Hardcase by Dan Simmons

I’m not sure what it is about fictional badass characters that I love so much, I just know that I can’t get enough of them, and always enjoy finding new novels that chronicle their adventures, especially if those novels are just the first in a series that will snag my attention over and over again, my mind always eager to know what happens next. Thankfully my desire to read such tales is not unique. Even better authors and storytellers have been creating badass characters for as long as there has been an interested audience which means I will probably never run out of reading material. That said, it can still be difficult to find authors who have the ability to create likable badass characters, because, as one can imagine, there is a balancing act involved in writing these stories, and if one gets a little too carried away with the ‘badass’ element, readers may be turned off by the character, which isn’t good. At the same time if the ‘badass with a huge heart of gold’ approach is overplayed, readers might not buy it, and that too isn’t good. After all, one of the great appeals of reading a story with a badass main character is the ability to set aside reality for a brief period of time and live life through the character. This can’t happen if the reader is unable to picture the character as a real person and keeps getting reminded that they are just a figment of a writer’s imagination. Fortunately Dan Simmons is a writer that is able to find this necessary balance, his novel Hardcase being a prime example of what readers like myself want in a ‘badass’ character.

Joe Kurtz was once a successful private investigator in Buffalo, New York, but after deciding to take revenge upon a man that killed his female partner and lover Samantha -- a very savage revenge that at one point involves a garbage disposal -- he can no longer work as a licensed private investigator due to his ex-con status. Fortunately his eleven years in Attic prison weren’t a complete waste of time, and his help in protecting a young man from the aggressive and violent butt loving gangs within those walls opens the door for him to work a private investigator like job for a crumbling mob boss who just happened to be the father of the young man he protected. Being an ex-con, however, Joe Kurtz also has to show that he is working a legal job; therefore he hires his old secretary Arlene to help him set up and run a website business that reunites old lovers and sweetheart with each other. Located in the basement of a seedy porn shop, the business is nothing more than a cover for his real dealings (though it actually does turn over a nice profit), one which allows him to not only uncover the truth behind a missing mob accountant, but also set himself up as a target for all those wanting their own revenge upon him, something he wants to put an end too quickly so he can go about his post-prison life without having to always look over his shoulder. Actually, given his new line of work and the way he conducts business, Joe Kurtz will probably always be looking over his shoulder, but at least it will be with new enemies and not the old ones who have been counting down the days for him to get out of prison. Needless to say many of these ‘old enemies’ probably should have let whatever wrongs Joe Kurtz committed against them be forgotten because he isn’t the type of person who will go down easily.

As many of you probably know from some of my previous posts, and the ‘recommended reading links’ I sometimes put up on my Facebook profile (if you have added me as a friend that is), Dan Simmons is one of my favorite authors. He is also one of the most unique authors I read because he is able to successfully genre hop in a way that I have never seen before, a way that makes it possible for him to be labeled as a legitimate author of whatever genre he has decided to place his novel in rather than an author who is simply ‘crossing over’ and ‘testing’ the waters. For example, dark crime fiction fans who love the Parker novels by Donald E. Westlake’s alter ego Richard Stark would love this title and the ones that follow, and would be hard pressed to find fault in the writing style displayed. The same is true of the horror fans that find horror titles by this author, and fantasy fans that find fantasy titles. No matter the genre Dan Simmons is able to deliver, and he does so in a way that makes it possible to find his name in multiple sections of the store rather than just clumped together in his most prevalent genre. Of course this also can cause confusion when looking for his titles, and anger if someone buys something that has been misplaced within their genre, but that is quickly fixed once a reader becomes familiar with the works of Dan Simmons. It also can create a love for different genres, one which opens up a whole knew world of stories some might never have been exposed too. So, if you want to experience a writer that is one of the best in whatever genre he decides to place a book in, and more specifically want to read a really faced paced story about a real badass named Joe Kurtz, give Hardcase a try. You won’t be disappointed. Just make room on your bookshelf for more titles, because once you are finished with this one you will seek out more.