The following review was originally written for the Bloomsbury Review, and will run in September/October, 1999. Dorman T. Shindler, a freelance writer from Kansas City, is a regular contributor to The Bloomsbury Review, Dallas Morning News, Des Moines Register, Kansas City Star, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, San Antonio Express-News, St. Petersburg Times and Mystery Scene. The review is Copyright © 1999 by Mr. Shindler and reprinted here with his permission.

The Crook Factory: A Review

Dan Simmons has won critical acclaim and ardent readerships in a wide variety of genres: horror, science fiction, mainstream. He's picked up literary awards with the regularity of a champion outfielder shagging fungoes. Writing wise, there seems to be nothing he can't accomplish. So the publication of The Crook Factory, an historical, literary thriller, is sure to win Simmons another batch of readers and award nominations.

Joe Lucas, an amoral special agent in the FBI, finds himself assigned to a case that seems designed as punishment. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover has tasked him with keeping tabs on an amateur spy network in Cuba. The network has been coined The Crook Factory by it's ringleader -- none other than Ernest Hemingway. Completely unaware of Hemingway's stature and celebrity as a writer (he doesn't read "make believe" books), Lucas' perspective and growing awareness of Hemingway is offered through fresh, unspoiled eyes. Upon reaching Cuba, Lucas is thoroughly unprepared for what he finds. In Hemingway, he discovers a braggart who embellishes upon every life story. A writer who, despite an awareness of his own talent, constantly questions his own worth. And after joining up with Hemingway's eight-man spy network, Lucas discovers a spiderweb of machiavlleian schemes involving the intelligence agencies from three different countries that could affect the outcome of World War II. Worse, Lucas learns that Hemingway's "crook factory" has uncovered a vital piece of intelligence which puts all of them in mortal danger, and calls into question the loyalty of operatives in his own agency. Unsure of his own sources (or who might be behind American side of the conspiracy), Lucas partners with Hemingway in a perilous venture to get to the bottom of the mystery.

Unlike most of his other novels (most notably, Song of Kali, Carrion Comfort, Phases of Gravity, The Hollow Man and any of the books set in his Hyperion/Endymion universe), The Crook Factory is not filled with the usual subtexts and symbols which make reading Simmons' novels such a rich experience. But that doesn't mean this novel is empty of intellectual sustenance. On the contrary. It's full of musings upon abusive government and bureaucracy. And there are ruminations upon the act of creative writing -- passages that do not seem out of place, given that Hemingway is a central figure. Here, the legend coaches Lucas on the fine points of his craft: "You can't just transcribe things from the outside in, that's photography. You have to do it the way Cezanne did, from inside yourself. That's art." The difference between this novel and most of Simmons others can be likened to Graham Greene's "serious" novels (Brighton Rock, The Quiet American) and his "entertainments" (Our Man in Havana, The Confidential Agent). The precision of plot and writing is no less facile, with the difference lying only in the depth of the subject matter. And Simmons' attention to detail makes the WWII-era Cuba come alive for the reader. The Crook Factory is a remarkable blend of fact and fiction. As Simmons testifies in an afterword, ninety-five percent of the events are true, with cameos by Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich, Ian Fleming and a host of others.

In the end, what resonates deepest are the characters: Joe Lucas, whose emotional and moral transformation is both subtle and believable; and, most especially, Ernest Hemingway. Capturing an historical persona within the confines of a novel is no easy task. But Simmons does an incredible job. Readers will come away from the tale feeling as if they actually lived alongside the great writer. The Crook Factory exemplifies the sort of fiction which Hemingway held in high esteem: writing which is "truer than true." Like a firehouse dog chasing a red truck, The Crook Factory moves at a fast clip. Part literary thriller, part homage to Papa, Simmons has written a novel that would make Hemingway himself smile with pride.