Nunn is a good writer and has been compared to raymond chandler who also wrote about things below the surface. Robert stone, author of damascus gate kem nunn s suspenseful and sinewy thriller demonstrates the mastery of psychological insight and cool observation his readers have learned to rely upon. If you are into surfing or motorcycles or not, youll love this book for its beautiful writing and deep storyline. But author kem nunn takes many more risks than kellerman does, and pulls away all the anchors from his good doctors sleek, urban existence. Never a master of believable or wellstructured plot, here he loses control of style and character as. The series has ably moved away from the source material, kem nunns book chance, in order to explore how dr. Near the end of kem nunn s crafty new novel, the title character, a 49yearold san francisco psychiatrist named eldon chance, confesses to feeling a persistent sense of vertigo, attributable no doubt to the sudden, simultaneous rush of so many large ideas. San franciscobased forensic neuropsychiatrist eldon chance reluctantly gets sucked into a violent and dangerous world of mistaken identity, police corruption and mental illness.
Chance by kem nunn published february 18th, 2014 by scribner buy this book at. Eldon chance, a psychiatrists in the san francisco area. While clearly a bit unhinged, asocial and disturbed, d is also highly skilled. Lovers of nunns previous novels may discover in chance a less than creditable antihero. Eldon chance is a brilliant, lonely, forensic neuropsychologist with a long track record of getting involved with damaged, complicated women. Unfortunately her exhusband is an oakland homicide detective and the jealous type. Despite hugh lauries talents and its aspirations as a thriller, hulus cliched new doctor drama chance is a chore to sit through. Hello select your address best sellers todays deals todays deals.
The series is based on nunn s book of the same name and was ordered straighttoseries in january 2016 with a straight twoseason order containing twenty episodes. After separating from his wife, a series of bad decisions leads to chance sleeping with a patient named jaclyn blackstone. Chance is an american television series created by kem nunn and alexandra cunningham which stars hugh laurie. Read chance by kem nunn available from rakuten kobo. Chance falls for jaclyn and becomes obsessed with helping her but he quickly realizes that hes in over his head. Chance drama series starring hugh laurie lands 2season. He has written the novels tapping the source, dogs of winter, pomona queen, unassigned territory, tijuana straits, and chance. Kem nunn born 1948 is an american novelist, surfer, magazine and television writer from california. He received an mfa in creative writing from uc irvine. He is the author of five novels, including his seminal surf novel tapping the source and, more recently, chance. Chance kem nunn summary guide book club discussion. Nunn joined the crew of the hbo western drama deadwood as a writer.
To help get himself out of debt, he looks to sell some antique furniture. Eldon chance is a brilliant, lonely, forensic neuropsychologist with a long track. This dense and madly enjoyable novel has the requisite femme fatale, the big city corrupt cop and enough shady characters to please any fan of the psychological sociocrime novel. The dogs of winter book by kem nunn official publisher.
While apartment hunting after separating from his wife, a series of bad decisions leads to chance sleeping with a patient named jaclyn blackstone. Chance, like the obsessed detective scottie ferguson of vertigo, has forgotten himself, almost willfully. Think of the corruption of will graham in the tv series hannibal and youll get a sense of the existential peril which assaults forensic neuropsychiatrist dr eldon chance. A forensic neuropsychiatrist reluctantly enters a dangerous and violent world of mistaken identity, police corruption and mental illness. Eldon chance, a forensic neuropsychiatrist who ventures outside of his area of expertise with a stolen identity plot, corrupt police, and a. Kem nunn has a peculiar knack for writing violence that leans heavily on restraint to draw out both the conflict and the resolution.
Chance is suspenseful contemporary crime fiction unrivaled in its intensity. He is the author of six novels, including his seminal surf novel tapping the source. Eldon chance is a brilliant forensic neuropsychologist with a long. Chance is adapting to his new, darker life outside of his relationship and obsession. Kem nunn born 1948 is an american fiction novelist, surfer, magazine and television writer from california.
Chance is on a downward spiral starting with a recent divorce and on top of that the i. This novel is a psychothriller that has everything. Whether that change is due to his having killed someone or the aftermath of his traumatic brain injury remains unclear. Robert stone, author of damascus gate kem nunns suspenseful and sinewy thriller demonstrates the mastery of psychological insight and cool observation his readers have learned to rely upon. Hugh laurie, ethan suplee, stefania lavie owen, brian goodman, paul schneider. The plot is well thought out and rises to a great conclusion. Kem nunn born 1948 is an american novelist, surfer, magazine and television writer from. Nunn s literary reputation has been built over the course of five novels that create stories of suspense in the myriad subcultures of california, including the surfing world, the mojave desert, the mexico borderlands, and the exurban zones of drug use and nasty violence. He goes too far in trying to help the lost ones he evaluates. Feb 18, 2014 but author kem nunn takes many more risks than kellerman does, and pulls away all the anchors from his good doctors sleek, urban existence. Eldon chance, a neuropsychiatrist, is a man primed for spectacular ruin. Best known for his surfer noir classics tapping the source and tijuana straits, nunn switches gears with this brilliant and cerebral psychological thriller. Chance, a hot package that includes author kem nunn.
