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La sangre de los King
En el salvaje territorio de Oklahoma, se encuentra el rancho de Ike King, un hombre despiadado con una gran fortuna, amasada tras años de sembrar terror y violencia. Ahora que su muerte está cerca, sus tres hijos se preparan para hacerse con lo que puedan de la herencia. Todos han aprendido mucho de su padre: seguir solo tus propias normas, no sentir apego por nadie y eliminar a todo aquel que se interponga en tu camino, aunque sea de tu familia.
UNA DE LAS HISTORIAS MÁS ESCABROSAS IMAGINADAS POR EL GENIO DE JIM THOMPSON.
UNA DE LAS HISTORIAS MÁS ESCABROSAS IMAGINADAS POR EL GENIO DE JIM THOMPSON.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1954
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631 people want to read
About the author
Jim Thompson
160 books1,632 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
James Myers Thompson was a United States writer of novels, short stories and screenplays, largely in the hardboiled style of crime fiction.
Thompson wrote more than thirty novels, the majority of which were original paperback publications by pulp fiction houses, from the late-1940s through mid-1950s. Despite some positive critical notice, notably by Anthony Boucher in the New York Times, he was little-recognized in his lifetime. Only after death did Thompson's literary stature grow, when in the late 1980s, several novels were re-published in the Black Lizard series of re-discovered crime fiction.
Thompson's writing culminated in a few of his best-regarded works: The Killer Inside Me, Savage Night, A Hell of a Woman and Pop. 1280. In these works, Thompson turned the derided pulp genre into literature and art, featuring unreliable narrators, odd structure, and surrealism.
The writer R.V. Cassills has suggested that of all pulp fiction, Thompson's was the rawest and most harrowing; that neither Dashiell Hammett nor Raymond Chandler nor even Horace McCoy, author of the bleak They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, ever "wrote a book within miles of Thompson". Similarly, in the introduction to Now and on Earth, Stephen King says he most admires Thompson's work because "The guy was over the top. The guy was absolutely over the top. Big Jim didn't know the meaning of the word stop. There are three brave lets inherent in the forgoing: he let himself see everything, he let himself write it down, then he let himself publish it."
Thompson admired Fyodor Dostoevsky and was nicknamed "Dimestore Dostoevsky" by writer Geoffrey O'Brien. Film director Stephen Frears, who directed an adaptation of Thompson's The Grifters as 1990's The Grifters, also identified elements of Greek tragedy in his themes.
James Myers Thompson was a United States writer of novels, short stories and screenplays, largely in the hardboiled style of crime fiction.
Thompson wrote more than thirty novels, the majority of which were original paperback publications by pulp fiction houses, from the late-1940s through mid-1950s. Despite some positive critical notice, notably by Anthony Boucher in the New York Times, he was little-recognized in his lifetime. Only after death did Thompson's literary stature grow, when in the late 1980s, several novels were re-published in the Black Lizard series of re-discovered crime fiction.
Thompson's writing culminated in a few of his best-regarded works: The Killer Inside Me, Savage Night, A Hell of a Woman and Pop. 1280. In these works, Thompson turned the derided pulp genre into literature and art, featuring unreliable narrators, odd structure, and surrealism.
The writer R.V. Cassills has suggested that of all pulp fiction, Thompson's was the rawest and most harrowing; that neither Dashiell Hammett nor Raymond Chandler nor even Horace McCoy, author of the bleak They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, ever "wrote a book within miles of Thompson". Similarly, in the introduction to Now and on Earth, Stephen King says he most admires Thompson's work because "The guy was over the top. The guy was absolutely over the top. Big Jim didn't know the meaning of the word stop. There are three brave lets inherent in the forgoing: he let himself see everything, he let himself write it down, then he let himself publish it."
Thompson admired Fyodor Dostoevsky and was nicknamed "Dimestore Dostoevsky" by writer Geoffrey O'Brien. Film director Stephen Frears, who directed an adaptation of Thompson's The Grifters as 1990's The Grifters, also identified elements of Greek tragedy in his themes.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
November 27, 2019
I cannot get this damn book out of my head.
