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Lucky Bastard
Meet Nick a private detective who’s more Columbo than Sam Spade, more Magnum P.I. than Philip Marlowe. As San Francisco’s infamous luck poacher, Nick doesn’t know whether his ability to swipe other people’s fortunes with a simple handshake is a blessing or a curse. Ever since his youth, Nick has swallowed more than a few bitter truths when it comes to wheeling and dealing in destinies. Because whether the highest bidders of Nick’s serendipitous booty are celebrities, yuppies, or douche bag vegans, the unsavory fact luck is the most powerful, addictive, and dangerous drug of them all. And no amount of cappuccinos, Lucky Charms, or apple fritters can sweeten the notion that Nick might be exactly what his father once claimed—as ambitious as a fart. That is, until Tuesday Knight, the curvy brunette who also happens to be the mayor’s daughter, approaches Nick with an irresistible $100,000 to retrieve her father’s stolen luck. Could this high-stakes deal let Nick do right? Or will kowtowing to another greedmonger’s demands simply fund Nick’s addiction to corporate coffee bars while his morality drains down the toilet? Before he downs his next mocha, Nick finds himself at the mercy of a Chinese mafia kingpin and with no choice but to scour the city for the purest kind of luck, a hunt more titillating than softcore porn. All he has to do to stay ahead of the game is remember that you can’t take something from someone without eventually paying like hell for it. . . .
386 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 17, 2012
24 people are currently reading
668 people want to read
About the author
S.G. Browne
27 books437 followersS.G. Browne is the author of the novels Less Than Hero, Big Egos, Lucky Bastard, Fated, and Breathers, as well as the eBook short story collection Shooting Monkeys in a Barrel and the heartwarming holiday tale I Saw Zombies Eating Santa Claus. His new short story collection, Lost Creatures, blends fantasy, science fiction, dark comedy, and magical realism.
He's an ice cream connoisseur, Guinness aficionado, cat enthusiast, and a sucker for dark comedies. You can learn more about S.G. Browne and his writing at www.sgbrowne.com
He's an ice cream connoisseur, Guinness aficionado, cat enthusiast, and a sucker for dark comedies. You can learn more about S.G. Browne and his writing at www.sgbrowne.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 128 reviews
September 19, 2012
Nick Monday pretends to be a private investigator in San Francisco, but he really…. Wait a second. Nick Monday in San Francisco? This guy has to be related to our own mark monday. I assume this is some kind of long lost cousin, but since Nick is kind of a jerk, mark remains the only good Monday.
Anyhow, Nick Monday does some detective work but that’s just a cover for his real profession, luck poaching. As Nick explains, there are people born that are inherently lucky or unlucky and some have the ability to steal that luck just by shaking hands. However, he can’t just keep the luck forever so he processes it and sells it off.
Nick made a huge mistake a few years back when he broke one of his own rules and poached bad luck for a big payday. Unfortunately, that evil karma has clung to him like body odor even after he sold it, and it all seems to be coming to back on him on one bad day in which a Chinese gang leader tries to coerce him into poaching for him while the government hounds him to dose the gangster with bad luck. Plus, a beautiful woman tries to hire him to find out who swiped her father’s good luck and Nick is the guy who did it so that makes for an awkward situation.
I loved S.G. Browne’s Breathers and Fated so I was disappointed that this one didn’t measure up to those two. In fairness, I had some fairly specific problems with this book that may not bother other readers as much as they did me.
First off is that Nick is a relentless smart-ass who constantly pops off when he has every reason in the world to keep his mouth shut. Secondly is that Nick is kind of a moron who spends most of the book being drugged, beaten and kidnapped by various people. So our protagonist is almost completely passive and yet reacts to every situation like a bad stand-up comic. I almost thought I’d picked up a Harry Dresden novel by accident.
Third is that the most interesting part of the book is the whole luck poaching angle yet we never get any feeling of how that whole underworld acts other than Nick’s exposition. It would have been helpful if we’d actually got some interactions with that aspect other than Nick’s memories and explanations of how it works in between kidnappings.
Finally, and this definitely falls in the pet peeve category, the whole idea of passing along the luck is that it’s done by drinking urine. The poacher snatches the luck and then processes the urine and sells it off to be guzzled by the customer, but in a pinch, the luck can be absorbed by sucking down some straight pee. So by the end of the book we’ve got Nick pissing into Cokes and drinking them down, and urine is used as the primary weapon against the bad guys.
Just…...No. I read a lot of crime and horror, and I can pretty much sit there with a book in one hand and a sandwich in the other through the most depraved scenes imaginable, but everybody has their own limitations. Mine is reading repeatedly about people drinking their own piss. I don’t care how much good luck I can absorb, I ain’t acting like a cup of urine is a glass of lemonade.
It sounds like I’m trashing this one, and that isn’t my intention. It’s still got an interesting premise as well as some funny stuff. Fans of Christopher Moore would probably find it entertaining, and I’ll still be checking out whatever Browne does next. I just hope it doesn’t involve consuming bodily fluids.
Anyhow, Nick Monday does some detective work but that’s just a cover for his real profession, luck poaching. As Nick explains, there are people born that are inherently lucky or unlucky and some have the ability to steal that luck just by shaking hands. However, he can’t just keep the luck forever so he processes it and sells it off.
Nick made a huge mistake a few years back when he broke one of his own rules and poached bad luck for a big payday. Unfortunately, that evil karma has clung to him like body odor even after he sold it, and it all seems to be coming to back on him on one bad day in which a Chinese gang leader tries to coerce him into poaching for him while the government hounds him to dose the gangster with bad luck. Plus, a beautiful woman tries to hire him to find out who swiped her father’s good luck and Nick is the guy who did it so that makes for an awkward situation.
I loved S.G. Browne’s Breathers and Fated so I was disappointed that this one didn’t measure up to those two. In fairness, I had some fairly specific problems with this book that may not bother other readers as much as they did me.
First off is that Nick is a relentless smart-ass who constantly pops off when he has every reason in the world to keep his mouth shut. Secondly is that Nick is kind of a moron who spends most of the book being drugged, beaten and kidnapped by various people. So our protagonist is almost completely passive and yet reacts to every situation like a bad stand-up comic. I almost thought I’d picked up a Harry Dresden novel by accident.
Third is that the most interesting part of the book is the whole luck poaching angle yet we never get any feeling of how that whole underworld acts other than Nick’s exposition. It would have been helpful if we’d actually got some interactions with that aspect other than Nick’s memories and explanations of how it works in between kidnappings.
Finally, and this definitely falls in the pet peeve category, the whole idea of passing along the luck is that it’s done by drinking urine. The poacher snatches the luck and then processes the urine and sells it off to be guzzled by the customer, but in a pinch, the luck can be absorbed by sucking down some straight pee. So by the end of the book we’ve got Nick pissing into Cokes and drinking them down, and urine is used as the primary weapon against the bad guys.
Just…...No. I read a lot of crime and horror, and I can pretty much sit there with a book in one hand and a sandwich in the other through the most depraved scenes imaginable, but everybody has their own limitations. Mine is reading repeatedly about people drinking their own piss. I don’t care how much good luck I can absorb, I ain’t acting like a cup of urine is a glass of lemonade.
It sounds like I’m trashing this one, and that isn’t my intention. It’s still got an interesting premise as well as some funny stuff. Fans of Christopher Moore would probably find it entertaining, and I’ll still be checking out whatever Browne does next. I just hope it doesn’t involve consuming bodily fluids.
September 19, 2012
Nick Monday is a private investigator on the outside, but what he really does is poach luck. That's right, he is one of a very few people who can steal other people's luck and then sell it.
Good luck comes in different grades, low, medium, and Top-grade soft. Each grade can mean different things to different people, but those with Top-grade soft are those who will be the only survivor of a plane crash or the winner of the $33 million jackpot lotto and so on.
Top-grade soft is also worth a ton on the street, which is why it's so hard to get despite the fact that people with this type of luck are easy to spot - they usually make it on the news in some way or another. But there are other poachers as well.
Along with good luck, there's also bad luck, but it's not something most luck poachers want to get remotely close to. It can stick with you for a while and the results are never good (as you can imagine).
This premise alone made Lucky Bastard a must-read for me, I had to see how this concept was realized. And it works...mostly.
There's lots of humor in Lucky Bastard and for the most part it hits its mark. Told in first person, Nick Monday is your typical wise-cracking urban fantasy protagonist in many ways. So much so that at times it does start to get on your nerves.
For instance, this was used a ton, and I mean, a ton. There will be a paragraph describing the situation or some concept such as physics or math or grammar followed by a single sentence paragraph.
"I was never good at [insert subject]."
I've read plenty of books, especially of the urban fantasy type (but especially of the first person narrative type) that use this and maybe my time with urban fantasy has gone on too long, but this was just over-used by far.
Luckily (get it?), this wasn't the only use of humor and otherwise Nick Monday always won me back in the humor department.
Another thing I had a hard time with was a bit of an inconsistency in the logic of the premise. When people lose their good luck, for some reason their life essentially spirals out of control, especially those with the best kind of luck. For instance, the mayor loses his luck and suddenly he loses his position and anything good in his life.
