Podcast appearances and mentions of donald westlake

Thriller. Hero. Suit Up! Ever read an empty thriller? The events and excitement are only so interesting without a dynamic hero at the center of the story. We resonate with characters, not plots. No matter how good a plot, without a strong protagonist to hold it together it becomes flat and lifeless. I find Forever and a Death by Donald Westlake fascinating, but because it was originally a Bond script and turned into a novel without Bond, the protagonist of the piece is a little flat and lifeless. When your life starts to feel rushed and chaotic, remember: Thrillers need heroes. Suit Up! Follow The Show! https://terrancelayhew.com/suitup/ https://www.instagram.com/suitup.podcast/ https://www.facebook.com/tlayhew  

Lee is joined by friends and returning guest hosts Robby and Wick to cover John Flynn's "The Outfit" (1973), starring Robert Duvall, Karen Black, and the recently departed Joe Don Baker. Being one of several adaptations of a book in the popular "Parker" series of crime novels, the hosts ponder the virtues of Donald Westlake's more matter-of-fact blue collar criminal world, and the hard-nosed professionals he populated it with. The hosts also discuss recent watches, which mostly focuses on 30+ year old television this time around. "The Outfit" IMDB  Check out Wick's fantastic art here.  Featured Music: "Hotel Corridor (Bad Right Ear)" by Jerry Fielding & "Quentin Blue" by Jerry Fielding; vocals by Steve Gillette. 

Send Kevin a Text MessageIn this episode of Don't Kill the Messenger, host Kevin Goetz interviews Shane Black, one of Hollywood's highest-paid screenwriters, who redefined action films with witty dialogue, dark humor, and unforgettable characters. From Lethal Weapon to The Nice Guys, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and Iron Man 3, Shane discusses his journey from a self-described "oddball" to a filmmaking powerhouse.Pittsburgh Roots and Early Influences (02:55)Born in Pittsburgh, Black shares how his father's printing business and bookshelf of detective novels sparked his love for "tough guy literature" that would later influence his writing style.Overcoming Personal Struggles (08:00)Black candidly discusses his battles with OCD and alcoholism. He reveals how he transformed these challenges into creative strengths and encourages others to "just lean into being weird."The Psychology Behind His Characters (12:04)Black explains how his characters often represent different aspects of his own psychology. He emphasizes that truly compelling writing comes from creating characters with authentic emotional DNA that resonates with the writer's own experiences.The Creation of Lethal Weapon (15:32)Black describes Lethal Weapon as "an urban western" with Mel Gibson's character representing "a Frankenstein kept in a cage" - a Vietnam veteran reviled by society but needed when violence intrudes on everyday life.Working with Hollywood Icons (27:13)Black shares insights about working with legends like Richard Donner, Tony Scott, Joel Silver, and Robert Downey Jr.From Writer to Director (40:06)Black explains his transition to directing to have more creative control over his work. Black adds that directing allows him to move beyond returning to the blank page and into a more collaborative aspect of filmmaking.Latest Project: Play Dirty (52:01)Black discusses working with Mark Wahlberg, and adapting Donald Westlake's Parker series for Amazon, calling Westlake "the king" among mystery writers and explaining his lifelong admiration for these stories he first read at age 12.Throughout the conversation, Black offers a masterclass on screenwriting in Hollywood. Black and Kevin Goetz discover numerous personal connections, creating an unusually intimate portrait of a filmmaker who transformed Hollywood's action genre. His journey from a bookish child to acclaimed filmmaker serves as proof that leaning into one's unique perspective can lead to extraordinary creative achievements.If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or connect on social media. We look forward to bringing you more revelations from behind the scenes next time on Don't Kill the Messenger!Host: Kevin GoetzGuest: Shane BlackProducer: Kari CampanoWriters: Kevin Goetz, Darlene Hayman, Nick Nunez, and Kari CampanoAudio Engineer: Gary Forbes (DG Entertainment) For more information about Shane Black:Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shane_BlackIMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000948/Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/director/shane-black/ For more information about Kevin Goetz:Website: www.KevinGoetz360.comAudienceology Book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Audience-ology/Kevin-Goetz/9781982186678Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Rick and I hop into our first episode on Darwyn Cooke's Donald Westlake's Richard Stark's Parker. Check out more in depth show notes by going to our Tumblr! Follow Autumn on Bluesky! Follow Rick on Bluesky and Patreon! Our art was done by Cam! You should follow their excellent webcomic, Matchmaker! To support the show and get access to an extra episode each month, go to exportaud.io! "Bass Vibes" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Noirvember 2024 ends with a bang as we delve into Stephen Frears' electrifying neo-noir The Grifters. Adapted from Jim Thompson's novel by screenwriter Donald Westlake, this razor-sharp film stars Anjelica Huston as Lily Dillon, a veteran con artist manipulating the odds at the racetrack. Her uneasy reunion with estranged son Roy (John Cusack) and his cunning girlfriend Myra (Annette Bening) sparks a volatile triangle of deception and betrayal in the high-stakes world of grifting.Mike is joined by crime fiction experts Andrew Nette and Jedidiah Ayres to untangle this web of cons and double-crosses. Plus, executive producer Barbara De Fina and producer Peggy Rajski reveal what it took to bring this stylish, unsettling tale to life.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.

