Stories and Early Novels: Pulp Stories / The Big Sleep / Farewell, My Lovely / The High Window (Library of America)

Average customer rating:

The cliches were invented right here

Great Stories, Great Edition, Great Book

Great stories by a great author

A Vicious Circle

Good, good, GOOD editorial choice here!

Stories and Early Novels: Pulp Stories / The Big Sleep / Farewell, My Lovely / The High Window (Library of America)
Raymond Chandler
Manufacturer: Library of America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Classics | United States | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Anthologies | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
General | Chandler, Raymond | ( C ) | Authors, A-Z | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
Hardcover | Chandler, Raymond | ( C ) | Authors, A-Z | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Look Inside Mystery & Thriller Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Later Novels and Other Writings: The Lady in the Lake / The Little Sister / The Long Goodbye / Playback /Double Indemnity / Selected Essays and Letters (Library of America)

Complete Novels: Red Harvest / The Dain Curse / The Maltese Falcon / The Glass Key / The Thin Man (Library of America)

Crime Stories and Other Writings (Library of America)

Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1930s and 40s: The Postman Always Rings Twice / They Shoot Horses, Don't They? / Thieves Like Us / The Big Clock / Nightmare ... / I Married a Dead Man (Library of America)

Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s: The Killer Inside Me / The Talented Mr. Ripley / Pick-up / Down There / The Real Cool Killers (Library of America)

ASIN: 1883011078

Amazon.com

If you're looking for the perfect gift for yourself or some other lover of mysteries, this beautifully-made volume from the Library of America series will definitely prove that you care enough to send the very best. And if you haven't picked up The Big Sleep, Farewell, My Lovely, or The High Window recently, you'll be amazed at how well they stand up to the test of time. (A second handsome volume, Later Novels & Other Writings -- including The Long Goodbye -- is also available.)

Customer Reviews:

The cliches were invented right here.......2005-08-19

There are Hammett fans and Chandler fans. I am for Hammett, but Chandler's work remains compelling. The plots are nonsense but the metaphors are the purest gold. The opening scenes of THE BIG SLEEP and FAREWELL, MY LOVELY are delicious every time.

Great Stories, Great Edition, Great Book.......2004-01-30

Just my personal opinion, but I think Raymond Chandler is one of the most underrated American authors. Anyone who hasn't read "The Long Goodbye" must be punishing themselves for sins in a past life. "The Big Sleep" and "The High Window" are also excellent novels--good mysteries.

But what really makes Chandler's stories hold up so well is the language: "The Dancers is the kind of club that will dissolution you about what a lot of extra golf money can do for the personality" or "What does it matter, if you're breathing wind and air or oil and water--when you're sleeping the big sleep."

While the plots are wonderful period pieces of a young Los Angeles, the characters are richly drawn. Ever wonder where all those tv detectives came from? Right here.

Chandler's short stories are also supurb. My vote for the single best detective short story of all time is Red Wind--there is so much that happens in such a short story. No one should ever die without reading it....."Trouble is my Business" is also excellent....

Is this a complete collection of his short stories? No--There are a few I would have added, even though several of them were "canibalized" (Chandler's phrase) into later novels. The plot of "Bay City Blues" was built into "Lady in the Lake," but I think that story still holds up on its own. An earlier review also mentioned that "The Pencil" is missing. I can't understand why it was left out. "Killer in the Rain" also became "The Big Sleep," but it still has charm. "No Crime in the Mountains" is not included, but that's not much of a loss.

Not all of the stories in this book work--but that's going to be true with any collection. What is convenient with Library of America is the bindings are wonderful, the print font easy to read, the books lie flat, and will last forever. The list prices are a little steep--but not if you consider the amount of literature you're getting for the cost. I've bought this book three times, and have loaned it out--only for it to never return. But that's why I buy books.

One final note--The previous review mentioned that in this edition Johnny Dahlmas was replaced by Phillip Marlowe in "Red Wind." I was certain it was Johnny, and used Amazon's "Look Inside" to confirm--it is. Chandler had a few detectives, that eventually evolved into Marlowe, and each was a little different. I have a very soft spot in my heart for Dahlmas (I'm probably spelling his name wrong, so the soft spot may be in my head), so if the editor x-ed him out, I'd be furious....

Buy this book.

Great stories by a great author.......2002-07-19

Chandler is perhaps the greatest writer of detective fiction and a great author period. To ignore these books is to ignore much of what is great about American literature.

Two of his three best novels are included here (The Big Sleep & Farewell, My Lovely).

The stories and great fun, if also rather flawed. My biggest complaint is that are presented here in their republished form, rather than with the original names of the protagonists. (For example, the hero of "Red Wind" is Philip Marlowe here, rather than John Dalmas.) That a fairly minor quibble. Especially good are "Goldfish" and "Red Wind."

The binding is very nice, as are all Library of America editions. My edition has held up quite well after heavy use.

A Vicious Circle.......2002-03-01

"Nothing made it my business except curiosity. But strictly speaking, I hadn't had any business in a month."(21) For Phillip Marlowe, the irresistibly aloof private detective who stars in Chandler's impressive detective novel, Farewell, My Lovely, crime is not something he seems able or willing to avoid. Hitting the streets of Los Angeles in the midst of the American gambling craze of the 1930's, Marlowe finds himself an inextricable player in a search for knowledge of past and present crimes and criminals.
Though he appears, on the surface, to be little more than a nosy, bumbling "private dick," his successful unraveling of a closely interwoven crowd of crooks proves, as one suspect cop observes, that Marlowe "played...smart....You must got something we wasn't told about." (228) Keeping his cards in his hand for most of the noel, Chandler shows that both he and Marlowe are "smart," leading the reader on a circuitous trail that shakes out only in the novel's final pages.
The story begins with a happenstance encounter between Marlowe and an ex-con called "Moose" Malloy. Marlowe cannot resist pursuing the suspicious-looking hulk of a man and soon finds himself both running after and from a variety of shady characters. In the course of his private investigations, Marlowe survives several near brushes with death, getting "sapped" by thugs near the novel's start, pumped full of opium in a suspicious hospital-like place, and stealthily boarding a closely guarded gambling boat to confront an infamous mobster in the middle of the night. In the end, Marlowe succeeds at untangling the web of murders and crimes that keep him running throughout the novel, but not before giving the reader the run-around as well. Chandler's smart, articulate prose lends itself well to the captivating story and intriguing characters that combine to make this a must-read for fans of detective fiction.

