Trick of Light

Rating:
Summary: Wonderwomen
Review: "The Magician's Tale'' was wonderful. This is ordinary with outlandish villains. At times, Hunt captures the same San Francisco atmosphere he did the first time, at other times, he seems to be more interested in making sure Hollywood will buy this. Perhaps Hunt should start fresh each time. His first Janek book in his previous incarnation was by far his best. (He got a TV series out of that character). Kay Farrow is much deeper and darker than Janek, but Hunt seems to be going in the same direction.

Rating:
Summary: A Poetic Pleasure
Review: David Hunt has managed to write a first person female narrative in a way that probably few men can. He strikes just the right chord in Kay's poetic struggles with murder, love, identity, and most of all, the sense of wonder she finds looking through her camera lense. San Francisco itself plays a major role in this novel, and one can feel the vibrancy, as well as the lonliness, of this beautiful city. While there is a definate underlying tone of darkness, there is always a feeling of hope as well. By the end of this second novel in the series, one feels that they know Kay, and now want to continue following her in her quest for completeness. This is much more than a mystery novel, and its images and feelings will stay with you long after the book is over.

Rating:
Summary: Storyline Interesting; Writing Style Mediocre
Review: David Hunt, pen name of "Janek" novels creator William Bayer, has given us another dark tale of San Francisco photographer Kay Farrow. Farrow is grief-stricken by the hit-and-run death of her friend and mentor, Maddy Yamada. But she also wants to know what her mostly-homebound friend was doing in one of San Francisco's seedier neighborhoods in the middle of the night. Thus begins her quest which leads to a tony Mendocino gun club and also leads her forty years into her mentor's past.

As with all of William Bayer's novels, the writing is tight and the characterization is rich. Kay is a strong but caring woman. She has the ability to be violent and the means (she is an-almost black-belt in Akido and during the novel she learns combat-shooting) but to Bayer's credit he never uses this to advance the story.

I liked the book and would recommend it to anyone who wants to read a thoughtful, well-written thriller. It is way above the usual cliche-ridden mystery stories that seem to abound today. And, miracle of miracles, it doesn't even have a serial killer.

Rating:
Summary: LOTS OF TRICKS, FEW TREATS
Review: I didn't realize "Trick of Light" was the second book featuring heroine Kay Farrow. David Hunt's prose is certainly well-written, and as a male, his first person narrative in a woman's role is very good. However, at times, I found the "present tense" style a bit distracting and manipulative.
I found the novel a bit windy and long. There's a lot of superfluous narrative and descrption, and Kay's character vacillates between someone you like and someone who seems very self-oriented. Her love affair with Sasha, for instance..he obviously loves her a great deal, but she's content with just "using" him, as she doesn't feel the same towards him. She overcomes her fear of guns quite easily, too; and her quest to find out what happened to her mentor, Maddy, tends to get bogged down in lots of repetitive disclosures. The goings on in the apartment are never fully developed so that they seem frightening. When we learn that a gun (erotically decorated, no less) is at the heart of the murder, little is done to keep it suspenseful. There's also the continued dalliances of her boos, Josh, that takes the story into different areas without serving the main plot. All in all, a technically polished writer giving us a trite and not so interesting tale.

Rating:
Summary: LOTS OF TRICKS, FEW TREATS
Review: I didn't realize "Trick of Light" was the second book featuring heroine Kay Farrow. David Hunt's prose is certainly well-written, and as a male, his first person narrative in a woman's role is very good. However, at times, I found the "present tense" style a bit distracting and manipulative.
I found the novel a bit windy and long. There's a lot of superfluous narrative and descrption, and Kay's character vacillates between someone you like and someone who seems very self-oriented. Her love affair with Sasha, for instance..he obviously loves her a great deal, but she's content with just "using" him, as she doesn't feel the same towards him. She overcomes her fear of guns quite easily, too; and her quest to find out what happened to her mentor, Maddy, tends to get bogged down in lots of repetitive disclosures. The goings on in the apartment are never fully developed so that they seem frightening. When we learn that a gun (erotically decorated, no less) is at the heart of the murder, little is done to keep it suspenseful. There's also the continued dalliances of her boos, Josh, that takes the story into different areas without serving the main plot. All in all, a technically polished writer giving us a trite and not so interesting tale.

Rating:
Summary: Even better than "The Magician's Tale"!
Review: I loved "The Magician's Tale." I read it this summer in paperback and couldn't put it down. So I was thrilled when I learned that David Hunt had written a second novel featuring colorblind photographer, Kay Farrow. In fact, "Trick Of Light" is if anything better than the first book...and that's saying something! This time Kay tracks the death of her mentor, world-famous photojournalist Maddy Yamada, who appeared briefly in the earlier novel. Here, after Kay unravels Maddy's past, her life is explicated in all its magnificent strangeness and mystery. And here again Hunt captures the essence of my hometown, San Francisco, like no other novelist before. In both books you can literally feel the fog, smell the streets, delight in the shimmering Pacific Coast light. And as before Kay Farrow's noir vision of the city (for she is totally colorblind) distills it down to a special essence. A terrific tale beautifully told by a highly gifted writer. Suspense, mystery, memorable characters, a stunning tour de force. I can't recommend this book enough!

Rating:
Summary: High-school level writing
Review: I read this book at my mother's insistence, and was horribly disappointed--- both in the writing and in my mom's taste in books. The writing style is what I would expect out of the average 17 year old. The author has gone to great pains to create a character that (at least) he feels is unique. The protagonist's distinguishing characteristic is her colorblindness. So what--- it adds absolutely nothing to what little plot there is. This, combined with the character's constant references to her martial arts training are more irritating than anything. Although I hate to put down a book without having finished it, I simply refused to torture myself any longer with Trick of Light.

Rating:
Summary: BRILLIANT
Review: I think this is a briliant book, beautifully written, with a strong female protagonist who rings absolutely true to life. It is so superior to the standard run of mysteries that it's not funny! The story is compelling, the way it's developed is fascinating and the outcome is deliciously gratifying to the reader. Hunt has written in the voice of this character before in his terrific earlier book THE MAGICIAN'S TALE. Though the earlier book was permeated with a darker sexuality, this new Kay Farrow novel is perhaps more enticing. I found it almost Hitchcockian (if there is such a word!)and the San Francisco setting also reminded me of Hitchcock at his best (i.e. "VERTIGO"). A great read!

Rating:
Summary: Very realistic and frightening piece of work
Review: Living in Tennessee a lot of things in this book hit really close to home. Peter Hernon struck a cord because what the book depicts really could happen. I thought this book was extremly well written and researched. There was extensive detail and a lot of creativity. It is one of my favorites. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes indepth realistic literature. It isn't a book for the timid.

Rating:
Summary: Dark, Largely Boring And Depressing
Review: Photography buffs or fans of Aikido might enjoy this one, but I didn't. I waited patiently throughout the story for something to spark my interest, but it never came along. The plot line just wasn't strong enough to overcome the frequent and largely boring excursions into photography and the dojo. The overall tone was dark and depressing. As with the main character's inability to see colors, this was a black and white story without interesting contrasts.