A King of Infinite Space Review
A King of Infinite Space is an excellent police mystery, extremely well written with a cast of interesting characters. It is also a great example of what Amazon is trying to do with the Encore program: find good books that have had limited exposure and bring them to the attention of a wider audience. I commend Amazon for this effort in general and for choosing this book as one of their early choices.
The book is, I hope, the first in a series of novels about Danny Beckett and Jen Tenaka, the detective team who are the main characters. In the course of the book, we learn a great deal about Danny and his problems, including his borderline alcoholism, the death of his wife and their unborn child, and his guilt about his life. We learn very little about Jen, who also clearly has a complicated backstory driving her own interesting character. I want more in a new book.
The book centers on the hunt for the killer of a popular high school teacher, and does a good job of structuring the mystery to create suspense. I read the book in little over one day, and think most people would be captured by the plot.
In some ways, the book most closely resembles Ed McBain's great police procedurals, creating interesting stories about the lives of the police who are the characters as well as following the efforts to solve the murder, but is less fixated on the nuts and bolts of police work than McBain. Perhaps Ruth Rendell's Inspector Wexford series is a closer analogue.
As to the complaint by another reviewer that many of the earlier reviews came from the Long Beach area, where the author lives, I suspect that that is less due to a conspiracy to "stuff the ballot box" than to the realities of publication by small presses. It is highly likely that a large portion of the hard copy sales of the original release came from author readings and book signings in the Long Beach area, where he was available to work on promotion and could create interest in the book. Most likely the book was not even sold at most bookstores elsewhere. I will grant that one positive review was by someone with the same last name as the author, but overall I think the reviews are just a little over enthusiastic in some cases. Please note that several of the five star reviews came from Vine reviewers and from other high volume reviewers, as well as from the neophytes.
This is a solid four star effort and compares favorably with books by other better known mystery-suspense novelists. I hope it sells well and that we get to read more about these characters. I also hope that the Amazon Encore program works in its goal of getting more exposure to good books originally confined to limited release and promotion on small presses. I certainly recommend it to anyone who enjoys character-driven mystery-suspense novels.
A King of Infinite Space Feature
- ISBN13: 9781935597094
- Condition: New
- Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
A King of Infinite Space Overview
Long Beach, California, homicide detective Danny Beckett is pouring the weekend’s first shot of vodka when the call comes in: Elizabeth Williams, a teacher at nearby Warren High School, has been brutally murdered in her classroom. When Danny arrives at the school, the blood-spattered crime scene turns even his veteran stomach. What could this young woman have done to make her the target of such a violent attack? And what is the significance of the victim’s left hand, taken by the killer as a grisly trophy? Beckett delves into the case with his usual tenacious cool, yet as he pieces together the facts, long-suppressed anguish from his own past rises up with stunning force. His hunt for the murderer soon morphs into a personal quest for atonement as he struggles to come to terms with the loss of his wife and family. A King of Infinite Space is a riveting crime novel that serves as a memorable introduction for Danny Beckett to the ranks of fiction’s favorite hardened detectives.
A King of Infinite Space Specifications
Amazon Exclusive: Tyler Dilts on A King of Infinite Space
When I began writing A King of Infinite Space, I was in graduate school earning an MFA in fiction writing. As is the case in many such programs, there was a good deal of autobiographical introspection in the writing going on around me, and that was the last thing I wanted to do. I wanted to do something different. One of the primary reasons I’ve always loved reading is that it takes me away from myself and allows me to experience the lives of other people. What, I asked myself, could I credibly write about that was very different from my own experience?
My father was a Los Angeles deputy sheriff, and throughout most of my youth, I wanted to be a police officer. Although my career goals changed, I was left with a considerable amount of background knowledge that I felt I could put to good use. And it didn’t hurt that my favorite writers included the likes of James Lee Burke and Michael Connelly. It was settled, I thought. I’ll write a police procedural--I know enough about it (with a fair amount of research thrown in) to sound authoritative about it, and what could be farther from an English grad student’s personal experience than a story about investigating homicides?
As the writing and rewriting progressed, I felt a reassuring sense of distance from Danny, a sort of critical perspective that thought allowed me to shape and hone the character with a studied and intellectual reserve that seemed properly authorial and intellectual.
So it came as quite a surprise when the novel was finished and my friends and family began to read it. Danny sounds just like you, they said. I refused to accept this, so I interrogated them. One by one they pointed out details and ideas and jokes and phrases that they’d heard me express, usually more than once. And a few of those closest to me commented on the similarity of our voices and perspectives. Eventually, I had to admit it. They were right.
It was only recently, though, when I had the occasion to look through and old family photo album and saw a picture of myself at four years old, around the time of my father’s death. In it I wore a clip-on tie, a makeshift shoulder holster complete with cap gun, and an expression befitting the most serious of detectives. It was me I was looking at, but I couldn’t help thinking it might just as well have been Danny Beckett.--Tyler Dilts
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Customer Reviews
Jen Steals the Show - Marquisha Gatewood - LOS ANGELES, CA, US
I enjoyed the breeze and ease of Tyler Dilts writing style. Very down to earth, realistic and funny. Danny Beckett is a lot of things, perfect by no means. I love the flawed, rebellious, relatable and sarcastic character of his.
Just as Zach Galifianakis stole the frames in The Hangover, I believe Jen Tanaka stole the pages of this story! *saluting w/ a screwdriver* Here's to Dilts first, but certainly not last of the Beckett series. - Keshia Kola
A great read - I really enjoyed it - Mark Herbertt -
Spectacular debut novel. It really drew me in and made me try and think like a detective. Nicely paced character development which gives the reader a sense of exploring the two lead characters' histories and motivations rather than just being told what they are thinking. Great but sparing use use of both black and whimsical humour to lighten some fairly heavy sections. Flawed but appealing lead character is a great change from the rash of all knowing, super tough "crime fighters" emerging in crime fiction. I liked the feel and pace. Will buy the next one for sure
Exceptional! - J. Cipriani - New York
This work is said to be in the tradition of Ed McBain and I dispute that. Ed McBain, the excellent writer that he was, has a totally different writing style. Though Tyler Dilts is no Ed McBain, he is nonetheless an exceptionally gifted author whose novel "A King of Infinite Space" is exceptionally well written.
"A King of Infinite Space" is written in a way that makes the characters come off of the page and seem actually alive in a story that is not only entirely credible and realistic, but also captivating and engrossing. It is difficult to put the book down after being hooked in the very first chapter and at the end I was hoping was left anxious for the next novel Dilts writes. I especially liked the fact that this is one of a very select few of crime novels where you cannot see the ending coming a mile away.
An Excellent Leadoff to What Could be a Great Mystery Series - JD Cetola - Omaha, NE USA
Tyler Dilts' "A King of Infinite Space" is a very good mystery novel and recommended for any lovers of the genre. The novel is set in Long Beach, California and introduces homicide detective Danny Beckett. Beckett is an interesting character with a past that haunts him and a strong taste for alcohol. Beckett, along with detective Jen Tanaka, is called to investigate the brutal murder of a young (and, of course, attractive) high school teacher. It's a good mystery with plenty of suspects although I suspect most readers will have a pretty good idea who committed the crime before Beckett does. Nevertheless, it's a great read and I hope there are more to follow.
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Sep 02, 2010 04:35:06
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