Customer Reviews

Crucified (Severn House Large Print)

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

 

 

[Note: This review based on the Canadian trade paperback edition]

For many years after my introduction to Michael Slade during the mid-80s, it was tempting to compare successive Special X novels to Slade's first two, Headhunter and Ghoul. This made for a somewhat unsatisfying progression despite some excellent stories. The antidote was to appreciate the merits of each novel on its own. Eventually it became clear that Slade has little interest in being nailed down to any formula, genre, or subject matter, except perhaps for his love of mystery, history, and inventive mayhem. Even so prepared, I was stunned to learn that Slade has offered in his thirteenth novel a thrilling departure from the Special X series.

Crucified is sweet torture for the reader who seeks an answer to the still-hanging "who lives, who dies" question at the end of Kamikaze, the previous Slade novel. It's also a superb example of Slade's ability to link seemingly disparate elements--to reveal what they are would spoil the fun, but they exceed the jaw-dropping connections (among Chinese pharmaceuticals, General Custer, and the legendary Sasquatch) found in Slade's novel Cutthroat. Yet the connections are quite logical; Slade has simply looked deeply enough into history to find them. On top of it all, Crucified entails some interesting twists on the locked-room puzzle found in some Golden Age mysteries.

Wyatt Rook, an author who specializes in Second World War plots, probes the crash site of a British bomber downed over Germany in 1944. As he tries to learn the fates of missing airmen, Rook runs afoul of murderous conspirators who are determined to acquire religious artifacts on behalf of the Vatican.

Crucified includes some fine, realistic exposition of Royal Air Force bomber crews' daily routines. The passages seem to stem from first-hand interviews. If so, it's commendable that Slade has saluted war heroes from another era before they pass on. Tight, smooth, and engrossing throughout, Crucified is the work of a novelist moving onward and upward. Even far from the familiar ground of Special X, Slade flies high, straight, and true. It's a most welcome adventure.

As a devotee of all things Slade . . . I was interested in reading this latest offering . . . and I was not disappointed. As usual, my friend Slade brings history into the story line . . . and that prompted me to want to read more on the subjects mentioned. And with the creation of a new character in Wyatt Rook . . . the creative juices will be renewed for future adventures. In my opinion it takes a lot to keep those juices flowing . . . as evidenced by the change over time in the books of Dean Koontz and Steven King and others who have continued to create and develop characters that I truly care about and want to read more about. Those are the kinds of authors I ENJOY . . . and kudos to Slade for continuing the cause!!!

This book isn't what I expected from Michael Slade. I'm used to layers of intrigue centered around the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. This book, although a big departure from his usual style, is a fast read with plenty of action to keep you coming back for more. If you are a fan of The Da Vinci code, you will enjoy the subject matter of this book.

Plot outline and some details seemed to make this more interesting than I found it to be. But I only managed to get about 1/3rd of the way through it, so maybe it picked up steam at a point where I decided it wasn't going to.

It's one of those books that jumps back and forth in time between the past (WWII) and present day, as it follows a religious nut bent on killing people to protect the Vatican (how Christian is that?)

Plus it's needlessly gory and unpleasant in some details.

Have never read other books by the author. Don't plan to.

Very disappointing.

Michael Slade's 13th thriller is a true departure from what made him one of the best crime fiction writers; The Special X division of the RCMP. Instead Slade introduces us to a new cast of characters for Crucified, and what do we the readers get? Final, unquestionable proof that Michael Slade is THE best crime fiction writer of the past half century!

Lawyer/Historian Wyatt Rook is drawn into an investigation by Liz Hannah where he must deal with a series of locked room mysteries, whodunits, and biblical puzzles that build to a crescendo with the ultimate locked room mystery: The Judas Puzzle.

This is a fascinating book that spans the globe and spans history from two thousand years ago, WWII Germany, and the present day, and continues at a break neck pace until it spirals to the dizzying conclusion.

A great, page turning, thriller that is a must read.

I was dissapointed beyond words in this book. I have read, and loved, every single previous Slade book. The have all been thoroughly researched and taut thrillers. In adddition, the Special X characters he created are compelling. This book, however, was terrible. The research, that is usually so interesting, just seemed like needless displays of knowledge, and I could have forgiven the lack of Special X characters had the characters here been at all compelling, but they weren't. In fact they weren't even likeable. Then, to top it off, the ending was a major copout, leading me to ask why I wasted my time after gutting through this book. I will still read Slade, but if it's not Special X next time I'll wait until I get a dollar or less deal on Amazon.

