Review: THE TRUTH RABBIT
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 22, 2012
Superbia is the best book that Schaffer has written so far, by a mile. Don't get me wrong, his genre efforts are fantastic, and great fun to read. I loved Whitechapel, and The Guns of Seneca 6... but Superbia takes top spot for me.I read it in less than 24 hours. I'm quite a slow reader at times, or I can be, but there was something about Superbia that made it stick in my head. It wouldn't leave me. I literally couldn't put the book down.Primarily it's the story of Frank and Vic, two cops who are thrown together as partners. They have different approaches to their work, however they are both grounded in the same ideals of fatherhood and their mutual disgust of those who bring harm to children. They're both Fathers who love their children. Frank seems to be in a stable relationship, whereas Vic's has gone down the toilet, with his children being used as weapons by his ex-wife.Superbia is brutal in places, and you get the distinct impression that so much of it has a truthful element to it. It's a case of 'you couldn't really make this up'. The idea of reading a fictionalised account of events that may have happened in real life is a major draw to keep reading through it, as you find yourself wanting to know what happened next. In this respect I didn't want the book to end. I wanted it to keep on going. However that's not to say that it reached a naturally fulfilling conclusion; I'm merely saying that it is so well written, and so honest in its subject matter, that I didn't want the experience to end.I was going to list my favourite scenes here in this review, but you have to go into the book cold. You have to be open to the experience.Also something should be said here about Schaffer's sense of humour. It really comes through in Superbia, although it is present in his other work. Strangely, for an American, he has a very British sense of humour. I found myself chuckling along quite a few times. The pitter-patter between Frank and Vic, especially early on, was fantastically written.Superbia is dark and funny. It is honest. It is literally, as someone elsewhere has said of Schaffer, a 'cop bearing his soul'.He says this could be the book that ends his policing career. I say let it. Don't worry.I implore you to read this book. If you liked Whitechapel or Guns of Seneca 6, then you're going to love this book. If you haven't read either of those two, why not start here? It truly is his best book to date.I don't know how he's going to top it... but the funny thing is, I know he will.Schaffer isn't a writer to watch. He's not an up and coming star. HE IS THE REAL DEAL.It's about time you acquainted yourself with him.