FFB Thieves World

I am pretty sure that I first heard of Thieves's World from my cousin Dan, which is strange in that Editor Robert Asprin was my brother's Cub Scout troop leader. Anyway, Thieves's World was a series of 12 anthologies set in a shared world, written by a cadre of Sci Fi and Fantasy authors.


Set in the city of Sanctuary the stories are range in topics from the stories of city administrators to that of Shadowspawn the thief. The Shadowspawn stories were my favorites, and I did end up reading the spin off novel Shadowspawn by Andrew J Offutt. I think I read almost all 12 of the volumes and even stayed on after the original set of authors left the series. 


Later on there was a Role Playing Game and a Graphic Novel incarnation of the series, along with a series of spin off books and an relaunch of the series in the early 2000s. I have fond memories of the books and their covers and have been tempted to revisit series in the last couple of years but have yet to pick up and crack one open.  I have to wonder what a Crime Anthology called Thieves City might look like from todays new Noir and Crime Writers.

FFB License Renewed by John Gardner

This was the first Bond book that I read. I only recall that we were on a family trip out east when I was reading it, but nothing about the book or the plot. It was a big deal that these new Bond books were coming out in the 80s and I read most of them long before I cracked any of the Fleming books. Looking back I am really not sure that there needed to be new Bond books in the 80s, and I am not sure that they need new ones now... at least not ones set in the current landscape. I might be on board with some retro adventures set in the 50s, 60s, and maybe even into the 70s.


I'm going to open this one up to the readers, thoughts, comments, anything that you recall about the Gardner Bond?

FFB: ILL Wind By

    The two pillars of the post apocalypse fiction world are Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank and Earth Abides by George R Stewart and every other book in the genre owes some debt to one or the other. Alas, Babylon deals with the aftermath of a nuclear exchange, and Earth Abides deals with the aftermath of a plague which wipes out a chunk of humanity.

Illwinds falls mostly into the Earth Abides camp, telling the story of what happens when microbes intended to eat oil spills end up eating all petroleum based products on the planets. Airplanes fall from the sky, the combustion engine is useless and the infrastructure of the world just seems to fall apart.

I don’t recall much from the book aside from the plot other than I enjoyed it, as I enjoyed most of the books in the genre that I read at the time. There were a few that I read and didn’t really get or like. With some of these books that I recall liking and some that I recall fondly I wonder if they would hold up for me. I was a different kind of reader then, I was living a life that had different expectations and a different perspective on life. I have to admit that I have some fear of opening one of these books and finding that I have changed too much, or worse yet finding that I haven’t.

Anyway, Ill Winds was once worth reading for me, and if you are looking for something to follow up The Stand or Swan Song, it might just fit the bill.

FFB Wishsong of Shannara by Terry Brooks

Elves, Swords, a quest, magic, it’s all pretty standard Fantasy stuff, and that’s why I have largely forgotten The Wishsong of Shannara aside from the fact that once upon a time I read it and liked it. The Shannara series started out in the late 70s and the third book arrived almost a decade later, just in time for me to find it at the end of elementary school and the start of Jr High.

            I am going to pause here from talking about the book and talk about my relationship with reading. I started kindergarten when I was 4 years old in the fall of 1977, and turned 5 about three weeks later, I had to be the youngest kid in my class until I became the oldest. When I was in the second grade my reading did not improve over the course of the year and my parents had me held back and repeat the second grade. I can recall clearly being annoyed and bored with the reading books we were given, Honeycomb and Cloverleaf. I also recall being attracted to the older schoolbooks from the 40s and 50s that some teachers kept in their rooms, and I recall visits to the school library and not finding many books that really related to my world there.

            When I was in the 4^th grade I had one of those old school teachers who wasn’t going to fall in line with all the new fangled education theory and among other things she insisted that we read. She also read to us, Where the Red Fern Grows and Call it Courage were both read aloud in class… along with a couple of 50s text books, one called If I Were Going that ignited my imagination about seeing Norway, and that we do book reports. To this day I look back on the structure of her reports, synopsis, tell what you liked, tell what you didn’t like and tell the class if you recommend the book as THEE structure for any kind of review. I think that it is safe to credit her more than another teacher for getting me to read, and by the time I was in the sixth grade I was reading at an eight-grade level.

Somewhere in there I picked up the Shannara books the first two were already out, the second one The Elf Stones was the first book that I literally stayed up all night reading. It was the 4^th of July in the mid 80s…. when the Wishsong came out I was ready for it. The plot was about evil coming back into the world, and the Omsford clan once again is called upon to put a stop to it. Quests are started, Allies gathered and danger faced in route, but it all works out pretty well in the end… until the next series of course.  I don’t recall any of those books either, even though I did end up reading the next 5 or 6 entries in the series. .. It’s true that I have forgotten the book and it’s plot and most of the characters and what I really liked about it…. But in this case maybe what is important is that I remember that it was important to me once upon a time.

