Book Review: Gun Machine by Warren Ellis

Book Jacket

After a shootout claims the life of his partner in a condemned tenement building on Pearl Street, Detective John Tallow unwittingly stumbles across an apartment stacked high with guns. When examined, each weapon leads to a different, previously unsolved murder. Someone has been killing people for twenty years or more and storing the weapons together for some inexplicable purpose.

Confronted with the sudden emergence of hundreds of unsolved homicides, Tallow soon discovers that he's walked into a veritable deal with the devil. An unholy bargain that has made possible the rise of some of Manhattan's most prominent captains of industry. A hunter who performs his deadly acts as a sacrifice to the old gods of Manhattan, who may, quite simply, be the most prolific murderer in New York City's history.

Warren Ellis's body of work has been championed by Wired for its "merciless action" and "incorruptible bravery," and steadily amassed legions of diehard fans. His newest novel builds on his accomplishments like never before, announcing Ellis as one of today's most daring thriller writers. This is twenty-first century suspense writ large. This is GUN MACHINE.

My Thoughts

Man, I never thought I would go 2/2 with solid, gritty, exciting crime thrillers. This one is much different than Ghost Man by Hobbs, but I like this one almost as much. This is my first read by Ellis and he grabbed a new fan. This book had an action sequence at the beginning that just made me glued to the pages. I could not let the book go. Despite not having much more action sequences of violence afterwards I was hooked until the end. The language and the way the characters spoke to one another sold me. The gritty, raw, and dark humor/sarcastic dialogue I just loved. I wish I could recite a few of my favorite lines, but this post might get blocked!

The story line was very intriguing and I was just not sure how things would play. If you are looking for the next great crime thriller and you have not read this book, then you must put this next on your TBR pile. Great characters, great dialogue, good action, and story line that will hold you until the end. I hope to see a few of these characters in the future again.