Customer Reviews

Las Vegas Noir (Akashic Noir)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The latest compilation in Akashic Books' fine Noir series takes us on a wide-ranging tour de force of Las Vegas, America's own City of Lights. Here, the standard cliches are out, while a fresh literary degustation is in. Nicely edited by Jarret Keene (author of 2000's 'Underground Guide to Las Vegas') and Todd James Pierce, Las Vegas Noir avoids ubiquitous Hollywood-driven conventions regarding that which exists away from showgirls, poker geeks, and high roller suites on the Strip. Instead, we are treated to 15 highly original stories by a fresh roster of writers who capture the surprising diversity of voice and millieu that is 21st Century Las Vegas. From Felicia Campbell's riotous take on the University of Never Leaving Vegas ('Murder is Academic') to Tod Goldberg's knowing snapshot of my home neighborhood of Summerlin ('Mitzvah'), Las Vegas Noir vindicates a Southern Nevada literary scene slowly emerging from its clique-ish, native-born treehouse of not long ago - and gives Akashic's well-earned national readership another Noir collection to feast upon.

I was hoping for a little more casino action, but the 16 stories comprising this great new addition to the Akashic noir series conceived by Tim McCloughlin is one of the better ones. The best thing about the Akashics is how they introduce us to some of the finest new talent writing in this genre today. It's where I discovered Charlie Stella and Ken Bruen, amongst many others. This is the 10th title of the already-published 20; another 15 are forthcoming. All have thumbnail photos and bios of the authors at the end of the books, giving further information about the writers and their other work. This one is divided into three sections: Sin City, Neon Grit, and Tales from the Outskirts. My favorite stories are the five in the first section. John O'Brien's "The Tik" is about a man who returns to his woman's house after a prolonged absence and re-enacts a dark ritual with a strange drug and a woman the couple picks up on a late-night prowl of the strip and lures home. David Corbett's "Pretty Little Parasite" concerns a woman drawn into the world of cocaine dealing and the junkie undercover cop she enables. Tod Goldberg's "Mitzvah" is about a pair of aging Chicago gangsters who for years have posed as rabbis and preside over a private cemetery which is a perfect dumping ground for the Mob. Scott Phillips' "Babs" covers an ex-stripper he visits while on his way back to L.A., to pick up a package of meth for a friend. One of the finest stories is Vu Tran's "This or Any Desert" about an Oakland cop who travels to Vegas to avenge the abuse his ex-wife suffers at the hands of her new husband. In Part Two, my favorite was Pablo Medina's "Benny Rojas and the Rough Riders" whose protagonist is a Cuban exile landing a new life on the boulevard of broken dreams. In Part Three, I especially liked Bliss Esposito's "Guns Don't Kill People". Schockingly, I learned John O'Brien, author of "The Tik" and to whom he and his sister this book is dedicated, came to a tragic end at 34 years old in the eighth year of a prodigal writing career. He produced many fine short stories and three brilliant novels including the now-famous "Leaving Las Vegas". Two weeks after learning it was to be made into a movie, he inexplicably blew his brains out. Next on my to-read list: Havana Noir and Detroit Noir. For the latter, Akashic couldn't quite swing Elmore Leonard, but landed one of Motor City's finest scribes, the superbly prolific Loren D. Estleman. Hats off to editors Jarret Keene and Todd James Pierce for ferreting out these terrifying tales from Vegas' dark side.

I have enjoyed the other noir collections and Las Vegas Noir definitely was not a disappointment. Highly recommend this as well as the rest of the collections.

I'd ignore the 1-star review here as this is not an action book and doesn't pretend to be. It's a collection of evocative and atmospheric noir/crime stories that explore the face of Vegas that most people never see. Not every story is a success, but there are enough good ones to make it worth buying if you're at all interested in Sin City.

One of the best stories for me was "This or Any Desert", which is set in Vietnamese-Chinatown and brings it to life wonderfully - all its sights, sounds, and smells. I was looking forward to reading "The Tik", which was written by John O'Brien whose novel Leaving Las Vegas was made into a good Vegas movie. But the story here is very predictable and totally unbelievable. It's a story that tries too hard to shock the reader, but all I did was yawn.

But that poor story is an exception. Most of the stories are well-written and gripping, and create a Vegas world that is going on all around the casinos and shows. A good read, definitely.

This time there are sixteen short stories by authors for the most part that are not well known. Some of the reads are quite gruesome. Particularly I liked Tran Vu's Chinatown about a cop who's wife left him and how he tried to get revenge on her new husband and Preston Allen's Nellis about a tough, ugly,large,tender hearted black body guard/enforcer who had a traumatic childhood but became a gentle giant giving up his life for a young girl. Worthwile read.

This is a series of books that compile a number of very short stories and vignettes all based in a single city, Las Vegas in this instance. The writers are generally good, and in most cases published. After a while, I miss the substance of a complete novel, but if you like Vegas as a locale, you can't go wrong with this book. The crime genre is indicated in the title - Noir - which gives all the stories a similar dark, brooding, and sharp edge to them. This is the literary compliment of "cinema noir." I plan on reading the London Noir book next, although I will take a break and read one of Elizabeth George's novels first. Good read - easy to read while doing other things - the stories tend to be 15 pages in length. This is Vegas "old Style" before the glitzy legitimacy took over. And in many of these stories, what happened in Vegas not only stayed in Vegas ... but got buried in Vegas.

Gave this to my husband who is an avid action book
reader. He did not like this book at all.