Wild Thing Paul Joannides Ebook
It's hard to find work as a doctor when using your real name will get you killed. So hard that when a reclusive billionaire offers Dr. Peter Brown, aka Pietro Brnwa, a job accompanying a sexy but self-destructive paleontologist on the world's worst field assignment, Brown has no real choice but to say yes. Even if it means that an army of murderers, mobsters, and It's hard to find work as a doctor when using your real name will get you killed. So hard that when a reclusive billionaire offers Dr. Peter Brown, aka Pietro Brnwa, a job accompanying a sexy but self-destructive paleontologist on the world's worst field assignment, Brown has no real choice but to say yes. Even if it means that an army of murderers, mobsters, and international drug dealers-not to mention the occasional lake monster-are about to have a serious Pietro Brnwa problem.Facing new and old monsters alike, Dr.
Brnwa's story continues in this darkly funny and lightning-paced follow up to Josh Bazell's bestselling debut. Well, that wasodd.In Josh Bazell’s first novel we met Dr. Peter Brown, an intern at a large hospital. It turned out that Peter’s real name was actually Pietro Brnwa, and he was a former Mafia hit man. Events had caused him to testify against his former employers, and he was trying to build a new life as a doctor when an old associate recognized him and led to a few problems.Peter is sporting a new name and a phony medical degree that’s only good enough to get him a job as the Well, that wasodd.In Josh Bazell’s first novel we met Dr. Peter Brown, an intern at a large hospital. It turned out that Peter’s real name was actually Pietro Brnwa, and he was a former Mafia hit man.
Events had caused him to testify against his former employers, and he was trying to build a new life as a doctor when an old associate recognized him and led to a few problems.Peter is sporting a new name and a phony medical degree that’s only good enough to get him a job as the doctor on a cruise ship. He’s still got enemies and is trying to come up with enough cash and a plan that will let him settle his old business. Peter’s government contact hooks him up with a weird job offer from a reclusive billionaire that involves protecting a beautiful paleontologist named Violet while they investigate rumors of some kind of creature living in a remote lake. And things just get stranger from there.I absolutely loved Beat the Reaper with it’s original story, gruesome violence and dark sense of humor so it’s disappointing that Wild Thing isn’t anywhere close to matching it. This one is still entertaining and very funny in spots, but it’s also wildly unfocused. Ok, i don't know what happened to mr.
Bazell between finishing the first book in this series ('beat the reaper') and starting on this one. But i imagine it was severe. Perhaps a head injury?same protagonist, so you'd think it would flow along as quickly as the first. Peter brown feels like a shell of his former self (and not just because he's been stuck as a cruise ship dr. While on the run). The quips aren't as quip-y, he's not as intense or interesting. Perhaps we're to rely heavily ok, i don't know what happened to mr.
Bazell between finishing the first book in this series ('beat the reaper') and starting on this one. But i imagine it was severe.
Perhaps a head injury?same protagonist, so you'd think it would flow along as quickly as the first. Peter brown feels like a shell of his former self (and not just because he's been stuck as a cruise ship dr. While on the run).
The quips aren't as quip-y, he's not as intense or interesting. Perhaps we're to rely heavily on our earlier experience.? But that doesn't seem fair, and it sure felt lazy.the storyline meanders quite a bit, allowing quite a put-down-ability that was not there for the first book. I don't want to give anything away, but the intimation of some science fiction-y stuff just fell totally flat.listen, if you loved the first one, you'll have to read this one. If only to keep ahead of the third book. Which better be as good as the first, or i'm calling the game. Apparently Wild Thing is a sequel to Beat the Reaper.
According to a review from a couple years back I, uh, liked Beat the Reaper a lot. But I can't remember anything about the book. In fact, I thought Beat the Reaper was Lavelle's Big Machine so I was confused when weird urban religious sects didn't play a role in Wild Thing. In turn I think it's fair to say that you don't need to read Beat the Reaper to like or understand Wild Thing. Although, like I said, apparently I liked Beat the Reaper. Apparently Wild Thing is a sequel to Beat the Reaper.
According to a review from a couple years back I, uh, liked Beat the Reaper a lot. But I can't remember anything about the book. In fact, I thought Beat the Reaper was Lavelle's Big Machine so I was confused when weird urban religious sects didn't play a role in Wild Thing.
