Shovel Ready is a science fiction novel by Sternbergh. It is Sternbergh's first novel and was released on January 14, 2014, by the Crown Publishing Group.
Contents
It shortlisted for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel in .2015. [1]
Shovel Ready is a science fiction novel by Sternbergh. It is Sternbergh's first novel and was released on January 14, 2014, by the Crown Publishing Group.
It shortlisted for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel in .2015. [1]
The book takes place in a devastated near-future New York City when economic disparity and gentrification spiked in pronounced ways. Its narrator and main character roams around a depopulated New York in order to get and perform contracts. Meanwhile, the middle class have fled the area. The rich can afford to escape reality whenever they want, and the less fortunate must "contend with the charred remains of Manhattan."
The novel has been reviewed by Publishers Weekly , [2] The Boston Globe , The Guardian, [3] Chicago Tribune. [4]
A running theme was that the novel, while enjoyed by many of the reviewers, is not for all audiences due to its subject matter and tone. Writing for Chicago Tribune, Michael Robbins called the novel "a lean thriller" but admitted that it's "not perfect or anything", a "less ambitious work than those geek scriptures" like William Gibson's Neuromancer (1984) and Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash (1992). "Once you hear the plot description ... either you know it’s not for you or you want to know if it's as awesome as it sounds." Jesse Singal of The Boston Globe summed that the book "strikes out at many targets and mostly connects", but that "certain sci-fi elements are served up merely lukewarm." Kirkus Reviews described it as "tough, sordid and definitely not for every taste." [5] In the Guardian, the reviewer wonders about the appeal of psychopaths as heroes, antiheroes or narrators – "what's with all the lovable murderers? Shovel Ready suggests, in an oblique kind of way, that the issue is one of a broader social disengagement, but I think there's something more designedly amoral going on."
Many outlets praised the prose writing and narrative style, primarily commenting on the cadence of the hitman protagonist, with markedly rhythmic and short sentences, "telegraphic in style". [5] "Sternbergh", Robbins said, "knows his away around the style", and splitting the cuteness that is good writing from the minority of times that it goes overboard, assessed that "most of the novel is likably streamlined." Singal, despite reservtions, "an enjoyable read, mostly because of Spademan’s strong — if occasionally heavyhanded — narration." the Guardian said that the plot drives grippingly, it is Chandleresque, with "tough-guy brevity leavened with hard-edged wit" & "swiftness, structured around a series of expertly timed twists and shocks." Publishers Weekly was less kind, decrying it "low-rent Raymond Chandler noir told in the style of very late James Ellroy."
A feature film based on the novel is in development by Warner Bros. Erwin Stoff will produce the film. Denzel Washington is expected to play the central role, a hitman in New York City. [6]
Glamorama is a 1998 novel by American writer Bret Easton Ellis. Glamorama is set in, and satirizes, the 1990s, specifically celebrity culture and consumerism. Time describes the novel as "a screed against models and celebrity".
Gillian Schieber Flynn is an American author, screenwriter, and producer. She is known for writing the thriller and mystery novels Sharp Objects (2006), Dark Places (2009), and Gone Girl (2012), which are all critically acclaimed. Her books have been published in 40 languages, and according to The Washington Post, as of 2016 Gone Girl alone has sold more than 15 million copies.
What the Dead Know is a crime thriller by the American writer Laura Lippman, published in 2007. The story, set in Baltimore in 2005, is about an investigation into a woman who claims to be Heather Bethany, a girl who had gone missing thirty years before. The book was critically acclaimed and it won the 2007 Quill Award in the mystery/suspense/thriller category and 2008 Anthony Award for Best Novel.
Keir Graff is an American novelist and literary editor.
Empire of Lies is a 2008 thriller novel written by screenwriter and Edgar-winner Andrew Klavan.
Shuttlecock, described as a psychological thriller, was Graham Swift's second novel, published in 1981 by Allen Lane. It won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize in 1983 and was released as a film in 1993.
Patricia Lockwood is an American poet, novelist, and essayist. Her 2021 debut novel, No One Is Talking About This, won the Dylan Thomas Prize. Her 2017 memoir Priestdaddy won the Thurber Prize for American Humor. Her poetry collections include Motherland Fatherland Homelandsexuals, a 2014 New York Times Notable Book. Since 2019, she has been a contributing editor for London Review of Books.
Tough Guys Don't Dance (1984) is a noir thriller and murder mystery novel by American writer Norman Mailer reminiscent of the works of Dashiell Hammett, Mickey Spillane, and Raymond Chandler. The novel was written in only two months in order to fulfill a contractual obligation. The book was adapted into a film, directed by Mailer, in 1987.
Twist Phelan is an American writer of crime fiction. She is known for her Finn Teller Corporate Spy mystery series, PinnaclePeak mystery series, and her short stories, which have won numerous awards.
Girl Stolen is a young adult crime novel by the American author April Henry, published in 2010 by Henry Holt and Company. It follows Cheyenne, a 16-year-old girl who is blind, has pneumonia, and is accidentally kidnapped when a stranger steals her mother's car while Cheyenne is resting in the backseat.
The Sympathizer is the 2015 debut novel by Vietnamese-American professor Viet Thanh Nguyen. It is a best-selling novel, and recipient of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The novel received generally positive acclaim from critics, it was named on more than 30 best book of the year lists and a New York Times Editor's Choice.
Chris Pavone is an American author of international thrillers. His first novel, The Expats, was a New York Times bestseller.
The High Road is a 1988 novel by Irish novelist Edna O'Brien. The novel follows an unnamed Irish protagonist as she recovers on a Mediterranean island. It was O'Brien's tenth novel, published 11 years after Johnny I Hardly Knew You.
You Will Know Me is a murder mystery written by Megan Abbott, published July 26, 2016 by Little, Brown and Company. The book follows the Knox family after a family friend is killed in a hit-and-run car crash before the daughter's gymnastics competition.
Wildlife is the fourth novel by American author Richard Ford. It was first published in 1990.
Fake Accounts is the 2021 debut novel by American author and critic Lauren Oyler. It was published on February 2, 2021, by Catapult, and on February 4, 2021, by Fourth Estate.
Razorblade Tears: A Novel is a crime novel by S.A. Cosby, published in July 2021 by Flatiron Books. This novel debuted at number 10 on the New York Times bestseller list. Jerry Bruckheimer's company has "optioned the story for Paramount."
The Rabbit Hutch is a 2022 debut novel by writer Tess Gunty and winner of the 2022 National Book Award for Fiction. Gunty won the inaugural Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize and the Barnes & Noble Discover Prize for the novel.
All the Broken Places is a historical fiction novel by John Boyne. It was published on 15 September 2022 by Doubleday and received mixed reviews from critics.
Missing You is a suspense and thriller novel by American writer Harlan Coben, published in 2014. The novel has garnered attention for its intricate plot involving online dating, unsolved murder, and the emotional journey of its protagonist, NYPD Detective Kat Donovan. Missing You was nominated for 2014 Audie Award for Mystery.
 | This article about a 2010s science fiction novel is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. See guidelines for writing about novels. Further suggestions might be found on the article's talk page. |