bgg616's review against another edition
4.0
Adrian McKinty and Stuart Neville have put together a terrific collection in the latest in the Akashic noir series, Belfast Noir. This volume introduces readers to several writers they may not have previously known including Steve Cavanagh, Claire McGowen, and Garbhan Downey. There are several authors included - Alex Barclay, Arlene Hunt and Sam Millar - who have a number of novels behind them but will be new to American readers . This collection shows us the range of what can be considered “noir” and stories range from comic to thrillers to violent (though never too graphic). Brian McGilloway’s opening story is a perfect introduction to the collection as it straddles both the past and present, and both sides of the border. The Troubles hover in the background and are sometimes forwarded as in Ruth Dudley Edward’s story Taking It Serious. I loved the premise of Glenn Patterson’s story Belfast Punk Rep which mentions Terri (Hooley we presume) and Good Vibrations (the record store and label). Perhaps my favorite story structure was Eoin McNamee’s Corpse Flowers, in which story segments are based on CCTV footage. I definitely want to read more of Sam Millar’s character Karl Kane, who has his own series of books. The Introduction “The Noirest City on Earth” by McKinty and Neville describes the evolution of the new generation of Ulster writers, giving much of the credit to a group of poets in the early 1970’s, including Seamus Heaney, Paul Muldoon, Ciaran Carson, and Michael Longley (among others), who “produced the greatest body of Irish literary work since the Celtic revival”. The short Foreword by David Torrans, proprietor of the only independent bookshop in Belfast, No Alibis, cements the link between the literary revival of the 1970’s instigated by poets, and crime fiction. For me the connection makes sense as Torrans and his shop provided the book tables with scores of poetry volumes at the Seamus Heaney Commemorative Conference at Queen’s University, Belfast in April of this year (2014). Additionally, Torrans hosts book launches and programs including authors and musicians beyond the mystery genre. This volume will make mystery readers around the world aware of Belfast’s great literary tradition.
sethmoko's review against another edition
3.0
Collection of short stories all set in Belfast - even organized by streets I don't know.
A nice mix - discovered some authors I want to check out more of, which is I guess the point of a collection like this.
A nice mix - discovered some authors I want to check out more of, which is I guess the point of a collection like this.
kristengbaker's review against another edition
4.0
This is a great collection of stories. I thought they captured the grittiness and history of the city while introducing well-developed characters. I was familiar with several of the authors included, but will definitely be looking into others that I haven't read before.
lep42's review against another edition
4.0
Authors to read more of:
[a:Brian McGilloway|769732|Brian McGilloway|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1347998753p2/769732.jpg]
[a:Lucy Caldwell|926722|Lucy Caldwell|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-ccc56e79bcc2db9e6cdcd450a4940d46.png]
[a:Ian McDonald|25376|Ian McDonald|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1372533252p2/25376.jpg]
[a:Steve Cavanagh|9813415|Steve Cavanagh|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1414615285p2/9813415.jpg]!!
[a:Claire McGowan|5254219|Claire McGowan|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1318314149p2/5254219.jpg]
[a:Brian McGilloway|769732|Brian McGilloway|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1347998753p2/769732.jpg]
[a:Lucy Caldwell|926722|Lucy Caldwell|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-ccc56e79bcc2db9e6cdcd450a4940d46.png]
[a:Ian McDonald|25376|Ian McDonald|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1372533252p2/25376.jpg]
[a:Steve Cavanagh|9813415|Steve Cavanagh|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1414615285p2/9813415.jpg]!!
[a:Claire McGowan|5254219|Claire McGowan|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1318314149p2/5254219.jpg]
ericwelch's review
2.0
I'm not much of a fan of short fiction. Often I find that authors either don't know when to bring the story to a close, or, they end them too abruptly. But I do like to discover new authors through collections, and the series of city-based Noir tales published by Akashic (soon they might run out of cities; I doubt we'll see a Pelican Rapids Noir) can occasionally be a gold mine for finding new authors. How many I discover will affect my rating.
Edited by two favorite authors, Adrian McKinty and Stuart Neville, this one is devoted to stories in or around Belfast. There were a couple I really enjoyed, some others that were just OK, and a few that got quickly skimmed after reading the first couple pages. Generally, those written by authentic Irish authors fared the best. Unfortunately, there were too few stories that gripped me.
Edited by two favorite authors, Adrian McKinty and Stuart Neville, this one is devoted to stories in or around Belfast. There were a couple I really enjoyed, some others that were just OK, and a few that got quickly skimmed after reading the first couple pages. Generally, those written by authentic Irish authors fared the best. Unfortunately, there were too few stories that gripped me.
cdcsmith's review
4.0
As with most anthologies, some of the stories I really enjoyed and some, less so. I think the only negative I truly have for this book is that I have never been there, never mind lived there. As much as I've read (fiction and non-fiction) about the area, I don't have the same connection with the place as I did with Boston Noir. That isn't the fault of the writers, it just is. It's staying in my permanent collection though. I've also been introduced to a couple of writers I wouldn't otherwise know. I'll be looking to read more of their work.
angielisle's review
4.0
I received a free copy of this book from LibraryThing in exchange for a review and, as an American, I'm now interested in reading Akashic Noir's collection of USA Noir because of my familiarity with the locations.