In turn I think it's fair to say that you don't need to read Beat the Reaper to like or understand Wild Thing. Although, like I said, apparently I liked Beat the Reaper. You've forgotten entire books, too.Wild Thing primarily addresses a mob-killer-turned-witness-protection-participant who gets invited by a reclusive billionaire to check out a sea monster legend in rural Minnesota. Bazell's lightning-quick dialogue and well-constructed set-pieces (e.g. A shootout in a cheap diner fronting crystal meth dealers) allow him to go completely bonkers with the plot in a couple instances. Like, “I cannot believe THAT real life person showed up in this book' bonkers. Wild Thing reads like a movie about which you don't want to over-analyze the plot because the deus ex machina parade runs fire-engine loud through the center of the novel's coherence, especially when Bazell wraps up loose ends.
I laughed more than once and kind of anticipated the (real, more on this in a second) ending because my kids watch a shitload of the History Channel. But the novel's cardinal sin is a bizarro political rant tacked onto the end for no reason other, than I can tell, for Bazell to spew about politics in the guise of a character's voice. I didn't sign up for a political rant, so I skimmed that part. But the rest of Wild Thing is better than most novels that aim for the smart and funny target.
I just wish Bazell hadn't cheap-shot the coda. Not cool, sir.
Save the political crap for a blog. Wild Thing is a perfect example of an author's first book being too successful. Beat the Reaper was so popular (and I did enjoy it, too) that Bazell didn't feel the need to consult an editor for the sequel.The first act of this theoretical editor would have been to cut the 49 (!) pages of extra material tacked on to the end of the book. 49 pages of blog-level political punditry and some allegedly explanatory notes do not belong at the end of a thriller, let alone one as slight as this. It veers Wild Thing is a perfect example of an author's first book being too successful.
Beat the Reaper was so popular (and I did enjoy it, too) that Bazell didn't feel the need to consult an editor for the sequel.The first act of this theoretical editor would have been to cut the 49 (!) pages of extra material tacked on to the end of the book. 49 pages of blog-level political punditry and some allegedly explanatory notes do not belong at the end of a thriller, let alone one as slight as this. It veers way past the realm of self-indulgence and comes to rest firmly in the land of the masturbatory.While I agree almost completely with Mr. Bazell's myriad political opinions, he frames them in such a condescending and peremptory manner as to alienate even this sympathetic reader. There is no nuance in Bazell-land, either you agree with him or you're an idiot who hasn't read the right books. The contemptuous tone of the appendices of the book is more suited to 10th-grade civics students, or readers who have never heard of a country called Israel.More troubling than this post-novel indulgence is what it reveals about the narrator, Pietro Brnwa.
Namely that there is no authorial distance between the often obnoxious voice of the narrator and his creator. This makes him much less sympathetic as a character.Even had an editor made quick and painless work of addressing my complaints above (which could have been accomplished with one simple click of the delete button), there are deeper problems with Wild Thing.
For some reason, Bazell has chosen to take Pietro Brnwa out of the world of doctors and the mob and plop him down in the wilderness with only the flimsiest of backstories to justify it. The fun of the first book, Beat the Reaper, was listening to the medical asides of the narrator intertwined with a good dose of humor and frenetic action sequences. There is little of that humor or fun in this novel, and very little doctoring to do. The narrator still tries to do his authoritative asides but as they're no longer about medical things, they often fall flat.
(Even flatter when you read the excruciatingly detailed source of these asides in the appendix.)Another poor choice was including a real-life politician as a character in this book, to no real comic effect or benefit. All it did was drag me out of my suspended disbelief. The narrator claims to be sick to death of this politician. So are your readers, author, so why subject us to stale commentary with absolutely no bite?One can only hope the sales of this book are disappointing enough that Mr. Bazell has to start returning the calls of his editor. Getting Pietro Brnwa back into the medical world may just save his life. People like brusque, imperious doctors when they actually know their stuff (see House).
When they're just some asshole in a canoe, not so much. I really enjoyed Josh Bazell's debut novel, Beat The Reaper, and after finishing it and going on to something else, found myself almost immediately missing the bold voice and skillful prose he brings to the action/mystery genre. I devoured this one in just a couple of days and now I wish Bazell had written more.It's hard to describe Wild Thing because it contains a ton of contradictions.
