Elvis and Joe and Chili and Raylan

Crais and Leonard

Let’s talk about a couple writers whose work I like but I haven’t read much of yet. The first is Robert Crais, primarily known for the Elvis Cole and Joe Pike series of detective thrillers. Cole is a wisecracking PI, and Pike is his mysterious, tough-guy best friend. On the surface it would be easy to think that Cole and Pike are just LA-based knockoffs of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser and Hawk. But the similarities don’t extend much past that surface. While Parker’s characters exist in almost a stasis, Crais’ evolve and grow and have to deal with events that have permanent consequences. Also, while Parker never explored Hawk in his own book, Crais has taken a few to explore what makes his mercenary tick.

(I probably don’t have to tell you this if you’ve read this blog for a little while, but I’m not knocking Parker’s writing, just pointing out the differences.

While Crais wrote seven Cole and Pike novels before L.A. Requiem, it is this eighth book that was recommended to me as a good starting point. Crais apparently hit his groove with this one, and it really stood out from the previous books. I have yet to read those early books, but I do intend to sooner rather than later.

The other writer is Elmore Leonard. Some people might be surprised to know that most of his library hasn’t made it to my list yet. There’s a good chance that the film and TV adaptations of Leonard’s work are better known than his novels, since “Get Shorty,” Justified,” and Jackie Brown” are all three popular adaptations of his work. But Leonard’s prolific career in novels and short stories is nothing to sneeze at. His 45 books and numerous short stories displayed his gritty storytelling and keen ear for dialogue, and he certainly didn’t waste a word when he didn’t need to.

I’ve only read a smattering of Leonard’s books (Get Shorty, Maximum Bob, Freaky Deaky, and one or two others I just can’t remember), I certainly plan to rectify that soon. I certainly have plenty to choose from.

2021 Top 10

Today I bring you the Top 10 books I read in 2021:

10: Her Final Words, by Brianna Labuskes

9: The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton

8: Velocity, by Dean Koontz

7: Violet, by Scott Thomas

6: The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama

5: One of Us is Next, by Karen McManus

4: I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are, by Rachel Bloom

3: The Family Plot, by Megan Collins

2: Malibu Rising, by Taylor Jenkins Reid

1: The Last House on Needless Street, by Catriona Ward

I hope you find something you enjoy!

Men, men, manly men

James Bond and Spenser

Do you remember when I made goals to finish reading Robert B. Parker’s Spenser novels and reread all of Ian Fleming’s James Bond books? Well, I got through all of Bond in September and read my last unread Spenser novel earlier this week. What did I learn? My big takeaway from the Bond books is they were even more sexist and racist than I remember them, as much a product of Fleming’s as they were of the times. As for the Spenser books, Parker was certainly more willing to play around in his early books than later on. That said, I haven’t read most of those books in a good long while, so maybe I’ll make that a reading challenge someday. Of course, I already have plenty lined up for next year. I’ll get to that, and everything else I read this year, in another post.

Shaken, Not Stirred

Ian Fleming

It would be safe to say that virtually every adult in the English-speaking world, and almost certainly the rest, has heard of James Bond, British secret agent 007, the glamorous spy with the high-tech gadgets who saves the day while killing over-the-top villains and romancing beautiful women. The Bond series is, after all, one of the most popular movie franchises of all time. While I do enjoy the movies a great deal, I also enjoy Ian Fleming’s novels quite a bit.

Ian Fleming, the author of the Bond novels, spent the first part of his career in British Naval Intelligence, and was a key figure in several military operations in World War II. When he switched to writing novels, he brought a great deal of that knowledge to his books. They were therefore more grounded in the spycraft of the time, in more realism than one might expect.

It’s also interesting to note that Fleming created Bond to be an intentionally dull protagonist who had interesting things happen to him. It’s a curious literary choice, but it worked well for him. In the 1950s and ’60s, his books were some of the biggest sellers in the world. John F. Kennedy even said From Russia, With Love was his favorite book.

