“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, July 15, 2008

Welcome To Decland

A Grand Vizier writes: “The ever-radiant Janet Rudolph (right) at the Mystery Readers Journal announces the publication of the ‘Irish mysteries’ issue of the MRJ, the gist of her editorial running thusly:
“Fill your glasses with Guinness or Bailey’s Irish Cream and toast another great issue of Mystery Readers Journal. Irish Breakfast tea, my favorite, will work, too. Irish mysteries proved to be a very popular topic, as you can see by the length of this issue. Although I first conceived of this issue as focusing on mysteries set in Ireland, I expanded the topic to include Irish detectives and characters living and operating in other countries.
  “I want to especially thank Declan Hughes for spreading the word to his Irish author friends. Declan has a great blog that you shouldn’t miss: Crime Always Pays. Thanks, too, to all the Irish small presses that contacted their authors for me. The Author! Author! section is such a unique part of the Mystery Readers Journal, and I know you’ll enjoy reading the Irish mystery authors’ essays. It’s almost like being in the bar with your favorite writers.”
“Erm, Declan Hughes? Blummin’ typical – the Grand Viz does all the hard work, yon bowsy Hughes (right) gets all the credit. For the last time, people – Declan Hughes is the good-looking, successful one who writes the Ross Macdonald-styled Ed Loy series of private eye novels, while Declan Burke is the other Declan, who may or may not be a tad-less-than-crafty pseudonym for Declan Hughes. Are we clear on this now? No? Buggery.
  “Here’s a thought – maybe Declan Burke should think about getting himself a psuedonym. Right now we’re leaning towards ‘Stryker RamorĂ©’. Peace, out.”

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

There's two of you?

Anonymous said...

I thought I once saw you both in a room together. Now I realise one of you was an actor.

Declan Burke said...

That'll be 'the boy Hughes', Ruth, given his theatrical background (dahling) ... Cheers, Dec