miker (that's me!) said:
: I finished Derek Raymond's HE DIED WITH HIS EYES OPEN
: at the end of last week. It was good. At first I
: moaned a bit about the artsy Hammett artifice of
making
: the detective anonymous, but Raymond did a better job
: of it than Hammett.
William Denton said: Better how?
*********** In RED HARVEST I was painfully aware that Hammett
was going out of his way to not name the Con Op. Being so
obvious made it contrived. There were just too many spots
where his name should have come up.
Derek Raymond did it smoothly. His writing did not seem
strained by the artifice of keeping the detective
nameless.
To be honest, I don't think this is because of any lack of
skill on Hammett's side. More than anything, its just the way
the plot falls. Raymond's detective is in a position of
authority, and has a badge to prove it. Also, a lot of the
people he talks to is on a first-time, only-time basis. His
name simply doesn't have to come up. The Con Op, on the other
hand, strolls into a strange town with absolutely no official
authority, bad- mouths the police and everybody else, and
almost never has his name demanded of him. The Con Op also
revisits people who he has become acquainted with, and would
be likely to use his name. That's a stretch and it's bla-
tantly obvious.
miker
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