Eldon chance sees broken people in his job, so its almost inevitable that some of those individuals would bleed over into his personal life. Her adopted brother, judasyes, that judasis soon disowned for his nonconformityplotting against antipas. His novels have been described as surfnoir for their dark themes, political overtones and surf settings. I have to be honest, i bumped this up my tbr shelf because of kem nunn. First the narrator is a neuropsychiatrist named chance who isnt all that stable himself. The characters are well fleshed out and very relatable. Ten years after his acclaimed novel tijuana straits, author kem nunnwhom our columnist credits for the creation of the surf noir genrereturns with a compelling new psychological thriller, chance. Eldon chance, living in san francisco, who is semiwillingly pulled into his patient jaclyn blackstones dangerous life of police corruption, manipulation, and abuse. Kem nunn grew up in pomona and northern california.
Eldon chance is a brilliant forensic neuropsychologist with a long track record of getting involved with damaged women. The series focuses on a forensic neuropsychiatrist, dr. In chance season 2, after reluctantly getting sucked into a violent and dangerous world of mistaken identity, police corruption and mental illness, eldon chance comes out the other side a changed man. Never a master of believable or wellstructured plot, here he loses control of. In the case of chance, he does this through a vivid cast of characters and an unlikely friendship between a middleaged psychiatrist on a downward spiral and a furniture forger with a mysterious past. Buy now with huge dollops of the big lebowski and rife with twisted noir tropes kem nunns latest book, chance arrives like a runaway wrecking ball. Read chance by kem nunn for free with a 30 day free trial. Chance and its predecessors are peppered with literary references to. Oct 17, 2016 despite hugh lauries talents and its aspirations as a thriller, hulus cliched new doctor drama chance is a chore to sit through.
He lives in southern california, where he also writes screenplays for television and film. In an intense tale of psychological suspense, a san francisco psychiatrist becomes sexually involved with a female patient who suffers from multiple personality disorder, and whose pathological exhusband is. Based on the novel by kem nunn, chance is a provocative psychological thriller that revolves around eldon chance, a forensic neuropsychiatrist. In tijuana straits nunn not only creates sam the gull, his usual pillpopping exsurfer with one last chance at redemption, but also, with equal dexterity, magdalena, the idealistic mexican madonna with a passion for social justice, and, most astoundingly, a fully realized, almost sympathetic villian, armando, the dark shadow of toxic. Chance s, is both entirely plausible and hilariously. Mar 11, 2014 ten years after his acclaimed novel tijuana straits, author kem nunnwhom our columnist credits for the creation of the surf noir genrereturns with a compelling new psychological thriller, chance. Feb 01, 2014 kem nunn has a peculiar knack for writing violence that leans heavily on restraint to draw out both the conflict and the resolution. Nunn, who forged his fictionwriting career by concentrating on surfers and their sport tijuana straits, 2004, etc. Kem nunns suspenseful and sinewy thriller demonstrates the mastery of psychological insight and cool observation his readers have learned to rely upon. Help eventually comes in the form of a hulking man called d. Kem nunn is the author of tapping the source, a 1984 novel about surfers that came and went like a crackling summer storm, marking the sensory memory in the.
With hugh laurie, ethan suplee, greta lee, stefania lavie owen. Oct 19, 2016 chance is actually based on a book by the mystery novelist kem nunn, a darkunderbellyofcalifornia specialist who created the television series along with alexandra cunningham. Kem nunn is the author of tapping the source, a 1984 novel about surfers that came and went like a crackling summer storm, marking the sensory memory in the way certain weather or music. A dark tale involving psychiatric mystery, sexual obsession, fractured identities, and terrifyingly realistic violence chance is set amid the. Author interview kem nunn, author of chance bookpage. Kem nunn is a thirdgeneration californian whose previous novels include the dogs of winter, pomona queen, unassigned territory, and tapping the source, which was made in to the film point break. Keep an eye on kem nunn, who may well turn out to be a good. Near the end of kem nunns crafty new novel, the title character, a 49yearold san francisco psychiatrist named eldon chance, confesses to feeling a. When i read that the kem nunn was a writer for deadwood, i knew i was in good hands. The series is based on nunns book of the same name and was ordered straighttoseries in january 2016 with a straight twoseason order containing twenty episodes. Kem nunn is an american fiction novelist, surfer, magazine and television writer from california. Chance 2016 is a drama, mystery tv series starring hugh laurie and ethan suplee. Based on the acclaimed novel by kem nunn, chance is described as a provocative psychological thriller that focuses on eldon chance laurie, a san. Eldon chance, a neuropsychiatrist caught up in an affair with one of his beautiful, fractured patients, jaclyn.
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