David Cranmer's Blog, page 61
February 26, 2015
Literary Mysteries: Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Light-House”
A sample of my latest article that can be found at Criminal Element: Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) remains a giant within the horror set with renowned classics such as The Raven, The Tell-Tale Heart, and The Pit and the Pendulum. He’s also acknowledged as the architect of the contemporary detective genre with his French investigator, C. Auguste Dupin, who first appeared in 1841’s "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and later in "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt" (1842) and "The Purloined Letter" (1844).
It is these main ingredients of horror—or, more precisely, impending doom—and mystery that fused a minor but intriguing literary coda to his legacy. A last shot, if you will, across the bow that enticingly leaves many questions unanswered. I’m speaking of the roughly 800 word, untitled (though now commonly referred to as “The Light-House”) manuscript that is presented in diary form beginning on New Year’s Day 1796 and features journal entries for the next couple of days.
February 20, 2015
February 14, 2015
Last Days of the Condor by James Grady
Do you remember THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR (1975) starring Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway? It's the movie where Redford reads books for the CIA, steps out for lunch, and returns to find all of his co-workers assassinated. A topical paranoid thriller in the aftermath of Watergate that stills holds up in the modern Snowden age. Well, that character has returned in LAST DAYS OF THE CONDOR that I take a look at over at Macmillan's Criminal Element.
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February 13, 2015
Missed Again
I somehow overlooked (an occupational hazard) Prashant Trikannad's review of Ron Scheer's How the West Was Written: Frontier Fiction, Vol. 2, 1907-1915. Thanks, Prashant! And sorry it took me so long to notice your kind gesture.
February 12, 2015
The Hard Side of Heartbreak
A few years back, I remember how elated I was when Wayne D. Dundee sent me a Joe Hannibal tale for the BEAT to a PULP webzine. I've been a fan of Wayne's work—since almost the beginning—and here I was publishing one of my favorite private eyes. That was a very big deal. Plus there’s not enough exclamation points to the added bonuses of having Wayne write several, to date, Cash Laramie novelsand one Drifter Detective.
And, once again, I’m pleased to have my friends Wayne and Joe back at the zine with "The Hard Side of Heartbreak."
And, once again, I’m pleased to have my friends Wayne and Joe back at the zine with "The Hard Side of Heartbreak."
February 10, 2015
Ice Castles and Drifters
A week of shoveling out from various winter storms and building an ice castle (inspired by FROZEN of course) for my daughter. Early mornings have been spent finishing up a Gideon Miles novella and giving a new look to The Drifter Detective series.
February 5, 2015
The Assassination Bureau, Ltd.
In the queue to review—I vaguely remember the Diana Rigg and Oliver Reed film. From Wikipedia:
The Assassination Bureau, Ltd is a thriller novel, begun by Jack London and finished after his death by Robert L. Fish. It was published in 1963. The plot follows Ivan Dragomiloff, who, in a twist of fate, finds himself pitted against the secret assassination agency he founded.
The novel was based on a story idea London purchased from author Sinclair Lewis (Elmer Gantry) in early 1910. London wrote 20,000 words on the novel before he gave it up later that same year, saying he could not find a logical way to conclude it. He died in 1916, leaving the book unfinished.
January 31, 2015
In Bloom
Photo of Amaryllis taken by my three-year-old daughter Ava.
January 30, 2015
Talking Twain
I'm at Macmillan's Criminal Element talking about Mark Twain. A sample:
Mark Twain (1835–1910) was never one to pull punches on politics, ethics, religion, slavery, or just about any cultural flashpoint, quite often leading public discourse on a number of weighty issues where his views, even today, still function as a moral compass. Twain approached each topic with wry humor, reminding us, “If you cannot have a whale's good opinion except at some sacrifice of principle or personal dignity, it is better to try to live without it. That is my idea about whales.”
