db pool is full
After having read most of Crais up through Voodo,I was
critical of Crais' ability to build a sense of place. Now,
having pushed on through Sunset Express and into L.A.
Requiem, I see definite improvement. The enlargement of his
crime world into the prison and legal systems in SE makes him
more realistic, less dependent on the big shootout for
effect. The inclusion of the media mirroring gives more of a
feel of LA as a postmodern landscape, and provides another
arena of thrust and counterthrust.
The wisecracking, for its own sake, seems to recede as he
enlarges his scope. On the other hand, the felt engagement
with certain characters--the "heart" element--has increased.
Mort is finally mourned, in a way, in Monkey, and there are
deaths that matter in other novels as well. Recently, Elvis
in love isn't Elvis the mouth so much--perhaps because some
people matter more now.
Haven't noticed comment on Crais' women characters. Much as I
couldn't believe the transformation of Ellen, I liked what he
was doing with Ellen and Janet in Monkey's Raincoat, and
later the wife of the cop in Free Fall. The teenager in
Stalking the Angel was right on too, I thought. Pulling
someone out of the path of wrong choices, attempted recovery,
seems to blend well with the other more violent activities of
Elvis and Pike.
Overall, I see an author growing in stature through the
series, and am trying to anticipate the changes others have
noted in LA Requiem.
Bill Hagen
billha@ionet.net
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