It’s hard to believe Jim Thompson wrote, “King Blood”, in 1954, but it’s clear why it didn’t see release until 1973, marking it as Thompson’s final published novel. The novel consists, largely, of the infamous portions of Thompson’s work - on a train that gets off to a bumpy ride before derailing completely, aboard with a pack of psychopaths, where the parts in his novels verge off the crime-fiction path and explore territory that either a reader loves or despises. This a book where there's little time for the reader to catch their breath amidst the madness-drenched horror.
The writing spills all over: a narrative that goes into historical details about Oklahoma before and just after becoming a state, a post-modernist styled authorial intrusion that includes Thompson’s real-life father and uncle, and scenes soaked in all types of crazy and gore spilling over to psychological horrors and tortures - there’s far too many scenes of vivid cruelty contained here for me to relate in a review. One other aspect I will mention: the violence against young family members amounts to some of the hardest scenes I’ve endured reading in a novel.
We’re first introduced to the brother Critch who’s dreaming of ways to murder a woman he wants to rob on a train, and then we're introduced to the rest of the King family and their Apache housemates that have been incestuously breeding - Critch’s brother, Arlie, is married to one “squaw” and his soon-to-be gutted brother another. Critch's return to his birthplace is not without motive: he wants to fight it out with his brothers over his aging father’s immense land holdings. Nothing goes as planned, of course, but, surprisingly, the novel wraps up neatly.
Thompson’s creations here are fascinating in their hideousness: grim scenes of familial and geographical violence that paints a graphically long, historical reach of violence handed down through the generations, inventive and sadistic mutilations, humour in the goriest of places, backstabbing thieves with no morality or belief in right or wrong, demented female characters such as Critch's mother who's a whore who loses money more than she earns it, and my personal favourites: the twin sister serial-killers who swindle men out of their money after or during seduction.
My edition does not include the Elmore Leonard introduction - if anybody has access to this, please let me know - where Leonard allegedly trashed the book and called it, “terrible”. I can understand why someone of Leonard’s disposition and strict code to writing literature would disdain this novel - there’s plenty of adverbs, loopy language, a plot that is as unhinged as its characters, more violent than Leonard’s work, and more willing to examine the darkest corners of the human mind that Leonard’s only ever hinted at. Elmore Leonard never wrote a book that assaulted the reader like, “King Blood”, and he didn’t write a book as memorable or as good.
There are parts of this novel that I wouldn’t doubt if Cormac McCarthy stored in his memory. There’s a line here that’s reproduced in Cormac McCarthy’s, “No Country For Old Men”, pretty much word for word - in a reply to carnage, one of the brother’s states, “if it isn’t, it’ll do till one comes.” This isn’t the first Thompson work that’s reminded me of Cormac - the most obvious other example would be, “The Killer Inside Me”, which, when read back-to-back with, “Child of God”, reveals a possible influence. And then there’s the Greek classics that both authors draw from, and the unflinching, detailed violence, along with a history of senseless conquering and bloodshed, incest. Put a man fighting through the narrative as he’s eaten away by the harshness of the world and you've described either of these author's works. Naturally, McCarthy is a better novelist and stylist, and more often goes into the past to reflect human nature, and includes a more varied philosophy than Thompson, but are the differences really an excuse as to why no one will read a Jim Thompson book in university or be willing to consider his work as more than just pulp thrills?
But this is the type of insane masterpiece that's practically indescribable both in content and impact, and could not be produced by any modern writer due to our current society's way of reacting to a non-Disney styled watering down of content. Poor innocent readers, what world do we live in, what type of schooling are we giving kids these days when they read a violent act against a woman and write off an entire book or downgrade it because they've been triggered? Grow up kids, these things happen, especially the time periods in which this novel's set - read a history book and read of far worse horrors against females than even the twisted mind of Thompson could write. Should we write off Cormac McCarthy for writing "Child of God" and "Blood Meridian" because of the sadistic violence, too, and if so, how far back into history are we going? Back to Jacobean revenge plays that, surely, Thompson was influenced by? Get a grip on reality, this type of infantile outrage is the reason a book like this could never be published today.
