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Shane
Take a classic Western and plant it on a council estate. Out of a taxi steps a violent, uncompromising anti-hero.
"I'm Shane," he said.
For one family he was an unlikely saviour. For the thugs who thought they ran the estate, he was something else.
"I'm Shane," he said.
For one family he was an unlikely saviour. For the thugs who thought they ran the estate, he was something else.
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First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 21, 2022
Hard boiled hero in hard boiled story, February 29, 2016
This review is from: Shane (Kindle Edition)
As of February 29, 2016, FIVE of the SIX one through three star reviews on Amazon were written by people who bought the wrong book. They were trying to buy the western novel SHANE by Jack Schaefer and apparently did not notice that this novel was written by Tim Orchard. I have never understood why reviewers give low rankings based upon the reviewers' own misunderstanding and mistakes.
This terse crime novel features a British criminal and apparent hit man named Shane. For reasons which he can not articulate or even understand he gets involved in the problems of a decent family living in a crime ridden, run down estate. This proves to be bad news for the bad guys as we used to say when I was working in law enforcement. Based on my experience and study this novel reads right and is pretty much believable.
The novel is a retelling of the classic SHANE novel and movie set in modern Great Britain so the plot is obvious. The details of how the action proceeds is not. I would never have believed that any author could make 3 games of draughts (checkers) brim with suspense and excitement. Tim Orchard is a fine writer but he should learn more about weapons if he is going to continue with stories like this one. The Glock semi-automatic pistol does not have a safety lever. I frequently carried one during the last five years of my career. My inclination is 4 stars but this novel has so many unfair and unwarranted bad reviews that I am going to post 5 stars as a sort of antidote.
This review is from: Shane (Kindle Edition)
As of February 29, 2016, FIVE of the SIX one through three star reviews on Amazon were written by people who bought the wrong book. They were trying to buy the western novel SHANE by Jack Schaefer and apparently did not notice that this novel was written by Tim Orchard. I have never understood why reviewers give low rankings based upon the reviewers' own misunderstanding and mistakes.
This terse crime novel features a British criminal and apparent hit man named Shane. For reasons which he can not articulate or even understand he gets involved in the problems of a decent family living in a crime ridden, run down estate. This proves to be bad news for the bad guys as we used to say when I was working in law enforcement. Based on my experience and study this novel reads right and is pretty much believable.
The novel is a retelling of the classic SHANE novel and movie set in modern Great Britain so the plot is obvious. The details of how the action proceeds is not. I would never have believed that any author could make 3 games of draughts (checkers) brim with suspense and excitement. Tim Orchard is a fine writer but he should learn more about weapons if he is going to continue with stories like this one. The Glock semi-automatic pistol does not have a safety lever. I frequently carried one during the last five years of my career. My inclination is 4 stars but this novel has so many unfair and unwarranted bad reviews that I am going to post 5 stars as a sort of antidote.
March 16, 2022
A 2007 book that resets Jack Schaefer’s famous novel to a London housing estate. Our modern-day Shane is a professional hitman who befriends a family being horribly harassed by a local drug dealer and his thuggish minions. As in the original, there’s a young boy who hero-worships Shane, though unlike Schaefer’s book this novel is told from Shane’s perspective. The famous scene of uprooting the tree stump is recreated here through the demolition of a garden shed!
One interesting aspect of this novel is that the author doesn’t soft-pedal. On this occasion Shane is on the side of the good guys, but he is nevertheless portrayed as a brutal, ruthless killer, who has no qualms about using whatever tactics he thinks will get the job done. The latter part of the book is extremely violent.
With a book like this I’m looking for a page turner, and it delivered. At just over 150 pages it’s short, and I raced through the whole thing in no time. The last section did stretch my credulity a bit. The rating is within the genre.
One interesting aspect of this novel is that the author doesn’t soft-pedal. On this occasion Shane is on the side of the good guys, but he is nevertheless portrayed as a brutal, ruthless killer, who has no qualms about using whatever tactics he thinks will get the job done. The latter part of the book is extremely violent.
With a book like this I’m looking for a page turner, and it delivered. At just over 150 pages it’s short, and I raced through the whole thing in no time. The last section did stretch my credulity a bit. The rating is within the genre.
August 7, 2011
An Anti-Hero With a Difference
SHANE
When Shane goes to visit an old friend, he discovers that the council estate has been taken over by thugs and his friend has taken his family and moved on. Shane should probably have moved on too. After all, it's not his problem, is it? But Shane decides to take on the entire gang and clean up the town in true Western fashion.
This is an exceptionally well-written story with interesting, if not necessarily likeable, characters. Shane himself is capable of acts of extreme violence and if he has a moral code, it is difficult to define. An intriguing book and a good read. I shall certainly read the sequel, Shane Dos.
You can buy Shane direct from the author on this site: http://fictiondirect.com/shop.html
SHANE
When Shane goes to visit an old friend, he discovers that the council estate has been taken over by thugs and his friend has taken his family and moved on. Shane should probably have moved on too. After all, it's not his problem, is it? But Shane decides to take on the entire gang and clean up the town in true Western fashion.
This is an exceptionally well-written story with interesting, if not necessarily likeable, characters. Shane himself is capable of acts of extreme violence and if he has a moral code, it is difficult to define. An intriguing book and a good read. I shall certainly read the sequel, Shane Dos.
You can buy Shane direct from the author on this site: http://fictiondirect.com/shop.html
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews