Hard Freeze

Rating:
Summary: Harder than hardboiled? Yep, in spades!
Review: ...HARD FREEZE finds our hero(?) Joe Kurtz, picking up where he left off in HARD CASE...In true sequel style, HARD FREEZE picks up with Kurtz risking all to find and destroy anyone associated with the murder of Sam.

HARD FREEZE opens in the middle of a brutal Buffalo winter with Kurtz evading three hit men of questionable grey matter (Kurtz knew them in Attica as "The Three Stooges"). As it turns out, Steve "Little Skag" Farino, a returning character from HARD CASE, has decided that Kurtz must go but is too cheap to hire a quality hitter. Thus, The Three Stooges. After learning, through dubious means, of the latest plot against his life, Kurtz finds himself in a relatively no-win situation: cops on one side just waiting to send him back to the joint and the mob on the other side with renewed interest in seeing him become fish food. At this point, Simmons introduces the reader to Angelina Farino Ferrara, Little Skag's older sister and the initial protagonist. Through "certain" interrogation techniques, Kurtz learns that another Buffalo crime family, the Gozangas, was responsible for Samantha's murder. This is all Kurtz needs to know to become the one-man wrecking crew that he is however, the storyline doesn't stop here.

Simmons decides to make Kurtz's life a little more [interesting] by throwing two more, somewhat exacerbating, circumstances at our hero. Kurtz's teenage daughter, a daughter who has no clue of Joe Kurtz's existence, has been left in the custodianship of the sterotypical sleazy stepfather. Without causing upheaval in his daughter's life, Kurtz decides to play her invisible angel by keeping tabs on the stepfather...quite close tabs.

The second situation and one that plays a major role in the plot of this book is a new client Kurtz is reluctant to take on. An older black man, John Wellington Frears, a concert violinist, was referred to Kurtz by his longtime heroin addict friend/informant, Pruno. It seems that Frears daughter was raped and murdered some twenty years ago. The official story was that, after murdering Frears' daughter, the murderer commited the classic familial murder/suicide, but Frears swears to Kurtz that he saw the man at the Buffalo airport very recently. Although Kurtz is ostensibly unilaterally-minded in his quest for revenge against the Gonzaga Family, Kurtz takes on Frears' case and begins the hunt for the ghost Frears seeks. As the story plays out, it becomes abundantly clear that Frears' nemesis is also Kurtz's nemesis and a monster of much greater proportions than Kurtz could ever imagine.

It is quite obvious that Simmons' plot is multidimensional. However, he is able to keep the plot in reasonably decent order and places emphasis on the multipile storylines in a well-sorted manner thus keeping the reader involved in each subplot. Additionally, Simmons pays the proper level of attention to each subplot thereby creating the perfectly-wound web providing the basis for bringing the the storylines together in the end.

Of minor concern and my only issue with HARD FREEZE, the ending seemed somewhat abrupt, almost as though Simmons "needed" to finish the book ASAP. While not materially denigrating to the story as a whole, it was somewhat obvious and a bit detracting from an otherwise wonderful hardnosed, hardboiled crime noir bonanza.

Well worth the purchase price and the read.

Rating:
Summary: Now You're Talking.
Review: After his "Darwin's Blade" and "Crook Factory", this genre changing is actually a very smart move by Mr. Simmons. I enjoyed it very much and would like to see more coming his way. I'm not so keen about some viewers doing the reviews like high school or college kids doing their book reports, telling all the details of what they have read, revealing all the details from page one to the last. I do sincerely believe that a book review should only tell the others what a writer has achieved or failed, instead by telling what of the story is all about. I don't need you telling me the story, I only need the author to tell me about it in his own way. So, please just tell me it's good or bad but not the whole nine yard. Yes, if you prefer donig so, it only proved that you've read it. Now it's my turn to read it by myself. I know, I know that you've actually read it, but please just tell me it's good or bad, worth buying or reading or not, just don't spoil my pleasure by finding out what's going on by myself. Thank you, mama, I know how to read.

