What do you think?
Rate this book
Shane Bishop Anti-Thrillers #1
The Spartak Trigger by Bryce Allen
Disgraced cop and degenerate cad Shane Bishop now makes his living as a professional set-up artist, using his unique skillset to frame his clients’ enemies for various criminal offenses. When his latest job goes wrong and his mark ends up in a body bag, the ex-lawman becomes the prime suspect in a high-profile murder investigation – framed himself by a mysterious government agent. In order to obtain a key piece of evidence that will clear his name, Bishop is blackmailed into performing various acts of industrial espionage upon some of the world’s most powerful corporations. He soon graduates to foreign intelligence work and finds himself in Russia charged with infiltrating a radical neo-Bolshevik terrorist group known as ‘Black October’ and retrieving a microfilm they’ve obtained which contains a Soviet-era computer virus that has the power to destroy the world…wide web.
Paperback
First published March 16, 2014
1 person is currently reading
202 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
June 1, 2015
If you’ve ever met Shane Bishop, chances are someone out there wants to get rid of you. Bishop isn’t a killer or hit man per se, he’s more of a professional set-up artist. If a company wants you out the door, he might plant drugs on you, frame you for breach of contract or any number of illegal activities, then call the cops and off to jail you go. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.00.
However, when Shane himself is the victim of a set-up, he’s blackmailed into doing the dirty work of a powerful corporation. Can Shane succeed in his mission and save his own ass in the process or will years of bad karma finally catch up with him?
I can’t say I’ve ever read a book where the lead character overrules and badmouths the narrator. The style chosen by author Bryce Allen was completely alien to me and while it was jarring at first, I believe it worked – especially where Shane was completely unlikeable throughout, a bold choice to make when you’re asking your reader to stick with this guy for nearly two hundred pages. In fact, there were occasions where Bishop almost seemed too offensive, like Allen was turning up Shane’s personality to eleven in an attempt to piss off just about everybody who picks up this book. However, despite more than a few suspect and off colour remarks, there were still moments where I found myself laughing out loud.
The Spartak Trigger is an interesting experiment and something I’d recommend if you can handle hanging out with a misogynistic, racist jerk who speaks like a YouTube commentator for a few hours. Allen seems like a fun writer who isn’t afraid to take chances and I’m interested to see what he’s got planned next.
Also posted @ Every Read Thing.
Check out my interview with Bryce!
However, when Shane himself is the victim of a set-up, he’s blackmailed into doing the dirty work of a powerful corporation. Can Shane succeed in his mission and save his own ass in the process or will years of bad karma finally catch up with him?
I can’t say I’ve ever read a book where the lead character overrules and badmouths the narrator. The style chosen by author Bryce Allen was completely alien to me and while it was jarring at first, I believe it worked – especially where Shane was completely unlikeable throughout, a bold choice to make when you’re asking your reader to stick with this guy for nearly two hundred pages. In fact, there were occasions where Bishop almost seemed too offensive, like Allen was turning up Shane’s personality to eleven in an attempt to piss off just about everybody who picks up this book. However, despite more than a few suspect and off colour remarks, there were still moments where I found myself laughing out loud.
The Spartak Trigger is an interesting experiment and something I’d recommend if you can handle hanging out with a misogynistic, racist jerk who speaks like a YouTube commentator for a few hours. Allen seems like a fun writer who isn’t afraid to take chances and I’m interested to see what he’s got planned next.
Also posted @ Every Read Thing.
Check out my interview with Bryce!
June 23, 2014
I love the voice in this novel, which is an addictive cross between Chuck Palahniuk and Mikey Spillane with a bit of spy-fi a la Ian Fleming thrown in for good measure. What this book does (and does well) is follow the classic structure of a detective/spy novel, plot twists and tough guy dialogue included, while simultaneously poking fun at those storied genres. There are insider jokes/familiar troupes on practically every page, and the author's influences literally pop up and say, "Hello." Usually, a writer will deliver jokes deadpan and only acknowledge his/her influences via author interview, but Allen calls attention to his in the actual narrative, which makes the book all the more comical and enjoyable. Too, this level of self-commentary adds a layer of depth to the narrative, making THE SPARTAK TRIGGER both a novel and, in its own way, criticism. . .and entertaining criticism at that.
But all English major stuff aside, this book does the most important thing a novel should do: it makes you want to turn pages; it draws you into its world and makes you want to stay there. Bottom line, that is my most fundamental requirement for fiction, and based on that, I highly recommend reading this one.
But all English major stuff aside, this book does the most important thing a novel should do: it makes you want to turn pages; it draws you into its world and makes you want to stay there. Bottom line, that is my most fundamental requirement for fiction, and based on that, I highly recommend reading this one.
December 15, 2014
This was given by the author for an honest review. Thank you!
This was sent to me a long while ago, last year I believe. I'm a horrible person and I didn't get to read it until now. Looking at the cover, I was thinking that it was going to be a sci-fi, with a female character who is either a detective or an assassin. I guess I was somewhat close. The Spartak Trigger is a noir, with a dash of cyber punk and satire with a male character, classic smoking, rugged dude in a futuristic world, where everything is just plain old computers and technology everywhere. For some odd reason, I spent the first few chapters imagining Borderlands as the background. Don't ask why.
The first thing I noticed in the book is the self awareness. It has a sort of meta-fiction thing going on. The character is aware of the story and it's clichés, the writer is also a character in the story. But the writer doesn't really do anything other than lay out the story's landscape for the character to walk in. Occasionally he fights with the editor. I found this little perk to be delightful, it gives off a sort of light feel to the story. Light as in, it's not a hard novel to read, there's no long passages of poetic prose, yet somehow there are some nice sentences worth reading over and over, or blood and guts everywhere.
