Pulp Fiction discussion

I liked it very much up until the last couple of chapters: a bit of an anti-climax, but I need to ruminate a little more on the conclusion.

Algernon wrote: "regarding amoral characters as heroes, I just finished a modern book, meaning they are quite popular. It's called "The Butcher's Boy" by Thomas Perry (I think) and it is mainly about a professional..."

Thanks for the mentioning this book, Perry/Butcher Boy sounds like something i would enjoy reaading.

Im a big fan of hitman, amoral lead character even if it is in thriller genre not criminal noir ala Parker. Thats why i read Jack Reacher books before, i liked that kind of character more than the writer, even if he was old military cop. He was more like dark western hero not having problem killing his way through the bad guys.

Hi Mohammed,
You might also like the Charlie Fox series by Zoe Sharp. Lee Child writes on the cover of Fox Hunter (#12 in the series) "If Jack reacher were a woman, he'd be Charlie Fox." Great reads.

Aisling wrote: "Hi Mohammed,
You might also like the Charlie Fox series by Zoe Sharp. Lee Child writes on the cover of Fox Hunter (#12 in the series) "If Jack reacher were a woman, he'd be Charlie Fox." Great reads."

Oh sounds refereshing a female Jack Reacher. This group, its members recommendation i trust like its an order given to me on what to read. Since we share so much similar taste in these kind of books.

I know someone on the Amazon Book Forum who was a big fan of Thomas Perry and Butcher Boy in particular. I would like to read it one of these days.

Meanwhile, I am re-reading Deadly Edge (nice original dust jacket.. the first h.c. Parker, I believe... not the one I have, alas..) and also picked up The Rare Coin Score to re-read (again, no first ed. for me (shrugs shoulders)) and Ask The Parrot which is one of the few I haven't read.

I have half a mind to get Comeback, Firebreak, and Breakout as well, in the U of C Kindle editions. When I first got my Kindle, the Parkers were $3.99 each. Wish I'd bought them all then.

So lately I've read-

The Glass Key. Reading this was a little problematic because I couldn't get Miller's Crossing out of my head while doing so. The Coen's version (although they don't credit Hammett) is overall maybe more entertaining, but at the same time they seemed to have passed over the main point of the book.

The Handle. This was a really good Parker- not for the plot but for the character interactions.

I tried reading I the Jury by Mickey Spillane and could not make it past 6 pages.

Reading The First Quarry now.

I recently finished half of a two-fer:

The Deadly Dames/A Dum-Dum for the President

Here's the original (which I've never seen):

The Deadly Dames

Set in Montreal and surprisingly violent. (view spoiler)[ More people die in the end than in Hamlet. (I don't consider that a spoiler, but someone might).. (hide spoiler)]

An excerpt:

... I shot through the window on a dive, arced clear across the room and rolled.

Eddie Silver was expecting me, but not so quickly. I was expecting Eddie Silver. He danced across at me. I kept rolling. I yanked the gun from my mouth, nearly pulled out my teeth. Eddie was moving like a gnat. All his weight went on one foot. I beat the gun at his leg and his shin snapped. He started to yell. He started to fall. I rose up with the butt-ended gun and slammed his jaw. The shout died gurgling in his throat. A gun fell from his hand and hit the floor with a thud. I held him over one arm, slugging. His head sounded like a walnut.

I lowered him to the floor and waited and all I could hear was my own panting breath. Nothing moved. The door to the adjoining office was half open. I reached a hand, sick with fear, and pulled the door wide. I froze. Another guy was sitting behind Kafka’s desk, waiting for me. I hissed, “Hold it!”

He didn’t answer. The silence was thick as cream. Against the black and dark red of the decor his face showed dim white. I couldn’t tell who it was. My ears hissed. I whispered, “I’m covering you.”

I entered the office, gun held high, nerves creaking like wet rawhide. He remained unstirring. His gray-looking hands dangled limply on either side of the chair. He wasn’t going to bother me or anyone else. He was dead as a kipper.

Other than that, I recently finished Murder Picks the Jury, which was a collaboration between Norbert Davis and Todhunter Ballard, and can see my way clear to finishing Tweak the Devil's Nose (set in St. Louis) soon.

