A Wee Review - Tower by Ken Bruen and Reed Farrel Coleman

I’ve read Walking the Perfect Square by Reed Farrel Coleman and a number of novels by Ken Bruen this year. When I heard that these two accomplished writers were collaborating on a novel I was excited. But to be honest, I was a little dubious too. Their styles are so completely different that I couldn’t visualise a way to package them together in a neat little novel that would do both writers the justice they deserve. No doubt I wasn’t the only person to hold this opinion, and I’m sure others with louder voices than mine were quick to voice it. But I have to say, I’m glad Ken Bruen and Reed Farrel Coleman decided not to listen to anybody but each other (and at a later date Allan Guthrie as editor) on this one.

TOWER is a collaboration novel in a much different mould than the trilogy Ken Bruen wrote with Jason Starr, now available from Hard Case Crime. With the HCC novels, the style is constant and you’d be hard pressed to figure out which writer delivered which line. And that’s cool, because in my opinion, that works. BUT the approach Ken Bruen took with Reed Farrel Coleman, though different, also works. You could almost say it’s two novellas that retell the same story in two different POVs, but that doesn’t do any justice to the efforts of either writer here. This short, sharp heartbreaker was years in the making, and it shows.

TOWER tells the tale of Nick and Todd, two childhood buddies from the tough streets of Brooklyn whose forays into crime drive a wedge between them. In their adulthood, they each take a different path that crosses over until they eventually meet one last time for an explosive conclusion to their journeys. And along the way, that word that raises the bile and strikes fear into the New York criminal underbelly – rat – throws everything they’ve ever known or thought about each other into disarray.

Nick’s perspective is written by Bruen and Todd’s by Farrel Coleman. There is a distinction in voice and style, but the writers make this work as a distinction in the characters’ inner dialogues and all-round make-up. The genius in this collaboration lies in the things that each writer hasn’t implicitly said, but that the reader is more than able to glean from the subtext and by cross-referencing the thoughts of the two protagonists. I’m lucky to have read this one ahead of its release date.

If you want a flat, plot-driven piece of s—s—summer reading, then this isn’t the book for you. And in any case, it’s not released by Busted Flush Press until September. However, if you want a read that’ll make you feel like you’ve had your heart scooped out (in a good way, like); you better get your hands on TOWER.

For the New York Readers

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Ken Bruen’s Writing Evolution

I received Tower by Ken Bruen and Reed Farrel Coleman recently (courtesy of Busted Flush Press). Since then, I’ve been thinking... I’ve read a fair number of Ken Bruen novels this year, both new and old, and I’ve found it a very interesting experience.

Thanks to Busted Flush Press you can read some of Bruen’s earliest work in a collection of novellas and short stories they’ve released titled A Fifth of Bruen. I read the opening piece in the collection not long after reading The Guards. Funeral: Tales of Irish Morbidities, as pointed out in the introduction by Allan Guthrie, is not a crime story, but the protagonist is almost an early version of Jack Taylor. Drunk, surly and difficult to get on with, but with a soul that springs deepest sympathy at the most surprising moments. And even with a cluttered mind like mine, you’ll spot a scene that has made its way into both texts. Some people might think of this as recycling. I prefer to think of it in fanboy terms -- like the books share a little overlap in the space-time continuum or something. Both Jack Taylor and Dillon, the protagonist from Funeral, visit a sick wino on his deathbed bearing the gift of socks. It’s a nice scene, brimming with righteous indignation and grief, and it adds a lot to the multidimensional characters from each story.

Another book that can be linked to The Guards via this space-time continuum thing is Dispatching Baudelaire. Mike Shaw, the turbulent accountant who provides the narrative for Dispatching Baudelaire, hints at a rocky relationship with his mother. Just like Jack Taylor. And both characters blame their mothers for the early death of their fathers. And both of their fathers had ten identical suits... Dispatching Baudelaire is a very different book than The Guards. The former is of a quirky American Psycho or Dexter mould whereas the latter is a hard-as-nails PI tale. But the little snippet of back-story works equally well in both novels.

Jack Taylor may be Bruen’s most popular character, but I think his genesis is an interesting one. If you haven’t read his early work, I’d say it’s definitely worth seeking out. It’s not too hard to find. Just look here. As well as the nerdy rush to be had at spotting space-time continuum overlaps (or recycled scenes), the reader will find that Bruen’s idiosyncratic way with prose has been constant (though refined) throughout the years. And let’s face it, the speed most of his fans burn through one of his novels? It’s good to know there’s a little more out there to keep you going until his next release.

An Interview - Reed Farrel Coleman

Brooklyn born and bred, Reed Farrel Coleman is the former Executive Vice President of Mystery Writers of America. He’s published ten novels—eight under his own name and two as Tony Spinosa—in three series. His eleventh novel Tower, co-written with Ken Bruen, is due for release in September 09. Reed’s won the Shamus(twice), the Barry, and Anthony Awards. His been twice nominated for the Edgar Award as well. He was the editor of Hardboiled Brooklyn. His short stories and essays appear in Wall Street Noir, The Darker Mask, Brooklyn Noir 3, and many other publications. He is an adjunct lecturer in creative writing at Hofstra University and he lives with his family on Long Island. Visit Reed at http://www.reedcoleman.com/

Q1. What are you writing at the minute?

