book data
536 ratings,
3.79
average rating, 54 reviews
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published
May 6th 1999
by Orion mass market paperback
(first published 1998)
details
Paperback, 384 pages
characters
isbn
0752825925
(isbn13: 9780752825922)
description
Keller is an assassin – he is paid by the job and works for a mysterious man who nominates hits and passes on commissions from elsewhere. Keller …more
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avg 3.79
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Keller's a pretty normal guy. He does crosswords, loves dogs, collects stamps and buys earrings for his girlfriend every time he travels. And he travels a lot since his job is killing people.
Block did a great job with this string of short stories about Keller that build a character study about a professional hit man who often finds himself dealing with odd circumstances despite his desire to just do the job and get out of town. Keller isn't a psycho, but he isn't exactly wracked w...more
Block did a great job with this string of short stories about Keller that build a character study about a professional hit man who often finds himself dealing with odd circumstances despite his desire to just do the job and get out of town. Keller isn't a psycho, but he isn't exactly wracked w...more
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Read in December, 2009
I'll say up front, I fully expected to get into this book and at best be mildly interesed. It is after all a story of a "Hit Man". Personally I don't condone murder either as proffession or pass time, so in rating this book a 4 I'm saying this is an interesting book.
It's odd to find yourself at least mildly sympathic to a killer. When I first "met" Keller he put me in mind of a homicidal Walter Mitty. When he goes somewhere to "fulfill a contract he tends to ...more
It's odd to find yourself at least mildly sympathic to a killer. When I first "met" Keller he put me in mind of a homicidal Walter Mitty. When he goes somewhere to "fulfill a contract he tends to ...more
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8 comments
Breezy read with a compelling character. Block's approach to the titular character, Keller, does not take the expected route. He has created an interesting amoral character who seems to be on search not for his morality, but for his place in the world. His acceptance of his profession is refreshing, if simple.
My main gripe is based on personal taste. This is a collection of short stories posing as a novel. Each "chapter" has its own three-act structure, but the book as a ...more
My main gripe is based on personal taste. This is a collection of short stories posing as a novel. Each "chapter" has its own three-act structure, but the book as a ...more
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Hitman is a collection of short stories about a professional killer named Keller. What sets this book apart from others of its kind is that it's more about what Keller does when he's not actively killing people, what makes him tick. He has fantasies about living in whatever town he's visiting for a job. He has a dog that he's quite attached to. And eventually he takes up stamp collecting as a hobby so he'll have something to do when he retires.
That's not to say there's no action. ...more
That's not to say there's no action. ...more
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8 comments
Read in October, 2008
This is the third collection I’ve read about John Keller, hit man. Alas, it is the first book in the series, and while the other two don’t really depend on chronology to establish themselves, they regularly refer to the events from this book as the history behind Keller. In particular, this book establishes his aversion to long-term relationships, his working relationship with Dot, and his philately. So anyone who hasn’t read any of the Keller books, I’d start with Hit Man.
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Read in January, 2007
I read this one over and over. Keller is a contract killer and he travels for work, a lot. He often finds himself in a town or city thinking "I could live here" as do Justina and I. We don't do the killing part (to bad art doesn't pay that well) but we could live anywhere - and sometimes have found ourselves living in places we never thought about living, like Fresno or San Diego. We've even considered changing our last name to Keller. He's a nice guy whom we like to hang out with from...more
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Read in April, 2009
recommends it for:
Everyone
I had read Lawrence Block's book on writing. This is the first of his novel's I've read and I now know that he knows what he is talking about. His premise is very interesting. Who would have thought someone could write about a contract killer and make him likeable but Mr. Block has. Each chapter reads almost like a short story and it all melds together into a satisfying novel. I'm going to watch for his other series as well now, just to compare. Would recommend to anyone who wants a fast pa...more
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Read in March, 2002
Hit Man - G
Lawrence Block - 1st in series
Keller is your basic Urban Lonely Guy. He makes a decent wage, lives in a nice apartment, works the crossword puzzle. Until the phone rings, and he flies halfway across the country...and kills somebody. It's a living, but is it a life? You've never met anyone like Keller. Keller is a killer. Professional, cool, confident, competent, reliable. The consummate pro. The hit man's hit man. But he is a complex person: understandably guarded and recl...more
Lawrence Block - 1st in series
Keller is your basic Urban Lonely Guy. He makes a decent wage, lives in a nice apartment, works the crossword puzzle. Until the phone rings, and he flies halfway across the country...and kills somebody. It's a living, but is it a life? You've never met anyone like Keller. Keller is a killer. Professional, cool, confident, competent, reliable. The consummate pro. The hit man's hit man. But he is a complex person: understandably guarded and recl...more
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I didn't love this book, but I didn't hate it either. It was OK – till the end. I finished it - so that's saying something. Despite the hum drum narration (which actually pretty much fit the character but was kinda annoying to me); it kept my interest for most of the story. At first I was really interested in this hit mans life and where it was headed, then it just started to drag on and with stories about his hits, etc... with seemingly no point. I was expecting it to lead somewhere or re...more
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Read in June, 2001
Pretty interesting switch on the normal murder mystery. It's told from the hit man's point of view. Through the whole book you keep thinking that he will see the moral thing to do and stop killing people....well that's the point of the story!
