The Thicket by Joe R. Lansdale

(hb; 2013)

From the inside flap

“Jack Parker thought he’d already seen his fair share of tragedy. His grandmother was killed in a farm accident when he was barely five years old. His parent have just succumbed to the smallpox epidemic sweeping turn-of-the-century East Texas─orphaning him and his younger sister, Lula.

“Then catastrophe strikes on the way to their uncle’s farm, when a traveling group of bank-robbing bandits murder Jack’s grandfather and kidnap his sister. With no elders left for miles, Jack must grow up fast─and enlist a band of heroes like the which has never been seen─if his sister stands any chance of survival. But the best he can come up with is Shorty, a charismatic, bounty-hunting dwarf; Eustace, the grave-digging son of an ex-slave; and Jimmie Sue, a street-smart-for-hire who’s come into some very intimate knowledge about the bandits (and a few members of Jack’s extended family to boot).

“In the throes of being civilized, East Texas is still a wild, feral place. Oil wells spurt liquid money from the ground. But as Jack’s about to find out, blood and redemption rule supreme.”

Review

Thicket is an excellent, timely mix of revenge thriller and western, an often-grim work of brutal violence balanced with humor (often with quip-filled exchanges) and well-placed instances of cautious empathy. Its key characters’ pasts and other aspects are effectively established and reader-involving, without slowing up the pace of this terse, dire mission (to rescue Jack’s sister, Lula, from a trio of sadistic villains, Fatty, Cutthroat and N***er Pete).

Thicket is not a novel for those who are especially sensitive about murder, rape (not explicitly shown, but emotionally recounted), torture, brief instances of animal cruelty, racism, and other human-born horrors. Anyone else who enjoys a masterful and especially nasty-twist thriller may find this burn-through book a more-than-worthwhile read.

#

A film version of this is supposedly forthcoming. IMDb lists the following information (as of December 18, 2019).

Elliott Lester is set to direct, from a screenplay Chris Kelley.

Charlie Plummer plays Jack Parker. Peter Dinklage plays Reginald Jones. Sophia Lillis is attached to the project as well as Noomi Rapace.

Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith

(hb; 2008: first novel in the Agent Leo Demidov trilogy)

From the inside flap:

"Stalin's Soviet Union strives to be a paradise for its workers, providing for all of their needs. One of its fundamental pillars is that its citizens live free from the fear of ordinary crime and criminals.

"But in this society, millions do live in fear. . . of the State. Death is a whisper away. The mere suspicion of ideological disloyalty -- owning a book from the decadent West, the wrong word at the wrong time -- sends millions of innocents into the Gulags or to their executions. Defending the system from its citizens is the MGB, the State Security Force. And no MGB officer is more courageous, conscientious or idealistic than Leo Demidov.

"A war hero with a beautiful wife, Leo lives in relative luxury in Moscow, even providing a decent apartment for his parents. His only ambition has been to serve his country. For this greater good, he has been arrested and interrogated.

"Then the impossible happens. A different kind of criminal -- a murderer -- is on the loose, killing at will. At the same time, Leo finds himself demoted and denounced by his enemies, his world turned upside down and every belief he's ever held shattered. The only way to save his life and the lives of his family is to uncover this criminal. But in a society that is officially paradise, it's a crime against the State to suggest that a murderer -- much less a serial killer -- is in their midst."

Review:

Child is an excellent and thrilling novel, with relatable characters (who are realistic in their mix of darkness and light), its historic and Russian milieu, as well as its fictionalized/time transposed use of real-life child murderer Andrei Chikatilo. Not only that, there is romance in this harsh tale, which is sometimes tender (often at unexpected moments).

Great read, this -- followed by The Secret Speech.

#

The resulting film is scheduled for April 17, 2015 stateside release. Daniel Espinosa directed the film, from a screenplay by Richard Price.

Tom Hardy played Leo Demidov. Noomi Rapace played Raisa Demidov. Fares Fares played Alexei Andreyev. Jason Clarke played Anatoly Tarasovich Brodsky. Gary Oldman played General Mikhail Nesterov. Tara Fitzgerald played Inessa Nesterov.

Vincent Cassel played Major Kuzmin. Joel Kinnaman played Vasili. Paddy Considine played Vladimir Malevich. Charles Dance played Major Grachev. Vlastina Svátková played "Rostov Parent #1".

