Aarons was an accomplished pulp writer. You'll find his short
stories in a
lot of old pulp magazines, often backing up hero-character
pulp novels like
The Shadow or Doc Savage. He also wrote under the name
Ronns.
I read Spillane in high school. Can't read him now. But
Aarons' Sam Durrell
novels for Gold Medal -- with their Cold War spy trappings --
are quite
enjoyable and very readable. His writing style has that
effortless flow I
associate with the better Gold Medal writers, like John D.
McDonald or
Charles Williams, though Aaron's tales usually move at a
quicker clip than
the books of the latter two writers.
While some will argue that Donald Hamilton is a better
writer, I think
Aarons kept the quality and tone of his Sam Durrell novels
more consistent
over a longer period than Hamilton managed with Matt
Helm.
-- Duane
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