books:

	Road to Perdition Max Allan Collins, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, ... Titan Books Ltd, 2005 - 296 pages average customer review:based on 31 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Writer Max Allan Collins is a two-time winner of the Private Eye Writers of America's Shamus Award for his Nathan Heller historical thrillers "True Detective" and "Stolen Away". Award-winning artist Richard Piers Rayner 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 the printed page.

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You must choose a road for yourself.

This is a great black and white "noir" graphic novel. There was a movie 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.


The novelization is better than the movie

My first comment about Max Allan Collins' Road to Perdition novelization is that I admire him for sticking to the changes of David Self's screenplay, despite his being the author of the original graphic novel Road to Perdition. The second thing, and probably more important, is that I enjoyed Collins' novelization more than the movie Road to Perdition as directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty). Collins' tight prose is a very different approach than Mendes' inherently visual style that often focuses on cinematographic set pieces in lieu of powerful storytelling. However, one cannot help picturing Tom Hanks and Paul Newman in their respective roles, especially given Collins' knack for describing the characters as seen on the screen. For example, this description of John Rooney describes Newman far better than the original John Looney:

"The lanky, almost-tall, white-haired, white-mustached paterfamilias had been a rakishly handsome young man. And even now, in his seventies, his powder-blue eyes, prominent cheekbones, and strong chin gave him the sort of distinctive good looks many a lady ... still sighed over."

I've long admired Collins from afar, having not read any of his work prior to Two for the Money. His prolificity astonished me, particularly one I began seeing his name appearing frequently on CSI tie-in novels. I had seen the movie Road to Perdition, as I mentioned, but, not being particularly impressed by the film, had not pursued any further work by the author until Two for the Money was published by Hard Case Crime (a new publisher I greatly admire) and I actually was immersed into the author's literary world. That changed my mind and I decided to give Collins a chance to tell his own version when I found the Road to Perdition novelization at a library sale.

"Angel of Death" Michael Sullivan is the chief enforcer for crime boss John Rooney and they share a father and son-type relationship. When Sullivan's own son Michael, Jr., witnesses a hit done by Sullivan and Rooney's jealous (and possibly crazy) son Connor, Connor decides to protect his interests by having the boy killed. A mistaken identity leaves only the two Michaels alive and Sullivan sets out for revenge, with son in tow, by hitting them where it will hurt the most.

A combination crime thriller, period piece, revenge treatise, and coming-of-age novel, Road to Perdition satisfies on all levels. As young Michael becomes aware of his father's work, he learns the skills needed to do it properly, becoming a man and tightening their relationship in the process. Through this, the reader learns that even a hired killer loves his family. Collins' sensitivity towards family within these lurid surroundings exhibit his incomparable skill at hiding his literary (and historical) sensibility within familiar genre trappings. Max Allan Collins is one author whose works are both fun and good for you.

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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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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.

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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

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

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