Beat the Reaper: A Novel by Josh Bazell
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Book Reviews of Beat the Reaper: A Novel
Book Review: Who would love this book?
Summary: 5 Stars
Me. And You. You will love this book.
No spoilers here!!! Just know that this is a very fresh urban thriller. Any other description about the plot or character will take some of the fun away, I will just try to tell you why it rocks...
The protagonist is complex, both hero and anti-hero, tragic, human, strong, resourceful, intelligent, and non conforming. The reader is incredibly interested to be filled in on his story, which happens quite cleanly and inventively throughout the dual supercharged plotlines. The entire book has style and an energy which will literally tear you through it; it has funny moments, but will make you wince a lot, and you may learn a few things you wish you didn't know by the time it is halfway through.
Writers, take note: you must read this book. It is Bazell's 'debut'. Holy cow. At least half of you (yes, especially those who are published) should put your pens down for good and make way for writers like this. The rest are encouraged to improve. No sign of formula, absolutely no rough spots, very inventive plotline, well researched, not preachy, unique, totally approachable, fresh, and just plain kicks you in the pants. It is a 'WOW' book.
Book Review: style is substance
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this book. It has tremendous energy right from the first page, and it doesn't let up pretty much the whole way through. It's fast and smart, and I never felt that the author was talking down to me -- he expected me to keep up, and nothing is throw-away, not even the funny footnotes (that are much more than footnotes in the end...). I'm not sure I'd recommend it for my wife, who likes her thrillers a little more civilized. The ending is over-the-top and not for the squeamish. Then again, it's so consistently outrageous and enjoyable that I want her to read it just so I can talk to her about it! It's that kind of book. I can't really think of anything I've read that's like it. Patsy Cornwell? This is way more fun. Tarantino, sure. And "House," maybe. But nothing on the page.
Still, I'd prefer to give it 4 1/2 out of 5 stars, because it isn't perfect; there are some spots that seem a little less polished, some things that are maybe too hard to follow. It's not always smooth. But those are quibbles, because overall, this is the coolest, smartest, most exciting book I've read in YEARS. It's a rush.
Book Review: Bright New Talent
Summary: 5 Stars
Told from the first person with an almost in-your-face sort of directness, Beat The Reaper delivers an adrenaline-buzzed web of action that keeps the reader locked-in from page one to the end against a backdrop of New York City and New Jersey. Gangsters with colorful names like Skinflick populate the story which in addition to hardcore mobster brawling contains a touching, romantic subplot. Pietro Bearclaw Brnwa has entered witness protection as Dr. Brown, hiding from his past and from hitmen out to destroy him. While he works at a New York Hospital that anyone would rather die than be admitted to, his past life comes to him in a series of flashbacks. His past as a mob assassin, however, does catch up with him in the hospital in scenes that would rival any war massacre for gore, drama, and action. The language of the book is not for the faint of heart. The book is a quick, adventurous and fun read.The Griffon Trilogy (Pt. I)Book Review: Fast and Furious
Summary: 5 Stars
Wow! This is one wild and crazy novel! A wild and crazy novel with hysterically funny footnotes, to be precise. I've never read anything quite like this super-charged, brilliant mash-up of mob, medical and revenge thriller. You're traveling at full speed by the time you've finished the first page (on which our hero, Dr. Peter Brown, watches a rat fighting a pigeon in the snow on the way to work and then disarms a guy who's attacking him in the hope of scoring some drugs), and the pace never lets up until the outrageous final showdown (which to call extremely visceral would be kind of an understatement). In between, you learn more than you'd care to know about the never-ending nightmare of working in an understaffed hospital and the ruthlessness of the New Jersey mafia, encounter a beautiful Romanian viola player and the world's most incompetent surgeon, and find out how Peter Brown, formerly a hitman for the mob, came to be a doctor. I honestly can't remember when I've had that much fun with a novel!Book Review: Hit Man Lunacy
Summary: 5 Stars
The hitman genre has been done well by others, Lawrence Block and Max Collins coming to mind as authors who've done justice to it, but no one has ever made their hitman a practioner of medicine. Josh Bazell's debut novel is a wild ride through the life of the main character, Peter Brown, who is currently hiding out as part of the witness relocation program, and acting in the role of a surgeon at an inner-city hospital. Balancing medical crises with mafia-related shenanigans, along with sarcastic and caustic commentary about today's medical practitioners, this book is filled with crackling dialogue and crisp action.
I hope there is a sequel, but don't think it will be able to come close to matching the magic of Beat the Reaper.