I admit I have a soft spot for all things Slade, but this book exceeded my expectations. It's not a Special X book, which made me think it might be a little weak. I suppose it also fits in that category of books capitalizing on the Da Vinci Code, but...

The good news is, Slade doesn't need the Special X team to be great, and Slade's novels have often included some historical mystery, so it's not like a blatant Dan Brown rip off. The structure of the novel and quality of the writing far exceeds those comparisons. This novel is more similar Kamizake and Swastika than anything else. I'm sure the Catholic element was timed to capitalize on the current fad, but in that regard the book shares more with David Morrell than Dan Brown.

Anyway - I found the novel exciting, and the historical background interesting. If anything, some of the historical background gets in the way of some of the action, but...that's just personal taste - I like the way Slade presents the historical elements.

Definately recommended.

I would like to counter J. Norburn's comment by saying WHAT!!!!!!
You obviously have not read his other 12 books. I suggest you start with Headhunter, then Ghoul, and go onwards from there.

To say it is a Da Vinci rip off is below the belt. Any book that now comes out regarding Holy relics can now be classed as a Da Vinci rip off, according to you.
This one holds you through out, setting up the players in the game, working through Locked Room mysteries, secret messages in maps, and a deranged Modern day Inquisition General, sanctioned from the VATICAN.
It is thoroughly researched, as are the other books before.
So why not use current news to write a story.
Worked for a certain leader over the second Gulf War.
He did not research that one as well as Slade does.
Just my 2 cents worth.....
Why don't you come over to SPECIALX.NET, and ask him yourself.

Lawyer, historian, and amateur sleuth, Wyatt Rook, has been hired by Liz Hannah to investigate the disappearance of her grandfather after his plane was shot down during a mission in WWII. Liz tells Wyatt enough to peak his interest, but his attraction to her is what sends him to Germany to investigate. But a modern Crusader is determined to stop Wyatt from learning the truth about the real purpose of that mission. As the reader is taken through different time periods including the crucifixion of Christ, WWII missions, and modern Germany, we slowly learn the connection between the religious and war scenes and Wyatt's search.

Crucified is described as a fusion of police procedural, whodunit, suspense, horror, historical, war, and legal thriller. The description is right, but it also identifies part the problem. There's so much going on in this book, so many long descriptions, so much jumping back and forth from topic to topic and time periods that it disrupted the story's flow. A lot of information was presented almost in essay form as POV switched between characters to omniscient in some places. I don't know much about religious history or World War II, so the information was interesting, but it really was too much of a good thing. For example, in the last third of the book, two pages of backstory were inserted into a chase scene. My editor would never let me get away with that. Still, I learned a lot, was entertained for the most part, and the ending was satisfying.

I attended a forum of Canadian crime writers (there aren't many, but we have a few), and `Michael Slade' was one of the panellists. Michael Slade is a pseudonym for a Vancouver lawyer named Jay (who has co-written the Slade books with a few different co-authors). Jay/Slade was an entertaining speaker and a copy of this novel was given out at the event so I decided to read my first Michael Slade novel and see if I was ready to join the ranks of `Sladists' who are fans of his books.

As it turns out he is a much better speaker than he is a novelist. Crucified is pretty flimsy stuff. The first thing I noticed is that Slade really, really likes to use exclamation marks. He's also a big fan of comic book sound effects (usually accompanied by an exclamation point).

Clang!
Booom!
Crack!

Jay/Slade was an entertaining speaker, but it was also very apparent that he was more interested in book sales, marketing, and promotion than he was in the process of writing. He freely admitted that he often sets his novels in locations that he wants to visit. (Might as well write off those vacations) Speaking about his new book, he seemed more interested in talking about the cover art (the Canadian cover is much better than the American version) than the novel itself. This attitude is evident throughout.

Crucified is another Da Vinci Code knock-off, and a pretty lazy one at that. The big secret that threatens to rock the Christian world to its very foundation(yet another variation on the Holy Grail theme)is a lame throwaway. The author even acknowledges that is simply a plot device. The secret itself is inconsequential as long as the characters in the novel are convinced it is of vital importance. Clearly Slade didn't think it was very important to put much thought into what the item was, as long as it could be used to move the plot forward (such as it is).

I don't want to belabour this. Suffice it to say, this is a rather cynical effort to capitalize on Dan Brown's success. Slade's novel is lacking in almost every way. The dialogue is clunky and panders to a predominantly young male audience (our hero Rook is hired by a sexy young woman who offers, by way of payment, to `knock his socks off' in the sack). I could go on but I won't.

Canada does have many great writers (some of them even write crime fiction) but based on this effort, Michael Slade isn't one of them.