By: Max Allan Collins Publisher: Pocket Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 304 Publication Date: July 01, 2002 Studio: Pocket
Rock Island, Illinois -- 1929. Michael O'Sullivan is a good father and a family man -- and also the chief enforcer for John Looney, the town's Irish Godfather of crime. As Looney's "Angel of Death," O'Sullivan has done the bidding of Chicago gangsters Al Capone and Frank Nitti as well -- but when a gangland execution spells tragedy for the O'Sullivan family, a grieving father and his adolescent son find themselves on a winding road fo treachery, revenge, and revelation.
Writer Max Allan Collins is a two-time winner of the Private Eye Writers of America's Shamus Award for his Nathan Keller historical thrillers True Detective and Stolen Away. Award-winning artist Richard Piers Raynner spent four years working on the artwork for Road to Perdition, a labor of love that has resulted in some of the most stunningly realistic drawings of 1930s Chicago ever seen on printed page.
Disappointed ^ From the outset I have to say that it was my mistake in ordering this item from 'amazon.com.'. I thought it was an actual novel from the great movie "The Road from Perdition" I was to receive, which I truly believe to be one of the great movies of recent years. It was in fact, to my dismay, what they call a 'graphic novel'- in other words, a comic for the story. I have no doubt, that within that genre (graphic novel) it is a story of some value, but I was expecting otherwise and was duly disappointed. What more can I say? Perhaps 'amazon.com' need to clearly articulate a 'graphic novel' as opposed to the the old fashioned novel that I was expecting to receive.
Peter Taylor
Father and Son against the Mob. ^ A 2007 Summer reading list mini review.
Road to Perdition is a disturbing tale of family loyalty and vengeance set in Al Capone era Chicago and it's surrounding communities. It is expertly imagined, written and drawn. That's right drawn. I read a comic book for part of my summer reading list.
Actually, they prefer the title graphic novel these days. And everything about this novel is graphic, this is definitely an R rated book with swearing and violence abounding. The story is a part coming of age, part Robin Hood and mostly The Godfather. It has action and a heart. Again, it is not for kids, but all in all it's a good read.
You must choose a road for yourself. ^ This is a great black and white "noir" graphic novel. There was a Road to Perdition based on it, which you may have seen. The book is better, in my opinion. It is masterfully written, and the art is great. It's almost 300 pages long, but it just flies by. Highly recommended.
Could have used a bit of fleshing out. ^ Max Allan Collins, The Road to Perdition (Paradox, 1998)
This is, of course, best-known as the basis of Sam Mendes' second feature film. And, to be honest, I think I'd probably have liked the book better had I not seen the film. There were some details David Self's screenplay filled in that made the ending of the book a little less deus ex machina, but I'm not sure I'd have even noticed had I not seen the film.
You already know the plot: the son of a hitman steals along with his father one night and sees the kind of work his father does. This leads to a war when dad's boss tries to have him and his family killed, and dad's primary goal is to try and get son to safety. However, while they're on the run, dad is forced by circumstance to realize that son is actually kind of good at doing some of the ancillary things that need done when one is involved in a life of crime (for example, being a getaway driver).
The graphic novel's main failing seems to be encountered in that plot; it seems to me as if the father, for all his telling the kid that he doesn't want him in this way of life, would have at least recognized, if not entertained, the idea of a "like father, like son" life, especially given the amount of time they're out on the road. But no; the father is a bit too much the bad-guy-with-the-heart-of-gold, leaving the heavy pontificating to the son. Despite that, however, there's a lot to be liked here. The characters are well-done, for the most part (Connor Looney, especially, is more three-dimensional in the film than the book), and as always, Collins' inclusion of historical figures make a good anchor for the reader.
Likable, but read it before you see the movie. *** ½
the book that will keep u coming back for more ^ Revenge is always sweet no matter how bitter you have to be to taste it. In the book Road to Perdition by Max Allen Collins, a mobster named Angel has to cope with the murder of his wife and his oldest son. After the massacre of Angel's family he turns to any possible way to make the man responsible pay! With his boss and his boss's son betraying him there is no better target than them, the people that made him suffer! After killing everything in his way, he has to get to Mr. Looney he thinks to himself why, will he kill him you will have to read the book to find out. The Road to Perdition by Max Allen Collins is an action-packed book and has so much suspense that you wont be able to set it down I know I did not, if you choose to read the book you just have to remember the old saying, expect the unexpected.
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