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Marty Burns #1
Celestial Dogs
Marty Burns was famous. Once.
Now he's just another fallen star, earning his keep as a low-rent private eye. But everything Marty has ever believed in is about to be shattered when the hunt for a missing hooker draws him into an epic struggle between age-old foes.
Two ancient cults have brought their eternal battle from the mystic mountains of Japan to the seedy streets of Los Angeles. Marty must confront vicious pimps, suspicious cops, Hollywood mega-moguls and all-powerful demons from the pages of myth as his life is turned inside-out. He is forced to confront that most difficult, but fundamental of questions: What do you believe in?
Awesome supernatural powers have renewed their endless fight, with the soul of humanity hanging in the balance.
Only this time, there's Marty Burns. Who's about to become famous...
Again.
Now he's just another fallen star, earning his keep as a low-rent private eye. But everything Marty has ever believed in is about to be shattered when the hunt for a missing hooker draws him into an epic struggle between age-old foes.
Two ancient cults have brought their eternal battle from the mystic mountains of Japan to the seedy streets of Los Angeles. Marty must confront vicious pimps, suspicious cops, Hollywood mega-moguls and all-powerful demons from the pages of myth as his life is turned inside-out. He is forced to confront that most difficult, but fundamental of questions: What do you believe in?
Awesome supernatural powers have renewed their endless fight, with the soul of humanity hanging in the balance.
Only this time, there's Marty Burns. Who's about to become famous...
Again.
484 pages, Paperback
First published January 15, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 4, 2021
Изненадващо свежа кримка, без много сложни врътки в нея и с порядъчно количество кръв и кютек - тамън по мой вкус четиво! Има и доста японска митология, откриващата сцена е най-яката част от цялата книга!
А чудесният деветдесетарски превод на Емилия Масларова просто кърти!!! :) Оценка - 3,5*!
Може да се прочете в "Читанка".
P.S. Начало на серия е, на български е излязла и втората книга "Глутница ангели", преди ония нещастници от "Бард" да я зарежат - както винаги...
А чудесният деветдесетарски превод на Емилия Масларова просто кърти!!! :) Оценка - 3,5*!
Може да се прочете в "Читанка".
P.S. Начало на серия е, на български е излязла и втората книга "Глутница ангели", преди ония нещастници от "Бард" да я зарежат - както винаги...
February 20, 2014
Marty Burns, a former child actor turned private investigator, and the seedy side of Hollywood. This is Burns first adventure full of humor and horror. Marty battles the worst of human and inhuman natures deranged producers, rent collectors, evil turtle demons.
Russell tells a really good story, fast paced and nonstop. And you have to dig the humor.
Russell tells a really good story, fast paced and nonstop. And you have to dig the humor.
February 11, 2013
I've been waiting for this book to hit paperback for years -- ever since I read a review when the hardback was published -- and it never made it there. I found a cheap copy of the hardback somewhere online, so I went ahead and bought it.
This is a fairly standard detective novel, except for the demons, ancient spirits, and monsters. I assume this is what's referred to as a "hard-boiled detective story", but I seldom read those so I can't say it definitely fits the mold. However, as I read I could list off what I assume are standard plot points: Hero is arrested for the crime he's investigating, cops get tough with Hero, Hero is beaten up/almost killed by villains, cop-friend comes through with critical bit of evidence.
The plot involved the grisly murders of several Los Angeles prostitutes. The Hero is a detective who was a teenage TV star. He investigates -- against his better judgment -- and finds himself in a sordid confluence of Hollywood, prostitutes, and Japanese mythology. The Hollywood setting isn't just window dressing; it's integral to the story.
The supernatural focus for this was on demons and spirituality from Japan. I found this aspect interesting and well-used. I know very little about this, so I can't vouch for the accuracy of what was written. I can't go into detail, since it'd be giving away some major plot points, but the writing was very good in some ways relating to the mythology. There's a fairly big expository lump about two-thirds through. It's nice to have all the info, but it was rather long.
I found the first quarter or so of the book fairly unpleasant. This section was when the Hero had most of his dealings with the police. The contempt and disdain the police have for prostitutes is made *very* clear by the language and words they use. I found the utter contempt for these women (probably seen as sub-human) to be more disturbing than the disemboweling and killings that were described. This attitude may be completely accurate for how police feel about prostitutes, but that doesn't excuse it. Accurate or not, I'm lowering the rating a star because I found this so unpleasant.
Overall, I think this was a pretty good book. I recommend it -- iff you don't think you'd be bothered by what hung me up on it.
This is a fairly standard detective novel, except for the demons, ancient spirits, and monsters. I assume this is what's referred to as a "hard-boiled detective story", but I seldom read those so I can't say it definitely fits the mold. However, as I read I could list off what I assume are standard plot points: Hero is arrested for the crime he's investigating, cops get tough with Hero, Hero is beaten up/almost killed by villains, cop-friend comes through with critical bit of evidence.
The plot involved the grisly murders of several Los Angeles prostitutes. The Hero is a detective who was a teenage TV star. He investigates -- against his better judgment -- and finds himself in a sordid confluence of Hollywood, prostitutes, and Japanese mythology. The Hollywood setting isn't just window dressing; it's integral to the story.
The supernatural focus for this was on demons and spirituality from Japan. I found this aspect interesting and well-used. I know very little about this, so I can't vouch for the accuracy of what was written. I can't go into detail, since it'd be giving away some major plot points, but the writing was very good in some ways relating to the mythology. There's a fairly big expository lump about two-thirds through. It's nice to have all the info, but it was rather long.
I found the first quarter or so of the book fairly unpleasant. This section was when the Hero had most of his dealings with the police. The contempt and disdain the police have for prostitutes is made *very* clear by the language and words they use. I found the utter contempt for these women (probably seen as sub-human) to be more disturbing than the disemboweling and killings that were described. This attitude may be completely accurate for how police feel about prostitutes, but that doesn't excuse it. Accurate or not, I'm lowering the rating a star because I found this so unpleasant.
Overall, I think this was a pretty good book. I recommend it -- iff you don't think you'd be bothered by what hung me up on it.
June 16, 2016
Russel has a great love for and understanding of the classic pulp novels. I was surprised that the cover wasn't a little more lurid. He's got a solid lead character in Marty Burns, a just-getting-by private eye who's had a taste of the elite world of the Business when he was young. The plot is engaging, although a little predictible in that it hits every note of that platonic ideal of detective noir fiction. The reason it didn't make four stars for me was the pervasive casual sexism and racism. And while I note that this is also an integral part of a pulp novel, giving a character in the first person narrative spot those ideas tends to impute them with the blessing of the author. Plus, every time I read an instance of it, it irked me and threw me out of the story.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews