Friday, 26 October 2007 07:05 pm
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deckardcanineToday I finished reading Tony Hillerman's The First Eagle. My main point in choosing it was to take a break from my usual fare of sf-fantasy and theology.
I had read one Hillerman novel before this one: Finding Moon, in which an American ex-GI searches for his alleged niece in war-ridden Cambodia. Seems I made a good choice for my 11th-grade history class book review, with its considerable but not overdone excitement. As my dad later concurred, it does a great job of evoking the setting. He also warned me that it was different from most Hillerman novels, which are set in the southwestern U.S. and feature Navajo policemen.
The First Eagle is among the later installments in the series, as reflected by the fact that Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn has retired and his former protege, Jim Chee, is an acting lieutenant. Leaphorn misses his job enough to do freelance detective work -- in this case, to find out what happened to an Indian Health Service woman researching a modern mutated bubonic plague. Chee, meanwhile, arrests a recidivist Hopi eagle poacher found with a mortally bludgeoned officer. At first he hasn't the slightest doubt of the man's guilty, but the incessant innocent pleas by the arrestee, his friends, and his attorney (Chee's ex-girlfriend) persuade Chee to examine it further. Leaphorn and Chee come together because the murder and disappearance occurred in the same ultra-remote rural area. And at least one of them doesn't believe in coincidences.
In terms of its credibility, I give the story at least three and a half stars out of four. The downside is that credibile often means dull. There is very little action or danger, even with all the references to severe diseases. I give the mystery aspect only two stars. It takes more than 100 pages (out of 318 total) to find any fresh clues for either case, and another 100+ to learn the significance of the book's title. There aren't many twists and turns along the way, and the solution isn't much of a surprise.
Still, the book has strengths to make it worthwhile. The occasions when tribal heritage becomes relevant, especially in clashes, rekindled an old interest of mine. The politico-legal squabbles give an unnerving look into how things may work in practice. The mixed feelings of Chee toward his inconveniently positioned ex round out the drama. The talk of epidemics waiting to happen rings relevant nine years after publication, so I paid attention to the bitter musings of the expert characters. And being an Altarum Institute employee, I perked up whenever someone mentioned a familiar health organization.
I'll return the borrowed book to my dad, who hasn't read it yet. Maybe I'll read more Hillerman someday, but I'd give priority to another mystery writer. And before that, C.S. Lewis's Present Concerns. (If you're interested in that review, stay tuned to the FurryChristians LJ community.)
I had read one Hillerman novel before this one: Finding Moon, in which an American ex-GI searches for his alleged niece in war-ridden Cambodia. Seems I made a good choice for my 11th-grade history class book review, with its considerable but not overdone excitement. As my dad later concurred, it does a great job of evoking the setting. He also warned me that it was different from most Hillerman novels, which are set in the southwestern U.S. and feature Navajo policemen.
The First Eagle is among the later installments in the series, as reflected by the fact that Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn has retired and his former protege, Jim Chee, is an acting lieutenant. Leaphorn misses his job enough to do freelance detective work -- in this case, to find out what happened to an Indian Health Service woman researching a modern mutated bubonic plague. Chee, meanwhile, arrests a recidivist Hopi eagle poacher found with a mortally bludgeoned officer. At first he hasn't the slightest doubt of the man's guilty, but the incessant innocent pleas by the arrestee, his friends, and his attorney (Chee's ex-girlfriend) persuade Chee to examine it further. Leaphorn and Chee come together because the murder and disappearance occurred in the same ultra-remote rural area. And at least one of them doesn't believe in coincidences.
In terms of its credibility, I give the story at least three and a half stars out of four. The downside is that credibile often means dull. There is very little action or danger, even with all the references to severe diseases. I give the mystery aspect only two stars. It takes more than 100 pages (out of 318 total) to find any fresh clues for either case, and another 100+ to learn the significance of the book's title. There aren't many twists and turns along the way, and the solution isn't much of a surprise.
Still, the book has strengths to make it worthwhile. The occasions when tribal heritage becomes relevant, especially in clashes, rekindled an old interest of mine. The politico-legal squabbles give an unnerving look into how things may work in practice. The mixed feelings of Chee toward his inconveniently positioned ex round out the drama. The talk of epidemics waiting to happen rings relevant nine years after publication, so I paid attention to the bitter musings of the expert characters. And being an Altarum Institute employee, I perked up whenever someone mentioned a familiar health organization.
I'll return the borrowed book to my dad, who hasn't read it yet. Maybe I'll read more Hillerman someday, but I'd give priority to another mystery writer. And before that, C.S. Lewis's Present Concerns. (If you're interested in that review, stay tuned to the FurryChristians LJ community.)
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Dance Hall Of The Dead is his best IMO. A Thief of Time is right up there with it.
If you're into 'exotic locale' mysteries, instead of police procedurals, try the R.H. Van Gulik "Judge Dee" series.
If you're really into strange, Master Li Kao and Number Ten Ox are wonderfully funny.