The plot, right from the get-go, is kind of preposterous: former hitman in witness protection who's working I really enjoyed Josh Bazell's debut novel, Beat The Reaper, and after finishing it and going on to something else, found myself almost immediately missing the bold voice and skillful prose he brings to the action/mystery genre. I devoured this one in just a couple of days and now I wish Bazell had written more.It's hard to describe Wild Thing because it contains a ton of contradictions.
The plot, right from the get-go, is kind of preposterous: former hitman in witness protection who's working as a doctor on a cruise ship gets asked to be part of a trip to find a rumoured monster lurking beneath the surface of a small backwoods lake. So right there, you'd think this would either be farce or that brand of poorly-written 'men's adventure' story that still shows up in bookstores only with better covers. The thing is, everything – and I mean everything – in Bazell's book is meticulously researched. The back of the book contains a huge chapter detailing the research behind every fact (and half the jokes) in the book. So there's something wonderful about knowing that someone went to that amount of work to construct a credible story that on the surface seems ludicrous.Though there's plenty of humour and brazen tough-guy material in Bazell's books, there's also a somewhat self-conscious deconstruction of those tropes.
It's an odd and precarious balance, and yet the book keeps it together, simultaneously unbelievable and yet credible. It's like watching an especially skilled writer decide to cut loose – almost daring the reader to see the flaws – while still retaining all of their talent and savvy.
I suppose in the end that's what makes Wild Thing so strange to read: given what Bazell's chosen to write, you wonder why he goes to all the trouble of writing it so well. It's like suddenly finding an episode of Scooby Doo written by Aaron Sorkin.If you love James Patterson, you'll probably dislike Josh Bazell for seeming as though he's mocking the very genre he's writing in. If, on the other hand, you keep wishing you could find a really good, really brazen adventure thriller that's both entertaining and treats the reader as if they might actually care about the details? Josh Bazell's your guy.
I sure hope he writes another novel soon. As an aspiring writer, I don’t like to bash books. I believe in karma and don’t want it to bite me when I release my first book. But I can’t let Josh Bazell’s Wild Thing slip by without adding some comments.What a train wreck this book is. I'm so mad at Josh Bazell I can barely contain myself. So I won't even try.Josh Bazell blasted onto the scene with his thrilling, hip, original, and darkly hilarious Beat the Reaper.
I couldn't wait for his follow-up, and frankly, every book after that. As an aspiring writer, I don’t like to bash books. I believe in karma and don’t want it to bite me when I release my first book. But I can’t let Josh Bazell’s Wild Thing slip by without adding some comments.What a train wreck this book is.
I'm so mad at Josh Bazell I can barely contain myself. So I won't even try.Josh Bazell blasted onto the scene with his thrilling, hip, original, and darkly hilarious Beat the Reaper. I couldn't wait for his follow-up, and frankly, every book after that. Bazell was on to something, and his first book had set himself up for a great series.And then he wrote his second book.Look, I know there are libraries filled with sophomore efforts that don't meet the (often unrealistic) expectations of the author's first books.
That isn't what happened with Wild Thing. Bazell's protagonist in Peter Brown aka Pietro Brnwa aka Lionel Azimuth finds himself in a vastly different situation as he continues to evade the mobsters who want him dead following the events of 'Beat the Reaper'. Nothing is what it seems in the wild and entertaining sophomore effort by Josh Bazell, 'Wild Thing'.The plot is centered around what seems to be an elaborate hoax of a monster hunting unassuming swimmers in White Lake. Supposedly a descendant from a dinosaur, this monster has been Bazell's protagonist in Peter Brown aka Pietro Brnwa aka Lionel Azimuth finds himself in a vastly different situation as he continues to evade the mobsters who want him dead following the events of 'Beat the Reaper'. Nothing is what it seems in the wild and entertaining sophomore effort by Josh Bazell, 'Wild Thing'.The plot is centered around what seems to be an elaborate hoax of a monster hunting unassuming swimmers in White Lake. Supposedly a descendant from a dinosaur, this monster has been caught on film dismembering a man and terrorising a community.