The Spartak Trigger is possibly the least serious novel I have read in this year, other than Rude Vile Pigs. Novels like this are breathe of fresh of air for me. It's fast paced and contains every element of what makes an action story good. Here's the list:
1. A character you love or hate.
The main character of this novel is a racist, sexist asshole. So obviously I would hate him. But he is so trope filled in his douchebaggery, that you can't help but not feel offended. Instead you shrug it off like he does in most of the novel. But it still irks me.
2. Oh, look at all the gadgets.
This novel takes place in a time that was sort of in between future and modern time. I'm not really exactly sure what everything is, because I sort of forgot along the way of trying to write this review. but let's just say that it's far enough in the future for people to be more consumed in technology than before. I guess I can say it's close to the futuristic world of Haruki Murakami's Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. People can get chips in their brains, but they aren't riding hover boards yet. There isn't a whole lot of world building info dumps, I'm assuming that's a good thing, because I've honestly never read too many Sci-Fi novels.
3. The action.
A noir novel like this wouldn't be what it is without punching bad guys and crashing cars and almost dying.
So that's the list I guess, it's not the longest. The Spartak Trigger was fun and nicely written, but it kind of steamed out at the end for me. Which could've been my fault. If I take too long reading something, I sort of get tired of looking at it. But at the same time, the humor and the action kind of tired me out. It's sort of like watching a whole series of one of those movie parodies in one sitting. Toward the end, I actually got sort of confused, the last few pages felt this: Boom, bang, boom, oh look The Spartak Trigger thing. But then I realized or remembered that this was a satire, somewhat, so that's what was expected. So I duped myself I guess. But that's the point.
Rating: 3/5
Originally Posted here: http://wordsnotesandfiction.blogspot....
This was sent to me a long while ago, last year I believe. I'm a horrible person and I didn't get to read it until now. Looking at the cover, I was thinking that it was going to be a sci-fi, with a female character who is either a detective or an assassin. I guess I was somewhat close. The Spartak Trigger is a noir, with a dash of cyber punk and satire with a male character, classic smoking, rugged dude in a futuristic world, where everything is just plain old computers and technology everywhere. For some odd reason, I spent the first few chapters imagining Borderlands as the background. Don't ask why.
The first thing I noticed in the book is the self awareness. It has a sort of meta-fiction thing going on. The character is aware of the story and it's clichés, the writer is also a character in the story. But the writer doesn't really do anything other than lay out the story's landscape for the character to walk in. Occasionally he fights with the editor. I found this little perk to be delightful, it gives off a sort of light feel to the story. Light as in, it's not a hard novel to read, there's no long passages of poetic prose, yet somehow there are some nice sentences worth reading over and over, or blood and guts everywhere.
The Spartak Trigger is possibly the least serious novel I have read in this year, other than Rude Vile Pigs. Novels like this are breathe of fresh of air for me. It's fast paced and contains every element of what makes an action story good. Here's the list:
1. A character you love or hate.
The main character of this novel is a racist, sexist asshole. So obviously I would hate him. But he is so trope filled in his douchebaggery, that you can't help but not feel offended. Instead you shrug it off like he does in most of the novel. But it still irks me.
2. Oh, look at all the gadgets.
This novel takes place in a time that was sort of in between future and modern time. I'm not really exactly sure what everything is, because I sort of forgot along the way of trying to write this review. but let's just say that it's far enough in the future for people to be more consumed in technology than before. I guess I can say it's close to the futuristic world of Haruki Murakami's Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. People can get chips in their brains, but they aren't riding hover boards yet. There isn't a whole lot of world building info dumps, I'm assuming that's a good thing, because I've honestly never read too many Sci-Fi novels.
3. The action.
A noir novel like this wouldn't be what it is without punching bad guys and crashing cars and almost dying.
So that's the list I guess, it's not the longest. The Spartak Trigger was fun and nicely written, but it kind of steamed out at the end for me. Which could've been my fault. If I take too long reading something, I sort of get tired of looking at it. But at the same time, the humor and the action kind of tired me out. It's sort of like watching a whole series of one of those movie parodies in one sitting. Toward the end, I actually got sort of confused, the last few pages felt this: Boom, bang, boom, oh look The Spartak Trigger thing. But then I realized or remembered that this was a satire, somewhat, so that's what was expected. So I duped myself I guess. But that's the point.
Rating: 3/5
Originally Posted here: http://wordsnotesandfiction.blogspot....
May 22, 2015
On the red-brick road to paranoia
Add two quarters Kerouac and three quarters Pynchon and you have Bryce Allen’s The Spartak Trigger, a novel so paranoid it conspires to make a whole out of five quarters.
A novel so rambling that Allen not only gives us stream of consciousness, but a meta-narrator and his editor as well. A novel so paranoid Allen tosses in not one global corporate mega-conspiracy, but two. A novel so paranoid, Allen not only steals from Pynchon but Joseph Heller, whose hero Shane Bishop comes close to finishing one suicidal mission only to find himself continually strong-armed (à la Catch-22) into another even far more dangerous.
In order to unlock these treasures readers may have to slog through the the first quarter of a novel that is a slough of jarring profanity, not to mention racist, mysoginist and homophobic invective, and even typographical errors and occasionally plodding prose. Just when you want to complain about the state of indie publishing, the meta-narrator, or editor (or yet another of the spurious voices running parallel commentary in Bishop's narrative) makes the reader aware that they are also aware of the sad state of the prose as well. From that point on the prose improves, if not Bishop’s attitude toward his fellow human beings.
