John Connolly

Aidric

I see RTE are kicking off their Arts Lives series tonight (10.15) with a feature on John Connolly. What are peoples opioions on him as a writer? Although I'm a fan of crime and thriller writing I haven't as yet read any of his work. He has received a lot of acclaim for his work so I'm assuming he is some way decent.
I picked up his debut novel 'Every Dead Thing' this afternoon so I'll probably get stuck in to it over the weekend.

Big Nasty

I've been reading and following him since about 2001. I'm a big fan of the whole crime gig but he includes a certain amount of 'other worldliness' to his work. Sometimes it can get a little strange but his work is extremely well researched, touches on many varying subjects and feelings, is funny, scary and somber all at once.

Really looking forward to this programme!

Eliot Rosewater

I've never actually read any of his books, and I probably wont because the genre doesn't interest me, but I found the documentary very good. It was put together well, especially the sourcing of so many different people to interview and the numerous selections from his works.

It was interesting to see the amount of research he puts into his books, traveling to Maine, talking to ex-cops and visiting prisons etc. The best tactic, I would assume, for the genre.

tHE vAGGABOND

his best work was in the E+L supplement back in the day

tyler71

I haven't read any of his crime stuff, but 'The Book of Lost Things' is an interesting read - sort of a slightly dark fairy tale type -more for teenagers but I liked it.

emeraldstar

tyler71 wrote: »

I haven't read any of his crime stuff, but 'The Book of Lost Things' is an interesting read - sort of a slightly dark fairy tale type -more for teenagers but I liked it.

Didn't think much of 'The Book of Lost Things' to be honest, but I found 'The Gates', though written more for kids, to be far better.

Hrududu

I'm not the biggest Crime fan so I've not read any of those. But I loved The Book of Lost Things.

It will be interesting to see if he sticks with his crime series or if he'll continue to branch out. From the documentary he seemed to prefer working on his non crime stuff.

Aidric

MCMLXXV wrote: »

I'm a big fan of the whole crime gig but he includes a certain amount of 'other worldliness' to his work.

He seemed to be keenly aware of this in the interviews for the programme. He offers it up as the reason why his books split so many critics. Straying outside of genre is frowned upon by some it seems.

Eliot Rosewater wrote: »

I found the documentary very good. It was put together well, especially the sourcing of so many different people to interview and the numerous selections from his works.

Agreed. I thought as a programme it was well constructed and rounded. He came across well in it and it gave a good insight in to his writing process.

Heckler

He's a great writer. I like the fact that he doesn't feel any obligation to Ireland in his writing. If you didn't know he was Irish you would swear he was a born american. (By his writing i mean) I like this about him. Too many irish writers/playwrights/artists etc. feel they have to relate their craft to the 'ol Sod which results in the usual paddywackery, overdone oirish cliche.

Well done John. Charlie Parker is an interesting and enduring character, one of the best I've read. He'll stand the test of time. Please don't option the rights for film !!

Decuc500

I think John Connolly is a fantastic writer. It's nice to see an Irish writer producing 'literary crime' novels at a similar standard to people like James Lee Burke or Dennis Lehane.

Yearning4Stormy

Damn! Note to self: check out the Lit forum more often, I missed this show!

Heckler wrote: »

He's a great writer. I like the fact that he doesn't feel any obligation to Ireland in his writing. If you didn't know he was Irish you would swear he was a born american.

Heckler, I hope I haven't taken your quote out of context, but I completely agree - no, you woudn't know he was Irish - not that there's anything wrong with that!

Anyhow, Parker is an incredibly engaging recurring character (and how I love recurring story lines and characters, even in a tangential way)... along the lines of Connelly's Bosch or Crais's Cole/Pike.

Connolly should not be discounted as a (non-American) modern American crime/thriller writer.

MickShamrock

Good writer. Have enjoyed reading a few of his books.

Eoin

Aidric wrote: »

I picked up his debut novel 'Every Dead Thing' this afternoon so I'll probably get stuck in to it over the weekend.

That's my favourite one. I like the thrillers with a genuinely flawed hero as opposed to the supermen / saints like Alex Cross and Jack Reacher.

MCMLXXV wrote:

I'm a big fan of the whole crime gig but he includes a certain amount of 'other worldliness' to his work.

What I like about the way he does it, is that often any supernatural element is just hinted at.

Heckler wrote:

I like the fact that he doesn't feel any obligation to Ireland in his writing. If you didn't know he was Irish you would swear he was a born american.

I know what you mean. I read one thriller by an Irish author. It was about an Irish-American Doctor or something, and the author constantly made totally unnecessary Irish references.

bullpost

He also does a thing where he's released soundtracks on CD to accompany his books and these come free .
I've picked up two so far and they contain lots of great music.

r3nu4l

I've read most of his stuff but have yet to read 'The book of lost things'. I love the Charlie Parker novels. 'Bad Men' was the first of his books I read and I was hooked from then. I think of his work as being almost like 'Stephen King meets Michael Connelly!'

annR

I've enjoyed his books very much - mostly because of the whole good vs evil discussion in them. Found the documentary very interesting - he's obviously a very anti establishment/authoritarian type of person, I thought that came across very strongly.

r3nu4l

Dammit, I was hoping the 'Arts Lives' documentary show would be on the RTÉ International player, it isn't

NeoRox

Have had the pleasure of reading all of his novels. Love the crime/supernatural tint on them.

