--- Michael Robison <
miker_zspider@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Just finished ASSIGNMENT PEKING by Aarons (sp?)
and
> PETERS PENCE by Jon Cleary. The Cleary novel
was
> not
> really bad, but it was more in the thriller
category
> and not what I would call very hardboiled. I
think
> it
> was an OK book but just not my type. The
Aarons
> book
> had a halfway decent style to it. Like Bill
Crider
> noted, he is great at describing the setting, and
I
> enjoyed that part of it, but the plot
seemed
> haphazard
> and sloppy. It felt like he started writing
the
> book
> without knowing what was going to happen.
That
> strategy might work for some books, but
most
> hardboiled has got a well-woven plot and if
it
> doesn't, it had better have something
else
> commendable. Aarons's skill with the setting
wasn't
> enough to make up for an unconvincing and
> ineffective
> story line.
I like Aarons very much, but he is what he is. If you go into
him thinking you're going to get depth on the level of Adam
Hall's Quiller series or Donald Hamilton's Matt Helm series,
you're bound to be disappointed. To my way of thinking, he's
essentially very good pulp, and if you take him on that
level, quite enjoyable.
I haven't read PEKING, so can't really comment on that one,
except to say there's undoubtedly some weak books in the
ASSIGNMENT series (which is very very long). Generally
speaking ones published before, say, 1965 are the best,
although I enjoyed the hell out of ASSIGNMENT: TOKYO, which
is one of the last books in the series, which says something
about something, I guess.
Recent reads include Ellroy's BLACK DAHLIA (I remain
mystified why this book has garnered so much praise);
Ellroy's BIG NOWHERE (which I liked much much more, although
I think it falls apart at the very end); Charles Williams THE
SAILCLOTH SHROUD (not one of his better efforts); and Wade
Miller's SOUTH OF THE SUN
(reading it right now, a typically solid perfomance from
these guys.)
doug
===== Doug Bassett
dj_bassett@yahoo.com
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