Bob,
I meant that characters in the PI genre have become better
rounded with time. Most of today's PI writers don't give
themselves free rides by saying, "My character can get away
with [whatever], he's not real after all."
I don't find Marlowe that real, but as I said in a previous
post, that maybe *my* age coming into play. You can *tell me*
Chandler is the P.I. King of Wit and Poetry. I won't see it
any more than readers will like Spenser on my say-so.
Bottom line about this teacher-student thing: Yes, Parker was
inspired and influenced by Chandler, but he took Spenser in
his own direction. In fact, I don't see them in competition.
I see Parker telling his own stories just as Healy, Crais,
and Lehane do. I prefer to judge whether authors perform to
their own potential. By his last two books, Chandler
wasn't.
Gerald
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