Most helpful customer reviews
|
|
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good book, but too cruel, Feb 25 2003
I am a great fan of Tony Hillerman's, and I think this book is as well-written as his others. The plotting is good, the characters are well-drawn, and the world he creates seems accurate (I'm a former resident of the DC suburbs). My only problem with the book is that, at times, it becomes too cruel. There's not really any unnecessary violence, or excessive gore. But there are some painful moments.Even so, it's a Hillerman, which means that it has a solid plot and good character development. Not the best place to start reading the series, perhaps. But worth a look if you like Hillerman.
|
|
|
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mr. Leaphorn and Mr. Chee go to Washington, Jan 20 2003
This is the ninth -- and one of the best -- of the outstanding Navajo Detective series. Hillerman first wrote three books with detective Joe Leaphorn as the hero, then three more featuring Jim Chee, and now he has written three more with both Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee as characters. The first chapter of "Talking God" will hook you immediately. Unlike most Hillerman books, which take place in the broad horizons of the Navajo Reservation, "Talking God" has the slightly amusing spectacle of the two Navajo policeman wandering around Washington D.C. One of them (Leaphorn) is uncomfortably attired in a three piece suit and the other (Chee) wears cowboy boots, blue jeans, bolo tie, and leather jacket -- a bizarre apparition indeed among the paper warriors of the governing tribe. The novel features a look at Navajo ceremonials, a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the Smithsonian, some insights into the bones-and-stones argument between anthropologists and Indians, a villainous villain, lots of good old fashioned murder and mayhem, a bit of international intrigue, and a riproaring climax as the two Navajos solve the mystery while the FBI, as usual, stands around in a fog.
|
|
|
4.0 out of 5 stars
Don't Start Here (If You've Never Read Hillerman, That Is), Sep 11 2002
Hillerman has carved out his own niche in the American mystery genre, that of the Southwestern Navajo reservation, and it is one I return to again and again with the confidence of receiving pleasure and edification (Hillerman, not an American Indian himself, nevertheless qualifies as a world class expert on the ways and folklore of these people and he renders them beautifully and cogently for his readers). He is no literary mystery novelist on the order of a James Lee Burke or P.D. James or Joseph Hansen, but he is a more than solid storyteller who creates a world unlike that most of us have ever visited. He has his weaknesses - stilted dialogue and often one dimensional characterizations - but they are more than compensated for by Hillerman's uncanny sense of place and pace.With that said, let me warn you not to start with TALKING GOD if you have never read Hillerman, first of all because he uproots his famed protagonists Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee from their normal bailiwick and transplants them in Washington, D.C., as they attempt to unravel more than one mystery that all seem to lead back to Indian burial rituals and illegally unearthed remains and conflict with foreign governments. It's a good book, solid and compelling for the most part and it features a truly frightening villain, maybe Hillerman's best bad guy up to that point, but we miss the "Res" and the natural mystery of its landscape and the wonderful way Hillerman makes it come alive. So wait on this one and start with DANCE HALL OF THE DEAD or THE BLESSING WAY. TALKING GOD will come as a later treat once you have properly acquainted yourself with the mystery and magic of Hillerman's peculiar world.
|
|
|
Most recent customer reviews
|
by Tony Hillerman
by Tony Hillerman
