Colin Harrison is an enigma. He writes some of the best thrillers out there, but he has a real tendency to frustrate me as a reader even while I'm marveling over the brilliance of his work. Harrison is an absolutely spectacular writer, and his gifts are especially well suited to his particular niche: the thriller in which the ordinary man finds himself in dangerous and threatening situations. One of the things I like about Harrison's thrillers (with the exception of his most recent and most disappointing book, "Afterburn,") is that his heroes tend to find themselves dragged down into desperate struggles because of their own human frailty than because of some madman terrorist bent on revenge or a serial killer in the process of "becoming."

In "Manhattan Nocturne," the protagonist, struggling under the prodigious name Porter Wren, is a newspaper columnist who falls for a seductive beauty, who wants his help in recovering a lost videotape made by her dead film director husband. Meanwhile, a powerful media magnate wants the same tape, and threatens to expose Wren if he doesn't find the tape for his (the magnate's) purposes. The plot leans a bit toward the needlessly rococo at times, and I felt the ending piled it on a bit too thick, but it still gripping, page-turning, and utterly pleasurable to read.

This is a novel with tension, drama, interesting and three-dimensional characters, and genuine energy. But like Harrison's inexplicably out-of-print masterpiece "Bodies Electric" (very possibly the best thriller I've ever read), "Manhattan Nocturne" gets bogged down a bit under the weight of the author's detailed sexual ruminations. I am not a prude, but I find myself thinking "enough already" pretty quickly. However, I will say in defense of these protracted sex scenes that they are relevant to the plot and to the nature of his protagonist(s). Harrison seems genuinely interested in how identity is linked to sexuality, a worthwhile subject, and because his protagonists tend to fall down their slippery slopes owning to their sexual desire short-circuiting their common sense, the pornographic fantasias always come across as guiltily relevant. Do we need to know the details of every position Harrison's mind can conjure? Probably not. From an over-heard bit of conversation in one of the first scenes, we get the sense that this is a novel fueled by the fear of impotence (indeed, the protagonist confesses, at one point, that a familial history of prostate problems leaves him feeling that his sexual days are always numbered), so we must remember at all times that this is a pre-Viagra thriller.

One of the other reviewers complains that Harrison goes on and on about things that have nothing to do with the plot, but Harrison's writing is strong enough that I'd read a novel he wrote about taking out the garbage. His dissertations on moral issues, poverty, New York culture, sexuality, etc. are all at the heart of what makes Harrison a superior writer. "Manhattan Nocturne" is not a flawless novel, but it is without doubt a superior novel and a must-read for anyone who expects more from their thrillers than the paper-thin characters, the by-the-numbers plotting and the clunky writing that we find scattered all over the best-seller lists.

Beautiful prose-style writing! This is the only novel I have found so far that could be compared to "Gold Coast" by Nelson Demile. Wonderful narrative way of writing, a technique only could be created by a real talented writer. Every sentence is well written and worthy of being perused carefully and slowly. Once I've read about 1/3 part of it, I just couldn't wait to grap his other works to be ready in line to continue. Don't treat this book with anything of any genre, just appreciate it as a wonderfully constructed story. Fantastic characters, Porter Wren is especially an unique one, created by a most talented writer. If you failed to enjoy and/or appreciate this writer's "Dark Humor" as well as his wonderful and smooth writing skill, then you might have to admit that you are not a mature enough "thinking reader."

If a book ever deserved to be defined as a "film noir," then Colin Harrison's "Manhatten Nocturne" is it. The author's descriptions of New York City evoke the mood of that town to the point of elevating this novel to the status of great literature. Is it a dectective novel? Not exactly. Is it a mystery? No, not exaclty, and yet it is both and more. A dark, and brooding story written in the first person, "Manhatten Nocturne" is a compelling book, not for prudes or the faith of heart. A gritty, tough, and at times sad novel about love, death, hate and everything that makes Manhatten what it is.

I love annotations. I think it's due to an innate curiosity about why things are the way they are--the classic childís question, and I never got over asking it. Iím surprised that annotated editions arenít more popular--think of it as a Cliff's Notes side-by-side edition. While not all books benefit from annotations, certain texts these day require them for all but the experts. The English language has changed substantially since Chaucer and Shakespeareís day, and annotations in these texts often serve as an open dictionary. In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes series, the annotations can explain aspects of Victorian society that modern readers aren't aware of.

