5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lean and mean, November 2, 2008
This review is from: Gun Work (Hard Case Crime) (Mass Market Paperback)
I don't know if it started with Richard Stark (a.k.a. Donald Westlake), but there is a certain type of crime novel I always think of as a Parker novel. In Stark's books, Parker is a thief, a man with little in the way of emotions or emotional ties who shouldn't be interesting but somehow is: it's his purely professional nature, his methodical approaches to problems and his coldly ruthless (but never malicious nature) that is--in the capable hands of Stark--compelling to read about.
The main character in David Schow's Gun Work has certain Parker-like qualities. He is a man without ties who operates outside of the law when necessary. Barney is not a thief but, when necessary, he can be a gunman. For Carl Ledbetter, an old war acquaintance, Barney's skills are necessary. Carl's in Mexico City, where his wife has been kidnapped for $1,000,000 ransom. To get his wife back, Carl enlists Barney.
Barney comes to Mexico City, where he quickly suspects that there is more going on than a mere kidnapping. Unfortunately, what's really going on will not become apparent until it's too late. Betrayals will occur and Barney will become a prisoner himself, subjected to torture and slated for gangland execution. Of course, it wouldn't be much of a story if he didn't eventually get free and seek revenge against those who wronged him, and Schow does deliver the goods.
This is the first time I've read Schow and I had fun reading Gun Work. This is not classic literature filled with multiple levels of meaning and symbolism, but it's not meant to be. Instead, it is intended to be pure entertainment, a lean mean crime story, and as such, it works perfectly. If you enjoy the Parker books, this one should be a good read.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Middle of the road Hard Case Crime, June 7, 2009
This review is from: Gun Work (Hard Case Crime) (Mass Market Paperback)
Gun Work has several things going for it. It has a fast plot. The plot is complex. And there is a great sense of place for Mexico. Plus the protagonist is a real tough guy.
However, there are a lot of coincidences that seem forced, a few "Why did they do that?" moments, and a number of plot surprises that failed to surprise.
If you're a real devotee of this series, then dig in. Otherwise, there are at least three dozen better books in the series.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Read ... But Plot Structure Is Weak, March 22, 2009
This review is from: Gun Work (Hard Case Crime) (Mass Market Paperback)
NOTE: In what follows I've tried not to give away too many plot details, but I've discussed the overall shape of the plot (which is pretty obvious from the start). If you don't want to know anything about that plot shape, don't read this review until you've read the book.
I was tempted to give this book four stars right after finishing it, because the ending is good. But too much of "Gun Work" has problems. This is basically a typical violent action story about a loner tough guy who's betrayed, left for dead, and roars back for vengeance. The book's most interesting elements occur when the author tries to deepen this predictable plot a little, but he doesn't go far enough. Barney, the hero, remains undeveloped; the reader never finds out enough about what makes him tick. Instead we have to settle for some interesting ambiguities about whether Barney is, or wishes to remain, as cynical as he tries to be. And ultimately he's pushed out of his cynicism, and that occurrence is almost enough to redeem the book.
But not quite. The early pages are flawed by too much of what amounts to "scene summary" rather than scenes. These are clearly set-up pages, and I would guess the author wanted to get through them quickly in order to get to the real meat of the plot within the space limitation of a Hard Case book. This tendency to summarize actions rather than show them quickly becomes annoying. For example, when Barney and his friend walk into their hotel room to find a dead body waiting for them, it's mentioned almost in passing, with no effort to make the reader experience the shock the characters must have felt.
After the set-up (which ends somewhere around page 60), the action kicks in fast, and doesn't let up. At first it's fun (if you like gruesomely violent fun), but it soon becomes boring. In this long middle section there's some good writing, and the scenes with Barney's Mexican saviors are fascinating, but the revenge scenes are all just boring action.
And where did that convenient group of warrior friends come from, anyway? The reader has been told all along that Barney's a loner, but suddenly he can call upon these guys, who are willing to go all-out for him -- not just putting their lives on the line, but nursing him back to health, re-training him, obtaining or creating exotic weapons and gear ... it's all rather too much to be believed.
Everything that happens from page 60 to page 225 has the initial appearance of just action, action, action. No real plot. Barney wants to survive and get vengeance, that's it. A few pages during his recovery in Mexico hint at something deeper, but that's delayed too long and doesn't go deep enough to satisfy. Meanwhile, through all this, Barney (and the reader) doesn't know the WHY behind any of it. It all seems frustratingly meaningless, and Barney himself doesn't ask why very much. To satisfy a reader, a book like this has to have progressive revelation of the truth about what's happening, and what we get (when we get anything at all) is too vague and untrustworthy. There's some unintelligible stuff in the set-up pages about one of the bad guys mixing money-laundering, kidnapping, and cross-border commerce in some sort of bizarre scheme, but it never adds up to anything for the reader. From the moment Barney is betrayed, the reader already knows essentially everything he'll get to know about the bad guys until the book's final pages. And that's just not enough.
The story builds to a big battle scene before any of the important revelations occur, but the lack of revelation turns the battle into pure Hollywood tripe. It all feels meaningless and silly; the "justice" finally meted out to the evil ones feels superficial and irrelevant, satisfying only because, yes, the bad guys do get what they deserve. But *those* bad guys were never the bad guys the reader cared much about in the first place. Sure, they had to be stopped, and they were, but so what? Why should I care about that enough to read it in a novel?
What I care about is the people, especially the hero, and what he is going through. But he and his enemies remain complete ciphers until the book's last pages.
There are also problems with transitions. Sometimes shifts occur that are really inexplicable. For example, we're told repeatedly while Barney is recovering that he's still so weak that his hand start to bleed when he squeezes the trigger of a gun; then suddenly we're told he's involved in intense training, firing guns hundreds of times a day. How is this possible? Then there's the events at the book's end, when the villain's responses to Barney's actions are so fast they become implausible. Even after we get a semi-explanation near the very end of the book, it doesn't quite add up.
There are similar problems in the later scenes where Barney is again almost killed. Given the context, how were these villains able to get the jump on Barney? It just doesn't make sense.
Having said that, it's also true that this a fast, fun read. The style is usually great -- classic noir slang mixed with action-story technical gun talk. I have no idea whether all the stuff about guns would hold up to scrutiny by someone who really knows the subject, but it sure sounds authentic to an ignoramus like me.
So, in conclusion: flawed but decent.
PS: Before you read "Gun Work," examine the cover painting carefully for clues about the plot!
And when you read it, notice this is a "tharn" book, like "Watership Down" and "The Stand." I wonder how many other clever in-jokes the author added?
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