Pulp Fiction discussion
General
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Welcome and Introductions
Jim wrote: "That was an excellent story, Chuck! I'll mention it to the folks in the Supernatural Fiction group I belong to.I posted it here:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1..."
Thanks very much! I appreciate it.
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Good old Ed Gein. It's hard to believe this seemingly mild mannered individual was the inspiration for Psycho, The Silence of the Lambs, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
His name graces one of the tombstones we put out every Halloween.
I'm new in town and love pulp, noir and crime fiction of all ilk's and flavors. I'm a Brit whom loves nothing more than dirty raw american crime tales, the grittier the better. My love affair with Pulp and Noir was instigated by two works. The first; Dashiell Hammett's 'Red Harvest' (I make a point of reading it every year). The other; Edgar G. Ullmer's seminal film noir 'Detour'. I defy anyone that starts with these two works to ever be able to kick the crime noir bug. Authors whom have made a lasting impact on me include Raymond Chandler, Jim Thompson, Ross Macdonald, Edward Anderson, George Pelecanos, Don Winslow, Elmore Leonard, Lawrence Block, Robert B Parker, James Ellroy, David Peace, Chester Himes, and Cornell Woolrich. Looking forward to settling in here and exchanging thoughts and recommendations with you all. Jon
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Melki wrote: "Great story, Chuck! Good old Ed Gein. It's hard to believe this seemingly mild mannered individual was the inspiration for Psycho, The Silence of the Lambs, and The T..."
Thanks! I enjoyed writing it, and have continued the practice of including real-life characters in all the Centipede stories. The novel that was published last year features Lizzie Borden, H.P.Lovecraft, Frank Nitti and William Randolph Hearst. The one I'm working on now guest-stars Amelia Earhart, Aleister Crowley, Fatty Arbuckle and Bela Lugosi.
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Hello all! Looks like I wandered into an interesting place here... Been reading some newer stuff that's described as noir (The Wheelman/The Blonde by Swierczynski) and am looking to expand and see what else is out there. Already got my TBR shelf loaded up with some Richard Stark, Ken Bruen, Charlie Huston, and several Hard Case Crime books. Jumping into a classic now with Chandler's The Big Sleep. Looking forward to seeing what everyone else recommends!
Hi everyone, I joined this group because I occasional read books of this genre and am always looking for some good tips of what to read. After sampling a few of the modern 'CSI for dummies' type books, I find myself leaning back towards this older, less politically correct, style. Have to confess that I read most of Spillane's books back when I was a teenager and have a couple of the Max Allen Collins collaborations sitting on my shelf.
Just got a copy of 'The Big Sleep' today, so I will be reading along with the group.
Hi everyone, I joined becaused I'm a big fan of noir/hardboiled novels. Recent reads are by Richard Stark, Richard S. Prather and TRACTOR GIRL by James Reasoner. Favorite writers in the genre are Gil Brewer, Megan Abbott and John D. MacDonald, and too many more to mention. Always happy to hear about books and writers I've missed.
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Hi all,I stumbled across this group at the perfect time. I'm a long-time reader of just about every genre out there but have somehow missed the pulp crime fiction arena. I've read a lot of other pulp sub-genres like sci-fi, adventure, etc. but very little crime.
So a co-worker of mine (who I'm trying to turn into a reader) came by the other day and said he was going to start making time to read and he planned to start with a collection that he inherited from his father. What a colection! He has about 200 vintage books including most of Raymond Chandler, Dashiele Hammett, James M. Cain and others. He even has a number of original Black Mask magazines.
So I decided to take the plunge myself, starting with The Big Sleep (Didn't even realize it was the January group read). I can reinforce his fledgling reading habit and open a whole new world for me at the same time. Looking forward to learning from all of you...
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What a great pal you are, Benjamin.
Welcome to the group.
I've got the Centipede blog:http://theblackcentipede.blogspot.com/
And I've also overhauled an older blog as a suppository... er, repository for my old, otherwise useless fan fiction. Mostly X-Files, Batman and Kolchak The Night Stalker, separately and in various combinations. (I did a Kolchak meets the Spectre short story that I'm still kinda fond of.)
http://monstersandheroes.blogspot.com/
Benjamin wrote: "He even has a number of original Black Mask magazines."Very cool! If you should ever decide to scan them into PDFs I'm happy to give you my email address! ;)
Welcome to the group!