Oct 2011 Reads

Choke Hold by Christa Faust

We are not only seeing the return of Hard Case Crime, but of Chirsta Faust and Angel Dare. The former Porn Star turned on the run WITSEC participant…. It appears that she didn’t have Marshal Marshall and Mary protecting her, this time she ends up in the middle of nowhere when an old flame wanders back into her life. Things go from bad to worse and Angel finds that she can’t escape the curse that seems to be following her. Faust knows noir and how to keep things rolling along. It’s a tough rolling adventure, and I of course look forward to the next tour of the darkness that Faust illuminates.

Gangway by Donald Westlake and Brian Garfield

A 70s effort from the authors of The Hunter and Deathwish. Set in San Francisco of the 1890, this heist tale was fun, but not anything amazing. I enjoyed it enough to finish, but was never really engaged by it. If you have made your way though the Westlake cannon and need a fix of something you haven’t read before, check this out, other wise I wouldn’t made any big effort to seek it out.

Lawrence Block book of the Month: Getting Off

The first of the new Hard Case Crime releases, Blocks Getting Off is also their first Hard Cover…. And it’s a about a killer on the road and her adventures as she tries to some to terms with her past. I thought it was pretty good, if a little long,

Bad Cop by  Paul Bacon

The true adventures of the author as he became a NYPD officer in the wake of 911. As a liberal he’s an outsider easy to read style and a nice insight to the works of the lower levels of policing. It was a very nice quick read that was engaging and I highly recommend it.

Stark House Press novel of the Month:

Body and Passion by Harry Whittington

A sharp tale of two men who get caught in a fire and only one survives… only he has no idea which man he is. One is a criminal and the other the DA, and you can guess who things play out from there --- maybe. Clocking in at a brisk 107 pages it’s a lean tale that nicely fills out the three stories in the book.

FFB: KILLER’S WEDGE (1959) by Ed McBain

The Killer's Wedge is McBain riffing on the locked room mystery in several ways.... and commenting on them in a way that we would call Meta these days. The two plot lines involve a dead man in a locked room who looks to have killed himself and a group of 87th Precinct Bulls trapped in a squad room while a woman waits to kill Det. Steve Carella with a .38 Special and a jar of Soup (nitro). The action takes place over the course of 1 day, mostly the afternoon, and it tense and driving.  


Carella wrestles with the suicide squeal, the rest of the squad wrestle with how to escape the trap they have been placed in.  It's a fast, punchy read that shows what a limited story in a small setting can be and still keep the larger story of the 87th Precinct moving along. McBain knew how to keep the pages turning and his readers waiting for the next installment. As with earlier installments in the series the book a product of the market of the time, 160 pages of sparse proses telling two simple stories and at the same time fleshing out the world of the 87th Precinct... well worth checking out, and I hear tell that Amazon is going to start reprinting the series in the near future for anyone that wants to check it out.


another look at the book can be found HERE. Patti Abbott advises that this weeks links are going to be collected by  Brian Lindenmuth at SPINETINGLER 

Monthly Reads: Aug 2011

Lawrence Block book of the Month: To Murder and to Create

The second of the Matt Scudder books finds Scudder trying to figure out which of three blackmail victims bumped off his acquaintance who was running the blackmail. Told with Block’s usual deftness, the story unfolds and we see how Scudder handles the secrets of those with power and money who might wish to keep them hidden. This is also one of the shorter books in the series, and I am not sure if that is just Block still feeling out the character or if it was a reflection of the market for mysteries at the time. Either way another solid entry in the series and worth a read.

Stark House Press novel of the Month:  Danger in Paradise by A.S. Fleischman

 Originally a Gold Medal paperback from 1953, Danger in Paradise is pretty much a rip roaring island adventure. Oil Geologist Jeff Cape is just looking to get back to the states when he falls into intrigue with guerillas, reds, gunrunners and a rich American woman who likes to walk around topless. Needless to say there is nothing outstanding about the plot, it’s all in the telling, which is first rate. Clocking in at just under 150 pages Danger is a solid read that’s part of another time and place. I look forward to reading the second reprint in the volume, Malay Woman.

The Cold Kiss by John Rector

A Solid Neo-Noir debut from Rector, Cold Kiss is the story of a couple of kids looking to escape their past and start anew when a suitcase of money falls into their hands. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…. Anyway, things go wrong and moral and practical choices must be made. I find that for first time writers the small story pallet of a limited set of characters and possible interactions is best, and the Cold Kiss is mostly a fine example of starting small. My only criticism is that the last two chapters could have been skipped and the Cold Kiss would have been a Hard Case Crime worth tale. Either way if you like Noir this is worth a look.

