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Post by berkley on Aug 21, 2015 0:43:47 GMT -5
. . . I'm a big fan of Andrew Vachss's books. The Burke series is excellent - I still haven't read the final installment. You may be the reason I tried it. Joe Lansdale may have also had a part in it; I follow him on Twitter and he is a friend of--and has collaborated with--Vachss. But I’ve always been suspicious of those author friendships (Donald Westlake recommends Lawrence Block recommends Brian Garfield, etc). I know Thrilling Detective thinks highly of this series, too, but not all of his suggestions have panned out for me. So I’ll thank you. Appreciate the thanks, even if it wasn't from me you heard about it. I know there were a few other regulars from the CBR Books Board who were fans as well - JeffreyWKramer, I think was one - so it could have been someone else. I think it's a really strong series over all, though of course like any extended series it has its ups and downs. For me many of the best instalments came near the beginning and again near the end, with most of the lesser somewhere in the middle. They're all worth reading, though.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 21, 2015 8:57:18 GMT -5
That doesn't bother me a lot; he knows enough to talk, and he does good radio. [Emphasis mine.]That sentiment is why I listen to him. I don’t always agree with him but he is entertaining. The entertaining part is important. There just aren’t enough new stories to keep a host--particularly a solo host who has to fill three hours a day--from retreading familiar territory; you better be interesting. At least I find him so. Many don’t, but that’s why there are so many successful sports talk radio host. Taste varies. True. Silly of people to expect him to have a clue what he's talking about. Who among us wouldn't appreciate an entertaining lecture by a self-proclaimed comics expert who doesn't know Jack Kirby from Jerry Grandenetti? Better yet, for 3 hours every weekday? As noted, taste varies. Sports talk hosts whose IQs apparently hover in the low double digits are popular in all sorts of markets, whether national, regional or local, as is made clear from comments on sites like Baseball Think Factory. Might be a phenomenon sort of like voting for a presidential candidate one's household furniture is smarter than -- enjoyment of having someone prominent to feel superior to.
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Post by Calamas on Aug 21, 2015 9:54:41 GMT -5
[Emphasis mine.]That sentiment is why I listen to him. I don’t always agree with him but he is entertaining. The entertaining part is important. There just aren’t enough new stories to keep a host--particularly a solo host who has to fill three hours a day--from retreading familiar territory; you better be interesting. At least I find him so. Many don’t, but that’s why there are so many successful sports talk radio host. Taste varies. True. Silly of people to expect him to have a clue what he's talking about. Who among us wouldn't appreciate an entertaining lecture by a self-proclaimed comics expert who doesn't know Jack Kirby from Jerry Grandenetti? Better yet, for 3 hours every weekday? As noted, taste varies. Sports talk hosts whose IQs apparently hover in the low double digits are popular in all sorts of markets, whether national, regional or local, as is made clear from comments on sites like Baseball Think Factory. Might be a phenomenon sort of like voting for a presidential candidate one's household furniture is smarter than -- enjoyment of having someone prominent to feel superior to. This reads like I’m being belittled in a backhanded way for enjoying the work of someone you consider at best ill-informed and at worst idiotic. It’s not that important. Certainly when compared with a politician, where stupidity and shortsightedness can affect the quality of your everyday life. This is a couple of hours a day, often as background while doing something else, often not even the full three hours. Entertainment. Nothing more. Not that important.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 21, 2015 10:57:42 GMT -5
Mafia Fix by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy Remo and Chiun are back for their fourth installment...this time needing to find an enormous heroin shipment, one that will be a game-changer and destroy America. So far all of the early Destroyer novels are intimately tied to the 70s and I'm okay with that. But this one seems particularly dated. Throw in that it's a fairly weak story and the "twist" of who is the "Big Boss" is telegraphed early on and this is not a terribly satisfying installment. The 70s ties are one of the attractions for me at this point in time, since I read a few Destroyer books back then. I remember Gordon from the old CBR - forget his last name or username - rating Mafia Fix much the same as you do here. He was a huge fan of the series and had read almost every single one. I've been slowly buying used copies over the last few years when I see them at a cheap price but haven't started reading any of them yet. Looking forward to it, though. Have you read any of the other "Men's Adventure" series from back then, like the Executioner, and so on? I haven't, but will probably try a few one of these days when I go on a real 70s binge. I haven't. I may at some point...but there are so many books and so little time. I have read Spillane's Mike Hammer books. Hammer is something of a forerunner to the Men's Adventure books in my opinion.
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Post by berkley on Aug 22, 2015 1:39:07 GMT -5
Haven't read any Spillane yet but my impression is that you're probably right.
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Post by Calamas on Aug 22, 2015 12:21:03 GMT -5
The 70s ties are one of the attractions for me at this point in time, since I read a few Destroyer books back then. I remember Gordon from the old CBR - forget his last name or username - rating Mafia Fix much the same as you do here. He was a huge fan of the series and had read almost every single one. I've been slowly buying used copies over the last few years when I see them at a cheap price but haven't started reading any of them yet. Looking forward to it, though. Have you read any of the other "Men's Adventure" series from back then, like the Executioner, and so on? I haven't, but will probably try a few one of these days when I go on a real 70s binge. I haven't. I may at some point...but there are so many books and so little time. I have read Spillane's Mike Hammer books. Hammer is something of a forerunner to the Men's Adventure books in my opinion. Yes. Spillane in the 50s and Donald Hamilton in the 60s are both forerunners of the 70s men's adventure genre. If you are only aware of name Matt Helm--Hamilton’s protagonist--from the terrible Dean Martin movies, don’t be put off. In many ways Hamilton was well ahead of his time.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Aug 23, 2015 17:00:58 GMT -5
The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Angel of the Opera by Sam Siciliano
Apparently Titan Books (the guys that are making the Doctor Who comics) also have some sort of claim to Sherlock Holmes, as they are cranking these out... most are 'crossovers' that put Holmes at any major event (fictional or otherwise) that happened sometime close to the correct time period. In this one, Holmes goes to Paris to sort out the problem of the Phantom of the Opera.
