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Sam Dane #1
In the Blood
The Utu festival was only three days old when the first body was found, 22 year old Gloria Ashlock, naked except for her shoes, leashed to a column in a warehouse and stabbed 35 times. The discovery was a shock but not a surprise to the police on Procrustes; they'd found eleven bodies during last year's festival and nine the year before. The humans, who had arrived a quarter century before, would scream and blame it on the indifference of the native Zherghi to crimes against anyone but themselves. The Council had agreed if the murders began again they would take action. They brought in a human detective. When Sam Dane arrived he found a city given over to drunken debauchery, with the police overwhelmed by the manic festival and the killer leaving new victims day after day. Not speaking the language and unable to read clues on alien faces, Dane looks for any thread to follow back to the predator. Amid the chaos, where every action is colored by species, alcohol, sex, violence, greed, ambition and politics, Dane works against time and the odds to keep the murders from destroying the city. He discovers that it's easier to bury bodies than secrets, and that there are worse crimes than murder.
248 pages, Paperback
First published June 3, 2010
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71 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 4, 2011
I won this in a first reads drawing.
The book is kind of fun, although not exactly gripping. The science fiction aspect isn't very well fleshed out; it feels very much like an episode of a 20th/21st century cop show in which the hero investigates a crime that was committed in an unfamiliar subculture. The technology is largely the same and the culture on the alien planet is more like our own modern culture than not. Why bother with another planet, then? Also, I found the relationship between the protagonist and the woman tedious and disruptive.
The editing could have been more painstaking (yeah, i mean typos, mostly improper use of homonyms) and there were annoying formatting problems that probably just just come with the territory with self-published books. However my copy seems to be missing the last page or two- the text stops midsentence. Although I'm sure I'm not missing anything important to the story, that omission is pretty terrible.
The book is kind of fun, although not exactly gripping. The science fiction aspect isn't very well fleshed out; it feels very much like an episode of a 20th/21st century cop show in which the hero investigates a crime that was committed in an unfamiliar subculture. The technology is largely the same and the culture on the alien planet is more like our own modern culture than not. Why bother with another planet, then? Also, I found the relationship between the protagonist and the woman tedious and disruptive.
The editing could have been more painstaking (yeah, i mean typos, mostly improper use of homonyms) and there were annoying formatting problems that probably just just come with the territory with self-published books. However my copy seems to be missing the last page or two- the text stops midsentence. Although I'm sure I'm not missing anything important to the story, that omission is pretty terrible.
June 1, 2011
IN THE BLOOD by Robert J. Sullivan
Goodreads: **1/2 First Reads, Mystery, Science Fiction
The basic premise of this book is a good one, but I came away somewhat disappointed. The story follows Sam Dane, a sort of intergalactic Sam Spade, who is called upon to aid the police in solving a series of murders on the planet Procrustes. Procrustes has two intelligent species—humans who arrived twenty years ago and Zhergi. The victims are all human and killed in the same way; beyond that the local police (a mixed group of Zhergi and humans) seem stuck at square one.
Danes’ investigation is impossibly lucky. Every new character or concept proves integral to the conclusion of the novel. The book lacks the false leads needed to aid in suspense and the detail needed to make this story believable.
Thanks Goodreads for another First Reads win!
Goodreads: **1/2 First Reads, Mystery, Science Fiction
The basic premise of this book is a good one, but I came away somewhat disappointed. The story follows Sam Dane, a sort of intergalactic Sam Spade, who is called upon to aid the police in solving a series of murders on the planet Procrustes. Procrustes has two intelligent species—humans who arrived twenty years ago and Zhergi. The victims are all human and killed in the same way; beyond that the local police (a mixed group of Zhergi and humans) seem stuck at square one.
Danes’ investigation is impossibly lucky. Every new character or concept proves integral to the conclusion of the novel. The book lacks the false leads needed to aid in suspense and the detail needed to make this story believable.
Thanks Goodreads for another First Reads win!
Read
January 21, 2011"In the Blood" is a science fiction detective thriller. On a planet where humans are the minority, serial killer is stalking the human population during the annual festival. A human detective, Sam Dane, is brought in to help catch the murderer.
"ScFi & Fantasy Books" reviewed the novel and had this to say:
The novel is written in a relaxed yet structured fashion that allows the plot to proceed at a good pace while the alien culture is well described and makes reading the novel very comfortable, the prose flows very smoothly. There are plenty of plot twists and turns to keep the interest and the pace becomes faster and faster towards the superb ending. It's one of novels that sticks in your head even when you're not reading and one that you just have to read one more page before you put it down.