33 1/3: Slayer - Reign in Blood by D. X.Ferris

The untold story of the death of Hair Metal is not only the rise of Grunge, but the rise of Thrash. Reign In Blood tells the story of Slayer and their ascension at thee great thrash band of the 80s and 90s. Never the big sellers that Metallica or Megadeth were, Slayer has defined a sound and a genre that doesn’t get the respect that it deserves. Ferris tells the story of the band, the record and it’s legacy in a mostly flowing manor that is readable and if not totally engaging then at least interesting.

Deep Focus: They Live by Jonathan Lethem

The first of the Deep Focus series, They Live unpacks John Carpenters Regan-era analysis of unchecked greed and baby boomer egotism run amok. It’s a fast insightful book that inspired me to finally pick up a copy of the DVD to add to my small, but growing Carpenter collection. I did find myself skimming some of the more academic portions of the book, but over all I liked it and look forward to seeing what the forthcoming volumes of the Deep Focus series are going to have to offer.

Friday Forgotten Book: Such Men are Dangerous by Lawrence Block

Such Men are Dangerous is either a heist novel that takes half it’s page count to get to the heist, or it’s a study in what individuals who have been cut off from society and culture. The book starts off with Paul Kavanagh, who has spent the last decade fighting in south East Asia, discovering that the Agency has determined that he is not the type they can trust to work for them. Dejected he heads south and ends up living in alone and cut off on an island he has developed a list of rules to live by and seems to be settling into his new life…. …. Only someone shows up on his island and manages to recruit him to help steal a load of weapons from the US Government.

     Using a tone and a style that shows the journey of Paul Kavanagh though the book Block explores the crime as the choice of a man who has none of the typical reasons for committing his crime. There is no need for money, for vengeance, he’s not angry; he’s not looking for more…. In fact the only thing he really wants is to be left alone. There is an Existential element of the book, like the Hitman series (of which I have only read the first), that really in many ways is a deconstruction of the crime genre, getting to the core of what drives the professional heister.

Such Men Are Dangerous is the 7^th Lawrence Block book that I have read this year as part of my one Block Book a month for 2011. This one was a very solid entry into his backlist and is worth checking out.

More FFB's can be found here

Books July 2011

13 French Street by Gil Brewer.

Alex surprise visits his old army buddy Vern and wife Petra and things go bad, bad, bad.  Really this book is riff on the old The Postman Always Rings Twice plot, and while I did finish it…. I struggled with it. It was ok, just ok, I didn’t find any of the zing and prose that other Brewer books (The Vengeful Virgin comes to mind) that I have read.

What of Terry Conniston? by Brian Garfield

 Full review can be found here 

… and kudos to Cullen Gallagher for bringing Garfield to my attention.

Fun and Games by Duane Swierczynski

Fast paced, fun, Action Film romp of a book… the first in a trilogy and I am looking forward to the next two. In this first installment Charlie Hardie, an ex-cop is house-sitting for a living when things go very very wrong.

Stark House Press novel of the Month:  Iron Man W.R. Burnett

Following the rise and fall of Coke Mason a middle weight boxer on the rise. This was the second reprint in this collection, and while I enjoyed it I liked the other book better. There are a lot of great boxing scenes, and some excellent character drama moments, but over all it was just ok, and the prose while straight forward and tough didn’t really zing.

Lawrence Block book of the Month: Such Men are Dangerous

I really liked this tale of a former GI and Merc who finds himself figuring out what he’s going to do next with his life. At first he seems to be headed for the life of a hermit, until he’s approached to help hijack a load of military weapons.  Part introspective and existential, part heist novel ala the Parker novels, it’s a fast read that is both entertaining and thought provoking…. Good stuff.

The End of Everything by Megan Abbott

    Like Megan Abbott I grew up in Southeast Michigan during the 70s and 80s, we lived in the wake of the Oakland County Child Murders, and the disappearance of Adam Walsh. There were very bad things happening to young people, stranger danger, the crack wars, and then there were people who were doing bad things to kids at school, in day care and of course in Church. In The End of Everything, Abbott explores the all too common threat to young Generation X teenage girls of the early 80s, the sexual predator.  

The novel follows Lizzie, a 13-year-old girl about to enter high school. She plays soccer and is learning field hockey, she spend her time with her best friend Evie and her older sister. Evie disappears after school one day after refusing a ride with Lizzy and her mom. In the hours following it becomes clear that Lizzy isn’t anywhere to be found, and in come the police.  As things move on Lizzie finds that she holds clues and some answers about what has happened and why, and just maybe she is going to start putting together some answers to what is going on in her neighborhood.