A couple of new items on the copyright front from the Internet Archive (archive.org). The Internet Archive is now leveraging a little known, and perhaps never used, provision of US copyright law, Section 108h, which allows libraries to scan and make available materials published 1923 to 1941 if they are not being actively sold. That means more pulp content available to us.
https://blog.archive.org/2017/10/10/b...

The Boston Public Library announced the transfer of significant holdings from its Sound Archives Collection to the Internet Archive, which will digitize, preserve and make these recordings accessible to the public. The Boston Public Library (BPL) sound collection includes hundreds of thousands of audio recordings in a variety of historical formats, including wax cylinders, 78 rpms, and LPs.
http://blog.archive.org/2017/10/11/bo...

These initiatives plus the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine are preserving & making a lot of historical material available. Here's a pretty good explanation of why this is so important:
http://blog.archive.org/2017/10/13/th...

I recently picked up The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps- the Kindle edition. Either the price has come way down, or I have inflated my notion of 'cheap' for Kindle, at any rate it was $7.99 or $8.99.

This was the anthology that 'started it all' for me. Not exactly, because I had read Dashiel Hammett and Raymond Chandler before, of course, but this was my introduction to Paul Cain, Frederic Nebel, Caroll John Daly, Norbert Davis, et al.

The brief bios before each story are very detailed.

Also, imo, the follow up The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories was not as good.

Thanks Christopher. Imma check that out.

I'm over halfway through Frank Sinatra in a Blender which is a rollicking read. The writer apparently was an assembly line worker and just started writing books.

Just started reading The Shark-Infested Custard. Man, I highly recommend this book. The humour in it is extremely dark so if you are easily triggered stay away.

The descriptions of the clothes and the lifestyles of the four characters makes me cry with laughter. Maroon slack suit anyone?

Shane wrote: "Just started reading The Shark-Infested Custard. Man, I highly recommend this book. The humour in it is extremely dark so if you are easily triggered stay away.

The descriptions of the ..."



That has been a TBR for me for years. I love the title. I was a little put off by Miami Blues, which I liked up to a point.

It does sound like fun, doesn't it?

I've been reading some of my unfinished Robert Leslie Bellem e-books:

The Cock Crows Murder and Other Tales from the Pulps

and Dan Turner, Hollywood Detective #6
(there was a Kindle version of this, but not for long..)

Anyway, the introduction to The Cock Crows Murder mentioned "Somewhere a Roscoe," which was an early appreciation of Dan Turner in the New Yorker.

I found the text online here:

https://archive.org/stream/bestofsjpe...

It's a good piece. I think it over emphasizes how formulaic the stories are. They certainly are, but so are Jeeves and Wooster stories. So are Vivaldi's violin concertos.

One thing Perelman points out (twice) is how sleazy the ads were in Spicy Detective.

Has anyone here read A KISS BEFORE DYING? It was an Ira Levin hit years before the book/movie of ROSEMARY'S BABY.

ALLEN wrote: "Has anyone here read A KISS BEFORE DYING? It was an Ira Levin hit years before the book/movie of ROSEMARY'S BABY."

Hi Allen. Yeah i read it back in August of this year and as i recall i quite enjoyed it. Gave it 4 stars anyway. Enjoy.

I just finished reading Vertigo. It's much different than the movie but its French setting makes for an intriguing read. Don't expect it to be like the movie, though.

Here is my review.

Loved the review Tom. You've got a great writing style. I can't do book reviews with humour!

I'm reading Easter Make Believers by Finn Bell. I absolutely loved Dead Lemons by Finn. Easter Make Believers is good.... but not getting the same va-va-voom.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/EASTER-MAKE-...

Just found this group not long ago, so have a lot of catching up to do, though I've been a noir fan for years. I like the bookshelf y'all have compiled. Just finished my first Jim Thompson novel, The Killer Inside Me ...wow, brilliant. Looking forward to diving into Vertigo next.

Sara wrote: "Just found this group not long ago, so have a lot of catching up to do, though I've been a noir fan for years. I like the bookshelf y'all have compiled. Just finished my first Jim Thompson novel, T..."

Killer is by far my fave JT book Sara & coincidentally, my first. The Getaway is a good follow up to Killer. I always find i have to allow some time to pass between reading a Thompson novel and picking up his next.