How Peter Brown became involved in this hoax is drawn from 'Beat The Reaper' and his witness protection detail. Professor Marmoset pulls Brown from his cruiseship doctors position and hands him over the to eccentric and ludicrously wealthy Rec Bill to act as a body guard and myth debunker of the happenings at White Lake. Accompanied by sexy paleontologist Violet Hurst, Brown embarks on a journey which threatens to expose not only the White Lake monster, but the monster of his former self.There is a cringe inducing cameo from a prominent US personality that actually works well with the quirkiness of the novel. Bazell is brazen in his transformation of Brown from doctor to debunker with the surface perception of the novel leaning towards commodity over strong continuity yet confirming to both in a round about way.With a cast comprising monsters, crazy tour guides, local drug manufacturers, love interests, mysterious benefactors, and the occasional mobster, 'Wild Thing' is far more diverse and light-hearted than 'Beat the Reaper'.The mobsters, while not paramount to this instalment added a sense of continuity to the Peter Brown story. Being on the peripheral and referred to with some frequency kept the embers of 'Beat the Reaper' burning enough to satisfy the craving for a true sequel. Comparatively, 'Wild Thing' is an entirely different beast and is a far more enjoyable story when read in isolation.
This is a fine example of modern day pulp fiction - 4 stars. Like countless other readers, I adored Bazell's first novel, BEAT THE REAPER. Its' plot was so preposterous, so over the top, if you told it to someone no one would believe a writer could pull it off. But Bazell made it seem effortless, and damned entertaining,too.
Wild Thing Paul Joannides Ebook Reader
WILD THING continues the story of Dr. Pietro Brnwa, a former Mob hit man on the run from his one-time employers. Under a new assumed name, Brnwa, bored and frustrated, is now working as a doctor on a cruise ship. A reliable contact Like countless other readers, I adored Bazell's first novel, BEAT THE REAPER. Its' plot was so preposterous, so over the top, if you told it to someone no one would believe a writer could pull it off. But Bazell made it seem effortless, and damned entertaining,too. WILD THING continues the story of Dr.
Pietro Brnwa, a former Mob hit man on the run from his one-time employers. Under a new assumed name, Brnwa, bored and frustrated, is now working as a doctor on a cruise ship. A reliable contact who's helped him out of tight situations in the past gets in touch with him about a secretive job offer from a reclusive billionaire. On the surface, the job involves working as a bodyguard for the gorgeous Dr. Violet Hurst,a paleontologist also working for the billionaire interested in either proving or denying forever the existence of a Loch Ness-like monster living in a lake in Minnesota. Together they join an exclusive, invitation only team, made up of various people also interested in establishing the truth about the monster.
Each person has his or her own reason for being a part of the team, from the Justin Timberlake-like commercial pop star who wants to save the creature, if it does indeed exist, and Sarah Palin (yes, THE Sarah Palin), who wants it killed for Biblical reasons. The crazy ass plot actually holds together but the truth, when it's revealed, is anti-climatic.
The author's brains, wit and insanely snappy prose and sense of pace pull the reader through the book. But its depressing world view drags the book down and the footnotes, initially a fun touch, become a trial to read, as they keep pulling you out of the book. This overly intellectualized novel just never takes off and in the end is a disappointment but so what? I'd need to read a half dozen crappy books in a row by this author before I'd give up on him.
He's brilliant,and certainly not the first to fall victim to second book syndrome. First, I loved 'Beat the Reaper'. Made my friends read it.But this is no 'Beat the Reaper'. I imagine Mr. Bazell said to himself, 'I wrote a best seller, and I am beloved, and it's now time for me to write whatever half-baked story I want filled with my own political discourses masquerading as plot, and people will still love me.just watch'.Well, not so much. This book was a disappointment to me.
The author is undeniably clever (just ask him) and well read (you don't have to ask,First, I loved 'Beat the Reaper'. Made my friends read it.But this is no 'Beat the Reaper'. I imagine Mr. Bazell said to himself, 'I wrote a best seller, and I am beloved, and it's now time for me to write whatever half-baked story I want filled with my own political discourses masquerading as plot, and people will still love me.just watch'.Well, not so much. This book was a disappointment to me. The author is undeniably clever (just ask him) and well read (you don't have to ask, he'll tell you), but he forgot that pesky plot thing when he was putting this book together. A riotous tale, the follow-up to 'Beat The Reaper' in which we met Peter Brown, former hitman for the Mafia, who was in the Federal Witness Relocation Program and working as a doctor in one of New York's worst hospitals.