The plot is simple, for an overblown global dueling corporate mega-conspiracy. Shane Bishop’s job is free-lance conspirator. His clients pay him to bribe people to sell out their companies. Unfortunately for Bishop, his latest contract actually frames him for murder. His only way out is to take on another job for the Feds, who turn out not to be Feds at all and each new contract takes him deeper and deeper into a game to find the Spartak Trigger.
The Spartak Trigger was designed by the Russians during the Cold War at the beginning of the ARPA net, and holds the root code to shut down all global communications. Every government agency and the two major global communication corporations (think Microsoft vs. ATT) want it. The question is, is it real or mcguffin? Each new mission takes Bishop either closer to or further away from finding it, forces him to switch allegiance, frames him for yet more murders and ultimately upgrades him with new bio-ware.
With each new switch of allegiance and upgrade, Bishop becomes more confused as does his narrator and editor, until everything melts down in a climactic firefight deep inside the former Soviet Union.
Four stars or five? Tough call. If Allen worked with a publishing house, I would definitely say four, because I would have hoped an editor would have talked him out of some of the sloppiness (however intentional) excesses of language. But Allen’s an indie author, and out there on his own, with no one with better sense to serve as a filter between him and publication. And it is only a star.
Phillip T. Stephens is the author of Cigerets, Guns & Beer and Raising Hell. You can follow him @stephens_pt.
Add two quarters Kerouac and three quarters Pynchon and you have Bryce Allen’s The Spartak Trigger, a novel so paranoid it conspires to make a whole out of five quarters.
A novel so rambling that Allen not only gives us stream of consciousness, but a meta-narrator and his editor as well. A novel so paranoid Allen tosses in not one global corporate mega-conspiracy, but two. A novel so paranoid, Allen not only steals from Pynchon but Joseph Heller, whose hero Shane Bishop comes close to finishing one suicidal mission only to find himself continually strong-armed (à la Catch-22) into another even far more dangerous.
In order to unlock these treasures readers may have to slog through the the first quarter of a novel that is a slough of jarring profanity, not to mention racist, mysoginist and homophobic invective, and even typographical errors and occasionally plodding prose. Just when you want to complain about the state of indie publishing, the meta-narrator, or editor (or yet another of the spurious voices running parallel commentary in Bishop's narrative) makes the reader aware that they are also aware of the sad state of the prose as well. From that point on the prose improves, if not Bishop’s attitude toward his fellow human beings.
The plot is simple, for an overblown global dueling corporate mega-conspiracy. Shane Bishop’s job is free-lance conspirator. His clients pay him to bribe people to sell out their companies. Unfortunately for Bishop, his latest contract actually frames him for murder. His only way out is to take on another job for the Feds, who turn out not to be Feds at all and each new contract takes him deeper and deeper into a game to find the Spartak Trigger.
The Spartak Trigger was designed by the Russians during the Cold War at the beginning of the ARPA net, and holds the root code to shut down all global communications. Every government agency and the two major global communication corporations (think Microsoft vs. ATT) want it. The question is, is it real or mcguffin? Each new mission takes Bishop either closer to or further away from finding it, forces him to switch allegiance, frames him for yet more murders and ultimately upgrades him with new bio-ware.
With each new switch of allegiance and upgrade, Bishop becomes more confused as does his narrator and editor, until everything melts down in a climactic firefight deep inside the former Soviet Union.
Four stars or five? Tough call. If Allen worked with a publishing house, I would definitely say four, because I would have hoped an editor would have talked him out of some of the sloppiness (however intentional) excesses of language. But Allen’s an indie author, and out there on his own, with no one with better sense to serve as a filter between him and publication. And it is only a star.
Phillip T. Stephens is the author of Cigerets, Guns & Beer and Raising Hell. You can follow him @stephens_pt.
July 28, 2014
Not quite what I was expecting this one – but an extremely fun thriller with some great humerous touches and plenty of excitement.
It has an ironic edge that makes it very readable – I was very fond of our main protagonist Shane – and this book does not take itself at ALL seriously, it reminded me somewhat of those spy spoofs such as Spy Hard and strangely enough I had Austin Powers in my head while I was reading the narration. That said it was also intriguing at times, has a quirky writing style, and an adventurous turn that kept me turning the pages. Plenty of action, plenty of laughs and a character who cares not a bit for other peoples opinion of him, added up to a wonderful read.
Being framed for murder has never been so much fun! A solid 3* read that I enjoyed over the course of a sunny Sunday afternoon – recommended for just that sort of thing.
Happy Reading folks!
It has an ironic edge that makes it very readable – I was very fond of our main protagonist Shane – and this book does not take itself at ALL seriously, it reminded me somewhat of those spy spoofs such as Spy Hard and strangely enough I had Austin Powers in my head while I was reading the narration. That said it was also intriguing at times, has a quirky writing style, and an adventurous turn that kept me turning the pages. Plenty of action, plenty of laughs and a character who cares not a bit for other peoples opinion of him, added up to a wonderful read.
Being framed for murder has never been so much fun! A solid 3* read that I enjoyed over the course of a sunny Sunday afternoon – recommended for just that sort of thing.
Happy Reading folks!
May 2, 2015
Just finished "The Spartak Trigger," and it's a tough one to explan. Take some "Danger Five," add in the Narrative style of Joe R Lansdale, combine with the surrealism of the Goon Show's "Six Charlies in search of as Author," and make the protagonist a combination of every negative stereotype immagineable - and you're about 5% of the way to explaining that the only question to be answered after reading this book is whether it's a horrible failure or a glorious act of genius - and all that in only 180 pages or so. A punch in the face of a book!
June 17, 2015
A copy of The Spartak Trigger was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author Bryce Allen in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Bedlam Press.
