Browsed by
Category: Blog Entry

A (Black) Gat in the Hand: Bob’s Books – Shelfie #11 (Dashiell Hammett)

A (Black) Gat in the Hand: Bob’s Books – Shelfie #11 (Dashiell Hammett)

It’s a new shelfie and we’re up to number eleven. And this one is my Dashiell Hammett collection. His face is the first one on my Hardboiled Mt. Rushmore. So, he’s got a solid shelf in my Hardboiled collection.

William T. Nolan’s bio on the far left has some good info, but he’s a bit of a hack. He doesn’t miss an opportunity to run down Carroll John Daly to make Hammett look better. It’s juvenile, and Hammett doesn’t need the help. Reminds me of L. Sprague deCamp putting down Robert E. Howard to elevate his own Conan stuff.

Diane Johnson’s’ biography was written with Lillian Hellman’s permission (Hammett’s long-time mistress/girlfriend controlled his Estate). It’s pretty clear Hellman had approval authority, and it’s not the most objective book.

Richard Layman may be THE authority on Hammett, and his book Discovering The Maltese Falcon and Sam Spade is a mish-mash of stuff related to Hammett and that book. Fun read for fans of The Black Bird.

I’m a big Continental Op fan, and Otto Penzler’s Big Book series has all the stories, plus some very good essays for each of the editors Hammett wrote them for. These are the original Black Mask versions. It includes the two serialized novels, and is a good book for Op fans.

My favorite PI book, and my favorite PI novel: The Maltese Falcon. This version has some cool black and white photos related to the novel. I wrote an essay on the book and the three movie versions that is pretty good.

Read More Read More

Enter the Prince of Darkness:Dracula by Bram Stoker

Enter the Prince of Darkness:Dracula by Bram Stoker

“Listen to them—the children of the night. What music they make!”

Dracula to Jonathan Harker

I’ve heard tell my generation had nightmares about nuclear war, worried someone was going to press the big red button and trigger the annihilation of the world.

Not me. I was scared of vampires.

Heck, some nights I didn’t even have nightmares because I was too scared to sleep, convinced they were hiding behind the mottled sycamore trees that lined my block. I’m not sure where it came from. Probably from watching The Night Stalker TV movie (1972, dir. John Llewellyn Moxley) in which vampire Janos Skorzeny ravages sleazy seventies Las Vegas. It introduced the world to monster-hunter, Carl Kolchak and I saw it when I was seven or eight (thanks, Mom!). That fear disappeared quickly enough, but I was left with a taste for vampire stories.

I must have read some vampire stories in the various horror anthologies I bought regularly, though none spring to mind. I saw tons of movies and read stacks of horror comics featuring the bloodsucking fiends. It was two novels, though, that cemented my taste for the Central European monsters: Salem’s Lot (1975, Stephen King) and They Thirst (1981, Robert McCammon). They’re both big books, packed with characters and inventive takes on the idea of a master vampire trying to take over somewhere, a misbegotten Maine town in the first book and all of Los Angeles in the second.

Read More Read More

What I’ve Been Watching: November 2024

What I’ve Been Watching: November 2024

Wow. It’s been a year since I did a What I’ve Been Watching. I did do those two Ten Things I Think I Think, covering Marvel movies, but that’s it. So, let’s talk about a few things I liked.

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS

Our own Goth Chick has talked about this show a couple times – including here.

This is a vampire show, running on FX. Based on a previous movie (which had a different cast). Its about a group of four vampires who live in NYC. They originally came to the New World to take over, but got sidetracked over the years. This show is both wrong, and hilariously funny. Season six is currently running, and will bring the episode total up to sixty-one.

Nandor the Destroyer is in charge, and he’s more the classic Transylvanian-style vampire. I LOVE Matt Berry in The IT Crowd (he reunites with Richard Ayoade in voicing Krapoplois), Year of the Rabbit, and Toast of London. He’s probably my favorite British actor. He makes me laugh as Laszlo. Nadja is his fellow-vampire girlfriend and equal to the two men. They all ‘look like’ vampires. Colin Robinson is an energy vampire – he feeds on negative energy and exhaustion, not blood. It’s a fantastic bit, as we’ve all unknowingly worked with energy vampires in the past. Nandor also has a nerdy little vampire-wannabe apprentice, Guillermo

They’re likable vampires, though they certainly have no compunction in killing humans. There are laughs every episode, and the dynamics of the household shift. Guillermo’s longing to be a vampire is amusing and a little sad. And it owned me when Nandor, trying to explain the origin of the Universe, had a drawing of three elephants standing on the back of a great turtle. If you don’t get that reference, we can still be friends, but you REALLY need to read some Terry Pratchett!

Read More Read More

I Rewatched Kindred: The Embraced So You Don’t Have To

I Rewatched Kindred: The Embraced So You Don’t Have To

This show is so old, there are hardly any images of a suitable size to share. Ah… the memories!

Good afterevenmorn!

On the 15th of this month, or thereabouts, a book of mine celebrated a publishing anniversary. I don’t really keep track of these things, though I should, so I’m very grateful to Renaissance Press (who published it) for the reminder. Human celebrates a birthday this month.

Read More Read More

Writing Advice: Dynamic Dialogue (Red Sneaker Writers)

Writing Advice: Dynamic Dialogue (Red Sneaker Writers)

I started reading William Bernhardt’s Ben Kincaid books back in the mid-nineties. I seem to recall I went on a ‘lawyer’ kick and read him, Steve Martini, and Robert K. Tannenbaum. But years later, Bernhardt made a bigger impact on me with his Red Sneaker Writers series. These slim volumes with the brightly attractive colors are jam-packed with great writing advice. The first book I read was on story structure, and I think it’s still my favorite. Though every one has been both interesting to read and thought-provoking. If I ever get my act together, I’ll add “taught me a lot.”

