james.doherty@gsa.gov
Fri, 29 Oct 1999 16:14:12 -0500
Since Spillane is the author of the month, and Carroll John
Daly has been on so many posts, it seems appropriate to
recall that Daly was one of Spillane's favorite writers. In
the flush of his early success, Spillane even wrote a fan
letter to Daly acknowledging the influence of the Race
Williams stories on Spillane's Mike Hammer series.
It's often been noted that Ellery Queen, particularly in his
(their) earliest novels, was clearly influenced by S.S. Van
Dine, yet surpassed him as a stylist, a plotter, a
storyteller, and a characterizer. The same thing seems to be
true of Spillane (though I know there are many on this list
who'll disagree). Spillane, for all his debt to Daly, was, in
the end, a far superior performer.
JIM DOHERTY
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