Noirvember 2024 ends with a bang as we delve into Stephen Frears' electrifying neo-noir The Grifters. Adapted from Jim Thompson's novel by screenwriter Donald Westlake, this razor-sharp film stars Anjelica Huston as Lily Dillon, a veteran con artist manipulating the odds at the racetrack. Her uneasy reunion with estranged son Roy (John Cusack) and his cunning girlfriend Myra (Annette Bening) sparks a volatile triangle of deception and betrayal in the high-stakes world of grifting.Mike is joined by crime fiction experts Andrew Nette and Jedidiah Ayres to untangle this web of cons and double-crosses. Plus, executive producer Barbara De Fina and producer Peggy Rajski reveal what it took to bring this stylish, unsettling tale to life.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.

We're joined by comedian and writer Charlie Demers to discuss a novel that the famous crime writer Donald Westlake finished in the early '80s but which wasn't published until after his death. At the time, he apparently worried that the plot--about a famous comedian kidnapped by a Weather Underground-style group of revolutionaries--was too similar to the Martin Scoresese movie The King of Comedy. We talk about the book's take on politics and comedy, which may have some echoes in our current cultural moment. And also Charlie's relationship to these characters, since he's a stand-up comedian and someone who's quite active in progressive politics. Plus: beatniks, Bob Hope, the fragmentation of popular culture, and our pitch for a show about a detective with ADHD. To learn more about Charlie, and follow his work, visit his website: https://www.charliedemers.com/ If you like our podcast, and want to exchange a few bucks for two montly bonus episodes, check out our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/BookFight Note: This is the 3rd episode in our Noir season, but you don't need to listen to the episodes in order to enjoy them.

Send us a Text Message.Former NFL player Jim Brown leads an all star cast in heist film The Split, which adapts one of the many novels featuring the Parker character written by Donald Westlake. So why are we wondering if this movie is “really that bad?”  Because this was the first movie to ever be rated R after the dismantling of the Hays Code!  We also talk about notable athletes that moved over to acting once their playing days were over, and some history on the specific things the Hays Code prohibited in films, to put this movie in context. So come join us!  Children under 17 should be accompanied by an adult. 

durée : 01:05:00 - Les Nuits de France Culture - par : Albane Penaranda - Deuxième partie de l'entretien accordé par Donald Westlake lors de son passage à Paris en mars 2005 pour l'adaptation au cinéma par Costa-Gavras, de son roman "Le Couperet" publié en 1997. Le romancier s'exprime sur son rapport à la littérature érotique, le western, la SF et le cinéma. - invités : Donald Westlake

durée : 01:05:52 - Les Nuits de France Culture - par : Albane Penaranda - De passage à Paris, en mars 2006, pour le lancement du "Couperet", film de Costa-Gavras tiré de son roman éponyme paru en 1997, le romancier américain Donald Westlake accorde un long entretien à "Mauvais Genres". - invités : Donald Westlake