And it's a shame, for this is a daring novel for its time, and would be if released now. "King Blood" is the type of book that disgusts the reader by its graphic content, sure, but there's also another aspect that lingers in a more insidious and powerful way: that even the most so-called progressive type of personality, if they were truly honest with themselves and looked at the evidence, would be frightened at how easily it would be for advanced societies to devolve into this darkness again, very easily, and that most humans are capable of violence this seemingly operatic and to hide from it is only to turn one's back to the darkest parts of their own being and the very real dangers of the world that are only waiting for one societal change or collapse to take advantage of. It's a book about the horrors of man, the darkest corners of the mind that people occupy, and the selfish-opportunity seeking that shows itself in violence, rape, and betrayal from land owners to the government to ordinary citizens that bled from the pages of history into the world of 1950's America with a not so different sort of shade of red. If one's a fan of Thompson's bat-shit crazy side, they'll likely be in love with, "King Blood".
It’s hard to believe Jim Thompson wrote, “King Blood”, in 1954, but it’s clear why it didn’t see release until 1973, marking it as Thompson’s final published novel. The novel consists, largely, of the infamous portions of Thompson’s work - on a train that gets off to a bumpy ride before derailing completely, aboard with a pack of psychopaths, where the parts in his novels verge off the crime-fiction path and explore territory that either a reader loves or despises. This a book where there's little time for the reader to catch their breath amidst the madness-drenched horror.
The writing spills all over: a narrative that goes into historical details about Oklahoma before and just after becoming a state, a post-modernist styled authorial intrusion that includes Thompson’s real-life father and uncle, and scenes soaked in all types of crazy and gore spilling over to psychological horrors and tortures - there’s far too many scenes of vivid cruelty contained here for me to relate in a review. One other aspect I will mention: the violence against young family members amounts to some of the hardest scenes I’ve endured reading in a novel.
We’re first introduced to the brother Critch who’s dreaming of ways to murder a woman he wants to rob on a train, and then we're introduced to the rest of the King family and their Apache housemates that have been incestuously breeding - Critch’s brother, Arlie, is married to one “squaw” and his soon-to-be gutted brother another. Critch's return to his birthplace is not without motive: he wants to fight it out with his brothers over his aging father’s immense land holdings. Nothing goes as planned, of course, but, surprisingly, the novel wraps up neatly.
Thompson’s creations here are fascinating in their hideousness: grim scenes of familial and geographical violence that paints a graphically long, historical reach of violence handed down through the generations, inventive and sadistic mutilations, humour in the goriest of places, backstabbing thieves with no morality or belief in right or wrong, demented female characters such as Critch's mother who's a whore who loses money more than she earns it, and my personal favourites: the twin sister serial-killers who swindle men out of their money after or during seduction.
My edition does not include the Elmore Leonard introduction - if anybody has access to this, please let me know - where Leonard allegedly trashed the book and called it, “terrible”. I can understand why someone of Leonard’s disposition and strict code to writing literature would disdain this novel - there’s plenty of adverbs, loopy language, a plot that is as unhinged as its characters, more violent than Leonard’s work, and more willing to examine the darkest corners of the human mind that Leonard’s only ever hinted at. Elmore Leonard never wrote a book that assaulted the reader like, “King Blood”, and he didn’t write a book as memorable or as good.
There are parts of this novel that I wouldn’t doubt if Cormac McCarthy stored in his memory. There’s a line here that’s reproduced in Cormac McCarthy’s, “No Country For Old Men”, pretty much word for word - in a reply to carnage, one of the brother’s states, “if it isn’t, it’ll do till one comes.” This isn’t the first Thompson work that’s reminded me of Cormac - the most obvious other example would be, “The Killer Inside Me”, which, when read back-to-back with, “Child of God”, reveals a possible influence. And then there’s the Greek classics that both authors draw from, and the unflinching, detailed violence, along with a history of senseless conquering and bloodshed, incest. Put a man fighting through the narrative as he’s eaten away by the harshness of the world and you've described either of these author's works. Naturally, McCarthy is a better novelist and stylist, and more often goes into the past to reflect human nature, and includes a more varied philosophy than Thompson, but are the differences really an excuse as to why no one will read a Jim Thompson book in university or be willing to consider his work as more than just pulp thrills?
