Avenging Angel

PLEASE NOTE: The prior 2-star review from Gemma "bookworm" is about the wrong book! That's about the western novel Avenging Angel, which this is certainly not. Taking place in a very grim near-future, this story about Jake Strait - a wise-cracking alcoholic ex-military bounty hunter - is very well written with snappy dialogue and an engrossing setting. When he is tricked into doing a political hit, finding out who and why has him stepping on some very important toes. Setting things right and living through it is going to be nearly impossible, but that doesn't stop him from trying.

I'll be quite honest, when I picked this book up I wasn't expecting much. I had an hour to kill before the bank opened, and I grabbed it at K Mart, which is not where I usually think I will find many decent books. And I was pleasantly surprised. The book originally published in 93 is a "not-too-distant-future" ala Shadowrun (but without the magic and that sort of thing). The protagonist, Jake Strait, is a "Private Enforcer" (also known as a Bogeyman), which is essentially an independent contractor providing servies as a hitman on subjects wanted by the government. Sort of a bounty hunter meets private detective, in a post-apocolyptic setting under a single world government. He is tough and witty, and has some excellent dialogue. It is as if someone melted Robert Crais's Elvis Cole and Joe Pike into a single character, and is done quite efficiently. The setting of the story, with the single political party, and the class systems in place, are that of fantasy, but are not unbeliveable. The world Rich has put together is part Blade Runner, part Soylent Green, part cyberpunk, and part Mad Max style, and is quite interesting. The thing that really caught my eye was the fact that the author, is actually a good writer. The way Frank Rich describes things from fist fights, to passionate lovemaking with such profound understanding of the human psyche and poetic style, really took me by surprise. He is so skilled that I am genuinely surprised he has not written more. I seriously recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Neo-Noir, Cyberpunk, Hard-Boiled detectives, or just sci-fi in general.

Frank Rich's debut novel of this resusitated series is much more than what me and my wife thought it would be. Much more. I don't know why we didn't catch this back in it's debut year, (sometime in the early 90's), the new revision is richer in cover design, something along the lines of Punisher-meets-Deathlands. Or Punisher-meets-Micky Spillane-in postholocaust world. It is truly unique and original. Frank Rich's prose sometimes was humorous, dark and gritty, but lyrical at times that would take these readers aback with surprise. Never dull with rich characterization and high-octane action/adventure, Jake Strait is a colorful character that grows as the novel progresses. Book #1 here starts out in the year 2031 where America has been taken over by a new regime called - The Party. This dark new world order is covert, attempting to shape the states to their own dark designs. Jake Stait is something between a detective and a mercenary, and much more. The kids are scared of him and call his kind bogeymen. He takes on eveything except for political jobs. But in this novel, Jake slowly becomes embroiled within a plot that twists and turns until the very end - and Jake unwittingly finds himself becoming a leader of a resistance group. If you like your novels filled with action and intrigue, mixed with various rich characters and a dark mystery, then this fantastic newly-arisen series is for you. My wife and I are new fans of this wonderful author, and look very much forward to Book #2: The Devil Knocks coming in April.

Marlowe on amphetamines. The entire series is consistantly good and quite addictive. The action never lets up and the flippant repartee is a pleasure to read. Buy one and you'll buy them all. One rarely sees this combination of gunplay and intelligence.

With his first published novel, Rich gives us his mercenary view of the future. Darkly creative. Imaginative and round characters. Effective plot. Booze. Rich's now almost-standard slinky seductress with a bullet size conscious. Magnesium heart. A Bad for you woman and imminently desireable. Plot suitably dynamic. Character driven. The action, based no doubt on Rich's stint as a US Army Ranger and veteran of that hellbroth, Grenada, bursts across the pages like tracer fire into a pitiless darkness. Overall, a seething work of force that will force you to ponder the future relationship between man and machine . . . and slinky femmes fatales wielding hearts of heavy metal.