--- Ray Skirsky <
rskirsky@qualcomm.com> wrote:
> While I agree with your high estimate of
the
> Destroyer, up until Sapir
> dies, anyway, I think the best-written
and
> best-conceived of all the series
> was Alan Caillou's "Private Army of Colonel
Tobin."
Murphy has been talked about before on this list, of
course--in part by me. While it's certainly not worth arguing
over, I remember actually seeking out the Destroyers, in my
youth, that featured Murphy's name but NOT Sapir's on the
cover, because one of the early numbers was written only by
Sapir and I didn't care for it at all. I therefore assumed
that Murphy must have written all the parts of the series
that I liked.
I recognize the flaw in that logic, but I was, like I
say, young.
I've begun re-collecting the Destroyers after finding several
in a box in my garage. I got rid of many of the series around
the time I turned 20, thinking for some reason that I had
outgrown them. But I still enjoyed the Digger and Trace
novels (and still do). I only have a dozen or so now, but
next time I'm in Fayetteville, I'll check out the used book
store--they always had a goodly supply when I was stationed
at Fort Bragg, and I'll bet that hasn't changed much. I am
about to start Destroyer #1, because...
I just finished my first Vachss (and Vachss's first Vachss
too, I think), FLOOD. This isn't as stilted a transition as
it may seem, because much of FLOOD read to me like a man's
action novel (or whatever you want to call these things): he
had all kinds of cool gadgets, an ensemble cast of weirdos
each with his or her own special skill, a complete loner for
a protagonist, and a deadly but beautiful romantic interest
(I used to call such characters
"wonder-babes" before I became a politically correct
academic).
I enjoyed FLOOD, but at the same level at which I plan to
enjoy the Destroyer novels again--entertainment only, and
entertainment I'm sort of embarrassed about.
It's not quite as bad as having PENTHOUSE delivered to
my house (I don't really, it's just an example, I swear) but
worse than owning all the Star Trek movies on VHS (guilty,
I'm afraid). I'm sure I'll read more Vachss, but if they
continue to be as long and drawn out as FLOOD, I'm going to
wish he'd let me edit them.
G.
===== George C. Upper III, Editor The Lightning Bell Poetry
Journal http://www.lightningbell.org/
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