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Post by Calamas on Jul 27, 2018 8:00:27 GMT -5
Looking at that cover, I’d forgotten how prominent Anthony Boucher was in the SF field. Today he is mostly remembered because of Bouchercon, the annual mystery convention. That's similar to the fact that in the 1940s and early 1950s, you were just as likely to see stories by John MacDonald (of Travis McGee fame) in science fiction magazines as you were in mystery and detective magazines. Yes, that is certainly true but my point was more about how high Boucher was ranked on that cover. I don't think JDM ever reached that level of short story success, regardless of genre. Thankfully novels were his forte; he remains one of my all-time favorites.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jul 28, 2018 0:15:53 GMT -5
361 by Donald Westlake I'm a big fan of old school covers, and looking at these Hard Case Crime ones in various reviews, along with wanting to read more noir got me to pull the trigger and get a few of these. Where better to start than Donald Westlake? I could definitely see bits of Parker in Ray Kelly, and his 'Syndicate' that Parker battles is clearly the same one that is on display here... you could definitely envision Parker walking down the street at any time. The story itself is very much a time capsule of the 50s, which is all the more interesting since the characters in the book are trying to relive the 30s. While it was definitely over written at times (alot of description and the mobster dialogue was painful), the story moved along and was very engaging. There was quite a bit of sudden violence (even among friends) which I'm sure was always realistic, but it fit the mood of the story, so it worked. There was also quite a bit of stereotyping that would never see print today, but fit the time very well... definitely not a book for the faint of heart. The main character's response (and difficulty with) said violence was pretty interesting, especially since he was in the war. Of course, being an airman and dropping bombs is a little different from gunning a person down, but still, it was very humanizing in a story where quite a few of the characters were very much not very human. I would have liked either a bit more or a bit less of and ending.. it felt like the book ended in mid-chapter.. either tell me what happens to Ray after, or don't... don't give vague hints then end! I could definitely see getting burnt out on the style if one got too carried away, but I really enjoyed this one and am looking forward to more!
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Post by EdoBosnar on Jul 28, 2018 3:22:02 GMT -5
I read that very same edition of 361 a few years ago. I liked it well enough, but it didn't really grab me in any way. If that had been the first book by Westlake I'd ever read, I probably wouldn't have bothered reading anything else by him - I know Westlake is considered one of the grand masters of crime/mystery fiction, but after reading a number of his books (both the serious hard-boiled stuff and the more humorous ones), I find his work hit and miss.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 28, 2018 9:06:44 GMT -5
I read 361 about eight years ago. I had the following to say on Goodreads...
“Primordial Westlake this one finds Ray Kelly mustering out of the service and almost immediately having to deal with the murder of most of his family. There are a number of plot twists that give pause and you never really get an impression of Kelly as a whole human being. But the prose is lean and effective. And it moves along at a nice clip. This one came out about the same time as The Hunter, which was Westlake hitting on all cylinders (albeit as Richard Stark). But there's plenty to like here.”
Any writer as prolific as Westlake is going to have hits and misses. And this was a pretty early work. Clearly he was capable of better as this one came out very close in time to The Hunter, which is brilliant. But Westlake was grinding out five to seven novels a year to make a living. They ain’t all gonna be brilliant at that rate.
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Post by Calamas on Jul 28, 2018 13:16:39 GMT -5
I liked it well enough, but it didn't really grab me in any way. If that had been the first book by Westlake I'd ever read, I probably wouldn't have bothered reading anything else by him. . . . I had the exact same reaction to my first Westlake, though all these decades later I don’t remember which book I had read. What I do remember is having to talk myself into trying the Parker series because of it. This was pre-internet. What convinced me was seeing more Stark titles on the bookshelves than those by Westlake. They were slowly reprinting the series but I didn’t know that then. Like most series there have been some that are better than others but I’ve never regretted meeting Parker. Which is more than most characters in the series can say.