Programa semanal de actualidad, entrevistas y novedades sobre juegos de mesa, rol, cómics, ciencia ficción, fantasía y ocio alternativo del equipo de Cero en Cordura. En el programa de esta semana hablamos de: Libros - Microsiervos, de Douglas Coupland Series y cine - Revisions - ID-0 - Inuyashiki - W-two worlds (Viki) Cómics - Contrition de Carlos Portela y Keko, Norma editorial - Parker integrales 1 y 2, de Darwyn Cooke y Donald Westlake, Astiberri Juegos de mesa y rol - Mausritter - It’s a Wonderful World, Guerra o Paz Videojuegos - Sherlock Holmes (Frogwares) Polifrikis es un podcast solidario con Ayudar Jugando: https://ayudarjugando.org/ Si te apetece seguir comentando con nosotros los temas de cada semana, únete a nuestro grupo de Telegram: https://t.me/Polifrikeo Grabamos cada lunes nuestro programa en directo en https://www.twitch.tv/0encordura a eso de las 20:30h (UTC+1) Nuestras redes sociales: https://twitter.com/0enCordura https://www.instagram.com/0encordura/ https://www.facebook.com/0enCordura/ https://bsky.app/profile/0encordura.bsky.social

The Thriller Zone Podcast Episode SynopsisOn this exciting episode of The Thriller Zone, host David Temple welcomes author Todd Goldberg to discuss his latest novel, "Gangsters Don't Die." David introduces Todd as one of the funniest, most engaging, and educated authors to ever grace the podcast. They dive into a variety of topics, including Todd's prolific writing career, his fascination with gangsters, and the inspiration behind his characters.Todd shares that his interest in organized crime stems from growing up in Palm Springs, a city with a history of mob activity. He talks about the influence of his family's storytelling tradition and the cultural appreciation for reading and writing. Todd also reveals that he has received emails from people who have just gotten out of prison, expressing their appreciation for his book.The conversation takes an interesting turn as Todd discusses the moral ambiguity of his characters and the appeal of gangster stories. He believes that Americans are fascinated by organized crime because it represents the idea of getting away with breaking the rules. Todd also emphasizes the importance of character development and creating complex, multi-dimensional protagonists.David praises Todd's latest book, "Gangsters Don't Die," and highlights the gripping prologue and the morally conflicted protagonist, Sal Cupertine. He expresses his admiration for Todd's ability to make readers both despise and love the main character simultaneously.The discussion then shifts to Todd's career as a professor and his role in directing the low-residency MFA program at UC Riverside. Todd shares his philosophy of teaching and his goal of positioning his students for success in the writing business. He emphasizes the importance of treating writing as commerce and not settling for struggling as an artist.David and Todd briefly touch on Todd's previous podcast, Literary Disco, which was highly regarded in the literary world. They mention that the podcast is currently on hiatus but may return in the future.The episode concludes with David asking Todd for his best piece of writing advice. Todd shares a valuable lesson he learned from author Donald Westlake: a story is over when the reader could write the next page. He explains that this advice has shaped his approach to writing and has led him to constantly surprise readers and avoid predictability.Overall, this episode of The Thriller Zone provides listeners with an engaging and insightful conversation about Todd Goldberg's writing career, his fascination with gangsters, and his approach to storytelling.To learn more about Tod visit his website: TodGoldberg.com and purchase his book on Amazon here. Who knows, maybe Tod will give you a bonus prize when you mention you heard about his book while listening to The Thriller Zone Podcast.Listen: TheThrillerZone.com and ALL Podcast Channels. Watch: YouTube.com/thethrillerzone- - - - - -TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 - Introduction and appreciation for the book from people who have just gotten out of prison00:01:25 - Todd Goldberg's head cold and his role as a director of a low residency MFA program00:02:07 - Todd Goldberg's surprise at not being on the podcast earlier00:03:13 - Todd Goldberg's thoughts on the talent of his family and the influence of his parents00:04:50 - Todd Goldberg's hope that his parents are proud00:05:40 - Todd Goldberg's excitement about being featured on Rising Stars month00:06:43 - Todd Goldberg's thoughts on the fascination with gangster stories and the appeal of getting away with it00:08:10 - Todd Goldberg's personal connection to the desert and his research on organized crime00:10:49 - Todd Goldberg's encounter with an actual gangster at a book signing00:14:57 - Todd Goldberg's reflection on the impact of his books and the changes in his career00:17:12 - Todd Goldberg's appreciation for the prologue and the significance of the first and last lines00:25:27 - Todd Goldberg's personal story about a friend with cancer and its influence on the character development in the book00:26:28 - Todd Goldberg's perspective on happy endings and the ambiguity of right and wrong00:27:48 - Todd Goldberg's belief in leaving endings open and allowing readers to create their own resolution00:29:30 - Todd Goldberg's discussion on the fascination with the dark side of human nature and the influence of cultural upbringing00:30:44 - Todd Goldberg's emphasis on resilience and fighting for what you love00:34:42 - Todd Goldberg's experience as a professor and his philosophy of treating writing as a business00:36:50 - Todd Goldberg's plans for the adaptation of "Gangsters Don't Die" into a screen project00:40:19 - Todd Goldberg's mention of the hiatus of the "Literary Disco" podcast and the continued friendship with co-hosts00:42:58 - Todd Goldberg's advice on writing endings from Donald Westlake00:48:54 - Closing remarks and gratitude from Todd Goldberg