Rating:
Summary: Parker lite
Review: For the past thirty-something years, Donald Westlake (writing under the name Richard Stark) has written stories of a ruthless thief named Parker, who is tough, smart and coldly stoic in his approach to life. These stories have had an influence on many writers, including Dan Simmons, who with his Kurtz books, is trying his own version of the Parker series. While reasonably entertaining, Simmons's work in this field is definitely below Westlake/Stark in caliber.

In Hard Freeze - the second Kurtz novel - the ex-con/private eye has once again run afoul of the Buffalo mob. Hit men are pursuing him as a bounty has been put on his life. Meanwhile, Kurtz is also helping a man find the serial killer who murdered his daughter. There are also subplots involving cops with a vendetta and the drunken stepfather of Kurtz's daughter. While Simmons is good enough to tie all these strings together, he is not good enough to make this a great novel. It is definitely good and easily merits a four star rating, but there are problems that prevent it from getting the full five stars In particular, the serial killer is a weak character; as the main villain, he should be interesting, but he is so utterly routine that any habitual mystery reader will find absolutely nothing original about him. There are also coincidences and implausibilities (such as the killer's ability to become a police captain) that are a bit irksome.

It is apparent that Simmons, a very good writer capable of writing quality novels, is writing these Kurtz novels as sort of a writing vacation. They seem as if they are written quickly and without the sophisitication that most of his books have. The end result is a fun, quick read that most will enjoy, but for Simmons's most dedicated fans, this will seem a bit beneath his abilities.

Rating:
Summary: Buffalo crime wave
Review: Hard Freeze is an amazingly fast moving account of the exploits of hard boiled ex-private investigator Joe Kurtz in the frozen tundra of wintertime Buffalo. Kurtz, a convicted felon, has just been paroled after having served 11 years of a manslaughter rap in Attica State Pentitentary. He murdered the two men responsible for the killing of his partner and love interest Samantha.

After thwarting an attempted hit on him commissioned by Steve "Little Skag" Farino, incarcerated son of Buffalo Mafia don, Don Farino, Kurtz meets with his main snitch Pruno. Pruno is a homeless derelict who lives in a cardboard shack but was once a professor at Princeton. Pruno puts Kurtz onto a former student John Wellington Frears, a famous concert violinist. Meeting at a local blues club, Frears attempts to hire Kurtz to investigate the rape and murder of his 13 year old daughter some twenty years ago. Frears believes a neighbor James B. Hansen committed the heinous act and that Frears spotted him in Buffalo airport. Kurtz declined the proposal to pursue his own agenda.

Angelina Farino Ferrara, due to the death of her father is now running the Farino crime family. Angelina, Kurtz learned, acted as the intermediary between her brother "Little Skag" and the hired assassins that attempted to rub out Kurtz. Kurtz sets out to seek vengeance against Angelina. One thing leads to another and Kurtz winds up allied to Angelina in her war against the other powerful Buffalo crime family, the Gonzagas. They also together track down the suspected child killer James B. Hansen where they encounter a convoluted web of intrigue surrounding that crime.

Simmons does an admirable job in making the reader connect with his personality flawed hero Joe Kurtz. Kurtz although possessing questionable character certainly appeals to our sense of morality as he calmly goes about his violent business. This was a very enjoyable though not a particularly thought provoking page turner.

Rating:
Summary: Buffalo crime wave
Review: Hard Freeze is an amazingly fast moving account of the exploits of hard boiled ex-private investigator Joe Kurtz in the frozen tundra of wintertime Buffalo. Kurtz, a convicted felon, has just been paroled after having served 11 years of a manslaughter rap in Attica State Pentitentary. He murdered the two men responsible for the killing of his partner and love interest Samantha.

