Happy Policeman [Hardcover]

Patricia Anthony (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Harcourt Brace & Co. 1944 (1944)
• ASIN: B001KPSOP2
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Once again, the science fiction is a minor aspect, August 13, 2004

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Avid Reader (Franklin, Tn) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Happy Policeman (Hardcover)

As in her latest work, "God's Fires" (a highly-recommended book about the Inquisition and aliens), the science fiction aspects recede into the background. Patricia Anthony's focus has always been with relationships and the human experience - some might say dilemma. She highlights these two elements by using aliens as background noise...they are not so different from us after all OR they are so different we can only relate to one another.

Post-nuclear Texas, a small town has been cut off from the rest of the world by an invisible shield erected by aliens who live among them. The incongruous element was that life went on as normal without a lot of consternation. It is a typical town with an evangelistic preacher, love affairs, law breakers and a tired, guilty Chief of Police. A murder has occurred at the start of the book and the search for the killer forms the germ of the plot.

Yet...and this is the reason for the four stars, when all is said and done, there is more said than done. (WARNING -SPOILER) One could almost sense that the entire six years of the barrier was surreal. What is even more perplexing is that everything that occurred in the town actually happened only in another setting. Instead of hanging a condemned man, we discover he has hung himself in his prison cell in the "real world". No one understands, least of all the people involved, and when they emerge they discover that the world has carried on as before.

So, is it a commentary over taking life for granted, over what is possible in the universe of reality, on the meaning of reality itself. Your guess is as good as mine. But read the story for the richness of the characters (the moment when he finds out about his wife and deputy is a classic) and the effectiveness of the dialogue.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Again!, March 25, 2007

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B5Anteros (New England) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Happy Policeman (Paperback)

She's done it to me again. Kept me hooked throughout the book and then... weird ending.

Just like "God's Fires", "Cold Allies", "Brother Termite," which I actually finished after this one, and now The "Happy Policeman."

This book reads like an episode of The "Outer Limits" on steroids. It's usually my cup of tea when it comes to science fiction. And for most of the book, it is! The thing is that when I read this type of story I expect a payback for all my time expended!

Sigh... Oh well. At least she's a fantastic writer. Do I recommend the book? Yes, but with the reservation I've mentioned. Perhaps I just don't get it and it's possible you will.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars her most underrated book, April 2, 2001

By 

David Myers "david" (Franklin, TN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Happy Policeman (Hardcover)

Patricia Anthony is underrated in general, but this is her most overlooked book. Too bad, because it's THAT GOOD. Although the premise is a simple twist on an old ghost town of sorts, it is sci-fi/specu-fic at its best.