Good, good, GOOD editorial choice here!.......2001-12-02

Earlier anthologies of Raymond Chandler's works mostly center upon what have come to be known as his 'big four' or earliest novels -- The Big Sleep, Farewell My Lovely, The High Window, The Lady In The Lake -- or upon his later, and admittedly (with the possible exception of The Little Sister) 'inferior' works. Chandler's earlier short stories ( many of which he "cannibalized," to use his word, for the material in his subsequent novels) are normally treated as a separate genre altogether.

This particular collection, rightly, combines Chandler's first three novels with the best of his earlier short stories, recognizing the thematic unity in those works. (Good as it is, "The Lady In The Lake" demands to be treated separately from Chandler's earlier efforts.)

Chances are, if you're reading this, you've read most, if not all, of Chandler's Phillip Marlowe novels. You may as well have read many, if not all, of the short stories presented here. But have you read these novels, and these short stories, TOGETHER in this context? Likely not. But you deserve to.

In the short stories, for example, there are protagonists named John Evans, Ted Carmody and Tony Resick (the last two of which, interestingly, inhabit locations which were most likely Los Angeles' Hotel Mayfair, with which Chandler had more than a nodding familiarity). And when, in Chandler's writings, did they meld themselves into what would be his penultimate creation, Phillip Marlowe?

And at which point did Chandler begin to write, as fellow writer Ross McDonald termed it, "like a slumming angel . . ."? The answers to both questions may well lie here, in this collection.

Customer Reviews:

"I'm an American baby, our names don't mean s***".......2007-09-07

This is the original screenplay of 1994's top movie, Pulp Fiction. If you haven't seen this flick, do so. Right now. Afterwards, buy this trade paperback and relive all the high points of the film. The stories are great, the characters leap from the pages, and the dialogue is tight and witty. It's $12.95 well spent, if only so you can deliver all the cool lines at parties. My favorite bit of dialogue involves Butch, a boxer, and Esmerelda, a cab driver.

Butch: ...Esmarelda Villalobos--is that Mexican?
Esmerelda: The name is Spanish, but I'm Colombian.
B: It's a very pretty name.
E: It means "Esmerelda of the wolves."
B: That's one hell of a name you got there, sister.
E: Thank you. And what is your name?
B: Butch.
E: Butch. What does it mean?
B: I'm an American, baby, our names don't mean s***.

one of the best fiction movies ever .......2006-01-13

the reason i like this movie is because it has alot of big name actors of the 90s samuel l. jackson, john t, bruce willis, ving rhames, uma thurman, and tim roth i enjoyed when uma thurman got high and was listening 2 some cool music n her house 2 celebrate her and john winning the dancing contest at the restuarnat this movie made me respect samuel jackson more because like denzel most of his movies are outspoken characters in this movie he plays a religious guy who has strong belief in Jesus Christ so with that he tells his partner john during their conversation at a classy restuarant that he is going to retire and walked da earth and john told him he was crazy because da people that walked da earth are known as bums which was kind of funny 2 me and bruce willis breaking on his adorable wife was also funny when he got very mad at her for leaving his father valuable watch at the hotel he had 2 go back and get it and got into so trouble on his way there pulp fiction slightly turned into die hard because bruce was all bloodly up like he was in all of his die hard films ving rhames was the king in this film but later he was raped by a gay guy but bruce saved him and he told bruce that this was between them there was some other scenes but the scenes that i mentioned all my favorite parts of the movie

Reads like a book; very addictive. Great dialogue........2004-07-08

PULP FICTION, the film, is one of my favorites, and I own both the DVD and the screenplay by Quentin Tarantino. Now, as with most things, since Quentin has become ultra-popular, it's suddenly become "cool" to dislike him and his movies (particularly FICTION). Quoting Dave Thomas (SCTV), "Let's get down to the nitty gritty here": Whether or not you like the film, Quentin DOES have a knack for superb dialogue, and here is proof.

Recommended on all levels - one of my hobbies is scriptwriting and this is a definite inspiration as it was written by a man-child who never took a single screenwriting course. He just did it, and that's always been my own strategy when it comes to these things.

I Love the Movie,I Love the Screenplay!.......2004-01-11

I've already written a review for the movie which I gave five stars and now i'm giving the same to the screenplay.The scrrenplay had all of the same things the movie had and some stuff that was left on the cutting room floor in the final cut of the movie,but the screenplay is always good to read to see the way the story was told and then put on film.For example,the Marcellus and Zed scene when you see it you are utterly disgusted and strangely mesmerized at the same time and when you read that part in the screenplay the way Quentin Tarantino wrote and explained the scene was magnificent although I try to skip that entire scene while watching the DVD.Quentin Tarantino is not
only a great director but he is also the definitive screenwriter
and Pulp Fiction proves that the man can write.

"Zed's dead, baby. Zed's dead.".......2002-08-16

I found reading this screenplay just as enjoyable as watching the movie. Quentin Tarantino is a very gifted and talented writer, as well as a story teller. He has created some of the most memorable characters ever to come out of fiction.

This is a great read because what is most praised about the movie is the realistic and clever dialogue. That's all you get when you read this, which means you will have it read in no time. And as soon as you are done, you will want to read it again.

