“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

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

The Kindness Of Strangers: Web 2.0 And Readers’ Reviews

I hope you’ll excuse the trumpet-parping, folks, but I’m having an unusually good week in terms of reviews, and possibly my best week ever, given that all four of my books - two conventionally published, one published as an e-only novel, the last yet to be published - have been reviewed in the space of a short time. I blogged about a couple of reviews for THE BIG O and BAD FOR GOOD on Monday (see Barbarians, below), and almost immediately Michael Malone popped up to say that he had rather improbably included EIGHTBALL BOOGIE, which was published way back in 2003, in the ‘Best Books of 2010’ series he is running on his blog, with the gist running thusly:
“You want a book with heart and brains then look no further … writing that’s so sharp you could shave by it … I am quite frankly in awe of Declan Burke’s ability with a sentence. His writing is at turns lyrical and succinct; his dialogue snaps in your ear and his characters are so real they stay in your head long after you’ve turned the last page.” - Michael Malone
  Which is very nice indeed, sir, and entirely gratifying.
  Shortly after, I got an email notification from Smashwords to say that a reader had reviewed CRIME ALWAYS PAYS. The gist:
CRIME ALWAYS PAYS: A SCREWBALL NOIR (****) is a fun yet complex novel, which definitely falls under the heading of screwball, but not always ‘noir’. There are many of the characters you would expect of that genre though, including cops and robbers, some crooked and some with hearts of gold, there are mysterious dames and shady lawyers, and a crazed wolf thrown in for good measure …
  Burke does an excellent job of quickly outlining each character and then slowly revealing further details about their past, their motives and giving hints at important aspects of their personalities which come to bear in future. The dialogue is humorous and generally realistic but becomes over the top at some points, much like many of Guy Ritchie’s films, which seems to be a common and accurate comparison. Even though many of the characters are amoral, violent, or just greedy, and each has reason to hate one or more of the others, they are all easily likeable and by the end of the novel you want all of them to get what they want, even when that seems impossible.
  There were many aspects of CRIME ALWAYS PAYS which I greatly enjoyed and only a few things which I found distracted me from the story and characters. If this is your ‘go-to’ genre than you may find the jumps between characters, the complex web of relationships, and the over-the-top gangster slang easier to get past than I did. Once I overcame these very minor irritations I became engrossed in the events of the novel, the characters, and the questions posed by many of the characters regarding morality. The unique mixture of a fun cops and robbers caper and the complex plot and character relationships makes this novel highly enjoyable and worth a read, or even a re-read. - Katie Lee
  Again, hugely gratifying, and I thank you kindly, ma’am.
  Leaving aside my fascination with the web’s potential for generating coverage of writers who might not otherwise get a fair shake, not to mention the opportunity it provides to by-pass traditional publishing and go straight to the reader, it’s always nice to know that someone is reading your stories, and nicer still when you know that you haven’t wasted their precious reading time, and particularly nice when a reader goes to all the trouble up writing a review and uploading it. These are not things I take lightly.
  It’s one thing, and a marvellous thing in itself, to be reviewed in the traditional media outlets, but the fact remains that said reviews are written by people who have received a copy of your book for free, and are being paid to write the review. But, and at the risk of being overly sentimental, there’s something a little bit special about a review from a reader who has paid good money to read your story, and then, off their own bat, and with no reward for it, puts in the time and effort to write a review and post it to the web. Above all else it’s a practical example of that much abused phrase ‘the kindness of strangers’, and I deeply appreciate it, and always will.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't know. Being compared to Guy Ritchie...

Dana King said...

You know what the best thing abut these reviews is? They're right. I've read the first three (my Beloved Spouse actually printed and spiral bound CRIME ALWAYS PAYS for me), and I agree with everything quoted here.

Sean Patrick Reardon said...

All very well deserved. Now, I need to find a way to read EIGHTBALL BOOGIE. Where / how do I buy it?

I'm stil thinking about that story you started with the hitman who has the little girl hostage. Loved what I read of that one.

michael said...

Sean, don't know about AmazonUK, but Amazon.com has the Lilliput P. Ltd (November 20,2004) paperback of EIGHTBALL BOOGIE for sale at $26.95. They also have used copies for sale at as little as $2.65 plus $3.99 shipping.

I share your continued interest in "Danny Boy", but I don't want to sound too much like Billy (aka Karlsson). See Declan I am reading BAD FOR GOOD.

michael

Declan Burke said...

I quite like Guy Ritchie's movies, Ms Witch, or most of them, anyway. Being honest, I'm just glad they're not comparing me to Shane Richie.

Much obliged, Dana. And pass on my regards to the Beloved Spouse ...

Sean, my advice to you is to pick up a second-hand, or 'pre-loved' copy, if you're so inclined. $27 sounds like a lot of money for a book that was published nearly eight years ago.

Michael - every writer needs a Billy and / or Karlsson in his or her life ...

Cheers, Dec

Sean Patrick Reardon said...

Michael- Thanks for the info. BFG was one of my best reads of 2010

Unknown said...

you're more than welcome, Dec

lil Gluckstern said...

I'm catching up on your posts. I haven't been able to find Bad for Good. Any hints, any one? I'm going through an Irish phase that's lasting, oh, forever. Just ordered Eightball Boogie,and CAP on my new kindle, I should be set.

Declan Burke said...

Hi Lil - I'm afraid Bad for Good hasn't been published yet, hence the difficulty in finding it. If you want me to email you a word doc of it, though, just drop me a line ...

Much obliged for the interest, by the way - let me know how the books treat you.

Cheers, Dec

lil Gluckstern said...

I have a Mac, and I don't have Word. I will wait until I read the other two. Is there a chance that BFG will go electronic? I lo-o-ove my kindle. I'm like a kid with a new toy.
No reason I shouldn't like your books. It is your wonderful energy that comes through your writings that is so appealing (besides plot, and humor, etc.).