"In the Blood" is a great piece of fiction, with excellent characterization and a deep alien culture that will leave you wanting for more, recommended.
"ScFi & Fantasy Books" reviewed the novel and had this to say:
The novel is written in a relaxed yet structured fashion that allows the plot to proceed at a good pace while the alien culture is well described and makes reading the novel very comfortable, the prose flows very smoothly. There are plenty of plot twists and turns to keep the interest and the pace becomes faster and faster towards the superb ending. It's one of novels that sticks in your head even when you're not reading and one that you just have to read one more page before you put it down.
"In the Blood" is a great piece of fiction, with excellent characterization and a deep alien culture that will leave you wanting for more, recommended.
May 31, 2011
In the Blood is a sci-fi/mystery set on planet that humans now co-populate after requesting refuge when their ship and supplies are nearly exhausted. The story revolves around an investigator who is brought in to assist in the search of a serial killer who after years of human occupation has been slaying humans during an annual festival.
Dane, the investigator, seems almost like a caricature from a pulp novel or 50s movie. In many ways he is the least developed character in the story line. There are many scenes where his reactions and responses left me confused since he seems to lack much of a back story. In fact, many of the lesser characters seem to have more back story than any of the primary characters in the book.
That said, the story itself is conceivable and not uninteresting. It just comes across as hollow with it's lack of fully developed characters.
I received a copy of this book as part of a giveaway.
Dane, the investigator, seems almost like a caricature from a pulp novel or 50s movie. In many ways he is the least developed character in the story line. There are many scenes where his reactions and responses left me confused since he seems to lack much of a back story. In fact, many of the lesser characters seem to have more back story than any of the primary characters in the book.
That said, the story itself is conceivable and not uninteresting. It just comes across as hollow with it's lack of fully developed characters.
I received a copy of this book as part of a giveaway.
February 3, 2011
Well thought out, original, possibly the start of a new series.
Read
July 11, 2011In the past few years I’ve noticed a resurgence in pulp fiction. Pulp fiction was born of the depression and getting inexpensively made magazines to the public and the magazines paid the writers accordingly. I don’t know if the economic times are bringing about this resurgence, or the modernity of the internet is bringing out a longing for simpler stories, more black and white then grays. Or maybe it just never went away.
Robert Sullivan’s, “In The Blood” is a very straightforward detective story with a twist of science fiction tossed in. Sam Dane comes to the planet Procrustes, asked to add his expertise to the investigation of a serial killer. In the fast moving novel Dane discovers clues that the murders might be more than a series of killings and could have far reaching consequences for the community of human settlers on Procrustes when he discovers a conspiracy revolving around a plague.
“In The Blood” isn’t necessarily dependent on science fiction in the plot, the detective story could be set in a modern earth setting or in the halcyon days of the detective novel the 30’s and 40’s. The setting of Procrustes reminds me a bit of the movie “Outland” in that the planet is a frontier town where anything goes, and lawlessness is just barely kept in check by the law.
That may be the major stumbling block of “In The Blood”, Procrustes seems a planet more wild west than alien, the inhabitants raise dalasii an alien equivalent to cows. The aliens themselves, the Zherghi, don’t seem alien at all, they seamlessly fraternize with humans they seem to be able to have sex and consume scotch and other human alcohol, and the culture of the Zherghi also seems to mesh effortlessly with human culture and ideas. Would an alien culture have any idea of serial killers or capitalism? The only alien thing in their society seems to be the murder weapon, a sedtvo.
In the beginning “In The Blood” is a police procedural that relies too heavily on the procedural, and not all the characterizations or motivations seem convincing, such as Eva Spence, a human whom Dane meets in the course of his investigation, she has an ulterior motive for seducing him and of course that ulterior motive merges with Dane’s investigation. Eva’s presence and function in the novel seems obvious and her fate preordained if you’ve read one or two detective novels.
In the books defense, I did want to keep reading to find out ‘who done it.’ Detective novel fans will like “In The Blood” and to a lesser extent science fiction fans, the science fiction elements are sparse aside from the setting. If you’re looking for a nice afternoon summer read “In The Blood” is for you.
Robert Sullivan’s, “In The Blood” is a very straightforward detective story with a twist of science fiction tossed in. Sam Dane comes to the planet Procrustes, asked to add his expertise to the investigation of a serial killer. In the fast moving novel Dane discovers clues that the murders might be more than a series of killings and could have far reaching consequences for the community of human settlers on Procrustes when he discovers a conspiracy revolving around a plague.