With the existence of bad luck, it just didn't make sense to me that suddenly without your luck, you get bad luck?
For the most part, the whole luck thing works really well and this is only something small that I was able to get over pretty quickly, especially with how well this was written and how likeable the protagonist is.
It could also just be me because all luck is treated more or less as a drug and the different types of luck do different things. So it was probably explained away in there somewhere, but this bothered me for a just a bit...until I got over it.
Because it really is easy to get over any quibbles you have with an interesting premise like this and an easy-going and often hilarious protagonist. Lucky Bastard's a great read that's hard to put down. I did have some problems, but they were relatively easy to get over because the whole novel flows so smoothly and it's hard to put down.
I debated whether this could be turned into a whole series and while it definitely could, I really think this new/shiny/cool premise would get a bit old after this. Then again, Browne's shown himself to be quite capable, so I could be wrong.
One last thing to address before I finish is the action. I mentioned that this book was hard to put down and that's in large part because Monday goes from one problem to the next, none of which is really his own doing...well...that's not entirely correct, but I don't want to spoil things too much.
Like any good urban fantasy, one problem piles on the other and while it was well-handled in this book, there was also a lot of time where Nick Monday was being carried/carted/drugged/dragged away to some other boss/agency/etc. A LOT of time. Every time you turn around he's being taken in by another of his multiple problems and it seemed like a lot of Monday's time was really not in his control.
Obviously this also shows the deftness of Browne's hand at shaping this fun narrative while his protagonist's choices were cut down left and right. And the premise itself helps to explain it away as well. It's all luck.
3.5 out of 5 Stars (Recommended!)
Good luck comes in different grades, low, medium, and Top-grade soft. Each grade can mean different things to different people, but those with Top-grade soft are those who will be the only survivor of a plane crash or the winner of the $33 million jackpot lotto and so on.
Top-grade soft is also worth a ton on the street, which is why it's so hard to get despite the fact that people with this type of luck are easy to spot - they usually make it on the news in some way or another. But there are other poachers as well.
Along with good luck, there's also bad luck, but it's not something most luck poachers want to get remotely close to. It can stick with you for a while and the results are never good (as you can imagine).
This premise alone made Lucky Bastard a must-read for me, I had to see how this concept was realized. And it works...mostly.
There's lots of humor in Lucky Bastard and for the most part it hits its mark. Told in first person, Nick Monday is your typical wise-cracking urban fantasy protagonist in many ways. So much so that at times it does start to get on your nerves.
For instance, this was used a ton, and I mean, a ton. There will be a paragraph describing the situation or some concept such as physics or math or grammar followed by a single sentence paragraph.
"I was never good at [insert subject]."
I've read plenty of books, especially of the urban fantasy type (but especially of the first person narrative type) that use this and maybe my time with urban fantasy has gone on too long, but this was just over-used by far.
Luckily (get it?), this wasn't the only use of humor and otherwise Nick Monday always won me back in the humor department.
Another thing I had a hard time with was a bit of an inconsistency in the logic of the premise. When people lose their good luck, for some reason their life essentially spirals out of control, especially those with the best kind of luck. For instance, the mayor loses his luck and suddenly he loses his position and anything good in his life.
With the existence of bad luck, it just didn't make sense to me that suddenly without your luck, you get bad luck?
For the most part, the whole luck thing works really well and this is only something small that I was able to get over pretty quickly, especially with how well this was written and how likeable the protagonist is.
It could also just be me because all luck is treated more or less as a drug and the different types of luck do different things. So it was probably explained away in there somewhere, but this bothered me for a just a bit...until I got over it.
Because it really is easy to get over any quibbles you have with an interesting premise like this and an easy-going and often hilarious protagonist. Lucky Bastard's a great read that's hard to put down. I did have some problems, but they were relatively easy to get over because the whole novel flows so smoothly and it's hard to put down.
I debated whether this could be turned into a whole series and while it definitely could, I really think this new/shiny/cool premise would get a bit old after this. Then again, Browne's shown himself to be quite capable, so I could be wrong.
One last thing to address before I finish is the action. I mentioned that this book was hard to put down and that's in large part because Monday goes from one problem to the next, none of which is really his own doing...well...that's not entirely correct, but I don't want to spoil things too much.
Like any good urban fantasy, one problem piles on the other and while it was well-handled in this book, there was also a lot of time where Nick Monday was being carried/carted/drugged/dragged away to some other boss/agency/etc. A LOT of time. Every time you turn around he's being taken in by another of his multiple problems and it seemed like a lot of Monday's time was really not in his control.
Obviously this also shows the deftness of Browne's hand at shaping this fun narrative while his protagonist's choices were cut down left and right. And the premise itself helps to explain it away as well. It's all luck.
3.5 out of 5 Stars (Recommended!)
November 4, 2012
Rating: 2.5* of five
The Book Description: Meet Nick Monday: a private detective who’s more Columbo than Sam Spade, more Magnum P.I. than Philip Marlowe. As San Francisco’s infamous luck poacher, Nick doesn’t know whether his ability to swipe other people’s fortunes with a simple handshake is a blessing or a curse. Ever since his youth, Nick has swallowed more than a few bitter truths when it comes to wheeling and dealing in destinies. Because whether the highest bidders of Nick’s serendipitous booty are celebrities, yuppies, or douche bag vegans, the unsavory fact remains: luck is the most powerful, addictive, and dangerous drug of them all. And no amount of cappuccinos, Lucky Charms, or apple fritters can sweeten the notion that Nick might be exactly what his father once claimed—as ambitious as a fart. That is, until Tuesday Knight, the curvy brunette who also happens to be the mayor’s daughter, approaches Nick with an irresistible offer: $100,000 to retrieve her father’s stolen luck. Could this high-stakes deal let Nick do right? Or will kowtowing to another greedmonger’s demands simply fund Nick’s addiction to corporate coffee bars while his morality drains down the toilet? Before he downs his next mocha, Nick finds himself at the mercy of a Chinese mafia kingpin and with no choice but to scour the city for the purest kind of luck, a hunt more titillating than softcore porn. All he has to do to stay ahead of the game is remember that you can’t take something from someone without eventually paying like hell for it. . . .
My Review: I like noir novels. I like silly, funny premises with little, if any, connection to reality. I like some supernatural plot bunnies, like the “you can't see it but he's Not Like You.” This should be outta the park!
Nope.
S.G. Browne is new to me, so I don't know if his previous books, Breathers and Fated, would appeal to me more. I rather doubt it, based on this book's impression on me. The humor in the book is mildly amusing, not laugh out loud funny; I don't think the writer was going for full-on Wodehouse, but he never got to ironic Robert Benchley-level chortles, or Joe Keenan-level madcappery. Lots of running around on this one very bad day for Nick Monday, our hardboiled sleuth. Oh my yes, fuss and feathers and kerfuffle! None of it to much point, though, and no particular reason it all happened on this day. All hell busted loose on Wednesday. Huh. Why's that?
I thought, as I read along, where are the memorable lines...the turns of phrase that are so apt and witty that I'll want to quote them in my review? Where indeed.
Nick Monday, the P.I.-cum-luck poacher, is in the same stubborn, contrary mode as Hammer or Spade, but one doesn't buy it. He's not a hard luck, hard case, tough guy loner with a gun and a drinking problem and a 'tude. He's an emotionally deprived kid brother with a mean streak whose moral compass points to “me.”
His qualms about poaching people's luck...that is, taking from them the thing that has made them fortunate and allowed them to have success in their lives...have nothing whatever to do with the wreckage that leaves behind him, but instead has to do with how Nick Monday sees himself.
I guess it's a perfect fit for the times. Noir heroes reflect the concerns of society. Chandler and Spillane and Hammett reflected the fact that men are supposed to do the Right Thing by the weaker members of society. Sometimes that meant killin' them as needs killin', and humanity being humanity, there will always be those. In those writers' books, it was invariably the rich and the powerful, the greedy selfish ones, who needed killin'. Nick Monday steals people's inborn gifts. Sam Spade gives back the ill-got gains co-opted by the vicious, selfish fucks who are never satisfied, never have enough.
I'll take Spade and Company.
The Book Description: Meet Nick Monday: a private detective who’s more Columbo than Sam Spade, more Magnum P.I. than Philip Marlowe. As San Francisco’s infamous luck poacher, Nick doesn’t know whether his ability to swipe other people’s fortunes with a simple handshake is a blessing or a curse. Ever since his youth, Nick has swallowed more than a few bitter truths when it comes to wheeling and dealing in destinies. Because whether the highest bidders of Nick’s serendipitous booty are celebrities, yuppies, or douche bag vegans, the unsavory fact remains: luck is the most powerful, addictive, and dangerous drug of them all. And no amount of cappuccinos, Lucky Charms, or apple fritters can sweeten the notion that Nick might be exactly what his father once claimed—as ambitious as a fart. That is, until Tuesday Knight, the curvy brunette who also happens to be the mayor’s daughter, approaches Nick with an irresistible offer: $100,000 to retrieve her father’s stolen luck. Could this high-stakes deal let Nick do right? Or will kowtowing to another greedmonger’s demands simply fund Nick’s addiction to corporate coffee bars while his morality drains down the toilet? Before he downs his next mocha, Nick finds himself at the mercy of a Chinese mafia kingpin and with no choice but to scour the city for the purest kind of luck, a hunt more titillating than softcore porn. All he has to do to stay ahead of the game is remember that you can’t take something from someone without eventually paying like hell for it. . . .