Michael wrote: Very cool! If you should ever decide to scan them into PDFs I'm happy to give you my email address! ;)
I'll have to check with him of course although I can't do it for a couple of weeks due to a business trip of his.
Thanks to all for the welcome
Just found this group ... I'm a fan of noir movies and often the books that inspired the good ones ... any read Build my Gallows High, by Geoffrey Homes, the inspiration for one of my favorite noir movies, Out of the Past?
I have to say I feel like I'm right at home with this group. I'm a huge fan of what Stephen King refers to as MANfiction. So much, in fact, that I just published my first hard-boiled mystery last year.I started with the late Robert B. Parker and his Spenser novels, and I incorporated a bit of Ed McBain, Lee Child, Michael Connelly, and Robert Crais. I've also read a Donald E. Westlake novel or two.
As for books in my pile, I have a significant stack of Mickey Spillane novels to read, since a couple of authors have compared my work to his.
I look forward to learning even more about the MANfiction genre.
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I've added Build My Gallows High to my list, even though the female character's name is "Mumsie"(???) Looks like a very noir read.
Hi, I'm Dominick. I like a lot of different kinds of fiction, but crime fiction is a fave. Other than the obvious choices--Chandler, Hammett, Cain, Jim Thompson--there are other authors I'm fond of. I especially like Donald E. Westlake, both for his comic novels and hor the hard-boiled Parker series, as by Richard Stark. Lawrence Block. John Sandford.
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No you are not :P
hello!followed the trail of bread crumbs here...
currently embroiled in the parker series, but taking breaks between to stretch it out. always - and i mean ALWAYS - looking for new books/authors/series. read a bit fast, and a bit too much! (ok, i know there's no such thing as too much. but my lack of housekeeping during 'the hunter' says otherwise...).
love noir - looking for more modern examples - and love thriller/detective/procedural - all the usual suspects. and yes, i even read romance. but all of the above goes in streams - all one, then all the other.
so.... looking forward to hanging out here occasionally!
gert.
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Dominick wrote: "Hi, I'm Dominick. I like a lot of different kinds of fiction, but crime fiction is a fave. Other than the obvious choices--Chandler, Hammett, Cain, Jim Thompson--there are other authors I'm fond of..."Any Westlake and Stark fan is worth special welcome here since he/they are my fav crime writer :)
This is why i dig this forum i have seen more Parker fans than ever!
There will never be another Parker but these 2 came the closest for me in terms of Parkerish Satisfaction:. Hooray for the bad guys....Caught Stealing plus 2 more
and
Hardcase plus 2 more
Jed wrote: "There will never be another Parker but these 2 came the closest for me in terms of Parkerish Satisfaction:. Hooray for the bad guys....Caught Stealing plus 2 more
and
[book:Hardcase|1..."
Charlie Huston is a modern Richard Stark light. Hank Thompson books are good and all but i think Joe Pitt is hardcore and closest to Parker i have read in noir writing. Shame he is in vampire fantasy world.
If Huston hade made Joe Pitt in a non-fantastic noir story wow!
Tried to read Joe Pitt but when the vampire stated ruminating about his girlfriend, I quietly dumped the book in to the garage :-)
Jed wrote: "Tried to read Joe Pitt but when the vampire stated ruminating about his girlfriend, I quietly dumped the book in to the garage :-)"Heh Joe Pitt is nasty piece of work when he isnt thinking about his GF. Im not big urban fantasy, vampire fan but Joe Pitt is so cool in noir anti-hero way. Huston writing is leaner, meaner than Caught Stealing.
Pitt is like a drug addict gangster. His drug just happens to blood, feeding on people. His gang boss just happens to be a vampire gang leader. The other vamps are soft compared to him.
Why i dont like the other characters in that series, they are vampire fantasy but its like Joe Pitt is noir anti-hero in a different setting.
