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16th out of 166 books
—
33 voters
The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories
by
Otto Penzler (Goodreads Author) ,
Keith Alan Deutsch , Wyatt Blassingame , Talmadge Powell , Charles G. Booth , Richard Sale , Katherine Brocklebank , Thomas Walsh
,
more…
An unstoppable anthology of crime stories culled from Black Mask magazine the legendary publication that turned a pulp phenomenon into literary mainstream.
Black Mask was the apotheosis of noir. It was the magazine where the first hardboiled detective story, which was written by Carroll John Daly appeared. It was the slum in which such American literary titans like Dashiel...more
Black Mask was the apotheosis of noir. It was the magazine where the first hardboiled detective story, which was written by Carroll John Daly appeared. It was the slum in which such American literary titans like Dashiel...more
Paperback, 1136 pages
Published
September 21st 2010
by Vintage
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FLAMING ANGEL: A bible salesman kills his wife after she returns to the bottle and the man she used to love. His daughter begins to resemble her, calling him Johnny, wearing makeup, and sneaking out at night. He sets up the umbrella on the stairs to trip her like he did his wife. But he trips his wife's lover instead. The daughter set the whole thing up to punish him and her beloved mother's lover. Johnny is telling the story from death row.
A piano-playing private eye who worked finding people i...more
A piano-playing private eye who worked finding people i...more
This is a beautiful and enormous collection but, sadly, my only purpose was to read the Cornell Woolrich tale herein, and then back to ILL it goes. Coincidentally, it was the last story in the book.
The story was "Borrowed Crime" and I think it ended up on my list because its set-up features Woolrich using the abject poverty of the Depression as his plot prompt. A poor man discovers that his son *must* receive treatment (actually, the treatment is being sent out to hot, dry western climes) or sur...more
The story was "Borrowed Crime" and I think it ended up on my list because its set-up features Woolrich using the abject poverty of the Depression as his plot prompt. A poor man discovers that his son *must* receive treatment (actually, the treatment is being sent out to hot, dry western climes) or sur...more
Black Mask was the most important and influential pulp magazine of the detective fiction genre during the first half of the 20th-Century. Publishing the major authors of the literary field, some of whom would be among the most talented and seminal authors in American literature, it was the cornerstone of a then emerging style of writing termed the "hardboiled" school of fiction which highlighted a world of tough, wisecracking private eyes, sultry and troubled dames, and criminals of varying degr...more
If you are a fan of hard boiled fiction, then this collection of short stories from the "Black Mask" mystery pulp-era is a must read. Pretty much all of the greats are present here such as Hammett, Chandler, Erle Stanley Gardner(Perry Mason), James M. Cain, and Cornell Woolrich. In its heyday of the 1920's to the mid 40's Black Mask was one of the leaders of crime fiction. I only wish that it was still around to be benefited by a new era of fearless writers who love to examine the (sometimes) fr...more
Discovering The Black Mask was like finding a pot of gold.
After realizing how much I enjoyed reading specific authors, I found a common thread, that many were published early in their career by a pulp magazine called The Black Mask.
It was first published in 1920 and continued regular publication with some interruptions until 1951. Many noted authors were able to have their first stories published in the originally 10 cent (I believe) magazine and again, I believe it was similar to a comic book...more
After realizing how much I enjoyed reading specific authors, I found a common thread, that many were published early in their career by a pulp magazine called The Black Mask.
It was first published in 1920 and continued regular publication with some interruptions until 1951. Many noted authors were able to have their first stories published in the originally 10 cent (I believe) magazine and again, I believe it was similar to a comic book...more
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If vintage noir is your cup of tea this book will be right up your alley. Hammett, Chandler, etc. There is an author here named Frederick Brown whose writing I like a lot. I have a SF anthology of short stories by him (Parodox Lost) that I pick up now and then. He wrote for tv in the 50s and his stories are reminiscent of that. In Black Mask the tales also are reminiscent of tough guy 50s tv and 30s thru 50s noir films. As I've mentioned before - I love this kind of stuff!
1 like · like · see review
This is a huge book, and pretty much everything in it is choice, being some of the best stories from thirty years of Black Mask magazine, the number one source of hard-boiled detective and crime fiction in the pulp days.
I especially liked some of the shorter stories that sneaked a punch into a few pages.
As was the trend at the time, there are both overt and contextual racism and sexism in some of the stories; it's noted in one introduction that Black Mask readers were not fond of independent, co...more
I especially liked some of the shorter stories that sneaked a punch into a few pages.
As was the trend at the time, there are both overt and contextual racism and sexism in some of the stories; it's noted in one introduction that Black Mask readers were not fond of independent, co...more
If you're a noir fan, this massive volume will quickly raise to the top of your favorites. An amazing mixture of stories from the seminal Black Mask archive, Otto Penzler put together yet another great compilation. The Maltese Falcon in full is worth the price of admission alone, but highlights are to common to list them all.
If you are interested in the historical base for todays detective/ suspense genre this book is for you. The pulp magazines ( Black Mask-- the longest running and most sucessful)were the proving ground for many key writers of the genre. Some of the stories will appear dated and use language the is not politically correct in today's world, but they reflect the time they were written. The book is worth it alone for the original serial version of " The Maltese Falcon"--- the magazine version differs...more
Nov 30, 2011
Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides
marked it as to-read
Shelves:
anthologies-and-collections,
mystery-genre
Stumbled across this when I was looking for the written version of The Maltese Falcon, I think? Has an impressive and interesting-looking lineup of authors and stories.
Found out i'm not into crime. I stopped after Flaming Angel because I knew I wasn't going to find another story in this book that would keep my attention like that.
If fiction was still written like this, people would read instead of watching Michael Bay movies.
A nice collection with an excellent introduction. Sail is the standout story.
Switching this to the "read" shelf even though it didn't read it all. Apparently many decades ago there was a big market for adventure stories and lots of widely circulated magazines containing the same, the pre-TV days. The detective/crime stories that made up this "hard-boiled" fiction led to the "Crime Noir" film genre. Some great stories in here, the compilation as a whole is a little uneven, but its not hard to just flip to the next tale.
May 06, 2012
David Magnenat
marked it as to-read
I dip into this massive collection of hardboiled crime/noir stories every once and awhile. It helps me get my Dashiell Hammett on!
Some stories are better than others, but this is absolutely an amazing book!
May 22, 2013
Daniel Ackermann
is currently reading it
May 20, 2013
Cecily
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vee
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Matt Nelson
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Apr 24, 2013
Jeff
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Chris Teel
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Otto Penzler is an editor of mystery fiction in the United States, and proprietor of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City, where he lives.
Otto Penzler founded The Mysteriour Press in 1975 and was the publisher of The Armchair Detective, the Edgar-winning quarterly journal devoted to the study of mystery and suspense fiction, for seventeen years.
Penzler has won two Edgar Awards, for The Encycl...more
More about Otto Penzler...
Otto Penzler founded The Mysteriour Press in 1975 and was the publisher of The Armchair Detective, the Edgar-winning quarterly journal devoted to the study of mystery and suspense fiction, for seventeen years.
Penzler has won two Edgar Awards, for The Encycl...more
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