Monthly Archives: April 2018

Killing Castro, by Lawrence Block

Posted on April 25, 2018 by pete

A large piece of the Hard Case Crime series has been reprints of older, “lost” stories written by famous authors. They have almost always been entertaining reads, even if the quality hasn’t been consistent with the writers’ better-known works. The … Continue reading →

Posted in books, crime fiction | Tagged , | 3 Comments

The Green Eagle Score, by Donald Westlake (as Richard Stark)

Posted on April 20, 2018 by pete

Donald Westlake’s series character Parker has been called the greatest antihero in all crime fiction. I haven’t enough experience with the genre to credibly make that statement, but with each Parker novel I’ve been increasingly convinced that the series is … Continue reading →

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They Walked Like Men, by Clifford Simak

Posted on April 17, 2018 by pete

In the comments of my last review of Simak’s work, a 1970 novel named Out of Their Heads, it was suggested (in agreement with the critical convention), that the book was published after the author’s creative prime. I ended up giving … Continue reading →

Posted in books, science fiction | Tagged , | 6 Comments

“The White Otters of Childhood” by Michael Bishop

Posted on April 9, 2018 by pete

Michael Bishop, like the almost all authors of the SF genre, is best remembered for his novels. Additionally, recent reviewers of his work have emphasized his novellas as further examples of his best writing, especially among his 1970s fiction (see … Continue reading →

Posted in books, science fiction, short fiction | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Cut Me In, by Ed McBain

Posted on April 7, 2018 by pete

My ongoing foray into vintage crime fiction meant that it was only a matter of time before I read by first Ed McBain book. Ed McBain, of course, is the most popular of several pseudonyms used by the very prolific … Continue reading →

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Thieves Fall Out, by Gore Vidal

Posted on April 3, 2018 by pete

With the remunerations for his literary works not keeping up with his lifestyle, the writer and intellectual Gore Vidal (1925-2012) wrote a few genre books under pseudonyms, one being “Cameron Kay” for the pulp crime novel Thieves Fall Out. Originally … Continue reading →

Posted in books, crime fiction | Tagged , , | 8 Comments