But this is the type of insane masterpiece that's practically indescribable both in content and impact, and could not be produced by any modern writer due to our current society's way of reacting to a non-Disney styled watering down of content. Poor innocent readers, what world do we live in, what type of schooling are we giving kids these days when they read a violent act against a woman and write off an entire book or downgrade it because they've been triggered? Grow up kids, these things happen, especially the time periods in which this novel's set - read a history book and read of far worse horrors against females than even the twisted mind of Thompson could write. Should we write off Cormac McCarthy for writing "Child of God" and "Blood Meridian" because of the sadistic violence, too, and if so, how far back into history are we going? Back to Jacobean revenge plays that, surely, Thompson was influenced by? Get a grip on reality, this type of infantile outrage is the reason a book like this could never be published today.
And it's a shame, for this is a daring novel for its time, and would be if released now. "King Blood" is the type of book that disgusts the reader by its graphic content, sure, but there's also another aspect that lingers in a more insidious and powerful way: that even the most so-called progressive type of personality, if they were truly honest with themselves and looked at the evidence, would be frightened at how easily it would be for advanced societies to devolve into this darkness again, very easily, and that most humans are capable of violence this seemingly operatic and to hide from it is only to turn one's back to the darkest parts of their own being and the very real dangers of the world that are only waiting for one societal change or collapse to take advantage of. It's a book about the horrors of man, the darkest corners of the mind that people occupy, and the selfish-opportunity seeking that shows itself in violence, rape, and betrayal from land owners to the government to ordinary citizens that bled from the pages of history into the world of 1950's America with a not so different sort of shade of red. If one's a fan of Thompson's bat-shit crazy side, they'll likely be in love with, "King Blood".
September 16, 2013
A Jim Thompson novel is the literary equivalent to a Robert Williams painting: outrageous, surrealistic, obscene, but above all hysterically funny. King Blood is all of those and even more. An absolutely irrepressible stream of barnyard obscenity, it didn’t reach publication until twenty years after its writing and was first published in Great Britain, like the equally outrageous Naked Lunch.
King Blood is a filthy, twisted western about two brothers trying to screw each other over a stolen fortune, the escapades reaching a grotesquely nightmarish Yosemite Sam cartoon. In fact, the novel deals heavily in pairs: two brothers, two prostitute sisters who kill their tricks, two patriarchs: a half-Indian and a full-blooded Indian, and of course two hot-blooded horny squaws straight out of Nugget/Rogue Magazine.
As an added bonus, Mr. Thompson even throws in his father as an authoritative character, Marshall James Thompson. King Blood has an insane stream of consciousness narrative that maintains a fresh flavor through this psychotic vaudeville western comedy, and is never, ever boring. One of his best.
King Blood is a filthy, twisted western about two brothers trying to screw each other over a stolen fortune, the escapades reaching a grotesquely nightmarish Yosemite Sam cartoon. In fact, the novel deals heavily in pairs: two brothers, two prostitute sisters who kill their tricks, two patriarchs: a half-Indian and a full-blooded Indian, and of course two hot-blooded horny squaws straight out of Nugget/Rogue Magazine.
As an added bonus, Mr. Thompson even throws in his father as an authoritative character, Marshall James Thompson. King Blood has an insane stream of consciousness narrative that maintains a fresh flavor through this psychotic vaudeville western comedy, and is never, ever boring. One of his best.
November 28, 2023
Thompson is such a great writer that I sense he knew what he was doing when he wrote this. This is far from his best, and the sort of story that can be described as unpleasant, one that leaves a nasty taste in the mouth.
Thompson is good at writing strong female characters, rather than being preyed on they give as much as they take, and are even predators themselves.
But that isn’t the case here.
It’s sort of a western, set in Oklahoma. Rancher Ike King is an odious character, his household includes his sons Boz and Arlie, their Osage wives Kay and Joshie, and their grandchildren.
Old Ike runs his ranch with a firm and violent hand, step out of line and retribution is swift.
This was Thompson’s final novel, an intoxicating mix of cynicism, murder, theft, incest, sadomasochism, misogyny and racism.
Though his last novel in terms of its publication, 1973, it was written in 1954, but perhaps held back due to its language and the places where it goes.
The offensiveness in the book is quite intentional I believe. It’s a piece of writing born out of despair and frustration with the state that such communities are in. As a footnote explains, Thompson writes his own father, and his father’s uncle, into the story, as a Marshall and his Deputy. He goes on to say that it is a piece of fiction, but one wonders.
