Actually my favorite part of the polls is the comments, not
who placed
first or second or 33rd. And I usually ask people to nominate
things like
the worst and most overlooked (of course, if too many people
say the same
thing's overlooked, is it?)
Sometime later this weekend, I'll be updating the site (new
cover, files
and a new P.I. Poll). The poll this time around will be on
private eye
comics (that includes strips, BD's and graphic novels), in
large part
because of the discussion on this list.
Anyone who has any suggestions for questions is welcome to
e-mail me
privately (as soon as you can) at kvnsmith@colba.net .
I think it'll be a very interesting topic, since I'm sure
there's a lot of
you who haven't heard of a lot of this stuff, and I'm dying
to hear from
all you Europeans about some of the really great BDs I've
missed. I'll be
adding files on comic book eyes all month.
And James M. Cain? Yep, Double Indemnity and Postman rock.
But some (most?)
of his other stuff is pretty lame, more soap opera than
anything.
And I agree-books are getting way too long. At their best
Hammett and
Chandler and Cain could cram in more good stuff in 200 pages
(or less) than
some of todays young turks are giving us in twice that space.
Of course,
size doesn't matter (that what all the girls say), but a lot
of books seems
to be written to fill a size, not sized to fit the story. If
I want to read
a good 200 page story, don't give it to me hidden in 450
pages. There have
been several recent books I've read, all good sellers, all
pretty
well-received, that I've felt would have been much more
enjoyable if they'd
been tightened up a bit, and a few extraneous scenes lopped
off (or,
considering this list, boiled down). They're not necessarily
bad, just too
long.
**************************************************
Kevin Smith
It's summertime, and the living is cheesy...What are you
reading this summer?
Tell us in this month's P.I. Poll on The Thrilling Detective
Web Site
http://www.colba.net/~kvnsmith/thrillingdetective/
Now with fresh fiction monthly....
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