The stories in this anthology have more in common with film noir than the hardboiled detective stories that everyone expects when they see the word noir. Don't get me wrong, there are a couple detective stories here but it's nice to see a wide range of noir work. I didn't know what "dirt" to expect in the next gritty story.
Like most anthologies, there were stories I enjoyed and stories that didn't hook me, but I liked a majority of stories and added a couple new (to me) authors to my to-read list.
The stories in this anthology have more in common with film noir than the hardboiled detective stories that everyone expects when they see the word noir. Don't get me wrong, there are a couple detective stories here but it's nice to see a wide range of noir work. I didn't know what "dirt" to expect in the next gritty story.
Like most anthologies, there were stories I enjoyed and stories that didn't hook me, but I liked a majority of stories and added a couple new (to me) authors to my to-read list.
samhouston's review
4.0
Belfast Noir is just the latest in the wonderful series of short story collections from Akashic Books that I first discovered back in 2010. Each collection contains fourteen or fifteen stories that fit comfortably in the genre of noir crime fiction. And, because each of the stories is written by someone from (or very familiar with) the city or region in which all of the stories are set, the collections are long on setting and mood. I have already read and enjoyed Boston Noir, Mexico City Noir, Long Island Noir, Manila Noir, and Prison Noir and am happy to report that Belfast Noir equals the high standards set by its predecessors.
This time around, the book’s fourteen stories are divided into four sections: “City of Ghosts,” “City of Walls,” “City of Commerce,” and “Brave New City.” According to the book’s introduction, the sections represent “Belfast’s recent past, its continuing challenges, and a guess or two at where the city might go in the future.” Fittingly, I suppose, of my four favorite stories in the collection, one of them comes from each of the four sections of the book.
From the book’s first section, I particularly enjoyed Lee Child’s “Wet with Rain,” a story about a CIA agent who comes to Belfast to clean up a potentially embarrassing situation before someone stumbles upon it. Child, probably the best known of the book’s fourteen authors, comes to the collection via his Belfast-born father.
I have chosen from the “City of Walls” section, Ian McDonald’s eerie ghost story “The Reservoir.” In this one, a man surprises everyone by showing up at his daughter’s wedding, but as it turns out, he is there for all the wrong reasons. Author McDonald lives in Belfast.
Another favorite, Steve Cavanagh’s “The Grey,” is the first story in the “City of Commerce” section of Belfast Noir. “The Grey” is a very fine courtroom procedural in which a thirty-year-old murder cases is reopened because someone finally decides to use DNA identification technology to identify a drop of blood found near the victim’s body. Cavanagh was born and raised in Belfast.
And, finally, there is Arlene Hunt’s “Pure Game,” one of the three stories in the book’s “Brave New City” section. This is a hard-hitting story about dog fighting rings and those who inhabit that brutal world. At the risk of tipping the story’s hand, I have to say that it probably has the most satisfying ending of any in the collection. Author Hunt now lives in Dublin but, I am assuming, has ties to Belfast and Northern Ireland.
The remaining ten stories in the collection are by: Lucy Caldwell, Brian McGilloway, Ruth Dudley Edwards, Gerard Brennan, Glenn Patterson, Claire McGowan, Sam Millar, Eoin McNamee, Garbhan Downey, and Alex Barclay.
This time around, the book’s fourteen stories are divided into four sections: “City of Ghosts,” “City of Walls,” “City of Commerce,” and “Brave New City.” According to the book’s introduction, the sections represent “Belfast’s recent past, its continuing challenges, and a guess or two at where the city might go in the future.” Fittingly, I suppose, of my four favorite stories in the collection, one of them comes from each of the four sections of the book.
From the book’s first section, I particularly enjoyed Lee Child’s “Wet with Rain,” a story about a CIA agent who comes to Belfast to clean up a potentially embarrassing situation before someone stumbles upon it. Child, probably the best known of the book’s fourteen authors, comes to the collection via his Belfast-born father.
I have chosen from the “City of Walls” section, Ian McDonald’s eerie ghost story “The Reservoir.” In this one, a man surprises everyone by showing up at his daughter’s wedding, but as it turns out, he is there for all the wrong reasons. Author McDonald lives in Belfast.
Another favorite, Steve Cavanagh’s “The Grey,” is the first story in the “City of Commerce” section of Belfast Noir. “The Grey” is a very fine courtroom procedural in which a thirty-year-old murder cases is reopened because someone finally decides to use DNA identification technology to identify a drop of blood found near the victim’s body. Cavanagh was born and raised in Belfast.
And, finally, there is Arlene Hunt’s “Pure Game,” one of the three stories in the book’s “Brave New City” section. This is a hard-hitting story about dog fighting rings and those who inhabit that brutal world. At the risk of tipping the story’s hand, I have to say that it probably has the most satisfying ending of any in the collection. Author Hunt now lives in Dublin but, I am assuming, has ties to Belfast and Northern Ireland.
The remaining ten stories in the collection are by: Lucy Caldwell, Brian McGilloway, Ruth Dudley Edwards, Gerard Brennan, Glenn Patterson, Claire McGowan, Sam Millar, Eoin McNamee, Garbhan Downey, and Alex Barclay.
natcat's review
3.0
As with many short story collections, varyingly hit and miss - some of them didn't feel nearly grounded enough for a noir collection, when I always feel that in noir the location is almost a character in its own right, but some of them were very interesting. Worth the read, I'd say (also I acknowledge that short stories are not my favourite genre).
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