The real 'catch' to this book is Watson is not present... filling his role as narrator/sidekick is Holmes' young cousin, Dr. Henry Vernier. Vernier states at several points he doesn't like Watson, and, in fact, Holmes doesn't either, which I didn't love. Vernier fills the role decently, though more like the bumbling Watson of Basil Rathbone (who is strangely mentioned in the story), than Doyle's version.
The story is pretty much what one would guess... the Phantom is really the star, and is quite a deep, engaging character. Siciliano's Holmes is not my favorite... he makes a couple mistakes, seems more intent on getting paid than solving the case, and is a bit too focused on Music for my liking (though that may be a factor of the story). It's not bad, and was, in fact, a enjoyable book, it just didn't feel all that much like Holmes.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2015 20:50:01 GMT -5
Well, the Hugo Awards have been announced. 5 categories (those dominated by Puppy nominees) had No Award win. (That includes Best Short Story, Best Novella and Best Related Work.) While I agree with this, considering the poor quality of the nominees in those groups, let's put it in perspective. In the history of the Hugos, No Award has only won a category 5 times, total, before this year.
The Three Body Problem won for Best Novel (yay). Ms. Marvel Vol. 1 took the Hugo for Best Graphic Story, and an episode of Orphan Black took Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form (I don't watch the show; I was pulling for the Doctor Who episode 'Listen'). And Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form went to Guardians of the Galaxy. (Really should watch that movie.)
Looks like the Sad/Rabid Puppies slates were pretty thoroughly rejected. So of course, they're declaring victory, saying that this proves that the Social Justice Warriors were ready to destroy the Hugo Awards (by not awarding them), and that proves that the SJW's are intolerant themselves. Or something. Not sure I follow the logic there.
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Post by berkley on Aug 23, 2015 23:29:06 GMT -5
I haven't. I may at some point...but there are so many books and so little time. I have read Spillane's Mike Hammer books. Hammer is something of a forerunner to the Men's Adventure books in my opinion. Yes. Spillane in the 50s and Donald Hamilton in the 60s are both forerunners of the 70s men's adventure genre. If you are only aware of name Matt Helm--Hamilton’s protagonist--from the terrible Dean Martin movies, don’t be put off. In many ways Hamilton was well ahead of his time. Spillane and Hamilton are both on my to-read stack. I already have copies of the first few books of their respective series, Mike Hammer and Matt Helm. I did enjoy the farcical Matt Helm movies with Dean Martin on tv when I was a kid but understand that the books are a different kettle of fish altogether.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Aug 24, 2015 13:56:17 GMT -5
For those following the Hugo drama.. the Sad/Rabid Puppies slate completely failed... 5 categories got 'no award' and the others all went to the one nominee not on their slate... I can only imagine what they're saying about it now.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Aug 24, 2015 20:48:44 GMT -5
Transit by Edmund Cooper c. 1964 My copy is from the late 70s... not a great cover. Plot: Richard Avery is on auto-pilot after his one true love dies young of cancer. He gets whisked off by a mysterious someone, and plopped on a planet with three other people. We get, that start a 'Robinson Crusoe in space', but it turns out that there are 'golden ones' who have a similar colony of four on the same island, and they're not friendly. Cooper is apparently one of those guys who spouted off about women being inferior during his time, but there's not too much sign of that here... while the four people couple up quickly, and the women do fall a bit into 60s stereotypes, it's not very prominent, especially for a sci fi novel written in 1964. The resolution is kinda fun, as are the people who cause the whole thing. Nothing too groundbreaking here, but a fun read.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 25, 2015 12:41:46 GMT -5
I read two good books over my short vacation, Andy Weir's The Martian which was a fun black comedy and Lee Carr's The Night Manager which while a fantastic thriller ended up being a little too sentimental for me.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2015 14:10:00 GMT -5
For those following the Hugo drama.. the Sad/Rabid Puppies slate completely failed... 5 categories got 'no award' and the others all went to the one nominee not on their slate... I can only imagine what they're saying about it now. They're celebrating like crazy, saying their plan worked. That plan was either to gauge the number of 'SJW' voters, so they can plan for next year's awards, or to prove that the Hugos are run by a bunch of elitists who wouldn't let the Puppies win, or to destroy the Hugo's credibility by forcing a bunch of 'No Award' results. It depends on who you listen to. But either way, they're claiming they succeeded. And then there's John C. Wright. Responding to somebody wishing he'd win a bunch of Hugos, Wright had this to say - '. . .you (sic) kind applaud (sic) is all the trophy a man like me needs. The praise of one honest man is worth more than the vacuous applause of a world of empty-headed fools. You surely do not thing (sic) I wanted to shake Mr. Gerrold's moist and girlish hand, and share a stage with him, do you?' (David Gerrold, he of 'The Trouble with Tribbles' and The Martian Child, was the on-stage host of the Hugo Award ceremony this year, and is gay.) Yep, the Puppies are a real class act.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Aug 25, 2015 15:03:36 GMT -5
I think the mark of true trolls is when they completely fail and try to explain how it's what they wanted all along.... sounds like that's what happened.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 25, 2015 15:34:29 GMT -5
I read two good books over my short vacation, Andy Weir's The Martian which was a fun black comedy and Lee Carr's The Night Manager which while a fantastic thriller ended up being a little too sentimental for me. I really LOVED The Martian. I'm hopeful the film with be Ridley Scott back to form.
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