            Abbott drives the story forward in a whispered running pace.  It’s like she is tell you a gossipy secret in the lunchroom. She accesses the confusion, uncertainty, and the emerging truths of becoming an adult, in a way that is honest and very real. Set right at the end of the school year as the spring is making way for summer, the book also manages to bring in a humid sticky feel that isn’t sexual, but more dream like and buzzing with a realization that just hasn’t been put together.  While the time and place of the story is never spelled out I have a strong feeling that it is the

            This is another winner from Abbott, who is blazing her own path through the world of crime fiction. She consistently seems to write what she wants; never pandering to what the market seems to be selling. I don’t expect for her to give us another series detective, or some sort of tough anti-hero vigilante character.  Simply I think she stands along side; Victor Gischler, Duane Swierczynski, Jason Starr and Christa Faust as thee cutting edge voice of crime fiction today….. which is to say that I do highly recommend The End of Everything, it’s a book that I know I am going to revisit.

Books June 2011

Lawrence Block book of the Month: The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling

This is a paperback that I have owned for years and until now have never gotten around to reading. I think that I picked it up in the late 80s or early 90s when I read my first Block books. This time around Bernie is running a bookshop, trying to make it the legit way... only there is always another score. Bernie been hired to pick up a rare book, only there are bodies and Bernie finds himself in the middle of it all again. At this point I read these books because Bernie is fun to read about, and I enjoyed this book... and am sure I'll enjoy the next one when I get around to it.

  

Stark House Press novel of the Month: One for Hell by Jada M. Davis

Willa Ree is a bad man, and when he hits a booming oil town in the backwaters of Texas he thinks he’s hit the jackpot. Co-oppted by the town leaders to work on the police force to take over the action and line everyone wallet, Willa runs wild and takes what he wants, using his badge when needed.  This was a solid noir from the early 50s and one has to wonder what Davis would have produced if he written a few more.

Ian Dury : the definitive biography by Will Birch

The title pretty much says it all… aside from the fact that this was very solid biography that moved along well and at the same time gave insight to Ian Dury. There was no soft-pedaling of his shortcomings and issues, at the same time the uplifting parts of his life story are explored. Very good, and recommended.

Black Wings Has My Angel by Elliot Chaze

One of the Holy Grails of Gold Medal paperback fiction, the story is about a ex con and the woman he meets and their descent into the blackness of greed. I really don’t want to say anything more because I really don’t want to give the story away, but I will say that there is a heist. I will say that it works on many levels and echo’s many of the great themes of Noir, but spins them in a direction that is more David Goodis than Richard Stark. I just finished it and I am still taking it in, but I can add only that it really deserves to be back in print (Hard Case Crime or Stark House Press would be thee candidates for a reissue). While looking for info on it I did note that a film version has been in development for almost half a decade, well shall see if it makes it way to the screen and if that also triggers a reissue.

FFB: Double Trouble by Sheldon Jaffery

The full title:

Double Trouble: A Bibliographic Chronicle of ACE Mystery Doubles

Starmont Reference Guide #12

            A forgotten book about forgotten books, something about that idea appeals to me. The full title says pretty much of all of what you need to know, this slim volume, published in 1992, is a reference guide for the ACE Mystery Doubles published between 1952 and 1963. Covering the D through F series the book provides not only the publishing dates and biblogaphic information for each volume, but information about authors, the books and even occationaly reviews of books that were written at the time of publication.

            This isn’t the kind of book that has to be read cover to cover, but is easy to page though, and look up specific authors. It looks to be well researched and Jaffery obviously has an affection for these books, but never pretends they were more that entertinment for the most part.  As this is Starmont Reference Guide #12 I have to wonder what the first 11 cover and if there were more after this one?  The copy that I read I obtained via Inter Library Loan, which has been very kind to me when it comes to Friday Forgotten books that I have wanted to check out. A while back I was able to ILL Shoot, and currently have; What of Terry Conniston? by Brian Garfield, Black wings has my angel by Elliott Chaze, and 13 French Street by Gil Brewer from other libraries...All if which I have discovered though FFB and other blog posts from others.

Speaking of which, you can find more FFB's here

Score: 5 books for $12.82

Purchased today at Curious Books in East Lansing.

