Customer Reviews

Such Men Are Dangerous

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

 

 

SMAD is an early Block work. In it, the development of his sparse writing style, quick turning plots, and complex alienated protagonist is already well formed. The plot seems a bit far-fetched but he has great fun with it it as the ball starts rolling.

This is a work for fans who want to see the early Block in action. His later works are vastly better developed and more sophisticated. That said, it is interesting to see what he was like in his early days. If you like reading some of Ed McBain's early 87th Precinct novels and seeing how his work developed, you'll get the same sort of kick here.

If you're new to Block, go pick up 'Like a Lamb to the Slaughter', 'Eight Million Ways to Die', or 'When the Sacred Ginmill Closes'. These are all works of true refinement in the crime genre.

Easily the best of Block's early novels, far better than the very routine stuff Hard Case has been unearthing (LUCKY AT CARDS, GRIFTER'S GAME, GIRL WITH THE LONG GREEN HEART). A relatively straightforward -- though interestingly presented -- heist novel, it really rises above due to it's protagonist, a genuine psychotic who yet, in a strange way, is not unsympathetic.

Lawrence Block wrote this military noir early in his writing career about Paul Kavanagh, an ex-Green Beret who retires from the trade. What's interesting is that Paul falls in love with his solitary, Crusoe-like life on a deserted Florida Keys island. George Dattner hunts up Paul and they plot to steal a shipment of nuclear weapons from the military in the Dakotas. Paul tells their caper in a low-keyed, conversational manner. He gets so far in, you're left wondering if he'll ever get back to his island paradise a million dollars richer. This novel is a brisk read, and one of the better retired-from-the-trade crime books. Don't expect flashy descriptions and over-the-top plotlines. Mr. Block is interested in his protagonist first.

My expectations were too high given Mr. Block's consistent quality of writing in every other work I've read. I thought this was a little to Clancy-esque a plotline (the writing was still character driven though), and the protagonist, an ex-Green Beret who's psyche is supposed to be interestingly off kilter, was maybe a bit too complex a character for Block to portray early in his writing career. Nevertheless, I'd recommend it for killing a few hours on a plane.