Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well worth the $6.99 gamble, July 13, 2008
This review is from: No House Limit (Hard Case Crime) (Mass Market Paperback)
Among the twenty-plus movies that Fox has put out as part of its film noir series, one of my favorites has been I Wake Up Screaming, a gem with Victor Mature, Betty Grable, Elisha Cook and - in a scene-stealing performance - Laird Cregar. The movie was based on a novel by an almost-forgotten writer named Steve Fisher. Hard Case Crime, which has been reissuing a lot of out-of-print works from decades past, has given readers a chance to be introduced to Fisher with his 1958 novel, No House Limit.
No House Limit is a tale of early Las Vegas, that is, the period when the city was really taking off with all new (often mob-financed) casinos. This was not a place for family vacations; all there was to do was gamble and occasionally see a show or go swimming. Joe Martin owns the Rainbow's End, a big casino that is independent from the syndicate; fortunately, Martin is savvy enough to prosper, but the syndicate has decided it's time to take him down.
This doesn't involve anything as crude as murder; instead, the syndicate has staked the best craps player around, the infamous Bello, to win $10,000,000 from the Rainbow's End, ruining Martin in the process. Bello comes in early on a Sunday morning, and Martin - knowing what's coming - needs to monitor the gambler's play and okay the high bets that will be laid down. To some extent, the next few days will be a test of endurance as much as skill, as a marathon gambling session will occur with very little in the way of breaks.
Complicating matters are little distractions that the syndicate has prepared to keep Martin and his security chief Sprig on their toes, a lounge singer who has caught the eye of Bello's girlfriend, and a beautiful schoolteacher who has enamored Martin.
Fisher's prose has a nice lean quality to it that draws the reader in quickly and wastes few words. In addition, he begins most chapters with a little description of the workings of Vegas, establishing the city as a cruel town of superficial pleasures and desperate people. It's good stuff; actually, it's great stuff, the type of tough, short crime novel that you rarely see nowadays. Steve Fisher wrote a lot of books (and films) in his day, but with most of them forgotten, No House Limit is one of the rare chances to read him.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Uneven., April 13, 2009
This review is from: No House Limit (Hard Case Crime) (Mass Market Paperback)
Steve Fisher, probably best known as the author of I Wake Up Screaming, makes 1950s Las Vegas come to life in No House Limit. This short fast paced book covers three hectic days in the life of The Rainbow's End, a casino hotel. In it Fisher, using multiple subplots, describes a number of stereotypic Las Vegas denizens. The driven casino owner, his equally driven chief of security, a prim schoolteacher on vacation, an introspective lounge singer, a professional gambler based on the real life Nick the Greek, a star struck waitress and many, many others.
Some parts of No House Limit are quite interesting, while others, to be honest, are somewhat lame. It's very apparent Steve Fisher had much enthusiasm about the subject matter and made a good effort in trying to share his enthusiasm with the reader. Unfortunately, the end result is markedly uneven. A short, effortless read, but not one of Hard Case Crime's best selections.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Terrific Vegas atmosphere, December 23, 2008
This review is from: No House Limit (Hard Case Crime) (Mass Market Paperback)
Joe Martin runs the Rainbow's End, the only independent casino left in Las Vegas; the rest are all run by the Syndicate (better known to the uninitiated as the Mafia). The Syndicate wants Joe out of business, so they surreptitiously challenge him on his own turf -- by sending Bello, the world's greatest gambler, to win millions of dollars at Joe's craps table.
With Bello on their side, how can they lose? But a man like Joe Martin doesn't get where he is by taking unnecessary risks. He's got an ace in the hole of his own, namely an innocent schoolteacher from Utah.
Steve Fisher, screenwriter of such beloved films as Lady in the Lake and Song of the Thin Man -- and Oscar-nominated for Destination Tokyo for his original story -- was the author of over 100 novels, as many screenplays for film and TV, and nearly 1,000 short stories. Any author who can produce that much understands the need for a brisk pace, and his novel No House Limit doesn't let up from the start. If other Fisher works are this briskly paced, I'll definitely be on the lookout for more.
But the main reason for No House Limit's success is the atmosphere. Fisher's portrait of Las Vegas in the 1950s, especially the casino environment, is so rich and detailed, it's a character in itself. I would have believed that he was a denizen of the city himself. But according to his son Michael's afterword, he just really enjoyed gambling -- the rest came from research, in particular time spent with famous real-life gambler Nick the Greek.
The portrayal of the inside of a busy casino: the overlapping voices (game callers on top of conversations) and the loneliness of crowds combines with his insightful characterizations to make No House Limit -- which is essentially a simple story, well told -- into a memorable reading experience.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