My Review: I like noir novels. I like silly, funny premises with little, if any, connection to reality. I like some supernatural plot bunnies, like the “you can't see it but he's Not Like You.” This should be outta the park!
Nope.
S.G. Browne is new to me, so I don't know if his previous books, Breathers and Fated, would appeal to me more. I rather doubt it, based on this book's impression on me. The humor in the book is mildly amusing, not laugh out loud funny; I don't think the writer was going for full-on Wodehouse, but he never got to ironic Robert Benchley-level chortles, or Joe Keenan-level madcappery. Lots of running around on this one very bad day for Nick Monday, our hardboiled sleuth. Oh my yes, fuss and feathers and kerfuffle! None of it to much point, though, and no particular reason it all happened on this day. All hell busted loose on Wednesday. Huh. Why's that?
I thought, as I read along, where are the memorable lines...the turns of phrase that are so apt and witty that I'll want to quote them in my review? Where indeed.
Nick Monday, the P.I.-cum-luck poacher, is in the same stubborn, contrary mode as Hammer or Spade, but one doesn't buy it. He's not a hard luck, hard case, tough guy loner with a gun and a drinking problem and a 'tude. He's an emotionally deprived kid brother with a mean streak whose moral compass points to “me.”
His qualms about poaching people's luck...that is, taking from them the thing that has made them fortunate and allowed them to have success in their lives...have nothing whatever to do with the wreckage that leaves behind him, but instead has to do with how Nick Monday sees himself.
I guess it's a perfect fit for the times. Noir heroes reflect the concerns of society. Chandler and Spillane and Hammett reflected the fact that men are supposed to do the Right Thing by the weaker members of society. Sometimes that meant killin' them as needs killin', and humanity being humanity, there will always be those. In those writers' books, it was invariably the rich and the powerful, the greedy selfish ones, who needed killin'. Nick Monday steals people's inborn gifts. Sam Spade gives back the ill-got gains co-opted by the vicious, selfish fucks who are never satisfied, never have enough.
I'll take Spade and Company.
April 13, 2021
Nick Monday is a guy who private detective with the ability to swap someones good luck and someones not so much luck. He made a career out of it but also enemies and when a "case" come up he can't refuse mess follows him around or maybe bad luck. This was an hard book to rate. It's not a book with likeable characters and Nick himself is an ass. But it was very entertaining and even if it had many cringy moments I thought it was kind of fun. But yeah not the best well crafted novel
May 18, 2021
4.2/5 - Witzige und unterhaltsame Geschichte. Absolute Empfehlung für Christopher Moore Fans.
Habe fest damit gerechnet, hinter jeder Ecke über den Kaiser von San Fransisco mit Boomer & Lazarus zu stolpern 😉
Herrliche Dialoge und schräge Situationen! Freue mich auf mehr von SG Browne!
Habe fest damit gerechnet, hinter jeder Ecke über den Kaiser von San Fransisco mit Boomer & Lazarus zu stolpern 😉
Herrliche Dialoge und schräge Situationen! Freue mich auf mehr von SG Browne!
May 2, 2012
Monday is my new favorite day of the week. If you consolidated all the good luck in the world and placed it in a warehouse the size of California, a chunk the size of Connecticut would be relegated for this novel. While these references may not mean as much to you now, they’ll certainly hold more meaning when you purchase your own copy of this novel. And if you want to get lost in the world of Nick Monday, who has nearly as much wit, charm, and charisma as the late Robert B. Parker’s Spenser, then it’s exactly what you should do.
Finding the perfect book is like connecting with the right lover. It doesn’t happen very often, and you don’t always know what you’re looking for, but when it does, you feel like one lucky bastard, like the universe opened up just for you and swallowed you whole. And no matter how many good, or not so good, books you read in-between, you keep seeking out the one connection that brings meaning and fulfillment to your life. For me, this was one of those books.
Why? It all started with the main character, the heart and soul of this novel. Nick Monday might as well be my alter ego. Sure, he’s a man that poaches luck for a living, and other than some good luck and good fortune in my life, I haven’t been able to poach so much as a four leaf clover. But S.G. Browne is too good of an author to focus solely on Nick and let the other characters waltz on top of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel. And instead of creating yet another PI, he adds an interesting twist to the genre by having his PI poach luck for a living and work as a PI on the side.
All in all, I can’t recommend this book highly enough, and by being handed this book, I felt like I had my own four leaf clover placed in my palm. I do hope S.G. Browne considers a sequel, because Nick is a character I’d like to revisit.
I was lucky enough to receive this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Finding the perfect book is like connecting with the right lover. It doesn’t happen very often, and you don’t always know what you’re looking for, but when it does, you feel like one lucky bastard, like the universe opened up just for you and swallowed you whole. And no matter how many good, or not so good, books you read in-between, you keep seeking out the one connection that brings meaning and fulfillment to your life. For me, this was one of those books.
Why? It all started with the main character, the heart and soul of this novel. Nick Monday might as well be my alter ego. Sure, he’s a man that poaches luck for a living, and other than some good luck and good fortune in my life, I haven’t been able to poach so much as a four leaf clover. But S.G. Browne is too good of an author to focus solely on Nick and let the other characters waltz on top of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel. And instead of creating yet another PI, he adds an interesting twist to the genre by having his PI poach luck for a living and work as a PI on the side.
All in all, I can’t recommend this book highly enough, and by being handed this book, I felt like I had my own four leaf clover placed in my palm. I do hope S.G. Browne considers a sequel, because Nick is a character I’d like to revisit.
I was lucky enough to receive this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
May 24, 2012
As the world gets more stressful my taste in reading turns to the irreverent. As the political season ramps up and the talking-heads becoming increasingly shrill I tuck my head back into my turtle-shell and look for some blessed relief from all the noise. There have always been a few trusty authors I've turned to when looking for the right kind of off-kilter humor to distract me when I've hit my tolerance level for negativity- and S.G. Browne is a welcome addition to the list.
Lucky Bastard
, Browne's latest offering, is the story of Nick Monday: a private investigator who really makes his living as a luck poacher. The ability to poach luck is passed from one generation to the next; both Nick and his sister Mandy are able to poach luck- but Nick is the only one to take advantage of his parasitic ability. Because of his strange vocation Nick drifts along the margins of society, only interacting with the occasional coffee barista and his gangsta-rapping assistant Bow Wow for companionship.
Nick's own luck used to be pretty good too, but an uncharacteristic decision to take a job poaching bad luck was all it took for Nick to end up in a tiny office in San Francisco taking actual investigating jobs just to have enough money to pay rent and buy cinnamon rolls at the local Starbucks. So when Tuesday Knight, gorgeous daughter of the mayor, shows up in his office to offer him $100,000 if he can retrieve her father's stolen luck, Nick's in no position to refuse, even though he was the guy who poached it in the first place.
But Nick's turn of bad luck seems to be lingering as more and more people seem interested in his particular talents- and the constant kidnappings are making it awfully hard to get anything done...
S.G. Browne is often compared to Christopher Moore, and they do a have share a goofy sense of humor that pokes fun at sacred cows with a lightheartedness that is infectious and addicting. What I particularly like about Browne's style is his gentle way of probing larger issues without adopting a preachy tone. "Lucky Bastard" doesn't lend itself to heavy-duty philosophy, but taking other people's good fortune does bring up some ethical dilemmas. Nick's way of dealing with that issue is to deflect with lots of sarcasm and mocha lattes.
"Lucky Bastard" is a busy book that somehow manages to keep all the threads of the story under control. Nick gets kidnapped on a regular basis- often many times in one day. Everyone involved in San Francisco's criminal underworld, from a luck-obsessed Chinese crime boss to a guy who looks a lot like Barry Manalow, has an interest in Nick's talents. It's amazing that a book with such a frenetic pace doesn't get frazzled by its own energy but it works.
Nick is the only character that is developed with any detail and we live inside his head for the whole ride. His view of the world is heavily influenced by pop-culture and and a need for junk food to fuel his ability to metabolize the poached luck he carries in his system (a process that also requires a catheter). Nick breezily rationalizes his choice to poach luck for a living as he casually hands off bottles of luck to the homeless who camp on the stoop of his apartment building. But when his sister Mandy is dragged into the situation, as leverage to use against Nick, he's forced to think about how his actions affect other people.