This time around, he's taken the name of Lionel Azimuth and is working as a doctor on a cruise ship when he's hired by a reclusive billionaire to accompany a very attractive female paleontologist in the search for the USA's version of the Loch Ness Monster.As with 'Beat The A riotous tale, the follow-up to 'Beat The Reaper' in which we met Peter Brown, former hitman for the Mafia, who was in the Federal Witness Relocation Program and working as a doctor in one of New York's worst hospitals. Josh Bazell's previous book, 'Beat the Reaper', is awesome. An engaging story peppered with fascinating medical trivia.This book suffers from several problems:- It's essentially a left-wing screed wrapped in a novel.- The story isn't very interesting. (incredibly tame spoiler follows).- The ending evokes a giant 'Huh? Is that all there is?' - The book is seriously difficult to read on Amazon Kindle.The Kindle issues are two-fold.
First, the eBook file is oddly Josh Bazell's previous book, 'Beat the Reaper', is awesome. An engaging story peppered with fascinating medical trivia.This book suffers from several problems:- It's essentially a left-wing screed wrapped in a novel.- The story isn't very interesting. (incredibly tame spoiler follows).- The ending evokes a giant 'Huh?
Is that all there is?' - The book is seriously difficult to read on Amazon Kindle.The Kindle issues are two-fold.
First, the eBook file is oddly organized. The TOC is at the end of the eBook. The Cover is the last page.Second, the book is full of end-notes (this is part of Bazell's style). On a non-touch-screen Kindle, this means:- Use the Kindle 5-way controller to navigate to the teeny-tiny asterisk that denotes an end-note (tedious).- Click the 'Select' button.- Read the end-note (often with the reaction of 'Huh?'
Or 'this had to be an end-note?' ).- Click the 'Back' button. If you click any other button, you are screwed. You will wind up manually searching for your last-read spot.I anticipated this book for months, and was rewarded with a profound disappointment. Bazell's first book, Beat the Reaper was a fast-paced maddening thrillerwith awesome character's that are spontaneous, raw, ruthless and completely unruly when forced into action. Warning: towards the end of this tale, Dr. Peter Brown wins at all costs including self dismemberment to create weapons against foes.
Beat the Reaper is an absolute guaranteed winner, if you can stomach the intensity. And about Wild Thing, the 2nd installment of Dr. Brown, it's pathetic, there is no flow, there is no Bazell's first book, Beat the Reaper was a fast-paced maddening thrillerwith awesome character's that are spontaneous, raw, ruthless and completely unruly when forced into action. Warning: towards the end of this tale, Dr. Peter Brown wins at all costs including self dismemberment to create weapons against foes.
Beat the Reaper is an absolute guaranteed winner, if you can stomach the intensity. And about Wild Thing, the 2nd installment of Dr. Brown, it's pathetic, there is no flow, there is no vibe, there is no soul. Weak character's that we cannot identify with, stereo typical scenarios of 'almost' sexual encounters blundered by new-found morals and self-restrictions, topped off by blatant lack of direction in the overall plot with infant attempts to interject preposterous and uncalled-for acts of bravado. Super duper disappointed here, I followed Bazell constantly in anticipation of the next big intellectual ride, damn, Bazell needs to fall back on what worked prior, it was new and fresh and unique, Wild Thing was bizarre, lack-luster and failed entirely when interjecting known political demons in an attempt to carry the plot, Fail. This is not a sequel to Beat the Reaper.2. It's amazing how quickly someone- Bazell- can go from hero to zero3.
I honestly don't know what the fuck I just read, not in a good waySo this is, if Bazell is to be believed, a continuation of Pietro Brwna's story post-ManCat. It's an entirely new story and character who just happens to have the same name and backstory as Pietro. The story's plot is ridiculous and the ending a cop out.Reading this book was a chore, and halfway through it, 1.
