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KOP (Juno Mozambe Mystery #1)
Juno is a dirty cop with a difficult past and an uncertain future. When his family and thousands of others emigrated to the colony world of Lagarto, they were promised a bright future on a planet with a booming economy. But before the colonists arrived, everything changed. An opportunistic Earth-based company developed a way to produce a cheaper version of Lagarto’s m...more
Mass Market Paperback, 336 pages
Published
April 29th 2008
by Tor Science Fiction
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I never really got into this book (I figure I read about a third), but we had a good discussion at book club. The main character is an antihero, which I rarely like, and it's in first person POV, making it worse for me to try to be in the characters head. The setting is depressing also, a run down backwater planet that nobody likes. The plot is a mystery, dead body and dirty politics. I complained that the women that I saw (except the rookie cop) were all side players, except maybe the one w...more
I was intrigued by the premise of a mystery set on another planet as I have an affinity for genre-blending stories. Too bad it didn't live up to my hopes. I could only stand to read through chapter 11 before putting this lump down.[return][return]The setting for the story is a totally corrupt society on a backwater planet. Very much like Simon Green's Nightside, but instead of dark and spooky, the world is sweaty and moldy. Dark and spooky = interesting. Sweaty and moldy? Just eww.[return]...more
There's a lot to like about this book. Especially if you're like me, and a sucker for noir integrated into other things and interesting settings.
On those two counts, this book does really well. The setting makes fabulous use of a massive space travel delay, and begins with the assumption that while future haves may have way shinier things, the have-nots may continue not-having in much the same way that they always have.
The characters are good fun, too. A bit familiar, if ...more
On those two counts, this book does really well. The setting makes fabulous use of a massive space travel delay, and begins with the assumption that while future haves may have way shinier things, the have-nots may continue not-having in much the same way that they always have.
The characters are good fun, too. A bit familiar, if ...more
Summary:
Veteran police officer Juno has been assigned a new partner and an important homicide case. Police Chief Paul Chang, his close friend and former partner, is in trouble, the crooked empire he has painstakingly built threatened by a mayor pledging to root out corruption. So when a good PR opportunity comes to solve the murder of a city official’s son, Chang calls in Juno. The investigation leads to unexpected places, implicating those high in government and organized criminals ali...more
Veteran police officer Juno has been assigned a new partner and an important homicide case. Police Chief Paul Chang, his close friend and former partner, is in trouble, the crooked empire he has painstakingly built threatened by a mayor pledging to root out corruption. So when a good PR opportunity comes to solve the murder of a city official’s son, Chang calls in Juno. The investigation leads to unexpected places, implicating those high in government and organized criminals ali...more
Kop is Warren Hammond's debut novel and I always try to support new authors when their first books appear. I bought this one at a con because it looked interesting, a little edgy and dark, even though I don't typically read SF that much.
I'm glad I did. I really liked this. As the cover suggests, it IS dark and edgy and gritty, with a ton of atmosphere and an intereting main character (who is anything but perfect) and an intriguing plot.
The basic premise is the main cha...more
I'm glad I did. I really liked this. As the cover suggests, it IS dark and edgy and gritty, with a ton of atmosphere and an intereting main character (who is anything but perfect) and an intriguing plot.
The basic premise is the main cha...more
An amazing book, especially for a debut novel. I rarely believe blurbs, but the reviewer who compared Hammond to Dashiell Hammett wasn't just whistling dixie - this is a pitch-perfect noir...in space. An examination of what happens when a plantation economy collapses, combined with a noir police procedural, this is one of the most creative books I've read in recent memory. The landscape is lush - literally - and it's a great representation of some of the challenges that come of colonizing a jung...more
Interesting world that was conceived for this book. I found the story to be good, plotting good and fast-paced with good diversions. Some of the subject matter probably will offend or bother a few readers, not me. I think that the premise of how a "corrupt" police force was actually created to bring order and peace to the civilian population to be a nice twist on things.