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Post by Duragizer on Jul 28, 2018 18:56:56 GMT -5
Our Animal Hearts by Dania TomlinsonI once knew the author — we had attended high school together and had been kinda-sorta friends — so it certainly was an unusual experience reading this novel. It was unusual not only because I had known her, but because I never once surmised she had this kind of story within her. It’s a dark, haunting story to be sure. The protagonist is often conniving, spiteful, and treacherous; the remaining characters aren't much more morally upright; the book certainly doesn't lack for disturbing & violent imagery. At the same time, it’s quite beautiful, mystical, and if not altogether optimistic about the human condition, nevertheless recognizes & cherishes the innate beauty & mysticism of the human condition. It's a story that certainly resonates with me, a former misanthrope who has since become a (non-secular) humanist. Suffice to say, I quite enjoyed reading Our Animal Hearts, and I eagrely await whatever future tales Mrs. Tomlinson has yet to pen. 9/10
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 29, 2018 12:24:50 GMT -5
The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov There's been a murder on the planet Solaria. The first one ever. And Elijah Bailey must go into space to solve it with the aid of R. Daneel Olivaw. The sequel to The Caves of Steel finds Bailey having to leave the beehive of Earth to go to its exact opposite...the planet Solaria. There are only 20,000 people on the entire planet. And they only "see" each other when it is absolutely necessary for husbands and wives to do so. Otherwise all social interaction is done through "viewing." It's a planet with 20,000 people and 10,000 robots for each of them. The obvious culprit is the victims wife, Gladia Delmarre, who claims to have no memory of the event, but there is no murder weapon found, just a robot whose positronic brain is burnt out from witnessing a murder. The book is a whodunit on the surface, but it's really about world-building and the contrast between Earth and Solaria. Bailey suffers from agoraphobia in the open world of Solaris while the Solarians are appalled by the idea of actually having to "see" the Earthman investigating a crime that seemingly could not happen. It excels in both areas and may well be superior to the Caves of Steel. It is interesting to see where Asimov succeeds and fails with the science in the book. The "viewing" on Solaria is a mixture of holography and VR that we haven't reached but we can probably see from here. On the other hand he clearly did not see the strides in fertilization and embryo growth that would even come about in his lifetime. From our perspective there really should be almost no need for Solarians to ever interact with each other. Asimov is the king of the SF mystery. And this is arguably the crown jewel.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jul 29, 2018 22:14:22 GMT -5
I read that one a couple times... it's definitely one of the best.
Fatal Enquiry by Will Thomas
I was a little worried while I was waiting or this book to come in from the library... I noticed the large gap in time between the previous book coming out, and saw the object of the story, Barker's nemesis, Sebastian Nightwine, was the main villain. Had Thomas given up making his story unique, and decided it was time for Barker to plunge into the falls?
Happily, Nightwine is nothing like Moriarty... in fact, Thomas doubles down on my previous opinion that Barker and Llewelyn are more 'Batman and Robin' than Holmes and Watson. Nightwine, rather than being a criminal mastermind, instead uses politics, influence, and a daughter trained as an assassin to try to conquer a country for himself... not just a little like Ra's al Ghul and his daughter Talia. Soho Vic is reminding more more of Jason Todd in every episode... Mac gets out and gets to be a butler/adventurer, even.
Unlike the previous books that focused on a particular section/minority in London, this one was just a duel between Barker and Nightwine... it wouldn't surprise me to find that it was intended to be the last book of the series. While it did lack the development of Victorian London the other books have, it made up for it in action and suspense, there was really just no one one isn't going to read the majority of this book in one sitting.
We also got treated to Llewelyn on his own, which was really entertaining, and showed a good logical progression since the beginning of the series. He had some really impressive one liners in this one too... most lf Llewelyn wit in the past has seemed forced, but here it flowed much better, like he was suddenly comfortable in his life, which really worked on alot of levels.
If I was going to complain about anything, it would be the sudden, 180 degree turn the Yard made in terms of Barker and his reputation... it was far to sudden to make logical sense this side of the Marvel or DC universe, but, hey, they just reinforces the 'Victorian Batman and Robin' theme, right?
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Post by brutalis on Jul 30, 2018 8:27:04 GMT -5
Read 2 over the last week. Aquarius Mission by Martin Caidin in where an undersea population is found living under the ocean. 1st half if very science fact/fiction and realistic with various missions searching for oil in the ocean. Second portion reveals the sea dwellers and our adapting to their society while making friends. Contains some fantasy and political and military plots. Very light on providing much characterization but tons of thoughts and ideas and interesting reading. Read this way back in the day when I started high school and it always stuck with me. Found it online used a few years back and got around to re-reading it again. Very entertaining. Wish there was a sequel?
