by Chris Ould ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 1987
Ould's confident debut is a sort of Raymond Chandler tale set in a Mad Max world, near-future England. ""Conzos""--ghettos for the unemployed--have been surrounded by barbed wire; the ""conzies"" need passbooks to come and go. Despite stringent control at the gates, the conzos are an anarchic free-for-all inside (there's no attempt at thought control in this muscle-based society). When a millionaire's conzie-sympathetic son is murdered and the police get nowhere on the case, the shady rich man gives a ""breaker"" (essentially, an officially sanctioned bounty-hunter) a private contract to bring back the killer alive. The breaker, Carl, is the novel's narrator: he drives a Jaguar, scores his points with guile and gun-toting bluster, and is occasionally beaten senseless along the way. Carl's also a pro at sneaking through the gaps in the conzo walls, and milking a band of motley informers. His surprising first finding is that the murdered heir was in with a band of revolutionaries who are involved in smuggling guns. His second surprise is that Jude, a fellow breaker and former lover, has been given a competing contract to make sure the killer isn't alive to be caught. And so Carl is off after a fragile string of clues, through the conzos of Cornwall, where armed rebels are taking their first hope-drank potshots. Carl's hard-boiled sensibility and deadpan voice make the perfect filter through which to view this menacing wasteland. His tracking mission is hardly plausible, but the atmospherics, really, are everything: This gray verminous world is as scary and as fascinating as a richly detailed nightmare.
Pub Date: June 1, 1987
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Andre Deutsch--dist. by David & Charles
Review Posted Online: N/A
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1987
Categories: FICTION
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.