It reminds me of a lesser story in the original Star Trek series. Cute and fun to see the character...more
It reminds me of a lesser story in the original Star Trek series. Cute and fun to see the character...more
Kop is a well written noir novel with all the trappings of the genre. Dirty cops,crooked politicians,femme fatales and murder. What i found was that the sci fi aspect of it was very underplayed and the story could have just as easily been set in a more traditional noir environment. Still worth reading ,but I wish the SF elements had come into play more. If you enjoyed this you'd probably enjoy other examples of SF noir such as Michael Marshall Smith's Spares and Only Forward. Also KW Jeter's Noi...more
This is a good gritty noir novel in a science fiction setting. The technology is incidental, and the backwater planet could be any steamy little third-world nation. That said, it is enjoyable for what it is. the hero is a former enforcer for the police, hopelessly mired in the endemic corruption of a poor city-state on a poor planet. He is roped into an investigation that may be beyond his tired old self, saddled with a spit-shiny by-the-book new partner, encounters what seems like random mayh...more
This book was fantastic. I love a good crime novel and with the sci-fi mixed in it was just awesome. I loved the characters. They were well developed and Juno was a very real hero in this tale. He had flaws and didn't come off like Bruce Willis in the Die Hard movies. He got hurt,he had limits,and he felt real. I can't wait to read Warren Hammond's next book- EX-KOP. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes crime novels and don't worry about the sci-fi in it, it really doesn't hold back ...more
WAAAAAY outside what I normally read. But I have to give Warren credit: he created a sometimes horrifically flawed yet totally sympathetic character. I found myself shaking my head and thinking, "Juno, please don't, you could be better" more often than "You asshole, what the hell?" during every gritty decision. That says something about the author's skill--I'm pretty morally decided, but I was put right at Juno's side and was made to care about the guy as much as his few conf...more
I recently read another first novel (I really love reading first novels of authors) which hinted at noir, but didn't quite pull it all together. I was disappointed. Kop, however, didn't disappoint, but left me eager to read the next in the series. The characters were flawed enough to be real, hopeful enough to keep the reader rooting for their ultimate success. The plot was well thought out, with enough character development to keep me interested beyond the eventual revelation of "who dun i...more
Kop was an engaging and science-fiction mystery. I liked how the protagonist was flawed and complicated, because it prevented the story from being stereotypical or tedious. The author descriptively created a dark, despairing world populated with acts of bribery, violence, and poverty. This story was not extremely depressing, however, because the main character, who did many things he later regretted, did have a streak of goodness in him. A well written mystery in a well-developed futuristic sett...more
A debut novel by local Denver author Warren Hammond, KOP is a science fiction thriller. Set in the distant future, on a distant planet, the story follows Juno Mozambe, an aging crooked cop that works for the privatized police force KOP on his home planet Largato.
The novel is a perfect example of formulaic genre fiction. Juno is a washed out morally debunked cop that is both tired of his underhanded ways and entirely unwilling and unable to change them. He is partnered up with a fema...more
The novel is a perfect example of formulaic genre fiction. Juno is a washed out morally debunked cop that is both tired of his underhanded ways and entirely unwilling and unable to change them. He is partnered up with a fema...more
This is a gritty sci-fi noir tale set on a planet that's basically a third world country. Think a science fiction James Ellroy.. maybe a sci-fi Dashiell Hammett. This is some good stuff. I'd recommend this if you're a sci-fi fan or a fan of gritty crime fiction.
A murder/corruption story that is set in a half forgotten colony planet where the cities are being overrun by the jungle that occupies its habitable zones. A few lizards get shot with lasers, which is cool.
I don't know much about noir/mystery novels, but I do know a hell of a lot about sci-fi and this book is a nice blend of both. I envision Warren Hammond spending a good chunk of time on his setting (the meat and potatoes of any good sci-fi story) and then dropping a damn good murd...more
I don't know much about noir/mystery novels, but I do know a hell of a lot about sci-fi and this book is a nice blend of both. I envision Warren Hammond spending a good chunk of time on his setting (the meat and potatoes of any good sci-fi story) and then dropping a damn good murd...more
Hard-boiled Science Fiction?
Whatever it is, it really works and is a quick read. Heading to library to pick up sequel.
Whatever it is, it really works and is a quick read. Heading to library to pick up sequel.
More a crime novel than a sci-fi, but still a decent one. Not the greatest writing style I've run across, but - as with the book I read before this one - a quick enough read.
A well-done sci-fi noir. It hits all the right notes - crooked but loyal c/kop, inability to fight forces larger than himself, violent temper, questions about morality, etc.
I loved getting to know Juno. I wanted to feel like he was a bad guy, but in the end, I empathized with him and his world and his choices.
Good read!
Good read!
Really liked the characters. The world was totally believeable. Altogether captivating read.
Great imagination! Creates a whole new civilization with its own issues and tension.
Rather dark but believable characters, with a reluctant, not so likable hero.
Interesting main character and world in which he lives.
Noir in an SF setting.
Drew
added it
KOP by Warren Hammond (2008)
A friend turned me on to this book, which was written by someone that he knew. It's pretty good so far. There are a ton of cliche's around every corner, but for some strange reason, it doesn't really detract from the story. It's fast-paced and exciting while still maintaining a gritty, noire detective feel. The plot is familiar, but tightly presented with occasional surprises that remind you this isn't Sam Spade of the 1940's, no matter how much it wants to be.
Quite a good first novel. The hard-boiled cop Juno is well met in his novice partner on the beat, Maggie. The suspense builds nicely as they explore the underbelly of corruption on Lagarto, a world simmering with cheap vice to tempt off-worlders, driven by native poverty and merciless tropical humidity. Fans of Whedon's Firefly or Dick's Bladerunner will appreciate the seedy quality of the corrupt deals and investigations.
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Hard boiled detective story that had a science fiction background - but only slightly. The SF elements were background and didn't play into the story at all, which was actually sort of disappoointing. Honestly I didn't find the story too engrossing, except maybe the "stakeout" section. It seemed pretty derivative, but at the same time a decent enough read.
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Warren grew up in the Hudson River Valley of New York State. Upon obtaining his teaching degree from the University at Albany, he moved to Colorado, married his wife Kathy, and settled in the Platt Park neighborhood of Denver where he can usually be found typing away at the local coffee shop or browsing the selection at the Tattered Cover.
His first novel, KOP, was published by Tor Book...more
More about Warren Hammond...
His first novel, KOP, was published by Tor Book...more
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