Nick welcomes Marnie Shure, the Managing Editor of the food website "The Takeout," to the podcast, and they discuss the fact that McDonald's is loving the creepy Grimace videos all over the internet, that there are just way too many Subway franchises in America, and that State Fair Food is insane. Plus, Nick and Marnie taste test some weird animal-free gummies, and review some new horror movies. Then, Esmeralda Leon and Nick have a delightful conversation about the terrifying world of McDonaldLand and the horrifying world of 70's children's TV, the complicated topic of Eyebrow Technology, and the difference between Donald Westlake and Donald Stephens. Oh, and also, how Phil Collins looks a lot like Charlie Brown. [Ep167]

durée : 01:05:00 - Les Nuits de France Culture - par : Albane Penaranda - Par François Angelier - Avec Christine Gomariz (journaliste à Paris Match) et Jean-Yves Bochet et Donald Edwin Westlake (romancier) - Réalisation Brigitte Mazire

durée : 01:05:52 - Les Nuits de France Culture - par : Albane Penaranda - Par François Angelier - Avec Christine Gomariz (journaliste à Paris Match) et Jean-Yves Bochet et Donald Edwin Westlake (romancier) - Réalisation Brigitte Mazire

Those who follow GamerDude on Twitch or Twitter know that he's been struggling with some allergy-related voice problems this week (which you'll hear in the intro to this week's episode!) So, he's gone back to Season One to remaster one of the most popular episodes from that season: GamerDude's Stories About Books.GamerDude talks about his love for reading, and how he practically devoured books when he was a kid. He talks about reading everything from Sally, Dick and Jane to the Hardy Boys when he was a kid. He talks about how he developed a love for all different genres, from fantasy adventure to true sports stories to mysteries. He also talks about some of his favorite authors. He talks about how he discovered Stephen King and how he really enjoyed his early stuff, but has not enjoyed some of his more recent work. He talks about reading Tokein, and how he loved it the first go-round, but hasn't been able to get through a second reading. He talks about Donald Westlake, and his love for the "caper novel." And he mentions Michael Connelly and Elmore Leonard as a couple of his current favorites. And, he does this in a remastered version of the original episode with (most of) the clicks, pops, and gaps removed!

[…] Sidérée par la puissance textuelle de Bruno Lemaire, la Salle 101 tente te faire mieux en évoquant des choses folles, de nature à t’émoustiller : La nuit sous le pont de pierre, de Léo Pérutz. Les contes suspendus, final de la trilogie de Guillaume Chamanadjian. Billy The Kid, Dortmunder N°3 de Donald Westlake. Ouf […]

PSP: Pulp Fictions covers the "Bond Novel That Never Was" - crime writer Donald Westlake's FOREVER AND A DEATH! Westlake is a favorite author of hosts Christopher Funderburg & John Cribbs so they're at full force in discussing this curious posthumously published work that on the surface seems to have nothing to do with 007.

[…] Paralysée par les forces de l’anti-France, la Salle 101 s’émancipe du politiquement correct et assume enfin ses tendances réactionnaires en chroniquant des trucs chelous, La mâchoire de Caïn, d’un certain Torquemada. Le Nid, bande-dessinée angoissante de Marco Galli. Pierre qui roule, alias Dortmunder N°1, de Donald Westlake. Hop ? Allez, hop. « La jeunesse, c’est […]

The Spinner Rack is Secret Friends Unite exclusive Patreon show all about comics. Episode 1 is focused on Richard Stark's Parker: The Hunter.In July 2009, IDW Publishing published Darwin Cooke's Richard Stark's Parker: The Hunter, an adaptation of the Donald Westlake novel, The Hunter. Darwin Cooke adapted the novel and was the illustrator. Its available on ComiXology Unlimited, Digital platform and Comic Book shops. Join our Secret Friends Unite Patreon like our Patreon producers: Sean, Stella and Henry Nyhus, Missy Merchant, Andee Milliken and Jamie Prinkey Our theme song is by Grand_Project from PixabayVisit our new website at www.secretfriendsunite.comSubscribe to our Youtube channelFollow us on Twitter: @secretfriendsu, @Toxtra, @TheCeeThree Join our discord server to be part of the community