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Read in February, 2009
recommends it for:
NOBODY
DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME. DO NOT READ THIS BOOK. I would have said 3/5 stars I liked the style and most of the book but since the author decided to not give it an ending I must say I would like the hours back in my life. I cant believe I wasted so much time for a CRAP ending like that one. Dear Author, IF YOU CANT END IT.....DON'T PUBLISH IT!!
Read in January, 2008
A very interesting book i actually stumbled upon at goodwill. It's the story of a hitman named Keller. It shos the kind of "good side of the killer," (ironically named Keller i just realized). Definately a page turner. overall,
Good Read.
Good Read.
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Read in September, 2009
Main character Keller is a hit man which makes him kind of hard to like. That being said, a pretty decent story, some funny parts, some good parts, ending leaves opening for more Keller books.
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recommended to Dave by:
my brother
recommends it for: fans of dark comedy
recommends it for: fans of dark comedy
If you've never read Lawrence Block, you're missing out. He's one of the most entertaining writers I've ever read, and his "Hitman" series is the most entertaining of his books that I've read. He manages to take a completely cold, morally bankrupt man who feels no moral qualms about murdering strangers for money, and make him kind of fun and lovable. It helps that he collects stamps and volunteers for disaster relief organizations in his spare time when he's not killing people.
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Read in December, 2009
SOme years ago I picked up Hit List almost by accident and loved it, so I had to find out if there were more tales of Keller - there were and this was one...
More of a fun collection of short stories with an overall series arc, I LOVED these witty, funny endearing tales of the HItman with a heart, Keller.
If I could find a job as a hitter, I like to think my own experiences would closley match his, at least internally - how he feels about things places and people - but i...more
More of a fun collection of short stories with an overall series arc, I LOVED these witty, funny endearing tales of the HItman with a heart, Keller.
If I could find a job as a hitter, I like to think my own experiences would closley match his, at least internally - how he feels about things places and people - but i...more
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Read in July, 1998
Excellent; adventures of a paid assassin who travels around the country fulfilling his contracts while learning about himself.
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Read in January, 2006
There are a couple of Keller books in Lawrence Block's oeuvre. Block is an amazingly prolific writer, with a number of series to his name, all with very different voices. The Keller books are unsettling; Keller is a hit man who regards what he does with a lack of affect that is disturbing. But Block's deft handling of Keller's anomie allows glimpses of the real Keller to show, just for a moment, but enough to make me yearn for more, and allow me to feel Keller's suppressed yearning for more t...more
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Read in January, 2010
Good. The person who suggested I read Block told me not to read these ones, but I liked it.
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AKA: Sheldon Lord, Jill Emerson, Paul Kavanaugh, Chip Harrison, Lawrence Block
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Read in March, 2009
recommends it for:
Anyone
A book about a guy going around killing people... delightful! Surprisingly entertaining.
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mystery (on 26 people's shelves)
fiction (on 13 people's shelves)
currently-reading (on 5 people's shelves)
crime (on 4 people's shelves)
crime-and-mystery (on 3 people's shelves)
murder-for-hire (on 2 people's shelves)
mysteries (on 2 people's shelves)
audible (on 2 people's shelves)
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