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Brainquake (Book Review)

Brainquake is the newest novel from author Samuel Fuller and publisher Titan Books from the extensive line of Hard Case Crime works. The newest release features over 300 pages of an exciting and brutal storyline that follows Paul Page, a bagman that ends up falling for a mob widow. The book features an interesting storyline and characters that matches some typical stereotypes in the mobster genre of films and books. Despite not delivering a whole lot of surprises in its pages, Brainquake ends up being a good read and is well worth checking out for fans of old fashioned crime dramas and mafia inspired storylines.


Brainquake stars protagonist Paul Page as the book's main narrative. Page is a bagman--a mercenary of types that delivers bags of money or other goods for the mob without asking any questions or peeking inside the bags. Page isn't thrilled with his job but soon finds something he does like when he falls for a former mob wife. Now, Page finds himself in the middle of all sorts of trouble, and with no one to turn to, he must find a way to make it to safety from those that want nothing more than to place him six feet under.

The opening pages of Brainquake tells of a strange and unique crime involving a baby and a murder. The book slowly introduces pivotal characters, but it's several chapters later before the real narrative actually gets going. This is thanks in large part to the author's writing style that shortens chapters to only a few pages with only one or two major events unfolding through each chapter. This writing style is a bit jarring and worsens character development and breaks immersion in the story. The story is still fairly strong overall, but the book just seems it could have been written a bit more traditional to get the most out of the tale the book weaves.

The constant breaks in the action lessen the impact of some well written characters and dialogue. Fuller does a good job of portraying believable characters that talk and act just as fans of the genre would expect. Plenty of quirky nicknames and slang terms litter the pages of Brainquake, so casual readers of this type of writing may not get as much out of the new release. There aren't a whole lot of surprises in the main plot of the book either, but exploring some of the crime scenes through the various chapters provides some unique content. Overall, Brainquake is a good read and one well worth checking out for fans of old mafia films or fans of the Hard Case Crime novel series.

Brainquake is now available from Titan Books and can be purchased for $12.95. For more information on Brainquake, check out the official Brainquake website.

Book Information:
  • Author: Samuel Fuller
  • Publisher: Titan Books
  • Paperback
  • 320 Pages
  • Release: August 2014

Score: 7 out of 10

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