| Plot Summary of The Blade Itself |
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"The setting for this dark character-driven story is the outskirts of Chicago, a city well-famed for its criminal citizens of past years and so, it should come as no surprise that this story, too, brings into focus the past lives of two supposed criminal friends.
Danny Carter is a reformed thief, holding down a good job, living with his adorable girlfriend and generally feeling okay with the world. Then along comes Evan McGann, Danny's old buddy from his criminal past released early from prison and intent on exacting a certain revenge on Danny for not taking the rap for the crime they'd both been involved with some years before.
McGann is a muscle-man with a nasty temper; Danny is a more thoughtful and far less violent man so the author manages to convey the viciousness of McGann whilst making Danny sympathetic as he tries every which way to avoid the criminal future McGann has planned for them - the kidnapping of Danny's employer's son, Tommy.
Unfortunately for Danny, he hasn't the mental strength to deal with McGann's relentless determination to make his illegal million so he becomes embroiled in the event, bringing terror to the lives of his girlfriend, Karen, his boss, Richard and grief and pain to another former school-chum, Sean Nolan, now a police officer with not much sympathy even for reformed criminals.
Regrettably, McGann's temper soon leads to several murders, a betrayal of Danny's unwilling friendship and, ultimately, a grand finale on the construction site where Danny would normally have been supervising the new building programme.
"
michael watson, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Blade Itself |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 20%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 10%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 60%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
The crook is....
- stalking/killing innocents
Crime Thriller
Yes
Mostly a criminal POV story
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- small businessman
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- accused criminal
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- throughout most of the book.
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- bulging muscles
Setting
United States
Yes
Style
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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