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June 27, 2007


Willeford Was Truly One of the Great Ones

An appreciation of Charles Willeford by Jesse Sublett … couldn’t agree more with him on this point:

“I wish I had a dollar for every crime novel I’ve ever picked up that had a dust jacket blurb excitedly pronouncing the book’s author as being the successor to the Chandler and Hammett legacy — a bit of hyperbole that, more than anything else, usually tends to highlight the author’s shortcomings.”

Authors mentioned in the article, some of whom I haven’t read (italicized) but plan to: Gil Brewer, Frederick Brown, James Lee Burke, Raymond Chandler, Michael Connelly, James Crumley, Carroll John Daly, David Goodis, Dashiell Hammett, Chester Himes, John D. MacDonald, Wade Miller, Walter Mosley, Robert Parker, Jim Thompson, Donald Westlake, and Charles Williams.

If you’re a lover of Willeford’s work like me, please leave your author recommendations in the comments.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 27th, 2007 at 11:59 am (utc+8) and is filed under Personal.

4 Responses to “Willeford Was Truly One of the Great Ones”

  1. stevegee58 said:
    June 28th, 2007 at 5:04 am

    I grew up reading my dad’s dusty, old Frederick Brown novels. Really good stuff. The thing is, wasn’t his genre scifi?

  2. C. Maoxian said:
    June 28th, 2007 at 10:16 am

    stevegee: I’ve never read Frederick Brown so I don’t know, but I’m not a sci-fi fan for sure (except for a little Dick, Philip K. that is).

  3. Greg said:
    June 28th, 2007 at 11:02 am

    Harlan Coben - makes air travel bearable.

  4. C. Maoxian said:
    June 28th, 2007 at 12:03 pm

    Greg: Thanks, I’ve read some Coben and dont’ remember being thrilled, but it was long ago.

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