Oathtaker.com
Friend and follow Patricia Reding
  • Home
  • Patricia's Blog and Interviews
  • Patricia's Reviews of Other Works

I Guess I'm Just "Old School"

6/2/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
* * * * 

The author provided me with a copy of The Sound of Sirens in exchange for my fair and honest review.

I must say that I had some difficulty in determining how to “rate” this read in terms of stars. The story moves along and was well thought through, but I had one issue with it that I just couldn’t let go. Specifically, that was the author’s common use of incomplete sentences, which made the reading a bit difficult for me.

There seems to be a current trend, a fad almost, to write in a style I find somewhat akin to (for lack of a better description) “stream of consciousness.” I know the traditional description of this form means that the writing itself is often just a stream of words, likely even lacking punctuation—which is not the case here. But, I find the author’s style similar in that the work draws the reader to follow the narrator’s “thoughts.” This style does work—particularly for a story told from a single perspective and in first person. It gets the reader right into the action, allowing him (or her) to follow along with the character’s internal musings. It can even set a mood, which I must admit, it did do in the opening scene of The Sound of Sirens. Even so, I find the style a bit . . . frustrating, as I long for the complete sentence. Further, this style, on occasion, shifted the scene in The Sound of Sirens rather suddenly from one viewpoint to another.

All that said, I did not find myself floundering around, trying to determine what was happening, as is often the case when things are written in cryptic little spasms. (Consider: “Moonless night, dry too, a hint of June balminess in the air.”  “Pulled back into the shop doorway, took a drag on the fag.” “Didn’t speak.” “Took out the handgun.” “Gleamed in the moonlight.” These are just a few examples and they all come from the first page/scene of this read.) As I said, I always knew what was happening. I just found my reading halted at every semi-sentence. It is as though there is a little signal in my head somewhere that flashes “Error! Error!” whenever I read things in this style. I guess I’m old school . . .  (longing, as I said, for the complete sentence). Having said that, I repeat: the author never left me wondering what was happening.

The Sound of Sirens is a story that includes a vast array of well drawn characters, including Walter Darritreau, the lead investigator; Luke Flowers, a contract killer; Gerry Swaythling, a wealthy man whose son had been Luke Flowers’s intended hit; Langley Wells, a loan shark; and many more. The cast included both heroes and villains, all of which were well drawn. The characters were varied and interesting. I also appreciated the manner in which Carter spoke of a murder that some might dub an “honor killing.”

I did find Inspector Walter Darritreau’s resolution of the case a bit odd in that he used information theretofore unknown to the reader—or at least to this reader. (Did I miss something?). Had some of the details been scattered about throughout the story at earlier times, Darritreau’s summation would have been even more fulfilling for me, as I would either have surmised some of the details myself, or I would have chastised myself for having missed them! Thus, in some ways, the summation seemed a bit too convenient.

All in all, The Sound of Sirens engaged me. I rooted for the good guys and was rightfully irritated by the bad guys. For me, one good way to determine how to “rate” a work is to consider whether I would read more by this author. When considering the story in that light, I would have to say that I most definitely would read more from David Carter. Thus, I have attached to this read, a four-star rating.



Also posted on GoodReads, BookLikes and Amazon.com, added to two review groups on Google+ and to my Facebook page, tweeted and cover pinned.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Patricia Reding

    Posted here are a number of Patricia's reviews of the works of others.

    Archives

    November 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013

    Picture
    Those reviews posted here that Patricia did for Readers Favorite are identified as such. No review of less than 4-stars for any Readers' Favorite review is posted here or elsewhere.

    Those works reviewed for NetGalley are identified accordingly.

    Categories

    All

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.