by Patrick Ogle
Until recently I didn't often read books in long series. Sure, the odd trilogy but ongoing series? Not so much. Enter the most recent Slow Horses book, Clown Town by Mick Herron.
I am officially hooked on this series. I bought all the previous books but this one I grabbed at the Chicago Public Library. No reason for that, I just recently signed up for a library card.
I have read all nine Slow Horses books, the novellas and one of the three related stand alone books (The Secret Hours--a favorite).
Ive at least LIKED all the books and LOVED most of them. There is something interesting about the basic plot device of the "Slow Horses" being screw ups the service is trying to shed; this hems in possible plot lines. They cannot be sent out on secret missions. They cannot be in Russia or the developing world. Why would you send screw ups there?
Herron is often compared to John Le Carre and that makes sense given genre and nationality. Yet, I don't remember any Le Carre books being as funny as Herron. I remember most of them being dead serious. And Le Carre doesn't write about screw ups. Sure, there are incompetents in his books but not THIS level of incompetent.
So these books, getting near double digits in the series, seem to have similar plots. Bad guys who are ex spies,be they English, Russian or American, pop up and threaten the gang. Yet the similarities remain just that, similarities. Each book is different and takes a slightly different tone (to me anyway). Herron manages to throw in twists and moments where you stop reading and think "Holy SHIT." As it goes on and we find out more and more about the characters. He adds layers and makes them real to us. Just when you think you know what each is capable of they change.
And none of that is out of the blue. It is part of their development.
Every time I finish one of these books I think --"Dammit, now I am going to have to wait for the next one."
Until recently I didn't often read books in long series. Sure, the odd trilogy but ongoing series? Not so much. Enter the most recent Slow Horses book, Clown Town by Mick Herron.
I am officially hooked on this series. I bought all the previous books but this one I grabbed at the Chicago Public Library. No reason for that, I just recently signed up for a library card.
I have read all nine Slow Horses books, the novellas and one of the three related stand alone books (The Secret Hours--a favorite).
Ive at least LIKED all the books and LOVED most of them. There is something interesting about the basic plot device of the "Slow Horses" being screw ups the service is trying to shed; this hems in possible plot lines. They cannot be sent out on secret missions. They cannot be in Russia or the developing world. Why would you send screw ups there?
Herron is often compared to John Le Carre and that makes sense given genre and nationality. Yet, I don't remember any Le Carre books being as funny as Herron. I remember most of them being dead serious. And Le Carre doesn't write about screw ups. Sure, there are incompetents in his books but not THIS level of incompetent.
So these books, getting near double digits in the series, seem to have similar plots. Bad guys who are ex spies,be they English, Russian or American, pop up and threaten the gang. Yet the similarities remain just that, similarities. Each book is different and takes a slightly different tone (to me anyway). Herron manages to throw in twists and moments where you stop reading and think "Holy SHIT." As it goes on and we find out more and more about the characters. He adds layers and makes them real to us. Just when you think you know what each is capable of they change.
And none of that is out of the blue. It is part of their development.
Every time I finish one of these books I think --"Dammit, now I am going to have to wait for the next one."
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