“In The Blood” isn’t necessarily dependent on science fiction in the plot, the detective story could be set in a modern earth setting or in the halcyon days of the detective novel the 30’s and 40’s. The setting of Procrustes reminds me a bit of the movie “Outland” in that the planet is a frontier town where anything goes, and lawlessness is just barely kept in check by the law.
That may be the major stumbling block of “In The Blood”, Procrustes seems a planet more wild west than alien, the inhabitants raise dalasii an alien equivalent to cows. The aliens themselves, the Zherghi, don’t seem alien at all, they seamlessly fraternize with humans they seem to be able to have sex and consume scotch and other human alcohol, and the culture of the Zherghi also seems to mesh effortlessly with human culture and ideas. Would an alien culture have any idea of serial killers or capitalism? The only alien thing in their society seems to be the murder weapon, a sedtvo.
In the beginning “In The Blood” is a police procedural that relies too heavily on the procedural, and not all the characterizations or motivations seem convincing, such as Eva Spence, a human whom Dane meets in the course of his investigation, she has an ulterior motive for seducing him and of course that ulterior motive merges with Dane’s investigation. Eva’s presence and function in the novel seems obvious and her fate preordained if you’ve read one or two detective novels.
In the books defense, I did want to keep reading to find out ‘who done it.’ Detective novel fans will like “In The Blood” and to a lesser extent science fiction fans, the science fiction elements are sparse aside from the setting. If you’re looking for a nice afternoon summer read “In The Blood” is for you.
August 31, 2011
When it comes to Sci-Fi books and movies I am less than an expert. Most of my experiences in this genre have been confined to movies like Enemy Mine and Blade Runner and television shows like V and Life on Mars. The only opinion I can offer with any certainty is that no two authors’ vision of the future is the same. .
With his novel IN THE BLOOD Robert J. Sullivan presents us with a typical tale of a skilled detective working to apprehend a serial killer. In this case, however, Sullivan has cranked the story up a notch by introducing a science fiction element into the mix. These killings are not of this earth. They are taking place on the planet Procrustes, a “little slice of heaven” where humans and aliens co-exist but their cultural differences and inbred suspicion of one another makes our hero, Detective Sam Dane’s, job less than easy. In addition, the killings only take place during an annual festival (which is coming up shortly) and the murderer has confined his choice of victims to humans only. Detective Dane has no immediate clues and this years festival is fast approaching.
On the plus side, the basic premise of the story is interesting, the cultural aspects of the planet and its inhabitants are imaginative and well defined and the investigative and procedural elements of the story are not burdensome to the reader. Mr. Sullivan manages to steer clear of the trap that many seasoned writers fall into, that of burying the reader in more technical information and “jargon” than is really necessary to the advancement of the story. He gets an A+ for this. Unfortunately, when it comes to the final reveal of the killer’s identity and the “why” of the killings, I am still at a loss. Maybe I missed something but in my mind the motive put forth by the culprit was a bit lame…….unless the killer was just nuts and there was really no rhyme or reason to his actions. This took points away from my overall rating of the book.
On the whole, this was not a bad maiden voyage into the world of Sam Dane, Space Cop, but the docking was a bit haphazard.
2 1/2 Stars
With his novel IN THE BLOOD Robert J. Sullivan presents us with a typical tale of a skilled detective working to apprehend a serial killer. In this case, however, Sullivan has cranked the story up a notch by introducing a science fiction element into the mix. These killings are not of this earth. They are taking place on the planet Procrustes, a “little slice of heaven” where humans and aliens co-exist but their cultural differences and inbred suspicion of one another makes our hero, Detective Sam Dane’s, job less than easy. In addition, the killings only take place during an annual festival (which is coming up shortly) and the murderer has confined his choice of victims to humans only. Detective Dane has no immediate clues and this years festival is fast approaching.
On the plus side, the basic premise of the story is interesting, the cultural aspects of the planet and its inhabitants are imaginative and well defined and the investigative and procedural elements of the story are not burdensome to the reader. Mr. Sullivan manages to steer clear of the trap that many seasoned writers fall into, that of burying the reader in more technical information and “jargon” than is really necessary to the advancement of the story. He gets an A+ for this. Unfortunately, when it comes to the final reveal of the killer’s identity and the “why” of the killings, I am still at a loss. Maybe I missed something but in my mind the motive put forth by the culprit was a bit lame…….unless the killer was just nuts and there was really no rhyme or reason to his actions. This took points away from my overall rating of the book.
On the whole, this was not a bad maiden voyage into the world of Sam Dane, Space Cop, but the docking was a bit haphazard.
2 1/2 Stars
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews