The Neon Rain: A Dave Robicheaux Novel (Dave Robicheaux Mysteries) by James Lee Burke Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Neon Rain: A Dave Robicheaux Novel (Dave Robicheaux Mysteries)
Book Review: Neon Rain: Burke true heir to Hammett
Summary: 5 Stars
There is only one other mystery writer alive today who can approach the genius of Burke and that is Dennis Lehane. If you have not had the pleasure of discovering Burke, do so with this, the first of his 11, soon to be 12, novels starring the alchoholic, Cajun detective from New Iberia and The Big Easy, David Robicheaux. Dark and edgy and existential, Robicheaux inhabits a world of demons both internal and external. With the brutality of a Peckipah film and the honesty of Sartre essay, this detective puts the formulaic best sellers to shame. If you want to remember why you read Ross McDonald (Lou Archer) and John D (Travis Magee) then do what I'm doing: start with Neon Rain and work your way through in order. The rewards are like a Saturday at the movies when it was a dime and the serials were as good as the main feature and the Duncan Yo Yo expert could walk the dog and rock the cradle. Drop the best sellers, unless you're reading The Last Empire or The Corrections and pick up James Lee Burke. You won't regret it.Book Review: An OK diversion but dated
Summary: 3 Stars
Reading the Neon Rain by James Lee Burke was only ok but diverting nonetheless. Reading Doug Greenberg's most excellent review here at Amazon hit the nail on the head. Jame Lee Burke's writing style was quite good but the plot became rather anticlimatic and too one dimensional. True, one has to read this definitive first book in the Robicheaux series to fully appreciate the later books. Robicheaux reminds me of John D. MacDonald's famous detective, Travis McGee (who is the definitive hardboild protagonist and is way hard to beat). Robicheaux lives on a houseboat in New Orleans instead of Florida and is fighting his own personal demons with alcohol, injustice and getting even. The VietNam veteran angle has been done to death, but in this outing is somewhat tolerable by the excellent narrative descriptions. Personally I had a bit of a problem with our hero waxing poetic about the Confederacy and the South that looses me, a Northern city boy. To me there was nothing romantic about the civil war, and a character that seems to honor that (Confederate) memory, and want to fight for the little guy is a bit of a contradiction in terms that needs more exploring. The reviews for the Purple Cane Road looks more promising and is next on my list and should be a better read. Kindly look for my review in the coming weeks.Book Review: A Weak Start To A Terrific Series
Summary: 3 Stars
The best way to read any literary series, including those involving hard-boiled detectives, is to pick them up in the order the books were written. That way, the individual stories take on greater meaning as part of the ongoing evolution of a principal character as he or she develops and changes. In light of this, it's tempting to recommend that prospective readers of James Lee Burke's Louisiana-based Dave Robicheaux series should start with *The Neon Rain*, which sets the stage for the numerous subsequent books. Anyone who reads Burke's prose should be impressed by his unusual gift for verbal description. His ability to paint word pictures of places, characters, moods, and feelings is exquisite, and for this reason alone a reader might plow through the entire story. However, the plot construction of *The Neon Rain* is so anemic that I would not be surprised if many of those who read this New Orleans-based story simply refuse to go on to the subsequent stories set in New Iberia. This is a shame, since most of these later works are excellent mysteries in which the stories are far more complex and engrossing.
In this novel, and to some extent in all of them, Burke employs a formulaic approach in which his protagonist veers from crisis to self-inflicted crisis (in pursuit of righteousness and justice, of course), with the narrative invariably punctuated both by breathtaking descriptions of places and people (and also meals), and periodic episodes involving bloody mayhem. After a while it gets pretty predictable; in his later works, however, Burke develops story lines that are sufficiently interesting that he can make the formula work, at least most of the time.
It should be noted also that Burke demonstrates throughout his *corpus* an admirable sympathy with the downtrodden and disadvantaged both in America and abroad, along with a sneering dislike of the rich and powerful. This political aspect of his writing is certainly unusual within the detective genre, and for me, at least, is highly refreshing.
So, should people seeking a great detective novel read pick up *The Neon Rain*? Yes, but ONLY if they resolve beforehand to view it as a kind of "prequel" to the higher quality Robicheaux novels that follow.
Book Review: SO-SO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Summary: 3 Stars
This is the first James Lee Burke book I have read. Everybody said read them in order and they will mean more. Part of this book was so great I did not want to put it down and part of it was so bad, to me, I wanted to put it down. Dave Robicheaux may be smart in some ways but not very bright in other ways. I could not believe that twice he got the stuffing beat out of him when he was not watching what he was doing or the people around him. He fights bad cops, a mob, has a contract on his life and a new girlfriend. Hi does take things in his own hands. The ending was very good, I liked it. I think he needs a "Hawk" if you get my drift. Guess I will try the next one, the good parts are great reading.Book Review: What a terrific book!
Summary: 5 Stars
My dad listens to a ton of audio books and James lee Burke is at the top of his list; he has most of Burke's books on tape. I listened for months about how good this series was until I just had to give it a try. I ordered the whole series and a few days later a bunch of paperback books were piled high on my desk. Now, a couple of months later I'm on Dixie City Jam and I'm not looking back. Dave is one of the most self-destructive characters I've run across, but that's what makes the book so engrossing. Neon Rain is a great mystery read