James Ellroy

I'm a big fan of James Ellroy. I wouldn't call him the "modern day Tolstoy," but I think he is a great writer. "The Cold Six Thousand" was the first of his books that I read, followed shortly thereafter by "The Black Dahlia." As I write this I'm about 3/4 of the way through his newest novel, "Blood's a Rover."

As much as I like Ellroy, I have to say that "Blood's a Rover" is a ponderous book. The first half consists almost entirely of racial slurs and violent acts, and the whole thing - even despite the admirably convoluted plot - seems like a retread of stuff he's done before.

Which is too bad, because I really, really wanted to like this book. "The Cold Six Thousand" blew my mind the first time I read it, and "The Black Dahlia" was even better. Ellroy writes like no one else out there, and you have to admire the guy for his originality.

James Ellroy is also the guy who wrote "L.A. Confidential," which was later adapted into a movie. I wouldn't read him for that reason, however. He has done a lot of revolutionary things with the English language - and the art of storytelling - least of all write a book that got turned into a movie.

I would give "Blood's a Rover" 5 stars out of 10. The other two books get 10 stars out of 10, because they are that good.