Reviews

Night Dogs by Kent Anderson

emckeon1002's review against another edition

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4.0

I bought this to read because I read a great review of Green Sun, the book Kent Anderson just released. I wanted a bit of the backstory on the main character (I haven't read Sympathy For the Devil yet). Anderson wrote this more than 20 years ago. Hanson is a well-educated Viet Nam vet who survived the war, but barely. He brings his calloused view of the world, and a bundle of prejudices to his job as a Portland cop. The book is violent, profane, honest to the bone and leaves me wondering if David Simon (or his writers) looked to this book as inspiration for series like The Wire. Anderson is a gifted writer who doesn't bend away from the ugly verities of street life in the city.

sandin954's review against another edition

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4.0

Dark story of a Vietnam vet turned patrolman in 1970's Portland. Very violent but seemed very realistic.

dannb's review against another edition

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4.0

Hard Core... written: 1996. Setting:1975 Portland, OR given the present... has anything changed?

escragg92's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

boleary30's review against another edition

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1.0

Hanson, from one of my favorite books ever Sympathy for the Devil, is out of the war and now a run down cop. Not a good book. But I still cannot recommend Sympathy for the Devil enough.

dannb's review against another edition

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4.0

Hard Core... written: 1996. Setting:1975 Portland, OR given the present... has anything changed?

hugh_gulland's review against another edition

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5.0

Haunting type of cop novel, it's dark, disturbing and involving.

angrygreycatreads's review against another edition

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2.0

Night Dogs is a novel I have been reading about for a while. It is touted as extremely realistic for police work at time, mid 1970s and the place, Portland Oregon. I think it was a little much for me. I have a hard time reading about animals being hurt, in pain, or killed and there is quite a bit of that in this book. I will have to admit to skimming some of it because of that. The story was interesting but I wouldn’t really say I enjoyed the book. Probably a good read for someone who wants realism with lots of grit from that time period.

palefire's review

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5.0

Police action (on and off duty), graphic violence, sex, old dogs, Vietnam flashbacks, guns, inner city street life and more. Written a tense, spare style which is subtle and seductive. Highest recommendation but can get a little rough so be careful.

nigellicus's review

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5.0

Raw, angry, powerful novel set in the dying days of the Vietnam War. Hanson is ex-Special Forces, a veteran of the war who has become a cop on the streets of Portland, Oregon. Revelling in the squalor, the violence and the adrenaline, Hanson waxes cynical about the world, but struggles with an inner conflict between his addiction to the power of violence and his soldier's certainty that it's the only way to get anything done, and his own soft, liberal heart, to paraphrase the late James Crumley's introduction. Encounters with pimps and whore, drug dealers and winos, psychotic lunatics and enemies on his own side of the law are punctuated with acts of random, brutal violence and occasional flashes of human warmth. More of a novel than a straightforward thriller, with a novel's structure and concerns, this is a portrait of a damaged man in a damaged world. Highly recommended.
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