: As for Block, do yourself a favor. Had you read the books
leading up
: to Eight Million Ways To Die? It's the pivotal book in the
series,
: and it's best read with an appreciation of the events that
lead up
: to it.
I haven't read anything that comes before it. It was clear a
lot
had happened before, what with him being off the force and
trying to
quit drinking, and Block gives enough background to fill you
in on
major past events. I do plan on picking up the rest of the
Scudder
books, and I'll try to work up from the start. If there's a
first one
about James Leo Motley, I'll know how he ends up, but I don't
think
it'll hurt me too much.
: In fact, the series could be divided by "Eight." I've
always found
: the first books much bleaker (noirish? in tone) while
everything
: since a tad lighter (even as the body count climbs, and the
sickos
: and psychos come a-crawling out of the woodwork).
That fits with the two I've read: _Eight_ was more depressing
than _A
Ticket to the Boneyard_, which comes later. More
introspection, and
drinking. Does Scudder always read the papers and think about
the
murders that happened the previous day? That in itself is
pretty
grim.
: And if it's not too off-topic, tell us more about this
Block
: newsletter.
Gee, no, I don't think it's off-topic. I was searching the
web on
"lawrence block" to see what I could find, and turned
up
<URL:
http://www.totalweb.co.uk/tangledweb/authors/lblocknews1.html>
which is his newsletter from February 1997. The last line is,
"This
now-and-then newsletter, free and worth every penny, is
available to
anyone who wants it. Send your address to Lawrence Block, 299
WEst
12th #12-D, New York NY 10014 fax: 212.675.4341 or
email
lawbloc@aol.com." I've heard of other mystery writers doing
this, but
it always seemed to be those wretched cozy writers who'd tell
you
about their cats.
Bill
--
William Denton | Toronto, Canada | http://www.vex.net/~buff/ | Caveat lector.
"It is better to incur a mild rebuke than to perform an onerous task."
-- "Uncle" Oswald Hendryks Cornelius
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