> : Take out the gunplay, slow down the pace by
telling the story in third
> : person and there is surprisingly little difference
between hardboiled
> : and other forms of crime fiction.
>
> Surely not, unless you boil it down to "a crime was
committed (and perhaps
> solved)."
The "proof" of the flaw in the "take out stuff" argument is
in history. This writing was different enough to really
influence several generations of authors and make a
remarkable impression on western culture.
Which is why this "Agatha Christie wins best writer of the
ceuntury at B'con" thing shocks the hell out of me. She's
read still, sure, but people immediately think "mystery
writer". But Hammett and Chandler, those guys invoke much
much more.
Neil Smith
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