Reddit reviews The Cuckoo's Calling (A Cormoran Strike Novel (1))
We found 18 Reddit comments about The Cuckoo's Calling (A Cormoran Strike Novel (1)). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Mulholland Books
We found 18 Reddit comments about The Cuckoo's Calling (A Cormoran Strike Novel (1)). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Aight so from the looks of it reddit doesn't read Cormoran Strike. So let me do a basic pitch.
I think JK Rowling doesn't want to do really high class stuff. I think Casual Vacancy was her attempt to do something that felt "artistically meaningful" and it left her drained, and I don't think it was just the audience reactions. I think she quite literally did not enjoy writing Casual Vacancy the way she did Harry Potter.
Which is where Cormoran Strike comes from. I don't think the pseudonym JK Rowling decided to use was specifically to temper expectations (nor as an experiment to see if she "still had it"), I just think the idea was for her to be able to write a novel that didn't think too highly of itself and release it for the right environment. Somehow I don't think "JK Rowling Presents... A Mary Higgins Clark Novel!" would go well with most people.
So let's talk Cormoran.
Cormoran Strike is not Harry Potter. It's not even Sherlock (the tv series). Cormoran Strike is the most simple and straight forward detective novel JK Rowling could have produced. It has no ongoing mystery. It has no suspense or drama that originates from the detective part of its story (with some exceptions, like the climax to book 3).
Instead, it's literally just cases where a detective solves murder mysteries in the most realistic way possible. There's no moment where Cormoran goes "That ink in her shoulder indicates that...", or any moment where Cormoran anticipates the killer's thoughts. He quite simply gets the most obvious clues into his note book, then goes around interrogating people until the story he has been accumulating through every testimony points to a likely suspect, at which point he'll solve the case.
Where Cormoran Strike completely deserves your read is in that it's a straight forward detective novel... written by JK Rowling.
So yes, the cast is amazing. Yes, the dialogue and prose are witty and easy to read and yet rich with details, in that tough balance act that almost no one these days seems capable of. Yes, everyone relates to each other in realistic fashion and people behave like people, sometimes to their own detriment, because people are dumb, people are private, people are skeptical. Yes, there's drama involving the characters as they begin to grow closer and then figure out what they are to each other, and how the development of that relationship changes their lives and their work.
And it's fun. It's a heck of a lot of fun. The fact that Cormoran isn't following a Moriarty, or that he isn't solving cases involving super tricky methods that only a master detective would put together, or that there's no agency to the mysteries except that Cormoran is a detective investigating them, leaves the door open for all of the things JK Rowling does best to shine.
No, you won't look back on Cormoran Strike and think "man that sure defined a generation of literature and influenced tons of people to try and capture that same lightning in a bottle". You may not even remember half of what happens to them.
But you'll have a hell of a ride, one that is written by a master of her craft who is doing the one thing it feels like she wants to do.
Enjoying that ride as much as her readers.
Here's the first book.
Start with the oldest reviews, before the disclosure:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Cuckoos-Calling-Robert-Galbraith/product-reviews/0316206849/ref=cm_cr_pr_btm_link_18?ie=UTF8&pageNumber=18&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending
5 stars, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 3, 5. Those are good reviews.
The main character of The Cuckoo's Calling has a prosthetic leg. I'm about halfway through it, and it's surprisingly not bad.
She is writing books, actually. There's no huge, in-your-face marketing push about it -- because she doesn't seem to want there to be -- but she is writing.
She released a new story under her own name called "The Casual Vacancy" in 2012, and has since begun writing another new set of books under the pen name Robert Galbraith. Crime/mystery sort of detective story, which is actually nice, because she's always had a certain love for that whole genre.
First book came out last year, and the second book is due out this June!
There're two covers. One more "chick lit" and the other looks more neutral to my mind. I think the more female directed cover is US and the other is UK.
I would guess it's the target audience they think they're going after more than gender of author. I live in the UK, and here mysteries/procedurals are one of the most main stream genres; the bulk of all of the TV is in some way a mystery. Maybe in the states they thought it would appeal more to specifically women? But that's just a guess.
That's the pseudonym she chose to write crime fiction under, hoping to keep her real identity and the critical/fan attention neutral/unbiased for a few years. Unfortunately, someone broke the NDA and folks knew it was her before the first book was out. But Robert Galbraith is the name that's on the book covers:
https://www.amazon.com/Cuckoos-Calling-Cormoran-Strike-Novel/dp/0316206849
See also: https://robert-galbraith.com/about/. If you have a ton of time, there's audio of an interview she did with Val McDermid where they talk about the pseudonym.
Happy birthday!!!
"Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, when one only remembers to turn on the light." - Albus Dumbledore
This is the only HP related item I have on my wishlist at the moment.
I also have this JK Rowling book (written under a pseudonym!) on my list.
Thanks for the contest... Imperio!
I would love the new book by JK Rowling: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0316206849/ref=aw_ls__1?colid=35J01820YVBVW&coliid=I3IG7GQXL2TQOO
[The Cuckoo's calling - new JKR book]
(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316206849/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0316206849&linkCode=as2&tag=theleakycau0e-20)
GUYS I'M FREAKING OUT
JK Rowling wrote a crime novel under a pseudonym and it's ALREADY RELEASED. I WANT TO BUY IT RIGHT NOW
http://www.amazon.com/The-Cuckoos-Calling-Robert-Galbraith/dp/0316206849/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374293462&sr=8-1&keywords=the+cuckoo%27s+calling
The link to the amazon.com page
Most "oh god, I would never be seen with this in public" looking item: Spectra Specs
Most phallic looking item: Salt & Pepper shakers They're not super phallic looking, but it's the closest I've got on my list.
Most geeky item: Time Turner Necklace
Item which would most help you achieve a goal: Mickey Mouse balloon It would help me achieve the goal of planning my son's birthday party.
Best item to bring to a deserted island: Book for entertainment.
All items are on my main wishlist. :)
You're going to buy yourself this super interesting book!
Happy happy cake day :D
If I win, anything I linked OR anything from my wishlist would be an amazingggg prize :) I love everything on my wishlists!
Labor day!!!](http://www.amazon.com/The-Cuckoos-Calling-Robert-Galbraith/dp/0316206849/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2ECIJJQQ9NLB8&coliid=I2MQKLRXAFDHT8). Kindle please ($6350)!!
Favorite book quote... I'll dumbledore it. "To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure"
Hi there!
Air Tight Dog Food Container
Or
The new J.K. Rowling book would be great! I don't think you've gifted to me. Right? Right? I know your name, but I think I'm just recognizing it from the baby shower gifts you gifted!
The newest J.K. Rowling book has been getting great reviews and the story really does seem amazing. Everyone has been talking about it, so I just have to read it. It comes in Hardcover and Paperback, and for some reason it is more complicated and more money to buy the paperback than hardcover, so I linked to the hardcover one. Hardcover books are better than paperback anyway.
so it goes
Link.
Holy shit, buying the book now.
also: link for the lazy