The Hit by Brian Garfield

The Crossroads by John D MacDonald

The Drowner by John D MacDonald

The Burglar by David Goodis

Saddle the Storm by Harry Whittington

Unknown to me all mysteries were 50% off today, so I didn't hesitate with the MacDonald books, which I had thought of passing on.... I only wish that I had picked up the copy of Charles Willeford's Sideswipe that was on the shelf. I picked up The Hit because of the posts on Brian Garfield over at Pulp Serenade

Books May 2011

The Black Ice Score by Richard Stark (Parker book 11)

Parker is back and this time the job has come to him. First he is warned off a job that he has no knowledge of, then he is offered the job and well you get the idea. I have to be honest, while I enjoyed The Black Ice Score, I can’t say it was one of my favorites. It’s got an interesting premise in that Parker is drawn into the job, and that he breaks his rule by working with armatures. I liked the book, but there was something missing from the zing of the world of Parker, it’s like the Mourner in that it deals with elements for developing nations politics (third world to all you not up on the latest PC lingo) which Westlake was good at, but as far as I can tell was never mastered by Stark. That said, it’s a solid read that is well worth it for Parker fans, and anyone out there that is looking for a softer entry to the Parker novels might find this one along with the afore mentioned The Mourner a entry point into the series.

33 1/3 Let It Be by Colin Meloy

See my FFB review HERE.

The End of Everything by Megan Abbott

I liked it; I will post a more in depth review when it comes closer to publication time.

33 1/3 Let’s Talk about Love by Carl Wilson

I know, I know, Celine Dion, right. I don’t like her music; I tried to listen to this album, but never got though more than 2 of the songs at a time. The book on the other hand is compulsively readable with is history of where Dion came from and it’s look at taste, the economics of mass popularity and the reality of how as we age, maybe it’s not worth the time to decry middle of the road comfort food music.

Lawrence Block book of the Month: Make Out With Murder

This was my first Chip Harrison novel and I found it very fun and enjoyable. There was a Meta element in that it was presented as the novel that Chip had written about his time as an assistant to a Detective who has a fixation on fictional Detectives. Block name checks; Chandler, A.C. Doyle, Michael Innes, the MacDonalds and of course Richard Stark. It was a breezy read and I think I have one more in the series coming up this year.

Stark House Press novel of the Month: The Three-Way Spilt by Gil Brewer

While taking a group of drunk tourists out on his boat Jack Holland get’s a lucky break and discovers the wreck of an centuries old ship off the coast of Florida. Knowing what this discovery means Jack keeps the discovery quite, only telling his girl Sally and his drinking buddy, a former salvage man, who knows the history of ships in the area and has the expertise to help Jack dive the wreck. … and then his estranged father shows up and that’s where things start to go wrong.

Three Way Split is a full blown Noir adventure that had me thinking of John D MacDonald and his Travis Magee books and just a bit of the adventure stories of Clive Cussler. I enjoyed the story overall, but felt the ending was a little rushed and that Brewer had been more interested in the archeology and search for the story of the discovered ship. With only a hand full of Brewer’s work currently in print, another volume from Stark House, a Hard Case Crime and a pair of reprints from The New Pulp Press, this is one of the few places you are going to find his work and it’s well worth owning.

33 1/3: The Gilded Palace of Sin by Bob Proehl

Another solid entry in the 33 1/3 series, telling the story of Gram Parsons, the Flying Burrito Brother, and the start of what has become known as Alt Country today. It’s a history lesson, not only of the music and the band, but the context of the time and place, of flawed young men with a vision and sound in mind. While not as personal as the Let it Be entry or as thought provoking on the bigger subject of taste as the Let’s Talk About Love book, this one still holds it’s own as a book that should be on the shelf of everyone who cares about what we call Alt Country today.

The Sour Lemon Score by Richard Stark (Parker book 12)

This time around we get Parker on the trail of a member of his crew who has tried to kill all the members of the crew. This is a minor mirror take on The Hunter. It’s a fast paced and action driven story, that while not the best Parker book is a solid read. It’s easy to see where the charges of Stark repeating plots can be leveled, but at the same time, Crime novels pretty much follow a simple plot through line, bad stuff happens and people are in trouble. All that said I liked it, I liked Parker having to pick up and work on the fly after a jobs goes wrong in the crew end. I recommend the book, and am looking forward to the next Parker installment. I would also not this was the 12^th Parker book, which is the dead center of the series with only 4 more of the first era of Parker books remaining.

FFB: The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film By Michael Weldon

Just as Black Sabbath’s early albums were a blue print for heavy metal to come, so was the Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film the blue print for cult Film Encyclopedia’s and guides to come. The books was an outgrowth of the psychotronic magazine, which started out as a newsletter before morphing into a zine, and then magazine. It was originally a guide for the kind of low rent junk that would show up on the late late late show, but as the VCR made it’s in roads, and more and more films became available to watch when ever you wanted, Psychotronic was thee place for those looking for something more than; recent hits, classics, or award winners.

I can’t say that it’s the first curated video guide, but it was the first successful one that I can recall. It’s success lies in its depth and range. And the simple idea that the films it covered were worth pointing the cult movie fan towards or a way from. While your Leonard Maltin or Roger Ebert covered as much as they could, Psychotronic focused in on the forgotten, the cheap, the z-grade, the cult and the just plain weird films, it was a place where you could read about 60s Biker Films, and 50s Monster Movies, that might not get the time of day in the other guides. This was a book for fringe film fans, and for those who would make MST3K a hit a decade later.

