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Summary: i disagree.......
Review: ...with you people. i may not have read any other matthew scudder mysteries, but this is one of my favorite books. i think ill read it again some time soon. get this book. dont listen to the other people. they dont know squat. i wouldnt reccomend this book to kids under 15. this has a lot of profanity in it. even tho im 13, i dont think other poeple my age should read it. oh.... wait...... no i dont. who cares. this is good literature. screw it all, im going to read this again.
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Summary: Scudder is back!
Review: A visit with Matthew Scudder is always a thrill, and "Even the wicked", Lawrence Block's Latest is no different. This is the latest installment with Matthew Scudder, the freelance private eye living in the belly of American murder-New York City. A vigilante is writing letters to a newspaper columnist, each time announcing his next target by name, and eventually making good on his promise. Calling himself "the will of the people" the killer targets everyone from pedophiles, to mob bosses, anti-abortion radicals and eventually a very nervous lawyer who calls upon his friend for help-a certain private detective. Scudder is hired to find "will" before he gets to his friend. But what can one man do that the entire N.Y.P.D. hasn't allready? Don't worry, this is Matthew Scudder, the James Bond of the detective world. A layed-back sober alchoholic who takes his paychecks like his sobriety-One Day at a Time. Even the wicked is certainly not the best of the Scudder mysteries, but it follows the same style that keeps Block's fans coming back for more. The story rarely goes in the direction the reader thinks it might, and always seems one step ahead of us. The writing is smart. Smarter than the reader, and never boring-the mark of any good mystery. Even the wicked rates high on the "one more chapter" scale. "one more chapter. One more chapter and I'll put it down. One more chapter and I'll go to bed. One more capter and I've FINISHED IT!"
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Summary: LAWRENCE BLOCK'S NEWEST IS A VERY INTERESTING PIECE.
Review: ALTHOUGH THIS IS MY FIRST MATTHEW SCUDDER BOOK, I FEEL LIKE I KNOW HIM ALREADY. ALTHOUGH YOU PRETTY MUCH KNOW WHO THE KILLER IS FROM THE BEGINNING, IT'S STILL A GREAT PIECE OF MYSTERY FICTION. SHOWS HOW YOU CAN MAKE A GREAT CRIME BOOK FULL OF GREAT CHARACTERS WITHOUT HAVING AN AMAZING AMOUNT OF VIOLENCE, GORE, AND ACTION.
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Summary: One of my favorite Scudders
Review: Block's Scudder series is serious business, though his characterizations are phenomenal in all his series. The other two: Burglar/Rhodenbarr and Tanner are much lighter, fun, less serious reading. This particular Scudder continues his personal growth from middle-aged, embittered, alcoholic into maturity. This becomes apparent to readers who have read many of the others in this series before reading this one. Some of action is downplayed in reference to character development, which might put off some readers. A good mystery writer spins a fine tale, but a great mystery writer evolves into a great writer who chooses to write mysteries--evolving the genre into literature. It seems to me that this is Block's objective, conscious or unconscious as the case may be. Certainly his poignant descriptions of Scudder's bout with alcoholism is a work or art. Many sides (some light some dark) are variously depicted in this incredible series. Scudder is all too human. Block also includes many memorable lines (which I add to my quote collection) such as: "'If it turns out there's life on Saturn;' Elaine said, `and we go there, we'll find out they've got three sets of eyes, and five sexes, and something against the Jews'" on page 31; "There is, I have been taught, all the difference in the world between the desire and the act. The one is written on water, the other carved in stone." on page 131; and "The room was thick with two conversations, the one we were having and the one we were choosing not to have." on page 283. I didn't read the series in order, it would be interesting to do so.
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Summary: Scudder's return is tepid
Review: Even the Wicked is problematic. Part of the appeal of Scudder's character is that he always evolved from book to book. Couple that with rich, fascinating plots and you had a hard-boiled series of top-notch caliber. But, in the course of his history, Scudder eventually whipped his alcoholism, came to terms with his life, remarried after a couple of single decades. etc. All this would be great if this were a real life. You'd feel real good for the guy. But Matt ain't real. I have to wonder if, in the course of pulling himself up by his bootstraps, he hasn't lost some of his snap. The plots are still there, but the tense backdrop of Scudder's own life is gone. Do I think he should go back to being an alcholic? Hardly. Block managed his climb out of the bottle masterfully, and I think it would demonstrate a failure of imagination to return. But Scudder still needs something. He's turned into a standard PI, a little crusty, with weird friends, but he hardly stands out against the field of PI characters anymore. The stunning balance Block achieved in Eight Million Ways to Die and When the Sacred Ginmill Closes just isn't there.
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Summary: Quality of the series is not holding up
Review: I have been a big Lawrence Block/Matt Scudder fan and have often recommended books from the series to friends. However, I find that beginning with the previous book in the series, A Long Line of Dead Men, the fun has left the the Scudder books as they become mostly talk and very little action. I still would highly recommend all previous Scudder books -- of which there are 11, but it's time for Block to put this PI to sleep. Now that Scudder has become a permanently sober, legitimate P.I., and stick-in-the mud married middle-aged gum shoe, he is BORING.
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Summary: Scudder without purpose
Review: I have but one more Scudder book to read to be all caught up. Have LOVED them all, even though I am not a "crime/mystery" novel afficiando -- ALL EXCEPT this one. Took it on a LONG plane ride, expecting the usual Block thriller. BORING and definitely forced - must have been a little writer's block and deadline due.
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Summary: Scudder without purpose
Review: I have but one more Scudder book to read to be all caught up. Have LOVED them all, even though I am not a "crime/mystery" novel afficiando -- ALL EXCEPT this one. Took it on a LONG plane ride, expecting the usual Block thriller. BORING and definitely forced - must have been a little writer's block and deadline due.
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Summary: This is a fine book-- you guys are missing the point.
Review: I strongly disagree with the negative reviews above. I thought "Even the Wicked" is one of the best Scudders, and Block is taking the character into a new phase of his life. Courageously, Block has let Scudder age; now we see him, in his late 50's, having come to terms with many of the midlife issues he faced in "A Long Line of Dead Men." He's a more balanced, more thoughtful man than he was in the earlier books. Beyond that, Block has come up with a truly interesting, original motive for one of the two central murders. I'm looking forward to the next Scudder; as far as I'm concerned, the line points up.
Rating:
Summary: This is a fine book-- you guys are missing the point.
Review: I strongly disagree with the negative reviews above. I thought "Even the Wicked" is one of the best Scudders, and Block is taking the character into a new phase of his life. Courageously, Block has let Scudder age; now we see him, in his late 50's, having come to terms with many of the midlife issues he faced in "A Long Line of Dead Men." He's a more balanced, more thoughtful man than he was in the earlier books. Beyond that, Block has come up with a truly interesting, original motive for one of the two central murders. I'm looking forward to the next Scudder; as far as I'm concerned, the line points up.
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