Michael Slade (1) (1947–)

I really shouldn't have enjoyed this book as much as I did. It's a derivative horror show filled with hackneyed dialogue and cardboard protagonists which spends far too many pages giving long-winded lectures on everything from the sewer system of greater London and H. P. Lovecraft's adolescence to the psychology of monster movies. One of the heroes, RCMP officer Zinc Chandler (Zinc? seriously...?) is even described as possessing "rugged good looks" and "chiseled features"...it doesn't get show more much more generic than that. And then it dawned on me, this is essentially an 80s slasher flick in book form! Suddenly all that dime store psychoanalysis, tawdry sex, and over-the-top gore made perfect sense as did the story's SMH resolution and pair of last minute twists. With this in mind I would recommend "Ghoul" to anyone who enjoyed sitting in a darkened theatre munching popcorn while watching Freddy Kreuger, Jason Voorhees, and Michael Myers carve people up. I know I did... :) show less

Here's a timely new release from Penguin Canada.

Red Snow is set in Vancouver, Canada - now. The 2010 Winter Olympics are set to begin February 12, 2010. Slade's novel opens in December 2009. A celebrated snowboarder goes off the beaten trail, on a route he's known to take. Part of him finishes the run. His head doesn't. Additional crimes draw in the Special X investigation unit of the RCMP. (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) The 'X' unit are the 'psycho hunters." It seems an old nemesis is not show more done with the unit.

This was the first Michael Slade book I had read. (There are 14 others) Past crimes and criminals are explained, but in the beginning I felt like I was playing catch up as there are constant references to the past. I was able to get up to speed fairly quickly and got caught up in the tale. Slade incorporates lots of elements into his novels. The crimes are quite brutal, yet ingenious. Locked room mysteries and forensic techniques are effectively utilized. The weapons used are quite diabolical. Historical details are woven into the tale.

Lots and lots of action - quite frankly, I wondered if anyone would be left standing at the end. Without giving it away, the madman's plot is very, very plausible and quite frightening.

If you've read James Rollins' Sigma Force novels, you would enjoy Michael Slade.

Slade is the nom de plume of Vancouver lawyer Jay Clarke. Clarke specializes in cases involving the criminally insane. His novels draw upon that knowledge, Clarke's contacts within the RCMP and his own family history to give his novels a ring of authenticity. show less

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I read ‘Headhunter’, the first of Canadian author Michael Slade’s Special X series, decades ago as a teenager and really liked it. Returning to it years later I didn’t find it quite as good as I’d expected, but still had fun with it. It’s an appropriate book to review here, as Slade is a McBain fan. The master is noted in the acknowledgements and there are a couple of references to the 87th Precinct show more within the book, with a character recommending to one of the cops that he gives them a try.
Slade is described in the bio as a pseudonym used by a group of partners in a law firm. His Twitter presence today suggests he is just one person now, so not sure if the writing partnership dissolved at some point.
The book details an investigation by an elite team of Mounties into a series of sex murders where the female victims are decapitated. It’s a kind of hybrid of police procedural and out and out horror, with the original marketing of the books definitely leaning more towards the latter. The horror is pretty brilliantly done. It’s extremely graphic and quite shocking at times, with a tonne of perverse sex thrown in for good measure. That may account for my fond memories of the book from my teenage years.
What works less well is the plotting. At 470 pages it’s way too long and the storytelling is muddy and confusing at times, darting all over the place. McBain’s influence is clear in some of the prose and the flashes of humour through the book, but unfortunately not in tightness of the writing. I’m not sure if the issues may in part be down to the fact that it was written by a team, but it could definitely have used a better editor to trim it down.
For all that though, when it’s good it is very good. The action and horror scenes crackle and it’s so imaginatively disgusting that it gets a thumbs up from me. I’ve been gradually picking up the later books in the series, so expect to see more reviews here soon. show less

Hangman is a rather strange, convoluted serial killer mystery. It has a number of interesting characters, many of whom are regulars in the Special X series. The book moves at a fairly rapid pace with few slow spots, but it jumps back and forth, timewise, which may it a little tough to keep up with for this reader. (Maybe I'm just a dullard...)
The plot has a number of satisfying twists, plus one really big one that I didn't see coming, but the ending left me wanting.
I've read a number of show more Michael Slade books in the past and have to say that this one wasn't "his" best. show less