Today, it’s a dated guide; published in 1983 it’s missing almost 30 years of films from where we sit in 2011. However it’s merit as a guide and it’s coverage of the films that it includes make it well worth checking out. A Psychotronic Video Guide was published in the 1996, and Psychotronic Magazine continued through out the decade. It’s gone now, but not forgotten. It looked like the Internet was going to kill the need for guide books with its easy access to information about films, filmmakers and even access to films themselves via Hulu, Netflix, and youtube. However in the last year we have seen the publication of both Destroy All Movies and Swish Sensationfilms both of which owe a debt to the one and only Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film

March 2011 Monthly reads

Books March 2011

Vampire A Go-Go by Victor Gischler

Gischler takes the reader on a fun romp through Prague with a Vampire looking for; well I don’t want to spoil it. Allen Cabbot is sent off with a professor to assist in researching a bogus article on Kafka. He quickly get’s swept up in the search for some secret hidden somewhere in the city. On the journey joined by witches, shape shifters and battle priests trying to unravel the mystery of what everyone seems to be looking for. There are some great comic moments, and Gischler is a master at reminding the reader of the importance of Coffee to the modern action hero. Fun and recommended, I am looking forward to cracking open my copy of The Deputy.

Stark House Press novel of the Month: Like Mink Like Murder by Harry Whittington

A fast tough noir that is part David Goodis part Richard Stark. Sam Baynard has been out of the stir for close to a year. He’s got a square job and a good girl, only she and her family don’t know about his past. He’s trying to leave that past behind, only someone won’t let him be. First it’s the girl, and then her master, and after telling his girl Lois and her father about his past everything is set in motion. Throw a cop who can’t believe that he’s gone straight, a black mail and you have a nice short, direct tough piece of noir. There is nothing groundbreaking about the story, but it’s told with a strength and knowledge that is atypical. I especially liked the way in which Sam was able to see the world in terms between the saints and sinners, and the deep pain he feels at having been thrown out of the paradise of squaresville. Stark House has another volume of Whittington’s work slated for release, and I will be picking up a copy. Like Mink, Like Murder is highly recommend, it’s a great entry point into the work of Harry Whittington

Lawrence Block book of the Month:

Sins of the Father

The first Matthew Scudder book.

Scudder is hired to find the back-story on the murder of a semi-MIA daughter who is found apparently slashed to death in her apartment by the man she’s been living with. It’s a great start to the Scudder series, as the darkness of humanity that Scudder faces time and time again is present, along with the Hypocrisy of humanity.

FFB: Down the Long Hills by Louis L'amour

By the time I has graduated from High School in 1991-I think I had read the majority of the books that L’amour had published at that point. Down the Long Hills first published in 1968 wasn’t the first of his books that I read, but it is one that sticks out, mainly because I fondly recall the the TV Movie made from it in 1986.

The plot…. (From www.louislamour.com)

“After the massacre Hardy and Betty Sue were left with only a horse and a knife with which to face the long battle against the wilderness. A seven-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl, stranded on the limitless prairie. They were up against starvation, marauding Indians, savage outlaws, and wild animals. They were mighty stubborn, but the odds were against them--and their luck was about to run out.”

What we have is a classic tale of adventure and courage. It’s as western as you can get, a kid having to make their own way, having to survive without the benefit of civilization and adults. L'amour as always (ok almost always) is very readable and a good entry point for younger readers into the world of pulp fiction.

In thinking about the book again, I am wondering if there are teens out there that are still reading L’amour’s books, or westerns in general. When I was growing up the adults in my life, mostly teachers and school administrator types, seemingly had written the western off as a chauvinist, imperialist form that degraded native cultures, minorities, and women while glorifying violence and colonialism. To them John Wayne was just a right wing nut who taught boys all the wrong ways to be a man, and anything that smacked of a Western was trash… I wonder how many of those types of teachers are still out there discouraging young readers?

As I said I read many of L’amour’s books, but only a handful have stayed with me all these years and Down the Long Hills is one of them.

Books Oct 2010

It's been a slow month on the reading front, but here is what I spent my time with this past month.

Butterfield 8 by John Ohara

Which I only got a Hundred pages into before abandoning it. I am mentioning it only because it's a classic. I never really connected with the story and it took way to long on the set up. There wasn't any hook early enough in the narrative to give me a reason to keep reading.

The House of Tomorrow by Peter Bognanni

This YA novel is the story of two boys who are misfits in the world. One is recovering from an illness and his family is starting to fall apart. The other lives with his grandmother in a Buckminster Fuller dome house and is cut off from his peers. They bond over punk rock and the need to have friends.