Anyone who visits the blog regularly will know I love to discover new authors, to me, especially when it is their first book. I liked the sound of this one when it was sent in and decided to give it some reading time. I got a surprise with this book. A pleasant one.
Shane Bishop has had his day as a cop. The job was taken away from him in disgrace. He now works for a firm as a professional set up artist. Firms hire him to go undercover, set up and disgrace an employee of theirs so they can fire them. There are many reasons for these requests. Bishop doesn’t really care as long as he gets paid.
His most recent job has gone wrong. His mark was killed but not by him. He is now caught up in an international web of industrial espionage that threatens to destroy the World Wide Web and plunge today’s society into technological darkness.
He is being blackmailed to help a tech firm get their hands on a years old microfilm to assist them in their quest. His prize is simple – be cleared of a murder he didn’t commit. Or is it as simple as he thinks?
Okay, I had a few problems with this book. Problem number one – how to classify it. Which genre to put it in to. I still have no idea. A thriller? A techno thriller? A – I don’t know really. It’s so mixed up.
Problem number two – how to deal with the confusion I felt while reading it. It sort of jumps about all over the place and was a bit hard to follow at times.
Problem number three – the way it is written. Our “hero” Bishop tells the story but has a “narrator” that adds or emits detail to the story as he sees fit. I still have no idea who this person was/is. It reads almost as if Bishop is schizophrenic or has an imaginary friend or is just plain nuts. He mentions in the story he has a weird form of Tourette’s and I still don’t know if this was just a cover or if that was really what was going on.
Problem four – I just could not put this book down. It is fantastic in its own way.
The characters are brilliant. They are an eclectic mix of rogues who are all out to fulfil their own agendas. It seems like everyone is heading towards the same goal but at the same time no one trusts anyone else and they all want to be the one to reach the prize first. I’m not going to tell you what the prize is or anything else about the plot because it would completely spoil it for you.
I loved the writing style in this. It is almost noir. You could imagine this story being set in the 30’s or 40’s. It has that sort of atmosphere and feel about it but deals with every aspect of our technologically advanced world i.e. the internet and how we couldn’t live without it. It totally draws you into the story. You will find yourself questioning what you are reading over and over. It’s like it doesn’t make sense but at the same time it is very compelling reading.
Writing this review immediately after finishing the book, I realise it is probably confusing and doesn’t make much sense to you but that is how this story makes you feel. You never know who is right, who is wrong, who the good guys are and who isn’t. You never know who to trust and even if they are real.
To summarise: a confusing tale of international industrial espionage. It has murder and intrigue. Chases across the world. What seems to be about five different groups all chasing the same thing and all trying to use the same person to get it.
Confused? You will be, but you know what? This is a story that will not let you go until you finish it. In many ways I’m still not sure exactly what I read but I do know I loved it. This book will stay with me for a long time and that is not easy to do when I read so much. I will read this book again and again. Reason for this being I might understand it more when I read it a second time but mostly because it was so good. If Bryce Allen keeps writing like this I can see him creating a very successful niche all of his own.
General rating:
★★★★ Super stuff. Recommended.
No idea what genre this is rating:
★★★★ Really good whatever it is.
Anyone who visits the blog regularly will know I love to discover new authors, to me, especially when it is their first book. I liked the sound of this one when it was sent in and decided to give it some reading time. I got a surprise with this book. A pleasant one.
Shane Bishop has had his day as a cop. The job was taken away from him in disgrace. He now works for a firm as a professional set up artist. Firms hire him to go undercover, set up and disgrace an employee of theirs so they can fire them. There are many reasons for these requests. Bishop doesn’t really care as long as he gets paid.
His most recent job has gone wrong. His mark was killed but not by him. He is now caught up in an international web of industrial espionage that threatens to destroy the World Wide Web and plunge today’s society into technological darkness.
He is being blackmailed to help a tech firm get their hands on a years old microfilm to assist them in their quest. His prize is simple – be cleared of a murder he didn’t commit. Or is it as simple as he thinks?
Okay, I had a few problems with this book. Problem number one – how to classify it. Which genre to put it in to. I still have no idea. A thriller? A techno thriller? A – I don’t know really. It’s so mixed up.
Problem number two – how to deal with the confusion I felt while reading it. It sort of jumps about all over the place and was a bit hard to follow at times.
Problem number three – the way it is written. Our “hero” Bishop tells the story but has a “narrator” that adds or emits detail to the story as he sees fit. I still have no idea who this person was/is. It reads almost as if Bishop is schizophrenic or has an imaginary friend or is just plain nuts. He mentions in the story he has a weird form of Tourette’s and I still don’t know if this was just a cover or if that was really what was going on.
Problem four – I just could not put this book down. It is fantastic in its own way.
The characters are brilliant. They are an eclectic mix of rogues who are all out to fulfil their own agendas. It seems like everyone is heading towards the same goal but at the same time no one trusts anyone else and they all want to be the one to reach the prize first. I’m not going to tell you what the prize is or anything else about the plot because it would completely spoil it for you.
I loved the writing style in this. It is almost noir. You could imagine this story being set in the 30’s or 40’s. It has that sort of atmosphere and feel about it but deals with every aspect of our technologically advanced world i.e. the internet and how we couldn’t live without it. It totally draws you into the story. You will find yourself questioning what you are reading over and over. It’s like it doesn’t make sense but at the same time it is very compelling reading.
Writing this review immediately after finishing the book, I realise it is probably confusing and doesn’t make much sense to you but that is how this story makes you feel. You never know who is right, who is wrong, who the good guys are and who isn’t. You never know who to trust and even if they are real.
