From Library Journal
Block's (Hope To Die) latest is a fun but daunting doorstop collection of short stories. At almost 900 pages, it contains every short story Block ever wrote. Opening the book are the stand-alone stories, which are alphabetically arranged; the character stories, which feature the likes of Matthew Scudder and Bernie Rhodenbarr, then appear in chronological order. The collection ends with 12 stories 11 new tales and the very first story Block ever published. Most of the pieces are enjoyable but should not be read straight through; they tend to depend on similar themes and plot devices, which creates a sense of monotony by the end. The tales not about Block's regular set of characters are clearly the best, and a good portion of them would have made terrific episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Librarians should beware that only the final stories are new to this collection, which first appeared in 1999 under the title The Collected Mystery Stories. Recommended only for collections lacking the previous edition.
- Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
“Block’s wit and propensity for jaunty protagonists are on full display here.”
About the Author
Lawrence Block is the recipient of a Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America and a New York Times bestselling author. His prolific career spans over one hundred books, including four bestselling series and dozens of short stories and articles. He has won multiple Edgar and Shamus awards, two Falcon Awards from the Maltese Falcon Society of Japan, the Nero and Philip Marlowe Awards, the Cartier Diamond Dagger from the Crime Writers Association of America, and many others. Aside from being a mystery writer, he has also written a number of episodes for television, including two episodes of the ESPN series Tilt; he also cowrote the screenplay for the film My Blueberry Nights, starring Norah Jones. Block currently lives in New York City with his wife, Lynne.
Alan Sklar, a graduate of Dartmouth, has excelled in his career as a freelance voice actor. He began narrating audiobooks in 1996, winning seven AudioFile Earphones Awards and earning several "Best Voice" awards. He has also worked as a stage actor and as a promo announcer at WPIX-TV in New York City. His dream is to be an opera singer, a role for which he hones his bass-baritone operatic skills in the upstairs shower of his home.
This gargantuan collection of Block short stories--nearly 50 hours' worth--will test the patience of even his most fervent fans. The stories--most concerning murder, as befits this premier mystery writer--are uneven. Too often listeners know what's coming long before Block takes them there. What is satisfying is the richness of Block's characterizations, which are often arch and always discerning. A voluminous body of work such as this one obviously taxes the range of any narrator. It's not enough to say that Alan Sklar is up to the challenge. He certainly is, especially with his seemingly endless characterizations. But Sklar brings something more to the reading, something that becomes ever more apparent as the hours elapse: He's clearly enjoying himself in this marathon production, and his pleasure is infectious. M.O. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