The Asphalt Jungle by W.R. Burnett

You've seen the film, it is pretty much the same as the book. There is a bit more background on Dix and the end of the story isn't as cinematic as the film, but it's a classic noir tale and every time Dix was on the page, Sterling Hayden, and his voice was in my head

Murder in One Syllable by John D. MacDonald

Time was running short at the end of the month and instead of reading a full length JDM paperback I picked the story of his included in the recently released The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories. Murder in One Syllable is a rashomon puzzle story, with a different character providing a chunk of the narrative that when put together creates a whole. The plot is the well worn woman is murdered and maybe the wrong man is accused…. or maybe not. It was a fractured read, but once the whole story has come together it's a nice little crime package.

The Girl with the Long Green Heart by Lawrence Block

This was my Hard Case Crime book for the month. The plot involves a complex con, with plenty of twists and turns. It's a artifact of it's time, with much of what happens and enables the con to be very out of date. That said, Block tells a compelling story with a driving narrative and characters that, while criminal, you come to enjoy spending time with. I think that if I was going to give a new Hard Case Crime reader 2 of their books to start with, a new book and a reissue-- this would be the reissue.

More next month, where I have a bunch of non-fiction lined up along with my monthly Hard Case Crime and John D MacDonald.

Books Sept 2010

Another month down and a this time I managed to get through 5 books....

Lady Killer by Ed McBain
Lady Killer is the 7th of the 87th Precinct novels. It's a classic set up for a cop drama, early in the day a note is delivered to the front desk saying that someone is going to kill a lady at 8pm. The cast of
87th Precinct detectives have until 8pm to track down a killer, a lady and figure out what's going on-- or if the whole thing is a hoax. It might seem like a cliche today and it might have even been when the book was published in 1958, but McBain knows just how to play it. As with all of the early 87th Precinct books, it's also a hoot to see how limited and different the world of big city policing was over 50 years ago, and strange to realize how similar it is to what we have today.

33 1/3: Big Star Radio City by Bruce Eaton
The 33 1/3 books are a neat idea, slim volumes about 100 pages long about a single album. I have read a couple and they have all been enjoyable. This one covers the history and recording of the second album by the 70s Power Pop band Big Star. I don't know that I took away any insights about the album or band, but I understand the context of the events aroundthe album better now. I picked the book up becaue Big Star has long been one of those cult bands who I like a song here and there by, but overall they tend to not leave an impression on me. I was also looking for something more about the evolution of the Power Pop sound and movement (was there even one?). Over all another excellent
entry in the 33 1/3 collection. Now if I could just get my motivation up to write my 33 1/3 style book on the Screaming Trees album Dust.

Burglars can't be choosers by Lawrence Block
This was the first of the Bernie Rhodenbarr books. I had read a couple of the books in the series when I was in high school and college but have managed to collect most of the Rhodenbarr books in the last couple of years. The set up of this one is pretty straight forward. Bernie is hired to retrieve a a blue box from an upscale apartment, only to run into the police and a dead body... in that order. Bernie finds himself needing to figure out who killed the victim to keep himself out of the clink for murder. I liked it a lot, and hope to read the next book in the sequence soon.

Blackmailer by George Axelrod
This was my Hard Case Crime book for the month, and honestly it was ok. That's it, just ok. I enjoyed it enough to keep reading, but it felt a little lite and a little---- just there. The plot involves well, Blackmail, and the last book written by a well respect literary author who has died recently.

On the Run by John D MacDonald
From 1963-- On the Run is the story of... can you guess? Yeah a guy who has been on the run. His grandfather is dying and wants to see him and his brother one last time. I liked the travel stuff, and the set up of the crime elements, but the psychological and psycho-sexual stuff were fairly boring. It's been noted that the MacDonald view of women is archaic at best.

Thoughts, Comments, recommendations?

Books I read in 1991

Following Patti's lead, here is what I read in 1991. I was a High School Senior and College freshmand during this year and managed to read a lot. Most of it was, well crap. Anyway on with the show.