This is not a sequel to Beat the Reaper.2. It's amazing how quickly someone- Bazell- can go from hero to zero3. I honestly don't know what the fuck I just read, not in a good waySo this is, if Bazell is to be believed, a continuation of Pietro Brwna's story post-ManCat. It's an entirely new story and character who just happens to have the same name and backstory as Pietro. The story's plot is ridiculous and the ending a cop out.Reading this book was a chore, and halfway through it, the author decided to assert that the belief Israel is an apartheid state and Palestinians are oppressed is an anti-Semitic myth. Sorry pal, get fucked.
Not all the 'recommended reading' on the issue in your shitty appendix absolves you of that, lest of all the line, 'Shut the fuck up about it around me'. Pal, you needlessly brought it up, and if the book wasn't already a dismal experience, I'd say you soured it for me. As is, the out of the blue soapbox preaching was just the cherry on a really, really shit cake. When we last saw Peter Brown, he was against the wall. Ripping one of the lesser-essential leg bones from his own body to use as a weapon against a mobster. It was a cackle-inducing scene of yuck that remains one of the highlights of my personal highlight reel of contemporary fiction. Eleven years later, he’s still on the lam.
Now he’s working as a doctor aboard a cruise ship. His name is Lionel Azimuth and when he extracts the bum tooth of a cruise ship staff member, it crumbles into a brown When we last saw Peter Brown, he was against the wall. Ripping one of the lesser-essential leg bones from his own body to use as a weapon against a mobster. It was a cackle-inducing scene of yuck that remains one of the highlights of my personal highlight reel of contemporary fiction.
Eleven years later, he’s still on the lam. Now he’s working as a doctor aboard a cruise ship. His name is Lionel Azimuth and when he extracts the bum tooth of a cruise ship staff member, it crumbles into a brown liquid.
Still with the yuck.“Wild Thing” by Josh Bazell is the followup to his fantastically hilarious whiz-bang gag trip “Beat the Reaper,” one of the best things that happened in 2010. This one has a lot of the same ingredients - lunch-gurgling scenes, sassy banter, and some genuine what-the moments.
But, while plot doesn’t always have to matter in cases of great entertainment, this one is a little too loose, lacks impact in its bam! Moments and goes off-roading to some pretty meh places. See: Completely unnecessary cameo by Sarah Palin.It all starts on White Lake in the Boundary Waters where two teen couples are engaged in low-level petting, in one case, and full-on yelp mode in the other.
Autumn Semmel dips into the lake and her boyfriend follows. When he doesn’t come up from the water, she begins to fear the lake horror of having her leg suddenly grabbed by him. Then he does come spitting up, barfing a rope of blood and not long for life. As for Autumn: “The thing rams into her from behind, clapping shut her rib cage like a book and squirting the life out of her like water from a sponge.”Uh oh. Scary sea monster skulking in the lake with a taste for human blood and guts.The character known as Lionel Azimuth is commissioned for a job, part security, part mythbusters - by a reclusive billionaire called Rec Bill. The doctor is asked to accompany his staff paleontologist Violet in a trip to the lake to discern the truth behind the monster. They are part of a party organized by the owner of an outfitting company in a small town in Northern Minnesota, and the travel team includes a pop star, some persnickity Republicans and a celebrity judge who will verify the legitimacy of the beast, Sarah Palin.There is a strong sexual attraction between Lionel and Violet, addressed the second they meet when she asks him, with less family friendly phraseology, whether they are going to consummate this thing on this trip.
The small town of Ford, Minn., is populated by a bunch of meth makers, meth heads and meth thugs. There is also a mystery surrounding who killed Autumn Semmel’s father less than a week after her bones were crushed. And there is a shout-out to my little Northern Minnesota city:“Right after we passed Duluth, which turns out to be a bunch of freeway exchanges between new-looking paper factories, every one of them pumpking smog as big and opaque as clouds out of its stacks, we stopped at a Dairy Queen for lunch.”Where “Beat the Reaper” was clever and surprising, this one is more self-conscious in its efforts to be clever and surprising. The big reveal feels like an episode of “Scooby Doo,” something Bazell must have been channeling a bit considering a conversation between Violet and Lionel that has her deconstructing the sexual relationships on the cartoon. For instance, that Velma is sneaking around with Fred on the side and faking gay so Shaggy will lay off of her.