Black Mask 1: Doors in the Dark: And Other Crime Fiction from the Legendary Magazine, a compilation of a handful of stories. Well narrated, but more interesting for the introductions & histories than the stories. I gave it a 3 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Just finished The Woman Chaser. It's confusing, but amazing. Read it if you like rotten-, doomed characters, bleak atmosphere and pitchblack humour.

Putting this in my "favorite books" shelf. Will eventually need to buy a physical copy and read it again and again. Already looking forward to that. I'm watching the movie next week. Should be good, i love Patrick Warburton's acting and delivery.

Longer review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Sara wrote: "Just finished my first Jim Thomson..."

Oops, I lied. I realized yesterday that Thompson also wrote Grifters, which I read years ago. Loved that one too. Thanks for the recommendation of The Getaway.

Sara wrote: "Sara wrote: "Just finished my first Jim Thomson..."

Oops, I lied. I realized yesterday that Thompson also wrote Grifters, which I read years ago. Loved that one too. Thanks for the recommendation ..."

Yes, Grifters is excellent too. Maybe my second favorite JT novel.

Paul wrote: "Sara wrote: "Sara wrote: "Just finished my first Jim Thomson..."

Yes, Grifters is excellent too. Maybe my second favorite JT novel. ."

I'm rather partial to Pop. 1280

I'm a fan of Pop. 1280 as well--for anyone interested, there was a French film adaptation of it several years ago called Coup de Torchon. The setting was changed to a French colonial possession in Africa, but if I remember correctly, the adaptation was otherwise pretty faithful.

Bryan wrote: "I'm a fan of Pop. 1280 as well--for anyone interested, there was a French film adaptation of it several years ago called Coup de Torchon. The setting was changed to a French colonial possession in ..."

I can picture how that would work.

Tom wrote: "Paul wrote: "Sara wrote: "Sara wrote: "Just finished my first Jim Thomson..."

Yes, Grifters is excellent too. Maybe my second favorite JT novel. ."

I'm rather partial to Pop. 1280"

Me too. I actually liked it better than The Killer Inside Me.

Pick Up by Charles Willeford. I enjoyed it for the excellent writing, but the story is about on the depressing side.

Oops! I meant to say "a bit on the depressing side," which is a massive understatement.

C. wrote: "Pick Up by Charles Willeford. I enjoyed it for the excellent writing, but the story is about on the depressing side."

it's bleak and I'm used to reading Bukowski or Harry Crews. Go figure.

In fact it reminded me a lot of the Barbet Schroeder film Barfly, but even that was more fun...

Tom wrote: "Paul wrote: "Sara wrote: "Sara wrote: "Just finished my first Jim Thomson..."

Yes, Grifters is excellent too. Maybe my second favorite JT novel. ."

I'm rather partial to Pop. 1280"

Haven't read that one yet Tom.

Paul wrote: "Tom wrote: I'm rather partial to Pop. 1280"

Haven't read that one yet Tom. "

It's on my TBR pile too. I've heard the opinion that it's better than Killer inside... before.

I am going to hide my beef with Grifters behind a spoiler alert:
(view spoiler)[ OK, his mom sets him up with the nurse, but whatsisname, the grifter, doesn't want to sleep with her because he thinks she's a virgin, BUT when he finds out she was raped as a child in Nazi camps, he thinks, well, if she's not a virgin, then... this was just a sick joke as far as I'm concerned, and I'm glad the movie left it out... (hide spoiler)]

Yeah, the movie was sleazy enough.

Just picked up The Alienist at Barnes and Noble and started it. I'm interested in reading the book and then seeing the TNT miniseries next month. Anyone read this one?

Franky wrote: "Just picked up The Alienist at Barnes and Noble and started it. I'm interested in reading the book and then seeing the TNT miniseries next month. Anyone read this one?"

A long time ago, when it first came out. It was pretty good as I recall.

Franky wrote: "Just picked up The Alienist at Barnes and Noble and started it. I'm interested in reading the book and then seeing the TNT miniseries next month. Anyone read this one?"

I read it eons ago and enjoyed it.

Pop. 1280 is next on my tbr list. I have an ebook copy with an intro by one of my other favorite writers, Daniel Woodrell, which i read last night. It does sound very similar to The Killer, but it's been a few years since i read that, so i think it's time to dive back into the twisted mind of JT.