The Cherokee Trail by Louis L'amour
Radigan by Louis L'amour
Danger in the Ashes by William W Johnstone
Death in the Ashes by William W Johnstone
Under the Sweatwater Rim by Louis L'amour
North to the Rails by Louis L'amour
Cat's Cradel by William W Johnstone
Kid Rodelo by Louis L'amour
Survival 200: Blood Quest by James McPhee
Where the Long Grass Grows by Louis L'amour
Playing the Dozens by Willam D Pease
Native Son by Richard Wright
Overload #9: Huntsville Horror by Bob Ham
Poodle Springs by Raymond Chandler & Robert B Parker
Survival in the Ashes by William W Johnstone
The Scions of Shannara by Terry Brooks
Manchild in the promised land by Claude Brown
Callaghen by Louis L'amour
Fury in the Ashes by William W Johnstone
Freedom's Rangers #6: Snow Kill by Keith William Andrews
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
The Killing Man by Mickey Spillane
Deathlands: Latitude Zero by James Axler
They Call Me the Mercenary #1: The Killer Genesis by Axle Kilgore
Track #1: The Nintey Nine by Jerry Ahern
They Call Me the Mercenary #3: Fourth Reich Death Squad by Axle Kilgore
Warday by Whitley Strieber & James Kunetka
They Call Me the Mercenary #?: Assassin's Express by Axle Kilgore
Overload #10: Michigan Overload by Bob Ham
Hawaiian UFO Alines by Mel Gilden
Stardust by Robert B. Parker
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Wind in the Ashes by William W Johnstone
They Call Me the Mercenary # 9: The Terror Contract by Axle Kilgore
Watchers in the Woods by William W Johnstone
Dutchman's Flat by Louis L'amour
The Strong Shall Live by Louis L'amour
Skinwalkers by Tony Hillerman
West from Singapore by Louis L'amour
Toy Soliders by William P Kennedy
Talking God by Tony Hillerman
Mutants Amok by Mark Grant
Crossfire Trail by Louis L'amour
They Call Me the Mercenary # 11: Deathlust by Axle Kilgore
Survival 200: Renegade War by James McPhee
The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston
Mutants Amok #2: Mutant Hell by Mark Grant
Mutants Amok #3: Rebel Attack by Mark Grant
Sitka by Louis L'amour
Overload #11: Alabama Bloodbath by Bob Ham
The Guardians: Night of the Phoenix by Richard Austin
The Guardians: Armaggedon Run by Richard Austin
The Mountain Valley War by Louis L'amour
They Call Me the Mercenary # 14: Siberian Alternative by Axle Kilgore
Chancy by Louis L'amour
Track #12: Drug Runner by Patrick Andrews
Toy Cemetery by William W Johnstone
Rustlers of West Fork by Louis L'amour
Hanging Woman Creek by Louis L'amour
Westward the Tide by Louis L'amour
Kiowa Trail by Louis L'amour
Rage by Richard Bachman
The Long Walk by Richard Bachman
Road Work by Richard Bachman
The Guardians: War Zone by Richard Austin
The Defender #1: The Battle Begins by Jerry Ahern
The Defender #2: The Killing Wedge by Jerry Ahern
The Defender #3: Out of Control by Jerry Ahern
The Defender #4: Decision Time by Jerry Ahern
The Defender #5: Entrapment by Jerry Ahern
The Defender #6: Escape by Jerry Ahern
The Defender #7: Vengence by Jerry Ahern
The Defender #8: Justice Denied by Jerry Ahern
The Defender #9: Death Grip by Jerry Ahern
The Defender #10: The Good Fight by Jerry Ahern
The Defender #11: The Challenge by Jerry Ahern
The Defender #12: No Survivors by Jerry Ahern
A Thief of Time by Tony Hillerman
Kilkenny by Louis L'amour
Comstock Lode by Louis L'amour
Showdown at Yellow Butte by Louis L'amour
Catlow by Louis L'amour
The Moon is Always Full by David Hunter
Shalako by Louis L'amour
Surfing Samurai Robots by Mel Gilden
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
The Californios by Louis L'amour
Broken Claw by John Gardner
Down the Long Hills by Louis L'amour
The Guardians: #7 Brute Force by Richard Austin
The Takers by Jerry Ahern
Steel Lightning by Kevin Sherrill
Sweet Dreams by William W Johnstone
Deathlands: Seedling by James Axler
Under Siege by Stephen Coonts
The Night Whistlers by Dan Trevor
The Survivalist # 22: Brutal Conquest by Jerry Ahern
Survival 2000: Frozen Fire by James McPhee
Mutants Amok: Holocaust Horror by Mark Grant
The Takers: River of Gold by Jerry Ahern
Courage in the Ashes by William W Johnstone
Overload #12: Vegas Gamble by Bob Ham
Revenge of the Mountain Man by William W Johnstone
There was Blood on the Snow by David Hunter
Journey of the Mountain Man by William W Johnstone
tubular Android Superheroes by Mel Gilden
The Devils Heart by William W Johnstone
Blood Bond: Gun sight Crossing by William W Johnstone
Raise the Titanic by Clive Cussler
Christmas Slaughter by Mark Grant
Deathlands: Dark Carnival by James Axler
Black Friday Coming Down by David Hunter
The First Mountain Man by William W Johnstone

Patti's List can be found HERE