The book also offers some b&w pictures from the movie. It also contains little, not major, things that either didn't make the movie or were changed. But I really found it very similar to the movie. All of the most memorable lines are in here.

I recommend the screenplay to "Pulp Fiction" to anyone who is a fan of the movie, or is just a fan of reading screenplays in general. I really did enjoy reading this. Hopefully I will be able to find more screenplays to some of my favorite movies. I don't think this will be a purchase that you will regret. Check it out!

Average customer rating:

Brilliant, exhilarating, lyrical writing

A forecast of things to come

Now, Voyager (Femmes Fatales: Women Write Pulp)
Olive Higgins Prouty
Manufacturer: Feminist Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Laura (Femmes Fatales: Women Write Pulp)

Bedelia (Femmes Fatales: Women Write Pulp)

Now, Voyager (Keepcase)

Bunny Lake Is Missing (Femmes Fatales: Women Write Pulp)

Skyscraper (Femmes Fatales : Women Write Pulp)

ASIN: 1558614761

Book Description

"Don't let's ask for the moon! We have the stars!" The film that concludes with Bette Davis's famous words, reaffirmed Davis's own stardom and changed the way Americans smoked cigarettes. But few contemporary fans of this story of a woman's self-realization know its source. Olive Higgins Prouty's 1941 novel Now, Voyager provides an even richer, deeper portrait of the inner life of its protagonist and the society she inhabits. Viewed from a distance of more than 60 years, it also offers fresh and quietly radical takes on psychiatric treatment, traditional family life, female desire, and women's agency.

Boston blueblood Charlotte Vale has led an unhappy, sheltered life. Lonely, dowdy, repressed, and pushing 40, Charlotte finds salvation at a sanitarium, where she undergoes an emotional and physical transformation. After her extreme makeover, the new Charlotte tests her mettle by embarking on a cruise-and finds herself in a torrid love affair with a married man which ends at the conclusion of the voyage. But only then can the real journey begin, as Charlotte is forced to navigate a new life for herself. While Now, Voyager is a tear-jerking romance, it is at the same time the empowering story of a woman who finds the strength to chart her own course in life; who discovers love, sex, and even motherhood outside of marriage; and who learns that men are, ultimately, dispensable in the quest for happiness and fulfillment.

Olive Higgins Prouty (1882â€“1974), like many of her characters a wealthy Bostonian, was the author of ten novels, including Stella Dallas (1923), which became the basis for three films and a long-running radio serial. A graduate of Smith College, Prouty endowed a writer's scholarship at Smith that was received by Sylvia Plath, who later portrayed her patron unflatteringly in The Bell Jar.

Customer Reviews:

Brilliant, exhilarating, lyrical writing.......2005-10-08

"Now, Voyager" is a remarkable publishing event. Here is a timeless tale of love and transformation that first appeared 64 years ago, instantly became a best-seller, went through God only knows how many reprintings before sliding slowly into near-obscurity, along with its author, Olive Higgins Prouty, today all but forgotten. Neither the author nor her book deserved this sorry end, and The Feminist Press is to be congratulated for re-publishing "Now, Voyager." The publisher pigeonholes this novel as "pulp" writing, a sometimes derogatory term implying fiction that is popular but not very well written, and certainly not enduring literature. This novel is in fact anything but "pulp" fiction: "Now, Voyager" is a story brilliantly conceived, and the reader who takes a chance on this novel will be repaid with sheer exhilaration as the text soars on every page with rare lyricism and hauntingly beautiful passages.

Here's a typical sampler of Prouty's art:
"The pointed pinnacles of the cathedral loomed up above the heterogeneous mass of buildings surrounding it like the pointed tops of spruce above deciduous trees of various varieties. The buildings crowded down to a string of small boats at the water's edge. The blue bay was full of rippling reflections-sails, roofs, pinnacles, and mountain-tops. The air was full of sunshine, breezes, gulls and gulls' calls. The tenders were already plying between the liner and the shore. Other little boats were chugging here and there, plying through the reflections, trailing long wakes of watered silk."

The new edition is a faithful rendition of the original novel. The only changes have been the addition of a foreword and afterword and chapter titles. Misprints in the reprinted edition, not present in the original text, are irritating but fortunately rare. There have been small changes in typography that are indeed helpful in bringing the typography up to a more easily readable modern standard. The republished paperback and hardcover versions are identical, but the paperback has added a thumbnail biography of Prouty and its cover displays a publicity still from the well-known film with Bette Davis and Paul Henreid.

While overpriced, the hardcover edition has a binding and cover that are much more robust than those of the original 1941 edition; fittingly, this new hardcover "Now, Voyager" will last for generations. (A pristine first edition of "Now, Voyager", if you can find one, sells for over $1000.)

A forecast of things to come.......2005-04-16

Olive Higgins Prouty would not have appreciated her books being regarded as pulp! But she would have been happy, I think, knowing that people were reading them again and enjoying them.

She is one of those cases where a novelist could be extremely popular in her own lifetime and then, almost forgotten. Meanwhile the movies made from her books (including STELLA DALLAS and NOW VOYAGER) show how original and striking her plots were, how unique she was. Sylvia Plath, who wrote her many flattering, almost gushing letters so long as Prouty was giving her money, was vicious about her in private (and in the pages of THE BELL JAR, in which Prouty appears as a menacing, elderly Lesbian, almost like She-Lob at spider). It's funny how the encounter between Plath and Prouty has taken on mythic proportions, and how indeed Prouty's best work approaches thast of Plath in terms of its insight into the human condition, especially of suffering, illness, pain and madness. Anyone who reads NOW VOYAGER, or its "prequel," LISA VALE will see that Prouty was intimately familiar with neurosis. Plath might have been taken aback had she realized that Prouty herself had been hospitalized for mental illness when she was a teenager, way back at the turn of the century. In many ways, Prouty's whole life foreshadowed Plath's. We note in NOW VOYAGER the way that Charlotte's stifled New England ways explode when she encounters the debonair, sexy European man who turns her on to Lawrentian sexuality and rebellion--Sylvia and Ted much?

