So it seems the anachronisms are the rickshaw and edged weapons, because everything else is fairly modern. By the time the modern pencil, something else Dagger uses, was developed in the 16th Century, Beretta was already making firearms and Chinese soldiers had been using muskets for 300 years. Yet transportation is by foot or rickshaw and the state of the art in weaponry is the crossbow.
There is thermite, which was discovered in 1893, seven years after the first automobile was patented. Daggers uses a spiral notebook, something that wasn’t manufactured until the 1930s. The organization is very modern and such organizations didn’t exist prior to the 19th Century. One of the most significant is the police force for which Dagger works. “The biggest problem I had with the book was Berg’s universe: it’s loaded with jarring anachronisms and the reader is left wondering which elements are the anachronisms. ‘I have a mistress, and her name is Lady Justice’? Srsly?” “Jake Daggers also suffers from the ‘word vomit’ his voice isn’t that great with the noir and often wanders into mawkish kitsch. Liking Daggers is going to be an individual choice: if you don’t mind his crude, rude, ‘bull in china shop’ limited intellect, you’ll probably enjoy the series.” The latter has wit and a more interesting, well-thought-out AU. “This is yet another ‘Me Tarzan, You Jane’ variant, dressed up this time in fantasy AU straight from Tolkien. The plot suffered from his inane behavior.” He talked so much to everyone (including himself) that I just couldn’t take anymore. “The plot was weighed down by the male detective’s constant snarky comments on every darn thing. “The protagonist is supposed to be a police office with a dozen years and his internal dialog is more of a smart ass high school kid.” Maybe, a less ham fisted writing style to go along with the plot would make it a more successful, less stereotyped read.” It had the dialect right, but the cadence and subtlety that is found in the best of that style is lacking. “The hard boiled dialogue was too pastiche. I had a hard time enjoying/losing myself in the story, because there was some heavy-handed dialogue tossed in at every opportunity, to show that the protagonist is ALL MALE, and ALL DETECTIVE and ALL BRAWN.” “The story could have been a lot more interesting – if the author had backed off of bludgeoning the reader with the ‘hard baked detective’ rhetoric. “The ‘witty banter’ and ‘clever quips’ are forced and painful, unfunny, uninspired, and at times flat-out misogynistic.” “The noirish faux banter and tough guy posturing gets annoying very quickly.” …all recruited from Central Casting or *homaged* to the point of parody.” Lethal Weapon, Garrett, Markhat, Spade, Marlow, Spenser/Spencer, even Pratchett (Sgt Detritus) other supporting characters from other stories receive the retreading treatment…Butters (Dresden), Lacy (Castle), the corporate tycoons, the conniving family members, etc. “You’ve read or watched this story before in multiple formats. books, right down to the main character having Garrett’s eyebrow raises and hatred of wine (even calling it ‘spoiled grapes.’) The Garrett books are themselves a sort of fantasy fusion of Chandler and Stout, so the third-hand borrowing is fairly jarring.” “This novel pulls a lot from Glen Cook’s Garrett, P.I. An homage or a pastiche could be entertaining. It’s one thing to learn from the masters.
#Red hot steele by alex p. berg series
The strong similarities between Berg’s cast of characters, worldbuilding, and invented terms and the far more skillful work in Cook’s series left me feeling dissatisfied and somewhat annoyed. “The author must be quite familiar with Glen Cook’s The Garrett Files. Daggers even has a beloved truncheon, just like Garrett.” series and while Jake Daggers may be snarky, he can’t pull it off like Garrett. However, Glen Cook set the standard for fantasy mysteries with the Garrett, P.I. “Alex Berg does a good job with characters and the basic mystery was solid. “Completely unoriginal, with much of the same plot lines as Garrett, PI.”
“The lead character in Steele is identical to the lead character in Garrett, even having the exact same foibles, verbiage, and nearly identical background.” The main characters are all unlikable clichés, from the gritty hard-boiled detective protagonist to the tough but fair chief, to the rookie partner. series, but doesn’t have the skills to do it. “The author seems to be trying to mimic Glen Cook’s Garrett, P.I. On imitating Glen Cook’s Garrett, and similar stories
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