Stephen G. Eoannou

Upon receiving this book from an indie publisher, I was worried that I might not like it due to its genre. I started reading it rather slowly, but after I discovered that some of the characters were actual historical figures, I became more interested in completing the story.

The main character was Fran Striker, creator of the Lone Ranger, whom I remember from watching television as a child. Another character in this book was John Barrett, who had been the original radio voice actor for the Lone Ranger. This book's author presented a creative story in imagining how Striker might have come up with the idea for the Lone Ranger. Overall, I found this story to be a terrific combination of 1930s nostalgia, colorful characters from Buffalo, New York, a sad glance at Depression era living, plus just the right amount of magic to make this story work.… (altro)

I read this as an early reviewer copy ebook. I was somewhat surprised to find some attention to detail in many passages -- descriptions that helped "color" the narrative and bring the scenes to life. The author did a good job of maintaining tension and interest in a somewhat unusual story line. I felt the ending was a bit rushed and disconnected but the book is certainly worth reading as a good short story.

I have to admit I struggled with reading this as the ebook format presented was epub the only format which my Kindle reader does not support. The book was resent as a mobi file which apparently was copy protected or corrupted and a third copy was sent as a .PDF file. Unfortunately, my Kindle also cannot enlarge .PDF files and I struggled reading this with very tiny, fuzzy print. This is not necessarily a reflection on the author, bur rather on the publisher, and might be a concern for those using a Kindle for reading.… (altro)

I couldn’t put it down. Rook, by Stephen Eoannou, is a short novel, densely packed with both good and bad compelling characters, a fascinating plot, and, as a bonus, is well-written. The writing reminded me of Hemingway in that there are no wasted words.

Al Nussbaum is a young man, married with a baby, and crazy about his wife Lolly, who returns his love cheerfully and deeply. What she doesn’t know is that he makes his money by robbing banks. When she thinks he has a legitimate business and is saving to buy them a house, he’s been spending the stolen money on running guns, increasing his profit. Al has to go on the run, and Lolly is left with nothing. She and the baby move in with her disapproving parents, where they babysit while she works two jobs. The FBI has destroyed her home and possessions and taken what little money Al gave her. She is hounded and gossiped about. Amazingly, she remains in love with her husband and hopes it’s all a nightmarish misunderstanding.

The characters all seemed so real, especially their inner dialogues. I loved Al teaching himself Portuguese so that he could move to Brazil, where there was no extradition agreement, all the while planning to “go legit” after the move.

I give this book an unhesitating 5 stars, and wish the author good luck with his first novel.

… (altro)

This book was much better than I expected. Its not a fancy book, and it struck me as kind of an homage to pulpy paperback detective stories you might find on a rack in a drugstore 30 years ago or something. The main character does in fact read a book like that about 2/3 of the way through this, and talks for a while about how it made an impression on him.
The action is steady, and the characters are really well drawn if a little caricature-ish. Each has some interesting aspect that makes them memorable, these would be great characters for a cop show, like a series.
I read this in just a few days, and I enjoyed the whole thing. It felt like it was taking place in the 1960s but I may have missed something. Great beach read, not a thinker but very diverting.
I reviewed this for the librarything early reviewer program.… (altro)