Rating: 
Summary: An Unforgettable Book - A Pain in the Neck
Review: The Cold Six Thousand, the sequel to American Tabloid, is the second book in a triology that tells the FICTITIOUS story of how a group of rogue ex-FBI-agents and ex-cops shape and manipulate American history. The series is set between Kennedy's rise to power in the late 1950s and Nixon's resignation in 1974. The Cold Six Thousand starts off with the investigation of the Kennedy assassination in late 1963. Sometimes deliberately, sometimes by accident, the book's protagonists get involved in national elections, Cuba, Vietnam, the mob's takeover of Las Vegas, the civil rights movement, and finally the murders of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy.
It is absolutely fascinating to see how Ellroy succeeds at weaving through the labyrinth of historic events without ever losing the historic thread. And then the story: It goes crash, boon, bang, it's a staccato of plots, counterplots, intrigues, betrayls, murder, revenge, and redemption. The Cold Six Thousand is not a casual read, on the contrary: Its characters and events will remain with the reader for a long time.
Unfortunately, however, the book has more than its fair share of shortcomings.
One is the role the Mafia plays throughout the whole story. Ellroy tries to make us believe that the mob was THE driving force behind most of the events that made the 60s such an explosive pandemonium. Carlos Marcellos and Co. are portrayed as all-powerful and omnipotent. Is is almost as if the Outfit works like the law of nature: No man can escape it, even the mightiest must surrender to its will.
Then there are the never-ending outbursts of violence. Raw, graphic, violence that is. In one scene, a Mafia killer tells a fellow hitman how he cracked a woman's skull in a vice; in another, Ellroy describes with relish how Pete Bondurant takes a man out by tearing up and grabbing deep down his throat. In American Tabloid, the violence made sense; Ellroy used it to paint a realistic portrait of a violent era. In The Cold Six Thousand, much of the violence is superfluous and simply gross. I believe that a novelist talks to his readers; in American Tabloid Ellroy seemed to say "I don't like this epidemic of violence, either, but it is my duty as a chronicler to report it". In this book, however, he actually seems to enjoy and take pleasure in it.
Another problem is the language. Short, fragmented sentences. Sometimes they actually add to the excitement; more often, though, they are plainly annoying.
Finally, I feel that Ellroy is a much better writer of hard-boiled fiction than of romance. Too many men fall in love with too few women. Wayne loves Lynette, Janice, and Barb. Littel loves Jane, Barb, and Janice. How these women hold such an attraction for every man they run across and make them not just want them but actually truly love them remains a mystery.
In conclusion, I would like to stress my belief that a GREAT writer like Ellroy is clearly not oblivious to these flaws (at least not to the ones that have been pointed out by a large number of reviewers, which gives our criticism a certain degree of legitimacy). As a matter-of-fact, I don't know very much about him, but I can't help my suspicion that he feels he has reached a level that gives him the right not to give a damn about his readers. I will most definitely read the last book in the series once it is publised; however, I also feel it is time to move on and turn to another author.
Rating: 
Summary: Worthy Follow-Up
Review: Ellroy's follow-up to "American Tabloid" takes another look at the morally-bereft American crime world in the late '60s. This book (and its precursor) are the perfect shot of grain alcohol to obliterate the syrupy '60s image we see all too often of flower children, sensitive singer-songwriter-superstars, and the like. Ellroy's vision of the '60s is harsh and certainly not for the squeamish, as Ellroy knocks icons such as Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King off their pedestals and gives us a J. Edgar Hoover as an evil Wizard of Oz, pulling levers and manipulating events behind his veils at the FBI. Ellroy's previous characters, the haunted FBI agent Ward Littel and everyone's favorite French Canadian strong-arm Pete Bondurant, meet with a new cast of nasties, including the Tedrows, Wayne Junior and Senior. A bunch of nasty people meet nasty ends (as do others), and nobody is allowed to ride off into the sunset. While not quite up to the standards of "American Tabloid," (perhaps only because "Tabloid" came first) this is an excellent read, particularly if you're a fan of Ellroy's rapid-fire style. **** Definitely read "Tabloid" first -- the back story here, especially regarding Bondurant and Littel, is critical. ****
Rating: 
Summary: "The concept rocked".
