Ragged Man by Jack Priest Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Ragged Man
Book Review: I don't know why I liked this book, but I know I did!
Summary: 5 Stars
I wanted to say why I liked this book, why it moved me to write a review here, but all of a sudden I realize I can't. I know the book kept me up until the early hours of the morn. I know at times I was a little grossed out and at others a little frustrated. I know I wanted to throw it across the room a couple times, but I also know I couldn't put it down. The action was pretty much non-stop, but that alone wouldn't have held me enthralled. The history of the bootleg biz, even if fictional, was interesting. The characters were believable and the plot was good, even if a bit over the top. The writing was good, but not steller, however it was a good story. I don't know if that all adds up to a reason for a review, but maybe this does, I just can't stop thinking about J.P. in that trunk, it just plain gives me the willies. And when Sam Storm (the bad guy) goes to work with his Bowie knife, well brrr is all I can say about that. But still there is a lot of book there that I haven't commented on, a book I think I liked, I just don't think I can convey it properly with words.Book Review: Jack Priest Really Delivers with "Ragged Man"
Summary: 5 Stars
My wife Lori and I are both wannabe writers and we thought we'd get our typing fingers wet by writing some reviews. She's an old hand at it, having written several for her college paper, but this is my first book review since, well since I was a kid standing in front of a classroom ending my book report with the words, "You'll have to read the book if you want to find out the ending." Anyway, I picked "Ragged Man" for my first review because I'm a regular reader of horror and I liked the book when I read it last New Years Eve. Actually I turned the last page just as the people on T.V. were shouting in the New Year, so I guess you could say it was my last book of '03 and my first book of '04.Onto the book. Mr. Priest delivers a fine blend of scares, thrills, chills, good guys and one very bad guy. His people are very believable and his pace is swift. There is violence, blood, gore and death, but it is a horror novel, after all. The book is a little raw, not as polished as "Night Witch," but then this is his first book. Think back to those first ones by Steve and Dean and you'll have the general tone of "Ragged Man."
In the story Mr. Priest draws us into the world of Rick Gordon, a semi-retired guy who used to be a minor crook (he made bootleg records). Sam Storm, a private investigator hired by the record companies to put Gordon out of business, has been a miserable failure at his job. Then Gordon retired and all of a sudden he was beyond Storm's reach. Until, that is, Storm is possessed by a never ending evil from the Australian Dreamtime. Now the once law abiding private eye is turned into a raging homicidal maniac.
A good and original premise for a horror story that captured the end of one year for me and held on to the beginning of the next. As I said above, there is a lot of excitement in "Ragged Man," but if you want to find out anymore about it, well, you're going to have the read the book.
Book Review: Just When You Think It's All Over, It's Just Beginning
Summary: 5 Stars
When Rick Gordon's off road race car breaks down in the middle of the Australian desert, he and his navigator wife Ann thought they'd be picked up by the racing officials, but they were lost, off the beaten track. Just as they are trying to figure out what to do next, along comes a pair of aging Aborigines. These old people are near death and are looking for hosts for their spirits and have found a perfect pair in Rick and Ann. they die and their spirits move into the young couple. However, the neglect to inform Rick and Ann about what they've done.
Rick and Ann come back to California, bringing their new spirit pals along with them, but they don't all live happily ever after, as a very bad body jumping spirit, who has dedicated his existence to killing the good guys who are living inside of Rick and Ann, follows and what follows next makes for a fast-past, very fun filled read. The characters rang real for me, especially J.P. the young boy who has been named after Led Zeppelin's dead drummer. He's a tough little boy who doesn't give up in the face of pretty horrible odds. And I particularly liked the surprise ending. Boy, just when you think it's all over, it's just beginning.
Book Review: Priest's off-beat debut
Summary: 4 Stars
A few months ago, I read the Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, which starts out with a lengthy introduction discussing the new horror novels for the year. It became evident that a more-than-healthy portion of these books involved vampires: male, female, historic, modern-day, romantic, comic, horrific: the variations would differ, but the creature was always the same. In fact, when you look at most horror nowadays, you seem to see a lot of the same villains: vampires, werewolves, serial killers and an occasional zombie, ghost or Satan in the mix. Which makes Jack Priest's novels so refreshing: he gives us new monsters.
Ragged Man is Priest's first novel, and the title character is also the monster, a demonic creature from the Australian outback that follows Rick and Ann Gordon back to their home in California. The Ragged Man is almost unkillable; you can stop his body, but then he will possess another human instead. By chance, this will be Sam Storm, a private eye who already has a grudge against Rick (rooted in Rick's past as a dealer in bootleg music). The natural evil of the demon will combine with Sam's feelings to make Rick's life truly miserable: Sam will go on a killing spree that targets Rick's friends and family, with his wife Ann one of the first victims.
Making matters worse, the Ragged Man has a monstrous pet, a giant dingo-like creature that is almost as hard to stop as the demon itself. As more people die, Rick finds that he will soon be accused of the killings himself, making it harder to protect a good friend's young son who is on Sam's list.
While this is a good book that moves fast and is suspenseful, it does suffer from some of those first novel problems that Priest does iron out in later books. Most significantly, Priest has not yet learned how to write children characters; the kid J.P. is far too intelligent and mature for his age; essentially, he seems more like an adult (compare this with Priest's novel Night Witch, in which children are important characters yet act much more like children.). Also, there are times when Priest is almost trying too hard with his writing, using similes and images that are distracting because they are a little too clever. Yet, these problems are not deal-breakers: overall, Ragged Man is an entertaining book that offers a nice change-of-pace from the standard horror novel.
Book Review: Ragged Man is Like a Runaway Train
Summary: 5 Stars
Usually I read and review romance books (see my reviews), but my significant other was raving about this book and wanted me to read it, then write what I thought about it. Well, it's no romance, that's for sure, though there is kind of a romance going on in the story. That said, I have to say that I've sure been missing a lot reading all those Harlequin books, because though I do like them, because I can put them down and pick them up again any time I want, they are certainly not like this story. Once I started "Ragged Man", there was no stopping. It was like I was on a runaway train, racing to the ending. Pow, my whole Saturday was shot down the tubes.
This is one pretty scary book, for me at least anyway, because I'm not a horror kind of girl. Maybe I well be though, because this story sure got my juices going the way none of those romances ever did. In fact ,I'm going to read more in this vein for awhile. Who knows maybe I'll become a horror gal after all. I should mention that the characterization in "Ragged Man" was superb. I liked most of the good guys, could imagine them living next door. And I really, really hated the bad guy. All in all, I'd have to say this was a cracking good read. If you're into horror, consider picking this one up.