Army of Davids or Serial Killers?

Debra Hamel's verdict of The Serial Killers Club (I can forgive no hyphen in the title but not the lack of apostrophe): "part thriller, part romance, this black comedy is one weird book." Although the plot of this book, which, according to Debra's review, concerns an exclusive club for serial killers in which said criminals can relax and share experiences of their nefarious deeds, must surely be unique, it is a pity that the same could not be said of the cover.

I was instantly reminded of An Army of Davids, Glenn Reynolds's excellent book about the power of blogging. I checked it out and, yes, the two books could be mistaken for each other.

I shan't be reading The Serial Killers [sic] Club, but I can highly recommend the first half of An Army of Davids, which is the best of the many books about blogging that I have read. (I was not so keen on the second half, an over-rosy science and technology prediction exercise.) Frank Wilson, Book Review Editor Emeritus of the Philadelphia Inquirer, wrote an excellent review of the book (it was Frank's review and my subsequent reading of the book that really opened my eyes to the full potential and power of blogging, in fact). Here is a taster of Frank's review: unfortunately I cannot find a freely available version of it, but if you drop a comment at Frank's blog, Books, Inq., he may be able to help.

Army of Davids on Amazon.com and on Amazon.co.uk.

Comments

[Dave Lull]

You can find a copy of Frank's review here:

http://www.owli.org/oer/node/683

[Debra Hamel]

Good catch, Maxine! I didn't notice that.

[Peter]

I've just left a comment on Frank's blog (and, as I write this, I sit in a coffeehouse a five-minute walk from Frank's house).

The giddily optimistic promoters of the liberating potential of personal technology tend to forget the frightening degree to which they surrender privacy to those who control the pathways of information. Google, in other words, could become an even scarier Big Brother Central Knowledge Machine than those at whom the giddy technology boosters sneer so glibly.

I like to think my wholehearted participation in both the old and the newer media gives me a view of the drawbacks of both.
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://www.detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/

[Maxine]

Yes, indeed, Peter, I'm a great believer in old and new media coexisting peacefully without serial killers or armies ;-)
Thank you for the link, Dave, I had an idea you might swoop in to the rescue when I wrote my post.
Debra -- it was a pretty tenuous connection, as the two books are nothing like each other. You have to be interested in crime fiction and the philosophy of blogging, I guess -- that would make quite a nice combined degree course!

[Kerrie Smith]

In reference to clubs for murderers.. what about P.D. Martin's THE MURDERERS CLUB?
Put this one on your lists. It is Martin's second novel and better than her first BODY COUNT. The plot is very inventive. A serial killer is on the loose and leaving strangled bodies on or near the campus of the University of Arizona. Central character FBI profiler Sophie Anderson is an Australian from Melbourne who is visiting her friend Darren Carter when he becomes involved in the investigation after the discovery of first two bodies. We have learnt about the Murderers' Club in the prologue, people who meet in a chat room, and who are apparently behind the murders. Who, What, How and Why are all intriguing questions. An excellent, engaging read.

[Maxine]

Thanks for the tip, Kerrie-- sounds good. Will certainly add to my list.

[Maxine]

Update: Frank Wilson has kindly reproduced his review on his blog, Books Inq., here:
http://booksinq.blogspot.com/2008/02/her-wish.html

[Peter]

Oh, I don't say the old and the new will co-exist. At least in America, the print part of the old is already in an advanced state of putrescense. I merely caution against those who would dance too giddily on its grave.
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://www.detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/