That globe-trottin' rascal (Hi, Richard!) wrote:
>In later years, Howard Browne was apologetic about
the lesbian stuff in HALO
>IN BRASS.
Now that's interesting, and fits in with the stories I've
heard about him. Because, generally, the Pine books are so
good that the misguided lesbian lore really does stand out.
And Pine's explanation of how he cracked the case is so silly
and bone-headed it just ruined the book for me. Again, it
wasn't the attitudes that got me--it was the supposed "common
knowledge."
And then he added:
>For those who really want to be challenged in this
department, try reading
>the work of one of Chandler's best friends Cleve
Adams. He wrote the true,
>distilled hard stuff. His main detective Rex McBride
makes Mike Hammer seem
>like a granola eating liberal. I am convinced that
Adams did everything he
>could to make him as unsympathetic and unlikable as
possible. It is too far
>over the line to be an accident. Cringe? Let me quote
an oft-quoted line
>from McBride: "What this country goddamned well needs
is a Gestapo."
And I guess Hammer was vying to be First Nazi, with his
suggested bloodthirsty hands-on approach to the Cold War
problem.
Still, we should be grateful, and remember that the
prejudices of previous eras were never necessarily
representative of everyone in those eras. Even back then,
some people shied away from some of the excesses of Spillane
and Adams, and saw it for what it was. Knocking them for what
were essentially fascist fantasies isn't something new.
Kevin Burton Smith The Thrilling Detective Web Site http://www.colba.net/~kvnsmith/thrillingdetective/
An A&E Mystery.com Site of the Week
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