The book concludes with a sense of hope, but tellingly, this is very much for the whites only.
Thompson is good at writing strong female characters, rather than being preyed on they give as much as they take, and are even predators themselves.
But that isn’t the case here.
It’s sort of a western, set in Oklahoma. Rancher Ike King is an odious character, his household includes his sons Boz and Arlie, their Osage wives Kay and Joshie, and their grandchildren.
Old Ike runs his ranch with a firm and violent hand, step out of line and retribution is swift.
This was Thompson’s final novel, an intoxicating mix of cynicism, murder, theft, incest, sadomasochism, misogyny and racism.
Though his last novel in terms of its publication, 1973, it was written in 1954, but perhaps held back due to its language and the places where it goes.
The offensiveness in the book is quite intentional I believe. It’s a piece of writing born out of despair and frustration with the state that such communities are in. As a footnote explains, Thompson writes his own father, and his father’s uncle, into the story, as a Marshall and his Deputy. He goes on to say that it is a piece of fiction, but one wonders.
The book concludes with a sense of hope, but tellingly, this is very much for the whites only.
December 23, 2022
Thompson has such a visceral, straight to the point style that has a few quirks of his own invention to set it apart from the others dealing with such Biblically forbidden affairs that take place in this book. Yeah, I'm tired of typing "crime book" or god forbid, "noir" (which should strictly be kept to describing films, imo). But here we have grifters, murderesses, kitten skinners, belt whippers (and those who love them) and plain old oreneryness dictated by a code of honor. There's not much else I can compare it to, other than something that is shocking and yet has a heart, made possible by Thompsons knack for characters that are not depicted with judgement, but with sympathy and thoughtfulness. Couldn't put it down.
April 11, 2021
Written in the '50s, though unpublished in Thompson's lifetime—almost certainly unpublishable—this is a dark and nihilist black comedy of a modern western, cynical and amoral, violent and reprehensible. I liked it.
May 8, 2021
This one is a bit different for Thompson. The story, the characters, and the writing is all good --sometimes the dialogue is a little campy. It does not end how I expected it to. It doesn't even end the way I expect Thompson, as unpredictable as his endings are, to end things wildly... Well it just might be one of Thompson's best. If I were a filmmaker I would sure as hell adapt this into a movie. It's not like any western I ever heard of before.
September 17, 2014
Está tapado, pocos lo nombran en primer lugar y es el primero de la clase. Los personajes y las diferentes subtramas están llenos de rabia. Una versión libre y cruda de Rey Lear. La parte final no es para todos los estómagos.
December 11, 2023
There are better Thompson books to read. This one is pretty forgettable. Try The Killer Inside Me.
January 15, 2019
I am an unrequited fan of Jim Thompson’s novels. If he’s not my favorite writer of all time, he’s one of them. I usually read books for good, well-plotted stories with richly developed characters. Rarely do I read them for metaphysics. Such is not the case with Thompson’s work. Famously dubbed the “dimestore Dostoevsky”, Thompson’s unrelenting nihilism and views of the corruption of human nature weirdly fit my own despite my cheery demeanor. I believe we’re all mere steps away from chaos and those who take advantage of the void protecting us (maybe?) from chaos are the strong preying on the weak. Thompson is so damn good at describing the void.
King Blood has been out of print for a long time and hasn’t been reissued as frequently as the rest of Thompson’s oeuvre. I scored a copy years ago but kept putting off reading it. Finally sat down to do so last night and for the first 2/3rds, I thought it was a really decent Thompson tale, not his best but better than some. It felt like Succession in the sticks filtered through the lens of Thompson’s worldview…
But then…gah! A horrifically violent act done to a woman. No wonder this book has stayed out of print.
Now, violence against women is not new in Thompson’s world. It’s a real problem. It plays into his nihilism: the themes of power and who has it and who wields it. Thompson is quite good at writing female characters who play the game too; most of them are not babes in the woods being preyed on by violent men, but predators in their own right (including this book).
I don’t like excessive violence against women; Thompson is one of the very few writers I tolerate it with because his books challenge me on such a deep level. It’s something I consider whenever I read them but try not to dwell on in favor of the larger message.
