On Jul 12, 2009, at 2:28 AM, rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com wrote:
>
> I'd like to add another question to Shannon's if I could.
> I'm reading more westerns these days than I ever have before, and
> while the best are great stuff, I find that all too often much of
> what I read just doesn't stick with me.
> What I'm looking for in a western are the virtues of classic
> hardboiled fiction-- swift pacing, abrupt plot twists, sharp
> dialogue, convincing action, and lean, clear prose.
> Noir elements are fine, but I'm actually more hungry for westerns
> that can bring the hardboiled style convincingly. Maybe my
> standards are too high or maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places.
> Any suggestions?
The books featuring U.S. Marshall and later gun-for-hire Oscar
Schiller by Douglas C. Jones. They're pretty hard-boiled and seedy
enough to wash that Gene Autry cowboy taste away. I've got an entry on
at http://www.thrillingdetective.com/schiller.html but in brief, at
the time I wrote it I likened one of the books to "a cross between
Larry McMurty's Lonesome Dove and James Crumley's later novels."
I mean, you gotta love a guy whose measured, considered idea of
guarding a suspect is: "If he farts, kill him."
Kevin Burton Smith
Editor/Founder
The Thrilling Detective Web Site
"Wasting your time on the web since 1998."
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