“Declan Burke is his own genre. The Lammisters dazzles, beguiles and transcends. Virtuoso from start to finish.” – Eoin McNamee “This bourbon-smooth riot of jazz-age excess, high satire and Wodehouse flamboyance is a pitch-perfect bullseye of comic brilliance.” – Irish Independent Books of the Year 2019 “This rapid-fire novel deserves a place on any bookshelf that grants asylum to PG Wodehouse, Flann O’Brien or Kyril Bonfiglioli.” – Eoin Colfer, Guardian Best Books of the Year 2019 “The funniest book of the year.” – Sunday Independent “Declan Burke is one funny bastard. The Lammisters ... conducts a forensic analysis on the anatomy of a story.” – Liz Nugent “Burke’s exuberant prose takes centre stage … He plays with language like a jazz soloist stretching the boundaries of musical theory.” – Totally Dublin “A mega-meta smorgasbord of inventive language ... linguistic verve not just on every page but every line.” – Irish Times “Above all, The Lammisters gives the impression of a writer enjoying himself. And so, dear reader, should you.” – Sunday Times “A triumph of absurdity, which burlesques the literary canon from Shakespeare, Pope and Austen to Flann O’Brien … The Lammisters is very clever indeed.” – The Guardian

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Do Not Go Unquietly Into That Good Night

T’was only last week that the CAP elves were wondering what the jiggery-poo was up with John Connolly (right) not being nominated for awards, particularly as award-givers seem to be particularly impressed by the literary stylings of Benny Blanco and Tana French this year. And lo! It came to pass that the interweb thingy Mystery Ink almost immediately nominated JC in its Gumshoe Awards, with THE UNQUIET up for a gong in the ‘Best Mystery’ category. Coincidence? Yes! The full noms for ‘Best Mystery’ runneth thusly:
James Lee Burke - Tin Roof Blowdown (Simon & Schuster)
John Connolly - The Unquiet (Atria)
Ariana Franklin - Mistress of the Art of Death (Putnam)
Charlie Huston - The Shotgun Rule (Ballantine)
Laura Lippman - What the Dead Know (William Morrow)
Huzzah! Oh, and it’s nice too to see Laura Lippman getting the nod after the farrago that was the Edgar nominations. Seriously, folks – Benny Blanco’s CHRISTINE FALLS rather than WHAT THE DEAD KNOW? Like, puh-lease, etc.

A hat-tip to The Rap Sheet for the inside dope.
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4 comments:

Colin said...

Never mind John effin Connolly, where are my nominations? Aren't I one of the 50 crime writers you really, really have to read before you, like, die? (According to the D. Telegraph, who should know) And aren't all the others on the list already dead, including B. Blanco? Where's the love? Is it because I is white? Colin Bateman

March 11, 2008 at 10:09 AM
Anonymous said...

Mr Bateman - The good guys finish last, sadly. And it doesn't help that you're always making with the gags 'n' wisecracks. Don't you know crime fiction is serious stuff? Look at Benny Blanco - a serious man writing serious prose about seriouzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ... oops, sorry. Anyhoo, less funnies, more awards. We won't tell you again.

March 11, 2008 at 2:12 PM
Jon The Crime Spree Guy said...

I vote with my wallet.
I buy all of Johns books.

Colin's too, and his I have to order from another country!

March 13, 2008 at 5:30 AM
Declan Burke said...

Jon - I'd have thought that John Connolly would be doing the decent thing by now and sending you gold-laminated copies, given the quality and quantity of coverage Crime Spree Magazine has given him over the years ... As for Colin Bateman, the guy is in the Kurt Vonnegut category, too funny to be taken seriously for awards and suchlike. Still, his modest millions probably console him in his darkest hours ... Cheers, Dec

March 13, 2008 at 11:23 AM

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