To summarise: a confusing tale of international industrial espionage. It has murder and intrigue. Chases across the world. What seems to be about five different groups all chasing the same thing and all trying to use the same person to get it.
Confused? You will be, but you know what? This is a story that will not let you go until you finish it. In many ways I’m still not sure exactly what I read but I do know I loved it. This book will stay with me for a long time and that is not easy to do when I read so much. I will read this book again and again. Reason for this being I might understand it more when I read it a second time but mostly because it was so good. If Bryce Allen keeps writing like this I can see him creating a very successful niche all of his own.
General rating:
★★★★ Super stuff. Recommended.
No idea what genre this is rating:
★★★★ Really good whatever it is.
December 14, 2015
See the whole review at The Dark
This novel is interesting on many levels, and I don't mean interesting in the sense that I can't come up with a better word, but that this one actually applies. The narrative is not typical, and that's part of the charm. At first, it takes a minute to get used to the main character arguing with the narrator, but once you adjust to that, it's quite amusing. Mostly because Shane Bishop is an asshole. I really can't come up with a better word here. Maybe dick. He is not a likable man, and he' not trying to be. He's a racist, misogynistic, lunatic with a an equally despicable job. He sets people up. He ruins lives. Like I said, he's an asshole. Not that the people's who's life he ruins are all that great, either. To quote Bishop:
"Another high-tech corporate monkey with a super-expensive severance package?"
And to hammer my point on what an asshole he is, here's another quote:
"I go to a pet store and ask the friendly salespeople all kinds of retarded questions but I don't buy anything."
He has a daughter and you want to think that might be Bishop's saving grace, but no, he's a shitty father as well, and his daughter is an unstable girl who makes terrible decisions. He does try to help her at some point. That was nice. There. That's about the only good thing about Bishop.
Now, back to the plot, Bishop gets framed. He is hunted down. He needs help. This starts the turns and twists and bends of the book. The spy part of it. He meets a lot of interesting characters who lead him in different directions. There's explosions. Action. Sex. Betrayal. Lots of fun. Read the book. Pay attention and you might not get lost:
"He begins to explain to me what the fuck is going on with this meandering, convoluted plot you've managed to tolerate thus far."
I agree with that statement. But I have to say, I enjoyed all the extra characters, the ones that die and the ones that don't. No spoilers! They add to the craziness and fast pace of the book. They come in and out of Bishop's life to briefly confound and piss him off a little more. My favorite part of the whole novel has to be Bishop's arguments with the narrator who desperately tries to keep Bishop in line with his fancy word choices and crafty omissions.
"The narrator sheepishly apologizes for what he calls a contrived coincidence"
You get the sense that Bishop is not all there in the head. He keeps getting calls wherever he is from telemarketers in all kinds of places. All the time. You get a feeling that the narrator and MC don't know what's going on and that endeared me to them and the story. For sanity's sake, you just hope it all comes to a satisfying resolution. I believe it does.
This novel is interesting on many levels, and I don't mean interesting in the sense that I can't come up with a better word, but that this one actually applies. The narrative is not typical, and that's part of the charm. At first, it takes a minute to get used to the main character arguing with the narrator, but once you adjust to that, it's quite amusing. Mostly because Shane Bishop is an asshole. I really can't come up with a better word here. Maybe dick. He is not a likable man, and he' not trying to be. He's a racist, misogynistic, lunatic with a an equally despicable job. He sets people up. He ruins lives. Like I said, he's an asshole. Not that the people's who's life he ruins are all that great, either. To quote Bishop:
"Another high-tech corporate monkey with a super-expensive severance package?"
And to hammer my point on what an asshole he is, here's another quote:
"I go to a pet store and ask the friendly salespeople all kinds of retarded questions but I don't buy anything."
He has a daughter and you want to think that might be Bishop's saving grace, but no, he's a shitty father as well, and his daughter is an unstable girl who makes terrible decisions. He does try to help her at some point. That was nice. There. That's about the only good thing about Bishop.
Now, back to the plot, Bishop gets framed. He is hunted down. He needs help. This starts the turns and twists and bends of the book. The spy part of it. He meets a lot of interesting characters who lead him in different directions. There's explosions. Action. Sex. Betrayal. Lots of fun. Read the book. Pay attention and you might not get lost:
"He begins to explain to me what the fuck is going on with this meandering, convoluted plot you've managed to tolerate thus far."
I agree with that statement. But I have to say, I enjoyed all the extra characters, the ones that die and the ones that don't. No spoilers! They add to the craziness and fast pace of the book. They come in and out of Bishop's life to briefly confound and piss him off a little more. My favorite part of the whole novel has to be Bishop's arguments with the narrator who desperately tries to keep Bishop in line with his fancy word choices and crafty omissions.
"The narrator sheepishly apologizes for what he calls a contrived coincidence"
You get the sense that Bishop is not all there in the head. He keeps getting calls wherever he is from telemarketers in all kinds of places. All the time. You get a feeling that the narrator and MC don't know what's going on and that endeared me to them and the story. For sanity's sake, you just hope it all comes to a satisfying resolution. I believe it does.
February 16, 2017
The guy who mows my lawn, Raegan Butcher, gave me this. It was goood! I like stuff that has a twisty plot where you don't know what's gonna happen next.
January 28, 2015
review coming soon
Read
December 26, 2014Review to come!
January 12, 2015
Number one, calling Shane Bishop a degenerate is being oh, so kind to the lead character of The Spartak Trigger. Half the time, I was hoping that somehow, someone would shoit him right where it hurts! His disgusting ways are actually half of what makes this book so great: he's the perfect character you love to despise.
