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The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > Hardboiled Detective Fiction: I take my brandy any way
 
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Carthag Tuek
Oct 15, 2005

Tider skal komme,
tider skal henrulle,
slægt skal følge slægters gang



 Seriously thanks for the Ross Macdonald books. Lew Archer is a great goddamn narrator. Language-wise v much in the style of Chandler &c. Narrator is used, broken, and dirty, but there's a heart in there, and a sense of truth and justice.

He's hella tempted tho when the ladies are offering.

* # ¿ Feb 28, 2016 17:45
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# ¿ Apr 24, 2024 22:40
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Carthag Tuek
Oct 15, 2005

Tider skal komme,
tider skal henrulle,
slægt skal følge slægters gang



 Aaa I really wanna read the spoiler but I'm only up to The Doomsters.

* # ¿ Mar 26, 2016 00:26
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Carthag Tuek
Oct 15, 2005

Tider skal komme,
tider skal henrulle,
slægt skal følge slægters gang



 I really enjoyed the L.A. Quartet (L.A. Confidential is the 3rd, but I suppose it's not strictly necessary to read them in order – recurring characters & references to earlier events, but separate plot arcs).

Underworld USA is also very good, but his prose gets more and more telegram/headline/stage notes-like in his later books & it's probably an acquired taste.

e: From White Jazz (4th LAQ):

quote:

I drove to the set just to see her; I figured one look would say yes or no.
Big blue eyes looked right through me – I couldn't even guess. She acted; she laughed; she talked – her voice gave nothing away. I stuck to the trailers and framed her in longshots – Miss Vampire/maybe pimp slasher. A change of costume, demure stuff to low-cut gown––
Shoulder-blade scars. ID them: slash marks, one puncture would/bone notch. Call it à la Hush-Hush:
HOOKER/ACTRESS MURDERS HALF-BREED PIMP! AIRPLANE MOGUL SMITTEN! ROGUE COP STEPS FROM CLOVER TO poo poo!
I watched her act, watched her subtle-goof the whole silly business. Dark came on, I just watched, no one bugged the skulking stage-door Johnny.
Rain shut things down – I would have watched all night otherwise.

Also his autobiographical book My Dark Places, where he researches his mother's murder with a retired cop, is really good.

Carthag Tuek fucked around with this message at 10:13 on Oct 12, 2016

* # ¿ Oct 12, 2016 10:06
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Carthag Tuek
Oct 15, 2005

Tider skal komme,
tider skal henrulle,
slægt skal følge slægters gang

Ornamented Death posted:

Any Lawrence Block fans in here? I finished Grifter's Game a while back and holy poo poo what a nihilistic ending.

Also drat, you weren't kidding. Finished this last night and that poo poo was dark.

* # ¿ Oct 12, 2016 10:37
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Carthag Tuek
Oct 15, 2005

Tider skal komme,
tider skal henrulle,
slægt skal følge slægters gang



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

* # ¿ Dec 17, 2016 19:28
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# ¿ Apr 24, 2024 22:40
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Carthag Tuek
Oct 15, 2005

Tider skal komme,
tider skal henrulle,
slægt skal følge slægters gang

Mr. Kurtz posted:

Oh I can definitely see L.A. Confidential as overstuffed. The whole like serial killer subplot and Vincennes backstory added like at least a hundred paged to an already packed book. I think I'll check out his other works just because of how engrossing L.A. Confidential was.

As a general rule, Ellroy gets more and more intense and elaborate in his novels.

It's not strictly necessary, but reading his stuff in publication order lets you know when you've hit your limit :o: As for me idk if im gonna read any more. But I've loved everything I've read.

* # ¿ Apr 30, 2017 06:19
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The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > Hardboiled Detective Fiction: I take my brandy any way