Big Nasty

Just finished 'The Whisperes' - his best effort yet IMO!

dezzyd

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Just finished 'The Whisperes' - his best effort yet IMO!

I thought I had read all of his books but don't recognise this title. When did that come out MCMLXXV?
"Dark Hollow" was a great read also

Big Nasty

dezzyd wrote: »

I thought I had read all of his books but don't recognise this title. When did that come out MCMLXXV?
"Dark Hollow" was a great read also

Only quite recently - http://www.johnconnollybooks.com/novels-whisperers.php

Sl!mCharles

I read one of his a while ago, The Black Angel I think it was called, remember thinking it was particurlarly good

dezzyd

Sl!mCharles wrote: »

I read one of his a while ago, The Black Angel I think it was called, remember thinking it was particurlarly good

Go and get his very first book "every dead thing" - great read!

Robbyn

Heckler wrote: »

He's a great writer. I like the fact that he doesn't feel any obligation to Ireland in his writing. If you didn't know he was Irish you would swear he was a born american. (By his writing i mean) I like this about him. Too many irish writers/playwrights/artists etc. feel they have to relate their craft to the 'ol Sod which results in the usual paddywackery, overdone oirish cliche.

I couldn't agree more, I've read his book, "the reapers" and found it very entertaining and I'm not a fan of the genre, I'll definitely read more.

thebullkf

i like his stuff,read it all incl.. The Whisperer's....
i love Angel/Louis and 'Bird'...


but...







he shamelessly ripped off SK on more than one occasion...


to the point of plagiarism imo.


none more so than

'Every Dead Thing'

Old Black woman..


swamp....


drawn to her...



Mother Abigail anyone??????.

other than that ithink his writing is getting better.


one of the few Irish Authors i read.

thebullkf

dezzyd wrote: »

Go and get his very first book "every dead thing" - great read!

^^^^^^

neveah

I absolutely love the Charlie Parker books, such a tragic hero but he rocks all the same!:D I also prefer a more human/flawed main character than one who is a superhuman! I love the supernatural undertones running through the books, it makes Charlie's character unique and as you read on in the books Charlie starts to embrace and find comfort with his abilities to seek out the supernatural. There is always a good crime/thriller story still at the heart of the books so the supernatural never takes over but it gives the books that little bit of edge I think and I like that.

I was having a bad day recently and I saw 'The Whisperers' in Tesco, it lifted me when I saw it and I felt very happy and excited!! Does anyone else get that feeling when a book from their fave author comes out? Needless to say I bought it straight away and read it right through for the next couple of days, i wasn't disappointed! Great read, already looking forward to the next one

phelixoflaherty

Floggin the same dead horse. Writes his books like he wants them to be turned into blockbuster films. The first few were good but change the record

Illkillya

I read up as far as the Black Angel and a few of the spin-off books, really liked them at first but was disappointed by the time it got to Black Angel. Too many old ideas rehashed and Charlie Parker books seemed too formulaic. I heard the following one (The Unquiet?) was an improvement but I have not read the newer ones. I like the other-worldliness when it is subtle, and the fallen angel theme was great, but he really beat it to death spelling things out.

I like the research he does, he often introduces interesting little pockets of history (the prison in Charlestown, Nazis and the ossuary in Czech republic, etc.). He was a journalist and makes a big effort to get his facts straight. Fans of the crime fiction genre can be demanding when it comes to technical details relating to forensics and the like. He used to get some flak because he didn't fully understand ballistics enough but all that has probably improved over time.

Regarding his disassociation with Ireland in his books, many people make an issue of this but I think it's hardly worth mentioning; he can set it anywhere he wants as long as he knows the place well enough to capture the atmosphere. Adapting the style of an American writer is essential to match the setting, but I often got the impression that he tries too hard and sometimes it actually sounds like somebody trying to sound like an American writer.

"Charlie pulled his 1979 Chevrolet station wagon into the gas station. Hell, it was hot damnit. He ate an old twinkie that he found in the glove compartment and paused to tie his Timberland boots, whistling a <middle of the road country western song that was originally sung by someone like Hank Williams but less famous, smells of tobacco and your father used to have his tapes>."

I do also think he borrows too much from Stephen King, sometimes it even feels like a tribute.

