Re: RARA-AVIS: Edward Aaarons - More spies

dspurlock@humana.com
Fri, 30 Oct 1998 08:56:42 -0500 <<Add Aarons to the list of forgotten Gold Medalists who deserve at least
a look to see what's there. As long as you don't expect a Dostoyevski or
a Stevenson, you might be pleasantly surprised. I suspect that Spillane
fans would like Aarons.>>

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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