Pulp Fiction discussion

Damnotion wrote: "Paul wrote: "Read Griters Game myself recently. His first novel apparently. Originally titled Mona. HCC changed the title, as it was Block's preference. "

I'm almost done with it and I can say it..."

I'm sure you'll love The Friends of Eddie Coyle. I know i did. Have you seen the movie, starring Robert Mitchum? Definitely worth watching & quite faithful to the novel, so best to read book first.

Not yet, but as soon as I'm done my current book, I'll be listening to The Menacers the 11th Matt Helm book narrated by Stefan Rudnicki.

It looks like Titan has published all the existing Matt Helm books now, but I haven't seen any date for the final one which I think is going to be called "The Dominators". I saw a post that said it was being delayed while Gordon (Donald Hamilton's son) fiddles with movie rights. If that's the case, I hope he gets done soon.

Just finished and reviewed a trio of short pulp stories by G.T. Fleming Roberts, The Pain Master's Bride, The Murder of the Marionette (Diamondstone), and The Shrieking Pool. All were very good pulp from the early days. Prior to that I finished David Goodis's Dark Passage for the group read, but it's not showing up there in the group read for some reason.

Going with another face changing read. A few chapters in and Westlake (Stark) is already got me hooked.

Kill the Boss Good-Bye

The above Parker novel was a page turner and having a Sunday without any events on the calendar let me enjoy it in one day. So, looked in my stack and had forgotten that I had this Rabe novel. I only know him for his Daniel Port series, which I have really enjoyed so far, so I am looking forward to this one.

The above Stark novel was a page turner and with a freed up Sunday I was able to enjoy it in a one day read. Rare, but nice when it happens. As for this one, I was looking in my unread stack and had forgotten that my wife had given me it for Christmas. I have enjoyed Rabe's Daniel Port series so far, so thought I would give this one a try.

Kill the Boss Goodbye is one of Rabe's books with an original focus--the boss, at the start of the book, is in a hospital receiving psychological treatment. His right-hand man needs him to struggle against a guy who wants to replace him as boss. Rabe was a student of psychology and may have practiced in the field. I think you'll like it.

i>Tom wrote: "I'm currently finishing off a James M. Cain omnibus edition Three Complete Novels: The Postman Always Rings Twice/Mildred Pierce/Double Indemnity. Mildred Pierce is the..."

Another good one by Cain: "Serenade". One of his most famous novels. Filmed in that name starring Mario Lanza. Not a noir,but a good story. This was included in one Cain omnibus with the three you mentioned.

Currently 1/2 way through Cottonwood . A Western/Historical Fiction, similar to ' Deadwood' by Pete Dexter. Enjoyable.

Jay wrote: "Kill the Boss Goodbye is one of Rabe's books with an original focus--the boss, at the start of the book, is in a hospital receiving psychological treatment. His right-hand man needs him to struggle..."

Rabe is a favorite at this end. Not a long read for this one, but I will savor what is there.

Paul wrote: "I'm sure you'll love The Friends of Eddie Coyle. I know i did. Have you seen the movie, starring Robert Mitchum? Definitely worth watching & quite faithful to the novel, so best to read book first. "

I'd seen the movie a long while back & didn't really remember it.

As far as the book, I enjoyed it and can see how it influenced other writers striving for more realism. I can't say I agree with some of the over-the-top assessments of it, however.

In the intro in my copy, Elmore Leonard calls Friends of Eddie Coyle the greatest crime novel ever & says The Maltese Falcon is Nancy Drew in comparison. Personally, I rate The Maltese Falcon over it both as art & entertainment.

I'm reading Westlake's Somebody Owes Me Money. It's a bit corny at points (purposely?) but I'm amused, and there are interesting flashes interspersed here and there.

I have Eddie Coyle on my book reader already, just hope I will pick it up soon.
In the meantime, I have started the second Dublin Murders novel by Tana French : , and it's an instant hit. I love her style of narration and the story is picked up as POV by one of my favorite character from the first book.

Algernon wrote: "I have Eddie Coyle on my book reader already, just hope I will pick it up soon.
In the meantime, I have started the second Dublin Murders novel by Tana French : , a..."

I have Eddie Coyle on my shelf to read someday. The only Higgins I've read is Cogan's Trade which was called "Killing Them Softly" after the movie version. I thought it was OK. Pretty dialogue-heavy which made it an easy read.

Damnotion wrote: "Paul wrote: "I'm sure you'll love The Friends of Eddie Coyle. I know i did. Have you seen the movie, starring Robert Mitchum? Definitely worth watching & quite faithful to the novel, so best to rea..."

I would recommend Memory . One of Westlake's best (if not the best), standalone novel by him.

Yeah, I have Memory. I have a small cache now of Westlake titles and am slowly collecting all the Starks.

