THE MAN WHO KILLED HIS BROTHER Thread
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THE MAN WHO KILLED HIS BROTHER Thread
This is the thread for the first of the series, THE MAN WHO KILLED HIS BROTHER. I know arabisha wanted to post about this. Here you go, arabisha, ready for comments from you and your husband.
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- [Syl]
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This was a great first book of a series. I don't think I've ever had quite as much fun getting into the characters (mainly Brew, but Ginny too, I suppose) of a new series by a familiar author. It might not be that way for some, but I enjoyed reveling in Brew's pain . The other books describe recovering from and dealing with addiction very well, but it's amazing how well he describes alcoholism (runs in my family, but luckily it seems to have passed me).
"It is not the literal past that rules us, save, possibly, in a biological sense. It is images of the past. Each new historical era mirrors itself in the picture and active mythology of its past or of a past borrowed from other cultures. It tests its sense of identity, of regress or new achievement against that past.”
-George Steiner
-George Steiner
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A nurse I know on-line read this recently. She used to be supervisor of a substance abuse clinic. (Brew was the alcoholic Syl mentioned.) She called it "a page turning thriller" and said Brew was "realistic and believable." She felt like she got extra understanding from seeing through Brew's eyes. She cared so much about him that she was "proud of him" when he kept turning down drinks.
Syl, I'm glad for you that it passed you by. It gave some of my family members some miserable years. I took warning from them.
Syl, I'm glad for you that it passed you by. It gave some of my family members some miserable years. I took warning from them.
"The universe is made of stories, not atoms." -- Roger Penrose
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I recommended this to a friend who had just finished reading a pile of Dennis Lehane books and was looking for something else to start on. This is what he said:
"I finished The Man Who Killed His Brother yesterday, and I liked it a lot.
It was an interesting change of pace after the blood-and-thunder of Dennis Lehane - although just as dangerous and gruelling, it was somewhat more subdued. I also liked Brew as a flawed hero - I really felt for him in that scene near the end where "
I had to agree with him there-not quie at the same pace but still a good read.
"I finished The Man Who Killed His Brother yesterday, and I liked it a lot.
It was an interesting change of pace after the blood-and-thunder of Dennis Lehane - although just as dangerous and gruelling, it was somewhat more subdued. I also liked Brew as a flawed hero - I really felt for him in that scene near the end where
Spoiler
El Senor and his goons got him drunk by force.
I had to agree with him there-not quie at the same pace but still a good read.
I have just last week read Brother and Partner and currently half way through Away. Mystery/detective novels have never been my thing and I wasn't quite sure what I'd make of them. I'm still not sure except to say that once started these books are impossible to put down.
I love the way that Brew seems to be on a roller-coaster ride from which there is no getting off. He is on an inevitable path sinking deeper and deeper into its climactic fate. And as the reader you are pulled along with him.
The conclusion when it comes doesn't really seem that clean and no sooner have you closed the last page that you find yourself grappeling for the next book. Fortunately I started Brother with the other three on my bookshelf waiting. Whatever am I going to do when I finish Fought Alone?
That'll be time to get Runes I suppose.
I love the way that Brew seems to be on a roller-coaster ride from which there is no getting off. He is on an inevitable path sinking deeper and deeper into its climactic fate. And as the reader you are pulled along with him.
The conclusion when it comes doesn't really seem that clean and no sooner have you closed the last page that you find yourself grappeling for the next book. Fortunately I started Brother with the other three on my bookshelf waiting. Whatever am I going to do when I finish Fought Alone?
That'll be time to get Runes I suppose.
Regs, Nigels.
Mind the Gap, its closer than you think.
Mind the Gap, its closer than you think.
- variol son
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My copy finally arrived at Whitcoulls. About bloody time too.
And I love it! Wow, this is so cool.
And I love it! Wow, this is so cool.
You do not hear, and so you cannot be redeemed.
In the name of their ancient pride and humiliation, they had made commitments with no possible outcome except bereavement.
He knew only that they had never striven to reject the boundaries of themselves.
In the name of their ancient pride and humiliation, they had made commitments with no possible outcome except bereavement.
He knew only that they had never striven to reject the boundaries of themselves.
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- variol son
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- variol son
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YAY! I have ordered The Man who Risked his Partner and it is on it's way. I have also bought The Man who Tried to get Away, which just leaves The Man who Faught Alone.
You do not hear, and so you cannot be redeemed.
In the name of their ancient pride and humiliation, they had made commitments with no possible outcome except bereavement.
He knew only that they had never striven to reject the boundaries of themselves.
In the name of their ancient pride and humiliation, they had made commitments with no possible outcome except bereavement.
He knew only that they had never striven to reject the boundaries of themselves.
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- Farm Ur-Ted
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I'd be pretty shocked if he hadn't had some run-ins with the bottle. It's pretty common among writers, and considering how dark his stories are, he must've needed something stronger than buttermilk from time to time.Seppi2112 wrote:SRD gets the alcoholism aspect down so well because (he implies in the GI) he himself had issues with it I think. He's made a few comments over time that indicate as such, like the fact that he gave up drinking completely, etc...
I'm pretty familiar with the drunken and depraved PI genre . I've read maybe the first 10 Dave Robicheaux novels by James Lee Burke (which I highly recommend, especially the early ones). Mick is a lot like Dave, although his language isn't as colorful. I am amazed that SRD started his series 7 years before JLB. The dude is a visionary.
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Just finished it. That was pretty good.
Spoiler
I was little surprised at the end when Lona told Mick that he hadn't found or saved Alathea. Well, he did save her from a freaking bomb! Give him a little credit.
It was a good mystery, but I thought it was pretty obvious from the start that the girls were being sold in prostitution, and fed heroin to keep them docile. Mick and Ginny should've figured that out themselves. And Kirke's passing "whore" comment was sort of a red flag. I actually thought it was going to turn out to be a red herring when I read it.
I'm surprised it took 166 pages for someone to have their hand blown off. I spent the whole book wondering why SRD named her Fistoulari. D'uh! I should've seen it coming.
The cover of the book is pretty funny, with all of the sky-scrapers pictured. I'm pretty sure that early on Mick said that Ginny's 5-story office building was the tallest building in Puerto del Sol.
It was a good mystery, but I thought it was pretty obvious from the start that the girls were being sold in prostitution, and fed heroin to keep them docile. Mick and Ginny should've figured that out themselves. And Kirke's passing "whore" comment was sort of a red flag. I actually thought it was going to turn out to be a red herring when I read it.
I'm surprised it took 166 pages for someone to have their hand blown off. I spent the whole book wondering why SRD named her Fistoulari. D'uh! I should've seen it coming.
The cover of the book is pretty funny, with all of the sky-scrapers pictured. I'm pretty sure that early on Mick said that Ginny's 5-story office building was the tallest building in Puerto del Sol.
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I just finished this and enjoyed it. A sort of cross between Mickey Spillane and Raymond Chandler, although it's many years since I read either of those!
Have downloaded the next one (Partner).
Have downloaded the next one (Partner).
I am playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order!
"I must state plainly, Linden, that you have become wondrous in my sight."
"I must state plainly, Linden, that you have become wondrous in my sight."