The Cormorant by Chuck Wendig
Aug. 20th, 2014 09:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Miriam Black has gone off the map.
Miriam is on the road again, having transitioned from “thief” to “killer”.
Hired by a wealthy businessman, she heads down to Florida to practice the one thing she’s good at, but in her vision she sees him die by another’s hand and on the wall written in blood is a message just for Miriam.
She’s expected …
It’s a year after MOCKINGBIRD. Miriam had planned going to Florida with Albert but somehow they kept getting distracted and she ended up in Philadelphia, living with three men she saved from a crazed Santa Claus with a poisoning fetish. There she’s been getting to grips with the nature of her curse, which is handy because a wealthy businessman has an offer for her – if she’ll come down to the Florida Keys and tell him how he’s going to die, he’ll give her $5,000. But when she does so, she sees him murdered by someone who leaves her a message.
Miriam’s past is catching up with her – both the death visions she’s seen and those she’s changed – and with the Trespasser her only ally, there’s no guarantee she’ll make it out alive …
The third in Chuck Wendig’s MIRIAM BLACK SERIES is another hard-boiled, foul-mouthed noir affair that neatly brings in some of the loose ends left from the earlier books and provides an interesting set up for the concluding volume. Whether you like this series really turns on your attitude to Miriam, a foul-mouthed, self-destructive and at times completely infuriating woman who doesn’t know what she wants or where she’s going. I love the fact that she’s not perfect (and doesn’t care) just as I like the fact that she’s also made some attempts to make herself a better person (but only on her own terms). Louis doesn’t appear in this book but I didn’t miss him and it’s made up for both with the appearance of Miriam’s mother and the depiction of their relationship and the arrival of a figure from Miriam’s past. I would nit pick some of the violence in the book – notably Miriam’s incredible ability to take beating after beating without long term affects – but ultimately, it’s a dark and violent delight that kept me turning the pages from beginning to end and I will definitely check out the next book.
The novel’s well constructed with Miriam recounting events to two FBI agents. Miriam’s back and forth with the agents and the slow reveal of their respective agendas is really well done (although I did figure out one twist early on). I also liked the recurring theme of collateral damage and the effect this is wrecking on Miriam psychologically.
All in all it’s a tightly written page-turner and I look forward to the conclusion.
The Verdict:
The third in Chuck Wendig’s MIRIAM BLACK SERIES is another hard-boiled, foul-mouthed noir affair that neatly brings in some of the loose ends left from the earlier books and provides an interesting set up for the concluding volume. Whether you like this series really turns on your attitude to Miriam, a foul-mouthed, self-destructive and at times completely infuriating woman who doesn’t know what she wants or where she’s going. I love the fact that she’s not perfect (and doesn’t care) just as I like the fact that she’s also made some attempts to make herself a better person (but only on her own terms). Louis doesn’t appear in this book but I didn’t miss him and it’s made up for both with the appearance of Miriam’s mother and the depiction of their relationship and the arrival of a figure from Miriam’s past. I would nit pick some of the violence in the book – notably Miriam’s incredible ability to take beating after beating without long term affects – but ultimately, it’s a dark and violent delight that kept me turning the pages from beginning to end and I will definitely check out the next book.
Miriam is on the road again, having transitioned from “thief” to “killer”.
Hired by a wealthy businessman, she heads down to Florida to practice the one thing she’s good at, but in her vision she sees him die by another’s hand and on the wall written in blood is a message just for Miriam.
She’s expected …
It’s a year after MOCKINGBIRD. Miriam had planned going to Florida with Albert but somehow they kept getting distracted and she ended up in Philadelphia, living with three men she saved from a crazed Santa Claus with a poisoning fetish. There she’s been getting to grips with the nature of her curse, which is handy because a wealthy businessman has an offer for her – if she’ll come down to the Florida Keys and tell him how he’s going to die, he’ll give her $5,000. But when she does so, she sees him murdered by someone who leaves her a message.
Miriam’s past is catching up with her – both the death visions she’s seen and those she’s changed – and with the Trespasser her only ally, there’s no guarantee she’ll make it out alive …
The third in Chuck Wendig’s MIRIAM BLACK SERIES is another hard-boiled, foul-mouthed noir affair that neatly brings in some of the loose ends left from the earlier books and provides an interesting set up for the concluding volume. Whether you like this series really turns on your attitude to Miriam, a foul-mouthed, self-destructive and at times completely infuriating woman who doesn’t know what she wants or where she’s going. I love the fact that she’s not perfect (and doesn’t care) just as I like the fact that she’s also made some attempts to make herself a better person (but only on her own terms). Louis doesn’t appear in this book but I didn’t miss him and it’s made up for both with the appearance of Miriam’s mother and the depiction of their relationship and the arrival of a figure from Miriam’s past. I would nit pick some of the violence in the book – notably Miriam’s incredible ability to take beating after beating without long term affects – but ultimately, it’s a dark and violent delight that kept me turning the pages from beginning to end and I will definitely check out the next book.
The novel’s well constructed with Miriam recounting events to two FBI agents. Miriam’s back and forth with the agents and the slow reveal of their respective agendas is really well done (although I did figure out one twist early on). I also liked the recurring theme of collateral damage and the effect this is wrecking on Miriam psychologically.
All in all it’s a tightly written page-turner and I look forward to the conclusion.
The Verdict:
The third in Chuck Wendig’s MIRIAM BLACK SERIES is another hard-boiled, foul-mouthed noir affair that neatly brings in some of the loose ends left from the earlier books and provides an interesting set up for the concluding volume. Whether you like this series really turns on your attitude to Miriam, a foul-mouthed, self-destructive and at times completely infuriating woman who doesn’t know what she wants or where she’s going. I love the fact that she’s not perfect (and doesn’t care) just as I like the fact that she’s also made some attempts to make herself a better person (but only on her own terms). Louis doesn’t appear in this book but I didn’t miss him and it’s made up for both with the appearance of Miriam’s mother and the depiction of their relationship and the arrival of a figure from Miriam’s past. I would nit pick some of the violence in the book – notably Miriam’s incredible ability to take beating after beating without long term affects – but ultimately, it’s a dark and violent delight that kept me turning the pages from beginning to end and I will definitely check out the next book.