Now if only someone would reprint (among others) WHITE FAWN, HOME PORT, GOOD SPORTS and PENCIL SHAVINGS! Olive Higgins Prouty could write and it's time the world realized it.

Average customer rating:

truely awful
The Title Doesn't Lie.
This his last novel was my introfuction.
Worst Buk is better than Best of Some
How It Really Was

Pulp
Charles Bukowski
Manufacturer: Black Sparrow Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0876859260

Customer Reviews:

truely awful.......2007-08-28

If you're a fan of Buk, and you liked Post Office or Women or Factotum, then you'll probably HATE this book. It's truely awful. The writing is bad, is not funny, and has no real logic to it. I know that Buk was trying to write a parody novel of early detective stories, but I call this an experiment gone wrong. I don't know why the reviews are so good on this book. Don't buy this book.

The Title Doesn't Lie........2007-06-08

After reading the excellent Ham on Rye I swore I'd get some more Bukowski, and for awhile I dabbled in alot of other things, but his poetry was among those. In a book store though, I stumbled upon this, it was among a few others of his works and I decided on it simply because I couldn't find a copy of Post Office there and didn't want to order one. It's dedicated to bad writing - I thought he being a critic to himself considering his negativity; but was proved wrong - this book can best be summed up as a piece of bad writing. The humor is trash, the parody is weak, and the dialogue is at most times kind've lame. Also, the plot all in all lacks much in itself, and although only in kidding (so to speak) it's not very funny as a whole. Though, it does have it's moments; sometimes it inspires some half-decent fits of laughter (although most of the humor is toilet) and the psuedo-philosophy Bukowski submits keeps it relatively enjoyable. As a comprehensive work though, it's kind've lame, it's readable, but Bukowski has FAR better. From what I've come to understand, this was somewhat the challenge to literary elitism, and I think he well made his point, but despite that, it's not that great a read. Maybe for the hardcore Bukowski fan, but even then, be prepared for a few laughs only, and to be sitting this book down with a resounding, 'Meh.'

This his last novel was my introfuction........2007-04-24

I had heard it rumoured that Bukowski was an excellent writer, wasn't boring and would fit into the select material I love to read. I had a gift card, picked this one out, and read it in about eight hours. I couldn't put it down and have several of his other books on order; looking forward to it greatly. I'll spare you the details as secrets should not be divulged but this detective-esque novel has just about everything in it and it moves along quickly.

Worst Buk is better than Best of Some.......2006-12-18

I'm slightly hesitant to give this three stars instead of two, but Bukowski is one of my all time favorites so I'll give him a break in case he's reading this from beyond the grave. Pulp is the last of Bukowski's short list of novels (in comparison to how many books he's published). It also happens to be his worst (in my humble opinion) book, period. I must say I appreciate his divergence from his usual, Henry Chinaski autobiographical stuff, but this one falls short. The main character is a private dick who gets involved with the spirit of Celine and a sexy alien in this offbeat story that, as the title suggests, plays with Pulp and Noir style. It's a quick, sort of fun read, but it feels thrown together and published on the merit and fame of its author rather than the quality of the book. Pulp kind of reminds me of a bad novel written by a young writer that doesn't realize his lack of talent. Still, it's a must for any Bukowski fan because of how different it is and because he only has a handful of novels. I'm on my way to finishing everything Buk has ever written and this is just another piece of the fantastic whole. If you've never read Bukowski please don't start with this. It's not fair to him. Check out Women or Post Office. If you're a dedicated fan you'll get a kick out of Pulp but will likely agree that it's more a quirky, fun change and another addition to his lexicon than a great work of fiction. That's the best way I can describe it. You can find a synopsis somewhere else.

How It Really Was.......2006-10-02

Look, I knew Nick Belane. This story is real. The characters are real. Anyone who says otherwise is insane or crazy. See, Nick and I drank together back in the day. The book is mostly how it all happened. They left me out because I wanted big money ($25). Bukowski wouldn't pay me so I told him, "Keep my name out of it then, or I'll bust your sack."

Bad Girls of Pulp Fiction (Miniature Editions)

Average customer rating:

do not forget it is a miniature
Should be clearly labeled as a gag gift
the pictures are there
Tiny Surprises
Nice but not spectacular

Bad Girls of Pulp Fiction (Miniature Editions)
Thomas Campbell , Nancy Armstrong , and Jason Rekulak
Manufacturer: Running Press Book Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Popular Culture | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0762412569

Customer Reviews:

do not forget it is a miniature .......2007-01-09

nice details and design, good content for people who enjoy pin-up / vintage ( I'm not an expert on those topics so please do not go by my review if you are looking for rare vintage stuff etc ), I bought this item to be able to complete a $100 shopping amount to classify for free shipping , so I quickly look at the book description, when I got the package I realized I bought a miniature , it is the smallest book on my house ..

Should be clearly labeled as a gag gift.......2006-07-14

I bought it as a gag gift, so I got what I ordered. I am married to "Bad Girl" Olga Khanukova, the young lady who modeled for the cover of Pulp Graffiti Volume I. I bought this book as a gag gift for her, but I guess the joke is on me. My magnifying glass is larger than this book. I still plan to give it to Olga, and I still think she will get a kick out of it. Maybe I'll buy a very small coffee table to set it on and we can laugh even harder.