"Lucky Bastard" is a light, fun diversion. It touches, occasionally, on the larger implications of what Nick does- which is to literally sponge off of the good fortune of others. But it isn't until he meets a bad-luck poacher, and sees his strange, though occasional, altruism, before Nick can really confront his own shortcomings. And it was at that point that I felt the book finally found the moral underpinning it needed to give the story some depth- unfortunately that didn't happen until the end of the story. Fortunately- the book left off in an open-ended fashion that may lend itself to a sequel and the chance to see how Nick evolves. Overall I liked "Lucky Bastard" for its sense of fun and attitude. Nick Monday is the kind of character you can easily spend some time with and feel lighter for it. I might have wished for a little more introspection but it isn't really necessary in a book that exists to entertain and provide a few laughs- and "Lucky Bastard" does that extremely well.
4 out of 5 stars
Lucky Bastard
, Browne's latest offering, is the story of Nick Monday: a private investigator who really makes his living as a luck poacher. The ability to poach luck is passed from one generation to the next; both Nick and his sister Mandy are able to poach luck- but Nick is the only one to take advantage of his parasitic ability. Because of his strange vocation Nick drifts along the margins of society, only interacting with the occasional coffee barista and his gangsta-rapping assistant Bow Wow for companionship.Nick's own luck used to be pretty good too, but an uncharacteristic decision to take a job poaching bad luck was all it took for Nick to end up in a tiny office in San Francisco taking actual investigating jobs just to have enough money to pay rent and buy cinnamon rolls at the local Starbucks. So when Tuesday Knight, gorgeous daughter of the mayor, shows up in his office to offer him $100,000 if he can retrieve her father's stolen luck, Nick's in no position to refuse, even though he was the guy who poached it in the first place.
But Nick's turn of bad luck seems to be lingering as more and more people seem interested in his particular talents- and the constant kidnappings are making it awfully hard to get anything done...
S.G. Browne is often compared to Christopher Moore, and they do a have share a goofy sense of humor that pokes fun at sacred cows with a lightheartedness that is infectious and addicting. What I particularly like about Browne's style is his gentle way of probing larger issues without adopting a preachy tone. "Lucky Bastard" doesn't lend itself to heavy-duty philosophy, but taking other people's good fortune does bring up some ethical dilemmas. Nick's way of dealing with that issue is to deflect with lots of sarcasm and mocha lattes.
"Lucky Bastard" is a busy book that somehow manages to keep all the threads of the story under control. Nick gets kidnapped on a regular basis- often many times in one day. Everyone involved in San Francisco's criminal underworld, from a luck-obsessed Chinese crime boss to a guy who looks a lot like Barry Manalow, has an interest in Nick's talents. It's amazing that a book with such a frenetic pace doesn't get frazzled by its own energy but it works.
Nick is the only character that is developed with any detail and we live inside his head for the whole ride. His view of the world is heavily influenced by pop-culture and and a need for junk food to fuel his ability to metabolize the poached luck he carries in his system (a process that also requires a catheter). Nick breezily rationalizes his choice to poach luck for a living as he casually hands off bottles of luck to the homeless who camp on the stoop of his apartment building. But when his sister Mandy is dragged into the situation, as leverage to use against Nick, he's forced to think about how his actions affect other people.
"Lucky Bastard" is a light, fun diversion. It touches, occasionally, on the larger implications of what Nick does- which is to literally sponge off of the good fortune of others. But it isn't until he meets a bad-luck poacher, and sees his strange, though occasional, altruism, before Nick can really confront his own shortcomings. And it was at that point that I felt the book finally found the moral underpinning it needed to give the story some depth- unfortunately that didn't happen until the end of the story. Fortunately- the book left off in an open-ended fashion that may lend itself to a sequel and the chance to see how Nick evolves. Overall I liked "Lucky Bastard" for its sense of fun and attitude. Nick Monday is the kind of character you can easily spend some time with and feel lighter for it. I might have wished for a little more introspection but it isn't really necessary in a book that exists to entertain and provide a few laughs- and "Lucky Bastard" does that extremely well.
4 out of 5 stars
June 26, 2012
Of all the places I have travelled in the world (which isn't a lot, actually), my favorite city to visit is San Francisco. I know what you are probably thinking: "You haven't been to Paris yet" or "But New York City is the hub of western civilization" or "Gary, Indiana is really nice this time of year". And, you'd probably be right. I haven't been to Paris yet, New York City probably IS the hub of western civilization, and Gary, Indiana is, from what I've heard, really nice this time of year, but I left my heart in San Francisco. Okay, no I didn't, but it's always hip to work in a Frank Sinatra song title into one of my reviews. (Or is that Tony Bennet? Whatever.) I have been to San Fran three times, and my wife and I are planning another trip in August (her first time), and I have fallen in love with it every time. The Bay Area, the Golden Gate Bridge, Ghirardelli Chocolates, Alcatraz Island, the crazy roads, the friendly people, the beautiful weather---my list could go on and on... Author S.G. Browne also lives in San Francisco. He writes detective novels set in San Francisco. His latest, "Lucky Bastard" is harmless and cute. (Not exactly two words I like using when describing detective novels.) His detective is called Nick Monday. He's kind of a slacker. Okay, the truth is he's a lazy bum, and an unlikeable one at that. He is also a luck poacher. What's a luck poacher? Apparently, a select few people throughout history are born with the ability to capture people's luck (good or bad), bottle it, and sell it at ridiculous prices on a black market. I won't go into the rather disgusting way in which luck is captured and extracted in bottle form. I'll leave that for Browne to tell you. In any case, Monday has begun to have second thoughts about his lifestyle as a luck poacher. It has left him friendless and alone and he has begun to have these weird feelings that make him feel uncomfortable. He thinks it may be guilt, but usually one has to have a conscience to feel that, right? There's also the fact that a beautiful woman has hired him to find and "hurt" the man who stole her father's luck. The problem is that her father is the mayor of San Francisco, and the man who stole his luck is Monday. On top of that, a local kingpin of a Chinatown mafia wants Monday to score him a vial of Pure, the rarest form of good luck. This is the kind of luck that wins people lotteries, helps them score with gorgeous women, and gets them elected President. The problem for Monday is that the only person in the entire state to possess this luck is a ten-year-old kid. Ethical dilemma, anyone? Browne's comedic private-eye fantasy is an entertaining read in the Charlaine Harris/Casey Daniels vein. It's The Dresden Files minus all the darkness. Therein lies the problem (for me, anyway): It's a little too light and bubbly. This book is lacking any darkness. Apparently, the sunniness and warmth of San Francisco has gone to Browne's head. Maybe he should try living in New York City for awhile, just to get some of that darkness back. I won't lie, "Lucky Bastard" is pretty funny, although while at times Browne's humor is clever, much of it also comes across as sophomoric and base. Browne is basically a poor man's Christopher Moore. If you like the light-hearted fantasy fiction of Harris/Daniels/Moore, you will probably like Browne.
October 20, 2013
4.5 stars. Nick Monday is a San Francisco P.I., but that's just a front for his real job: poaching someone's luck and selling it to the highest bidder. He was born with the rare ability to steal luck - bad or good - through a simple handshake, and although it's an underground market, more and more people are beginning to believe the stories about luck poachers. After a few slow months, Nick's business suddenly picks up all in one day: he gets clients wanting him to investigate who stole another's luck, the Chinatown kingpin is demanding that Nick poach good luck for him, and new luck poachers seem to be appearing in town for no apparent reason.
This was such a fun read! It was both funny and a noir mystery at the same time. Nick was such a likable main character, with a great voice for narrating beginning on the first page. I loved the self-depricating humor and all of his little takes on how luck works or how the world, in general, works. I was on his side from the start, even though - as Nick admits - he doesn't always have everyone's best interests at heart. The majority of the book takes place in a single day, chronicling what has to be the worst day of his life - death threats, kidnappings, offers from numerous shady figures - and through it all, Nick keeps his sense of humor and proves to be quite the hero to root for. He's also surrounded by a very colorful cast, and it was so fun to see how much personality everyone had, no matter how briefly they were shown.
The story itself was full of twists and turns, keeping me glued to the page because I couldn't wait to find out what would happen next or what kept certain characters motivated. The story didn't move in the expected linear fashion, and the author dangled just enough information to get me curious before throwing in an unforeseen plot curveball. I loved how creative it all was and the fact that the main story was set here, in the real world, with just a hint of underlying paranormal behavior (ie, the ability to poach luck) that enhanced the story instead of carrying the story. It made for an interesting concept that kept the story's unpredictability even more intriguing.
While this is not for those looking for a hard, gritty mystery, it's a novel I recommend for anyone wanting an entertaining, mysterious romp. In this book, it's not so much the "who, what, where, and why" that you're reading to find out.... it's about the story along the way and how everything turns out the way it does. Closest comparison I can think of offhand would b some of Christopher Moore's novels. I'm glad I discovered this author and am looking forward to picking up more of his work!
This was such a fun read! It was both funny and a noir mystery at the same time. Nick was such a likable main character, with a great voice for narrating beginning on the first page. I loved the self-depricating humor and all of his little takes on how luck works or how the world, in general, works. I was on his side from the start, even though - as Nick admits - he doesn't always have everyone's best interests at heart. The majority of the book takes place in a single day, chronicling what has to be the worst day of his life - death threats, kidnappings, offers from numerous shady figures - and through it all, Nick keeps his sense of humor and proves to be quite the hero to root for. He's also surrounded by a very colorful cast, and it was so fun to see how much personality everyone had, no matter how briefly they were shown.
