Light Before Day

Murder Mystery with a twist

Christopher Rice has woven a tightly nuanced murder-mystery plot with, for the most part, very believable characters. Just when I thought I had it figured out, he gave it just the right twist to make me rethink the remaining cast of characters. Mr. Rice has developed his talented and thoughtful main character and his richly diverse LA stomping grounds enough to work them both into a mystery series.

Slow starting but necessary for such a complex plot

Somewhat different from my usual reading list, but very entertaining after getting through the slow moving beginning. The plot was complex enough to keep me interested then the story took flight.

Light Before Day

Coming soon.

Good Story

I love the way Christopher Rice writes and develops his characters however, I felt this book was slow and a little drawn out.

An interesting read

This is the first Christopher Rice book I've read. As I started it, I had no idea what to expect, but very quickly found myself thoroughly engaged. It's not a fast read; there were several times that I found myself getting confused with all of the different plot twists and had to go back and re-read certain passages. Still though, it was a very inventive and well-executed story. I'm not a literary snob, so my criteria for good books are simple: Is the plot interesting? Can I "see" the characters and scenes? Is the dialogue realistic and believable? Are the characters' actions and decisions realistic? For all of these questions, the answer was yes! Well done, Mr. Rice. I'm definitely going to check out some of your other works.

Don't Read it!

Christopher Rice has a clumsy writing style and no character development. His plots are predictable and boring. Don't waist your time with any Christopher Rice novel, trust me I unfortunately read three of them for a class at my university.

The best of his first three works!

Much better than his second, this story line never slows down. There are surprises every twenty pages or so that change the direction of the story. And the intensity of some of his scenes! I felt like I was watching from a corner. Also, he is more direct in his character development and plot than in his earlier works. Certain phrases just jumped out of the blue in their descriptive nature and in their humor.

His first book was very good. This work is great.

Good, but definitely not his best

Good, definitely not his best. That title is still held by 'A Density of Souls.' I still enjoyed this book. I thought it was good, different/original plot, with cool twists, but it still doesnt hold a candle to his first novel.

not his best

i was a little disappointed in this one. his book Density of Souls was so great and personally my favorite.

The worst of his work

I'm a big fan of Christopher Rice I finished both his other books in a matter of days. Within 150 pages of Light Before Day, I was ready to put it down and not finish. His characters all run together, since they share so many base characteristics. Rice adds new characters so quickly it is impossible to understand what information they're giving, or to remember where the other characters fit into the story. Rather than portraying his gay characters as equal to the other characters, the homosexuals in this novel are painted as drug addicts, sexaholics, and generally bad people. The only thing that got me through the book was hope that it would all be explained clearly in the end. Fans of Christopher Rice: you'll be disappointed. Anybody else: read his other work first.

Nightmare before Slumber

While I was thrilled to see that Chris had published yet another gay mystery, I was shocked when I finally but it down. Definitely not one of his best. While the idea and beginning were intralling, the lack of character complexity, ever twisting plot tricks, and rushed prose, forces the reader to assume that, like most of the characters, s/he is in a drug induced nightmare. While the book as a whole is likened to its characters by being shallow and without a soul, the sad fact remains that the portrayals aren't far from the truth of West Hollywood 'queens'. For this realism of life, I did enjoy parts of the books, but would definitely not place it at the top or middle of the ability of the author. It feels at times as if Chris is purposefully trying to rush the reader along, by laying all possible scenarios out, rather than letting the reader puzzle out the truth. I do have to give just credit, however, the underlying ideas, the base movtivations, and the ultimate progression are wonderful, as usual for Mr. Rice however, it seems that yet again, another author races to the publisher with an incomplete and underdeveloped manuscript. Maybe if the author had sat on this idea for another year, the development would have fully bloomed. A Definite read, but only for true fans of the author or the genre.

Third is a charm!!!!!

I loved this book it wasn't as good as the previous two but it kept my attention!!!!

Good Book

Very good book. Unexpected and sharp, yet filled with homosexuals. It is A Destiny of Souls tainted with mystery, but done pretty well. Not his best, but definitely a good read.

A Sad Decline

Sometimes your darkness and your pain are real gifts. That certainly has been true for the Rice family over the last thirty years. All three of them have produced their best artistic works when writing honestly from whatever is tormenting them. That is true for the early vampire novels of Chris's mother Anne, The Radiance of Pigs by Chris's late father Stan, and Chris's first novel A Density of Souls. Now, Chris's mom identifies with Catholic saints in the place of her undead vampires - and paradoxically her novels have become lifeless and sterile. Chris's father's search for identity in his early poetry (the precursor of Chris's) became moot in the 40 day flood of his wife's financial success. And like his parents, Chris has lost what gave him authenticity in his writing. When Chris wrote Density he was writing from his own agonizing but exciting experience as a young man in New Orleans searching for sexual identity. It was authentic - you read because you wanted to go along on his quest. This novel, on the other hand, tries old worn-out formulas in a cliche driven, superficial and ultimately boring world of West Hollywood - and you wonder why you are still reading. In Density, you could find Chris's anguish - real human feeling - inside lines of his prose like you were sticking your finger in an electrical socket. Here, you just get teh sense that Chris really doesn't konw what to do with his life (hence the ignoble aimlessness of every character in this novel), and that he harbors deep loathing (or fear maybe?) for the men of West Hollywood (hence the shallowness and inevitable destruction that characterizes every plotline). A truly revealing novel would go beneath the surface of the drugs and sex and search for what makes these men tick. Why don't they find true love? Why are they so self-destructive? All Chris accomplishes to communicate in this novel is that he really doesn't know. In fact, he doesn't seem to really care. On the surface the book would probably get an A in a screen-writing styled writing seminar. Chris obviously possesses the technical secrets of the pulp novelist. But - like a melodramatic performance of some American Idol finalist - it lacks passion and meaning. Buy this book if you are narcissistic and like disappointment. Otherwise, wait for something real to happen in Chris's life, and for him to write about it. But don't hold your breath.

Still A Fan

Not as great as the two previous books, but I still enjoyed this novel and its mystery, and I look forward to the next one.

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