Sharon wrote that she skips:
pages of car chases, fist and foot fights, descriptions
> of torture or the tortured, and laugh out loud when
the hero survives a
dive
> off a cliff in a car that bursts into flames, to
bound back up the cliff
in
> a single leap, to jump on the car of the escaping
thugs, where he clings
to
> the back bumper while rogue cops in the accomplice
car shoot him several
> times. But he only lets go when they reach their
destination where he
jumps
> off, breaking both legs but only one arm, and rolls
faster than the speed
of
> light down a hill while pulling out his cell phone
to call -- not the
police
> to tell them where he is -- but his girlfriend to
save her before the cops
> torture her. And he lives to star in more storied
after that. I skip those
> too.
I never read that one, but I'd like to.
I skip the parts where the hero tell all about his/her
political agenda, the plight of the homeless, how her/his
grandmother saved him/her from alcoholism, how his/her buddy
married "the girl/guy," and all the parts about how he/she
"feels." (Being PC can get tedious)
The reason I am here is because I found a place to learn
about authors I never would have heard about elsewhere.
I sometimes tire of the focus on minutae. But I read every
posting.
To me, HB is simply the most satisfying of all fiction. I
like the action, I like the darkness and the grit. It's
direct. The best HB writing is the sparest, like Richard
Stark's. And that's the most economical writing I have found
in any fiction. Ok, Hemingway was pretty spare and direct.
But some consider him HB too.
The cliche about "ordinary people under extraordinary
circumstances" describes what I like best in the plots. I am
pretty tired of books about monster serial killers. Enough is
enough. I prefer stories with a single, seemingly
unremarkable little murder that leads to a bigger story. Or
maybe a nice armed robbery gone sour. Missing person tales
have lots of potential for interesting mischief too.
Finally, I am always impressed by the way some HB writers can
create three-dimmensional characters largely through
dialogue. McBain and Elmore Leonard are masters at this. I
wish I could do it. Keep thinking that if I read enoght of
this stuff, some will rub off on me and I'll be able to do it
too. Talent by osmosis.
Tim Oliver
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