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This Wicked World: A Novel (2009)

by Richard Lange(Favorite Author)

3.58 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

031601737X (ISBN13: 9780316017374)

languge

English

genre

Mystery & Thriller

publisher

Little, Brown and Company

review 1: Richard Lange’s debut novel is character driven literary crime novel influenced by Elmore Leonard and George Pelecanos. Like those two masters’ originality and complexity of plot isn’t the name of the game, its characters. Stretching out to handle a novel Lange looses some of the focus of his short stories but retains his grasp on L.A. and its surreal surroundings and his subtle sense of humor. Some descriptions and in some character’s background his imagination really unfurls. The pit bull breeder’s war story, Mando’s ghost story, Robo’s camping preparations, and apocalyptic finale are especially memorable. So if you want a beautifully written novel go for this, which it’s true doesn’t bring anything new to the game but will still burn into your imaginat... moreion. Plus it starts with Minuteman quote (the awesome San Pedro punk band not those desert patrolling losers) which is a cheap way to my heart.
review 2: Given its good reviews, I was a little disappointed in This Wicked World. Every so often a really talented writer peeks out of World, but most often we are given solid, above-average detective fiction that seeks to stay gritty but can't. One senses that Lange is too eager to please conventional crime-writing sensibilities. I'll definitely give his next novel the once-over on the shelves; there's good writing in Lange. less

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