tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post1259031911328118077..comments2024-03-25T11:29:25.356-04:00Comments on Existential Ennui: The Moving Target by Ross Macdonald (Fontana Paperback), plus Harper, William Goldman, Paul Newman, Francis Clifford, and Frank SinatraNick Jones (Louis XIV, the Sun King)http://www.blogger.com/profile/17716508525331235684noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-87395337588115778782013-11-22T19:29:11.877-05:002013-11-22T19:29:11.877-05:00Louis, let me recommend devouring BLACK MONEY alon...Louis, let me recommend devouring BLACK MONEY along with THE UNDERGROUND MAN one day soon. Both are so good it's tough to say which one's better. <br /><br />Didn't see any pictures of the American paperbacks from Bantam. Eight or nine of their Archer books had photograph covers which are interesting for the way they deliberately misrepresented the true tenor of the series, not unlike Fontana's. Americans are too uptight for Fontana-style T&A covers anyway; case in point: most of us Americans don't even know what a page 3 girl is; I do however and thank God daily for the Sun. <br /><br />Forgive the digression, each Bantam photo was of a man and a woman. The woman was different every time but the same male model appeared in all of them. He glared or smirked at the camera, typically bruised and bloody as Mike Hammer but dressed like James Bond (although there is one particularly bad sport coat that never would've been in Bond's closet). One of them looks like Archer borrowed Doc Savage's ripped shirt (the one that the great artist Bama invented for Bantam's early DS cover paintings). Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16400668270809333065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-49366688766038242872013-11-22T04:10:27.825-05:002013-11-22T04:10:27.825-05:00Duly noted, Darryl. I'll get to Underground Ma...Duly noted, Darryl. I'll get to Underground Man as soon as I can. Re Connelly, a fellow blogger and friend of mine, Book Glutton (you can find his blog in my 'Other Fine Blogs' sidebar) is a fan of his as well. And once again, I've never read anything by him. One day...Nick Jones (Louis XIV, the Sun King)https://www.blogger.com/profile/17716508525331235684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-39784018838495856532013-11-21T20:58:35.702-05:002013-11-21T20:58:35.702-05:00Aargh! You've never read Ross Macdonald? Whe...Aargh! You've never read Ross Macdonald? When Anthony Boucher claimed Ross was a better novelist than either Hammett or Chandler he knew what he was talking about. Of the books I saw covers of in this entry I'd recommend reading THE UNDERGROUND MAN once you finish whatever you're currently reading. Don't be surprised if you clear your calendar and hang with Lew Archer until you've exhausted all 18 novels and dozen-or-so short stories about him.<br /><br />Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series are the best mysteries by a living writer. Ken Millar (Ross) was light years ahead of him, especially the books he wrote in the sixties. The best of Macdonald's fifties' work is THE WAY SOME PEOPLE DIE with its evocative lead sentence: The house was in Santa Monica on a cross street between the boulevards, within earshot of the coast highway and rifleshot of the sea.<br /><br />The entire series features poetic writing, mature (a word not lightly used) storytelling and brilliant endings. You'll be a changed man after just one.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16400668270809333065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-31286333450401933222010-11-29T11:45:14.685-05:002010-11-29T11:45:14.685-05:00Well ta very much. And I like the cut of your blog...Well ta very much. And I like the cut of your blog's jib too, particularly the Dr Who posts. Just added it to my reading list.Nick Jones (Louis XIV, the Sun King)https://www.blogger.com/profile/17716508525331235684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-83647095807409216622010-11-29T11:11:39.758-05:002010-11-29T11:11:39.758-05:00Great post! After seeing the movie, I started read...Great post! After seeing the movie, I started reading Macdonald - and this was the edition I read The Moving Target in. Lovely photos of Mr. Newman and Ms. Tiffin, and I love that 60s spiral design behind Lew! Sadly, my copy fell to pieces. I'm always on the lookout for another on the second-hand shelves...<br /><br />I'm very pleased to have found your blog. It's great to see some of these cover designs (I've posted a few of my own Ross Macdonald acquisitions on my own blog). Looking forward to following your posts!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com