I first read this series fifteen or twenty years ago. I actually read them in order, as I tend to do sometimes. I enjoyed them not in spite of their differences from the films, but because of them. They were all one unique voice, and that they didn’t have what had become the rather formulaic elements we got in the films. I also like how grounded in reality they were, and while some of the films adhered closely to the source material, others were drastically different. If I’m not mistaken, the only thing Moonraker the movie had in common with Moonraker the book was the title.

I will note that those books were very much products of their time, with story elements and plot points that certainly wouldn’t be welcome in books published today. It has been some time since I have read them, though, so I can’t speak to particulars.

Fleming only wrote 14 James Bond novels and short stories before he died, but he left behind a legacy. Many other writers have written their own, authorized novels in the series, but I haven’t red those yet. I may, someday, but I hold those originals with a particular fondness.

I would like to reread them all again, to see how well they hold up. Maybe I’ll even do it this year. It’s certainly doable, but after last year’s challenge and my plan to finish off another favorite series this year, I may hold off for a little while.

The results, to use a terrible joke, will not be for my eyes only.

And Then There Were None

Agatha Christie's books

Back in June, I challenged myself to read all of Agatha Christie’s books by the end of the year. Last week, I completed this goal. Eighty novels and short story collections and two nonfiction books. This does not include the books she wrote under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, but 82 books seemed like more than enough.

What did I learn from this? First, her most popular books – The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and Murder on the Orient Express, to name two – are popular for a reason. But she also wrote many that, while not as well known, I thought reached a similar level of quality. Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? and Endless Night are just two of them.

Christie was also someone who incorporated her life experiences into her work. While most people think of her stories as all set in quaint English villages, and most of them were, she also worked her experiences in the Middle East with her archeologist husband into a number of her stories.

They were also very clever, too. While someone who wrote 80+ books could see themselves getting repetitive, Christie avoided that for the most part. In fact, there were some cases where I assumed the book I was reading was a retread of another, only to be proved wrong before long.

But for all their good points, there are some negatives that should be addressed. First, she dropped some very casual racism into her stories (and, infamously, the original title of And Then There Were None). While it’s worth pointing out that the racism faded as the years went on, it was still present in a great deal of her work. Second, sexism seemed ingrained in her work, since it almost certainly was in her life and the society around her. Whether those issues are enough to disqualify her work or should be read with caveats as being products of their time, I’ll leave to other debates.

There’s no doubt that Christie is an incredible, influential writer, and I’m glad I spent this year going through her bibliography. I’m not sure I would commit to such a huge reading challenge in such a short time span again, though, as towards the end it felt more like work than enjoyment. If you decide to follow in my footsteps, I recommend giving yourself more than half a year.

So that’s that. Thanks to my grandmother for being such an influence, even if it was so many years after the fact. I had an enjoyable, mystery-filled year.

The Duality of Connection

In late May I wrote a short essay called “The Duality of Connection,” in which I addressed my thoughts on the disconnect between online and in-person interactions during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. This essay was published today at PlanetScumm.space as part of their “Living Through Science Fiction” series. Eventually, the entire series will be published in one charity anthology, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to Doctors Without Borders. For now, though, you can read all the pieces published to date on their web site.

Three authors, three recommendations

As it is Halloween, I wanted to recommend several authors who write thrillers and/or horror stories you might enjoy.

Lauren Beukes: Ms. Beukes has written urban fantasy and horror in prose, comics, and television. I’ve read nearly all her work and enjoyed it. Her novel “The Shining Girls” is excellent and is a personal favorite.

Megan Collins: Ms. Collins is a relatively new writer with two published novels under her belt and a third due out next year. Both “The Winter Sister” and “Behind the Red Door” are expertly-plotted thrillers with well-developed characters.

Tananarive Due: I have only read one of Ms. Due’s books – “The Good House” – but I enjoyed it a great deal and have every intention of reading her other books.

