13 Bullets
by David Wellington
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Book Summary Information
Author: David WellingtonEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2007-05-22
ISBN: 0307381439
Number of pages: 336
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Book Reviews of 13 Bullets
Book Review: Publisher's Weekly, "surprisingly anticlimactic finale"... What the...?!?
Summary: 5 Stars
In reading the synopsis by Publisher's Weekly, I was reminded by the limitations of "established media." The reviewer of this publication described the climax as anti-climatic.
How do I say this without giving anything away... For me, "13 Bullets" was a pretty good book BUT the ending was classic, and for me, it is what made the book stand out.
I think the reviewer was expecting the predictable "blandly satisfying" ending that is typical to these types of stories. I can't describe more without giving anything away.
I will say that I thought the ending was one of the most clever, ironically humorous, and memorable endings I've ever read. I've enjoyed all of Wellington's books (I had originally read them online but later bought each publication out of thanks and homage.) For me, "13 Bullets" would have been one of his least memorable books except for the ending (I'm biased towards post-apocalyptic fiction.)
It was a perfect ending... along the lines of the originally published ending to Stephen King's "The Stand". In that book, as originally published, the ending was a classic which I loved. In "The Stand", the story was epic in scope and any ending would have been a quickly drawn let down (as with so many other epic books that have built up the story so much.) Yadda, yadda... most of those books have the good guys win in a conventional and spectacular way where the bad guys get what's coming to them. But in the original publication of "The Stand", King ended that novel by nuking the city because a lunatic accidentally drops a nuclear bomb down a set of stairs. How classic! To me, it seemed that King had built the story line and expectation so much that no ending would have been suitable. So, he just had it end in a stupid meaningless act... which, BTW, doesn't life usually play out that way? Of course, later on in a subsequent publication which included the insertion of the originally deleted 400 pages and original ending, the conclusion came with the hand of God dropping the bomb on the bad guys. The ultimate example of the good guys winning... but far less interesting and clever and what Publisher's Weekly would want to expect.
Such is the case with "13 Bullets"... God, I'm just itching to tell the punch line! Suffice it to say that the ending is consistent with the story but it is so unexpected and so humorous and satisfying on so many levels. And unlike, "The Stand," where I describe the ending as a stupid act, the end of this book is smart and totally consistent with the slayer's character. Publisher's Weekly lacks the sophistication to appreciate it.
For the ending alone, 13 Bullets deserves 5 stars. Otherwise, I would have given it a 3 and a half stars. I read it last year as well as more than 50 other books since then. The ending makes this books stand out the most.
If you want a bland and predictable book, then craft your booklist from Publisher's Weekly or Time Magazine. I, however, prefer a little imagination and originality.
And this book has the most original ending for any vampire book or movie I know of.
Summary of 13 Bullets
All the official reports say they are dead-extinct since the late '80s, when a fed named Arkeley nailed the last vampire in a fight that nearly killed him. But the evidence proves otherwise.When a state trooper named Caxton calls the FBI looking for help in the middle of the night, it is Arkeley who gets the assignment-who else? He's been expecting such a call to come eventually. Sure, it has been years since any signs of an attack, but Arkeley knows what most people don't: there is one left. In an abandoned asylum she is rotting, plotting, and biding her time in a way that only the undead can.
Caxton is out of her league on this case and more than a little afraid, but the fed made it plain that there is only one way out. But the worst thing is the feeling that the vampires want more than just her blood. They want her for a reason, one she can't guess; a reason her sphinxlike partner knows but won't say; a reason she has to find out-or die trying.
Now there are only 13 bullets between Caxton and Arkeley and the vampires. There are only 13 bullets between us, the living, and them, the damned.
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