“Declan Burke is his own genre. The Lammisters dazzles, beguiles and transcends. Virtuoso from start to finish.” – Eoin McNamee “This bourbon-smooth riot of jazz-age excess, high satire and Wodehouse flamboyance is a pitch-perfect bullseye of comic brilliance.” – Irish Independent Books of the Year 2019 “This rapid-fire novel deserves a place on any bookshelf that grants asylum to PG Wodehouse, Flann O’Brien or Kyril Bonfiglioli.” – Eoin Colfer, Guardian Best Books of the Year 2019 “The funniest book of the year.” – Sunday Independent “Declan Burke is one funny bastard. The Lammisters ... conducts a forensic analysis on the anatomy of a story.” – Liz Nugent “Burke’s exuberant prose takes centre stage … He plays with language like a jazz soloist stretching the boundaries of musical theory.” – Totally Dublin “A mega-meta smorgasbord of inventive language ... linguistic verve not just on every page but every line.Irish Times “Above all, The Lammisters gives the impression of a writer enjoying himself. And so, dear reader, should you.” – Sunday Times “A triumph of absurdity, which burlesques the literary canon from Shakespeare, Pope and Austen to Flann O’Brien … The Lammisters is very clever indeed.” – The Guardian

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

The Thick Plottens: Yep, 'Tis The Mid-Week Interweb Mash-Up Baloohaha Thingy

Good vibes from the Seattle Times, people - "The book's plot and pacing are rock-solid, but its tender characterizations — particularly the deepening relationship between Ryan and his brainy, tough female partner — are what set it apart," says Adam Woog of Tana French's In The Woods, while Declan Hughes' The Color of Blood "is a classic hard-boiled detective story, adding an Irish twist to the archetypal Chandler/ Macdonald style." Mmmm, lovely. Hughes also gets a big-up from Marilyn Stasio in the New York Times in a review we missed from last month, to wit: "The overheated theatrics are a proper fit for his tough-guy hero, whose stern moral code and haunted personal history lend credibility to Hughes’s recurring theme of 'the sins of the fathers." Peachy. Adrian McKinty's The Bloomsday Dead gets a mention too - "Bullets fly and Joycean literary references ricochet everywhere as Forsythe tries to get his bearings in a Belfast so politically stable and yet so redolent of the evil in its violent past that he can’t wait to get out of town" - as does Ken Bruen for Priest: "You can’t expect much in the way of conventional sleuthing from this tormented hero, but there’s music in his lament for the corruption of innocence and the loss of faith." Gorgeous. And while we're on the topic of Bruen, here's an interview in Village you might have missed from last year, in which he goes all wibbly-wobbly-wonder about the prospects for Irish crime fiction: "I think if the world survives another five or 10 years, crime fiction will be huge here in Ireland. It'll be the new chick lit, God forgive me." The boy Bruen in day-glo pink covers? Mmmmmkay ...

4 comments:

adrian mckinty said...

Dekkers,

Can I call you Dekkers? I can? What a fine fellow you are. I just want to thank you for all the mentions of Bloomsdsay Dead on the old blog. I really appreciate it. Next time I'm in the old country I owe you a pint or two, or next time you're in Colorado lemme know and I'll redeem here. Thanks again. Cheers mate,

adrian...

Declan Burke said...

Adrian -

It's a long way from 'Dekkers' I was raised ... I'll settle for Deckard, though ... If you're up for doing a Q&A, drop me a mail at the gmail address under my profile ... also, there's plans afoot for a Crime Writers Ireland, Ken Bruen's leading the charge ... let me know if you're interested. Cheers, Dec

Anonymous said...

Hey Dec (and Adrian and anyone else who cares to jump in) -

What NI-based crime fiction would you recommend? I know a horror writer or two from up North but (besides Colin Bateman) have read little crime. Is Eoin MacNamee any good when writing as John Creed? Are the Creed books even set in NI? Am I likely to get kneecapped if I stop on a Belfast street corner and ask the lads there if they know wheere I cane experience some crime?

Lemme know!

Declan Burke said...

Mick -

Kneecappings? Sure 'tis all comely maidens frolicking at the crossroads up North these days ... not that you'd know it from reading Garbahn Downey, Brian McGilloway, Sam Millar and 'Big' Adrian McKinty ... Seamus Smyth's originally a Belfast lad ... Eoin McNamee writes stonking thrillers when he's not masquerading as Creed ... and you could always try Brian Moore's Lies of Silence and The Colour of Blood ... oh, and Jack Holland qualifies under the grandparent-ish ruling ... Cheers, Dec