The story itself was full of twists and turns, keeping me glued to the page because I couldn't wait to find out what would happen next or what kept certain characters motivated. The story didn't move in the expected linear fashion, and the author dangled just enough information to get me curious before throwing in an unforeseen plot curveball. I loved how creative it all was and the fact that the main story was set here, in the real world, with just a hint of underlying paranormal behavior (ie, the ability to poach luck) that enhanced the story instead of carrying the story. It made for an interesting concept that kept the story's unpredictability even more intriguing.
While this is not for those looking for a hard, gritty mystery, it's a novel I recommend for anyone wanting an entertaining, mysterious romp. In this book, it's not so much the "who, what, where, and why" that you're reading to find out.... it's about the story along the way and how everything turns out the way it does. Closest comparison I can think of offhand would b some of Christopher Moore's novels. I'm glad I discovered this author and am looking forward to picking up more of his work!
October 1, 2012
Nick Monday is a private detective. Nick is not just your run of the mill detective either. Nick has a knack for taking people’s luck. You did not know that you could steal someone’s luck. Well you can. Not everyone is born lucky, some purchase their own luck. This is where Nick comes in.
Nick was sitting in his office when in walks a tall brunette. Her name is Tuesday Knight. She wants to hire Nick. Someone has stolen her father’s luck and she wants Nick to get it back. Tuesday’s father just happens to be the mayor of San Francisco. The payoff is right up Nick’s alley. Soon Nick finds himself in over his head.
I have not read anything by this author yet. So this was my first time seeing what Mr. Browne had to bring to the table. He brought comedic relief, some wacky and interesting characters, a sarcastic main lead…all rolled up into a quick read! Yep, that is Lucky Bastard. Some are born lucky and others have to beg, steal and kill for it.
I liked Nick Monday. He has an interesting personality. He is someone that at times I could hate but then quickly turn around and cheer for him. Part of the reason that I had this love/hate relationship with Nick was that I found what he did as a job intriguing and I liked his sarcasm but on the other hand he could also be crude. The sexual comments he made got old quick.
To be honest if it was not for Nick then I probably would have given up on this book a long time ago. The rest of the characters I found just ok. They never really grabbed my attention and they could have been anyone. Although, this is a quick read. This book was middle of the road for me but not always a bad thing.
Nick was sitting in his office when in walks a tall brunette. Her name is Tuesday Knight. She wants to hire Nick. Someone has stolen her father’s luck and she wants Nick to get it back. Tuesday’s father just happens to be the mayor of San Francisco. The payoff is right up Nick’s alley. Soon Nick finds himself in over his head.
I have not read anything by this author yet. So this was my first time seeing what Mr. Browne had to bring to the table. He brought comedic relief, some wacky and interesting characters, a sarcastic main lead…all rolled up into a quick read! Yep, that is Lucky Bastard. Some are born lucky and others have to beg, steal and kill for it.
I liked Nick Monday. He has an interesting personality. He is someone that at times I could hate but then quickly turn around and cheer for him. Part of the reason that I had this love/hate relationship with Nick was that I found what he did as a job intriguing and I liked his sarcasm but on the other hand he could also be crude. The sexual comments he made got old quick.
To be honest if it was not for Nick then I probably would have given up on this book a long time ago. The rest of the characters I found just ok. They never really grabbed my attention and they could have been anyone. Although, this is a quick read. This book was middle of the road for me but not always a bad thing.
September 3, 2012
Originally posted at: http://lasrmystery.blogspot.com/2012/...
As a huge fan of mysteries featuring private investigators, I was eager to read this story. I dived into it thinking that it would be a traditional read but was pleasantly surprised when it took a different turn.
Yes, it is about a private eye going about his work, but it’s got a quirky paranormal element thrown in and I think that’s what makes it an appealing read. Mr. Browne did a wonderful job taking the everyday and giving it a unique twist. Not just a different feel, but he threw in something strange like stealing someone else’s luck. It has some very funny scenes and I loved the narrator’s voice which is the main character telling the story in the first person, present tense. The background information on his life, his family, and how he came to steal luck from others was cleverly weaved into the tale.
It’s peppered with some interesting characters, while a few of them were slightly clichéd, others were pure delight. The dialogue is snappy, even zingy with one-liners and come-backs that had me laughing out loud at times. At 358 pages I expected this to feel like a longer read but was surprised when I’d reached the end and hadn’t noticed how fast I’d gotten through it.
Lucky Bastard won’t be for every die hard PI mystery fan, but if you’re looking for something a little different, this is one to put on your to read list.
As a huge fan of mysteries featuring private investigators, I was eager to read this story. I dived into it thinking that it would be a traditional read but was pleasantly surprised when it took a different turn.
Yes, it is about a private eye going about his work, but it’s got a quirky paranormal element thrown in and I think that’s what makes it an appealing read. Mr. Browne did a wonderful job taking the everyday and giving it a unique twist. Not just a different feel, but he threw in something strange like stealing someone else’s luck. It has some very funny scenes and I loved the narrator’s voice which is the main character telling the story in the first person, present tense. The background information on his life, his family, and how he came to steal luck from others was cleverly weaved into the tale.
It’s peppered with some interesting characters, while a few of them were slightly clichéd, others were pure delight. The dialogue is snappy, even zingy with one-liners and come-backs that had me laughing out loud at times. At 358 pages I expected this to feel like a longer read but was surprised when I’d reached the end and hadn’t noticed how fast I’d gotten through it.
Lucky Bastard won’t be for every die hard PI mystery fan, but if you’re looking for something a little different, this is one to put on your to read list.
June 17, 2015
The premise of this book is fantastic - what if there were certain people who could suck the luck out of your body? And what if they could sell it to others?
The opening scene was like a checklist of things I like about an intro - dives into the middle of the action, doesn't slow down to explain to the audience, features an interesting and unusual situation, and characters who seem completely absurd at that moment, but who will seem much more understandable once the story flashes back and catches up to this point.
The rest of the story was so-so. Part of my problem with this story is that the main character was quite unlikable throughout most of the book. There was also some squandering of the central premise, some missed opportunities, I felt, to explore the potential of what one could do with luck extraction and transference.
Overall, it wasn't a bad read.
The opening scene was like a checklist of things I like about an intro - dives into the middle of the action, doesn't slow down to explain to the audience, features an interesting and unusual situation, and characters who seem completely absurd at that moment, but who will seem much more understandable once the story flashes back and catches up to this point.
The rest of the story was so-so. Part of my problem with this story is that the main character was quite unlikable throughout most of the book. There was also some squandering of the central premise, some missed opportunities, I felt, to explore the potential of what one could do with luck extraction and transference.
Overall, it wasn't a bad read.
February 3, 2012
S.G. Browne is one of those writers who gets in your head. His comedic satirical prose lingers, questioning, taunting, and forcing you to think about your morals and your virtues, your fate and your destiny…your who-what-when-where-why-and-how. After reading Fated, I knew I would enjoy Browne’s new novel, Lucky Bastard, a modern day noir staring Nick Monday, a luck poacher posing as a bad private investigator who gets in way over his head. Fast paced and witty, the plot is actually too good not to be true. By the time I was finished, I was left feeling nostalgic, singing Barry Manilow tunes, and second guessing handshakes with strangers. A+
December 20, 2021
It was like 2.5 stars for me. The premise was really creative, but the writing felt choppy and the plot a bit rushed. Overall, I liked it so rounded up to 3.
June 15, 2012
REVIEW ALSO ON: http://bibliomantics.com/2012/02/03/k......
I had enough good fortune (pun intended) on my side to snag a copy of S.G. Browne’s ARC Lucky Bastard, due for release on April 17, 2012. Thanks again Scott!!! This is Browne’s third novel, behind Breathers (a zombie romance) and Fated (which follows Fabio the physical embodiment of Fate). This tale is centered around Nick Monday, a luck poacher who has the ability to steal other people’s luck. This author is so full of amazingly inventive ideas it’s mind boggling!
As a lifetime stealer of luck (luck poaching is an inherited skill), Nick is forced to move from place to place and rebuild his life on a regular basis. In order to cover up his abilities, he has a part time job as a private investigator. Generally, his life isn’t very glamorous, even for a PI with extrasensory abilities. His cases often involve infidelity and insurance claims. Very occasionally he will answer a call to find and retrieve luck, coded as if one were placing an order for Chinese food. Unfortunately luck doesn’t come with a fortune cookie, although it would be a little tongue-in-cheek if it did.
Despite these challenges, including an estranged sister who is living a life devoid of luck, Nick’s narrative is fun and engaging. He has a particularly quirky habit of referring to other people as the celebrities they look like, interacting with them as if they were actually that celebrity. Most people have identifiers for others, it’s another thing entirely to then treat that person in the manner befitting of that memory trick. It’s also particularly demeaning to the government agents whose names Nick refuses to learn. Thankfully it’s hilarious to us.
