The Last King of Texas

Rating:
Summary: The Last King...wasn't a great one.
Review: I've read Rick Riordan's novels, and I was most anxious for the arrival of this one. Like it's predecessors, it's good--witty, self-deprecating, ironic, bright. There's lots of action--violence, mostly, with some pretty descriptive blood-and-gore scenes. And I enjoy the San Antonio setting--it's colorful and sharply drawn.

But there's a caution here: in my opinion, The Last King just isn't of the same caliber as the previous Tres novels: there are too many characters, too many subplots that take us nowhere, and too few characters the reader really cares about. As a result, the ending seems an intellectual exercise in tying up loose ends, rather than a true conclusion that pulls together plot and character in some kind of meaningful discovery.

It's good, it's entertaining, but--in the end, it's rather a tedious bore.

Rating:
Summary: The Last King...wasn't a great one.
Review: I've read Rick Riordan's novels, and I was most anxious for the arrival of this one. Like it's predecessors, it's good--witty, self-deprecating, ironic, bright. There's lots of action--violence, mostly, with some pretty descriptive blood-and-gore scenes. And I enjoy the San Antonio setting--it's colorful and sharply drawn.

But there's a caution here: in my opinion, The Last King just isn't of the same caliber as the previous Tres novels: there are too many characters, too many subplots that take us nowhere, and too few characters the reader really cares about. As a result, the ending seems an intellectual exercise in tying up loose ends, rather than a true conclusion that pulls together plot and character in some kind of meaningful discovery.

It's good, it's entertaining, but--in the end, it's rather a tedious bore.

Rating:
Summary: Long live the 'King'
Review: If not the king of Texas crime-writing, Rick Riordan is certainly among the princes in a royal family that already includes James Lee Burke and David Lindsey. And in "the Last King of Texas," the third in Riordan's Tres Navarre series, the San Antonio suspense author proves he's no pretender to the throne.

"The Last King of Texas" is a wryly funny book, not dark, but definitely dusky. His metaphors are apt and entertaining, especially when they seem to parody the purplish gravity of some of Riordan's heroes, such as Hammett and Chandler: "She laughed with all the warmth of rattling aluminum foil" or "(a meal) with a enough cornbread to construct a small toolshed." With his sardonic voice, his tarnished virtue and his unlucky-at-love-and-rental-properties back story, Navarre is a low-rider knight in rusty armor. And Riordan just might be the king after all

Rating:
Summary: Long live the 'King'
Review: If not the king of Texas crime-writing, Rick Riordan is certainly among the princes in a royal family that already includes James Lee Burke and David Lindsey. And in "the Last King of Texas," the third in Riordan's Tres Navarre series, the San Antonio suspense author proves he's no pretender to the throne.

"The Last King of Texas" is a wryly funny book, not dark, but definitely dusky. His metaphors are apt and entertaining, especially when they seem to parody the purplish gravity of some of Riordan's heroes, such as Hammett and Chandler: "She laughed with all the warmth of rattling aluminum foil" or "(a meal) with a enough cornbread to construct a small toolshed." With his sardonic voice, his tarnished virtue and his unlucky-at-love-and-rental-properties back story, Navarre is a low-rider knight in rusty armor. And Riordan just might be the king after all

Rating:
Summary: Tres Navarre is back...and better than ever
Review: Rick Riordan does it again. Another fast-pace, edge of the seat mystery starring Tres Navarre...hunk of a P.I. who makes Spenser looks tame. This time he not only solves the case but finally gets to use that English PHD, teaching at UT San Antonio. Tres starts out trying to figure out who keeps killing English lit professors at UTSA and ends up uncovering gang and mob connections to drugs and amusement park rides. In the end he almost gets himself killed and finds out that the good guys you depend on aren't always who and what you think they are. On a happy note, he may have a new woman in his life. But we'll have to wait until the next book to find out for sure. This book is impossible to put down, a real page-turner with lots of excitement and surprises. A must read for mystery fans.

