Customer Reviews

Heat From Another Sun

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

 

 

This is a riviting book, it simmers throughout. It deals with detective Stuart Heydon, one of Lindseys best protagonists. The story is facinating and the villian is vintage Lindsey. The story is chilling and the material graphic to say the least. Lindsey always captures Houston so well in his books and this one is no exception, you can almost feel the humidity sticking to your skin. I think this is one on his strongest books, it is well paced and well researched, like all of Lindsey's books. It is a taunt thriller and you will not be able to put it down, I just read it again recently and it was just as bone chilling.

David Lindsey is a prosemeister. His descriptions are lush; his characterizations have clarity and depth. His Houston Police Department detective Stuart Haydon is a many faceted, sensitive man, perhaps too sensitive to be a homicide cop. Haydon's helpless, nightmare flashbacks were vividly, realistically done.

The plot is unusual. The crime is not a crime: the obsessive collection of violent scenes and film footage. Mr. Lindsey is skillful enough that we feel as repelled by the violence as we would child pornography.

This was my first outing with Mr. Lindsey, and perhaps "Heat from Another Sun" is part of a series, but I never caught any reason for the fabulously wealthy Stuart Haydon to have a motivation for being a member of the Police Department. I became weary of the continual street directions "right on Main, left on Elder, cross Jessamine---" This may be fascinating to Houston residents, but is numbing to outsiders. If you never know another thing about Houston, you will be thoroughly convinced after reading this book; it must be the hottest, most humid place in the USA.

I thought the book should have been slimmed down. It occasionally dragged and felt padded. The pace was uneven; at times I was so lulled by the scene setting and the minute descriptions of apparel that I had to wake up and sit up straight when a graphic, hard-hitting passage popped up. Mr. Lindsey has a unique style; and I will try another book, as the author was recommended to me by a highly respected friend from the Amazon Discussion Boards.

The title itself is a work of art. A rich recluse loves his violent movies and he's willing to pay for those that will provide bloody flicks for him. And the "fix" of third world war scenes just is not enough, and pruveyors of the sick mind get their video cams primed for more ways to make money. Houston police detective Stewart Hayden is a man of wealth and taste himself and here we go. David Lindsey writes beautifully, and even if the characters and plot were not first rate, the prose would be enough to keep the pages turning.

As one who has read everything David Lindsey has published, I eagerly await each new addition to his list. Although he has several stand-alone books, this novel is one of his Stuart Haydon series. It exhibits Lindsey's great ability as a writer to capture the look, feel, smell and tone of a city or location, something that was taught to us in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Pittsburgh. Unfortunately many writers skim over these details and fail to use them to there full potential for setting a mood, characterizing a location and the people in that setting, making a story come alive with vivid scenes and textures. Why a wealthy man whould continue to be a police detective may not be apparent in this one book, but has been explored and slowly revealed in several of Lindsey's other books. Read them all. You won't be disappointed.