I forget, was the question who has changed noir writing or
who is now changing noir writing? While Leonard would
certainly fit into the former category, isn't he a bit of an
old master for the latter?
I'd say Ken Bruen certainly fits here. Not meaning to restart
the coat tails debate over him again, but one thing that
struck me as odd about it was that everyone, even his many
defenders, seemed to place him among the old guard. Yes, he
is chronologically older than many of the younger generation,
and he has written a lot more books than most of them have,
but he's done it in just over 10 years. For instance, most
would call Jason Starr a member of the new guard, but his
first novel, Cold Caller, came out just two years after
Bruen's first published crime novel, Rilke on Black.
Two others that I'd definitely say have been doing new things
with noir in the last decades or so are James Sallis, both in
his Lew Griffin series and in standalones, and Jack
O'Connell, who based his series around a city, Quinsigamond,
not recurring characters.
Mark
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