The Spinner Rack is Secret Friends Unite exclusive Patreon show all about comics. Episode 1 is focused on Richard Stark's Parker: The Hunter.In July 2009, IDW Publishing published Darwin Cooke's Richard Stark's Parker: The Hunter, an adaptation of the Donald Westlake novel, The Hunter. Darwin Cooke adapted the novel and was the illustrator. Its available on ComiXology Unlimited, Digital platform and Comic Book shops. Join our Secret Friends Unite Patreon like our Patreon producers: Sean, Stella and Henry Nyhus, Missy Merchant, Andee Milliken and Jamie Prinkey Our theme song is by Grand_Project from PixabayVisit our new website at www.secretfriendsunite.comSubscribe to our Youtube channelFollow us on Twitter: @secretfriendsu, @Toxtra, @TheCeeThree Join our discord server to be part of the community

The Spin Chagrin, a concept that finds Frank having to watch a movie he's never seen before based on the random spin of a wheel filled with off-the-wall genres, continues into a new year. In this episode, Frank's category was "The Pen is Mightier Than the Sword" and to fulfill the category, Frank watches and reviews Vin Diesel's 2020 comic adaptation, Bloodshot. He also reviews the 2013 heist thriller Parker, adapted from Donald Westlake and the comic adaptation, Constantine, starring Keanu Reeves.

Parker by Richard Stark is an adaptation graphic novel series written and illustrated by the legendary Darwyn Cooke. There is an honor among thieves and the winners are the best players of the game or getting away with the crime. Based on the novels written by Richard Stark, aka Donald Westlake, Parker is a crime thriller series containing notably four stories: The Hunter, The Outfit, The Score, and Slayground along with a few other short tales told through the character of Parker. He is known for being a gritty antihero protagonist that will stop at nothing to accomplish his goal, and in some cases, exacting his revenge. Published by IDW, these stories are some of the last works of Darwyn Cooke who was the the driving force behind this passion project. If you are a fan of crime noir comics, or enjoy his popular DC Comics story: New Frontier, or looking for a refreshing take on heist type of Ocean's 13 the movie series, we highly recommend checking it out.