One thing this novel has in spades is a wealth of information. From the first to the last page, S.G. Browne takes his time explaining exactly how luck poaching works, along with the nature of luck itself- you’re either born with it or you’re not. There is high grade luck, which can result in a person winning the lottery, gaining fame, or escaping death and medium grade luck that causes happy marriages, and being in the right place at the right time. Finally, there is low grade luck which can result in such events as winning game shows or scoring a hole-in-one. Luck is stolen through touch and ejected through a complicated system of bodily fluid exchange. Read the book for more on that, because I am not comfortable enough to get into it. I’m sure your mind is racing with possibilities.
Throughout the course of the novel, luck is treated like a drug. It is sold in secret, collected in secret, and it has addictive qualities. Bad luck is akin to a hard drug, one so bad that once it’s in your system there’s no getting rid of it. As luck dealer, Nick is unable to form relationships or stay in one place for very long. Even his sister quits luck cold turkey. It’s an intriguing metaphor, one which Browne does an impressive job of portraying throughout the narrative. “Your luck is my drug” could definitely catch on as a pop-song.
So how does a luck poacher know who to take luck from? Celebrities and those in the public eye are often easy marks, giving themselves away with their success. Amelia Earhart, Houdini, James Dean, Buddy Holly, John Belushi, Marilyn Monroe, and the Captain of the Titanic were all targets of luck poachers (or rumored to be according to Nick). As a result of their luck being drained, they met tragic ends. The loss of luck can also result in the end of a career, not necessarily in death but in falling out of the public eye. See Charlie Sheen or Tiger Woods. Major shifts in luck are also deemed to have disastrous consequences, which would explain a Stock Market crash or the French Revolution. Or today’s failing economy to bring it to the 21st century.
To strengthen these examples of good luck (see the aforementioned paragraph about celebrities), Browne brings in real life examples of incredible good fortune. There is Vesna Vulovic, a stewardess who survived a 33,000 foot plane crash, Betty Lou Oliver a worker at the Empire State Building who lived through a plane crashing into the building and later a 75 story drop in an elevator when its cable snapped, and Joseph Samuel who was granted a pardon from his death sentence after two ropes snapped and a noose fell off his neck during his execution. I have a giant weakness for real life events being explained in fantastical ways and luck being used is no exception. Generally it’s celebrities being vampires (especially Lord Byron- there are 3 Lord Byron vampire books that I know of) but this was a nice change of pace. Although… I honestly wouldn’t mind if every book had Lord Byron in it.
Browne is particularly adept at humor, which also drove his other two novels. I have included the top four quotes that I jotted down for your amusement. I just can’t get enough of Nick Monday’s inner dialogue, his wit is so sharp.
“Just because it’s a bad idea doesn’t mean someone hasn’t tried it. Look at the Edsel. Or Battlefield Earth.” (ZING ON YOU JOHN TRAVOLTA!)
“I’m not expecting company. Or a client. Or the Spanish Inquisition.”
“… About as subtle as a money shot in a bad porno.”
“I’m Normandy. I’m Palestine. I’m a rectum at a proctologist convention.”
The fourth quote gave me the worst déjà vu. Perhaps it’s the narrative style or the three short fragmented sentences, but this quote seems so familiar to me in terms of structure. Not content, I don’t read proctologist jokes often. Maybe I’m just going insane. Anyone else heard something similar to this? Or do I have a brain tumor?
I had enough good fortune (pun intended) on my side to snag a copy of S.G. Browne’s ARC Lucky Bastard, due for release on April 17, 2012. Thanks again Scott!!! This is Browne’s third novel, behind Breathers (a zombie romance) and Fated (which follows Fabio the physical embodiment of Fate). This tale is centered around Nick Monday, a luck poacher who has the ability to steal other people’s luck. This author is so full of amazingly inventive ideas it’s mind boggling!
As a lifetime stealer of luck (luck poaching is an inherited skill), Nick is forced to move from place to place and rebuild his life on a regular basis. In order to cover up his abilities, he has a part time job as a private investigator. Generally, his life isn’t very glamorous, even for a PI with extrasensory abilities. His cases often involve infidelity and insurance claims. Very occasionally he will answer a call to find and retrieve luck, coded as if one were placing an order for Chinese food. Unfortunately luck doesn’t come with a fortune cookie, although it would be a little tongue-in-cheek if it did.
Despite these challenges, including an estranged sister who is living a life devoid of luck, Nick’s narrative is fun and engaging. He has a particularly quirky habit of referring to other people as the celebrities they look like, interacting with them as if they were actually that celebrity. Most people have identifiers for others, it’s another thing entirely to then treat that person in the manner befitting of that memory trick. It’s also particularly demeaning to the government agents whose names Nick refuses to learn. Thankfully it’s hilarious to us.
One thing this novel has in spades is a wealth of information. From the first to the last page, S.G. Browne takes his time explaining exactly how luck poaching works, along with the nature of luck itself- you’re either born with it or you’re not. There is high grade luck, which can result in a person winning the lottery, gaining fame, or escaping death and medium grade luck that causes happy marriages, and being in the right place at the right time. Finally, there is low grade luck which can result in such events as winning game shows or scoring a hole-in-one. Luck is stolen through touch and ejected through a complicated system of bodily fluid exchange. Read the book for more on that, because I am not comfortable enough to get into it. I’m sure your mind is racing with possibilities.
Throughout the course of the novel, luck is treated like a drug. It is sold in secret, collected in secret, and it has addictive qualities. Bad luck is akin to a hard drug, one so bad that once it’s in your system there’s no getting rid of it. As luck dealer, Nick is unable to form relationships or stay in one place for very long. Even his sister quits luck cold turkey. It’s an intriguing metaphor, one which Browne does an impressive job of portraying throughout the narrative. “Your luck is my drug” could definitely catch on as a pop-song.
So how does a luck poacher know who to take luck from? Celebrities and those in the public eye are often easy marks, giving themselves away with their success. Amelia Earhart, Houdini, James Dean, Buddy Holly, John Belushi, Marilyn Monroe, and the Captain of the Titanic were all targets of luck poachers (or rumored to be according to Nick). As a result of their luck being drained, they met tragic ends. The loss of luck can also result in the end of a career, not necessarily in death but in falling out of the public eye. See Charlie Sheen or Tiger Woods. Major shifts in luck are also deemed to have disastrous consequences, which would explain a Stock Market crash or the French Revolution. Or today’s failing economy to bring it to the 21st century.
To strengthen these examples of good luck (see the aforementioned paragraph about celebrities), Browne brings in real life examples of incredible good fortune. There is Vesna Vulovic, a stewardess who survived a 33,000 foot plane crash, Betty Lou Oliver a worker at the Empire State Building who lived through a plane crashing into the building and later a 75 story drop in an elevator when its cable snapped, and Joseph Samuel who was granted a pardon from his death sentence after two ropes snapped and a noose fell off his neck during his execution. I have a giant weakness for real life events being explained in fantastical ways and luck being used is no exception. Generally it’s celebrities being vampires (especially Lord Byron- there are 3 Lord Byron vampire books that I know of) but this was a nice change of pace. Although… I honestly wouldn’t mind if every book had Lord Byron in it.
Browne is particularly adept at humor, which also drove his other two novels. I have included the top four quotes that I jotted down for your amusement. I just can’t get enough of Nick Monday’s inner dialogue, his wit is so sharp.
“Just because it’s a bad idea doesn’t mean someone hasn’t tried it. Look at the Edsel. Or Battlefield Earth.” (ZING ON YOU JOHN TRAVOLTA!)
“I’m not expecting company. Or a client. Or the Spanish Inquisition.”
“… About as subtle as a money shot in a bad porno.”
“I’m Normandy. I’m Palestine. I’m a rectum at a proctologist convention.”
The fourth quote gave me the worst déjà vu. Perhaps it’s the narrative style or the three short fragmented sentences, but this quote seems so familiar to me in terms of structure. Not content, I don’t read proctologist jokes often. Maybe I’m just going insane. Anyone else heard something similar to this? Or do I have a brain tumor?
February 9, 2017
this book had such an interesting premise. however, it got bogged down somehow between the multiple mysterious women with fantasy breasts, scooter girl, and drinking literal piss. not to mention nick/Aaron getting constantly kidnapped. I ended up rolling my eyes every time he woke up someplace unexpected. come on dude. for a private detective he is terrible about noticing his surroundings. it was humorous at times, and I did finish it, so the book has that going for it. but I didn't get a sense of resolution from the end. nick didn't have a whole lot of growth considering all that happened to him in the 358 pages. not my cup of tea.
June 20, 2017
Quick and easy read. Entertaining and funny but not overly exciting. I was frustrated with some of the story and there are some loose ends I would have preferred to have tied up. I think I liked some of the thoughts at the end the most. Not sure if the way it ended means there will be another book to follow. I thought I would try one of his other books but I'm not into zombies so not sure that I will.
February 11, 2018
3 and a half stars for snappy writing and San Francisco color. I never warmed to the protagonist, and it felt more like set pieces being moved by the author than an emotional journey. But the wit is clever. Not sorry I read it, but would recommend Jim Butcher or Terry Pratchett ahead of Browne for a clever fantasy, or R.S. Belcher, or Tim Pratt.