Apparently Hard Case Crime will have another new-old one out this year

Finished all 940 pp of The Continental Op: The Complete Case Files and started The Double Take which is new to Kindle, or maybe I just got wind of it.

An excerpt:

(a nightclub casino in Portland, OR.)

The lobby looked like Los Angeles’ Sunset Strip of ten years ago. It was bright, walled in glass brick, and the floors were covered from wall to wall with a heavy sea-foam carpeting. The lighting was indirect except for a colored spot that picked up a uniformed hat check girl and made her look like something you’d like to send to the boys for Christmas. She took my hat and coat and was so nice about it I wanted to tell her she could have them.

I have just finished reading False Negative by Joseph Koenig. (whom I had never heard of until finding this book). Classic post WW2 noir, about a journalist Adam Jordan who gets embroiled in a series of murders in his capacity as a reporter for a true crime magazine. Great story and characters.

Years ago I read one of Joseph Hansen’s Brandstetter books. I don’t remember which one, but I do remember liking it and decided to try another. The only one at the used book store was the last in the series, “A Country of Old Men.”

I’ve found that writers of series detectives often become too comfortable with them. They begin to accumulate a “family” of auxiliary characters. My ideal detective is a loner. Chandler’s Marlowe set the mold. He has no life outside his work. Once on a case, nothing else matters. In the present book, there was too much masticating of food, too many mugs of “rich steaming coffee,” too many subplots involving Brandstetter’s extended family.

The main case was good. The writing was fine. Hansen sketched the characters quickly and avoided long, pointless descriptions of places. I will keep an eye out for earlier books in the series.

Ralph wrote: "Years ago I read one of Joseph Hansen’s Brandstetter books. I don’t remember which one, but I do remember liking it and decided to try another. The only one at the used book store was the last in t..."

The one Brandstetter book I have is Gravedigger

I agree with your general point that long-running series tend to be otiose. I could not finish HIT AND RUN by Lawrence Block, 'cause it was all about driving around eating pizza, as far as I could tell.

Surely all this padding has something to do with 300 pp. being the standard, rather than the 150 pp. of the paperback era.

finished Black Wings Has My Angel, wich I wrote semi-structured ramblings on here. Awesome stuff, one of my favourite Pulp Crime stories, as of yet.

As a palate cleanser I was thorn between "Mike Hammer" or "Hap and Leonard" (Two-Bear Mambo): chose for the latter. I'm starting to get used to those stories, full of snappy dialogue, black humour and stupid decisions. Still, nothing really stands out to me yet. I will get on with the series, cause they are quick and easy. finished it in 1 and a half day. I will say, the guys are almost certainly more fitted for TV than they are for books.

Frank wrote: "finished Black Wings Has My Angel, wich I wrote semi-structured ramblings on here. Awesome stuff, one of my favourite Pulp Crime stories, as of yet.

As a palate cleanser I was thor..."

I LOVE Black Wings Has My Angel! To me, it is one of the ultimate books of its kind. So happy you enjoyed it!

anything that compares? I think this was unique in its bleak outlook, combined with humour, violence, sex and poetic beauty.

Frank wrote: "anything that compares? I think this was unique in its bleak outlook, combined with humour, violence, sex and poetic beauty."

I think Hell Hath No Fury by Charles Williams comes pretty close to comparing to Black Wings!

Frank wrote: "anything that compares? I think this was unique in its bleak outlook, combined with humour, violence, sex and poetic beauty."

I'll have to give that one some thought. Off the top of my head, I can't really think of anything that compares.

Richard wrote:

I think Hell Hath No Fury by Charles Will..."

Thanks, I hope it's a little darker than the movie, wich was average to me, 'cept for the stunning girls and clammy atmosphere.

Read Savage Night (Thompson). It was pretty good although I thought it might actually be wilder from its rep. I still think his masterpieces are Pop 1280 and The Grifters.

Started Elmore Leonard's 52 Pickup. Gotta pick up Black Wings sometime.

I have recently read Cold Shot to the Heart by Wallace Stroby - the first of his Carissa Stone series about a female career criminal. Great book, thoroughly enjoyed it, some chilling characters in it, yet a plausible story.

Just started re-reading Last Good Kiss by Crumley, Read it a few years ago and just found the e-book on national library (singapore) website.

Russ wrote: "Just started re-reading Last Good Kiss by Crumley, Read it a few years ago and just found the e-book on national library (singapore) website."

Great book! That was my first introduction to Crumley (recommended from this group if I'm not mistaken).

Russ wrote: "Just started re-reading Last Good Kiss by Crumley, Read it a few years ago and just found the e-book on national library (singapore) website."
My favorite Crumley book. Also check out The Wrong Case. The only problem is I always feel I should be drinking when I read one of his books ....

I've almost finished my last Crumley novel, , alas. Have thoroughly enjoyed all his books.