And may you have twice the number

Stephen King

Everyone has heard of Stephen King. Most people have read at least one of his books or seen at least one his movies. Those that haven’t know him by reputation: the king of horror, the master of scares, and so on.

I myself hadn’t read more than one or two of his short stories until a few years ago, when I picked up the first “Dark Tower” book at an airport. I quickly read the rest of the series, then read as many of the rest of his books as I could. I have read about 40 of his books, leaving about 20 or so left to get through.

It’s easy for those who haven’t read King’s work to dismiss it as gore fests or mindless terror. That is, after all, all horror is, is it not? But what I have learned reading his books is that scares mean nothing without love, without caring for other people, and it’s his interpersonal relationships that I find most enjoyable to read. Whether it’s found families like the Ka-Tet or the Losers Club, best friends like Dennis and Arnie from “Christine,” or communities like Mother Abagail’s followers in “the Stand,” King writes people who matter to each other, who would do anything to protect each other from the darkness in the world, even at the cost of their own life. And that’s just the horror books. Many of his stories don’t have supernatural elements or aren’t designed to inspire terror, but instead are written to show the resilience of people in tough situations.

I intend to read the rest of King’s books soon, as now more than ever, we need to be reminded to look for the light in the midst of all the darkness.

Long days and pleasant nights.

Time enough at last

Approximately 140 million books have been published in all of modern history. Between 600,000 and 1 million new books are published each year. This year I am on track to read more than 100 books, but in a normal year I read about 50 or so. At that rate, if all new publication ceased, it would take me about 2.8 million years to read every published book.

I might have to pick up the pace somewhat.

Spenser for Hire

Robert B. Parker

A number of years ago my best friend, who I was living with at the time, recommended I read Robert B. Parker’s Spenser novels. He and his father were both fans, and knowing my sensibilities, he thought I, too, would enjoy them.

He was correct. I picked one almost at random from the bookstore shelf within a few days. I bought many more after that, soon owning nearly the entire series. Time and circumstances prevented me from completing my collection, though, and there remain five I still haven’t read, nor have I read Parker’s Jesse Stone or Sunny Randall novels.

Spenser, for those of you who don’t know, is a Boston-based private investigator who solves crimes with the help of his best friend, a career criminal named Hawk, his life partner, psychiatrist Susan Silverman, and Lt. Martin Quirk and Sgt. Frank Belson of the Boston PD.

Spenser stands somewhat apart from other literary private detectives, at least those from his origins in the 1970s, in that he is very clearly a tough guy who doesn’t fall prey to masculine stereotypes. He understands the equal value of a physical workout and a night at the ballet. He treats women as equals. He’s a gourmet cook. He knows not every crime can be solved with his fists. Spenser, truly, was a thinly-disguised version of Parker himself, with many elements of Parker’s life, from his wife to his dogs, bleeding into his fictional world in one way or another.

Spenser, channeling his creator, is also a razor-sharp wit. Parker’s ability to write dialogue was far and away his greatest strength, and it was a rare case when I didn’t laugh out loud at least once while reading his characters’ words.

Parker loved Boston, too. The locations in his novels weren’t fictional, but were places he himself had visited while writing. It was said that the best thing to happen to a restaurant was for Robert B. Parker to dine there, as its appearance in his books led to a notable bump in business.

Parker’s work was popular for his entire career, starting with the first book, “The Godwulf Manuscript,” in 1973, all the way to “Sixkill” in 2011. The series even spawned the TV show from which I got this blog’s title, starring Robert Urich as Spenser and Avery Brooks as Hawk. While the books became somewhat formulaic as Parker got older, he can be forgiven that, given how many other strengths they had.

Parker died, quite literally, at his writing desk, the way many writers wish they could go. Four books were published posthumously, as well as one he left incomplete. He left behind, it goes without saying, an impressive body of literature and the legacy of an incredible work ethic.

I do intend to read those last five Spenser novels, plus Parker’s other two series. I’ll probably wait until 2021 to so, though. I have, after all, set myself a rather ambitious reading goal for this year.