Well, I've actually been skipping back and forth between
Larry McMurtry's awesome LONESOME DOVE and a bunch of hb
novels. Most of them didn't do too much for me, but, well,
thems the breaks.
ACT OF LOVE -- Joe Lansdale. Very much wanted to read this
one -- I admire Lansdale without reservation, and this had
quite a reputation at one time for being excessively bloody
and violent. Finally found a copy and truthfully was rather
disappointed. This one was Lansdale's first novel and as he
sort of confesses in his afterword, it's rather purple. Also
rather earnest and solemn -- Lansdale says that one of his
main influences at the time was early Dean Koontz, and yeah,
it shows. (I don't like Dean Koontz).
DEAD CITY -- Shane Stevens Another one I was very curious
about, ever since Stephen King mentioned his name in the back
of THE DARK HALF. This is a very typical Mob story -- not
badly written, but nothing particularly remarkable about it,
either. I have Steven's BY REASON OF INSANITY in another
stack -- hopefully that's better.
WALK A BLACK WIND -- Michael Collins My first Dan Fortune
novel. Starts out strong, fuzzes out about 2/3 the way
through, then picks up again in the final pages. I can't
really recommend this one, though Fortune is a fascinating
creation and I'd like to read more in the series. Any
suggestions?
FINAL NOTICE -- Joe Gores My first in this series. Maybe I
caught this on a bad day, but this seemed like a pale
imitation of the 87th Precinct books. Does anyone have any
suggestions here, too?
TOLL CALL -- Stephen Greenleaf Greenleaf is a favorite of
mine, one of the few writers who seem to use Ross Macdonald's
influence well. Almost done with this, but this is a
typically classy, literate, and very believable plot. I like
how Greenleaf manages to make his points in these books
without too much sermonizing (ala Parker).
doug
===== Doug Bassett
dj_bassett@yahoo.com
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