- Paperback: 309 pages
- Publisher: Poltroon Press (May 15 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0918395186
- ISBN-13: 978-0918395184
- Product Dimensions: 18.6 x 12.4 x 2.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 322 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,302,084 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Penzler Pick, June 2000: Here's a first novel that pays homage to Hammett, Chandler, and every wisecracking PI in the genre, and then some. It also introduces one of the most delightful characters to come along in some time: August Riordan, a jazz bass-playing PI who is cynical, irreverent, and a laugh a minute. Mark Coggins slyly references his mentors--Riordan is superstitious about the clock in front of Samuel's Jewelers, and he eats at John's Grill. Although mystery buffs will find these references throughout the story, readers who do not pick up on them will not come away feeling cheated. The setting here is present-day San Francisco and the very modern world of Silicon Valley, where software theft has replaced "the stuff that dreams are made of."
The aptly named Edwin Bishop, a multimillionaire entrepreneur, has developed advanced chess software able to make decisions while playing human opponents, unlike the usual software that tends to follow set moves. Bishop himself is a highly intelligent, arrogant man who lives his eccentric life in his mansion with several paid female companions. He is unaware that his software has been stolen until he stumbles across a vendor demonstrating his game at a trade show. Enter Riordan, who must negotiate his way through the world of high technology, jazz, and the underground arena of S/M as he searches for the missing software. His sometime partner in this venture is Chris Duckworth, who works part-time for Bishop's competitor, and who, in his spare time, works as a transvestite at the Stigmata bar. The characters in this charming, fresh, and entertaining mystery are fully fleshed; the dialogue is fast, compelling, and witty; and the grainy photographs that accompany each chapter opening add a pleasing dimension to this delightful first outing. --Otto Penzler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
...pleasing [and] the jazz gigs ... provide an especially nice addition ... Welcome, August Riordan, to the pantheon of private detectives. -- The Davis Enterprise
Reminiscent of golden age detective novels, this book is a true gem. -- Deadly Pleasures Magazine
Smart, stylish, sexy and amusingly insouciant...a true find, a well-written and sophisticated addition to the heralded San Francisco private-detective story. -- The San Francisco Chronicle
The appearance of an excellent book by an unknown author from a tiny press is a treasured publishing dream... -- San Francisco Chronicle
This is a superb new take on a classic mystery form. -- Detroit Free Press
Reminiscent of golden age detective novels, this book is a true gem. -- Deadly Pleasures Magazine
Smart, stylish, sexy and amusingly insouciant...a true find, a well-written and sophisticated addition to the heralded San Francisco private-detective story. -- The San Francisco Chronicle
The appearance of an excellent book by an unknown author from a tiny press is a treasured publishing dream... -- San Francisco Chronicle
This is a superb new take on a classic mystery form. -- Detroit Free Press
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
First-Rate Detective Story,
This review is from: The Immortal Game (Paperback)
Mark Coggins's "Immortal Game" is a fast-paced, easy-to-read detective novel. The protagonist is August Riordan, a sarcastic private detective who moonlights as a string base player for local jazz ensembles. Riordan is commissioned by a software entrepeneur, Edwin Bishop, to track down and retrieve a virtual reality chess program which Bishop believes was stolen by his former mistress. Riordan bumbles the case, is fired and proceeds to stumble upon clue after clue in true Columbo-like fashion. There is a lot in this novel to hold the reader's interest. There are jokes, puns and allusions to classic detective fiction. There are intriguing portrayals of San Francisco culture and equally-intriguing, strategically-placed photographs of San Francisco architecture, neighborhoods, and landmarks throughout the novel. The excerpts on the back cover of the book bill it as a chess mystery. If you are looking for a good chess novel, don't give up on this book. The chess symbolism and chess theme wasn't obvious to me for the first two-thirds of the book. At some point in the final third, I realized that I needed to look up the Anderssen-Kieseritzky match, the 'Immortal Game' of the title. The plot and final resolution of the mystery does somewhat mirror the moves in this famous game. This made this novel all the more engaging. You can find this game, as well as a move-by-move analysis, in Martin Beheim's "Chess with the Masters". If you enjoyed this novel, you might enjoy another work of chess fiction concerning the Andersson-Kieseritzky game, Poul Anderson's short story, "The Immortal Game." This book contains one or two fairly explicit descriptions of a sado-masochistic relationship. Some readers may find these passages distasteful. Otherwise, this is an enjoyable, carefully-crafted mystery.
4.0 out of 5 stars
A New Detective Joins San Francisco's Best,
By Sandman (Burlingame, CA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Immortal Game (Paperback)
Mark Coggins is a writer to look forward to. He evokes a San Francisco reminiscent of Raymond Chandler. Despite being set in a modern day, Silicon Valley-contemporary environment, Coggins manages to cast a fustiness over the sunny San Francisco cityscape he depicts in word and photograph. His frequently sexually contorted characters stand up well. In the case of his main character, private detective August Riordan, and his part time sidekick (also part time transvestite), Chris Duckworth, you hope to see them again in a future novel. The technology theft of a chess game and the subsequent trail of murders in interesting circumstances and locations is challenging enough to keep us guessing and reading. Mark Coggins has done his own photography for the book. Each chapter starts with a photo related to the action or locale of the chapter's action, adding greatly to the sense of place, and to the texture of the story. The Immortal Game is a gritty story. It is one of those books can't put down, hate to finish, and are left wondering what the main charaters are doing today.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent mystery!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Immortal Game (Hardcover)
This book, while reminiscent of Chandler and other great mysteries, is packed with wit and intelligence, not to mention light descriptions of S&M and one very sexy character. The photographs are beautifully matched to Coggins' pen and the story is anything but boring with great twists and a push to hurry to the finish. Highly recommended and looking forward to the next one!
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