A review by antonism
Bitter Gold Hearts by Glen Cook
3.0
3.5 / 5
Bitter Gold Hearts is the 2nd novel in the Garrett PI series by Glen Cook. In many respects, it follows the path taken by the first novel in the series and thus it is quite similar. We still have our protagonist, Garrett the detective who is a typical witty hard-boiled crime-noir type character. He is as cliched as you can imagine but this is exactly what one expects and wants from such a story. The cast in this novel is big and varied and the plot threads keep tangling almost until the very end.
I enjoyed reading this book quite a lot but still I have some minor gripes that I should mentioned to justify the grade. The writing style was similar to the first but something was off. I can't quite put my finger exactly on what that is but the best way I can describe it is that it was a bit uneven in style and mood. Sometimes if felt uninspired, other times it felt forced. Still, there was quite a load of quote-worthy passages!
Another minor gripe is that the plot felt unnecessary complicated at times.
And finally, something that made me cut another half-point and I'm worried that it might be something of a trend in this series, is the way women are presented and contextualized throughout the book. It's like they are either bad, mean, capable of every evil thing or incapable of anything and always with some sexual tension surrounding them. And mark my words, if in his next book he keeps describing, mentioning or presenting teenage girls as the peak of sexual desire, I'm gonna drop that book that instant.
But, apart from these little complains this book is a lot of fun, especially for someone wanting an interesting detective crime-noir novel with a fantasy sprinkling. Recommended!
3.5 / 5
Bitter Gold Hearts is the 2nd novel in the Garrett PI series by Glen Cook. In many respects, it follows the path taken by the first novel in the series and thus it is quite similar. We still have our protagonist, Garrett the detective who is a typical witty hard-boiled crime-noir type character. He is as cliched as you can imagine but this is exactly what one expects and wants from such a story. The cast in this novel is big and varied and the plot threads keep tangling almost until the very end.
I enjoyed reading this book quite a lot but still I have some minor gripes that I should mentioned to justify the grade. The writing style was similar to the first but something was off. I can't quite put my finger exactly on what that is but the best way I can describe it is that it was a bit uneven in style and mood. Sometimes if felt uninspired, other times it felt forced. Still, there was quite a load of quote-worthy passages!
Another minor gripe is that the plot felt unnecessary complicated at times.
And finally, something that made me cut another half-point and I'm worried that it might be something of a trend in this series, is the way women are presented and contextualized throughout the book. It's like they are either bad, mean, capable of every evil thing or incapable of anything and always with some sexual tension surrounding them. And mark my words, if in his next book he keeps describing, mentioning or presenting teenage girls as the peak of sexual desire, I'm gonna drop that book that instant.
But, apart from these little complains this book is a lot of fun, especially for someone wanting an interesting detective crime-noir novel with a fantasy sprinkling. Recommended!
3.5 / 5