<<Of course, we don't know if Chandler would've stopped
given a choice.>>
Let's go into the short story. If Chandler had written
nothing but his short stories, he would still be among the
greatest hardboiled writers. In fact, the stories collected
in Killer in the Rain would qualify him as a great writer,
without any reservations. There's magic there, hardboiled
magic, and a level of writing that hasn't been surpassed in
hardboiled fiction. He's endlessly rereadable (at least to
me).
Robert Parker is a fine writer who has written several
exciting PI books, but I wouldn't say he's as good as
Chandler. On the other hand, I'm not sure this is a point
arguing about. Parker has lots of fans, who buy his books. I
assume they like them. We shouldn't blame him for what he
isn't, though we can certainly criticize him when he doesn't
deliver.
Regards,
MrT
=====
"Don't just do something, sit there!" Thich Nhat Hanh
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