Re: RARA-AVIS: The First Blocks Are the Deepest

BaxDeal@aol.com
Thu, 12 Feb 1998 18:31:45 -0500 (EST) >If I'm not mistaken, the first Scudder novel was either "The >Sins of the
>Fathers" or "In the Midst of Death", both 1976.

In my bookshelf, I had Time To Murder and Create lined up first, followed by
In the Midst of Death and then The Sins of the Fathers. But the publishing
histories seem to indicate Sins in August of 76, Midst in October and Murder
in January of 77.

It's been awhile since I read the early Scudders, but I would agree with
Kevin Smith's assessment of the series, dividing the work as pre-sobriety,
and post. Block got around Scudder's quitting drinking in the book following
8 Million Ways to Die by having it actually take place 10 years before. That
book was When the Sacred Ginmill Closes. The book that followed that, Out On
the Cutting Edge, stands out in my mind as truly a shocker.

John Lau
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