Review: This is an astoundingly good novel. What is most striking about it is James Ellroy's buckshot prose, which he has taken to a new level, even for him. It scans almost like beat poetry. Virtually every page (of 700 odd) is studded with short (and I mean *really* short, even by Ellroy's standards), staccato sentences repeating phrases in groups of three: "Frank was a doctor. Frank had bad habits. Frank made bad friends."; "Wayne yawned. Wayne pulled carbons. The fine print blurred." I can see that this could, quite reasonably, prove extremely irritating, but I found that it gave the novel a real rhythm, like a Bo Diddley jungle beat. That sounds pretentious, I know, but if you read it (and buy into it) you'll see what I mean. And it is used to extremely good, often comic effect. As is the case with all Ellroy's novels, life is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and (for the most part) short, although it must be said the principal protagonists do, by comparison, seem blessed with unfeasible longevity, and the plot is so Byzantine as to make Constantinople look like a one horse town: Cuba, Vietnam, Howard Hughes, the Vegas mafia, JFK's assassination, RFK's assassination, the Klan, Martin Luther King's assassination - it's all here, and in Ellroy's universe it's all inextricably linked. I doubt it has any value as history (whether or not it is, Ellroy is clearly steeped in the history of the era), but it's such an exhilarating read, it really doesn't matter. Olly Buxton
Rating:
Summary: Relentlessly violent jaunt through the Sixties
Review: I've only read this book, not knowing it was part of a trilogy. For another great (shorter) trilogy, check out Ellroy's L.A. NOIR; three novels with psycho-genius cop Hopkins and his psycho-genius antagonists. With THE COLD SIX THOUSAND, I think Ellroy is trying to pull off a sometimes impressive feat that often falls flat. The first page grabbed me. That's all you'll need. The characters are wonderful. Wayne Jr.'s evolution in Ellroy's morally dead world is often fascinating. Big Pete is a great, almost operatic figure. You find yourself empathizing with these characters who are really horribly racist, spiritually empty fascists and psychopaths. The intrigue is the fuel that keeps you going. I'm just glad he didn't drag it out with some spin tying in John Lennon's murder. That said, the darn thing is too long, and not particularly well-written. Good editing would have pared a lot of redundancies. The clipped sentences Ellroy deploys get mind-numbing, and feel very contrived most of the time. I don't know what he's up to, but it comes off as some Hemingway-meets-meth style that simply aggravates. Eventually, the pattern gets so old that you find your eyes floating over them. At least they're grammatically correct for the most part, and don't destroy the overall narrative (check out T. Harris' ludicrous HANNIBAL for that effect). Repetitive phrasing is aggravating. Any sentence longer than four words is something along the lines of: "[Wayne/Pete/Ward] went and *braced* said [someone/something], which *vibed* très boocoo [hophead/Fed/swish/Klan/etc.] blah blah blah." Everything and everyone seems to be getting *braced* at any given moment. Insane. I'm serious; entire pages are filled with that basic sentence patter over and over. Ellroy might be trying to get us into the speech patterns of this world, but it mostly comes off as contrived. That and obsessively stupid klannish konversions of words to 'k' beginnings: "The krappy kotten krop was karted to Karson City." Ick. But don't let that deter you. And if you don't like it, don't give up on James Ellroy. He and Elmore Leonard are the best at what they do.
Rating:
Summary: A Dark follow-up to "American Tabloid"
Review: Being a big fan and admirer of the book that it follows, the classic "American Tabloid", "The Cold Six Thousand" came pretty close to topping it, but just passes by as a solid crime epic. Following the events that ended "Tabloid", we meet up with a cop whose path collides with many a corrupt characters, including many of the individuals who make up "Tabloid". Using many real historical figures as corrupt supporting players (FBI head J. Edgar Hoover, Howard Hughes, etc.) adds a eerie feeling of realism despite this book being a piece of fiction. The dark feel of this book eclipses "Tabloid" (which if you look at the period "Cold Six Thousand" traces, makes perfect sense), and ultimately adds some real tension to a history of events that takes it's toll on the primary charcters, and ultimately, on America itself. It's a worthy enough follow-up (even with it's bleak and uncertain ending) to a great book and a must for Ellroy fans to read.