INTRODUCCIÓN LIBROS 00:02:25 Agatha Raisin y el paseo mortal. Agatha Raisin #4 (M.C. Beaton) 00:05:55 Un caso de tres perros. Su Majestad, la reina investigadora #2 (S.J. Bennett) 00:08:05 Trifulca a la vista (Nancy Mitford) 00:10:20 Los niños de la casa grande (Angela Porras) 00:!2:30 Hijas de los peores tiempos. Alondra (Marta Inés Rodríguez) 00:15:40 La pequeña Eve (Catriona Ward) 00:18:10 Cuando éramos los mejores (Larry Bird y Magic Johnson) 00:21:35 Yugoslavia, mi tierra (Goran Vojnovic) 00:24:05 Sirenas borrachas (Kat Leyh) 00:26:30 Cuentos góticos (Elizabeth Gaskell) 00:28:55 Un diamante al rojo vivo (Donald Westlake) 00:30:45 Sistemas críticos. Los diarios de Matabot #1 (Martha Wells) 00:33:35 Cuentas pendientes. Reflexiones de una lectora reincidente (Vivian Gornick) 00:35:50 Fragmentos de honor. Saga de Vorkosigan #1 (Lois McMaster Bujold) 00:37:50 Los dos amores de mi vida (Taylor Jenkins Reid) 00:40:30 Por siempre ¿felices? (Taylor Jenkins Reid) 00:42:25 Casa Capitular. Dune #6 (Frank Herbert) 00:44:40 Un recuerdo de luz. La rueda del tiempo #14 (Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson) 00:47:25 ¿Que le pasa a la secretaria Kim? ol 3 (Kim Myeongmi) 00:49:30 No me acuerdo de nada (Nora Ephron) 00:51:25 Los griegos (Isaac Asimov) 00:53:30 Ensayo de la vida real (Alexa Manzano) 00:56:00 ¡Hoy he salido de casa! y En serio, es broma (Cassandra Calin) Tres libros para el verano 00:58:10 1927. Un verano que cambió el mundo (Bill Bryson) 00:59:15 Carcoma (Layla Martínez) 00:59:50 Flores para la señora Harris y La señora Harris va a Nueva York (Paul Galico) 01:00:55 Tengo miedo torero (Pedro Lemebel) 01:01:35 the other Mitford (Diana Alexander) 01:03:00 Las Mitford. Cartas entre seis hermanas (Charlotte Mosley) DEL PAPEL A LA PANTALLA 01:94:35 El malvado zorro feroz PELÍCULAS 01:10:50 Minions, the rise of Gru 01:13:30 Thor. Love ant Thunder 01:17:50 Persuasion (2022) 01:27:05 Star Wars Episodio III: La venganza de los Sith 01:28:40 Maleficio 01:30:10 Chicago 01:32:20 El agente invisible SERIES 01:34:20 Reza y obedece 01:36:25 Captive audience 01:38:50 Miss Marvel 01:40:10 Conversaciones entre amigos 01:43:15 Paper Girls (T1) 01:45:55 Amor y anarquía (T2) 01:49 35 The boys (T3) 01:52:30 Borgen (T3) 01:54:35 The Split (T3) Deberes 01:56:45 The Umbrella Academy (T3) 01:59:30 Better call Saul (T2-T6A) PODCASTS 02:02:35 El silencio roto 02:05:10 Misterio en la Moraleja 02:08:30 DESPEDIDA En este programa suenan: Radical Opinion (ARchers) / Siesta (Jahzzar) / From the back (Pat Lok & Party Pupils) / Place on fire (Creo) / I saw you on TV (Jahzzar) / Parisian (Kevin MacLeod) / Bicycle Waltz (Goodbye Kumiko)

It's a show filled with Eisner award winning comics as we review Darwyn Cooke's adaptions of the Donald Westlake novels from his "Parker" series including The Hunter & The Outfit collected together in the book "Parker: The Martini Edition". Plus our recap of those that won the 2022 Eisner awards during the recent San Diego Comic Con as well our favorite comic book announcements from this year's event!  Host: Andy Larson  Co Hosts: Chad Smith & JA Scott

Brook and Sarah continue to learn about noir and hardboiled detective fiction with special guest Frances from the Chronicles of Crime online bookshop. Part 2 of 2. Reading list recommendations: Hardboiled Carroll John Daly, Three Gun Terry (Black Mask, May 1923) Carroll John Daly, Knights of the Open Palm (Black Mask, June 1923) Dashiell Hammett writing as Peter Collinson, Arson Plus (first Continental Op story) (Black Mask, October 1923) Dashiell Hammett, The Maltese Falcon (1930) Dashiell Hammett, The Thin Man (Redbook Magazine, 1933) Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep (1939) Mickey Spillane, I, The Jury (1947) Ross MacDonald, The Drowning Pool (1950) Richard Stark (aka Donald Westlake), The Hunter, (1962) Lawrence Block, Eight Million Ways To Die, (1982) John D. MacDonald, The Deep Blue Good-Bye, (1964) James Crumley, The Last Good Kiss, (1978) Noir James M. Cain, The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934) Horace McCoy, They Shoot Horses Don't They (1935) James M. Cain, Double Indemnity (Liberty Magazine, January 1936 as a serial in the magazine) *Cornell Woolrich aka William Irish, It Had To Be Murder, (Detective Dime Magazine, May 1942) This became the Alfred Hitchcock film, Rear Window. *Cornell Woolrich, any short story or novel David Goodis, Dark Passage, (1946) Dorothy B. Hughes, In A Lonely Place, (1947) Fredric Brown, The Fabulous Clipjoint, (1947) Fredric Brown, The Screaming Mimi, (1949) Patricia Highsmith, Strangers On A Train, (1950) James Ellroy, The Black Dahlia (1987) Megan Abbott, Queenpin, (2007) Duane Swierczynski, The Blonde, (2006) Fuminori Nakamura, The Thief (2012) Roger Hobbs, The Ghostman (2013) Others George Pelecanos Ken Bruen Peter Temple Gary Discher Robert Crais Michael Connelly Charlie Houston Dennis Lehane Sam Wiebe Joe Id Philip Kerr For more information: cluedinmystery.com Instagram: @cluedinmystery Contact us: hello@cluedinmystery.com Music: Signs To Nowhere by Shane Ivers - //www.silvermansound.com