But good God, I tap out here. Thompson found my weak spot and I cry out my safe word.
Granted, I finished the book. I’m a believer in not rating books you don’t finish, no matter how bad they are. If not for that scene, this would be a standard issue four-star. But it crosses a boundary with me. I don’t know why that particular boundary is set there and not in other places where I’ve been disgusted with Thompson’s violence but not enough to quit because of what he is using the violence to try to say (it’s rarely exploitative).
But no, this is a rubicon. I’ll read more Jim Thompson; hell, I’ve got half his catalogue to go through. But I just can’t recommend this book or give it any love, even if it has good moments like many Thompson stories do.
King Blood has been out of print for a long time and hasn’t been reissued as frequently as the rest of Thompson’s oeuvre. I scored a copy years ago but kept putting off reading it. Finally sat down to do so last night and for the first 2/3rds, I thought it was a really decent Thompson tale, not his best but better than some. It felt like Succession in the sticks filtered through the lens of Thompson’s worldview…
But then…gah! A horrifically violent act done to a woman. No wonder this book has stayed out of print.
Now, violence against women is not new in Thompson’s world. It’s a real problem. It plays into his nihilism: the themes of power and who has it and who wields it. Thompson is quite good at writing female characters who play the game too; most of them are not babes in the woods being preyed on by violent men, but predators in their own right (including this book).
I don’t like excessive violence against women; Thompson is one of the very few writers I tolerate it with because his books challenge me on such a deep level. It’s something I consider whenever I read them but try not to dwell on in favor of the larger message.
But good God, I tap out here. Thompson found my weak spot and I cry out my safe word.
Granted, I finished the book. I’m a believer in not rating books you don’t finish, no matter how bad they are. If not for that scene, this would be a standard issue four-star. But it crosses a boundary with me. I don’t know why that particular boundary is set there and not in other places where I’ve been disgusted with Thompson’s violence but not enough to quit because of what he is using the violence to try to say (it’s rarely exploitative).
But no, this is a rubicon. I’ll read more Jim Thompson; hell, I’ve got half his catalogue to go through. But I just can’t recommend this book or give it any love, even if it has good moments like many Thompson stories do.
February 10, 2023
This reads like an episode of Maverick . . . from hell.
Instead of the Mavericks we have the Kings. Old Ike, the patriarch, a stone cold killer and lifelong criminal gone semi-respectable. Boz, Arlie and Critch, his psychopathic sons. And Kay and Joshie, two Native American women who are wives to Arlie and Boz respectively. To say nothing of Little Sis and Big Sis.
Holy God, I have no idea what to say about this. It's a western, which is almost unusual for Thompson. Two historical figures show up in these pages: Geronimo himself and a senator by the name of Gore. And I actually know who Gore was! Because I read the Empire series by Gore Vidal, who was a descendant of Senator Gore himself. And wouldn't you know it, Thompson included two of his own ancestors in this one! Harry Thompson, his grandfather, and Jim Thompson, his father. I thought it was pretty funny, especially when the author puts in his special note about the hubris of his father in running for office. I'll bet that was the same jailhouse the author grew up in, too.
It's wild to watch Critch, who steals $72K off a pair of serial killers, face off against his brother, who steals the money from him in a backwards and sideways manner. I don't want to give too much away, but I'm pretty sure Arlie is the crazier of the two, even if he's more sensible. The thing he does with Big Sis. Just . . . wow.
This is the last unread novel of Thompson's I had left, and I went out on a good one. I still have his collection of short stories, Fireworks, which I'm reading next, and then I'll be all out of Thompson.
That will be a sad day, indeed.
PS: Some of the things he says in this book reinforces my theory that he wasn't as racist as Child of Rage would seem to indicate. While he handled his subject matter a little ham-fistedly in that one, I'm more certain now that his heart was in the right place.
Instead of the Mavericks we have the Kings. Old Ike, the patriarch, a stone cold killer and lifelong criminal gone semi-respectable. Boz, Arlie and Critch, his psychopathic sons. And Kay and Joshie, two Native American women who are wives to Arlie and Boz respectively. To say nothing of Little Sis and Big Sis.
