Loved the post John. Some feedback (equally dense and
muddled)...
>(then again I suppose serial killer novels more
properly belong to the
>horror tradition than the h/b).
I tend to agree. Horror need not contain supernatural
elements. Horror is about monsters and fear. For a century or
so the vampire reigned as the main focus of fear and
fascination, the one who looks like us yet kills us and
attracts us because of it. But I don't think that works now.
If nothing else, that icon is worn out. We're all a bit more
literal. It's not easy to be scared by something that we
scoff at. But a man killing to plan is real. We see that kind
of thing on the news and it frightens us and thrills us. It's
not the killer that is fascinating, but the motivation.
That's where the horror comes in. Quick example from cinema
(sorry) - Seven. The fictional serial killer is the new
vampire. There, I've said it.
>The challenge [...] is to apply the things
I
>like about noir/hb [...] to novels that do
not
>neccessarily need to revolve around a dead body or
a
>zillion dollar coke deal.
This is interesting. I think you're on to something here.
Could you give just one example of this kind of challenge
being pulled off?
--- Charlie Williams
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