Sharpe's Gold by Bernard Cornwell with our boy Sharpie sent to retrieve gold in Almeida so the British can continue to confront Napoleon in Spain. The necessary derring do and lady for Sharpe to fall for make their standard appearance. Like all the Sharpe novels, you feel the dirt, the cannons and rifle fire and sweat as though you are there. Another fun trip along Richard Sharpe's adventures.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jul 31, 2018 17:20:49 GMT -5
He Owned the World by Charles Eric Maine c. 1960 This was pretty unique, as far as classic sci fi goes, but at the same time was stuck in the cold war. Astronaut Robert Carson died attempting to be the first man to orbit the moon, then was brought back 8000 years later, and through a series of improbable events turned out he was the heir to a trust in his name that essentially owned all of Earth. There were some interesting bits... a society of immortals living on Mars fighting those on Earth living underground, while a separate society of those that survived nuclear holocaust and were still mostly human lived on the surface. I think he was going for Martians being the Russians, as they were essentially a military dictatorship, but it wasn't always clear. Unfortunately, the book ends suddenly without resolution for anyone but Mr. Carson, and includes a twist that made me cringe. It did make me think the author could have other good books, this one just was sort of the hint of one that didn't really deliver.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 1, 2018 11:14:33 GMT -5
A Few Minutes Past Midnight by Stuart Kaminsky A wet man with a knife shows up on the doorstep of Charlie Chaplin and warns him to stop work on the film that would become Monsieur Verdoux and to stay away from Fiona Sullivan or he'll be killed. The problem is that Chaplin has never heard of Ms. Sullivan and he has no intention of stopping work on his film. Enter Toby Peters, Hollywood's favorite P.I. to figure out what is happening with the help of his cadre of friends and associates. The plot on this one was Byzantine. To be fair, Peters recognizes this in the end by telling the villain he was too clever by far. I wonder if at this point Kaminsky was a bit tired of Peters and was ready to move on. It's not that the book is bad. It was adequate. But the plot, besides being convoluted, really didn't make much sense. The villain started a chain of events that ultimately didn't really need to happen in order for him to meet his goals. I probably would have written this off as the least successful book in a series that really hasn't had much in the way of peaks or valley's but has been largely very entertaining the entire way through. Then I hit the epilogue. And...yeah it was schmaltzy. But I fell for it. It was a lovely piece with Ruth Pevsner and a bit of a rapprochement between Toby and his brother Phil. And that put me in mind of a nice scene earlier in the book between Toby and Alice Butler. Really...for whatever faults the book had, or the series for that matter, Kaminsky has made me care about the cast of characters. And I'm sorry to see I only have three books left to spend with them.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Aug 3, 2018 16:20:17 GMT -5
Top of the Heapby Erle Stanley Gardner This is my first book from Cool and Lam... seems like pretty standard fare for a private dectective story... with the twist that the 'senior' partner of the two is a woman (who didn't really do anything but worry and yell in this one). The case was an interesting one with alot of twists and turns that weren't TOO predictiable. Donald Lam was a pretty fun character, even if he was a little too successful with the ladies and getting people to talk than made sense. Then there was the fact that he made a huge wad of cash on what was essentially insider trading. He spread it around, sure, but still... maybe that wasn't a thing when this was written. The unique part was having some of the legal bits of money laundering laid out, that was really interesting. Definitely a worthwhile series that I wouldn't hesitate to visit again.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 3, 2018 16:48:07 GMT -5
Top of the Heapby Erle Stanley Gardner This is my first book from Cool and Lam... seems like pretty standard fare for a private dectective story... with the twist that the 'senior' partner of the two is a woman (who didn't really do anything but worry and yell in this one). The case was an interesting one with alot of twists and turns that weren't TOO predictiable. Donald Lam was a pretty fun character, even if he was a little too successful with the ladies and getting people to talk than made sense. Then there was the fact that he made a huge wad of cash on what was essentially insider trading. He spread it around, sure, but still... maybe that wasn't a thing when this was written. The unique part was having some of the legal bits of money laundering laid out, that was really interesting. Definitely a worthwhile series that I wouldn't hesitate to visit again. I've read probably close to half of them...all that I could find up to the time I stopped. I have since acquired the rest and they're on tap...soonish. At the time I was reading them I was reading one in about two days. I probably don't have that kind of time now. It's a fun series and I recommend it. There is a bit of a formula but they're fun quick reads. Gardner (Fair) was actually an attorney. As best I can tell most of the legal stuff was legit...at least as of the time of the writing. I think that may be more true of the earlier books as I'm not sure if Gardner kept up with the law after he became a full-time writer.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Aug 3, 2018 17:18:30 GMT -5
Yeah, we went into Boston today for my daughter's birthday and I read it on the drive/subway in and out..definitely a quick read. I'm trying to be good and read more of the stuff I have before buying more, but I'll probably be on ebay looking before too long
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Post by Calamas on Aug 4, 2018 13:17:03 GMT -5
. . . I'm trying to be good and read more of the stuff I have before buying more, but I'll probably be on ebay looking before too long A lot of us have that dream. I’ve come to accept that I’ll die piles of unread books surrounding me.
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