Bad Men

En el año 1693, en la pequeña isla Santuario, junto a la costa de Maine, unos colonos fueron cruelmente masacrados. Con el transcurrir de los años, esta isla se ha ido repoblando, pasando por una época pacífica. Ahora, trescientos años después de aquellos hechos, la isla volverá a ser asolada por una banda de asesinos que andan tras la pista de una mujer y su hijo pequeño. Aunque tal vez sea la propia isla la que los atrae hacia sí, buscando satisfacción. Y es que las presencias sobrenaturales que se ocultan en los bosques de la isla no tolerarán una nueva matanza.

’Malvados’ (Bad Men, 2003), es una novela independiente del ciclo del detective Charlie Parker, aunque tiene un par de apariciones, meramente anecdóticas. Sin show more ser la mejor novela de John Connolly, ésta contiene todos los ingredientes “marca de la casa”: un escenario opresivo, con ambientes lóbregos e inquietantes; así como una prosa brillante, con ese estilo denso y descriptivo, capaz de transmitir la tensión del momento. En cuanto a los personajes, destaca Joe Dupree, el jefe de policía de la isla, pero se pude decir que es una historia coral, donde tienen voz hasta los secundarios, algo que para mi gusto resta un tanto de fuerza al libro.

Resumiendo, se trata de una buena historia, violenta y oscura, que recuerda un tanto a Stephen King en los pasajes sobrenaturales de la isla. No está mal, pero no llega a la altura de las novelas de Charlie Parker. show less

In the late seventeenth century Indians consistently raided the various islands in the area outside of what is known today as Portland, pushing the white settlers away. But in 1691 thirty individuals arrived to Dutch Island, which at the time was also known as Sanctuary, and decided to give it a try. Bauer, one of the men that formed part of the group, was justly accused of attempting to rape another man's wife. When he asked his own wife for shelter against his pursuers she did not comply and he was captured. However, he was able to escape and he returned years later with renegade Indians as his "hired help" bringing mayhem to the village. After the horrible events that developed in the island, the ghosts of the dead were left behind show more to cohabitate with the living. Usually, they do not interact much with humans, but now something is growing, and some people in the island can feel it. I don't want to give too much away. So, sit back forget all you know about "what scares you" and delve into a novel that blends the best of everything.....the undead, cannibalism, adultery, compassion, honor and revenge.
As it has been said: "Sanctuary does not always mean safety"! show less

I save books by certain authors so when I have read a series of mediocre books I can fall back on a book I haven’t read and thoroughly enjoy it. John Connolly books definitely fit this description.
Bad Men is classic Connolly. Dark, chilling and a story you just can’t stop reading. No other author nails pure evil as well as this author, and he nails it again with Bad Men!

Review by Jeremy Taylor

Bad Men by John Connolly is a dark, disturbing book about the worst kind of evil: the sort men are capable of doing to other men. Some authors write about evil in order to demonstrate the ultimate power of good; others, like Stephen King, use evil as a tool in telling a story about the supernatural. Mr. Connolly, by contrast, appears to enjoy writing about evil simply for the sake of writing about evil.

There are four main characters in this book: three of them are people; one of them is an island. All of them are tortured, complex souls. Moloch is the tortured bad man, a convicted spouse abuser who escapes prison and goes on a murder spree. Bent on enacting revenge on his betraying wife, he is unable to understand show more why he is plagued by visions from the ancient past. Marianne is Moloch’s tortured wife. She turned her husband over to the law years ago and lives in fear of his eventual release from prison. She lives under a new identity with her son on Dutch Island, Maine, as far away from Moloch as she can get. Joe DuPree is Dutch Island’s tortured policeman. He is a giant of a man and has lived with resultant ridicule his entire life. He comes from a long line of Dutch Island DuPrees, and he is is love with Marianne, though he is unaware of her secret past. The fourth character is Dutch Island itself. The little island lies so far out in the Atlantic that it is virtually cut off from the mainland except for a twice-a-day ferry that doesn’t run in foul weather—which in the winter turns out to be more days than not. The island used to be called Sanctuary, back in the dark past of which Moloch dreams without knowing why. And it has a past of its own, and it is tortured too, in its own way.

Strange spirits move deep within the woods of Dutch Island. Things happen here that no one can quite explain. Old paths through the forest become overgrown and nearly impossible to find overnight. The ancient watchtower on the coast sometimes seems to be inhabited, though not by anyone who can ever be seen. Something terrible happened here centuries ago, and the island has not forgotten. And now, with Moloch and his band of evil men making their way across the country toward Dutch Island and Marianne, the ancient spirits of the island are beginning to wake up.

It is not clear from reading the book what Connolly intended his readers to get out of it. There is no discernable moral, none of the characters undergoes an epiphany, and by the end of the book, the reader feels so oppressed by Moloch’s criminal insanity that without any positive message to offset the horrible crimes described in such great detail, one wonders exactly what the author was trying to get across. Nevertheless, Connolly writes about the criminal mind brilliantly, though whether or not that is a commendable attribute may be open to debate. We get an all-too-clear picture of what’s happening in Moloch’s mind as he bounces back and forth between his dreams of ancient evil and his participation in present crimes.

