Judge Me Not

Early MacDonald novel grabs you by about the third chapter, and then the sordid story never lets go. My copy, bought at a used book store long ago, was falling apart as I read it. I'm afraid MacDonald probably doesn't age that well. It's not that he is chauvinistic; other noir writers can get away with it, but MacDonald loads in so much sentiment and psychology that it gets really really annoying at times. Still, it doesn't erase the interest of the story, about a man working for an honest city manager who is trying to rid a town of its corruption. Yes--it's like a Dashiell Hammet Continental Op novel, but not that good. Oh well. This review probably has you confused. All I can say is that despite his faults, MacDonald is a fascinating show more writer and he rarely lets you down when it comes to action scenes. show less

We worry about the violence of our era, the mass shootings. This story is a reminder that people have a long history of violent behavior. While the story is fantasy just as RoboCop was fantasy, it does speak to both the darker and brighter side of human character. Is human nature really changing for the better? We must hope so of we can manage right billion or more of us living on this globe.
The story itself is an example of MacDonald's ability to show rather than tell. While a contemporary audience won't identify with everything the evocation of human nature comes through. There is certainly a vivid depiction of late forties America.

Inner city politics often aren't as clear as the "good" and "evil" in this story, but the workings and chicanery involved in political changes couldn't be better shown.