Randy Krbechek wrote:
DOGS OF GOD by Pinckney Benedict (1994). Everyone dies,
everything turns to cr*p. Good guys, bad guys, sense of moral
compass? I don't see it. Overrated, with a wordy style (boy,
I hope Mr. Benedict is not on this list!)
*************** Welcome to the list, Randy! You've read some
cool books.
As far as Dogs of God, I loved it, including the wordy style.
The pared down terseness of Hemingway and Hammett is not the
only way to write hardboiled and noir. Faulkner and McCarthy
vouch for that. The intensity of Dogs of God was fantastic,
the pace never bogged, and the tension gets tighter with
every page. There were scenes that just jumped off the pages.
Breathtaking. I also loved the blatantly obvious symbolism,
which, of course, is the only kind I ever pick up on. A
couple examples? The anchorite falling in the graveyard and
piercing the palm of his hand. Goody's three days lost
underground and final discovery.
As far as good guys and bad guys, Benedict provided darned
few of the first, and a buttload of the second.
That ratio suited me just fine. As far as a moral
compass, Benedict didn't do too much preaching, I'll give you
that, but the reader needs to bring something to the
game.
miker
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