Links to things we talked about: Adaptation Game Nominees:Where the Crawdads Sing: Bookshop | IMDBMrs. Harris Goes to Paris: Bookshop | IMDBSalem's Lot:  Bookshop | IMDBAre You There God? It's Me, Margaret: Bookshop | IMDBWhite Bird: A Wonder Story: Bookshop | IMDBLyle, Lyle, Crocodile: Bookshop | IMDB Main Topic: The Hunter by Richard StarkThe Violent World of Parker: The Hunter (1962)Point Blank (1967)Payback (1999)Richard Stark's Parker: The Hunter by Darwyn CookeThe Hot Rock (Dortmunder Book 1 by Donald Westlake, AKA Richard Stark) Our Plugs:Too Old to Die YoungThe Parker Edison Project Support the show by buying any of the books we spoke about from our Bookshop!Follow us:Instagram and TwitterJonas:Instagram and TwitterFrançois:Instagram

Opening theme by Logan Howard Call-ins from Dennis, Jason Rogue Scroll and Swords without Master by Epidiah Ravachol (See also Dread and Wolfspell) Talrand, Sky Summoner and the Master of Waves VTT Token Maker and Owlbear Rodeo Read Dracula in "real time" - sign up by May 3rd Lots of rambling without links: First Men in the Moon, The Shining, Dracula, the Parker series by Richard Stark (pen name for Donald Westlake), Sortilege and fortune telling, Bible tales, teaching a board game class, Mancala, OSE, Canterbury Tales, "Eternal Atlanteans", The Chronicles of Amber ... Closing Music is Industrial Fights & Magic by Mystery Mammal --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/plundergrounds/message

Joining the show for today is Eric Berlin, who wrote The Puzzling World of Winston Breen and its two sequels, all of which belong to the small group of puzzle-themed middle-grade books that Arthur had devoured as a child. On top of that, Eric creates puzzles for a living, having whipped up crosswords and variety puzzles for the New York Times, concocted entire puzzle hunts, and launched the puzzle subscription website Puzzlesnacks. Tune into this conversation if you want to hear him chat with Arthur about the similarities between writing books and creating puzzle hunts, the unnecessary sanitization of antiheroes, Everything Everywhere All At Once, and more. Note: due to scheduling snafus, 2CC won't be uploading review episodes for the next couple weeks. But don't worry, because the podcast agenda will revert to normal on the week of the 27th. Eric's website: https://www.ericberlin.com/ Puzzlesnacks website: https://puzzlesnacks.com Eric's Twitter: @puzzlereric Good Word: the Parker novels (particularly Flashfire) by Donald Westlake under his pseudonym of Richard Stark Reach out at email2centscritic@yahoo.com if you want to recommend things to watch and read, share anecdotes, or just say hello! Be sure to subscribe, rate, and review on iTunes or any of your preferred podcasting platforms! Follow Arthur on Twitter, Goodpods, StoryGraph, and Letterboxd: @arthur_ant18 Follow the podcast on Twitter and Instagram: @two_centscritic Follow Arthur on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144101970-arthur-howell --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/arthur746/message

Hosts Christopher Funderburg & John Cribbs discuss the new, posthumously-published novel from the great crime novelist, Donald Westlake - author of the Parker & Dortmunder books. Westlake is a Pink Smoke favorite and the podcast has previously covered Forever and a Death (a script for a James Bond movie converted into a novel) and Double Feature (a pair of novellas about violence in Hollywood.) The story of a woman putting off responding to a marriage proposal by contracting a New York cabby to drive her to Los Angeles rather than flying there, Call Me a Cab is a bit of a change-up for Westlake. Instead of a dark thriller like The Hunter and The Ax or a clever, genial crime story like The Hot Rock, this latest novel is a low-key romance built around a meandering road-trip. It's a unique story and approach by an author from who you would least expect it. Support our Patreon:
 www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke The Pink Smoke site: www.thepinksmoke.com The Pink Smoke on Twitter: twitter.com/thepinksmoke John Cribbs on Twitter: twitter.com/TheLastMachine Christopher Funderburg on Twitter: twitter.com/cfunderburg Intro music: Unleash the Bastards / “Tea for Two” Outro music: Marcus Pinn / “Vegas"

No Escapistas de hoje, Luwig Sá, Mauro Ellovitch e Maurício Dantas [do podcast Pilha de Gibis] partem para mais uma noitada de crime & violência. Dessa vez, o trio de larápios toparam com Parker, o inescrupuloso ladrão profissional de Richard ‘Donald Westlake‘ Stark; ou melhor, Parker: O Caçador, a adaptação em quadrinhos do saudoso Darwyn Cooke. Um personagem que jáRead More ...

