Hardboiled Detective Fiction: I take my brandy any way

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > Hardboiled Detective Fiction: I take my brandy any way

anilEhilated: Feb 17, 2014; But I say fuck the rain.; Grimey Drawer

I've read a couple McBains but they honestly really meld together in my mind. They're functional and decently written, but don't expect anything groundbreaking or even particularly good. It's probably symbolic of the police work described - competent, but routine, don't expect to be amazed.

# ¿ Sep 24, 2015 10:56

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# ¿ Apr 24, 2024 20:55

anilEhilated: Feb 17, 2014; But I say fuck the rain.; Grimey Drawer

Ben Nevis posted:

I finally got around to this. It was quite surprising, but I enjoyed it.

Really? I liked it, but my main gripe was with how predictable the ending was.

anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 17:01 on Oct 7, 2015

# ¿ Oct 7, 2015 16:42

anilEhilated: Feb 17, 2014; But I say fuck the rain.; Grimey Drawer

Hieronymous Alloy posted:

I've been really enjoying the Easy Rawlins series. Black protagonist is a really interesting way to reinvent period noir (esp. Given the recent news articles that Sam Spade may have been based on a black P.I., etc.)

Really? I loved the first one, snoozed through the second and didn't bother finishing the third; I thought Mosley stopped writing a story and went full on social critique by that point.
e: Might be because I'm not American and thus rather disconnected from that part of history, but as detective stories, the second and third book just didn't do it for me.

anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 09:06 on Oct 1, 2016

# ¿ Oct 1, 2016 09:03

anilEhilated: Feb 17, 2014; But I say fuck the rain.; Grimey Drawer

Danger posted:

Big Nowhere is my favorite though.

Same here. It's a shame it's the one that gets the least recognition, people usually rant about Black Dahlia and LA Confidential.

# ¿ Oct 19, 2016 14:59

anilEhilated: Feb 17, 2014; But I say fuck the rain.; Grimey Drawer

Powaqoatse posted:

Speaking of off-template hardboiled, I really liked Mieville's The City &The City and Chabon 's Yiddish Policemens Union.

I'll add Club Dumas to that. Not a traditional detective story but a pretty fantastic read.

# ¿ Dec 17, 2016 21:15

anilEhilated: Feb 17, 2014; But I say fuck the rain.; Grimey Drawer

HIJK posted:

This sounds fascinating, thanks for the write up!

They're for the most part utterly fantastic, although very much cozy mysteries; detective books don't get much more soft-boiled than that.

# ¿ Apr 5, 2017 13:44

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# ¿ Apr 24, 2024 20:55

anilEhilated: Feb 17, 2014; But I say fuck the rain.; Grimey Drawer

Same here. I kind of wonder why is The Big Nowhere the one that usually gets glazed over - Black Dahlia and LA Confidential are famous and White Jazz gets infamy for the almost comprehensible style it's written in. But I think that as a story, TBN is easily the best of the bunch.

# ¿ Apr 12, 2017 18:56

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > Hardboiled Detective Fiction: I take my brandy any way