<<Glad to see Mario back too. I had begun to suspect
foul play.>>
No foul play, just a lot of work (cozy, not
hardboiled).
<<It just so happens that I was just finishing reading
a book by a writer that he recommended: William Campbell
Gault: "Vein of Violence," 1961; Brock "the Rock" Callahan is
the PI. Interesting, but not great. First, for all of
Callahan's toughness (an ex-pro football player), the novel
is something of a parlor room thing of detection (someone
murdered with poison at a party, etc.).>>
You're right. This series isn't really hardboiled. In fact,
Callahan is an amateur detective.
<<This novel also seemed to wear its issues (or what
are now more visible as issues) more heavily than "Day of the
Ram" (which I guess it is fair to say is the most well-known
Brock Callahan book):
(1) It deals with abortion; (2) homosexuality is a sign of
evil (and not a red-herring of evil). At one point, the
police consider holding a suspect for his sexuality
(on a morality charge). Callahan comes off a little
sanctimonious. What are the better Gault's?>>
I like "Don't cry for me" very much. Gault's short
stories
(the few I've read) are also very good. As to "issues", they
are obviously dated. I do think that Gault was breaking new
ground (think of how primitive the Spillane era was; sheer
male fantasy), and what seems naive to us was pretty daring
then; Gault appears far more humane and tolerant than most of
his contemporaries. Ross Macdonald was, too, but he sounds
like an academic, whereas Gault was more of a street-savvy
guy, more in touch with real people.
<<What are the Joe Puma novels about (and were they
reprinted recently)?>>
Not to my knowledge; in fact, they may *never* have been
reprinted, at least in the US. That's a hardboiled series,
with a detective who's not all that sanctimonious. In fact,
he's Callahan's opposite. I recall those books as good, but
haven't read one in years.
Regards,
MrT
=====
* Mario Taboada *
matrxtech@yahoo.com *
"The world does not contain any information. It is as it is."
I. Illich, _Tools for Conviviality_.
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