Professor Crider writes:
>The Kakonis pseudonym, I think, is Adam Barrow,
and
>at least one title is FLAWLESS, which sounds like it
might be a serial
>killer novel, all right.
I am not familiar with Kakonis, but I am - to my eternal
regret - familiar with "Adam Barrow" and FLAWLESS. A few
years ago, I was sent the book for review. (I believe it was
the first of the "Barrow" books, of which there have been
blessedly few.)
In the 50 or so pages I managed to endure, the author proved
once and for all that truly sophomoric and amateurish prose
can indeed find a publisher, that it is still possible to
find an editor stupid enough to confuse puerile attempts to
shock with grittiness, and that contempt for the intelligence
of one's readership never really goes out of style. FLAWLESS
was one of the most truly awful books I have ever begun to
read. One of those things makes you feel like taking a shower
after each chapter. It's easy to see why the author chose to
cloak his identity.
Normally, I give review copies I don't want to keep to a
nearby ALF. FLAWLESS was one of only two that I have tossed
in the trash in the last 10 years or so. I didn't want the
karma that would come with inflicting it on someone else.
PB
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