hey john
jade
really
likes
you
then
EL

son slater - 04 January 2009 05:47 PM

hey john
jade
really
likes
you
then
EL

Very funny.
I don’t know how I missed this post; made over a month ago.
I’m not ashamed .  As you know, John’s a good guy, and his books are good, too.
I can always rely on your to rib me about something. All good though - some activity (even when I’m the target), is better than none at all.

Needless to say, Richard Stark must go on the list, now.

Crime :

Richard Stark
Jim Thompson
Ross Macdonald
Elmore Leonard
Ken Bruen(new)
Raymond Chandler
David Goodis(new)
George Pelecanos(new)
Dennis Lehane
Michael Connelly
Arthur Conan Doyle

This is my newer crime fav list.  The new ones are the ones i have read for the first time in 08-09.

Jim Thompson and Richard Stark are the reason i like the genre.

JohnMcFetridge - 19 November 2006 06:49 PM

And a lot of writers are hung up on “plot” instead of theme.

That’s true John.
Plot versus theme, but then some might say that a lot of writers are hung up on theme instead of plot.

Not every writer can combine a good plot with a good theme. They can’t all be Elmore Leonards now.

Crime fiction is often equated with plot driven ideas. Maybe what makes most of it readable is decent characterisation.

Although some writers seem to think good characters will carry drivel. Maybe that would be so, if the guilty ones could in fact produce those good characters. 

Regards…

Frets

I’m new here so I’ll jump in with an old thread.  I’m surprised nobody mentioned Charles Willeford.  He owned Miami before Hiassen started and his Hoke Moseley books are right up there with Elmore Leonard when it comes to laying out sociopaths on the page.

Robb - 04 January 2009 01:01 PM

JohnKoliba - 04 January 2009 08:53 AM

I discovered Kurt Vonnegut last month. Read Slaughterhouse 5, it is fantastic. Then I read Breakfast of Champions the next week and it was also great.

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS is a classic—my favorite of his.

Why is it the first two books by Vonnegut anybody ever reads is Slaughterhouse 5 and Breakfast of Champions?
I went on to read a few of his others and they never disappoint. Except Bluebeard. That was a little hard to swallow (and I love abstract expressionism). The others are vague memories so I’m going to reread Breakfast of Champions for lunch. Spend a little less time here until Road Dogs cuts loose and a little more time reading the masters.

—Philboyd Studge

TonyM - 22 April 2009 11:02 AM

I’m new here so I’ll jump in with an old thread.  I’m surprised nobody mentioned Charles Willeford.  He owned Miami before Hiassen started and his Hoke Moseley books are right up there with Elmore Leonard when it comes to laying out sociopaths on the page.

Im a new fan of Willeford, i thought first Hoke Moseley book was pure awesome.  Any solo books you can recommend that is about sociopaths ? As a big fan of Richard Stark and Jim Thompson i love those kind of characters in this form.

Maybe just follow the Hoke Moseley series: Miami Blues, New Hope for the Dead, Sideswipe, The Way We Die Now.  I think that is in the right order.

TonyM - 23 April 2009 09:22 AM

Maybe just follow the Hoke Moseley series: Miami Blues, New Hope for the Dead, Sideswipe, The Way We Die Now.  I think that is in the right order.

Of thats given since thats you normally do when you like a first book of a series.

I was wondering about his older,noir books.  I wanted to read more books of him than the short Moseley series.

Parker - 24 April 2009 05:21 AM

TonyM - 23 April 2009 09:22 AM

Maybe just follow the Hoke Moseley series: Miami Blues, New Hope for the Dead, Sideswipe, The Way We Die Now.  I think that is in the right order.

Of thats given since thats you normally do when you like a first book of a series.

I was wondering about his older,noir books.  I wanted to read more books of him than the short Moseley series.

I don’t really know what is given.  There are plenty series that I’ve not read more than one or two of, even when I liked the first one.

It’s over twenty years since I’ve read the earlier Willeford.  They are very different to the Hoke Moseley series, written with less humour and less consistency.  I remember enjoying ‘High Priest of California’, ‘Wild Wives’, ‘Kiss your ass goodbye’.  They were all good but I don’t know if the sociopath was such a strong feature.  Those coming from the ‘50s had a heavy existential concern, as was the trend at the time.  They’re quite short, you could plough through them quite quickly.

I would like it even more when there is less humor and more dark stories.  Thats what i usually in this kind of books.

I got Kiss Your Ass Goodbye from the library but the book was too damaged.

I know that he is good enough to read much more than the 4 Moseley books.

Scrum - 22 April 2009 02:11 PM

Robb - 04 January 2009 01:01 PM

JohnKoliba - 04 January 2009 08:53 AM

I discovered Kurt Vonnegut last month. Read Slaughterhouse 5, it is fantastic. Then I read Breakfast of Champions the next week and it was also great.

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS is a classic—my favorite of his.

Why is it the first two books by Vonnegut anybody ever reads is Slaughterhouse 5 and Breakfast of Champions?
I went on to read a few of his others and they never disappoint. Except Bluebeard. That was a little hard to swallow (and I love abstract expressionism). The others are vague memories so I’m going to reread Breakfast of Champions for lunch. Spend a little less time here until Road Dogs cuts loose and a little more time reading the masters.

—Philboyd Studge

Probably because those are his two most famous works?  Usually when people start to read a new author they read his most famous works or the first book in any series that the author has.