That would be telling! Sorry. I’m about 110 pages into the first novel in a new series. It features a protagonist who is a psychologist, but who suffered a mental breakdown and lived hard on the streets for several years. He’s put his pieces mostly back together again and returns home to New York for the final act in his recreation. That final act revolves around the attempted solution of a long forgoten crime. He has quite a unique perspective on things and a really strange skill set.

Q2. Can you give us an idea of Reed Farrel Coleman’s typical up-to-the-armpits-in-ideas-and-time writing day?

Sure. First, you’re not far off on the ideas thing. I am positively flooded with ideas for books. I’ve often said that I could not live long enough to write the books I get ideas for in a single day. It’s funny how readers think the ideas are the difficult part. But basically, I get up around 7 AM, drink two cups of coffee while reading the local rag—sports first—and doing the crossword. Then it’s down to my home office to answer emails. By about 8, I put in three straight hours. I start with rereading the previous five pages to give myself a running start and momentum. I need that as I never outline and it helps me edit edit edit. I’ve only ever produced one draft of a novel, but by the time it’s done, I’ve reread it a hundred times and edited it to within an inch of its life. I’ll usually take a break and come back an edit some more, add a little bit, edit. The bulk of the work gets done in that early rush and the rest of the time throughout the day is devoted to polishing. Still, I write pretty quickly. My last novel, The Fourth Victim, written as Tony Spinosa, took only 3 months from start to finish.

Q3. What do you do when you’re not writing?

In warm weather, I play basketball for about two hours a day five days a week. I love the movies and go quite often with my sixteen year old son. I read less than I wish I could. I do all the cooking in the house as well.

Q4. Any advice for a greenhorn trying to break into the crime fiction scene?

Sit your ass down and write. I find too many of my students and hopefuls spend way too much time worrying about marketing and agents and dreaming about spending their advances. It’s what’s on the page that counts. The rest is an issue of control. But you have to learn the writing is the only part you can ever really control, so focus on that. The most important advice I can give is that a writer should fall in love with writing and not with what he or she has written. The latter is a major roadblock to success.

Q5. Which crime writers have impressed you this year?

Besides the usual suspects like Ken Bruen, SJ Rozan, Megan Abbott, Daniel Woodrell and the like, I discovered that I like Archer Mayor a lot and Gabriel Cohen has come back very strong. I liked Declan Burke and Christa Faust very much.

Q6. What are you reading right now?

I’m reading an ARC of Megan Abbott’s next book, Bury Me Deep. And I just finished James Crumley’s The Last Good Kiss.

Q7. Plans for the future?

Plans is too strong a word for a writer. I will always write and I’ve got some projects in mind. I have at least one more Moe Prager book in me for which I have an idea. I’ve been working on a meta book for two years now in my spare time and have a sci-fi book that I want to finish.

Q8. With regards to your writing career to date, would you do anything differently?

I’m not a regretter. So while there are things that I might do differently had I the chance, I don’t waste a second rueing my missteps or mistakes.

Q9. Do you fancy sharing your worst writing experience?

The list is so long... I’m joking, really. Let me think. See I don’t perseverate on the bad stuff. Okay. I turned in a novel to my editor and he or she was terribly frightened by the subject matter and many of the motivations I had for my characters acting in the way they did. My agent was quick to jump on my editor’s bandwagon and they both sort of forced me into making changes in the book I shouldn’t have made. What I got was a good enough product, but not the book I wanted. The book didn’t do well and I think some of that is because it wasn’t the book I originally wrote. It was largely ignored by critics and readers. To go back to the previous question, I think I should have pulled the book.

Q10. Anything you want to say that I haven’t asked you about?

I always find that to be the most difficult question of all. I guess I’d like you to ask about Tower, the novel I co-authored with Ken Bruen. It was the most difficult work I ever did and the best I ever did. When it comes out in September from Busted Flush Press here in the States, I would highly recommend it as a pretty unique reading experience.

Thank you, Reed Farrel Coleman!

London Boulevard's Hollywood Treatment

I learned something I didn't know from David Thompson's Busted Flush blog. Ken Bruen's London Boulevard will begin filming soon. And guess who's starring in it! Actually, no need to guess. I'll just tell you. They've got Colin Farrell and Keira Knightley.

David quotes Ken; "I'm just delighted... I think the casting is brilliant and the screenplay by Bill Monahan is terrific."

Smashing stuff, eh? Call over to the Busted Flush blog for the skinny on the novel's shining future.

And while you're in the mood for clicking, jump on over to Colman's Crime Cut Celt and read his interview/interrogation with said gentleman of Irish Noir.

Keeping it in the BFP family, the new edition of Reed Farrel Coleman's THE JAMES DEANS features a foreword by Michael Connelly, two short stories featuring Moe Prager and Ken Bruen’s Jack Taylor and a preview of TOWER by Ken Bruen and Reed Farrel Coleman. It is now available from Busted Flush Press. I'll be posting an excellent CSNI interview with Reed Farrel Coleman tomorrow.

So, in the words of Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, "Thank you, come again."