Disbelief overcome by gravity

Posted on November 28, 2007 | Comments Off on Disbelief overcome by gravity

I read six of James Lee Burke’s sixteen Dave Robicheaux detective novels, until, like Miriam, I got tired of the PC sermonizing. Plus they were all the same. Haunted Vietnam veteran, etc. The recovering alcoholic part I liked. Other than some howlers about the Civil War, and since most of the books are set in southern Louisiana, a place I’ve only visited a few times, I really didn’t have a feel for their credibility. I finally crashed on the sixth one and have now burned to ash on one of his similar-tales Texas series, set in a mythical town somewhere north of Austin, which looks from the terrain descriptions to be Lampasas. Instead of the rampaging Italian mafia, we have the rampaging Chicano mafia. But why, I wonder, are his rural Texas deputies wearing campaign hats, like refugees from the Pennsylvania highway patrol? This guy is strictly for the New York trade, the folks who publish him. His mechanics are good, but his Texas is stereotypical: bigoted rednecks, etc. I’ll skip the rest. Instead, I’m going to take Miriam’s advice and try Lee Child’s Reacher series.

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0 responses to “Disbelief overcome by gravity”

  1. Scott's avatar Scott | November 28, 2007 at 8:14 pm |

    You’ll probably love Reacher. I’ve read them all. If I didn’t just give them to my brother, I’d drop off a bag of them for you.
    I agree 100% on Burke. Burnout happened for me at #3 or 4.
    If you like the recovering rummie angle, try Lawrence Block’s Scudder novels. Excellent work.
    What do you think it would take to get Cormac McCarthy doing a modern noir or hard-boiled serial? I’d pay $100 up-front for that.

  2. Scott's avatar Scott | November 28, 2007 at 8:14 pm |

    You’ll probably love Reacher. I’ve read them all. If I didn’t just give them to my brother, I’d drop off a bag of them for you.
    I agree 100% on Burke. Burnout happened for me at #3 or 4.
    If you like the recovering rummie angle, try Lawrence Block’s Scudder novels. Excellent work.
    What do you think it would take to get Cormac McCarthy doing a modern noir or hard-boiled serial? I’d pay $100 up-front for that.

  3. SnoopyTheGoon's avatar SnoopyTheGoon | November 29, 2007 at 12:10 pm |

    I can tell straight away where you went wrong with Burke: I read his stuff during about 10 years. Too much in too short a time could give anyone a turn-off.
    Now, have you tried Donal Westlake? His John Dortmunder series are a hoot!

  4. SnoopyTheGoon's avatar SnoopyTheGoon | November 29, 2007 at 12:10 pm |

    I can tell straight away where you went wrong with Burke: I read his stuff during about 10 years. Too much in too short a time could give anyone a turn-off.
    Now, have you tried Donal Westlake? His John Dortmunder series are a hoot!

  5. Dick Stanley's avatar Dick Stanley | November 29, 2007 at 2:23 pm |

    Snoop: Could be. But I also got tired of the Vietnam atrocity claims, over and over again, along with other PC remarks. Rich people bad, poor people good. That kind of thing.
    Scott, yeah I’ve ordered the first one from Amazon. Say, I’d be leaving comments at your blog but WordPress won’t let me. Likewise with your old client Fresh Bilge. Not sure why, don’t have the problem at other WordPress sites.

  6. Dick Stanley's avatar Dick Stanley | November 29, 2007 at 2:23 pm |

    Snoop: Could be. But I also got tired of the Vietnam atrocity claims, over and over again, along with other PC remarks. Rich people bad, poor people good. That kind of thing.
    Scott, yeah I’ve ordered the first one from Amazon. Say, I’d be leaving comments at your blog but WordPress won’t let me. Likewise with your old client Fresh Bilge. Not sure why, don’t have the problem at other WordPress sites.

  7. Scott's avatar Scott | November 29, 2007 at 8:32 pm |

    Send me an email with the disallowed message. Just cut and paste anything that looks like it.

  8. Dick Stanley's avatar Dick Stanley | November 29, 2007 at 9:50 pm |

    Done. Thanks.

  9. Dick Stanley's avatar Dick Stanley | November 29, 2007 at 9:50 pm |

    Done. Thanks.