Hard as Nails (Hardcover)

Things don't start well for Joe Kurtz in HARD AS NAILS although when you consider that he is shot in the head, I suppose you could say that the fact that he survived suggests he was actually lucky. Anyway, the wound he receives and the resultant headache are used time and again throughout the story to emphasize just how tough he is. Joe Kurtz is the kind of character who makes you feel tired just reading about him at the best of times, but Simmons puts him through such extreme pain that by the end I was completely exhausted.

The force driving Kurtz forward is his desire to find out who shot him and why. With almost manic determination he begins his hunt, but getting in his way is not one but two mafia dons, past adversaries Angelina Farino Ferrara and Toma Gonzaga. Both of them have had reason in the past to attempt to have Kurtz killed but this time they have sought him out to ask him to help them with a problem.

Their problem is that someone is killing their junkie customers and dealers and then phoning with the details of the location as confirmation. The mafia is then stepping in and cleaning up the killer's mess, afraid that word will get out and the customers will be scared off. They want Kurtz to identify the killer for them so they can rid themselves of this threat to their profitability. It's a highly improbable premise, as is the suggestion that the best solution that 2 mafia families can come up with is a man who has been a thorn in their sides for years.

A couple of interesting minor characters are introduced in the course of the investigation. Firstly, Joe is reunited with an old flame and now a police officer, Rigby King. She provides the first glimmer of romance in the series and also evokes the first indication of some sort of human emotion out of Kurtz. She also provides him with a partner (of sorts) during his investigation - someone he can talk to and bounce ideas off of. Up until this book, he has been the ultimate loner, living by the creed of looking out for number one at all times. Secondly, we meet the killer. Known to us as The Dodger we're made privy to a few of his executions and the thoughts going through his head before, during and after he carries them out. It is clear that he's a heartless, soulless killing machine who is frighteningly efficient at his job. We know he's working for a master, but we don't know who that is, providing us with the number 1 mystery of the book.

The story charges ahead at breakneck speed building from an action-packed opening to an outrageous battle towards the end. I got the impression that Dan Simmons tried to jam every thriller plot device he could think of into the book and, while it succeeds in providing a very entertaining thriller, I thought it lost the edgy dangerous appeal that had been built so effectively in the first two books of the series.

While Dan Simmons has moved the Joe Kurtz series away from the bleak, desperate tone that shrouded the first two books and has opted for a more high-octane thriller with HARD AS NAILS, I'm a sucker for fast-paced thrillers and this book is certainly that in my opinion. It's exciting, it's suspenseful and Kurtz is still one of the meanest, toughest guys ever to have graced the pages of a hardboiled novel.

The Joe Kurtz series is a wonderful idea, and I enjoyed the first 2 books in the series a lot.

However, with 'Hard as Nails', Simmons stumbles. I found quite a few plot holes and grammatical errors as I read the book, which I normally overlook, or (quite honestly) tend not to notice. However, when Simmons refers to the character Rigby King as "Ridley" at one point, I have to say I was a little concerned with my favorite author. Perhaps he rushed the book or perhaps he didn't have a good editor.

Nonetheless there were a couple of points where his narrative contradicted what happened previously. It dragged me back to reality, and spoiled the book for me.

Also, SPOILER ALERT, if you read the 2nd book in the Kurtz series, there is a very similar resolution at the end of the novel. Kurtz' ass is saved by the exact same character who saved him in book 2. Repetition of plot resolutions do not amuse me!

It felt forced, and even though it does not technically qualify, it felt like a Deus Ex Machina.

I love Simmons and will read everything he writes. I just wish this book were better. As it stands, though, a middling Simmons novel is still better than most anything else!

in keeping with Simmons' style, I refuse to proof-read my email, so let the typos fly, baby!

-newfers