I wish the book were larger, then it would have real value. Anyone else will probably feel cheated if they buy this book for its literary value. It would be nice if it were more clearly labeled by an on line bookseller, but I don't see that as a reason to give the author a bad review.

the pictures are there.......2006-06-17

the quality of the art work is wonderful but this by dimensions is the smallest book i have ever owned it 3 inches by 3 inches. if you are a collector and want something unique then get this book it even as an erotic spiked heel attaches as a book mark. but its diffucult to see the pictures .. i would give this book 5 stars had it come out in a reasonable size. but the pictures are of nice quality and the women are very sexy

Tiny Surprises.......2006-03-22

If you read the fine print...you will find that this tiny little book is way overpriced unless it sells for a dollar. That's what the sticker price of the one sent to me said the purchase price was. But silly me, didn't read the small print, and paid way too much for it. A "cute" little book, but a mere token of the value expressed by the seller. Will probably relist it soon on ebay.

Nice but not spectacular.......2005-12-23

This nice little book fits in the palm of your hand. It's interesting, but more of a novelty item than anything else.

Captain Babyface: The Complete Adventures

Average customer rating:

Captain Babyface: The Complete Adventures
Steve Fisher
Manufacturer: BookSurge Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Action & Adventure | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Red Falcon: The Dare-Devil Aces Years Volume 1
Astounding Hero Tales
The Weird Detective Adventures of Wade Hammond: Vol. 2
The Spider: Robot Titans of Gotham
$The Adventures of the Three Mosquitoes: \"The Wizard Ace\"$ The Adventures of the Three Mosquitoes: \"The Wizard Ace\"

ASIN: 0979409209
Release Date: 2007-03-23

Book Description

Journey back to an Age of Aces! For Jed Garrett, “Captain Babyface” of the American Special Agent's Corps, his orders are simple: Kill Mr. Death! But who is Mr. Death? One of Germany's brightest chemists and inventors, he had grown weary of life and entered a monastery near Alsace-Lorraine. But war came and the monastery was bombed. Severely injured, German surgeons patched him back together, though he was left horribly disfigured. And now, sworn to vengeance against the Americans, he uses his evil genius for Germany in the “War to End All War.” Author Steve Fisher is best known for his hardboiled work in Black Mask Magazine and in novels like “I Wake Up Screaming”. In Popular Publications long-running aviation pulp Dare-Devil Aces, he created the ten titanic tales of Captain Babyface. For the first time, they are presented together in one volume. This is the first in a series from Age of Aces Books that will feature some of the greatest aviation pulp heroes of the 1930's.

Average customer rating:

Strong Collection of Pulp Stories
Rip-roaring

Retro Pulp Tales

Manufacturer: Subterranean Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Anthologies | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Horror Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1596060085

Customer Reviews:

Strong Collection of Pulp Stories.......2006-11-21

Edited by Joe Lansdale, an authority on the subject, some of the most respected writers in the field weigh in with stories that pay tribute to the "pulps." 12 stories in all, written by: James Reasoner (a tribute to the aviation pulps), Chet Williamson (one of my three favorites, a mystery that unfolds as clips from personal ads in the backs of pulp magazines with a great ending), F. Paul Wilson (a Yellow Peril story), Alex Irvine (a Detroit gangland/police/pool hall story), Melissa Mia Hall (a tribute to the "Gidget" surfer stories), Tim Lebbon (a story about a giant), Bill Crider (an interesting and humorous alien abduction story. Crider writes westerns but used to write horror novels as Jack MacLane.), Al Sarrantonio (another of my three favorites, a summer story in the tradition of Bradbury but with a perfect Sarrantonio twist at the end), Stephen Gallagher (a story of a soldier haunted by ghosts from his past), Kim Newman (a story that ties with her Anno Dracula books and also her Seven Stars collection), Gary Phillips (an excellent war story in the Haunt of Fear or Weird Tales tradition), and Norman Partridge (the other of my three favorites, a very tight and suspenseful story of a group of people at odds with one another in the desert. This one was likely the best story in the collection.)

Each story has an introduction by the author detailing the type of pulps he/she liked and what inspired their story. Each story is new to this edition, no reprints here. Joe Lansdale gives an introduction at the beginning of the book but did not contribute a story. Some of the introductions are better than the stories they support. Overall, this is a very entertaining and very strong collection (a delightful romp through the very missed days of pulp magazines) and well worth the read.

Rip-roaring.......2006-08-25

Rarely do such proclamatory nomenclatures hold good, esp. for anthologies, where the frequency of each author is bound to be different and thus it is more difficult to produce a rich harmonique. This collection features stories which make us understand what used to be the pulpy days, and long for them. Highly recommended.

Average customer rating:

Very appealing collection

Pulp Masters

Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Anthologies | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Hard-Boiled | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0786708735

Book Description

Six masters of pulp fiction at its most powerful and suspenseful best -- John MacDonald, James M. Cain, Donald Westlake, Lawrence Block, Mickey Spillane, and Harrington Whittington -- distinguish this new anthology compiled by the award-winning editors of its two popular predecessors, American Pulp and Pure Pulp. Like them, Pulp Masters culls its tales -- in this case, six classic novelettes and one complete novel -- from the golden age of magazine fiction in the first half of the twentieth century. The writers included in this volume in time emerged as giants in the field of crime fiction, and the stories in this volume demonstrate why. Their voices fresh, their talents raw and original, with novelettes like "Ordo," "Stag Party Kill," "The Embezzler," and "Everybody's Watching Me," Westlake, Block, Cain, and Spillane both heralded and shaped the crime story as we know it today. So did "the King of the Paperback Original" -- Harrington Whittington -- represented here by the novel based on his pulp short story "So Dead, My Love."

Customer Reviews:

Very appealing collection.......2001-09-07

This is a very enjoyable set of crime stories from several of the most famous names in the genre. Contained within are six stories: five longish short stories (or novelettes) and one short novel. I have read very little of these types of pieces before, so I was unable to compare them to other examples of this genre. But as they say, I may not know trashy pulp novels from the middle part of the Twentieth Century, but I know what I like, and this collection is well worth reading.