I’ve read through a couple of them more than once, making notes on paper (I CANNOT highlight a physical book. I’m incapable of it). Last year, I decided to be a little more systematic and I went through EVERY title, be it Theme, Plot, Character – all of them: and I outlined the key points in each chapter. I printed them all out and have a very cool binder. Which, if I ever actually sit down and write a novel, will be of great use.

I sent one of the outlines to him, telling him that I’d like to include it in a Black Gate post, promoting the series. He kindly granted his permission. Today, it’s the third outline in this series.

I’m fortunate that many actual, real, Writers (note the capital ‘W’) with books you can buy on Amazon, or at bookstores (if you can find one that is still in business), are friends of mine. And they are FAR more qualified than I am to talk abut writing advice. I think I hold my own as a Black Gate blogger, and there are worse Sherlock Holmes short stories out there than mine (And certainly better ones!). But my unfinished novel is just a bunch of words strung together, until I finish it.

Read More Read More

Publishing: A Quick Overview

Publishing: A Quick Overview

Image by Jose Antonio Alba from Pixabay

Good afterevenmorn!

I have taken a protracted break from social media for the past fortnight, which has been both a boon and a source of deep frustration for many reasons I will not rant about here. But while it has been an overall win for my mental health, it does mean that I’m very out of the loop when it comes to writerly news, and any gossip and drama happening in that world. Which leaves me with few options for today’s post. Which means, today I’d like to address all the aspiring writers of the readership.

Read More Read More

All My Robert E. Howard Essays (October 2024)

All My Robert E. Howard Essays (October 2024)

I am the in-house mystery guy (that’s how I hoodwinked John O’Neill into giving me a weekly column). Ten years later, he’s still trying to configure the Firewall to keep me from getting up my Monday morning post! I organized the Discovering Robert E. Howard, and Hither Came Conan series’ here at Black Gate. And contributed, of course. That’s the advantage of being in charge of them!

Robert E. Howard is my second-favorite writer (trailing only the terrific John D. MacDonald), and I’ve written over two dozen essays related to him here at Black Gate. With more to come, of course. I posted my second Kirby O’Donnell post in last month, and I’m working on my second spicy tales post.

I came late to Howard. I have loved mythology since grade school. The Iliad remains one of my all-time favorite stories, and I have a copy of Schleimann’s Ilios. That led me to Dungeons and Dragons in middle school, and I know I was reading The Lord of the Rings somewhere around the 8th grade. I was a fantasy fan for life.

I bought the first Ace Conan paperback, but it sat on my shelf, unread. Not sure why. I know I read David C. Smith’s Oron, but not that one. As my son was playing with the Thomas the Train layout in the kids section of Barnes and Noble one day, I started reading the first Dely Rey Conan book. I read that the next time we were there. And I bought it. And Robert E. Howard would move up the ranks of my favorite writers, as I bought more Del Reys.

Conan and El Borak are about even at the top, and then Solomon Kane. But I just continued to like Robert E. Howard, more and more.

Here are all of my own Robert E. Howard-related essays here at Black Gate. A couple are pretty good, I think. Mostly in the first two sections below. Check out a couple, please. By Crom!

Read More Read More

The More-Ish Nature of Chinese Costume Dramas

The More-Ish Nature of Chinese Costume Dramas

Good afterevenmorn!

I have not all that long ago espoused my love for Chinese Dramas on here. I was gushing about The Untamed, which still reigns supreme for me for a myriad of reasons. Not least of all because I’ve only watched one other all the way through since then. It’s that weird thing when a love for one of the genre makes all others in that genre pale by comparison. I still desperately want a copy of The Untamed on DVD or Blu-Ray for my collection. But I didn’t want to get on here to rehash my old loves for you. Tempted though I am.

I’ve gotten ahead of myself here. Let me start from the beginning.

Read More Read More

What I’ve Been Listening To: September 2024

What I’ve Been Listening To: September 2024

And it’s time for you to find out what I’ve been listening to. I know you’ve been anxiously waiting since last month. Now, if you read last two blog posts. Which I’m SURE you did….you know I watched 26 Marvel movies. While that was fun (and ridiculously indulgent), it did cut a bit into my listening (and reading). But I still managed to get in some of both. So, awaaaay we go.

THE DESERT OF SOULS – Howard Andrew Jones

If you follow me on Facebook, you’ve seen me talking about my Black Gate buddy Howard Andrew Jones, who recently revealed he’s battling a fast-acting brain cancer. I’ll write more about that topic, but I decided it was time to get back to some of his work.

A couple years ago, he wrote an epic fantasy, The Ring Sworn trilogy. He switched publishers, and the third book of his latest trilogy, The Chronicles of Hanuvar, is due out October 1. It seems destined to go down as one of the best in modern sword and sorcery.

I really like his Arabian fantasy stories featuring Dabir and Asim. I’m re-reading the short story collection, The Waters of Eternity (an absolute steal in digital). But on a trip to visit him a few weeks ago, I decided to re-listen to the first novel, Desert of Souls.

Robert E. Howard is about the only Adventure stuff I read. I never got into H. Rider Haggard, and I’m familiar with Ali Baba and Aladdin (no, not from Disney). But these sword and sorcery mysteries are good reads.

Read More Read More