After thwarting an attempted hit on him commissioned by Steve "Little Skag" Farino, incarcerated son of Buffalo Mafia don, Don Farino, Kurtz meets with his main snitch Pruno. Pruno is a homeless derelict who lives in a cardboard shack but was once a professor at Princeton. Pruno puts Kurtz onto a former student John Wellington Frears, a famous concert violinist. Meeting at a local blues club, Frears attempts to hire Kurtz to investigate the rape and murder of his 13 year old daughter some twenty years ago. Frears believes a neighbor James B. Hansen committed the heinous act and that Frears spotted him in Buffalo airport. Kurtz declined the proposal to pursue his own agenda.

Angelina Farino Ferrara, due to the death of her father is now running the Farino crime family. Angelina, Kurtz learned, acted as the intermediary between her brother "Little Skag" and the hired assassins that attempted to rub out Kurtz. Kurtz sets out to seek vengeance against Angelina. One thing leads to another and Kurtz winds up allied to Angelina in her war against the other powerful Buffalo crime family, the Gonzagas. They also together track down the suspected child killer James B. Hansen where they encounter a convoluted web of intrigue surrounding that crime.

Simmons does an admirable job in making the reader connect with his personality flawed hero Joe Kurtz. Kurtz although possessing questionable character certainly appeals to our sense of morality as he calmly goes about his violent business. This was a very enjoyable though not a particularly thought provoking page turner.

Rating:
Summary: The best in snowy Buffalo
Review: He's eating hot dogs again and killing the three stooges before the first chapter is over.
This is a freight train of a read. You can turn the pages, fast as you can read, because it's that compelling, or slow down and look in the box cars. This is like taking a class from the best professor you ever had, it's loaded with stuff, some subtle, some not.
If I didn't slow down, I would have missed the cannoli. Movies, mobsters,serial killers, crooked cops, Russian novels, Robert Parker, cars, moral development and Harvard professors, are just some of the elements.
At the finish, you congratulate yourself for seeing what you saw and wonder what you missed. This was fun.
...

Rating:
Summary: Interesting...but please get the details right
Review: I enjoy Mr. Simmons' character. He is vaguely sympathetic and the plot seems to work out very cleverly, without resorting to the deuz ex machina. But...PLEASE get a technical consultant to get the guns and cars right. You can't "thumb back the hammer" on a "Glock 9", however dramatic it might seem.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting...but please get the details right
Review: I enjoy Mr. Simmons' character. He is vaguely sympathetic and the plot seems to work out very cleverly, without resorting to the deuz ex machina. But...PLEASE get a technical consultant to get the guns and cars right. You can't "thumb back the hammer" on a "Glock 9", however dramatic it might seem.

Rating:
Summary: Good start - bad finish
Review: I feel both Kurtz novels have the same problem. They start off great, set up a ton of enemies for Joe Kurtz to deal with, each nastier than the next, the reader is looking forward to a bloodbath of John Woo-like proportions for the finale...
... And then it all goes to pieces. Too many bad guys take each other out, the invincible Kurtz suddenly becomes extremely vulnerable and only triumphs because Simmons resorts to some Deus Ex Machina-type plotting.
The books are very gritty (almost up to Andrew Vacchs-level), Kurtz is a unlikeable yet fascinating thug-hero, the writing is effective (though not great), the reader is never bored - but the end result is not really fulfilling. Strange, because I've always liked the plotting in Simmons' science fiction novels.
Anyway, the deserved if mean-spirited attack on the Spenser novels (which I used to love - a looooong time ago) is probably the highlight of this book!

Rating:
Summary: Great Hard Boiled Gritty Thriller
Review: I used to be a big fan of all Dan Simmons books but for years now his "horror" and science fiction have become dull, unimaginative, and unsatisfying... where he used to be spectacular.

However with the introduction of his Joe Kurtz series, including this one, he is in fine form. For those that like dedective series that are more thriller than detective, and for those that like stories about the underbelly of our society versus the romantised novels about it... then this is a book for you. If I could find a fault with it, in terms of fun, it is that it is to short. The hardback has big letters and a lot of spacing to make a dime novel appear to be a classic. However it is a fun ride and I hope someday I can see this dark hero on the big screen.