It's a serious treat to hear from you, personally. I had
heard of your books before this, but this is the first time
I've read one and I'm blown away by it. The persistent
conflict between your characters, both good-natured and not
so well-intended, gives the story an edge beyond the basic
plot, and the plot is wonderfully intricate and
well-conceived. I don't know how you do it. Your portrait of
Harry, an admirable man whose best qualities are his worst
flaws, is so involving even, as I've done, jumping into the
middle of the series, I'm amazed it took me this long to find
you. I'm going to charge through the rest of the books. ECHO
PARK is easily the best thriller I've read in the past year.
I'm telling everyone about it and, of course they're saying,
'You mean YOU didn't know about Michael Connelly?"
You're in the Parthenon of living hard boiled fiction.
Patrick King
--- michaelconnelly187 <
michaelconnelly187@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Hi, I wanted to say thank you for considering
my
> stories for the month. It's a pretty cool
> honor. I also want to thank Jon for the
> deconstruction in 5 parts. I don't think I've
ever
> seen such a long analysis of my stuff. It's
humbling
> and enlightening, very useful to see
> every now and then how these stories are viewed.
Its
> a very strange position to be in. From
> my angle I know what went into the books, what
sort
> of thinking and plans I had. I also
> have the big picture of where I am going --
in
> general. And its rare and cool to have
this
> sort of feedback from the other side of the wall,
so
> to speak.
> In terms of my career I would say I have been
very
> lucky. The popularity of some of the
> early books has given me a lot of freedom to do
what
> I want. Its allowed me some
> experimentation but for the most part it has
allowed
> me to keep my head down and write
> without worry. That to me is the most valuable
thing
> I have going.
> In one part of this ongoing essay it is
suggested
> that Harry Bosch is my bullet and I
believe
> that is true. If I'm going to say anything as
a
> writer or leave anything behind I think it
will
> be through Harry Bosch. This is probably why I
try
> to weave all the books toward Bosch.
> Either immediately or eventually I connect
the
> stories to Bosch. The whole thing is a
Bosch
> painting to me.
> But in the success of a series there lies
many
> traps. I think some of the comments on
this
> discussion show this. Any deviation from the
comfort
> of the series can be viewed cynically.
> A book like Chasing the Dime is seen as cashing
in
> on my name. Whereas to me it was an
> experimental effort to stretch the bounds of what
I
> had done in the past. It was also an
> fictional exploration of something that had
happened
> to me and therefore was very close.
> It was not a glibly plotted commercial venture.
In
> fact, I knew it would sell less than a
> Bosch book but I wrote it anyway because it
was
> burning to be told. So this is what I
mean
> about being on one side of the wall and being
able
> to put my ear to it and hear what is
> said on the other side. It's fun and disarming
at
> the same time.
> There were a few comments here that were
very
> positive about A Darkness More Than
> Night. i really appreciate these because this is
one
> of my favorite books but it got the
> poorest reviews when it was published. Perhaps
now
> that it sits in the middle of the series
> it fits better. I don't know. But thanks for
the
> positive comments.
> I am not sure what my role is here but I will
hang
> around till the end of the month and will
> try to comment or answer questions if there are
any
> posed to me.
> Once again thanks for putting me in the middle
of
> discussions about so many of my
> heroes -- from Cain and Chandler to Willeford
to
> Estleman and on.
>
>
>
>
> --- In
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, BaxDeal@...
> wrote:
> >
> > Connelly has written 3 more Harry Bosch
novels
> since restoring the character
> > to the LAPD. now a member of the
elite
> Open/Unsolved Unit, the detective
> > pursues his mission of speaking for the dead,
for
> making "everyone count, or no
> > one counts" with the renewed zeal of the
rested
> >
> > if Bosch's philosophy of love "you only get
one
> bullet" is true of authors,
> > Harry Bosch is most certainly Michael
Connelly's
> bullet. THE CLOSERS and ECHO
> > PARK are representative of the Bosch tradition,
as
> good as any written in the
> > author's early period. notable for the fact
that
> while thematically similar
> > to the series as a whole, each turn never feels
as
> if Connelly is simply
> > retracing his steps
> >
> > the most recent work, THE OVERLOOK is different
in
> that it seems to unfold in
> > real time. the urgent story involving
terrorism
> and Homeland Security
> > continues Connelly's practice of
utilizing
> characters introduced in other works,
> > reuniting Bosch with FBI agent Rachel Walling
from
> The Poet, who he became
> > involved with in The Narrows. The Overlook
also
> differs from the earlier Bosch
> > novels in that it was created as a serial for
The
> New York Times Sunday
> > Magazine. the author then added new material
to
> the story in expanding it to novel
> > form
> >
> > even though reading The Overlook is akin
to
> watching an episode of "24", it
> > is still at its essence, a Harry Bosch
mystery.
> two books earlier however,
> > between publication of The Closers and Echo
Park,
> Connelly broke new ground,
> > stepping into the realm of the legal thriller
with
> THE LINCOLN LAWYER
> >
> > written in the first person from the point of
view
> of mercenary defense
> > attorney Mickey Haller, the title refers to
the
> character's use of his rotating
> > fleet of vehicles as his mobile office as
he
> motors to the various courthouses
> > scattered across Los Angeles county.
Haller's
> motto: "don't do the crime if
> > you can't pay for my time"
> >
> > the story is populated with characters
with
> colorful nicknames, as is the
> > author's propensity. a biker client named
Casey
> is known in his greasy circle
> > as Hard Case. Haller's first ex-wife
Maggie
> McPherson, a prosecuting
> > attorney, is called Maggie McFierce over
on
> Haller's side of the bench, and guilts
him
> > into spending more time with their 5 year
old
> daughter. Haller also employs
> > his second ex-wife Lorna Taylor as his
case
> manager, has a former client
> > chauffering him around to work off his legal
bills
> and lives life at a mobile,
> > plugged-in, 21st century pace
> >
> > Connelly brings his well-honed plotting skills
and
> emotional depth along for
> > the ride, and writes about the subtle
gamesman
> and powerplays of the
> > criminal defense system with the veracity of
an
> actual practitioner. in the morally
> > compromised Mickey Haller, he has created
a
> character every bit as vivid and
> > compelling as the haunted Harry
Bosch
> >
> > after 13 installments spaced across 16
years.
> neither Bosch nor Connelly have
> > demonstrated any signs of slowing down.
the
> character however, ages in real
> > time. and in The Black Ice, Harry Bosch's
year
> of birth is pegged as 1950,
> > making Harry Bosch either 57 or 58 years
old
> today, so mission or no, time is
> > running out on the character. in an
interview
> back in 1999, the author
> > expressed the hope that he had another half
dozen
> Bosch novels in him. in the
> > Georgie Lewis interview in 2002, he expressed
a
> similar sentiment
> >
> > that was five books ago. could the end
possibly
> be in sight? six years
> > younger than Harry Bosch, Michael
Connelly
> exhibits no signs of slowing down
> >
> > his next book, THE BRASS VERDICT, due in
October,
> teams Harry Bosch with
> > Mickey Haller. in addition to the case, the
two
> men have something in common
> >
> > Mickey's mother was the second wife of the
late
> celebrity attorney, J.
> > Michael Haller
> >
> > in his second novel, The Black Ice,
Connelly
> revealed that Bosch's prostitute
> > mother Marjorie Lowe was J. Michael's client
and
> lover
> >
> > John Lau
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > **************
> > It's Tax Time! Get tips, forms, and advice on
AOL
> Money &
> > Finance.
> >
> (http://money.aol.com/tax?NCID=aolprf00030000000001)
> >
>
=== message truncated ===
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