Stewart + Ron, thanks for giving both these books a read. They're completely different styles of books and I can understand readers favoring one over the other. Pariah is much larger in scope, and is quite an explosive ride (and I'm eternally grateful to Serpents's Tail for publishing it--nobody else would've had the balls to do it) with Killer being a much quieter more meditative book. Killer is a far more accessible book, though, as Pariah is definitely going to (and has) appall some readers. Personally, I'm (slightly) more proud of what I accomplished with the writing with Killer, as the present and past story arcs ended up fitting together much better than I had expected.
Stewart, no pressure since the die has already been cast. The next 3 novels I have for publication are already scheduled. The next one out is The Caretaker of Lorne Field, which will be published this August. It's not crime, more of a mix of horror and an allegorical fable, and it's my personal favorite of my sold books, and probably the favorite of all my early readers who read all my books. I have high hopes for this one. It's my first book that would be rated PG if movie ratings were used (Killer a solid R, Pariah a solid NC-17), but also from the feedback I've been getting it's a book that could appeal to just about anyone--horror readers, fantasy, spec. fiction, literary, adults, kids.
I took Fast Lane out of print over a year ago. I'm hoping my publisher reprints it. I know my editor is supporting that. If that doesn't happen, I'll put out a cheap ebook version as I did with Bad Thoughts so readers can get my backlist. About my two ebooks--Bad Thoughts was the second book I wrote and was originally published in 2007. It's much different than my other books--a mix of crime and horror and very grim, but I also think the last 50 or so pages move at an exciting clip, maybe more so than any of my other books except Outsourced, which is out next year. There's a certain metaphysical/supernatural element which some readers accept and some don't, and from the feedback I've gotten that pretty much determines how much a reader is going to like it. My ebook, 21 Tales, is a collection of short stories which New Pulp Press will be publishing later this year. The stories in this collection cover a wide range of the hardboiled/noir genre, and they're the type of stories I used to like reading as a kid in Alfred Hitchcock paperback anthologies--all have some twist of one form or another.
--Dave
http://www.davezeltserman.com
--- In rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, Stewart Wilson <stewart@...> wrote:
>
> I read KILLER a couple of weeks ago, and PARIAH a month before that.
> I though both were fantastic, but I think that KILLER is a
> better-written book, and it really has me excited to read what Mr.
> Zeltserman puts out next (no pressure Dave). To be fair, the two
> books are in different styles, and I do prefer the style in which
> KILLER was written, but I also found the characters more interesting,
> the situations more realistic, and I preferred its narrative
> structure.
>
> Still actively looking for SMALL CRIMES and FAST LANE (might even
> break down and order them online, though I did buy two of his ebooks
> off Smashwords which I have yet to start reading).
>
> --Stewart
>
>
> On Thu, Jun 10, 2010 at 4:34 PM, Ron Clinton <clinton65@...> wrote:
> > I finished KILLER last night, and found it to be another fantastic book by
> > Dave. It even added -- to a slight degree -- elements from another niche
> > genre that I love, hitman novels. Obviously, that wasn't the focus, per se,
> > but that contextual element added to the other main components of the book
> > (the noirish, faltering quest for redemption, lone man struggling against
> > odd and the weight of society, etc.) made for a terrific package.
> >
> > I think I'd still say PARIAH is my favorite of the man-out-of-prison
> > trilogy, however. It was a close call, to say the least, and there are
> > elements of KILLER that I think do transcend PARIAH, but overall I think
> > PARIAH still stands as my favorite. But, in the end, PARIAH and KILLER are
> > both terrific works...that I preferred one fractionally more than the other
> > is like saying I like Rocky Road fudge more than walnut fudge...the degree
> > of preference is so small it's really not worth mentioning. ;-)
> >
> > I enthusiastically recommend this book -- especially to folks on this list.
> > Books this good and finely-tuned to our particular preferences are tough to
> > find...like a killer's stiletto blade to the heart (a lil' in-reference for
> > those who have read the book), this one hits the target dead-on.
> >
> > Ron C.
>
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