DAN STARKEY is a Belfast
born and bred reporter (as is his creator, Colin Bateman). He's
a cynic and an alcoholic, and so far, the hero (or more precisely,
the anti-hero) of four novels.;Dan Starkey
Created by Colin Bateman
DAN STARKEY is a Belfast
born and bred reporter (as is his creator, Colin Bateman). He's
a cynic and an alcoholic, and so far, the hero (or more precisely,
the anti-hero) of four novels.;
Divorcing Jack is based in Northern Ireland, it is pre-election time and the non-sectarian Alliance Party is expected to romp to victory. Bateman is cynical about this but is more concerned about keeping his wife and girlfriend apart, until his girlfriend is brutally murdered and Starkey is the only suspect. The novel follows Dan as he goes from one hilariously surreal scenario to the next as he strives to prove to the innocent and in the process discovers more about the forthcoming election and the personalities involved than he wanted to.
(Some folks have claimed that the main protagonist of Divorcing Jack is Belfast journalist John Blaine, but don't believe 'em!)
Of Wee Sweetie Mice and Men (1997) is predominantly based in New York after Dan, now re-united with his wife, Patricia (pregnant with another man's child) accepts an offer to follow Fat Boy McMaster, a Northern Irish boxer, in his efforts to win the Heavyweight belt against Mike Tyson. In the process, Dan manages to antagonise the IRA, the UVF, an obscure sect called the Sons of Mohammad and Save the Whale campaigners.
In 200's Turbulent Priests, the book on Fat Boy McMaster has finally been published and Dan's looking for work. He's hired by the Catholic Church in Northern Ireland to travel to Wraithlin Island of the coast of Belfast and ghost write a new bible with a little girl whom the locals believe to be the second coming. But Dan has his doubts. After all, why did they hire a Protesent? And if this isn't hard enough for Dan, he soon discovers the only pub on the island has been closed by the reformed residents.
In Shooting Sean (2001), Dan gets involved with the making of a film about a legendary Irish gangster (supposedly based on Martin Cahill, the general) to be directed by a famous Irish actor called Sean (the Sean of the title), who's essaying a tricky career change from major movie star to low budget director. When things start to go wrong on the set, Dan's suspects that the gangster himself may be behind it.
I wouldn't consider Dan to be the hero of these books, but in fact the stereotypical anti-hero. He suffers from many flaws, he cheats on his wife constantly, is a hardened alcoholic, smokes like a train, has doubts about his step son and how he should treat another man's child, and hates the other man. Dan also has a vulnerable side, most evident perhaps in Of Wee Sweetie Mice, when Patricia has returned to Belfast, and Dan wanders the streets of New York in search of company. He eventually seeks solace in a peep show where his only intent is to talk. Despite these weaknesses Dan still saves the day in the end, and despite his weaknesses I can't help but like him. Maybe because he's the stereotypicall Northern Irishman or maybe just because he reminds me of home, but whatever it is I would advise anyone who is a Carl Hiaasen fan to read Bateman's novels (he has also written non-Starkey books such as Empire State, Maid of the Mist and Cycle of Violence (AKA Crossmaheart after a film adaptation), although the references to Northern Ireland politics may confuse some readers the Hiaasen-esque prevails.
NOVELS
FILM
Respectfully submitted by Dermot.