The second thing that makes the big stand out isn't the plot (though it's awesome), or the secondary characters, but the style in which it's written. It's supposed to be from Shane's perspective, yet he keeps taking about a narrator and an editor, changing and talking about his story, as you're reading the story! At first I was confused, but after a while I understood what the writer was actually doing and I applaud him. It is an innovative approach to narration and storytelling that I hope people pick up on and appreciate it for the genius that it is.
As I said, the plot was awesome: fast-paced, mysterious and dangerous. You don't know who's good, bad, alive or dead! Like the nameless and faceless narrator and editor, this is Shane's story and you're just along for the ride!
I do, however, have one criticism, and that's the fact that, though Shane is old enough to have an adult daughter, at times he talks far too young, using current slang that no middle-aged cop would. It is a bit confusing and then seems too pretentious for the character. Most of the time, though, everything is spot on, from dialogue to description.
All in all, a great book. Just not for everyone. Some will definitely be too sensitive to read this, but I think most people (mostly men, unfortunately, no offense to the female readers, but there's a lot if sexism, racism and other various forms of bigotry in here that most likely will offend most women) will enjoy this depraved ride just as much as I did!
4/5--in a league of its own!
The second thing that makes the big stand out isn't the plot (though it's awesome), or the secondary characters, but the style in which it's written. It's supposed to be from Shane's perspective, yet he keeps taking about a narrator and an editor, changing and talking about his story, as you're reading the story! At first I was confused, but after a while I understood what the writer was actually doing and I applaud him. It is an innovative approach to narration and storytelling that I hope people pick up on and appreciate it for the genius that it is.
As I said, the plot was awesome: fast-paced, mysterious and dangerous. You don't know who's good, bad, alive or dead! Like the nameless and faceless narrator and editor, this is Shane's story and you're just along for the ride!
I do, however, have one criticism, and that's the fact that, though Shane is old enough to have an adult daughter, at times he talks far too young, using current slang that no middle-aged cop would. It is a bit confusing and then seems too pretentious for the character. Most of the time, though, everything is spot on, from dialogue to description.
All in all, a great book. Just not for everyone. Some will definitely be too sensitive to read this, but I think most people (mostly men, unfortunately, no offense to the female readers, but there's a lot if sexism, racism and other various forms of bigotry in here that most likely will offend most women) will enjoy this depraved ride just as much as I did!
4/5--in a league of its own!
November 25, 2014
I think I'm actually more intrigued at the end than while I was reading, and that's saying something. I expected a spy thriller, and then a witty poke at spy thrillers (particularly since I was clearly not supposed to like the narrator but still couldn't help being engaged with what happened to him), but there was this steady occasional current that was even weirder than that. There is a phantom narrator who only narrates once as far as I can tell, instead the narrator's narration summarized antagonistically by the main character. What exactly is going on? What does it mean that the main character is aware? It's definitely not like any spy novel I've seen, or even the meta books poking fun at the spy genre. This is a totally different animal, one that is pleasingly difficult to precisely classify in the end. I enjoyed puzzling over it.
May 18, 2016
A solid cold-war era story brought to the world of today.
All in all, a very interesting book with lots of honest interchange between characters including swearing, racial slurs, gay slurs, and a heck of a lot more. This book captures the real thoughts of people today which most of us keep hidden in our living rooms and amongst close friends.
All in all, a very interesting book with lots of honest interchange between characters including swearing, racial slurs, gay slurs, and a heck of a lot more. This book captures the real thoughts of people today which most of us keep hidden in our living rooms and amongst close friends.
February 20, 2019
crazy and fun!
May 6, 2019
A unique and inventive book that blends high and low art in a very effective manner, The Spartak Trigger is one of those things you truly have to experience for yourself... The main character is aggressively loathsome but he exists in a world that he knows is fictional, softening his un-likability somewhat but his dialog can still be jarring at times.. The plot is surprisingly good and well-developed for an experimental novel like this which adds to the atmospheric immersion the reader is drawn into. I've read this book three times now and every time I find new things I missed before because it's so densely-packed with ideas and jokes and references... Luckily it's a shorter novel so it can be re-read easily!
May 17, 2017
I won in a goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review
This one was a wild ride it was pretty good check it out
This one was a wild ride it was pretty good check it out
February 16, 2016
I don’t remember where I was or what I was doing when The Spartak Trigger landed in my lap… top. I was told that it was a spy-thriller novel with a sarcastic sense of humor, so being me, a guy who loves spy-thrillers and has a sarcastic sense of humor, I was intrigued. I don’t have much time for reading these days, due to being one of FanboyNation’s resident tastemakers, but I made time because it sounded interesting, and because I was sitting in an ophthalmologist’s waiting room for a good couple of hours while my mom had something magical done to her peepers.
It started out a bit slow, but even on the first page Bryce Allen’s wry humor was on full display. The main character, disgraced cop Shane Bishop, is kind of a jerk, but I was very easily able to find him likable anyway. The plot, told in the first person with a mystery narrator jumping in from time to time, centers on Bishop as he works as a set-up artist, taking down his client’s enemies by setting them up to take down themselves. After his latest botched job, and finding himself framed for murder and being blackmailed, Bishop heads to Russia to save the world… wide web.
For a first novel, Spartak Trigger definitely held my interest and left me wanting more. A sardonic, surreal, and satirical neo-noir, science fiction, spy thriller with a little to offend and entertain everybody. It is intelligent, intriguing, quirky, and never once takes itself seriously, making it one of the funnest books I’ve read in a long time. Allen has a unique voice with a fresh take on the genre, and I hope he never stops writing.
