Synopses & Reviews
Ray Lamar has made some mistakes. He's good at hurting people—the dead wife he failed, the young son he abandoned, the victims who stand in his boss's way. But Ray's tired of being that man. He wants to go home to Coronado, New Mexico, to see his boy and make a new life far from the violence of the past. One last job will take him there. All he has to do is steal a rival's stash. Simple and easy.
Ray knows there's no such thing as easy, and that simple plan has quickly become a catastrophe. Now the runners who have always moved quietly through this desert border town want vengeance. To stop a bloodbath and maybe save his own soul, Ray must figure out how to make it right. But for a man like Ray Lamar, there is only one way. . . .
Review
“One fine specimen . . . with more artistry than would seem possible in a conventional thriller.” < i=""> < b=""> New York Times Book Review <> <> on < i=""> The Terror of Living <>
Review
“Waite writes with grace and poignancy and keen comprehension of hard men in hard circumstances . . . [The] narrative rages as a perfect torrent of violence flooding toward its inevitable conclusion. Fierce and lyrical.” < b=""> Kirkus Reviews <>
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“The defining quality of Urban Waites gripping existential thriller is an elegant sparseness, which inevitably recalls Cormac McCarthy.” < i=""> < b=""> Financial Times <> <> on < i=""> The Terror of Living <>
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“In the tradition of No Country for Old Men, Urban Waite has written a nail-biter that takes off from the get-go and never stops, a book chock full of memorable characters and kick-ass writing.” < b=""> Tom Franklin <> on < i=""> The Terror of Living <>
Review
“A hell of a good novel, relentlessly paced and beautifully narrated. Theres just no let-up. Waites style is tight and taut. . . . Strong narrative voice, auspicious debut. . . . Awfully glad I read this one.” < b=""> Stephen King <> on < i=""> The Terror of Living <>
Review
“A smart, swiftly-paced and bloody Western for our moment. Urban Waite is a writer who wont let a reader wander awayhe keeps you reading, and reading, and rewards all your attention with a powerhouse story and prose to match.” < b=""> Daniel Woodrell <> , author of < i=""> Winter's Bone <> on < i=""> The Terror of Living <>
Review
“Opens with gentle beauty, calm before a bloody storm, before building intensity with swift, jarring, and confident storytelling power. . . . Readersincluding this onewill certainly be following Urban Waite for years to come.” < b=""> Michael Koryta <> , author of < i=""> So Cold the River <> on < i=""> The Terror of Living <>
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“A lean and mean, modern-day noir western filled with complex characters and situations . . . hauntingly dark and elegiac writing . . . a candidate for best crime book of 2013.” < i=""> < b=""> New York Journal of Books <> <>
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“One fine specimen . . . with more artistry than would seem possible in a conventional thriller.” < i=""> < b=""> New York Times Book Review <> <> on < i=""> The Terror of Living <>
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“[A] searing western noir. Three people face terrifying moral choices as they each wish for what they cant have: life as it was before their small border town . . . was doomed by its dying oil economy.” < b=""> Publishers Weekly <> (starred review)
Review
“The Carrion Birds is as muscular and laconic as anything by Cormac McCarthy, yet it crackles with humanity. A-” < i=""> < b=""> Entertainment Weekly <> <>
Synopsis
The Carrion Birds from Urban Waite, author of the highly acclaimed
The Terror of Living, is a remarkable work of literary noir.
Hired gun Ray Lamar is ready to put his past behind him. He wants to see his twelve-year-old son and start a new life—away from the violence of the last ten years. One last heist will take him there. All he has to do is steal a rivals stash. Simple, easy, clean.
But when things start to go very wrong, Ray realizes the path to redemption isnt always easy.
A soulful tale of violence, vengeance, and contrition, The Carrion Birds is an elegant depiction of one mans last chance to make things right.
About the Author
Urban Waite is the author of The Terror of Living, named one of Esquire's Ten Best Books of 2011. His short fiction has appeared in the Best of the West 2009 anthology, the Southern Review, and other journals. He has degrees from the University of Washington, Western Washington University, and Emerson College. He lives in Seattle with his wife.
Exclusive Essay
Read an exclusive essay by Urban Waite