Holy God, I have no idea what to say about this. It's a western, which is almost unusual for Thompson. Two historical figures show up in these pages: Geronimo himself and a senator by the name of Gore. And I actually know who Gore was! Because I read the Empire series by Gore Vidal, who was a descendant of Senator Gore himself. And wouldn't you know it, Thompson included two of his own ancestors in this one! Harry Thompson, his grandfather, and Jim Thompson, his father. I thought it was pretty funny, especially when the author puts in his special note about the hubris of his father in running for office. I'll bet that was the same jailhouse the author grew up in, too.
It's wild to watch Critch, who steals $72K off a pair of serial killers, face off against his brother, who steals the money from him in a backwards and sideways manner. I don't want to give too much away, but I'm pretty sure Arlie is the crazier of the two, even if he's more sensible. The thing he does with Big Sis. Just . . . wow.
This is the last unread novel of Thompson's I had left, and I went out on a good one. I still have his collection of short stories, Fireworks, which I'm reading next, and then I'll be all out of Thompson.
That will be a sad day, indeed.
PS: Some of the things he says in this book reinforces my theory that he wasn't as racist as Child of Rage would seem to indicate. While he handled his subject matter a little ham-fistedly in that one, I'm more certain now that his heart was in the right place.
September 13, 2018
Cuenta la historia de un linaje que ha forjado su riqueza con trampas, robos y asesinatos. Una familia despota y cruel, y la novela empieza con la llegada del hijo prodigio. Esto despierta el recelo entre los hermanos King, que están dispuestos a todo para congraciarse con su padre y heredar todo lo que a base de violencia han conseguido, incluso asesinar a su propia sangre.
No tenía altas espectativas porque 1,280 almas no me gustó, pero estaba interesado por la premisa y no quería dejarla pasar. El resultado: buena novela.
El ritmo es mucho más lento, de hecho las primeras cien páginas son desarrollo de personajes, construcción del espacio y planteamiento del conflicto. El desarrollo viene mucho después, pero debido a que es mucho más detallista hay menos convencionalismos y situaciones forzadas. Las relaciones entre los hermanos King están bien desarrolladas y son interesantes de leer. El final, dividido en dos partes es, por un lado grato, y por otro caricaturesco (tengo racha) así que depende mucho del lector.
En general, mejor de lo que esperaba.
No tenía altas espectativas porque 1,280 almas no me gustó, pero estaba interesado por la premisa y no quería dejarla pasar. El resultado: buena novela.
El ritmo es mucho más lento, de hecho las primeras cien páginas son desarrollo de personajes, construcción del espacio y planteamiento del conflicto. El desarrollo viene mucho después, pero debido a que es mucho más detallista hay menos convencionalismos y situaciones forzadas. Las relaciones entre los hermanos King están bien desarrolladas y son interesantes de leer. El final, dividido en dos partes es, por un lado grato, y por otro caricaturesco (tengo racha) así que depende mucho del lector.
En general, mejor de lo que esperaba.
September 8, 2025
Jamás me deja indiferente. Me absorbe, me atrapa como a la polilla la luz. Podría parecer Jim Thompson un enfermo, un escritor perverso y pervertido. Pero, en mi opinión, está (o debería estar) en el panteón de los grandes escritores norteamericanos. Más brutal que Ellroy, más arrebatador que Hammett o Chandler. Capaz de narrar los hechos más atroces y, acto seguido, marcarse un párrafo lleno de lirismo. Cuidado, que fue también guionista de Kubrick. Casi inencontrables sus novelas, cada una de ellas es una certera y cortante descripción del lado oscuro del hombre en un entorno salvaje. Alguien que escribe en un párrafo:« Tepaha se dirigió a su amigo. Le habló en español, como hacen todos los hombres sabios cuando tratan asuntos delicados o dolorosos», ya cuenta con mi devoción. Está novela se viste de western pero es más una historia que trata del mito fundacional de Estados Unidos. Construido con sangre, odio, racismo y desmedida ambición. Una obra de arte. Degenerado, pero dolorosamente humano.