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

(hb; 2007, 2009: third book in the Millennium series. Translated from the Swedish by Reg Keeland.)

From the inside flap:

"Lisbeth Salander -- the heart of Larsson's two previous novels -- lies in critical condition, a bullet wound to her head, in the intensive care unit of a Swedish city hospital. She's fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she'll be taken back to Stockholm to stand trial for three murders. With the help of her frind, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, she will not only have to prove her innocence, but also identify and denounce those in authority who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to suffer abuse and violence. And, on her own, she will plot revenge -- against the man who tried to kill her, and the corrupt government institutions that very nearly destroyed her life.

"Once upon a time, she was a victim. Now Salander is fighting back."


Review:

Hornet's Nest sports all the charms of its two predecessors: intriguing characters, (mostly) fleet-footed plot and action, and life-true character-based twists.

Where Hornet's Nest differs from its prequels is that the pace slows down midway through the novel, when the history and internecinic political manueverings of the "Zalachenko Club" are given full expression. While this is necessary, up to a point, to logically link the characters and their motives, it does run a bit deep and long; during this chapter I thought I was reading a John le Carré novel, not a Stieg Larsson novel.

This doesn't ruin Hornet's Nest, but it does provide a short pause in the action.

The ending echoes those of Dragon Tattoo and Played With Fire while satisfactorily wrapping up the events and characters of Larsson's amazing trilogy.

Worth owning, like the first two Millennium books.

#

A Swedish film version was released in Denmark and Sweden on November 27, 2009. A stateside release date of October 29, 2010 has been announced.

Michael Nyqvist played Michael Blomkvist. Noomi Rapace played Lisbeth Salander. Lena Endre played Erika Berger. Annika Halin played Annika Giannini.

Jacob Ericksson played Christer Malm. Sofia Ledarp played Malin Erikson. Tomas Köhler resumed his role of Plague (from The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo).

Michalis Koutsogiannakis played Dragan Armanskij. Mirja Turestedt played Monica Figuerola. Johan Kylén played Inspector Jan Bublanski. Tanja Lorentzon played Sonja Modig. An uncredited Per Oscarsson played Holger Palmgren. Tehilla Blad played "Young Lisbeth Salander".

Georgi Staykov played Alexander Zalachenko. Micke Spreitz, billed as Mikael Spreitz, played Ronald Niedermann. Niklas Falk played Edklinth. Hans Alfredson played Evert Gullberg. Lennart Hjulström played Fredrik Clinton.

Anders Ahlbom (billed as Anders Ahlbom Rosendahl) played Dr. Peter Teleborian. Magnus Krepper played Hans Faste. Niklas Hjulström played "Richard Ekström - Prosecutor".

Daniel Alfredson directed the film, from a script by Jonas Frykberg and Ulf Ryberg.

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

(hb; 2006, 2009: second book in the Millennium series. Translated from the Swedish by Reg Keeland.)

From the inside flap:

"Mikael Blomkvist, crusading journalist and publisher of the magazine Millennium, has decided to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation between Eastern Europe and Sweden, implicating well-known and highly placed members of Swedish society, business and government.

"But he has no idea just how explosive the story will be, until, on the eve of publication, the two investigative reporters are murdered. And even more shocking for Blomkvist: the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to Lisbeth Salander -- the troubled, wise-beyond-her-years genius hacker who came to his aid in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, and who now becomes the focus and fierce heart of The Girl Who Played With Fire.

"As Blomkvist, alone in his belief in Salander's innocence, plunges into an investigation of the slayings, Salander herself is drawn into a murderous hunt in which she is the prey, and which compels her to revisit her dark past in an effort to settle with it once and for all."


Review:

Played With Fire picks up a year after the events of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

A worthwhile sequel, this:  Played With Fire capitalizes on the many strengths of its prequel -- intriguing characters, fleet-footed plot and action, life-true character-based twists, and an ending that left this reader wanting more, now!

Not only that, but Larsson's first Dragon Tattoo sequel maintains the fresh plot-structural feel of the first book: both are non-formulaic (but familiar enough to be bestsellers) and character-true.

This, too, is worth purchasing.

Followed by The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest.

#

A Swedish film version of The Girl Who Played With Fire was released in Denmark and Sweden on September 18, 2009. The film graced stateside screens on October 13, 2010.