The protagonist is an amoral, sexist, cynical, sarcastic, coke-fueled assehole, but beneath the surface beats a heart of gold, well, copper at least. Bishop struggles to make himself seem the tough guy, because in his business he has to, but you can tell that it is all a lie he tells himself. Lines such as – “The peanuts are stale and I suddenly wish I’d picked a classier joint at which to ruin this assclown’s life.” – are mere chest-puffing for chest-puffing’s sake, and when we get to the moment he is reunited with the daughter he hasn’t seen in years we get to see the man beneath the facade. And the way he argues with the narrator takes a bit of getting used to, but is eminently interesting and entertaining.
One of my favorite things The Spartak Trigger has going on is that even as it nails each and every spy novel cliche and trope it brilliantly skewers them, using humor as self-commentary brilliantly. There are plenty of plot twist to keep you guessing, and the stakes get higher and higher as the book progresses, sort of. If you have the patience to get through the first 10-15 pages, to where the story really gets going, you will be rewarded with an exciting and hilarious kick in the brain that I am glad I made the time for. Bravo, Bryce E Allen. Bravo.
Review originally from http://fanboynation.com/the-spartak-t... I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
It started out a bit slow, but even on the first page Bryce Allen’s wry humor was on full display. The main character, disgraced cop Shane Bishop, is kind of a jerk, but I was very easily able to find him likable anyway. The plot, told in the first person with a mystery narrator jumping in from time to time, centers on Bishop as he works as a set-up artist, taking down his client’s enemies by setting them up to take down themselves. After his latest botched job, and finding himself framed for murder and being blackmailed, Bishop heads to Russia to save the world… wide web.
For a first novel, Spartak Trigger definitely held my interest and left me wanting more. A sardonic, surreal, and satirical neo-noir, science fiction, spy thriller with a little to offend and entertain everybody. It is intelligent, intriguing, quirky, and never once takes itself seriously, making it one of the funnest books I’ve read in a long time. Allen has a unique voice with a fresh take on the genre, and I hope he never stops writing.
The protagonist is an amoral, sexist, cynical, sarcastic, coke-fueled assehole, but beneath the surface beats a heart of gold, well, copper at least. Bishop struggles to make himself seem the tough guy, because in his business he has to, but you can tell that it is all a lie he tells himself. Lines such as – “The peanuts are stale and I suddenly wish I’d picked a classier joint at which to ruin this assclown’s life.” – are mere chest-puffing for chest-puffing’s sake, and when we get to the moment he is reunited with the daughter he hasn’t seen in years we get to see the man beneath the facade. And the way he argues with the narrator takes a bit of getting used to, but is eminently interesting and entertaining.
One of my favorite things The Spartak Trigger has going on is that even as it nails each and every spy novel cliche and trope it brilliantly skewers them, using humor as self-commentary brilliantly. There are plenty of plot twist to keep you guessing, and the stakes get higher and higher as the book progresses, sort of. If you have the patience to get through the first 10-15 pages, to where the story really gets going, you will be rewarded with an exciting and hilarious kick in the brain that I am glad I made the time for. Bravo, Bryce E Allen. Bravo.
Review originally from http://fanboynation.com/the-spartak-t... I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
December 5, 2014
Mr. Allen sent me this book for an honest review and I have to admit I was a little weary at first (this isn’t usually my genre), but I gave it a go anyway and was slightly surprised with it. I read up on the reviews for the book and it was given high remarks so I was even more excited. Now this book is VERY different. The tense used is everywhere. first, second, third, hell I think he even made up some tenses but truthfully it made the book even better. Now lets start with this Narrator person. We never learn who he is and honestly I’m thinking Mr. Bishop has a split personality or a strong imagination, as there is never anyone with him at the times that the Narrator is speaking/thinking/describing things. I do believe Mr. Bishop is losing touch with reality. (Ah and Mr. Allen, I HATE how you portrayed cops in this book. I take it as a personal offense. BUT I’m not here to talk about that,.. just an FYI we aren’t ALL fat, sloppy, or crooked.) This book is really fasted paced and it drew me in quickly. I loved all the mystery and surprises throughout the book. When Bishop was set up I knew it was coming by the way his boss was acting. It was bound to happen and for a man who used to be a cop? He’s pretty stupid at times. Bishop got on my nerves throughout the whole book if it hadn’t been for the writing and mystery to the story I would have dipped out. I mean what “older” man talks like that? And calls every woman he sees/meets a whore? A bitch? Come on now. I was over that 2 chapters in. As a woman I can only take so much downgrading from a chAracter before I throw in the towel. But other than my hatard for the main character it was a pretty good read. I got pretty upset when “The Wizard” is shown with his head cut off. I even shed a tear. I liked him, but at the same time thought is he really dead? Because so far everyone believed dead is still alive and kicking,..
All in all I give this one a 4. The writing and mystery is all you need! Pretty impressed for a first time writer! Make sure you check this one out! And keep a lookout for this author! Allen did an amazing job and gave us a new twist we never saw coming in almost every chapter!
All in all I give this one a 4. The writing and mystery is all you need! Pretty impressed for a first time writer! Make sure you check this one out! And keep a lookout for this author! Allen did an amazing job and gave us a new twist we never saw coming in almost every chapter!
July 12, 2014
Bryce Allen‘s The Spartak Trigger will take some getting used to. I went from liking it, to hating it, to smoking a cigar and enjoying it. The main reason I got into hating it is I expected the standard thriller involving the protagonist’s race against time to save the world, make hot steaming sweet love to a variety of beautiful women, and either quip cheesy lines or come off as overly earnest – and maybe have a sideline in carving boats by hand from tree trunks.
Not that I love the above, but it’s the sort of thing you get a lot from thrillers. Instead, I couldn’t help seeing the protagonist, Bishop, in James Coburn’s skin. The novel is at heart a mighty piss-take on the genre. Sexist, racist, amoral, homophobic, blundering his way through the whole thing like he doesn’t give a rat’s arse about anything.