October 11, 2019
I think most of the reviews here begin with "I'm a HUGE fan of Jim Thompson, BUT..." I've read (and loved) most of his work. "King Blood" doesn't even seem like it's written by him. Every single aspect of the novel is awful. This isn't a mediocre contract filler or something uninspired written out of financial desperation -- it seems like Thompson is thoroughly enjoying himself. And that's what makes it so unpleasant. By far his most base, vulgar, violent, and sexually explicit book, all written up in the awkward, uneven style of a drunk 13-year-old. I honestly wish I had never read this -- not just because it sucks and it's a waste of time, but because it's a blight on my image of Thompson and the regard in which I hold his work.
September 6, 2024
Jim Thompson suele ser una apuesta segura pero en este caso he acabado con un sabor agridulce. El planteamiento de la historia es muy bueno, un hijo quiere ser visto por su padre (al que no ve desde niño) como un digno heredero de su legado pero en verdad delinque y no tiene dinero.
El problema de la historia es que está contada a salto de mata. Hay saltos temporales en momentos cruciales que omiten partes muy importantes de la trama y te dejan con cara de ¿me han quitado páginas? Da la impresión de que el autor se quedó sin tiempo para terminarla y entregó a la editorial las ideas que tenía para la historia pero sin hilar la trama.
El problema de la historia es que está contada a salto de mata. Hay saltos temporales en momentos cruciales que omiten partes muy importantes de la trama y te dejan con cara de ¿me han quitado páginas? Da la impresión de que el autor se quedó sin tiempo para terminarla y entregó a la editorial las ideas que tenía para la historia pero sin hilar la trama.
November 16, 2018
It´s a great book i like it
July 24, 2020
Three and a half? Fairly entertaining and featuring some pretty hilarious passages but otherwise a disjointed mess of a novel. Probably only for JT completists.
September 22, 2022
If you like Thompson, do not skip this one.
August 16, 2020
3.5 stars.
One of Thompson's later releases, actually written in the 1950's but not published until 1973 - in England.
It was not released in the US during Thompson's lifetime.
Better than I'd thought it would be, it's a rather nasty western with some graphic violence, which may displease some.
But it's still quite readable, and a book one can enjoy or really hate.
By the 70's Thompson was writing with shock value in mind, and his 1972 book, CHILD OF RAGE is
said to be an example of that.
One of Thompson's later releases, actually written in the 1950's but not published until 1973 - in England.
It was not released in the US during Thompson's lifetime.
Better than I'd thought it would be, it's a rather nasty western with some graphic violence, which may displease some.
But it's still quite readable, and a book one can enjoy or really hate.
By the 70's Thompson was writing with shock value in mind, and his 1972 book, CHILD OF RAGE is
said to be an example of that.
October 18, 2010
This book is totally over the top, and these over the top transgressions are treated like everyday life. Missing are the character study that usually defines Jim Thompson, and all we are left with is a series of rapes, murders, and more that left we wondering why I was still reading it.
If you're a hardcore Thompson fan, this might appeal to you, otherwise I would recommend you find something else to whet your appetite for this fine author.
If you're a hardcore Thompson fan, this might appeal to you, otherwise I would recommend you find something else to whet your appetite for this fine author.
July 31, 2011
I've not read this book all the way through - but I am giving up on it. I really can't get into it, I don't like it and I'm not interested in any of the characters or what might happen in the end! I have stacks of books around me waiting to be read, all of which could be potential little gems, so why am I wasting my time with this? Well, because a work colleague lent me it, saying it's brilliant. And I've really tried but... it's not for me.
Read
May 23, 2020The darkest Jim Thompson novel I've read by far. I gave up around 66% on the kindle. Might come back later.
That said: really cool to see Jim Thompson's real life father show up as a character, a U.S. Marshall (in reality I think he was really only a sheriff) with a penchant for reminding people in his southern jurisdiction that he's proud his middle name is Sherman.
That said: really cool to see Jim Thompson's real life father show up as a character, a U.S. Marshall (in reality I think he was really only a sheriff) with a penchant for reminding people in his southern jurisdiction that he's proud his middle name is Sherman.
April 8, 2013
I read it a while ago, I remember it being a tad by the numbers.
October 8, 2010
Now I can add confidence men to the growing list of oddities that fascinate me. I enjoyed Thompson's collection of novellas and enjoyed this novel just as much.
May 17, 2016
Not his best work by far but still an entertaining read.
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