Connolly portrays his villains (Moloch is not the only evil man in the story; he is the leader of a whole group of murderous thugs) in an almost sympathetic way. At no point in the book does the reader begin to root for the evildoers, or even identify with them, but the author does give them individual personalities and motivations for their actions. As the book’s title might suggest, the bulk of the narrative and most of the action follows Moloch’s gang as they make their way toward Dutch Island. The author covers the other characters thoroughly and doesn’t leave any loose ends, but his heart never quite seems to be in the writing when he’s not examining the criminals and their crimes. The romance between the hulking Joe DuPree and Marianne, for example, is sweet but almost entirely without substance. Their developing relationship is never quite convincing, and their single sexual encounter is, while happily not described in great detail, also devoid of feeling and seems utterly shallow. Compare this with the emotion and depth with which Connolly describes one character’s murder of an innocent man because he was talking too loud on a cell phone, and it’s not difficult to see why the law-abiding characters tend to come off as dry and almost boring.

The central idea behind the story—a place that seeks revenge for horrors perpetrated there—is not an original one, but it works for Connolly every bit as well as it has worked for others in the past. Connolly employs a haunted island instead of a haunted house or a graveyard, and the touch of originality gives the story just enough of a chill factor to keep readers guessing. The ghosts manage to be creepy without being ridiculous, and the islanders’ encounters with them are part scary and part curious, leading to a real anticipation of what will happen when the spirits of the dead get their hands on the present-day murderers when they finally get to the island.

The story climaxes when Moloch and his band of merry murderers get to Dutch Island and seek out Marianne so that Moloch can pay her back for her treachery. As expected, the island comes alive with a horrible response to the evil that has reached its shores. Unfortunately, the book’s finale is rather unsatisfying, and the end comes abruptly. Nothing is left unsettled, but the reader puts the book down feeling a little bit bewildered by how suddenly the story has come to an end.

Bad Men is enjoyable in some respects, but it’s enjoyable in the same way that some people enjoy watching a scary movie: it’s so terrible that it somehow rings true. The writing is good enough to keep readers going through the horrific descriptions of awful crimes, though it’s not quite good enough to justify not having any central message or theme other than the evil that truly insane men can sometimes commit. Christians will find little to latch onto in the story. While it is certainly true that evil of the kind John Connolly writes about exists in the world, it’s best to discuss it while keeping in mind that God has already conquered all evil. Evil men still do horrible things, but God has already secured the ultimate victory. In Bad Men, triumph over evil comes from the vengeful spirits of the ancient dead. In real life, triumph over evil comes from the blood of Jesus Christ. John Connolly is very good at what he does, but this novel would have been far better if he had focused less on the things bad men are capable of and more on the goodness that the rest of us cling to every day.

(http://www.cerebralexchange.com/books/reviews.asp?book=10&host=1) show less

This book is a break for Connolly from the Charlie Parker series, although Charlie does make a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo appearance early on.
Bad Men combines a chilling thriller with a haunting supernatural tale, as modern day evil parallels a 300-year-old massacre on an island off the Maine coastline. It is known as Dutch Island to some and Sanctuary to others, and is home to around 1000 inhabitants. The locals are used to strange events on the island, with many unexplainable deaths having occurred throughout its history. Just lately there have been a growing number of strange events casting a rather uneasy feeling over the island.
A couple of the main characters on the island are the memorable policeman and giant Joe Dupree, the show more rock-steady Dutch Island local who oozes common sense and capability, and the quiet newcomer, Marianne Elliott who is plagued with dark secrets from her past. Both play integral parts in the story and both are empathetical drawn.
On the other hand, we follow the progress of a group of cold-blooded killers making their way north. Moloch, their leader has broken out of prison and is tracking down his wife in order to serve his own form of justice for handing him to the police and stealing his money. Along their way, they leave a shocking trail of bodies with some rather gruesome details of the murders. The tension builds as they near their destination, until it peaks in a devastating confrontation on Dutch Island.
This was a well-crafted and un-put-downable story that was able to slowly build up the pressure until the final rip-roaring few chapters. Although the ending is rather inevitable, the pleasure lies in it's telling and Connolly has, as always, done an excellent job. show less

This is the fourth “thriller” I’ve read by Connolly and in my opinion the best one yet. As some of the other reviewers have stated the story is previously covered ground but the author weaves a nice plausible story.

The setting for the story is definitely creepy and real enough with characters that develop sufficiently to grab your attention and plenty of action to move the story along. The big finale of the book worked and while anticipated was well done. This was the first thriller that I’ve read by Connolly in which the ending didn’t seem rushed or hurried with a finality which was less then satisfying.

Overall, this was a good read with a the nasty “crunch” you expect from Connolly. Recommended for anyone that enjoys show more killers, action, and ghosts. show less

Part crime novel, part mystery/suspense novel & part paranormal novel this story involves an island with a dark past, a past that is now starting to resurface.

This is the first John Connolly novel I've read and it was very enjoyable, the writing is detailed and atmospheric really drawing you into the story and environment.

I've heard some people say that it is too violent however I did not particularly feel this to be the case, and it wasn't at all gory. Whilst there is death and some characters meet their ends in an unfortunate manner it does not delve into the intricate manner of their deaths. I consider this to be a positive as often some otherwise good stories get bogged down in the gore, most times rather pointlessly.

Overall, an show more excellent crime/mystery/suspense novel. show less