Re: RARA-AVIS: Re: Block not "simple"

MARIO TABOADA (matrxtech@sprintmail.com)
Thu, 23 Oct 1997 15:03:39 +0000 I may have used the word "controversy" too hastily. Over the years, I
have heard many comments about Block, mostly admiring ones. I have also
heard people I respect say that he was "too facile", others that he
wasn't "true hardboiled", and another writer referred to him as a
"provider of divertimentos". I have also heard criticism of Scudder's
"recovery" from alcoholism, and of Block's development of this character
over the years (that it's repetitive, and so forth). I guess all this
shows is that consensus is not really achievable, even by someone as
good as Block.

Think of this: almost every time we talk about John D. MacDonald,
someone will suggest ever-so-mildly that he was a bit of a hack, but a
great author nevertheless. These things spice up the discussion and
might, just might, contain a grain of truth.

Here's the question: does anyone have anything bad to say about:

- Charles Willeford
- Fredric Brown
- William Campbell Gault
- Howard Browne?

Perhaps I don't move in the right circles, but all I've ever heard about
these authors is praise (I have also encountered quite a few people who
hadn't read them, especially Gault - a shame).

I finish this solid-potato salad with a comment on Michael Collins.
Count me among his fans; as far as I know, he is alive and well and
still active. Maybe Doug Greene, our resident encyclopedia, knows
details of Collins's current projects.

Regards,

Mario Taboada
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