Just OK.
Just OK.
June 17, 2024
Great characters and a fun twist on the gumshoe, PI story. Love the dialogue in an S.G. Browne story. I was maybe a little too distracted by the explanation of how luck-poaching worked, but it's a minor road bump on a great journey.
October 26, 2025
Nick Monday is a P.I. who can steal your luck with just a handshake. He sells the luck to the highest bidder. Unfortunately, Nick will have to deal with the Chinese Mafia, two women who say they are Tuesday, a shadowy government organization, and a sister that hates him. Will Nick's luck run out?
August 16, 2017
I read this as a local author's work for a summer reading program. It felt like a summer read.
January 11, 2018
An interesting premise and I adore Browne’s writing as per usual, but Nick Monday wasn’t my cup of tea. Doug though, I pictured to be Zach from Sky High. It just worked, ya dig?
November 26, 2018
What if people could drain luck from others? I bet hilarious hijinks ensue.
September 25, 2019
Just a few too many characters to track through the story. Some hilarious and bountiful jokes/comments.
December 16, 2023
Dieses Buch ist ein einziger Fiebertraum. Eine treffendere Beschreibung als "speziell" gibt es wohl nicht.
May 25, 2012
Originally posted on A Novel Toybox: http://wp.me/p2esFi-4Q
Nick Monday has a special gift: the wonderful ability to steal someone's luck with a touch. You'd think with all that luck at his disposal, he'd be a rich pimp or something. But I suppose he must be naturally unlucky since he keeps getting kidnapped and threatened by the Chinese mafia, a Barry Manilow lookalike, and the mayor's real and fake daughters. Basically, some perverted, lonely, urine-drinking cocky smartass is constantly being kidnapped/threatened for 300+ pages--which might've made a less painful read if he was actually funny.
I am still not sure what the point of the story is except a ton of random stuff happening.
Pace:
For a novel that documents one day, I expected something fast paced...but I got just the opposite. The story just dragged on and on. No wonder it took me a month to bring myself to finish this. Stuff kept happening left and right, but how am I supposed to get excited about the protagonist being kidnapped if he was just kidnapped (and released) and a handful of pages ago? There are all these "highlights" (like having a dead body in your office) that are just briefly glazed over some other random "event."
Characters:
If there wasn't so many porn references, I would think this was a children's novel because the characters are so painfully boring--especially the villains. Many of the characters come off as either ridiculously cliche.
Nick Monday must think he is hilarious, but with every joke he cracks, I wince. With every boob and threesome wish he makes, I want to punch him. Maybe I need to be a guy to get it. After three hundred pages, I still disliked Nick. It's not because of his morals but because he was such a LOSER. And not even the cute dork kind of loser, but the desperate, wimpy kind with zero self-respect (to his credit, he admits to having zero self esteem). A loser who tries too hard to be funny, no wonder he keeps getting beat up. This guy does not know when to shut up. You can hold a gun to his head and he would still be trying to come up with a wisecrack. And his own sister absolutely hates his guts too.
I kept trying to find something to make me like this boring loser...I reckon he would even be more likable as a mass murderer.
Nick's sidekick, Doug aka Bow Wow is as lame as Nick. He is a wannabe rapper but acts more like a ten year old, whiny kid. But Bow Wow has a yellow Prius and comes to Nick's rescue, so I guess he is slightly more likable than Nick. Like Nick, he tries way too hard to be someone he is not.
And then there "evil" people. Tommy Wong is the head of the Chinese mafia. I hope its only because I am Chinese that I dislike Browne's description of this guy. The cliche descriptions made me wince, the red, the feng shui, the mah jong...ugh. Hey, they are Asian! You'd think they'd have more brains. On a slightly unrelated note, there's a phonetic Cantonese reference...which I am still trying to decipher (Hey, Cantonese is my first language!) Though I think it was a wonderful coincidence that I happen to be in Hong Kong right now.
And there's the mayor's daughter fake and real daughters. Don't get it? I barely do either, but they have big boobs.
And "Barry Manilow" who exists as another obstacle for Nick. He doesn't even have big boobs, which basically makes him an annoying rich jerk.
Writing:
The novel is written from Nick Monday's point of view...which basically consists of him trying to crack a joke every five seconds--it doesn't work. He doesn't take anything seriously; every event gone through Nick's eyes is like a desperate attempt to impress. I keep thinking if the humor was done with smaller doses sprinkled throughout the novel, it would have kept me from being exhausted. I just couldn't trust Nick, much less relate to him.
I really wanted to like the novel, but Lucky Bastard didn't do it for me, or maybe I set my hopes too high after reading that it was supposed to be "more titillating than softcore porn." The humor was too forced for a light read, and the ethical discussions were glazed over when it could've lent itself to a more thoughtful, introspective dimension. However, Lucky Bastard opened my eyes to S.G. Browne's ability to conjure up such intriguing plots. What can possibly be more interesting than a thirty-three year old luck poacher who occasionally drinks his own urine?
While I am not a fan of Lucky Bastard, I recently bought a copy of S.G. Browne's Fated because the blurb made the novel sound AMAZING. I hope Fated will make me a fan of Browne.
Nick Monday has a special gift: the wonderful ability to steal someone's luck with a touch. You'd think with all that luck at his disposal, he'd be a rich pimp or something. But I suppose he must be naturally unlucky since he keeps getting kidnapped and threatened by the Chinese mafia, a Barry Manilow lookalike, and the mayor's real and fake daughters. Basically, some perverted, lonely, urine-drinking cocky smartass is constantly being kidnapped/threatened for 300+ pages--which might've made a less painful read if he was actually funny.
I am still not sure what the point of the story is except a ton of random stuff happening.
Pace:
For a novel that documents one day, I expected something fast paced...but I got just the opposite. The story just dragged on and on. No wonder it took me a month to bring myself to finish this. Stuff kept happening left and right, but how am I supposed to get excited about the protagonist being kidnapped if he was just kidnapped (and released) and a handful of pages ago? There are all these "highlights" (like having a dead body in your office) that are just briefly glazed over some other random "event."
Characters:
If there wasn't so many porn references, I would think this was a children's novel because the characters are so painfully boring--especially the villains. Many of the characters come off as either ridiculously cliche.
Nick Monday must think he is hilarious, but with every joke he cracks, I wince. With every boob and threesome wish he makes, I want to punch him. Maybe I need to be a guy to get it. After three hundred pages, I still disliked Nick. It's not because of his morals but because he was such a LOSER. And not even the cute dork kind of loser, but the desperate, wimpy kind with zero self-respect (to his credit, he admits to having zero self esteem). A loser who tries too hard to be funny, no wonder he keeps getting beat up. This guy does not know when to shut up. You can hold a gun to his head and he would still be trying to come up with a wisecrack. And his own sister absolutely hates his guts too.
I kept trying to find something to make me like this boring loser...I reckon he would even be more likable as a mass murderer.
Nick's sidekick, Doug aka Bow Wow is as lame as Nick. He is a wannabe rapper but acts more like a ten year old, whiny kid. But Bow Wow has a yellow Prius and comes to Nick's rescue, so I guess he is slightly more likable than Nick. Like Nick, he tries way too hard to be someone he is not.
And then there "evil" people. Tommy Wong is the head of the Chinese mafia. I hope its only because I am Chinese that I dislike Browne's description of this guy. The cliche descriptions made me wince, the red, the feng shui, the mah jong...ugh. Hey, they are Asian! You'd think they'd have more brains. On a slightly unrelated note, there's a phonetic Cantonese reference...which I am still trying to decipher (Hey, Cantonese is my first language!) Though I think it was a wonderful coincidence that I happen to be in Hong Kong right now.
And there's the mayor's daughter fake and real daughters. Don't get it? I barely do either, but they have big boobs.
And "Barry Manilow" who exists as another obstacle for Nick. He doesn't even have big boobs, which basically makes him an annoying rich jerk.
Writing:
The novel is written from Nick Monday's point of view...which basically consists of him trying to crack a joke every five seconds--it doesn't work. He doesn't take anything seriously; every event gone through Nick's eyes is like a desperate attempt to impress. I keep thinking if the humor was done with smaller doses sprinkled throughout the novel, it would have kept me from being exhausted. I just couldn't trust Nick, much less relate to him.
I really wanted to like the novel, but Lucky Bastard didn't do it for me, or maybe I set my hopes too high after reading that it was supposed to be "more titillating than softcore porn." The humor was too forced for a light read, and the ethical discussions were glazed over when it could've lent itself to a more thoughtful, introspective dimension. However, Lucky Bastard opened my eyes to S.G. Browne's ability to conjure up such intriguing plots. What can possibly be more interesting than a thirty-three year old luck poacher who occasionally drinks his own urine?
While I am not a fan of Lucky Bastard, I recently bought a copy of S.G. Browne's Fated because the blurb made the novel sound AMAZING. I hope Fated will make me a fan of Browne.
August 26, 2019
Got it for the title, naturally. Jumped in without knowing a thing about it... which is pretty common for me.
