Praise
Sometimes you read a book, and by the end of the first chapter, you know you've made the right choice. With Damiano Polcaro's Bastard, I knew by the end of the first page. If you're a fan of twisty, slick, funny and brutal thrillers, then I cannot recommend this enough. It's as if Guy Ritchie wrote a pre-Batman Bruce Wayne into an episode of Slow Horses. One of my favourite reads of the year.
Bastard was a real surprise of a book that I absolutely loved. It was a crime story at it’s heart but it was also a brilliant tale of how sometimes people get caught up in such a web of lies they can’t actually get out of it. The writing felt really polished and the quick short chapters give it a sense of pace and urgency that ramps up the menace within the story.
The narrator is not particularly a person that you like, but by the end I was absolutely rooting for him. There is a large cast of characters from gangland bosses to pub landlords and everyone in between that all really bring the story to life and add a comedic element to lighten things up.
The twists and turns and double crossings in this book just keep coming and it was a brilliant whirlwind of a ride from start to finish. The language and violence are not for the faint hearted but that’s part of what makes the story something that feels quite unique.
This was a really good and fun read, that I’d highly recommend.
Bastard is narrated in the first person with a lot of humor and grit, and in the kind of colloquial and immediate style that draws the reader in. Each chapter finds a new way to use the word "bastard" in a creative way to describe the characters our protagonist meets - corrupt politicians, undercover MI-5 agents, drug bosses - as it becomes increasingly difficult to figure out who can be trusted. Whether he's involved in a high-stakes meeting of crime bosses or enjoying a pint with Dino in their favorite pub, our bastard comments on his surroundings with disarming sharpness and wit. The way humor meets crime is deeply entertaining, hilarious, and addictive.
Gripping from the very beginning, this is a novel that made me want to keep reading. As events in the story became more and more chaotic and entangled I became more invested in it all. The addition of several curve balls and a couple of plot twists made for a fast-paced, entertaining tale - an excellent debut!
Absolutely loved this book. Highly original crime thriller that has everything - twists, turns and humour. The author has created some great characters and the style of writing is very unique. Fantastic debut novel.
Great book! The characters draw you in from the start, and the story is full of unexpected twists and turns. It has all the makings of a Guy Ritchie movie — sharp, fast-paced, and packed with attitude.