Overall, I like John Connolly as a writer, he is sometimes excellent and sometimes frustrating. I've got the impression from interviews that he is genuinely worried about losing his job as a writer and feels pressured to the point that he must churn out more of the same as opposed to doing something special. Every Dead Thing felt very much like a "first novel" in that had a lot of big ideas and interesting hooks like he poured everything he had into it so I think that's the best one even if it's not as well written as some of the others.

grohlisagod

There is a very strong King influence on his work alright. My favourite was Every Dead Thing. The opening is one of most chilling things I have ever read. Read all the Charlie Parker books except Bad Men and The Whisperers. On my list of books to read. They are all excellent. One piece of advice would be to read them in sequence as he refers to his past a lot in the novels. I think the sequence is:

Every Dead Thing
Dark Hollow
The Killing Kind
White Road
Bad Men
The Unquiet
The Reapers
The Whisperers
The Lovers.

annR

It's

Every Dead Thing
Dark Hollow
The Killing Kind
White Road
The Black Angel
The Unquiet
The Reapers
The Lovers
The Whisperers

Bad men is not a Charlie Parker book.

Honey-ec

I have to say, I've read all of Connolly's books and all bar three of King's, and I don't see any similarity between the two other than the Maine setting, and even that's tenuous at best, seeing as Connolly sticks almost exclusively to the coast. Oh, and the supernatural bent, but if that's a cause to shout plagiarism, you can lump every author in the genre into the boat. And I really have to disagree with thebullkf's comments. There's been threads in this forum before about "The Mystic Negro" as a device in writing, but I just can't see any equation between Mother Abigail and the bayou lady (whose name escapes me right now, if we were ever told it) in ETD other than their race and age.

Yes, some of Connolly's works are superior to others. That's an occupational hazard when you publish more than five or so books. Does it mean he's lost his mojo/should give up the ghost/is writing by numbers? Not until he has at least three howlers in a row, imo, which he has yet to do.

I like the guy. I like his writing, and I like his attitude to the genre snobs. As he said in that programme, some critics seemed to be genuinely offended at the fact that his books even exist. To paraphrase the man himself, you'd swear he'd sat down on their chests, forcibly read the books to them and then demanded fifteen quid for the pleasure. If you don't like them, don't read them, it's as simple as that.

Mars Bar

I really like Connolly's books. There has been numerous times where I'm squirming in the bed at his vivid descriptions and the horrors inflicted on some victims.

wow sierra

I think he is a brilliant writer. The books create a real atmosphere of fear - I have had to put them down on occasion and go back to them- and the plots and characters are really interesting as they are revealed. But the main thing that I love is the quality of the actual language in them, and the meticulous research. Some of the occult type stuff is a bit over the top for me - but it doesn't take away from my enjoyment.

I have only read about 4 or 5 of them (and in the wrong order:)) - I must get around to reading a few more.

yeppydeppy

I'm going out on a limb here as no one else has said this but I think his books are shíte. OK, so I've only read two of them but neither of them I liked. The plots were kinda thin (or false or something not quite right), the characterisations were poor and unbelievable and I don't go for the whole otherworld / ghosts / spirits crap. There are obvioulsy written with a film script in mind.
Maybe it's just not the genre for me? Either way I'll be avoiding his novels in future - sorry John.

RuggieBear

yeppydeppy wrote: »

I'm going out on a limb here as no one else has said this but I think his books are shíte. OK, so I've only read two of them but neither of them I liked. The plots were kinda thin (or false or something not quite right), the characterisations were poor and unbelievable and I don't go for the whole otherworld / ghosts / spirits crap. There are obvioulsy written with a film script in mind.
Maybe it's just not the genre for me? Either way I'll be avoiding his novels in future - sorry John.

which two?

I've read all of his books and the initial three or four "Parker books" are far superior to his later efforts. I've probably reread Every Dead Thing, Dark Hollow, The Killing Kind and White Road half a dozen times and love them.

Unfortunately, i'm beginning to think he is a little tired of Parker and is just being forced to shell stuff out by his publisher.

Just finished the last one (burning soul) and it was poor tbh.

yeppydeppy

The Black Angle and White Road - I may have listened to one of the others on CD (in the car) but I'm not sure.

r3nu4l

Each to their own yeppydeppy. I tried very hard to like certain authors before simply because they were consistent best sellers, only to give up in the end. If they're not for you, then that's fine. Move on to the authors or genres you do like

Personally, I do like the 'supernatural' elements as I'm a big fan of crime fiction but this adds something a bit different.

Bad Men was the first of his books I read (not a Charlie Parker novel) and I was hooked from there. That said, I haven't read any of his more recent books because I just have too many other authors and books I want to read.

Chinafoot

I've read all of his stuff except the latest. I loved "Book of Lost Things" and I really enjoyed the Parker series with the exception of "The Whisperers". I don't know what it was about that one but it felt a bit...half-hearted. I agree with ruggiebear, I think he's bored of Parker. His stand alone stuff is great so hopefully he'll focus more on that.

The supernatural element was a big draw for me. I've read a lot of crime writers and they can all become rather formulaic. The supernatural side of Connolly's work always made him stand our for me.

Killme00

RuggieBear wrote: »

I've read all of his books and the initial three or four "Parker books" are far superior to his later efforts. I've probably reread Every Dead Thing, Dark Hollow, The Killing Kind and White Road half a dozen times and love them.

I really love these four books and reread them regularly myself. The standard of his books seems to go downhill from there culminating in the terrible "Burning Soul" recently. He seems to have lost his edge.