Working my way through all of Elmore Leonard's crime novels. Next on my list after that will be the works of George Higgins.

I'm currently reading David Dodge's To Catch a Thief, and a wonderful collection of Jack Williamson's stories. A few of the stories were first published in Thrilling Mystery, one of the old pulp magazines. While they begin as Science Fiction, they end up as mysteries.

Bobby wrote: "I'm currently reading David Dodge's To Catch a Thief, and a wonderful collection of Jack Williamson's stories. A few of the stories were first published in Thrilling Mystery, one of the old pulp ma..."

I am curious how the Dodge novel compares with the Grace Kelly movie - one of my favorites. Please let us know ...

I'm reading Killing Floor by Lee Child, the first of his Jack Reacher series. Not pulpy in the manner of our group reads, but I'm enjoying the heck out of it. Just some good brainless fun.

Algernon,

Dodge was a terrific writer, could really make a narrative flow. I'm sure there will be differences, since Hitchcock was famous for tweaking stories. The 39 Steps has no female character, etc. I love Dodge's style of writing.

Watched Blue Velvet (1986) for the second time. Watched it first when it was released in the 80's. Written and directed by David Lynch. Blending psychological horror, with film noir, the film stars Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Laura Dern and a completely unhinged performance by Dennis Hopper.

As good as i remember it.

Reading "Stamboul Train" (also known as "Orient Express") by Graham Greene. I am not sure why it is considered one of his 'lighter' novels, since it has all his trademark characters and religious torment.
As a bonus there's also a dangerous killer on the train and a delicate romance.

Paul wrote: "Watched Blue Velvet (1986) for the second time. Watched it first when it was released in the 80's. Written and directed by David Lynch. Blending psychological horror, with film noir, the film stars..."

PABST BLUE RIBBON!

Indeed.

Reading Westlake's Memory now. It's interesting to view it in light of his Parker books (at least the first 3 I have read). Also made me think of Sartre's Nausea, although obviously a different approach and I might be mistaken as I read that one years ago.

Blue Velvet was actually attacked by some people when first released, including Barry Gifford (who wrote Wild at Heart). Here's my one of my favorite scenes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtjiV...

As I was not able to get a hold of a copy of The Widow, I decided to read another classic noir - The End of The Night by John MacDonald. This is the first of his books I've read and I really enjoyed it. Interesting way of writing it, with the ending revealed in the first chapter and written from multiple points of view, one of those being the omniscient narrator. Only a very skilled writer could bring that off, which he does.

My only complaint was that reading about the protagonists' executions in the first chapter when I hadn't got to know them meant that at the end of the book I had to go back and read that chapter again.

Damnotion wrote: "Blue Velvet was actually attacked by some people when first released, including Barry Gifford (who wrote Wild at Heart). Here's my one of my favorite scenes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtjiV..."

Laura Dern was so young! I'd forgotten...

Of course, she'll always be Lula to me. As fun as Blue Velvet was, I preferred Lynch's Wild at Heart. Also Lost Highway, an underappreciated gem.

what do you guys do with Omnibus editions for the Reading Challenge? I'm n doubt if it will halt/kill my Challenge too much. Either I rate them seperately, wich is technically wrong, or I will have to lower my Challenge number to begin with?

Randy wrote: "Damnotion wrote: "Blue Velvet was actually attacked by some people when first released, including Barry Gifford (who wrote Wild at Heart). Here's my one of my favorite scenes

https://www.youtube.c..."

Wild at Heart was brilliant! Nicholas Cage in his best role. Ditto Laura Dern & Willem Dafoe.

Frank wrote: "what do you guys do with Omnibus editions for the Reading Challenge? I'm n doubt if it will halt/kill my Challenge too much. Either I rate them seperately, wich is technically wrong, or I will have..."

Frank,

I think that if you read, say, The Mike Hammer Collection: Volume I, cover to cover, then you've read three books. Possibly four.

Damnotion wrote: "Reading Westlake's Memory now. It's interesting to view it in light of his Parker books (at least the first 3 I have read). Also made me think of Sartre's Nausea, although obviously a different app..."

I think Memory is possibly Westlake's best stand-alone work. The ending is shattering. I've read several of Westlake's stand-alone novels (& all the Parker novels) & although they're not to everyone's taste, they are utterly original.
The Ax is another brilliant stand-alone. There's a French movie of the same name, which is completely faithful to the book. Worth seeing if you understand French or don't mind subtitles.

Frank wrote: "what do you guys do with Omnibus editions for the Reading Challenge? I'm n doubt if it will halt/kill my Challenge too much. Either I rate them seperately, wich is technically wrong, or I will have..."

If it's a collection of books originally published separately, then I put the individual books into Goodreads and count them all individually.

thanks for the answers. I will rate them seperately from now on.