As I said, I don't know much about written crime stories, though I have seen my fair share of the films from this era. There's something very enticing about these stories of gangsters, cops and private eyes. Every woman is a blonde and every case has a solution. These aren't the most realistic stories in the world, but you'll have to go far to find more enjoyable ones.

"The Embezzler" by James M Cain, 1938 - This is quite an interesting story set in and around a city bank. Money is missing, and a bank employee must figure out who is embezzling the money and how. A nicely realized romance between the protagonist and the wife of the suspect helps break up the action pleasantly. The ending feels a bit contrived, as if the author was forced to tack on a happy ending, but the story itself is very entertaining.

"Ordo" by Donald E. Westlake, 1977 - An interesting character study of a woman who leaves town and becomes a world-famous movie star. It's told through the eyes of a man she was married to before she became famous. It's a great story that will keep you intrigued the whole time. Fairly simple concept, but the execution raises up the quality of the entire piece.

"Stag Party Girl" by Lawrence Block, 1965 - A whodunit that doesn't quite live up to its full potential. The premise and investigation are fairly interesting, but the ending falls a bit flat.

"College-Cut Kill" by John D. MacDonald, 1950 - This one seems to be structured very similar to the previous story, though it has the advantage of being slightly better executed. The killer's motivation is far too similar to that of the murderer in "Stag Party Girl". It was probably a mistake to include these two stories next to one another in a collection. Placing a story or two in between them would helped to shadow the similarities.

"Everybody's Watching Me" by Mickey Spillane, 1953 -- A story of established gangsters who fear news of the arrival of one of the deadliest hit-men in the country. I didn't care for this story. While the premise is sound enough, there are far too many factions to keep track of in such a small space. There are two difference police departments, several groups of gangsters, a drug supplier, a hired killer, a newspaper reporter, the narrator, the narrator's love interest and his mysterious informer. Perhaps if this was a longer piece there would be more room to develop all these characters and sub-plots, but as the story is, they are just too underdeveloped and confusing. The ending is a surprise, but, unfortunately, it falls apart once you start putting some thought into it.

"So Dead My Love" by Harry Whittington, 1953 - This is the only full novel in the collection though it was a relatively short one. This was quite an enjoyable read. The story is set in a small town in the South, featuring a man who grew up there but then left to become a private investigator in New York. When he's called back to his roots, he must locate a missing person while avoiding the old feuds and power politics that caused him to leave in the first place. This was probably the most entertaining read in the collection. I couldn't wait to see what the protagonist was going to uncover next in this small town. All the characters and their relationships were well explained, and by the end of the story I was able to completely understand how the hero felt about the place he grew up in.

All in all, this was a very appealing collection. I hadn't read much of the genre before this anthology, but now I have a few more authors that I think I will be looking up to read more of. Recommended.

Average customer rating:

PULP Keeper!

They finally got it right

WONDERFUL HISTORY AND DAZZLING ARTWORK

A marvelous and instigating book

Beautiful overview of pulp cover art

Pulp Culture: The Art of Fiction Magazines
Frank M. Robinson , and Lawrence Davidson
Manufacturer: Collectors Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Pop Culture | Graphic Design | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Incredible Pulps: A Gallery of Fiction Magazine Art (Graphic Art)

Pulp Art: Original Cover Paintings for the Great American Pulp Magazines

Belarski Pulp Art Masters

It's a Man's World: Men's Adventure Magazines, the Postwar Pulps

Uncovered: The Hidden Art Of The Girlie Pulp

ASIN: 1933112301

Amazon.com

Penzler Pick, November 2001: Pulp magazines reigned for about a quarter of a century as the most popular entertainment medium in America. They were cheaply produced and, during the Great Depression, were blessedly cheap to buy, generally a dime.

And they were plentiful. After a low-key beginning, when a few magazines displayed their tasteful covers to an appreciative readership, their success spawned countless competitors. The covers became more and more garish, and promised ever greater excitement. Western covers went from an illustration of an Indian gently paddling his canoe to furious cattle stampedes, a huge gang of obviously ferocious savages attacking a defenseless family, and depictions of shootouts in every conceivable locale. Mystery covers went from showing a cop on the beat to villainous thugs tearing the clothes off a helpless young woman (most frequently a generously endowed young blonde) or any other sort of action that promised the reader endless excitement.

And they delivered. Pulp writers knew how to write thrilling stories and books. Many of the best went on to extremely successful careers in book form. Dashiell Hammett wrote most of his stories and novels for the pulps, and he is now recognized as one of the most influential fiction writers of the 20th century. Raymond Chandler, too, wrote stories for the pulps and is frequently conceded to be the great mystery writer of the 20th century.

Pulps became more and more specialized as their numbers increased, soon appealing to fans of jungle stories, science fiction, fantasy, railroad stories, romances, Westerns, Western romances, aviation, the Foreign Legion, engineering, the outdoors, courtrooms, Wall Street, newspapers, firefighters, and so on. Now there is a new book that recalls that Golden Age of the pulp magazines (roughly 1920-1945) with a knowledgeable and nicely written text that covers all the highlights of the major magazines and the major writers, who are sometimes remembered today and, alas, sometimes not.

And there are those fabulous covers! Magnificently produced in Hong Kong, Pulp Culture is a genuine bargain. Here are the Shadow, Max Brand, Talbot Mundy, Erle Stanley Gardner, Black Mask, Sax Rohmer and Fu Manchu, C.S. Forester, and Captain Horatio Hornblower, Doc Savage, the Phantom Detective, and on and on.

For the old codgers among us, this gorgeous book will produce a happy trip down memory lane. Younger readers, eat your heart out. It will show you what you missed in a time of great storytelling that today's television shows can't ever match. --Otto Penzler

Book Description

Pulp fiction’s lurid adventures were vividly reflected on the magazines’ eye-catching covers. Hard-boiled dames, bizarre monsters, dicks and ‘tecs, sinister villains, and muscled warriors all appeared each month to tempt readers out of their hard-earned dimes. This gorgeous full-color compilation features hundreds of the genre’s most thrilling covers and includes an index. Taken collectively, they provide a dazzling panorama of some 60 years of illustration and social commentary.

