said these stories are totally unique, and each one is a wonderful mystery in its own right. Now I will get back to reding the series, but I am glad that I took this little side trip to delve into Dalziel and Pascoe's world.

Ok, first off...no where on the front of the book did it indicate that these were short stories, rather than a full mystery. That is my major complaint. I grabbed the book thinking that since it was Reginald Hill, it was a full mystery. After I read the first story, then I read the back! If the reader prefers a full mystery, then don't get this book!!!

Other than that, and the fact that short stories do not have the time to well develop a mystery plot (my own opinion), I enjoyed Hill's writing. He may not have the plot time in here, but he does develop the characters. Pascoe and Dalziel are a hilarious couple in many ways. Dalziel is an old British curmudgeon, who never ceases to surprise the reader and Pascoe.

The first three stories were pretty good, the last with a mystery based on the moon wasn't as well done. Part of it is trying to write what we expect the future to be like, and that is hard to do. If you base your expectations on science fiction writers like Wells, Verne, Orwell, etc. we are already behind on some things and ahead on others (establishment of space travel versus communications and information retrieval). I am not crazy about mixing the two genres (mystery and science fiction).

But Hill is a good writer. For those who run out of other stuff to read, this book is good enough for a glance...
Karen Sadler

I'm a huge fan of Reginald Hill's Pascoe and Dalziel stories, but this collection of P&D short stories left me kind of scratching my head about what the author had got up to. There are two stories--in this collection of four--that are classic Pascoe and Dalziel. In "Pascoe's Ghost" you get a zig-zag murder mystery with an homage by author Hill to Edgar Allan Poe. "Dalziel's Ghost" is a net full of red herrings that showcases the big man's mental agility and deviousness and his fondness for playing with partner Pascoe's mind.

The book's first story, "The Last National Service Man," is a comic masterpiece, and chronolgically, is early in the P&D partnership.

"One Small Step," the collection's closing story, projects the pair into the distant future. Pascoe has become a major police authority in the European Federal Police and Dalziel is working as a retired consultant. The big surprise here is that they are called to a crime scene on the surface of the moon. Picture the rhino-sized Dalziel in a space suit! There is some over-the-top humor laced into this story--Dalziel brings new meaning to the "mile-high club." But on the whole, I thought the story had a little too much fantasy and zig-zag to be credible.

There's a lot of fun in this collection and it serves as a good intro to Pascoe and Dalziel for those who haven't given them an earlier try.

This was the perfect prescription for the murder-mystery doldrums. I have come to expect witty repartee, engaging plotlines, laugh-out-loud comedy, and fascinating characters from Reginald Hill, and this book did not disappoint. I didn't realize it was four stories in one book, and I found nothing lacking in this format. A glimpse into the early days and future days of our favorite boys - Pascoe and Dalziel - was indeed a treat. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone, and especially to fans of Reginald Hill. Nobody will be disappointed!

The other short stories are fine but the moon visit is laugh-out-loud terrific. Andy D. never fails the reader.

This is a collection of Dalziel and Pascoe stories. That's pronounced Dee-Ell, to the uninitiated. There are four stories here written between 1979 and 1994.

With any long running series maintaining the same characters, there can be a drop off every now and again of consistency. But with Reginald Hill even if the story is not that great you will always have brilliant dialogue. Andy Dalziel has the best lines in crime fiction, he's rude crude and clever. There is never any drop off in the consistency of his patter.

This collection has early stories through to one that is science fiction but always the verbals, they just make you laugh out loud.

When ever I read one of these novels I always see 'Fat Andy" as played by Warren Clarke in the television series.

Which of course brings me back to Anthony Burgess. Clark played the part of one of Alex's 'Droogs', Dim, in the film adaptation of 'A Clockwork Orange'. I may have mentioned this before but in case you missed it, Anthony Burgess was a genius.

Grab a Reginald Hill anytime, you will not regret it. Even his poorer stories are head and shoulders above anyone writing procedurals today

The cover suggests the novella "Pascoe's Ghost" which is the #1 reason for buying and reading this collection, although the title ties in with the final story, "One Small Step". "Pascoe's Ghost" evokes the mood of Edgar Allan Poe's writing and tosses in a chapter which is indeed an homage to Agatha Christie very cleverly made quite appropriate since one of the characters with a dramatic flair has manipulated the scene. This novella alone makes the book well worth purchasing.The three shorts are indeed a welcome bonus. The opening one recounts the first encounter between Pascoe and Dalziel. "Dalziel's Ghost" is a humorous follow-up to "Pascoe's Ghost" and the book concludes with a surprisingly good sci-fi mystery with a murder on the Moon. Written in 1990, it shows where we should be in lunar exploration by 2012 although it's pretty obvious that we won't be there yet. Be that as it may, this book still deserves a high recommendation.

If you love Reginald Hill, you'll love this recording. These smaller stories add insight to his Dalziel and Pascoe novels.

this is a great collection of short stories from one of britain's leading writers.

It is more laden with humour than many of the novels, but that is mainly due to the capacity for some hilarious in-jokes which Hill includes.

"The Last National Service Man" is a more a comedy than a crime story. There are elements of crime, but imagining Dalziel (pronounced "Dee-ell") jogging up and down on the spot in army regalia is just side-splitting! It's a taut, well written story, and does have some great suspense in it at times. The solution is also quite clever, but a bit of a cop out, i feel.

"Pascoes ghost" is another good story, it is well plotted, with more than it's fair share of well drawn characters with interesting and varied motives. Here, the mystery is first class, enough, really, to support an almost full-length novel. The solution is satisfying, in typical Hill style. The climax is also very exciting.

"Dalziel's Ghost" is not so much a crime story, as just a story. It's very much a ponderance upon the characters of Dalziel and Pascoe (but to a lesser extent). There is little real mystery to it at all, but it is still intensely interesting, cleverly plotted, and has another great and somewhat amusing twist at the end!

"One Small Step" is perhaps the best in this collection, offering us a Hill's-eye look at what he thinks life may be like on the future, and the events which have caused the first murder on the moon. (As a crime-fiction concept, it is so original as to deserve a standing ovation.) Again, there are loads of in-jokes, but this time we are treated to a first class mystery story. This is another one which could well support a really cracking full-length novel. The solution is satisfyingly convoluted and multi-faceted, until you really realise what's going on (God forbid taht anyone should underestimate Dalziel! Pascoe should have known better!) Excellent.

All in all, if you like good short stories, give this a go. If you are a Dalziel and Pascoe fan, give this a go. (especially as it catalogues their first meeting.) If you like a good yarn, of any kind, give this a go. If you like good writing with great characters, give this a go.

This collection of short stories is a good introduction to the delightful team of Pascoe and Dalziel. Some of the British (or Yorkshire) slang was beyond me, but it added a lot of color and I was able to get around it easily enough and follow the story without difficulty. This is a good intellectual exercise disguised as entertainment.