I think Williams was in a lot of ways the ideal of that era
of hardboiled writing, although his virtues don't just leap
out at you. He's not a flashy stylist, so he's not as easy to
sink your teeth into as say Goodis or Thompson or Woolrich (I
believe I first read that insight from Mr. Gorman somewhere,
and it's a keeper.) As far as I know he never wrote a series
character, so there's not that hook. It's no wonder he's
languished in comparison.
I am consistently impressed by Williams's quality treatment
of relatively standard premises. There's a kind of
omnipresent sadness in DEAD CALM, for instance, that lifts
the story above what a plot summary would suggest. There's
also a sense in a lot of his books of Fate as a cruel joker:
you find that everywhere, yeah, but it's like Williams on
some level just believed it more, or bought into it,
more.
doug
--- Jeff Vorzimmer <
jvorzimmer@austin.rr.com> wrote:
> > Page for page he was a better
> > writer than JDM, Peter Rabe and (many times)
even
> Malcolm Braly, the
> > Blessed Trinity of Gold Medal.
>
> Again, I agree. JDM is a typist by
comparison.
Doug Bassett
dj_bassett@yahoo.com
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