Crooked Little Vein: A Novel (P.S.) | List Price: $13.95
Discount Price: $7.36
|
Binding: Paperback
Release Date: 2008-07-22
A good setup, but just not well executed [Posted on 2008-10-11]
I read Ellis's "Transmetropolitan" back in college and genuinely enjoyed it. Looking back now, I probably was attracted to the art style and the setting more than the writing. "Crooked Little Vein" is in the same vein as "Transmetropolitan", and while I typically like dark conspiracy novels, this one just felt predictable and cliche.
The book's exposition and plot setup are actually very enjoyable. The whole "alternative constitution of the United States" setup was a good hook and I applaud it for being original. Once the novel gets moving, it feels just like a chain of events that aren't particularly interesting or funny. I suppose (and the afterward confirms) that Ellis was looking for edgy Internet material to populate the book with, only the fetish content doesn't really shock. It feels more annoying than offensive. I think the only reason I kept reading was to see if the protagonist actually finds the alternative constitution.
I suppose there's some good things to say about this novel, however. It moves at a rapid pace and was a very quick read. I attribute this to short chapters and heavy use of dialogue to keep the scenes moving along. Also Ellis makes an implicit statement about the use of technology and collaboration as an impact in media. I found it to be one of the more interesting points of the entire book.
I still found myself really wanting to like this book. It wasn't the profanity that put me off (it's not hard to find far more profane literature), but more of the constant reminder from Ellis that says "Hey, this is profane and dirty material! Look at how angry this could make people!" Ugh. If he eased back on this I might have thrown an extra star in and put this review on the positive side.
Fun but shallow [Posted on 2008-11-17]
Ellis is best known as a writer of comics, and the comic series this novel is most similar to is FELL, which is also a parade of (real!) varieties of perversity that Ellis has encountered in his research. Here, the absurd cardboard characters and episodic, fairground-ride plot which simply carries the passive detective and his improbable girlfriend from freak-show to freak-show will eventually weary the reader.
It's readable and enjoyable, but you'll be left feeling that you've been "had" in many more ways than one.
Crook [Posted on 2008-12-04]
Warren Ellis is a crook. He stole my precious time with his Crooked Little Vein. I can see what he was trying to accomplish; however, he fell way short. He had a lot of ideas...not necessarily good ideas, but ideas all the same...and I just don't like the whole "cut and paste" assembly of them. This may be my first exposure to his work, but I get where he was going. He just didn't get there. Is this review very broad? Yes. Is this book not very good? More yes. And I do mean, "more yes."
Disappointing but should have expected it [Posted on 2008-12-29]
The problem I had with this novel is the same problem I've had with other comic book writers who do novels. I think because Ellis is used to having a partner actually draw what everything looks like, he doesn't really know how to effectively describe in words what I'm supposed to be imagining. I'm told, for example, that the love interest is good looking continuously, but through most of the book I have no idea what she actually looks like because I've either forgotten the short description (and there are no reminder details) or she never really had an adequate description in the first place. Same with the other shocking stuff that happens, I'm told what is going on but I have difficulty really visualizing what I'm supposed to be seeing.
I had the same problem I've had with Gaiman's work. Don't get me wrong, Ellis did good with other elements of a story -- dialogue, plot, situations, etc., and he shares some interesting (if simplistic) insights, but I think this book would have been better if Ellis had an experienced co-writer patching in the gaps. After all, the book was really short and the plot could have handled an extra 50 pages.
So it's worth reading if you like Ellis's other work, and if adapted into a comic it could be really good. Worth a single read.
People are missing the point [Posted on 2009-01-07]
I just read Crooked Little Vein and I absolutely loved this book. Some reviewers are complaining that the mystery part of the book is not very involved. The people who feel that way are missing the point of the book. The whole "finding the book" part of the plot is nothing more than excuse for the reader to be taken on a tour of America, and the perverse underbelly of the country that is far more mainstream than we would like to admit. The acts on display in this novel are not bizarre fabrications. they are out there, they are real, they are probably happening as you read this review. So stop reading the review, start reading the book, and get taken on the most disturbing and fascinating tour of American society that you will ever experience.
Crooked Little Vein: A Novel (P.S.)
Click here for more details and discount information...
|
){kind=link}