Customer Reviews

A King of Infinite Space

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Tyler Dilts has created a masterpiece with his debut detective novel, A King of Infinite Space. Set in Long Beach, California, Detective Danny Beckett and Jen Tanaka must solve the case of a brutally-murdered English teacher. Through painful mastery of image, dream, characterization, and story telling, Tyler Dilts excels at showing the effects that murder cases have on the detectives investigating them. Using sadness as a measure for goodness, Dilts explores characters in a way that is true, whole, and touches deep down into the reality of a person. I highly recommend A King of Infinite Space not only to anyone who loves reading mystery novels but to anyone who can empathize with pain, loss, and the haunting quality of dreams.

'A King of Infinite Space' may have Shakespearean pretensions in its title, but in actuality it's a pleasant, quick-reading cop thriller set in sunny Long Beach. With a ramshackle cast of quip-happy characters led by a troubled (of course) detective, the author does an efficient job of winding up his story of a murdered, beloved teacher to a nice nail-biting pitch. I rather wish we'd learned more about the LBC underbelly - the city is, after all, a weird balance between wealthy beachfront and the worst gang activity in Los Angeles - but it was good enough to entertain me on a cross-country flight. It was certainly the best AmazonEncore book I've read!

It has been my experience that the mystery genre and all of its corresponding sub-genres, even in what seems to be a relatively progressive present, still suffer from the stigma of being considered somehow less "literary" than other works. I'm hard pressed to say exactly what this means, but whenever the claim is made or even implied I find it is derived, at least partially, from the assumption that genre fiction is more of a distraction from than a response to/direct treatment of the "weightier" issues of the human condition. Tyler Dilts' book effectively discredits such a conviction by presenting us with realistic, compelling characters whose depth and intelligent execution resonate powerfully with the reader from the first page; later, it is not frilly formulaic convention which carries the story along, but the natural evolution of the charactrs and situation, which in turn leads to the powerful realization that the world Dilts has created is not so very different from our own--is closer to it, in fact, than the countless epic sagas of the trials and tribulations of wounded upper-middle class family dynamics faux-literary snobbery would have us accept as more accurate treatments of the implications of life in contemporary society.

Tyler Dilts' work of art, A King of Infinite Space, has and will capture a wide range of readers; Danny Beckett goes on a vivid journey of character discovery, with a touch of romance, just the right amount of suspense, and plenty of mystery. When Elizabeth Williams is viciously murdered, Detective Beckett finds himself drawn to her, the person. In an attempt to right the wrongs from his past, he pushes himself and all boundaries to find her killer. On this path, he faces what he has lost, which then allows him to face life. Dilts does not paint a picture of what life should look like; he gives the reader the canvas, the paint brush, and the paint, and he tells the reader the truth: life just is. I hope to read more of Danny Beckett, more of his self-discovery. Because the truth is, a painted picture will always look the same, but true characterization has the potential to evolve, to change. Tyler Dilts brought Danny Beckett alive.

I loved this book. The characters are richly developed, the procedural details are interesting and I know the area where the action takes place quite well, as does the author. All of this takes a back seat to a well written, exciting story. I would recommend this book to mystery lovers everywhere. I just hope it becomes a series (hint, hint).

I know almost nothing about contemporary mysteries, but I know literature when I read it, and this is literature. Tyler Dilts has used the mystery genre in the same way that James Crumley and poet Richard Hugo have used it in the past: to illuminate the way we live our lives. The crime--a murder of a high school teacher--provides a bright spotlight to shine on Long Beach and the people who walk its streets. Danny Beckett is great character--intelligent enough to be interesting, tough enough to bring the action. Here's a great small press book that rises to big league standards and beyond. Excellent stuff!

I ordered this book on Kindle last night, and finished it up today; I simply couldn't put it down. The writing is crisp and clear, and just when I thought I had the puzzle solved, another twist in the road appeared. Danny, one of two main characters, is a homicide detective who is cynical and depressed, yet oddly perceptive. His partner, Jen, is formidable in many ways yet believably vunerable in others. The two of them refuse to abandon a case that at first appears solved, convinced that the convenient closure of it is simply a politcal ploy on the part of the brass. With the knowledge and tacit consent of their boss, they set out to find the brutal killer of a beloved and dedicated school teacher, relaying their step-by-step procedures to the reader. Very interesting! As a resident of an area near Long Beach, California, I enjoyed the author's descriptions of the locales involved as well. Just a terrific read. I can hardly wait for the sequel.

A King of Infinite Space by Tyler Dilts

This is Tyler Dilts' debut novel featuring homicide detectives Danny Beckett and Jen Tanaka.
The novel opens with the vicious death of a high school teacher. Not only is there a murder to be solved, but Dilts peels away the layers of his lead protagonist, Danny Beckett. Still tormented by the death of his wife, we get an inside look at Beckett and what motivates him.
Not only was the murder mystery engaging but the relationship between the detectives and the whole department was something I hadn't read before and it was refreshing. It was what pulled me into the story and kept me there.
Even though I could tell "who done it" before the ending, I enjoyed the ride and was really taken with the characters because Dilts personalizes them and makes them real, interesting and more than what meets the eye.
I am looking forward to reading the next book in the Beckett series.

I had no real issues with this novel - the writing was clear, the settings VERY well described (my aunt lived in Long Beach for years and I did spend some time there), and as far as police procedurals go, it was well-written.

However, there's nothing here to stand out for me. The characters seem a little shallowly drawn, and I guessed the culprit nearly immediately. The denouement was too quick and without enough psychological explanation of the "why." I'm pleased to see that it's not offered in hardcover (I have an advanced reader version) because it's too slim for a hardback price.

Overall, it was a quick, easy, and entertaining read. I would pass it on as a "when you have time" read to a mystery loving friend, but not a "must read ASAP" type. Nice airplane or beach read.

A quick question: Am I the only one who doesn't try to guess who the killer is in advance? I prefer to simply let the story unfold. Trying to guess before you're really "supposed" to know, to me, is kind of like sneaking peeks at your Christmas presents when they're still hidden in Mom and Dad's closet. Then you have to pretend to be surprised on Christmas morning, and what's fun about that?

Anyway, I like Dilts's writing. You might not guess it from the title (a reference to the murder victim, a Shakespeare-loving English teacher), but it's straightforward and unpretentious, and never distracts from the story. Occasionally an author's prose is so lovely and eloquent that it makes you want to re-read passages and weep, but most often, the best writing simply tells the story without getting in the way. That's exactly what Dilts does, and he does it well.

Some may think the pacing is slow or low-key, but it seems to me the plot development probably captures what a murder investigation like this one might really be like--a lot of legwork, a lot of frustrating dead ends, and a lot of time spent where little or no progress is made.

One of the things I really liked about this book is how Dilts developed the character of Jen Tanaka without turning her into a bombshell or even saying very much about what she looks like. I get dreadfully bored and annoyed when the main female character is a tall, thin, gorgeous, smart, rich wonderwoman, and the author feels compelled to describe her in detail because those are her most important qualities in his own mind. It takes me right out of the story and gets me thinking what a dip Author X is. However, Dilts adroitly avoids that pitfall. All we really know about Tanaka physically is she has short dark hair and brown eyes, and her khakis and white shirt are always crisp. The rest of her character is revealed by the story itself. That's not to say she doesn't have a few wonderwoman qualities, but very few of them have anything to do with whether she's a hottie.

Ultimately, I found A Kind of Infinite Space a good read, and I'm left looking forward to further stories involving these characters. I'd really like to see how their relationship develops.