Paul wrote: "Pop. 1280 is next on my tbr list. I have an ebook copy with an intro by one of my other favorite writers, Daniel Woodrell, which i read last night. It does sound very similar to The Killer, but it'..."

It's different in that the sheriff narrator seems more humble, even subservient, not just a good kibitzer with a boatload of sickness inside him (if I remember rightly, Lou Ford's father had him neutered as a child b/c the female servant had introduced him to S-M sex. She did so because the father was sadistically involved with her). Now, the sheriff n Pop 1280 is calmly homicidal, but I do not think he has suffered the family trauma of Ford, who not only murdered lovers but (I believe) murdered his brother. But Lou's conclusion, "All of us [are mad] might apply to he small town of Nick Corey

Right now im reading The Whites by Richard Price.

Price is different for me because its the first work of his im reading but he is one of the writers i admire most. One of the creators, writers behind my alltime fav tv show in The Wire. You write so many eps of that show you are a great writer in my eyes.

So far the book is the quality, depth of character, atmosphere i was expecting. He captures the daily life of a NYC cop well.

Jay wrote: "Paul wrote: "Pop. 1280 is next on my tbr list. I have an ebook copy with an intro by one of my other favorite writers, Daniel Woodrell, which i read last night. It does sound very similar to The Ki..."

I love the deadpan intro where the Sheriff, Nick Corey, complains he's off his food because he can't manage to eat all six pork chops on his plate (& side dishes), and then bemoans his insomnia, complaining he can only manage 8-9 hours of sleep, awakens wide awake and is unable to get back to sleep and can only toss and turn:D

In tandem with Pop.1280, i'm also reading Crooked Little Vein , for some 'light' relief.

I've thought about Pop 1280 a few times. I'll get there one day. I'm giving The Power of the Dog a go. I liked the prologue, hated the next twenty pages then loved it again after the info-dumpy opening. Such a good writer.

Geoff wrote: "I've thought about Pop 1280 a few times. I'll get there one day. I'm giving The Power of the Dog a go. I liked the prologue, hated the next twenty pages then loved it again after the info-dumpy ope..."

Power of the Dog by Don Winslow is an excellent choice Geoff. Don Winslow hasn't disappointed me yet.

Geoff wrote: "I've thought about Pop 1280 a few times. I'll get there one day. I'm giving The Power of the Dog a go. I liked the prologue, hated the next twenty pages then loved it again after the info-dumpy ope..."

Don't miss Pop. 1280. I really believe it's his best book.

Nancy wrote: "Geoff wrote: "I've thought about Pop 1280 a few times. I'll get there one day. I'm giving The Power of the Dog a go. I liked the prologue, hated the next twenty pages then loved it again after the ..."

Im a huge Thompson fan, admire most of his books i have read, his style is like pulpy beat style/Bukawski noir but Pop 1280 is for some reason one of his books that wasnt memorable to me while i can still remember vividly everything about JT books i read before it like Killer Inside Me, The Griefters, Hell of a Woman, Savage Night.

I read Pop 1280 a while back. For me I think it's like a 1950's tv show set in the south about a hokey sheriff in town. Except all the actors are on LSD.

A very strange and weird tale for sure.

That new movie Three Billboards... reminded me of Pop 1280 quite a bit actually.

Read Pop 1280 recently. I quite liked it, but Killer is still my favourite.

Cyndi wrote: "Currently reading David Peace's Nineteen Seventy Four Book One of the Red Riding Quartet.

Dark, fast and dirty. Told in a Yorkshire vernacular. Flawed central character, corrupt legal officials , ..."

An excellent quartet Cydi.
I've almost completed Altered Carbon , an excellent first of a sci-fi/noir/cyberpunk trilogy.

Shane wrote: "I read Pop 1280 a while back. For me I think it's like a 1950's tv show set in the south about a hokey sheriff in town. Except all the actors are on LSD.

A very strange and weird tale for sure.

T..."

The "hokey sheriff" is what you're supposed to think. He is anything but.

Paul wrote: "Cyndi wrote: "Currently reading David Peace's Nineteen Seventy Four Book One of the Red Riding Quartet.

Dark, fast and dirty. Told in a Yorkshire vernacular. Flawed central character, corrupt lega..."

Red Riding Quartet is one of my all time favorite series of books. There is a dramatization of these books, but if you watch it, don't binge. I made that mistake and almost did myself in.