Apologies, Then Snark, Then The Lesson

Title: Iron House

Author: John Hart

Progress: 62%

Platform: Kindle

Amazon Rating: four out of five stars

I was just writing something critical and a little snarky about the last section I read in Iron House.

And then it occurred to me, John Hart might actually read this. I’m following Mr. Hart is on Twitter (@JohnHartAuthor) and when I post about his book, he just might read my snark. And this I felt bad about.

 A million years ago when I reviewed movies for an alternative news weekly, I never had such feelings. I laid waste to the bad and the mediocre with equal relish. Good reviews were much harder to write. Nice is boring. Praise is yawn inducing. Smart ass comments and insightful skewering get you laughs, admiring emails, and pats on the back from your editor.

That’s the way it has always worked. You make something for public consumption, you are fair game.

This is John Hart. He looks like a nice guy. But I've got to throw
some negetive feedback his way. Sorry, John!

This whole Twitter thing changes that equation. John seems like a nice guy. The acknowledgements at the front of his book are a good read just in themselves. His author photo makes him look friendly, like if you bumped into him at Starbuck’s he’d be happy to loan you a quarter if you need one to complete your latte purchase.

So let me talk to John for a minute…John, if you are reading this (and it would be kind of cool if you are because so far I think no one but me has read anything in this blog), I’m sorry for any snark I’m about to throw your way. Just know that I’m enjoying your book. Also, I paid for it, paid you (after Amazon gets their cut), so I get to have an opinion. Thanks for listening.

 Okay, back to today’s originally scheduled post…

 If you were watching a movie, say a murder mystery, and the hero drives into a small town where he doesn’t know a soul, and he can’t find a specific person, would you believe it if he sat down at a diner and asked the waitress and she knew exactly where this person was and when that person would be home?

Seriously? I have to think that that scene would get cut or re-written. If the hero’s problem is finding a reclusive person in a small town, it’s an interesting problem and an opportunity to show the smarts and resourcefulness of the hero. I expect my fictional Super Assassins to be able to find people by being internet geniuses, or being able to navigate the county clerk’s office or by charming an attractive loan officer at the bank who will gladly pull up a credit report on the mysterious person.

Instead, Michael, our hero and Super Assassin, walks into a diner, has lunch, asks a waitress where the target is and she knows not only where he lives but the fact that he’s there at night. Seriously. What? Come on!

After that things got much better. I liked the scene of Michael exploring the grounds of the old orphanage and experiencing the return of spontaneous memories. Returning to a childhood haunt is just like that, memories flying at your head like dodge balls at PE.

I also liked the scenes with Michael and the old man who after a shotgun blast appears to be a weak old fool, not the mean bastard that ran the place three decades ago. I wasn’t expecting the guy to be sympathetic, and yet there he was, flawed and weak and working on some small redemption. Nice.

What have I learned from today's section of Iron House? One overly convenient machination can almost spoil a lot of good writing. Be careful Mike!