A review by otterno11
Seattle Noir by Lou Kemp, Simon Wood, G.M. Ford, Robert Lopresti, R. Barri Flowers, Curt Colbert, Patricia Harrington, Stephan Magcosta, Bharti Kirchner, Paul S. Piper, Thomas P. Hopp, Kathleen Alcalá, Skye Moody, Brian Thornton
2.0
I have probably spent more time in Seattle than any other city outside the Twin Cities, and I definitely regard it fondly and look forward to any chance to visit. While the Pacific Northwest shares some cultural traits with my home in the Upper Midwest, the coast and the mountains give it an entirely different feel. There is a grittiness along the steep, mist drenched streets of Seattle that can not be found in Minneapolis-St. Paul, though perhaps may be found a bit in Duluth. In any case, there is much material to draw upon along the shores of Puget Sound for noir tales, and I was looking forward to reading about the human drama found under the shadow of the gleaming white Space Needle and the distant snowy form of Mount Rainier.
Unfortunately, I found that this title in the Akashic Noir series had the weakest evocation of the setting of any of the series I’ve read so far. There was something lacking in a lot of the stories in this collection, sadly. The city of Seattle seems merely incidental in a majority of these tales, and for the most part, they seem to stick to tired, well worn noir cliches, with few surprises. Corrupt cops, homeless PIs, mysterious murders- nothing that really sticks out; even the 1940s and 1880s period pieces lacked much of a sense of place. There was also a rather unfortunate element of racism in a few of the stories as well, especially What Price Retribution? There were a few stories that stood out, though, in particular Paper Son (an interesting multicultural story set in the 1880s), Center of the Universe (a story highlighting Seattle’s quirky people), Wrong End of the Gun (which, while not drawing much from the setting had an interesting twist), and The Magnolia Bluff (which had some of the best characterization in the collection). The rest of the stories were, at best, okay. I’d recommend Portland Noir as the superior Akashic Noir title focusing on the Pacific Northwest.
Unfortunately, I found that this title in the Akashic Noir series had the weakest evocation of the setting of any of the series I’ve read so far. There was something lacking in a lot of the stories in this collection, sadly. The city of Seattle seems merely incidental in a majority of these tales, and for the most part, they seem to stick to tired, well worn noir cliches, with few surprises. Corrupt cops, homeless PIs, mysterious murders- nothing that really sticks out; even the 1940s and 1880s period pieces lacked much of a sense of place. There was also a rather unfortunate element of racism in a few of the stories as well, especially What Price Retribution? There were a few stories that stood out, though, in particular Paper Son (an interesting multicultural story set in the 1880s), Center of the Universe (a story highlighting Seattle’s quirky people), Wrong End of the Gun (which, while not drawing much from the setting had an interesting twist), and The Magnolia Bluff (which had some of the best characterization in the collection). The rest of the stories were, at best, okay. I’d recommend Portland Noir as the superior Akashic Noir title focusing on the Pacific Northwest.