Okay, twenty-three books since 1987 about an Edinburgh policeman and perhaps more to come! Its almost impossible to find anyone who hasn’t read a Rebus book and I’m sure it is impossible to find anyone who hasn’t heard of Rebus or his creator, Ian Rankin. You might say I’m biased because of the Edinburgh connection, after all, I know where Rebus lives and I know broadly where Ian Rankin lives. Rankin isn’t from Edinburgh, he’s from Fife but he’s been here so long and he’s been writing about Edinburgh for so long that it feels as though he is from Edinburgh. It’s easy to see from his stories that he knows the city like the back of his hand right down to sharing a favourite pub with his creation!
I said in another post that Rankin acknowledges the debt he owes to the great Scottish writer, William McIlvanney, for his Glasgow detective, Laidlaw, who was the inspiration for John Rebus and a very similar character – a former soldier with a broken marriage and a daughter from that marriage, a smoker and drinker who doesn’t look after himself very well but, at the same time, knows how to look after himself. A man with a healthy disregard for authority and a love of music of a certain era but, above all else, a great detective!
To be perfectly honest, Laidlaw was a favourite of mine and, when I read the first Rebus book, Knots and Crosses, I wasn’t sold on it. My goodness, how things have changed! I have every new book on order and, much to my disappointment, read it in a couple of days, knowing that I’ve then got about another year until the next one arrives. I’ve never been disappointed with a Rebus book and, of course, he is the epitome of what I say about these books being about the characters. I really do believe that I enjoy these books so much because they are about John Rebus and the group of regular characters who feature along with him. Colleagues like Siobhan Clarke and Gill Templer and, more recently, Malcolm Fox, who first appeared in the novel ‘The Complaints’, and, of course, his adversaries like Big Ger McCafferty. That was a stand-alone book about the internal affairs officers who investigate the police but he has since become involved in the mainstream Rebus volumes. As I mentioned in another post, Ian Rankin is about to publish a new book about Laidlaw where he has completed an unfinished script of the late William McIlvanney. I am waiting for it with bated breath and a review will be coming shortly!
As with all the other authors I look at, I’m interested in what you think of them, so let me know. For example, are you getting tired of Rebus yet? After all, he is edging into his seventies and is very much on the periphery of the force and barely tolerated by many current members. Are you beginning to wonder where he goes next? I saw a short article recently about this where Ian Rankin was beginning to reflect on that himself, asking where he goes next. Does he have another current Rebus story in him or is it time to give up and try something else? One possibility was to delve into the past and bring us some stories of Rebus in the earlier stages of his career. What do you think? What would be best? I think I will probably read anything that Ian Rankin comes up with, old or new, Rebus or no Rebus, but what do you think?
Of course, John Rebus has not simply been confined to the written word and we have seen a couple of TV series and a play. We have also seen different actors portraying Rebus and that, in itself, has led to some debate and, even, controversary. The first venture into TV casted the actor, John Hannah, as Rebus. Now, don’t get me wrong, I think John Hannah is a great Scottish actor who, of course, has many film credits to his name. But, and I’m by no means the only person I’ve heard say this, he was never my idea of John Rebus in a million years! Too young, apart from anything else! The other person who was given the role on TV was the Edinburgh actor, Ken Scott, and, for me, and many others I know, he was perfect for it. I also saw a short Rebus play in the theatre and, interestingly, the actor who was supposed to be playing Rebus was ill and his understudy took on the role. Embarrassingly, I can’t remember who he was but he was excellent! So, John Rebus from Ian Rankin, one of the best and, if, by chance, you haven’t tried him, you must do so! If you’ve only tried a few, try more and let me know what you think about the books and about Rebus’s future!