Sorry. I really am on this!
Your preliminary reading list for UK HB/Noir.
Derek Raymond. He is sadly out of print in the UK (apart from
a couple of atypical titles from Serpeant's Tail - The Crust
On Its Uppers, which is an early novel written under his own
name of Robin Cook and comes nowhere near his later heights.
And, A State of Denmark, which although I think is a strong
work probably shouldn't be classed under HB - it's a
dystopian political piece.)
However. Should you be able to get hold of any of his Factory
series, you should. Dead Man Upright, He Died With His Eyes
Open (my favourite), The Devil is Home on Leave, How the Dead
Live, and most famously; I Was Dora Suarez. He wrote other
titles that are similar, Not Till The Red Fog Rises, is the
only one I have read.
I know I have carped on and on about Raymond but I think he
is my favourite author, and the most compassionate writer I
have ever read. I Was Dora Suarez has won the most attention
of his work, I think largely because it is so very
disturbing. As I say above I think, HDWHEO, is better. The
"hero" of the Factory series is the nameless Sgt in the
Department of Unexplained Deaths, based at Poland Street
police station in Soho - The Factory. I find his work moving
in the extreme. They are by no means procedurals - probably
extremely innacurate. Raymond's autobiograpical musings - The
Hidden Files, are very illuminating and can tell you more
about his work - which he calls the Black Novel, than I ever
could. I rate him with Chandler and Hammett and Ellroy.
Ted Lewis is most famous as the author of the novel behind
Get Carter; Jack's Return Home. His books are currently in
print in the UK from Allison and Busby. I'm sorry that I
cannot provide US information but hope you fellahs can track
him down. He writes well, and I think his plotting is
excellent. The only ones I can reccomend from personal
experience are Jack's Return Home, Jack and the Mafia Pigeon,
and Plender. All of which I enjoyed/
David Peace is being touted as the British James Ellroy,
largely on the strength of his Yorkshire Quarter - which
rewrites history in Ellroy style. I am pretty sure they are
called: 1974, 1977 and 1980 so far. I have read the first two
and was most impressed by the first. I think he tries an
Ellroy style stylistic jump into stream of consciousness that
doesn't quite come off. Still fine stuff though and I read
1977 in one feverish sitting, which must stand for
something.
Rankin. He has been much discussed on Rara Avis anyway, but I
think he can fairly be called the "biggest" writer on the UK
HB scene at the moment. I enjoy his books immensely, although
I am not entirely convinced by Rebus. And, if any US readers
are having trouble with slang, it is equally foreign to
anyone in the UK outside of Scotland for a lot of the time.
The St Leanords Years omnibus would be a great starting
place.
I have enjoyed what I have read by Carol Anne Davis,
particularly Noise Abatement. She also writes true crime
stuff, which I haven't read.
This list is going on a bit now, sorry.
Jake Arnott is a big name. I read The Long Firm, and
virulently hated it, I still haven't read He Kills Coppers,
but if it manages to be less lazy, reductive and poorly
researched than the first that can only be an improvement.
Much better IMHO is Anthony Frewin - Soho Blues and Scorpion
Rising (both of which have Get Carter's heavy shadow on
them).
Who else?? Nicholas Blinkoe, Stella Duffy, Val McDiarmid,
Minette Waters and many many more spring to mind.
John Le Carre is one of my favourite authors, as is Graham
Greene, but neither are, I think, really hardboiled -
although certainly noir. Irving Welsh is well worth reading
as well, outside our category.
I shall pause for now and send more later. Any of the above
authors are probably worthy of discussion. It strikes me that
it would be interesting to learn how they read in America -
are nuances lost? The class system and so on. Is there such a
thing as British hardboiled - the pulp fiction of these
islands?
Comics and graphic novels have had a very hardboiled edge in
this country - Alan Moore is the absolute best but Preacher
is another interesting series.
Must stop, interested to hear back from anyone, and I am
chasing an author! www.crimetime.co.uk, and sites for no exit
and the do not press are worth looking at. Anyone wanna name
more UK authors I would love them too - I have already missed
out one suggested Irish author because of my own poor admin!!
Please name him again/.
All the best, Colin.
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