Yeah, I know I'm just being negative. Can't help it I hate vampires. They're up all night playing music and killing pretty girls and it lowers home values.I did like Vampire a Go-Go and Gischlers books are pretty good also in a vaguely Parkerish way.
Jed wrote: "Yeah, I know I'm just being negative. Can't help it I hate vampires. They're up all night playing music and killing pretty girls and it lowers home values.I did like [book:Vampire a Go-Go|6445700..."
Heh i dislike the soft modern vampire too. I like old school nasty, monster ones or modern hardcore ones like Pitt. I hate pretty boy vampires.
Gischler i have heard of that book before.
My second novel has just been released. Would hugely appreciate anyone taking a look. It's a crime fiction set in 1920s Los Angeles. http://www.amazon.com/Ten-A-Week-Stea...
You can learn more about me at ...
www.stephenjared.com
Thanks!
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Welcome Jonathan, glad to have you here
Jonathan wrote: "Thank you. This site is becoming addictive very fast."Book geeks unite!
;-)
Welcome to the fold. It is cool to find a bunch of like minded people isn't it?
Jonathan wrote: "Also, as to Westlake/Stark: I've read a lot of Westlake but, to my chagrin, very little of Stark. The one I did grab was Darwyn Cooke's illustrated graphic novel of Stark's "The Hunter". Dunno h..."Welcome Jonathan :)
You shouldnt worry you have more to read of Parker/Stark novels unlike most of us other fans. Darwyn Cooke GN is a great adaptation artwise. The writing was Stark own prose from The Hunter. It helps somewhat to use the original prose and just edit away the writing that describe the way things look.
Westlake style books is alot of fun but Stark is the real great Westlake.
Just joined the group and started reading The Night of the Hunter. Also have The Big Sleep and The Devil all the Time out from the library just now so some catching up to do. Anyone on here come across my favourite author, RJ Ellory (eg: A Quiet Belief in Angels, Quiet Vendetta) ? - that counts as "noir" doesn't it ?
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I haven't read any R.J. Ellory, but it looks like he could qualify as noir.
Hi, I just discovered and joined this group. By way of introduction the first time only I'll mention my three hard-boiled noir books, 2 recent e-books, Deep in the Cut and Philly Rouge, and my first book, Latex Monkey with Banana that became a mini-cult classic before the publisher went bankrupt the year the book was published in 2003. I'm currently reading, as I do every year, the series Best Mystery Stories of >>>> and Best Crime Writing of >>>> the latter of which I always find so fascinating it's hard to stop reading. I'm a fan of pulp fiction as well as great noir films, given my own background as a film maker.
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Here are the links to Jonathan's books:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13...
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13...
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/94...
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Here are the links to Jonathan's books:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13...
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13......"
Why didn't you just link the books?
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Hi, I'm on the last book of Ellroy James LA quartet and got some Chandler lined up. I joined this group to look for similar stuff, hopefully enjoy some of the group reads.
Hey guys, i'm so glad to see there is a group of this nature. I grew up reading Ross MacDonald, Raymond Chandler and Walter Mosley. I eventually branched out into other genres, primarily Fantasy but Noir is my first love. I look forward to joining in the monthly reads and getting to know a few of you fellas.
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Hi all. I've been loitering in the shadows a while, but saw your April group read and decided to get involved. I'm a Brit who fell in love with Raymond Chandler doing an American Studies degree. Pretty much on the back of that, Walter Mosely and The Day of the Locust I went to live in LA for a year. Pleased to find out it was glamorous and grubby, sexy and sordid, all at the same time. Sadly I don't read enough noir and I'm hoping you can help!
You came to the right place Sarah. If you like those authors you will find many quality ones in these forums.Welcome Lee and Travis.
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Pulp Fiction
Books mentioned in this topic
Hard Rain Falling (other topics)The Little Sister (other topics)
The Hunter (other topics)
The Killer Inside Me (other topics)
The Big Sleep (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Don Carpenter (other topics)Gordon Ferris (other topics)
James M. Cain (other topics)
Denise Mina (other topics)
Ken Bruen (other topics)
More...
I posted it here:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...