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benjamin_oc's review against another edition
5.0
Laird Barron’s second novel about hitman-turned-PI Isaiah Coleridge, Black Mountain, has all the hallmarks of a hardboiled novel, but I may have detected Barron’s penchant for supernatural horror starting to slip through.
dantastic's review against another edition
4.0
When two mutilated bodies of local criminals are found, signs point to a hired killer called The Croatoan. But the Croatoan has been dead for years, right? That's what Isaiah Coleridge wants to find out...
Laird Barron jumped nearly to the top of my favorite authors list in 2017. When this popped up on Netgalley, I had to read it.
Black Mountain continues the story of Isaiah Coleridge, part Maori former hitman trying to leave the killing behind. As Coleridge plays sleuth, his violent nature stares him in the face again and again. In this volume, Coleridge tries to find the perpetrator of two murders and winds up with much more on his hands.
Laird Barron's writing is as great as ever, part Chandler, part Thompson, part Ellroy, and even some Roger Zelazny in the mix, equally adept at poetic descriptions and stark violence. I had no idea who the killer was for most of the book. I was too busy trying to piece things together along with Isaiah and Lionel.
For part of the book, I thought Isaiah was a little too capable and the book meandered a bit. Then the rug got yanked out from under me and I wolfed down what was left in one long ass-numbing sitting. The Croatoan wound up being far more interesting than your run of the mill serial killers. The book flirted with cosmic horror a bit at times. Maybe the Children of Old Leech will be mentioned in the next one?
While I love his brand of horror, sometimes you just want to see bad guys get got. Laird Barron delivers the goods here. Four out of five stars.
Laird Barron jumped nearly to the top of my favorite authors list in 2017. When this popped up on Netgalley, I had to read it.
Black Mountain continues the story of Isaiah Coleridge, part Maori former hitman trying to leave the killing behind. As Coleridge plays sleuth, his violent nature stares him in the face again and again. In this volume, Coleridge tries to find the perpetrator of two murders and winds up with much more on his hands.
Laird Barron's writing is as great as ever, part Chandler, part Thompson, part Ellroy, and even some Roger Zelazny in the mix, equally adept at poetic descriptions and stark violence. I had no idea who the killer was for most of the book. I was too busy trying to piece things together along with Isaiah and Lionel.
For part of the book, I thought Isaiah was a little too capable and the book meandered a bit. Then the rug got yanked out from under me and I wolfed down what was left in one long ass-numbing sitting. The Croatoan wound up being far more interesting than your run of the mill serial killers. The book flirted with cosmic horror a bit at times. Maybe the Children of Old Leech will be mentioned in the next one?
While I love his brand of horror, sometimes you just want to see bad guys get got. Laird Barron delivers the goods here. Four out of five stars.
rocketiza's review against another edition
3.0
While all the pieces of the plot fit together, it didn't feel like they came together very elegantly. There was some extemporaneous story telling here too, but as a pulp crime novel these are pretty readable.
anti_formalist12's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely fantastic. The ending was genuinely terrifying.
destroyallbeers's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
drewcox's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
jeremyjfloyd's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
alexanderp's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Another great installment of Isaiah Coleridge. Love the dripping horror, especially in the second half of the book. Doubling down on more of that cosmic trepidation and less of the over the top mafioso makes this a winner for me. Can't wait to read the next one.
cypher131's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
david_agranoff's review against another edition
5.0
In the wake of True Detective there was a rush of readers and interest in the various influences Nic Pizzolatto drew from in that first season. One of those influences was the often stunning cosmic horror of Alaskan ex-pat Laird Barron. Know in his early years for writing some of the most dread filled short stories in the weird lit field Barron is a house hold name in the horror lit world.
We didn’t need internet articles pointing us to these so called hidden gems that inspired the tone if not the story of True Detective. Look I like weird brooding cosmic horor Laird Barron as much as the next horror reader, but it is his last two novels that really spoke to me.
Black Mountain is the second in a series featuring ex-hitman Isiah Coleridge who is forced to leave Alaska and the Mob. Now serving as private detective we have Coleridge returning as the same interesting character in pleasantly different feeling book. The second book does not feel like a rehash that is perhaps the best news.
Let me go deeper on why that news will be music to the ears of Laird Barron’s readers. The dark tone and plot of this novel shows more of that super dark tone we all know Barron is capable of, while still delivering a fun crime read. Even as the story goes darker, a brutal serial killer that appears to be targeting mob killers is weird enough. Mix it with the fun sarcastic almost Elmore Leonard style dialogue and you have a great combo.
The serial killer part of the story certainly would have worked in its own novel even with a dark SEVEN like feel. Coleridge investigating the killer known as the Croatoan is interesting enough for a novel alone, this killer was thought to be dead long ago. But Coleridge and his attempts to leave violence behind is equally compelling and that is where the fun comes in.
Barron blends in a variety of influences that you don’t notice in the moment, but after you close the book it stays with you. That is when you smile thinking about the last pages feeling like Ellroy or Chandler. That is great, and plenty of writers do that, but how many can get a Harlan Ellison or Thomas Liggoti feel into that mix? Not many. I love reading a novel and getting a feeling for what their book shelves look like. That is a compliment even if some might not see it that way.
The first book Blood Standard took me by surprise a bit more, but that is to me expected when a author takes a big turn. Both these books are solid entries in a series that will have me locked in.
We didn’t need internet articles pointing us to these so called hidden gems that inspired the tone if not the story of True Detective. Look I like weird brooding cosmic horor Laird Barron as much as the next horror reader, but it is his last two novels that really spoke to me.
Black Mountain is the second in a series featuring ex-hitman Isiah Coleridge who is forced to leave Alaska and the Mob. Now serving as private detective we have Coleridge returning as the same interesting character in pleasantly different feeling book. The second book does not feel like a rehash that is perhaps the best news.
Let me go deeper on why that news will be music to the ears of Laird Barron’s readers. The dark tone and plot of this novel shows more of that super dark tone we all know Barron is capable of, while still delivering a fun crime read. Even as the story goes darker, a brutal serial killer that appears to be targeting mob killers is weird enough. Mix it with the fun sarcastic almost Elmore Leonard style dialogue and you have a great combo.
The serial killer part of the story certainly would have worked in its own novel even with a dark SEVEN like feel. Coleridge investigating the killer known as the Croatoan is interesting enough for a novel alone, this killer was thought to be dead long ago. But Coleridge and his attempts to leave violence behind is equally compelling and that is where the fun comes in.
Barron blends in a variety of influences that you don’t notice in the moment, but after you close the book it stays with you. That is when you smile thinking about the last pages feeling like Ellroy or Chandler. That is great, and plenty of writers do that, but how many can get a Harlan Ellison or Thomas Liggoti feel into that mix? Not many. I love reading a novel and getting a feeling for what their book shelves look like. That is a compliment even if some might not see it that way.
The first book Blood Standard took me by surprise a bit more, but that is to me expected when a author takes a big turn. Both these books are solid entries in a series that will have me locked in.