Just finished this a couple days ago. It was good in certain
areas and bad in others. I thought the characters were not
bad. Typical of some detective novels, the characters come
and go and you never get a strong feeling for what makes them
tick.
Here's a scene of violence:
"The upswing was quick and venomous, the leather sap seemed
to explode with menace under the glow of the overhead light,
and Sader knew that the next moment this combination of
muscle and nerve and shot-weighted sap was going to crush him
to a pulp. But in that moment his gun splintered the
quiet."
What do you guys think of that? I think it's poor, bordering
on pathetic. It sounds to me like a cozy version of violence.
Hitchens should have paid more attention to Hammett. "Seemed
to explode?" "Splintered the quiet?" How many words would
Hammett need to describe this scene? Here's my Hammett ver-
sion:
"A leather sap coming fast. His roscoe sneezed
kerchow."
Alright, Hammett and Bellem. ;-)
miker
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