The folks at Harper's Magazine have taken the idea of annotations one step farther. Like their famous Harper's Index, which takes the idea of rating items to an extreme, thus illustrating common misperceptions, Harper's annotations attempt to explain the significance and history of different items by examining both the function and form. Deconstructing a complex item can be educational and intriguing, such as how to read a birth or death certificate; how a Louisville Slugger is made and its place in the industry; and how a picture of John Gotti can tell you about the man and the trial.

I just thought of a new method of annotations that is currently taking off, and that is, of course, the World Wide Web. With its ability to "link" to other sites within its text, it is a perfect example of an annotation. The only thing better would be to search for more information based on any word within a document, not just simply the ones that authors have built links into.

I went into this book already a fan of Colin Harrison based on his previous novels. I happened across Manhattan Nocturne on vacation a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it, so much so that I sought out his two previous novels, Break and Enter, and Bodies Electric. All three were good reads. Afterburn is a disappointment.

There seem to be no middle of the road opinions about this novel-you either love it or hate it. Harrison has always written about destructive relationships, but this time he carries the theme to a literal extreme. I am not put off by the gruesome descriptions of torture and dismemberment that other reviewers have remarked on. I am, however, put off that the entire novel reads like an exercise in creative writing. After one particular descriptive passage (of the Jim-Jack Bar and Restaurant) I came away not admiring the meticulously constructed prose as much as thinking "Was that sentence really 175 words long?" And after a four-page sex scene (part of a letter Charlie Ravich receives) I found myself not aroused, amused, or entertained, but trying to decide if Harrison's stylistic tendency is to my liking. A writer whose style becomes the focus of the reader's attention is trying too hard.

I admire Harrison for setting himself a challenge, but in taking on so many challenges the novel became a homework assignment. I can see him in front of his Columbia fiction writing class on the first day of the semester: "Your project this term, class, is to write a novel. The novel must include four elements. To begin with, you must create multiple main characters and make them all compelling. But that alone would be too easy, so the characters must be unlikable-make us like them. Think you have the makings of a good author? Write about a repulsive act and make it enjoyable to read-human vivisection for example. And while you're at it, turn that task around--write about an intensely likable subject, but take our thoughts away from that subject-for example, write about sex, but leave us admiring your talent, not thinking about sex. And for extra credit, blend the devices of Walt Whitman, William Faulkner, John Grisham, and James Patterson into a seamless whole."

Mr. Harrison's grade: C minus.

Out of the all of the many books I've read in recent years this is probably the only one that ever left me extremely angry at the author, because I enjoyed about two-thirds of the book only to feel like I was deliberately kicked in the teeth in the final third.
Now what bothered me wasn't the fact that it didn't have a cookie-cutter "they live happily ever after" type of ending, I've enjoyed and recommended other books which had dark, even grisly endings. But at least when authors like Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and Lawrence Block are explicit they do so with a purpose that serves their story, and they know where to draw the line.
But "Afterburn" is needlessly cruel and openly sadistic, putting it's main characters through unbelievably graphic physical torture, which Harrison describes in excruciating detail. In the end I couldn't find any purpose it had served, other than what seemed to be an inexplicable attempt by the author to punish his readers.
When I finished this book I felt sucker-punched, with all the stomach-churning sadism I had endured reading it I found the end held no real surprises, no ironies, no last minute saves, no poetic justice, or any thing else of substance to justify what Harrison puts you through. This was the first and will be the last book I'll ever read by this author, I hope to never stumble upon another like him.

Afterburn is my first exposure to this author, and I can see why this novel generates the strong sentiments, both positive and negative, that it has. Let's start with the obvious-Colin Harrison is a brilliant writer and Afterburn is a daring book. It is not your average cookie-cutter feel good run-of-the-mill thriller. And that's the problem for the people who hated it. The sex, the violence and the torture are all so vividly portrayed that you shrink away from the words even as you read them. But if you're daring, and if you can appreciate the word smithing that underpins Afterburn, then you'll enjoy it. If not, you'll hate it. I came down firmly in the enjoy/admire category.