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From Publishers Weekly
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
The giant knelt down and watched the gull's beak open and close. Read the first page
Concordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Now, something was awake.",
By
This review is from: Bad Men: A Thriller (Hardcover)
John Connolly delivers an impressive thriller, which I found almost impossible to put down after jumping into its exquisitely elaborated plot. He switches back and forth between the past and the present with ease, demonstrating his skills. Dutch Island is situated at a one and a half hour ferry ride from Portland, and it has been the setting of mysterious and unsettling events throughout its history. This is the setting for the marvelous story presented by Connolly.In the late seventeenth century Indians consistently raided the various islands in the area outside of what is known today as Portland, pushing the white settlers away. But in 1691 thirty individuals arrived to Dutch Island, which at the time was also known as Sanctuary, and decided to give it a try. Bauer, one of the men that formed part of the group, was justly accused of attempting to rape another man's wife. When he asked his own wife for shelter against his pursuers she did not comply and he was captured. However, he was able to escape and he returned years later with renegade Indians as his "hired help" bringing mayhem to the village. After the horrible events that developed in the island, the ghosts of the dead were left behind to cohabitate with the living. Usually, they do not interact much with humans, but now something is growing, and some people in the island can feel it. Connolly creates interesting and well-developed characters, like the giant Joe Dupree, seven feet two inches and three hundred and sixty pounds, who is in charge of the police department in Dutch Island. He is courting Marianne, a woman who has some secrets in store, but he also has some secrets of his own. Moloch is sitting in jail awaiting his forced appearance before the Grand Jury, and knowing that when that happens he will be facing charges that deserve the capital punishment. When he sleeps, he has disturbing dreams, in which he leads a gang of renegade Indians into an island in search for his wife who had betrayed him. Finally, there are a couple of other characters that add flavor to the mix: Jack, a painter with little talent, but whose paintings evolve after he is done with them, and Richie, a twenty-five-year-old "kid" who has the ability to see unnatural events unfold. It is reinvigorating to find authors that besides creating exciting stories that keep you reading all night, possess the gift of writing. This is the case of John Connolly, who not only leads us towards the end of the story with a fast-paced plot full of suspense, but who also knows how to make us enjoy the ride to get there.
2.0 out of 5 stars
A Disappointing Waste of Talent,
By A Customer
This review is from: Bad Men: A Thriller (Hardcover)
Connolly is a marvelous writer, but this book is marred by the use of ghosts to move along the plot. It's a pleasure to read someone as gifted as Connolly in creating characters, describing place, and portraying genuine conversations. But when the story requires belief in ghosts I lose interest.Others have described the gore in the book, and that can be a turnoff for squimish readers. I can handle the blood--that's possible; I can't handle the supernatural--there is no such stuff. Too bad Connolly wasted his writing skills with a story that's only for the fantasy-minded.
5.0 out of 5 stars
BAD IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT,
By
This review is from: Bad Men: A Thriller (Hardcover)
John Connolly is emerging as one of the boldest, freshest and superior novelists of our time. BAD MEN is a brutal, gut-wrenching, mesmerizing, violent and excellently penned thriller. Connolly wastes no time in getting us introduced to the bad men of the title, and they are definitely BADDDDD!Edward Moloch lies in prison having dreams of a seventeenth century bloodbath on a remote island north of Maine. Moloch wants revenge on the wife who betrayed him and took off with almost a million dollars of his money. He recruits some really cold-blooded, despicable associates to help get his wife and his money. The wife has moved on to Sanctuary Island, the very island of Moloch's dreams. She has a new name for both her and her son, and she has fallen in love with the island's sheriff, Joe Dupree. Joe is an enormous man, considered a "giant" and maybe even a freak by the islanders, but he is a gentle, kind man, and despite his size, is respected and admired. A lot of corpses accompany the escaped Moloch and his crew as he slowly winds his way to the confrontation with his wife. Connolly creates a terrifying mood of suspense, and even adds the supernatural in that the slaughtered villagers from the 17th century are hanging around and thousands and thousands of moths, too! In less competent hands, this addition would be preposterous. In Connolly's, however, they only add to the sheer terror of this breathtaking thriller. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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