I've had a love affair with Pietro Brnwa aka Peter Brown, the protagonist of, first, Bazell's 'Beat the Reaper,' and now also 'Wild Thing,' ever since I read the first of these.What sets Brnwa apart from his don't-fuck-with-me macho counterparts in other action thrillers is that Brnwa doesn't take himself seriously. His sardonic wit is almost unintentional, as he makes wry observations about himself and the improbable situations he finds himself in.
Instead of trying to impress you with his I've had a love affair with Pietro Brnwa aka Peter Brown, the protagonist of, first, Bazell's 'Beat the Reaper,' and now also 'Wild Thing,' ever since I read the first of these.What sets Brnwa apart from his don't-fuck-with-me macho counterparts in other action thrillers is that Brnwa doesn't take himself seriously. His sardonic wit is almost unintentional, as he makes wry observations about himself and the improbable situations he finds himself in.
Instead of trying to impress you with his Rambo-skills, he leads you to believe that he'd rather be anywhere else, instead of fighting bad guys and monsters.He's also unabashedly carnal, like most men when they are among their own and free to say what they're really thinking, but—also like most real men—spends more of his time fantasizing about the girl than 'getting' her. He's more of a reluctant hero than an anti-hero. 'Cause really, he's an awesome hero, not only to the plot, but to me as a writer. I can only aspire to Bazell's genius in his creation.If I could have given this book 4.5 stars, I would have. But the only reason I give it less than 5 is in comparison with its predecessor: 'Beat the Reaper' (which I have read three times). 'Wild Thing' was less than that genius work for two reasons: 1) Pietro didn't have the vested interest in this story that he did in the first book; namely, his own survival. Sure, he's threatened with death at some point in the story, but for most of it he's a detached investigator; and 2) in his first novel, Bazell stayed strictly within the First Person narrative of Brnwa, whereas in this book he cheats, having Brnwa narrate scenes in which he was not present, breaking the flow to distracting effect.
He also inserts the first person narrative of other characters in places, with the same result.I have to admit that, since I listened to the audio version of both books, I'm almost certainly prejudiced by the awesome talents of reader Robert Petkoff, who conveys Brnwa's cynicism perfectly, yet is able to make you believe that all the other characters are present in his voice as well.I will read anything Bazell writes (probably multiple times), as soon as it is published (or sooner, if I ever get my hands on it!). I wanted to love this book as much as I loved it's prequel- BEAT THE REAPER. The problem is that this book was really, just barely a sequel that I'm not sure why Josh Bazell bothered.
In BEAT THE REAPER, Dr. Peter Brown was living a double life- medical intern/reformed hitman- trying to hide from the mob who wanted him dead.
And it was FASCINATING! A book that went a mile a minute and refused to be put down.In WILD THING, which takes place several years down the road, it's as if Bazell said, 'I I wanted to love this book as much as I loved it's prequel- BEAT THE REAPER. The problem is that this book was really, just barely a sequel that I'm not sure why Josh Bazell bothered. In BEAT THE REAPER, Dr. Peter Brown was living a double life- medical intern/reformed hitman- trying to hide from the mob who wanted him dead.
And it was FASCINATING! A book that went a mile a minute and refused to be put down.In WILD THING, which takes place several years down the road, it's as if Bazell said, 'I have a successful character, & since he's in WITSEC I can do anything with him' which is sort of true. This book isn't about a man hiding from his past.
It's about a monster in a lake. Every once in a while, there is a flash of the character that was so interesting before, but it's so brief (& frankly kind of out of no where).This could be an interesting mystery if allowed to develop on its own, but it's reliance on the few characters from BEAT THE REAPER is almost a hindrance. I expected more from them than they delivered. It read more like a miniseries than a novel frankly.
And the very strange inclusion of Sarah Palin as a character truly had me scratching my head. This book picks up some time after the events of Blazell's first book, 'Beat The Reaper', with the former mob hitman turned doctor via the witness protection program (though he's escaped that too) who is now calling himself Dr. Lionel Azimuth. He is getting by working as a cruise ship doctor these days.
At least until he is summoned to meet with a notoriously reclusive billionaire (called Rec Bill throughout the whole novel). He is offered a huge amount of money to go check out what could be This book picks up some time after the events of Blazell's first book, 'Beat The Reaper', with the former mob hitman turned doctor via the witness protection program (though he's escaped that too) who is now calling himself Dr. Lionel Azimuth. He is getting by working as a cruise ship doctor these days.
