I laughed at Marianne's summary of McBain. She may not win
lots of fans here (something she seems to realize), but it's
true, McBain is a bit of a hack at times, and my reaction to
several of the 87th books is the same. And he keeps recylcing
the same descriptions, characters, plots, as though he
doesn't expect anyone to have ever read any of his previous
books. He was the king of cut-and-paste long before anyone
had heard of home computers. Like, is Isola described as a
lady in every third book in the series? Or does it just seem
like that?
I think the overall series itself is more impressive than any
individual books, sort of like a long-running and popular TV
show, something like LAW AND ORDER, solid and dependable,
with occasional flashes of brilliance, that nonetheless
succeeds in large part because of its familiarity and
rock-solid formula. Not that there's necessarily anything
wrong with that. I know it's only entertainment, but I like
it.
And I like McBain, or whatever name he uses. I particularly
like the Curt Cannon books, and many of his short stories are
well-worth tracking down. They may not rock your world, but
most will stay out of the trash until you finish reading
them.
--
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