Very true. What I meant to say was that in reading the AHMMs
of twn-thirty
years ago, I found the shorter stories much better in the
hard-boiled arena.
The longer stories, in AHMM of that era, the onger stories
were almost
always gentler stories of involved character sketches with
little or no
external conflict. Now, of course, though I still read and
enjoy AHMM and
EQMM, I can't find anything resembling tough, direct
action.
I didn't mean that long stories had to be character-driven.
Sorry if I
implied it.
I recently bought THE MIDNIGHT RAYMOND CHANDLER because it
contains the
short "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", which I hadn't read. The
huge book also
contains the essay "The Simple Art of Murder", in which
Chnadler says, "As I
look back on my own stories it would be absurd if I did not
wish they had
been better. But if they had been much better they would not
have been
published." Wel, maybe that's why I have a hard time finding
stories I like.
If they could only be so good in the pulp days, no wonder I
can't get them
today.
BTW, right after my last post, in which I said that even
Hardboiled Magazine
is tending toward characterization, I received Issue 23. The
first thing I
did was read two excellent stories. The Spillane, of course,
but also a good
story by A. E. Holliday. Both great. It's a good issue
overall, except
>
>Some talk of movies this week. I saw one last week
that's a fun period
>piece of sorts, and well in the genre: _SHAFT_(1971?)
It also raises, I
>think, that earlier topic of "social critique" in the
hard-boiled. The
>film nods at, then backs away from, issues of drugs,
Black nationalism,
>etc. In the end, you're all right if you wear slick
clothes, have a
>cool pad, etc.
>
>Best,
>Doug Levin
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