Slow Bear

Anthony Neil Smith’s latest addition to American literary mayhem comes at a slower but no less deadly pace. This odyssey of crime is set in the fracking, oil fields of North Dakota and although no date is given, one assumes it must not be the dead of winter as people still exist above ground. Our man Micah “Slow Bear” Cross is an ex-reservation cop whose biggest break in life so far is having his left arm blown off by Great Plains psycho before he was kicked off the force or shot justifiably by any number of people. All Micah had to do was stay a wretch, unworthy of life, and he could have scuttled on forever. Sadly, Slow Bear screwed up and begin to care and everyone knows there’s no quicker path to the grave. This slim volume is dedicated to Jim Crumley and Jim Harrison, “who write this $%^# better than I ever will.” Maybe so, but Smith gives it a good go. And if the book seems to wander a bit between bloody moments, this may be due North Dakota’s climate delivering each day a good measure of soul and body crippling suffering before it finishes the job fully and finally.

This some dark, hilarious, real-ass crime fic. No cheesy sentiments or faux machismo. Anthony Neil Smith ain't tryna rewrite Middlemarch here. Slow Bear the protagonist reminds me a lot of Willeford's Hoke Mosely, at once depressing and likeable, all too human, never aspirational. Books like this shed more on the modern human condition than all Franzen novels combined. Also, it gives the reader a great sense of place--the oil boom-and-bust towns in North Dakota. Slow Bear should be adapted into a streaming series, pronto. If there's no one-armed native actor in Hollywood, cgi the arm off of Adam Beach or Zahn McClarnon. Also, the female lead would give a great role for a plus-size actress. Smith deserves a bigger audience. They should sell his books on spinning racks near the checkout line at Home Depot.

Anthony Neil Smith is a great noir writer, and this is noir at its most basic and brutal - complete with a flawed protagonist (damaged inside and out) going up against insurmountable odds, and simply doing his best to do right by one person. There is no sense of winning in this book, and no sense of anything that might be considered "fair" or "right". That said, one can't help but cheer on Slow Bear, a one-armed ex-rez cop and former heroin junkie, as he tries to navigate waters way more murky and deep than he ever realized. Some of the characters (Manfred, et al) do feel like they stepped out of central casting, but that's okay to. It reads familiar. I don't know that any one who reads noir or crime on the regular will be terribly surprised by the plot, but that's less important than the voice of the character and overall setting.

Anthony Neil Smith strikes again. Slow Bear is a brilliant book, a story of betrayal and vengeance forthcoming. But the protagonist, a former heroin addict, has his struggles not just with the desire for smack, but his inability to strike at those who have taken his woman. There is everything to like about the writing here, and the characters are all well-written, however dark. It seems to set up a sequel. Which I will buy.

Smith is definitely back on form with this short book--but WARNING, for those easily upset--this is clearly just the first part of the story. Still, it is the type of nonstop violence, with a great setting (North Dakota this time), that has been the hallmark of Smith's other great books. Slow Bear, the one-armed Indian protagonist (don't call him a hero, not yet at least), is a mess of strengths, weaknesses, and emotions. Someone has taken his woman--or maybe she was on his way to becoming his woman--and he wants her back. But the path leads through a bunch of folks who value human life about as much as insect life. I can't wait to see where this one goes. Highly recommended!

I'm a fan of Anthony Neil Smith. The book was only fair, though. The second one, Slower Bear, was much better, IMHO.

Terrific voice, perfectly rendered flawed anti-hero. Every step in the narrative has its own logic and leads further into an irredeemable mess. Fun to read, and, from a writer's point of view, interesting as a study in craft.

Another winner from noir master Anthony Neil Smith. Picks up a year after the events in the most excellent novel Worm ( You don't have to have read Worm to enjoy this one though it doesn't hurt) and follows ex-corrupt cop Micah Slow Bear Cross as he keeps making the wrong moves while trying to do the right thing. The characters, the dialog, and the action that makes great crime fiction are all there in this one. I don't know if this is going to be a series but I'm on board if it is.

Slow Bear is an unofficial sequel to Worm, which was published in 2015 by Blasted Heath (since re-released by Down & Out Books). Slow Bear was a memorable supporting character – in a book full of memorable supporting characters – and this new book picks up his story further down the line. Worm ranks as one of my favourite crime novels of the last decade, so I was excited to see what Smith had up his sleeve this time around. Slow Bear reads like Worm’s weirder, shiftier little brother. The boomtown is now a fracking-wracked ghost town, and the seedy pleasures on offer are now queasier than ever. Everything is dingier, nastier, more savage, except Slow Bear, that is – who has lost his edge as well as his arm. This brisk book (it clocks in at around 130 pages) is a bleak, surreal page-turner – so hardboiled it hurts. While Slow Bear doesn’t quite hit the delirious heights of Worm, it is a great book – and one that teases at future misadventures for its hapless anti-hero. I can’t wait!

In these turbulent times, it's quite something to spend time with a character who makes as many questionable decisions as a world leader faced with a global pandemic. Micah "Slow Bear" Cross is a one-armed ex-reservation cop who is living life between his trailer and the Indian casino bar. He's approached by a man looking to find out if his wife is cheating on him and it's the worst kept secret in town and requires no investigation. Slow Bear gives some bad advice to another involved party which leads him to making the decision that will send him spiralling. This is a tumultuous novella that'll see you ran the gamut of emotion throughout. Really hope we see a sequel, but that might not be the point.

This is a rip-roaring belter of a book!!! So much so, I had to switch the playing card I was using as a page marker for the Ace of Spades! It rocks, like James Crumley writing a Fargo series. The writing is pacey, tight and full of colourful characters If you dig hard-boiled noirish mayhem — check it out! I’m going to hunt out some more books by Smith and if they’re half as good as Slow Bear I’ll be very happy.

Fast paced and ultra violent. The length of only 130 pages is the only disappointing thing about this book. Grit lit at it's best. Slow Bear is a great character. Not for the squeamish.