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Graphic
A writer of graphic novels is taken over by his fictional creation, tough guy 'Sainte-Claire' and undergoes a terrifying metamorphosis. Set in the Sydney underworld, against a backdrop of crime wars between rival mobsters, King's Cross hard man Tim Brierley is pitted against Cabramatta's Vietnamese identity Mr. Chin.
306 pages, Paperback
First published January 27, 2012
6 people want to read
About the author
Shane Briant
12 books20 followersLaw graduate Trinity College Dublin. Turned pro actor in 1971 playing Hamlet in Dublin. Nominated for Best Newcomer by London Theatre Critics for his performance in 'Children of the Wolf.' Starred in four Hammer films, played Dorian Gray in Hollywood. Veteran now of 36 international feature films and countless TV around the world. Six books published - five in Australia, latest in America and Germany.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 8, 2022
Excellent book. Very clever how Sainte Claire becomes involved in a families crisis. However the idea of a writer solving mysteries reminded me of "Castle. Some rather subdued wit throughout the story makes for a very enjoyable tale. Looking forward to the next Shane Briant book.
August 11, 2016
There are a stack of books lurking in a corner in my lounge room that are from little / basically unknown Australian authors and I've been promising to catch up on my reading of them to myself for ages now. GRAPHIC was my most recent read from that pile and I'm really pleased I finally got around to it. Straight from the back cover of the book:
"A writer of graphic novels, in an attempt to rescue a kidnapped father of two children, is taken over by his own fictional creation, tough guy P.I. "Sainte-Claire", and undergoes a terrifying metamorphosis.
Set in the Sydney underworld, against a backdrop of a crime war between rival mobsters, Kings Cross' hard man Tim Brierley is pitted against Cabramatta's Vietnamese crime identity Mr Chin."
Now I'm not sure that the blurb actually does the book total justice as the "take over" or "metamorphosis" is not unconscious - there's no woo woo element here. Slowly mild-mannered graphic crime book writer (don't call them comics please), finds that adopting the clothing style, the speech patterns and the general demeanour of his main character, helps in gaining respect, in establishing a persona, in giving him the guts to go up against Brierley and Chin to help the very young (but terrifyingly grown up) daughters of the kidnapped man.
At all stages Robert is aware that he's enjoying being Saint-Claire more and more and this worries him, frightens his girlfriend profoundly and changes his life totally.
It's not the world's most complex or intricate plot and it's not one of those novels that you finish and think, wow, that was a life changing experience. Frankly the very precocious young daughters of the kidnapped man nauseated me ever so slightly, but it was a good read. Robert Howard was a great character to spend some time with, and that idea of having to put on a character, change into somebody else to handle a difficult situation, was interesting. The author's also written "Bite of the Lotus" which I'll excavate from the pile one day.
"A writer of graphic novels, in an attempt to rescue a kidnapped father of two children, is taken over by his own fictional creation, tough guy P.I. "Sainte-Claire", and undergoes a terrifying metamorphosis.
Set in the Sydney underworld, against a backdrop of a crime war between rival mobsters, Kings Cross' hard man Tim Brierley is pitted against Cabramatta's Vietnamese crime identity Mr Chin."
Now I'm not sure that the blurb actually does the book total justice as the "take over" or "metamorphosis" is not unconscious - there's no woo woo element here. Slowly mild-mannered graphic crime book writer (don't call them comics please), finds that adopting the clothing style, the speech patterns and the general demeanour of his main character, helps in gaining respect, in establishing a persona, in giving him the guts to go up against Brierley and Chin to help the very young (but terrifyingly grown up) daughters of the kidnapped man.
At all stages Robert is aware that he's enjoying being Saint-Claire more and more and this worries him, frightens his girlfriend profoundly and changes his life totally.
It's not the world's most complex or intricate plot and it's not one of those novels that you finish and think, wow, that was a life changing experience. Frankly the very precocious young daughters of the kidnapped man nauseated me ever so slightly, but it was a good read. Robert Howard was a great character to spend some time with, and that idea of having to put on a character, change into somebody else to handle a difficult situation, was interesting. The author's also written "Bite of the Lotus" which I'll excavate from the pile one day.
April 22, 2009
What a fantastic author - can't get enough of his books. You really must indulge yourself and read at least one of his titles.......and then you will want to read them all!!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews