The Beat Goes On: The Complete Rebus Stories: From the iconic #1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES
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The Beat Goes On: The Complete Rebus Stories: From the iconic #1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES
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Description
Each story is just a snippet in to both the writing style of Rankin and also the Life and Times of Inspector Rebus, Gentleman. p>
the author did try to put a twist in most of them, which i think would have worked better if they were read individually instead of altogether in this compilation novel. Published in 2014, this book contains all of the short stories featuring Ian Rankin's John Rebus that were written up to that point. It’s the dialogue that brings them alive: broad use of the vernacular, a dry Scottish humour never far from the lips and the effortless authenticity of the banter.Ian Rankin is also the recipient of honorary degrees from the universities of Abertay, St Andrews, Edinburgh, Hull and the Open University. Each story is just a small, non-significant mystery that Rebus has to solve, some of which featured as side-plots in one of the fully-formed Rebus novels. Officers from other cities, people Rebus met from time to time, would remark how cushy he had it in Edinburgh. Brilliant, irascible and endlessly frustrating to both his friends and his long-suffering bosses, he has made the dark places of Edinburgh his comfort and his home for over two decades.
My one complaint is the lack of contrast between these tales, which are all around 10 or 20 pages and have a tendency to blur into one another when read in quick succession. I'd only read one Rebus novel before and hadn't really taken to it, but I did very much enjoy this collection. In this bumper volume he [Rankin] has collected all his Rebus short stories and the results are an undisputed delight. The stories in The Beat Goes On may be a stopgap for fans awaiting a 20th Rebus novel, but it’s a bountiful collection and also includes Rankin’s thoughtful essay on the making of his maverick detective. When I read one of the other cover quotes I sniggered: "One of the great modern cops, a kind of Scottish cousin to Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch" (Patrick Anderson, Washington Post).
I enjoyed the 29 short stories in this collection, but I enjoyed his essay ‘Rankin on Rebus’ most of all. From his beginnings as a young Detective Constable in Dead and Buried right up to his dramatic, but not quite final, retirement in The Very Last Drop, Rebus shines in these stories, confirming his status as one of crime fiction's most compelling, brilliant, and unforgettable characters. And the place - the city itself – with its big old houses, long broad avenues but also dim unseen spaces and damp rotting rooms is a huge presence in these stories. There is no detective like DI Rebus - brilliant, irascible and endlessly frustrating both to his friends and his long-suffering bosses.
At short form, the hard-drinking, chain-smoking, no-respect-for-authority Rebus, the star of 20 novels, remains a compelling character, and this thick tome is a welcome addition to the Rankin canon. But, but, but, dammit but, if you listened only to (say) the best bits from Sibelius you got a bunch of great tunes but nothing of the emotional depth you got from listening to the original pieces in their entirety.The Beat Goes On is a collection of short stories concerning John Rebus-right from his time as DS to DI, with another story concerning him whilst he was retired but still going at it like a good ole Detective. Brilliant, irascible and frequently frustrating to both his friends and his long-suffering bosses, John Rebus has made the dark places of Edinburgh his home for over two decades.
- Fruugo ID: 258392218-563234582
- EAN: 764486781913
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