At least until he is summoned to meet with a notoriously reclusive billionaire (called Rec Bill throughout the whole novel). He is offered a huge amount of money to go check out what could be some sort of monster (think Loch Ness) in the waters of White Lake along with a paleontologist. That is the closest thing to a coherent storyline this novel has-the fun in reading it is in the random conversations between characters and the often hysterically funny (and frequent) footnotes that run throughout the book. The language is harsh, the humor often sexual and vulgar, and there is no small amount of violence involved. But it is an amusing walk on the weird side, reminding me in some ways of Tom Robbins actually, though with more Jersey mobster flair.
This was a significant departure from the first book in the series. There is the use of multiple narrators, and more extensive footnotes. In the beginning of the book there seems to be the introduction of a sci-fi element that doesn't seem to belong in the same world as Peter Brown, and there are a mess of side characters and plots that zig and zag all over. While these eventually tie together, albeit loosely, they do not make for the strongest story.Halfway through the novel you feel like This was a significant departure from the first book in the series. There is the use of multiple narrators, and more extensive footnotes.
In the beginning of the book there seems to be the introduction of a sci-fi element that doesn't seem to belong in the same world as Peter Brown, and there are a mess of side characters and plots that zig and zag all over. While these eventually tie together, albeit loosely, they do not make for the strongest story.Halfway through the novel you feel like Bazell threw a bunch of mud against the wall, surprised himself with how much of it stuck, but felt obligated to continue forward. Was the book entertaining? Yeah, enough that I kept reading because I wanted to see how all these threads could be woven together. Did this feel like the second book in a series? Not really, it was more like comparing a Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher with Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, we get the gist of who the character is now lets blow some shit up.Personally, I would like to see a third book in the series but with much more of the fabric of the first book than the second.
Not the worst book to read when you need to kill some time, but probably not one I'm going to read a second time. 2.5 stars.Beat the Reaper was SO good and I enjoyed it so much, that I had to read this one too.Don’t make that mistake!Beat the Reaper was amazing (and I can’t recommend the Audiobook enough!), that I wanted more. But this one was far from the brilliance of BTR, so much so that I almost DNF it.It’s saving grace was the clever sense of humor that piped out here and there, again, not as much as in BTR.My advice?Read Beat the Reaper and stop there.I’d love to try more books from the author in 2.5 stars.Beat the Reaper was SO good and I enjoyed it so much, that I had to read this one too.Don’t make that mistake!Beat the Reaper was amazing (and I can’t recommend the Audiobook enough!), that I wanted more. But this one was far from the brilliance of BTR, so much so that I almost DNF it.It’s saving grace was the clever sense of humor that piped out here and there, again, not as much as in BTR.My advice?Read Beat the Reaper and stop there.I’d love to try more books from the author in the future and hope it will be able to be as good as his first one. Josh Bazell has a BA in writing from Brown University and a MD from Columbia University.
He is currently a medical resident at the University of California, San Francisco, and is working on his second novel. He wrote 'Beat the Reaper' during the end of medical school and the beginning of residency. Some of his favorite writers are James Ellroy, Ken Bruen, Michael Connelly and Peter Lovesey. He Josh Bazell has a BA in writing from Brown University and a MD from Columbia University. He is currently a medical resident at the University of California, San Francisco, and is working on his second novel. He wrote 'Beat the Reaper' during the end of medical school and the beginning of residency. Some of his favorite writers are James Ellroy, Ken Bruen, Michael Connelly and Peter Lovesey.
He states that he got the idea for this novel when going through medical school training and observed the tension physicians feel between doing medicine and their life outside of medicine. So he wanted to write about a doctor who was also the opposite of a doctor.
“In metric, one milliliter of water occupies one cubic centimeter, weighs one gram, and requires one calorie of energy to heat up by one degree centigrade—which is 1 percent of the difference between its freezing point and its boiling point. An amount of hydrogen weighing the same amount has exactly one mole of atoms in it. Whereas in the American system, the answer to ‘How much energy does it take to boil a room-temperature gallon of water?’ is ‘Go fuck yourself,’ because you can’t directly relate any of those quantities.”—.