Yes, they were books for children and for me I couldn’t give them away. But actually that’s what I did. I put some in one of my weekly boxes that I used to send to my American bookseller colleague in Easthampton, Massachusetts, and they sold like hot cakes over there, and he asked to take as many as I could send!
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Easthampton is, or at least it was (I haven’t been there for over 20 years), like Hay-on-Wye in the UK, full of bookshops. It’s a beautiful New England city, floods of book lovers descend on the place (especially from Boston). You have to remember that in pre-internet days the supply of British books was minimal and any stocks were avidly sought after by collectors. I didn’t read any of those Roger Moore books so I cannot comment on the literary merit of their contents, but my late friend who owned a bookshop there was the perfect gentleman, I never saw him without a jacket, bow tie and pocket watch, and he certainly would have never cast aspersions on the reading abilities of the local population or anywhere else.
Books are for everyone, whatever tastes anyone has.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
I know you think so, but actually pretentiousness is not a redeeming quality @chrisno1 Your responses are also easy to second guess, so I will write your response to this for you - “Pretentious? Moi?”
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,940MI6 Agent
Pretentiousness and thriller writing or indeed thriller reading don't really go hand in hand. At least that's been the case with the likes of Ian Fleming, Sir Kingsley Amis and John Gardner. As Raymond Chandler said in his 1958 radio conversation with Fleming, "Thriller writing is very below the salt." Can the thriller reader therefore be very far behind?
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
For more of Chandler's thoughts on this and other subjects can I suggest "Raymond Chandler Speaking", a fascinating compilation inc his thoughts not only on writing but contemporary Hollywood and other subjects.
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,940MI6 Agent
Thanks @Barbel. I have an ex-library copy of that book somewhere that I bought second hand years ago. I remember it was very good and had tips on how to write a good crime/thriller novel. It also had excerpts from some of his letters and I think it had the four chapters of The Poodle Springs Mystery Chandler had completed prior to his death in 1959.
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
I listened to Journey Into Space on a BBC radio app many years ago and very good it was, the book is marvellous reading too. The Patrick Moore book is for teenagers but perfectly readable for adults as well. I haven’t read the Bloch books, but I’d like to.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
I vaguely recall JOURNEY INTO SPACE being replayed on BBC Radio 4 some years ago and it was quite a decent show. I didn't catch all the episodes. I had that Pearl Buck paperback for many years but never read it. It ended up in a charity shop. Sorry!
I didn’t read The Devil Never Sleeps either. I sold a few copies, though 😁
The Journey Into Space radio serial was famous in its day, it created quite a stir at the time.
Sci-fi…Noir…Sleaze…War…Tarzan…
Ray Barry (real name Denis Hughes) is a long forgotten name associated with pulp sci-fi novels, he was under contract to churn out a book a month for publishers Curtis. The hectic schedule meant that the prose often wasn’t polished up before printing, leaving the books to be a lesser product than they could have been. Denis Hughes was a prolific author writing under many pseudonyms, as he once said, “It beats working for a living, and gives me a comfortable lifestyle.”
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
He certainly could have been more highly regarded if he had had the time to refine his work. He ended up writing for DC Thomson comics such as Hotspur, Victor and Warlord.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Comments
Those Roger Moore books are for kids, right ? Agreed The Maltese Falcon is a terrible representation.
Yes, they were books for children and for me I couldn’t give them away. But actually that’s what I did. I put some in one of my weekly boxes that I used to send to my American bookseller colleague in Easthampton, Massachusetts, and they sold like hot cakes over there, and he asked to take as many as I could send!
No accounting for taste - maybe the American literary pallet is not significantly developed in Easthampton, Massachusetts.
Easthampton is, or at least it was (I haven’t been there for over 20 years), like Hay-on-Wye in the UK, full of bookshops. It’s a beautiful New England city, floods of book lovers descend on the place (especially from Boston). You have to remember that in pre-internet days the supply of British books was minimal and any stocks were avidly sought after by collectors. I didn’t read any of those Roger Moore books so I cannot comment on the literary merit of their contents, but my late friend who owned a bookshop there was the perfect gentleman, I never saw him without a jacket, bow tie and pocket watch, and he certainly would have never cast aspersions on the reading abilities of the local population or anywhere else.
Books are for everyone, whatever tastes anyone has.
Oh, well, if he wears a pocket watch that's gotta be okay 👌
I know you think so, but actually pretentiousness is not a redeeming quality @chrisno1 Your responses are also easy to second guess, so I will write your response to this for you - “Pretentious? Moi?”
🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩
Pretentiousness and thriller writing or indeed thriller reading don't really go hand in hand. At least that's been the case with the likes of Ian Fleming, Sir Kingsley Amis and John Gardner. As Raymond Chandler said in his 1958 radio conversation with Fleming, "Thriller writing is very below the salt." Can the thriller reader therefore be very far behind?
For more of Chandler's thoughts on this and other subjects can I suggest "Raymond Chandler Speaking", a fascinating compilation inc his thoughts not only on writing but contemporary Hollywood and other subjects.
Thanks @Barbel. I have an ex-library copy of that book somewhere that I bought second hand years ago. I remember it was very good and had tips on how to write a good crime/thriller novel. It also had excerpts from some of his letters and I think it had the four chapters of The Poodle Springs Mystery Chandler had completed prior to his death in 1959.
Sci-fi…Bloch…Westerns…Sleaze…Tie-in…
The Patrick Moore book is very sought after, the second of a trilogy, and prices are routinely over £100 each.
Would like to read the first four titles; the others, not so much.
I listened to Journey Into Space on a BBC radio app many years ago and very good it was, the book is marvellous reading too. The Patrick Moore book is for teenagers but perfectly readable for adults as well. I haven’t read the Bloch books, but I’d like to.
I vaguely recall JOURNEY INTO SPACE being replayed on BBC Radio 4 some years ago and it was quite a decent show. I didn't catch all the episodes. I had that Pearl Buck paperback for many years but never read it. It ended up in a charity shop. Sorry!
I didn’t read The Devil Never Sleeps either. I sold a few copies, though 😁
The Journey Into Space radio serial was famous in its day, it created quite a stir at the time.
Sci-fi…Noir…Sleaze…War…Tarzan…
Ray Barry (real name Denis Hughes) is a long forgotten name associated with pulp sci-fi novels, he was under contract to churn out a book a month for publishers Curtis. The hectic schedule meant that the prose often wasn’t polished up before printing, leaving the books to be a lesser product than they could have been. Denis Hughes was a prolific author writing under many pseudonyms, as he once said, “It beats working for a living, and gives me a comfortable lifestyle.”
Long forgotten is right. Does he deserve to be? Could he have done better work if not tied to a tight timetable?
He certainly could have been more highly regarded if he had had the time to refine his work. He ended up writing for DC Thomson comics such as Hotspur, Victor and Warlord.
Sleaze…The Saint…
Sleaze and the Saint. What a heady mixture! 😃
Those are fabulous 😁
Glad you liked the cocktail @Silhouette Man 😁
Thank you @Sir Miles