The main man corrupts company employees for a living, asking them to infect their company with computer viruses. He gets framed for murder, then gets caught up in a dangerous tech war. None of that really matters. His view about life is “whatever”, letting it all slide with a dismissive sneer. His only care is for the daughter he barely sees. His constant companion is the novel’s narrator. Only Bishop converses with the narrator, and it’s all cynical. You can imagine the face he pulls when the narrator gets all purple in his prose, and even notes that he’s run out if plot coupons towards the end. They’re talk about ridiculous plot progressions when Bishop does something amazing without any foreshadowing, or because he’s learnt the skill through his operators manipulating a chip in his head.
This protagonist/narrator conversation is where I lost a lot of patience … initially. But if you take it as a modern version of the 60s spy spoof you’ll laugh quite a bit, or at least Roger Moore an eyebrow in amusement.
Overall, if you go in knowing what you’re going to get, you’ll really enjoy this. If you don’t, you’ll grow to enjoy it. If you like all your thrillers serious, even if it’s all ridiculous, you could get mightily annoyed.
A lot of fun.
Not that I love the above, but it’s the sort of thing you get a lot from thrillers. Instead, I couldn’t help seeing the protagonist, Bishop, in James Coburn’s skin. The novel is at heart a mighty piss-take on the genre. Sexist, racist, amoral, homophobic, blundering his way through the whole thing like he doesn’t give a rat’s arse about anything.
The main man corrupts company employees for a living, asking them to infect their company with computer viruses. He gets framed for murder, then gets caught up in a dangerous tech war. None of that really matters. His view about life is “whatever”, letting it all slide with a dismissive sneer. His only care is for the daughter he barely sees. His constant companion is the novel’s narrator. Only Bishop converses with the narrator, and it’s all cynical. You can imagine the face he pulls when the narrator gets all purple in his prose, and even notes that he’s run out if plot coupons towards the end. They’re talk about ridiculous plot progressions when Bishop does something amazing without any foreshadowing, or because he’s learnt the skill through his operators manipulating a chip in his head.
This protagonist/narrator conversation is where I lost a lot of patience … initially. But if you take it as a modern version of the 60s spy spoof you’ll laugh quite a bit, or at least Roger Moore an eyebrow in amusement.
Overall, if you go in knowing what you’re going to get, you’ll really enjoy this. If you don’t, you’ll grow to enjoy it. If you like all your thrillers serious, even if it’s all ridiculous, you could get mightily annoyed.
A lot of fun.
December 7, 2014
To be honest, I had a certain idea about what I was getting myself into when I began reading The Spartak Trigger, but what I got was almost, not quite, the exact opposite. I’m not saying this as a bad thing, just mentioning it so that if you choose to read this book you aren’t taken aback as I was initially. The tenses of this book shift…a lot. First person, third person an omniscient narrator and, I’m sure there may have even been some newly created point of view included. It took me a bit to get used to it, but overall, I feel, it worked.
Very rarely will a book get more than a Double espresso rating (2 stars) from me if I dislike the main character, but this is an exception. It’s getting a Triple espresso, because while I truly disliked the main character, Bishop, and found him to be an utter ass, I liked the premise and flow of The Spartak Trigger. It was quite an interesting concept and we got to travel around various parts of the states/world as the story unfolded.
And what a story it was, we start with an ex-cop who has been off the force for quite a while now and who frames people of his client’s choosing for various crimes in order to get them out of the way for whatever reason. However, Bishop gets framed himself for a murder he did not commit and we spend the rest of the book learning what he is willing to do to clear his name.
Definitely an interesting book and worth a read, I’m not sure it will get a reread from me, personally, but I was intrigued by it and would definitely look at this author’s other works again in the future.
Very rarely will a book get more than a Double espresso rating (2 stars) from me if I dislike the main character, but this is an exception. It’s getting a Triple espresso, because while I truly disliked the main character, Bishop, and found him to be an utter ass, I liked the premise and flow of The Spartak Trigger. It was quite an interesting concept and we got to travel around various parts of the states/world as the story unfolded.
And what a story it was, we start with an ex-cop who has been off the force for quite a while now and who frames people of his client’s choosing for various crimes in order to get them out of the way for whatever reason. However, Bishop gets framed himself for a murder he did not commit and we spend the rest of the book learning what he is willing to do to clear his name.
Definitely an interesting book and worth a read, I’m not sure it will get a reread from me, personally, but I was intrigued by it and would definitely look at this author’s other works again in the future.
June 26, 2014
I received this book through the good reads giveaway program.
This plot revolved around a main character who performed questionable services for companies who could afford to pay. Ironically while on a job he is framed for a murder which he spends the rest of the book trying to clear up. The plot itself was certainly not unique by any means, however the point of view the book was written from was. While basically written from the point of view of the main character, it also included his opinion of things an outside narrator was supposedly saying about what was going on. It reminded me a lot of reading a screenplay and I once I got used to the style I found it intriguing. Overall however, with the exception of the style this was just an average read.
This plot revolved around a main character who performed questionable services for companies who could afford to pay. Ironically while on a job he is framed for a murder which he spends the rest of the book trying to clear up. The plot itself was certainly not unique by any means, however the point of view the book was written from was. While basically written from the point of view of the main character, it also included his opinion of things an outside narrator was supposedly saying about what was going on. It reminded me a lot of reading a screenplay and I once I got used to the style I found it intriguing. Overall however, with the exception of the style this was just an average read.
June 17, 2014
It was a word book constantly commenting about the narrator.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews