Swansea Terminal (Robert Llywelyn Trilogy 2) [Paperback]

Robert Lewis (Author)

Book Description

Series: Robert Llywelyn Trilogy 2 | Publication Date: July 1, 2008

“Bukowski’s Pulp gone West Country.”—Uncut

Alcoholic private eye Robin Llewellyn is homeless in Swansea, another hobo intent on drinking himself into an early grave. But Robin is the perfect patsy, and soon local gangsters have found him a job—one only a chronic alcoholic with nothing to lose would take.

Dark, funny, and oddly poignant, this is new British crime fiction at its very finest.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This darkly comic Welsh noir (the sequel to The Last Llanelli Train, 2005) stars homeless PI Robin “Magnum” Llewellyn, who is so intent on drinking himself to death he barely has time for his PI work, unless it’s spying on his unacknowledged son. He does, however, make time to take money from a mentally handicapped woman searching for her alleged fiancé. Unfortunately she’s a member of Swansea’s leading crime family (bad guys are in no shortage here), and her brothers take revenge by making Robin work for them, since he’s already drunk all her money. It’s fine with him, since all he has to do is guard booze smuggled from Ireland, and they let him drink on the job. But Robin’s conscience starts to give him some pangs, and off launches a dark and twisty crime caper, thick with the atmosphere of modern Wales. Recommended for readers who enjoy British noir, especially fans of Charlie Williams’ very similar series featuring pub doorman and reluctant sleuth Royston Blake. --Jessica Moyer

Review

"'This thriller excels itself in sheer, grinding ill-fortune...a well-written chronicle of a life gone seriously wrong' FHM 'Written like a cross between Bukowski and Chandler' Evening Herald 'Riveting and exceptionally well written... dark, honest and guaranteed to keep you gripped.' Buzz 'This debut from a talented young Welsh writer brings the detective genre bang up to date... an entertaining mix of classic noir with a twist of black comedy' South Wales Evening Post"

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Serpent's Tail (July 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852429755
• ISBN-13: 978-1852429751
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,425,375 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Second in Welsh Noir Series, April 29, 2008

By 

A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Swansea Terminal (Robert Llywelyn Trilogy 2) (Paperback)

The term "noir" gets thrown around far too often in discussions of new crime writing, mainly because few critics (let alone copywriters or just regular folks) can agree about what the term means. However, one central noir theme is the flawed hero (or antihero) pursuing some kind of impossible dream (be it a dame, a score, or just a quiet life). In that sense, this second book from Welsh writer Lewis is distinctly noir, even though the word doesn't appear anywhere on the cover. Another thing you won't find anywhere on the cover is a mention that this is a sequel -- the second book to feature down and out alcoholic private eye Robin Llewellyn. It is preceded by The Last Llanelli Train, which is mentioned on the back as "Lewis' first novel," without any reference to it being about the same character. This is only important insofar as I am a stickler for reading crime (or other genre) series in order, and thus it's irksome to learn after the fact that there is more to the backstory. Throughout this book there are allusions and hints throughout to some dire and desperate events in Bristol that ruined Llewellyn and drove him back home to Swansea, all of which are presumably detailed in the first book.

In any event, here we find Llewellyn as a barely functioning alcoholic, living in a flophouse, and scrounging for money to feed his unslakeable thirst. As someone without much interest in booze, I found the book rather slow to get going, as a windfall allows Llewellyn to engage in a meandering pub crawl which grows increasingly tedious (for both him and the reader), even as it provides commentary on the inevitable change the town has seen. This same windfall eventually puts him in a tight spot with some nasty people, and he is forced to do a little bit of work for a local gangster. This mostly involves being a watchman at a warehouse full of dodgy booze, and signing various customs documents placed before him. Of course, eventually Llewellyn works out what's going on and tries to turn the tables in a desperate gamble to rescue his life. However, as a protagonist, he's rather hard to get invested in. Since the reader isn't privy to the full backstory from The Last Llanelli Train, we can't really understand why Llewellyn has fallen so far or why we should care. Despite this, just as with the best noir literature and film, it's hard not to get caught up in Llewellyn's efforts to pull off a big one in the final twenty pages or so even as you secretly know it can only end badly.

On the whole, the crime element is pretty well done, and there are moments of dark humor here and there (my favorite line was "He swung the chain over his head like a rocker out hunting mods."). The writing is pretty sharp throughout, with the occasional overindulgence in philosophizing. The twin quotes that open the book, from The Pogues and Raymond Chandler, do a nice job of establishing the tone, however, unless you're particularly into fiction about alcoholics, that element tend to rather dominate the proceedings. A good read for those interested in Wales, alcoholics, or meandering crime fiction, a more marginal read for the rest of us.