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Title: Carlucci by Richard Paul Russo ISBN: 0441010547 Publisher: Ace Books Pub. Date: 02 September, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4
Rating: 4
Summary: Think "Blade Runner" without violence or flying cars
Comment: As much as I want to give this omnibus 5 stars, I just can't. I've seen what Russo can do when he's at the top of his game (just pick up a copy of "Ship of Fools" and you'll get what I mean) and the three books that comprise this volume don't quite cut it.
This does not mean that "Carlucci" ain't worth the read. Far from it. Russo does a wonderful job sidestepping most all of the red-herrings and cliches that normally clutter the cyberpunk genre. Sure, there are a few here. Good cops going up against shadowy corporations. Police officers driven to alcoholism and suicide by the things they see on a daily basis. Etc...
Russo's 21st San Francisco occupies such a vivid world, generates such intense interest in the reader, that idiotic chase scenes, useless gunplay and overly graphic violence are all unnecessary. The intrigue, the characters, and the story are all that's needed. Russo delivers.
As I said before, "Carlucci" does not compare to Russo's masterwork, "Ship of Fools". Whereas "Ship of Fools" took on themes of spirituality, alienation and love (not to mention a decent dose of horror) and ran with them, the books collected in "Carlucci" are straightforward detective novels set in the future.
I have one complaint. The major character of the first "Carlucci" book, "Destroying Angel", is NOT Frank Carlucci, but Louis Tanner, a burnt-out ex-cop who trafficks in illegal medicine. I liked Tanner. Alot. I felt a little cheated when the later books, "Carlucci's Edge" and "Carlucci's Heart" eschewed the Tanner character entirely. While Carlucci is interesting, he's a cop anti-stereotype. He's still married. Loves his family. Doesn't drink or smoke to excess and isn't given to violence as a way to solve his issues. In short, the man has some principles. Its a nice idea, but it makes everything seem a little less than dangerous.
Despite that, "Carlucci" is still a compelling read.
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Title: Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle, Vol. 1) by Neal Stephenson ISBN: 0380977427 Publisher: William Morrow Pub. Date: 23 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: Ship of Fools by Richard Paul Russo ISBN: 0441007988 Publisher: Ace Books Pub. Date: 09 January, 2001 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan ISBN: 0345457684 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 04 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Budayeen Nights by George Alec Effinger, Barbara Hambly ISBN: 1930846193 Publisher: Golden Gryphon Pr Pub. Date: September, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Nobody's Fool (Vintage Contemporaries) by Richard Russo ISBN: 0679753338 Publisher: Vintage Books Pub. Date: October, 1994 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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