Michael Nyqvist played Michael Blomkvist. Noomi Rapace played Lisbeth Salander. Lena Endre played Erika Berger. Michalis Koutsogiannakis played Dragan Armanskij. Jacob Ericksson played Christer Malm.

Peter Andersson played "The Lawyer Nils Bjurnson". Per Oscarsson played Holger Palmgren. Yasmine Garbi played Miriam Wu. Paolo Roberto played himself.

Johan Kylén played Inspector Jan Bublanski. Tanja Lorentzon played Sonja Modig. Magnus Krepper played Hans Faste. Anders Ahlbom (billed as Anders Ahlbom Rosendahl) played Dr. Peter Teleborian. Niklas Hjulström played "Richard Ekström - Prosecutor".

Micke Spreitz, billed as Mikael Spreitz, played Ronald Niedermann. Georgi Staykov played Alexander Zalachenko.

Tehilla Blad played "Young Lisbeth Salander". Sofia Ledarp played Malin Erikson.

Daniel Alfredson directed the film, from a script by Jonas Frykberg.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

(hb; 2005, 2008: first book in the Millennium series. Translated from the Swedish by Reg Keeland.)

From the inside flap:

"A[n]. . . amalgam of murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue.

"It's about the disappearance forty years ago of Harriet Vanger, a young scion of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden. . . and about her octogenarian uncle, determined to know the truth about what he believes was her murder.

"It's about Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently at the wrong end of a libel case, hired to get to the bottom of Harriet's disappearance. . . and about Lisbeth Salander, a twenty-four-year-old pierced and tattooed genius hacker possessed of the hard-earned wisdom of someone twice her age -- and a terrifying capacity for ruthlessness to go with it -- who assists Blomkvist with the investigation. This unlikely team discovers a vein of nearly unfathomable iniquity running through the Vanger family, astonishing corruption in the highest echelons of Swedish industrialism -- and an unexpected connection between themselves. . ."


Review:

This is one of the best dark-family-history/conspiracy novels I've read in a long while.

Dragon Tattoo was unputdownable -- though I reluctantly did so, for social and writing schedule necessities.

The characters, the plot layers, reveals and twists (all skillfully interwoven) are often surprising, intelligent, relatable and reader-hooking, with an ending that left this reader aching for more.

Worth owning, this.

Followed by The Girl Who Played With Fire.

#

A Swedish film version of Dragon Tattoo was released in Denmark and Sweden on February 27, 2009. The film got a "wide" stateside release on March 19, 2010.

Michael Nyqvist played Michael Blomkvist. Noomi Rapace played Lisbeth Salander. Lena Endre played Erika Berger. Michalis Koutsogiannakis played Dragan Armanskij. Jacob Ericksson played Christer Malm.

Ingvar Hirdwall played Dirch Frode. Sven-Bertil Taube played Henrik Vanger.

Marika Lagercrantz played Cecilia Vanger. Peter Haber played Martin Vanger. Ewa Fröling played Harriet Vanger. Gösta Bredefeldt played Harald Vanger. Gunnel Lindblom played Isabella Vanger. Willie Andréason played Birger Vanger. Julia Sporre played "Young Harriet Vanger". An uncredited Linn Björland played "Young Anita Vanger".

Peter Andersson played "The Lawyer Nils Bjurnson". David Dencik played Janne Dahlman. Tomas Köhler played "Plague". Tehila Blad (billed as Teilla Blad) played "Young Lisbeth Salander".

Björn Granath played Gustav Morrell. Sofia Ledarp played Malin Erikson.

Niels Arden Oplev directed the film, from a script by Nicolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg.

#

An American remake was released stateside on December 21, 2011.

Rooney Mara played Lisbeth Salander. Daniel Craig played Mikael Bloomkvist. Robin Wright played Erika Berger. Joel Kinnaman played Christer Malm.

Stellan Skarsgård played Martin Vanger. Embeth Davidtz played Annika Vanger. Christopher Plummer played Henrik Vanger. Joely Richardson played Anita Vanger. Julian Sands played "Young Henrik Vanger". Geraldine James played Cecilia Vanger.

Goran Visnjic played Dragan Armansky. Steven Berkoff played Dirch Frode. Elodie Yung played Miriam Wu. Yorick van Wageningen played Nils Bjurman.

David Fincher directed the film, from a screenplay by Steven Zaillian.