I'll just say this: The story wasn't bad. However, the reader must accept that luck -- which "in real life" is intangible, invisible, and for all we know nonexistent-- is a physical substance which can be seen and smelled and held in vessels and has characteristics just like every other normal object does. It just didn't work for me. Maybe it's my fault. Maybe the author didn't sell it hard enough for me. But, I couldn't get past it.
I'll just say this: The story wasn't bad. However, the reader must accept that luck -- which "in real life" is intangible, invisible, and for all we know nonexistent-- is a physical substance which can be seen and smelled and held in vessels and has characteristics just like every other normal object does. It just didn't work for me. Maybe it's my fault. Maybe the author didn't sell it hard enough for me. But, I couldn't get past it.
March 25, 2013
This book is slightly outside of my usual reading list, since it's more mainstream than sci-fi/fantasy. It certainly has an SF&F flavor to it, as you'll see, but it still wouldn't be considered urban fantasy (even though it's close). I mostly got this book because I was the moderator on a panel at the San Diego Comic Con, and S.G. Browne was one of the panelists. I was doing some research on the panelists and read the first part of this book (about 50 pages) to get an idea of what it was about. I set it aside shortly after that, but it kept calling to me, so I picked it up recently, started it over again, and finished it off. The fact that I returned to it when I have probably a couple of hundred other books in the SF&F genre on my shelves waiting to be read tells you something about the book.
The premise is that the main character, Nick Monday, who is a private investigator with the ability to steal people's luck. Luck is something we're born with, and some of us have more inherent luck than others. Nick steals it by simply touching you (shaking your hand, etc), distills it, and then sells it on the black market. But Nick is about to have an incredibly bad day, which starts with a visit from Tuesday Knight, who wants him to find out who sole her father, the mayor's, luck. From there, it only goes from bad to worse as he's visited by the local chinese mafia, who want him to poach luck exclusively for them, and the government, who want him to hit the mafia kingpin with a dose of bad luck. All Nick wants to do is survive, without getting his sister and her family involved in his own wrongdoing.
Obviously, I got into the book within the first 50 pages, since I returned to it after the fact. The character is engaging, even though he isn't exactly "good". You can probably guess that it's sort of like a noir detective novel. It's got that flavor, with all of the Sam Spade-ish names, the mafia, the multiple twisting and interweaving plot threads, and the whole guns, PI, and women themes. I really enjoyed the twisting plot and the eyerolling situations Nick got into during the course of the day (because the description above is only the tip of the iceberg regarding the plotlines). It had a nice humorous slant and the author certainly had fun playing with all of the puns dealing with luck out there. The writing was effortless to read and easy to follow.
There were a couple of minor annoyances. At a certain point, Nick's constant reference to bosoms got irritating, especially when in a few places that became his main motivating factor. I don't have a problem with this in general, but it was overused in the book. Also, there's a "framing" construction to the book (where it starts at the end of the day with a tense moment, then skips back to how the characters got there) and once we catch up to that frame . . . it wasn't as tense as the snippit at the beginning promised. To me. So the ending wasn't as fulfilling as I'd have liked. Good, but not great. Otherwise, this would have been 4 stars of out 5, instead of 3.
But still, the point of such a book isn't the ending, the point is the convoluted path that gets you there and the fun you have along the way as it twists and turns, and this book certainly delivers on that front. The idea behind the book--luck poaching--was a cool idea and I thought S.G. Browne carried it off well. Certainly a recommended read for those into noir detectives and some humorous play on the concept of luck.
The premise is that the main character, Nick Monday, who is a private investigator with the ability to steal people's luck. Luck is something we're born with, and some of us have more inherent luck than others. Nick steals it by simply touching you (shaking your hand, etc), distills it, and then sells it on the black market. But Nick is about to have an incredibly bad day, which starts with a visit from Tuesday Knight, who wants him to find out who sole her father, the mayor's, luck. From there, it only goes from bad to worse as he's visited by the local chinese mafia, who want him to poach luck exclusively for them, and the government, who want him to hit the mafia kingpin with a dose of bad luck. All Nick wants to do is survive, without getting his sister and her family involved in his own wrongdoing.
Obviously, I got into the book within the first 50 pages, since I returned to it after the fact. The character is engaging, even though he isn't exactly "good". You can probably guess that it's sort of like a noir detective novel. It's got that flavor, with all of the Sam Spade-ish names, the mafia, the multiple twisting and interweaving plot threads, and the whole guns, PI, and women themes. I really enjoyed the twisting plot and the eyerolling situations Nick got into during the course of the day (because the description above is only the tip of the iceberg regarding the plotlines). It had a nice humorous slant and the author certainly had fun playing with all of the puns dealing with luck out there. The writing was effortless to read and easy to follow.
There were a couple of minor annoyances. At a certain point, Nick's constant reference to bosoms got irritating, especially when in a few places that became his main motivating factor. I don't have a problem with this in general, but it was overused in the book. Also, there's a "framing" construction to the book (where it starts at the end of the day with a tense moment, then skips back to how the characters got there) and once we catch up to that frame . . . it wasn't as tense as the snippit at the beginning promised. To me. So the ending wasn't as fulfilling as I'd have liked. Good, but not great. Otherwise, this would have been 4 stars of out 5, instead of 3.
But still, the point of such a book isn't the ending, the point is the convoluted path that gets you there and the fun you have along the way as it twists and turns, and this book certainly delivers on that front. The idea behind the book--luck poaching--was a cool idea and I thought S.G. Browne carried it off well. Certainly a recommended read for those into noir detectives and some humorous play on the concept of luck.
March 31, 2024
Another cracking read from S. G. Browne that amply showcases the author's ability to craft an engaging and original comedy/fantasy romp. Browne is, hands down, one of my very favourite authors, and novels like this are the reason why.
January 30, 2013
The bestselling author of Breathers and Fate returns with another entertaining and funny book that is well keeping in the style of one S. G. Browne. Readers who have come to enjoy Browne’s particular style, humor, and characters will be delighted in this latest offering with Lucky Bastard.
Nick Monday is not your usual private detective, by any means. He’s what you’d call a luck poacher. Yep, that’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Since he was a young child, he knew he’d inherited the “family gift,” and then went on to make a business out of it, as so many luck poachers do. All he has to do is shake the lucky (and soon to be less than lucky) person’s hand and the luck is magically transferred into him. He’s not sure exactly how it works, it just does. The person isn’t necessarily unlucky from them on, he or she is simply no longer lucky. As to how Mr. Monday can tell whether a person is lucky, it’s sort of like sensing someone’s midichlorian count and the strength of their force, like an aura in a way. There are several gradations of good luck, from some good fortune on up to easily picking those winning lottery numbers. And just as there is good luck out there, there’s also bad luck, but Nick does his best to stay from that.
Except bad luck seems to keep finding him wherever he goes. He lives in San Francisco, after having to leave another state for some shady business, but soon finds himself getting on a number of people’s bad sides, including the supposed daughter of the mayor of the city, Tuesday Knight, who offers him $100,000 to get back her father’s stolen luck. (Yes, Nick was the one to steal the luck originally; and no, it’s pretty much a one way thing when you take someone’s luck.) He also finds himself mixed up and seriously pissing off a Chinese mafia kingpin.
Lucky Bastard is over the top and fast-paced, taking you all over the wonderful city of San Francisco, but Browne does a great job of suspending the reader’s disbelief, creating a character that isn’t perfect by any means – in fact he gets quite annoying – but remains true to the writing and the character, keeping readers hooked to the very last page.
Originally written on March 13, 2012 ©Alex C. Telander.
For more reviews, check out Bookbanter.
Nick Monday is not your usual private detective, by any means. He’s what you’d call a luck poacher. Yep, that’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Since he was a young child, he knew he’d inherited the “family gift,” and then went on to make a business out of it, as so many luck poachers do. All he has to do is shake the lucky (and soon to be less than lucky) person’s hand and the luck is magically transferred into him. He’s not sure exactly how it works, it just does. The person isn’t necessarily unlucky from them on, he or she is simply no longer lucky. As to how Mr. Monday can tell whether a person is lucky, it’s sort of like sensing someone’s midichlorian count and the strength of their force, like an aura in a way. There are several gradations of good luck, from some good fortune on up to easily picking those winning lottery numbers. And just as there is good luck out there, there’s also bad luck, but Nick does his best to stay from that.
Except bad luck seems to keep finding him wherever he goes. He lives in San Francisco, after having to leave another state for some shady business, but soon finds himself getting on a number of people’s bad sides, including the supposed daughter of the mayor of the city, Tuesday Knight, who offers him $100,000 to get back her father’s stolen luck. (Yes, Nick was the one to steal the luck originally; and no, it’s pretty much a one way thing when you take someone’s luck.) He also finds himself mixed up and seriously pissing off a Chinese mafia kingpin.
Lucky Bastard is over the top and fast-paced, taking you all over the wonderful city of San Francisco, but Browne does a great job of suspending the reader’s disbelief, creating a character that isn’t perfect by any means – in fact he gets quite annoying – but remains true to the writing and the character, keeping readers hooked to the very last page.
Originally written on March 13, 2012 ©Alex C. Telander.
For more reviews, check out Bookbanter.
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