Blood of Angels

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Third Book in the Straw Men Series - Rated
Michael Marshall is a new author to me but apparently has been quite prolific in his writing of Sci-Fi books under the name of Michael Marshall Smith, which I assume is his real name. He was born in the USA and raised both there and in the UK.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book, not least because it is the type that I would not normally read and secondly it was an airport purchase, not usually the best way to choose reading material but needs must. Let me hasten to add that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the subject matter of the book, it is simply that I normally go for historical books, both fact and fiction.

The book is a tense thriller, well written, with enough action in it to keep even the most ardent thriller reader happy. The plot is well thought out and the action kept to a high level throughout the book. I occasionally wondered if it would have been better if I had read the first two books in the series before this one, but the book stands alone and is well worth a read, particularly if you are stuck in an airport like I was and are not of a nervous disposition.

Not bad for a serial killer novel :-) - Rated
Generally I give them I wide berth because they are usually derivative nonsense. However, there's enough conspiracy theory stuff in this and the earlier books to make them interesting and the serial killer is just part of the plot, not *the plot*. All three novels make heavy use of converging plotlines which may not be to all tastes, but I like them and these hang together quite nicely. The dialogue is sharp, and over the three books the characters are developed quite well. I didn't much like the pages of pontifcation the various main characters have on the meaning of life the universe and everything, but they're not too heavy and relatively short.

Personally, I think the criticism levelled by other reviewers is misguided. The characters and plot have been carefully developed and for me at least the various threads are sufficiently resolved even if they're not as tidy as some might like, and it's done without blocking off the possibility of more 'Straw Men' novels.

Don't read this book unless you've read the other two as there's a lot of backstory that will make this one a more enjoyable read, and although MM tries to fill in the essential details you're going to lose a lot if you start here.

Enjoyed but there is a warning - Rated
I think I must start off by saying that this book is rather good, but I didn't realise when I bought it that it was the last in a trilogy, there were times that during this book I felt I needed to have read the other two, which I will definetly be doing soon.In contrast to the other reviews I feel the plot is strong one, and the way it is told is rather gripping. With Regards to the Lee hudek episode, I think it is rather essential, to highlight to the reader how Sinister these Straw men can be, where members are not afraid to let the ones they love be murdered or used as pawns in the game of death.

Not as good as the old Michael Marshall - Rated
Previously, Michael Marshall was a sci-fi/horror writer, who has taken a brave step of switching genres with 'The Straw Men' Trilogy (of which Blood of Angels is the third) which is a straight out and out thriller.

Whilst Michael's writing is as good as ever, I can't help but feel that he struggled writing this third book; whilst the plot builds up nicely with interesting twists at the end of each chapter the ending simply falls flat and is horribly open-ended without providing much in the way of resolution. In my mind it's a 'answers provided in the next novel' type story and that's where the problem lies.

Writing as Michael Marshall Smith his stories (the fantastic Spares, the sublime One of Us and a brilliant short story collection) are wonderfully inventive and written with style and verve. With book three of The Straw Men Trilogy everything feels diluted and washed out, as though Michael wasn't sure what to do with it. The characters are nowhere near as strong as previous novels and have, in my mind, struggled to develop over the three books.

Despite that it is a good read, and as an English author I feel we should be supporting our guys.

Look forward to the next one, which I've heard will be a horror. Can't wait!

Awful Ending - Rated
This is as well written as the previous two, but the ending is terrible. He spends most of the book setting up the Lee John character as though he has some grand purpose, when in fact all he is required for is to wander into a school and get locked in a cupboard. Really disappointing.