Got through 4 books this week:
THE MAN WHO WENT UP IN SMOKE, Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö
NIGHT BLIND, Ragnar Jónasson
THE NIGHT AT THE CROSSROADS, Georges Simenon
SLOW HORSES, Mick Herron
A very euro-centric week of crime/spy fiction here at Stately Gruszecki Manor.
SLOW HORSES is the first novel in the Slough House series of novels by Mick Herron. It concerns the British intelligence agents who are posted to “Slough House” a dumping ground for intelligence agents who have screwed up in some manner in the line of their duty. They get posted to Slough House under the odious and flatulence-prone Jackson Lamb (who is described in the novel as “Timothy Spall gone to seed”) to idly sit out their careers doing busy-work until they quit in disgust.
A young man is kidnapped and his live execution is promised over the internet and one of the agents in Slough House (called Slow Horses by the rest of the intelligence community) sees an opportunity to redeem himself by finding and saving him.
I had a great time with this book and will definitely be continuing with the series, the Jackson Lamb character is just fantastic. A fat, slovenly, flatulent asshole who just doesn’t give a shit about anybody (OR DOES HE?!!!!!!) but who is also secretly a brilliant agent. I in no way relate to this horrible man… nope… not at all… *fart*
Another week another failure to attack the ever-growing pile of unread manga beside my bed. I may have to institute some kind of strict “one-in-one-out” policy before the pile gets large enough to menace commercial aviation… I did read some more USAGI YOJIMBO, and startred another reread of Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s FROM HELL but finished neither so they don’t on the list.
I also made precious little progress on the Bruce Sterling novel, HEAVY WEATHER, I’ve been reading as it was a “bugger” of a work-week and I have not been awake enough to read any more of it. Hopefully, this long weekend will let me catch up on both my sleep and my non-audio books.
Currently Playing: Seffi Starshing – “Virtual Goddess”
Currently Reading: A CRIME IN HOLLAND, Georges Simenon
joezone 