Customer Reviews:

PULP Keeper!.......2007-03-30

The BEST collection of pulp genre ever. Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? Is there a Doc Savage in the house? Can I get that Fu Manchu to go? how about some Lovecraft? I guess it all should have warped us, but it didn't, and all that we watch and read today has drawn strength from these wonderfully cheap reads. Totally sweet from design to content. Robinson knows his stuff and it all makes for a CHERISHED collectible book!

They finally got it right.......2007-03-16

This is a fully revised edition of the first pictorial history of the pulp magazines to be published and the authors finally got it right. There is a complete index of magazine titles and the artists who painted their covers, the images have been rescanned to eliminate any "moire" patterns that may have degraded the paintings, and the most unusual cover ever published has now been included (a painting by John Held Jr., famous for his "sheiks and shebas" of the Jazz Age). The cover has been redesigned and features the image of a pirate far more fearsome than Johnny Depp. This is the book that started it all and the price is now more than right. --Frank M. Robinson (I'm one of the authors).

WONDERFUL HISTORY AND DAZZLING ARTWORK.......2005-07-06

Hard-boiled Detectives, mysterious heroes, shadowy villains, evil oriental masterminds, and dames in distress...they are the stuff of the pulp magazines and the subject of this wonderful book by Frank Robinson which traces the history of pulp magazines and provides covers to hundreds of these great pulp magazines, so many lost in the antiquity of time...not to mention paper drives of the 1940's war years.

Robinson begins by tracing the roots of the pulps back to the dime novels of the late 1800's. Argosy would premiere as the first true pulp back in 1896 and before long dozens of competitors would emerge such as Popular Magazine, All-Story Weekly, New Story and so many more. Street & Smith, long a major publisher of dime novels would convert their Nick Carter series into Detective Story Magazine in 1915. The pulps were born!

Early on, adventure pulps were the most popular as they transported readers to strange and exotic lands in a time when few would ever leave their own state. It's where we first read the exploits of Tarzan, and heard the names of writers such as Burroughs, Mundy and Rohmer. Adventure magazine was among the most popular of those early days and they even had their own organization you could join called "The Legion" which would one day evolve into the American Legion. Adventure printed more than just fiction, they had many regular columns including "Wanted: Men & Adventurers" where real life mercenaries could advertise their skills for hire.

In the 1930's, detective pulps became the most popular as there were literally dozens of detective pulps being published. Among the most prominent pulps of the day was Black Mask Magazine, started by prominent newspaperman and political commentator H.L. Mencken. But he considered the pulps so low-brow that he didn't want his name associated with them. Still, Blackmask was a breeding ground for some for some of the great mystery and detective writers ever to pen a story including Dashiell Hammett, Erle Stanley Gardner, Lester Dent, and Raymond Chandler.

Robinson's narrative moves from one pulp genre to the next, with a short, but concise history of each. He examines the Western pulps and the interesting history of the man known as Max Brand. Brand was the most prolific pulp writer ever, appearing in 622 issues of Western Story magazine from 1920 - 1935. From there it's on to the hero pulps and the birth of the most famous pulp characters of all including "The Shadow", "Doc Savage", and "The Spider". The Shadow's covers were always among the most evocative and terrifying, especially those by the great George Rozen.

But the genre that gave us the most outrageous and grisly covers of the pulp era belongs to the "shudder pulps". Bondage, torture, sadism, nudity...nothing was held back in covers for such pulps as "Terror Tales" and "Horror Stories". These pulps are some of the most sought after today by collectors.

Romance, spicy adventures, sports, war...all of these get their just do in Pulp Culture but it's the sci-fi and fantasy section that will be a major appeal for many fans. It was here where some of the most famous and long-running pulps made their mark. Hugo Gernsback would usher in the age of Sci-fi pulps in 1926 with Amazing Stories. Soon there were dozens of competitors including Wonder Stories, Astounding Stories, and many more. And then there is perhaps the most famous, most collectible of all pulps, Weird Tales. Weird Tales would unleash the enormous talents of Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, Robert Bloch, August Derleth, and countless others with stories that would endure, and continue to be reprinted, decades after their original publication. There are dozens of covers provided featuring the works of artists like Margaret Brundage and Virgil Finlay.

Robinson closes his book by providing an appendix to a handful of pulp dealers and notes on pulp values. This book would be worth the $40 price tag alone JUST for the hundreds of stunning covers re-printed, but Robinson's concise history of pulps just adds to the luster of the book. Simply a magnificent book for any fan or collector of pulp magazines.

Reviewed By Tim Janson

A marvelous and instigating book .......2005-03-06

This book is a marvelous journey to a time that will not come back.Guided by two wonderful connoisseurs: writer ,pulp magazines scholar and collector Frank M. Robinson and Lawrence Davidson,"PULP CULTURE" was a beautiful gift that I bought(via Amazon.com ,from the NIGHT OWL CAFE Bookshop in North Hampton,NH) for myself.Reviewing this work for January magazine,David Middleton said:"For me it's mostly about covers.Those lurid,sensational covers." Well,for me it's about everything.I love the covers,of course(see the HANNES BOK painting for the November 1941 cover of WEIRD TALES),but I admire, too,the stories and writers.The adventure tales written by H.BEDFORD JONES and TALBOT MUNDY;the mystery and detective stories created by legends like DASHIELL HAMMETT and RAYMOND CHANDLER;the western yarns concocted by pulp giants like MAX BRAND and FRANK GRUBER.And the Magazines!It's titles!It's alluring titles:THE ARGOSY,THE ALL-STORY,BLACK MASK,DIME DETECTIVE MAGAZINE,ADVENTURE,THE BLUE BOOK,THE POPULAR MAGAZINE,WESTERN STORY,THE SHADOW MAGAZINE,G-8 AND HIS BATTLE ACES,TERROR TALES,HORROR STORIES,STRANGE STORIES,AMAZING STORIES,ASTOUNDING STORIES,FANTASTIC ADVENTURES,FAMOUS FANTASTIC MYSTERIES,THRILLING WONDER STORIES,PLANET STORIES and so on...I have a good envy of collectors like Frank M. Robinson who owns hundreds and hundreds of these shiny magazines with their garish covers,a happy guardian of these rare and precious popular art objects.
The books published by Collectors Press are already much sought after for it's exquisite design and intrinsic quality."PULP CULTURE" is one of them.