Rating:
Summary: The Last King of Texas
Review: The third effort of author Riordan and his featured lead character Tres Navarre was a bit disappointing to me in comparison with the first two books, Big Red Tequila & Widow's Two Step.
I particularly did not care for Riordan's attempted "put downs" of the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, which is a sister institution to the University of Texas at San Antonio. The immediate deceased, Aaron Brandon, had been employed for six years at UTPB before moving to UTSA a few months before. UTPB is smeared in comparison with UTSA as one known among academia as the University of Texas of the "Permanent Basement." The characters' dialogue does not ring true when the widow talks about their years spent at "Permian Basin." No one talks that way in real life. The school is referred to by locals as simply UTPB and people either live in Midland or Odessa or other area towns, but not at "Permian Basin."
The plot was somewhat cumbersome and I certainly hope for a better effort by Riordan in his latest, Devil Went Down to Austin.
As an author, Riordan is a long way from the quality of Michael Connelly, Lawrence Block, or Michael McGarrity but I will continue to read nevertheless.

Rating:
Summary: Rick Riordan, work on your gun talk
Review: The third effort of author Riordan and his featured lead character Tres Navarre was a bit disappointing to me in comparison with the first two books, Big Red Tequila & Widow's Two Step.
I particularly did not care for Riordan's attempted "put downs" of the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, which is a sister institution to the University of Texas at San Antonio. The immediate deceased, Aaron Brandon, had been employed for six years at UTPB before moving to UTSA a few months before. UTPB is smeared in comparison with UTSA as one known among academia as the University of Texas of the "Permanent Basement." The characters' dialogue does not ring true when the widow talks about their years spent at "Permian Basin." No one talks that way in real life. The school is referred to by locals as simply UTPB and people either live in Midland or Odessa or other area towns, but not at "Permian Basin."
The plot was somewhat cumbersome and I certainly hope for a better effort by Riordan in his latest, Devil Went Down to Austin.
As an author, Riordan is a long way from the quality of Michael Connelly, Lawrence Block, or Michael McGarrity but I will continue to read nevertheless.

Rating:
Summary: The Last King of Texas
Review: The third effort of author Riordan and his featured lead character Tres Navarre was a bit disappointing to me in comparison with the first two books, Big Red Tequila & Widow's Two Step.
I particularly did not care for Riordan's attempted "put downs" of the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, which is a sister institution to the University of Texas at San Antonio. The immediate deceased, Aaron Brandon, had been employed for six years at UTPB before moving to UTSA a few months before. UTPB is smeared in comparison with UTSA as one known among academia as the University of Texas of the "Permanent Basement." The characters' dialogue does not ring true when the widow talks about their years spent at "Permian Basin." No one talks that way in real life. The school is referred to by locals as simply UTPB and people either live in Midland or Odessa or other area towns, but not at "Permian Basin."
The plot was somewhat cumbersome and I certainly hope for a better effort by Riordan in his latest, Devil Went Down to Austin.
As an author, Riordan is a long way from the quality of Michael Connelly, Lawrence Block, or Michael McGarrity but I will continue to read nevertheless.

Rating:
Summary: I wish I could like this author
Review: This is the first Rick Riordan book I've read and I look forward to reading his previous 'Tres Nevarre' novels. I liken Riordan's style to that of a Texan Carl Hiaasen. While Hiaasen weighs heavier on humor, Riordan weaves a fast-action murder mystery with sarcastic wit throughout. I believe anyone would enjoy this novel, unless their idea of fun is curling up to a tech manual.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent crime/drama laced with humor
Review: This is the first Rick Riordan book I've read and I look forward to reading his previous 'Tres Nevarre' novels. I liken Riordan's style to that of a Texan Carl Hiaasen. While Hiaasen weighs heavier on humor, Riordan weaves a fast-action murder mystery with sarcastic wit throughout. I believe anyone would enjoy this novel, unless their idea of fun is curling up to a tech manual.