Asking For The Moon [Paperback]

It is more laden with humour than many of the novels, but that is mainly due to the capacity for some hilarious in-jokes which Hill includes.

"The Last National Service Man" is a more a comedy than a crime story. There are elements of crime, but imagining Dalziel (pronounced "Dee-ell") jogging up and down on the spot in army regalia is just side-splitting! It's a taut, well written story, and does have some great suspense in it at times. The solution is also quite clever, but a bit of a cop out, i feel.

"Pascoes ghost" is another good story, it is well plotted, with more than it's fair share of well drawn characters with interesting and varied motives. Here, the mystery is first class, enough, really, to support an almost full-length novel. The solution is satisfying, in typical Hill style. The climax is also very exciting.

"Dalziel's Ghost" is not so much a crime story, as just a story. It's very much a ponderance upon the characters of Dalziel and Pascoe (but to a lesser extent). There is little real mystery to it at all, but it is still intensely interesting, cleverly plotted, and has another great and somewhat amusing twist at the end!

"One Small Step" is perhaps the best in this collection, offering us a Hill's-eye look at what he thinks life may be like on the future, and the events which have caused the first murder on the moon. (As a crime-fiction concept, it is so original as to deserve a standing ovation.) Again, there are loads of in-jokes, but this time we are treated to a first class mystery story. This is another one which could well support a really cracking full-length novel. The solution is satisfyingly convoluted and multi-faceted, until you really realise what's going on (God forbid taht anyone should underestimate Dalziel! Pascoe should have known better!) Excellent.

All in all, if you like good short stories, give this a go. If you are a Dalziel and Pascoe fan, give this a go. (especially as it catalogues their first meeting.) If you like a good yarn, of any kind, give this a go. If you like good writing with great characters, give this a go.

Other than that, and the fact that short stories do not have the time to well develop a mystery plot (my own opinion), I enjoyed Hill's writing. He may not have the plot time in here, but he does develop the characters. Pascoe and Dalziel are a hilarious couple in many ways. Dalziel is an old British curmudgeon, who never ceases to surprise the reader and Pascoe.

The first three stories were pretty good, the last with a mystery based on the moon wasn't as well done. Part of it is trying to write what we expect the future to be like, and that is hard to do. If you base your expectations on science fiction writers like Wells, Verne, Orwell, etc. we are already behind on some things and ahead on others (establishment of space travel versus communications and information retrieval). I am not crazy about mixing the two genres (mystery and science fiction).

But Hill is a good writer. For those who run out of other stuff to read, this book is good enough for a glance...
Karen Sadler