Beautiful overview of pulp cover art.......2002-05-22

I puchased this book for 50% off, and after reading it, I can say that even at full price, it would have been worth it. Page after page of bright clear reproductions of pulp covers, many almost full-page, with any extra space filled with smaller images. The book is divided into chapters based on subject matter: Westerns, Super Heroes, Sci-Fi, Horror, Gangsters, etc. The text is informative, but minimal - it provides just enough background on each chapter's subject and then lets the art speak for itself. Each cover is accompanied with information on the issue and artist, plus some informative personal commentary from the author. Plenty of top-notch artists are included, such as Wyeth, Baumhofer, etc. Don't buy this for an in-depth analysis of pulp magazines; the star here is definitely the art, and it delivers in spades.

Myths for the Modern Age: Philip Jose Farmer's Wold Newton Universe

Average customer rating:

A Wold Newton heroic delight
What a fantastic book!!
Welcome to the universe!
Chris Davies is WRONG!
It Opened up the Farmer World to Me

Myths for the Modern Age: Philip Jose Farmer's Wold Newton Universe
Win Scott Eckert , Philip Jose Farmer , Matthew Baugh , Christopher Paul Carey , Peter Coogan , Rick Lai , Brad Mengel , Jess Nevins , Dennis E. Power , and John A. Small
Manufacturer: MonkeyBrain Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1932265147

Book Description

In his classic biographies of fictional characters (Tarzan Alive and Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life), Hugo- and Nebula-award winning author Philip Jose Farmer introduced the Wold Newton family, a collection of heroes and villains whose family-tree includes Sherlock Holmes, Fu Manchu, Philip Marlowe, and James Bond. In books, stories, and essays he expanded the concept even further, adding more branches to the Wold Newton family-tree. MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE: PHILIP JOSE FARMER'S WOLD NEWTON UNIVERSE collects for the first time those rarely-seen essays. Expanding the family even farther are contributions from Farmer's successors-scholars, writers, and pop-culture historians-who bring even more fictional characters into the fold.

Customer Reviews:

A Wold Newton heroic delight.......2006-10-12

This is a further exploration of the relationships in Philip Jose Farmer' s Wold Newton Universe, as seen in books like Tarzan Alive, Doc Savage - His Apocalyptic Life, and the Other Log of Phileas Fogg.

Myths for the Modern Age is worth it for the Captain Nemo is Moriarty piece alone, not to mention the fabulous cover, complete with Modesty Blaise!

Here you have a collection of essays that inter-relate various characters, families and other information, by several different authors, including a compatriot, as well as Eckert himself, not to mention Farmer himself, so you could call this an anthology.
Please be aware that this is not a novel, if that is what you are looking for.

Eckert has a passion for this stuff, yes, you could call it obsessive monomania, but that is what collecting, which is really what this is all about, 'collecting' characters into universes and relationships, and utter, utter, fandom.

He is also a Philip Jose Farmer expert, to boot.

This is just fantastic stuff. Check out his and Farmer's various websites too, they are great. There are also related mailing lists that are worth it, if you are interested to this level.

Something else I have found : if you ask these authors a question, or anything like that, they will answer. They are completely devoted.

Outstanding book, in presentation, content, and participation. I am sure Farmer is quite pleased.

5 out of 5

What a fantastic book!!.......2006-09-30

I'm so glad that all these bits about The WNU have been collected in one volume. I first got interested in PJF's concept when I read his Doc Savage bio. I've been lucky enough to track down a mint HC version of it...at a very reasonable price! This book has made me almost miss my Metro stop on more than one occasion. If you are a fan of Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, pulp heroes, or just want to read some very creative writing then you must buy this book. I plan on giving a couple as gifts this year.
I am also lucky enough to have been accepted into the Johns Hopkins University's Master of Arts in Writing Program. I showed this book to one of my instructors and he was fascinated by it. I gave him the nutshell explanation of WNU and told him that, after I get my degree, I would like to teach a course or two about it. If you are already an English/Writing teacher, please do the same. Let's srpead the fun around!!!

Welcome to the universe!.......2006-08-19

Philip Jose Farmer had created the Wold Newton Universe. The 'stargate' necessary to access that Universe is the book in question. Read it fast and by the end of it, you would be hooked. Read it slowly, you might feel sleepy. Neverthless, the book is wonderful.

Chris Davies is WRONG!.......2006-05-19

Having read both this book from cover to cover and the reviews that are posted on this sight, I can only conclude that one of the reviewers has an axe to grind with one or more of the writers responsible. Don't let that sway you; this is an excellent book that, yes, occasionally offers up contradictory information - if you take the time to read the introductory portion CAREFULLY, you will note that not only does Mr. Eckert acknowledge as much, but goes on to state that this is part of the fun in the game these writers are playing. Some people should lighten up and learn how to have fun already!

It Opened up the Farmer World to Me.......2006-05-09

The contributors for this book provide a wonderful look into the world of Philip Jose Farmer. I had only read one Farmer book (The Tongues of the Moon) before delving into Myths. The excitement and intelligent discussion of Farmer's works in this volume prompted me to order several other titles. I am now on my third.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books