--- Eric Chambers <
nqexile@yahoo.com.au> wrote:
but for me there are just too many 87th
> Precinct books. Like Gardner's Perry Masons,
they
> are all likely very good, but I'm not in a hurry
to
> find out.
****************************************************** You
know, I wouldn't say that about Perry Mason. The problem with
Gardner is that I never remember them a week after I've read
them. For the most part I find Perry Mason mysteries poorly
plotted, terribly resolved--somtimes almost not resolved, the
book just stops, and the characters are paper thin. Gardner's
characters look, as he describes them, exactly like what they
are and they behave predictably. As a writer, too, Gardener
is too judgemental of his characters and his point of view is
tediously conventional, particularly for a writer who's
lawyer hero could get disbarred in every novel for the way he
treats evidence and truth. How is it he can always find a cab
when he wants one? How does he make every timed maneuver work
perfectly. Reality never enters Mason's world. He always know
exactly what to say.
The 87th Precinct novel are oposite of this in every respect.
The stories resolve in a completely different way than the
reader might expect them to in the beginning of the book. The
characters' behavior is seldom predictable. Frequently
characters who seem to be one thing turn out to be completely
different. Criminals may behave heroically, law enforcement
is often petty, jealous, and misuse their authority.
Characters are driven by lust, emotional quirks, and often
unexpected twists foil beautifully organized robberies or
raids. The crimes in McBain's books are so well described and
vivid I feel like I'm watching Court TV rather than reading
fiction. There may be a lot of 87th novels, but, man, are
they good!
Patrick King
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