Jack London in Paradise

Malmont gives us another historically rich adventure after his first runaway hit "The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril." In this second effort, Malmont digs into his characters - particularly Jack London, a writer we know best through his novels, but about whom I personally knew little about. London apparently spent a lot of time in Hawaii and the novel unfolds in this unique natural setting - many of my favorite passages brought out the inherent mystique that these islands hold for anyone who has been lucky enough to visit them. It's particularly nice to see Malmont growing into a more mature writer as his comfort with delving into his characters becomes evident. I'm personally attracted to novels with active plots as well as moments of introspection from the characters and Malmont seems to be carving out territory for himself in this regard. I'm looking forward to seeing what Malmont writes next.

Parts adventure, history, romance, mystery, drama, and travelogue, 'Jack London in Paradise' is a beautiful and sweeping novel. Malmont has cleverly constructed his work of fiction, drawing us in by slowly revealing his larger-than-life characters' intricate motivations through a backdrop of action and exotic locales. We become immersed in the their triumphs and tragedies, which are considerable to say the least. The richness of Malmont's historical detail and cinematic storytelling is irresistible and unforgettable.

Paul Malmont's first book, The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril, was a throwback pulp romp filled with pulse-quickening adventure and an unlikely history lesson on early genre writers. With his new book, Malmont shifts gears and gives us a beautifully written fictional account of the last days of Jack London, a writer who has long been hard to pin-down by critics. We begin by looking through the eyes of Jack's associate, a womanizing film mogul who's hit the wall. The second part of the book shifts to concentrate on Jack and his relationships with his wife as well as his adopted locale and culture, Hawaii. Malmont's account of the relationship between Jack and his wife is nuanced and complicated and I think stands out as the strong point in a very good story. The settings and descriptions of Jack's take on Hawaii and its people are absolutely haunting. I found myself caught up in this man's world well beyond what I expected when I picked up the book for a quick read. Anyone who wants to get into the head of one of America's arguably greatest and definitely most controversial writers should pick this book up.

If you were a fan of The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril then there's a lot to love here as well. At it's core both novels transcend their pulp trappings and become literature in their own right by virtue of their explorations of masculine American myth-making. There's also an attractive self-awareness and post-modern "meta" element in that each novel is a writer writing about writers. Jack London in Paradise is an open love-letter to one of America's first literary giants (warts and all), the birth of Hollywood (warts and all), and perhaps surprisingly Hawaii (truth and fiction) as well. Malmont's skill as a visual writer is apparent throughout the book whether he's describing gorgeous vistas, people changed by success and failure, or deeply romantic scenes intersecting nautical chaos and the flicker of film. This is cinema on the page. Read it. Watch it.