Rating:
Summary: Worthy Follow-Up
Review: Ellroy's follow-up to "American Tabloid" takes another look at the morally-bereft American crime world in the late '60s. This book (and its precursor) are the perfect shot of grain alcohol to obliterate the syrupy '60s image we see all too often of flower children, sensitive singer-songwriter-superstars, and the like. Ellroy's vision of the '60s is harsh and certainly not for the squeamish, as Ellroy knocks icons such as Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King off their pedestals and gives us a J. Edgar Hoover as an evil Wizard of Oz, pulling levers and manipulating events behind his veils at the FBI. Ellroy's previous characters, the haunted FBI agent Ward Littel and everyone's favorite French Canadian strong-arm Pete Bondurant, meet with a new cast of nasties, including the Tedrows, Wayne Junior and Senior. A bunch of nasty people meet nasty ends (as do others), and nobody is allowed to ride off into the sunset. While not quite up to the standards of "American Tabloid," (perhaps only because "Tabloid" came first) this is an excellent read, particularly if you're a fan of Ellroy's rapid-fire style. **** Definitely read "Tabloid" first -- the back story here, especially regarding Bondurant and Littel, is critical. ****
Rating:
Summary: if you know, then there you go
Review: have you read Ellory before? have you put in your time in the L.A. books? Have you traced the evil that was dudley smith from his intro (not officially in the L.A. books, but if you know, then there you go) to when he took a wolverine to the face? If so, then you may be ready for this. M-16 prose, chain-saw whiplash violence, a kracked, krazy, kaleidescope view of the dekades that shaped amerika. No joke, if you haven't been on the bus, then this one will leave you behind and wondering what's up. I wasn't down with "Tabloid" -- too much plot and not enough of the pulse of the bad men who shape the world we call life. But this one runs the pulse like a spurting artery. Annoying prose? You know it. Strobe-light, beatnik jazz-like, hop-head krazee? That's just the beginning. The demon dog's going deep into what makes amerika the place it is. It simply isn't for you if you haven't been on the ride before this. All you've have is guestions and wonder what the hell's up. But if you've been listening to the white jazz and wolverine blues for a while, this is the apotheosis. Don't get me wrong -- Big Nowhere, LA Confid and White Jazz blow white hot compared to this, but for the dark places of the '60s, from Saigon to West LV and how they touch today, Ellroy's ride is rough, rambunctious and strangely vulnerable. You'll shudder, you'll wish for a shower, but you'll come through to the dawn with a burned-pure soul that's earned. Bring on the next. And really, can you not but wish that the big dog would turn his eye on what's been going on with today's unknown, unsung bad men, in places distant, dusty and shaped by bad, bad, power (and golf)? Oh, yeah -- and for the first time, cats (CATS) get their moment in the light -- and they make the dogs look like pussies.
Rating:
Summary: Subject verb object dot
Review: This was my first Elrroy's books. I didn't have the American Tabloid at the time, and I can say, that even though it would had helped to read the first part first (this is the second book of the announced Underground USA Trilogy), it hit me inside, and made me an instantaneous Ellroy fan. One may say that the narrative (688 pages that goes subject, verb, object, dot) is hard to get started with, when you get into the book it just stop making that huge difference... Maybe the 688 pages are a bigger problem themselves...). While one of the main character of American Tabloid goes off scene (While Ward Littel and Pete Bondurant stays), there comes Wayne Tedrow Jr. a very well created character, urging to explode with anger, and beside, trying not to show it. His dubious way of thinking/acting all over the story is the hook that get Wayne going (when will be - if so - the crackdown?, you can feel it during the book) Much has been said about the story so I wont go long on this subject. Ellroy put his trio working directly and undirectly for J. Edgar Hoover and the MOB, in a way they are responsible for turning the main wheels of many historical American spots from 1963 to 1968. They are, in the Ellroy fictional world, the men behind the scenes. About the prose style, again, as the Author himself said, this was entirelly proposital. This is the story of three angry, racist white men from the 60's. He writes in their language. The language of the obligation: Do it. Kill him. Get this. Go there and read the book. Pete likes those who read the book. Pete is kind with the ones who've read the book. Pete go easy on them.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant but not for everyone
Review: I am a huge fan of Ellroy, and this book did not disappoint. I loved it. Fans of Ellroy who have not already bought it should do so immediately.
If you are not a fan or have never read Ellroy, than be forewarned, this is a challenging book to read, well worth the effort, but difficult none-the-less. Ellroy does not hold the reader's hand and guide them along through the book. The slang and style of Ellroy's prose can leave the reader saying "huh?". The reader should expect to be baffled at times. However this is part of the fun and Ellroy always eventually clarifies later in his own way.
Rating: 
Summary: Style vs. Story
Review: Let me just say this: I am a fan of experimental prose styles. I read Ulysses for chrissake. But these choppy ass little sentences seemed trite and annoying. I don't give a damn if he was trying to emulate a strobe light or whatever herky jerky thing he was trying to do, it interfered with the STORY and that, for me, is a no-no. Couldn't finish the damn thing. So I consider the time I tried wasted. Don't waste my time. Don't waste yours.
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