Noirvember 2021 continues with a look at John Boorman's POINT BLANK.  Released in 1967, the film was based on the 1962 novel by Donald Westlake writing as Richard Stark.  The film stars Lee Marvin as Walker, a man who was betrayed by his wife and his best friend.  Now he's back, seemingly from the dead, and goes on a quest to kill his friend and get back the money he feels he's owed.  Jedidiah Ayres and Andrew Nette join Mike to discuss The Hunter, Point Blank, and the many cuts of Brian Helgeland's Payback. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Noirvember 2021 continues with a look at John Boorman's POINT BLANK.  Released in 1967, the film was based on the 1962 novel by Donald Westlake writing as Richard Stark.  The film stars Lee Marvin as Walker, a man who was betrayed by his wife and his best friend.  Now he's back, seemingly from the dead, and goes on a quest to kill his friend and get back the money he feels he's owed.  Jedidiah Ayres and Andrew Nette join Mike to discuss The Hunter, Point Blank, and the many cuts of Brian Helgeland's Payback.

No guest this week as we once again dip into the mail bag.  We welcome your questions - send them to us at gamblingwithanedge@gmail.com, or you can find me at @RWM21 on Twitter or https://www.facebook.com/GamblingWithAnEdge. Show Notes [00:00] Introduction [00:33] Did Bob ever take advantage of online casino promotions? [01:28] W2Gs for craps players [03:44] General rules for all variations in video poker [05:32] Card counting for comps [10:12] Should slot hustling be avoided where hole-carding [11:30] Magic of the Nile slot advantage player tracking [13:21] $5DDB with double progressive amounts [16:52] Should a new AP chase progressives? [19:54] Seven Stars Insider newsletter [21:34] Prax [23:23] Card counting as a refusal and AP sports betting [25:03] Signing up for new credit cards when purchasing a home [27:08] Baccarat, roulette, and baccarat bonuses [32:05] How do the odds change playing two hands versus one hand [35:24] Valuing a blackjack hot seat promotion [39:20] South Point Casino October Promotions - $500k+ Monster Money casino-wide progressives, Prime Time Mondays for people 55 and older [40:45] http://BlackjackApprenticeship.com - card counting training website and community with many betting, tracking, and analytical tools [41:25] http://VideoPoker.com/gwae - Gold Membership offers correction on most games, free Pro Membership trial for GWAE listeners [42:35] How did Bob get backed off playing video poker at MGM properties? [44:52] Basic strategy for multi-deck and doubling on A7 [48:18] How can a dealer handle impolite players? [50:12] Putting tape over unused camera on computer [52:17] Loss rebates for roulette [53:16] Blackjack dealer yells "skills check" [54:31] Card pulling [57:34] Recommended: books by Donald Westlake, Margins of Error podcast Sponsored Links: http://SouthPointCasino.com http://BlackjackApprenticeship.com http://VideoPoker.com/gwae Books Referenced: Comp City by Max Rubin https://amzn.to/3jjfvCw Software Referenced:  http://Qfit.com Recommended: Donald Westlake books https://amzn.to/3C7k0I4 Margins of Error podcast http://Cnn.com/audio/podcasts/margins-of-error Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Epic interviewer John Siuntres, host of the WordBalloon Podcast makes a triumphant return to Cinemental and with him he bears great gifts. The John Boorman film adaptation of the Donald Westlake novel "The Hunter", 1967's Point Blank. Lee Marvin stars as Walker ( film version of the book's character, Parker) a man betrayed and left for dead who has returned from the 'dead' to reclaim the money he feels is owed him. Listen in a see what we think about this flick. Enjoy!

Après le succès rencontré par « Jimmy the Kid » lors de sa création au printemps 2019, le Théâtre du Loup reprend ce spectacle-thriller à tendance ironique dans lequel le jeune héros de dix ans va tenir tête au plus fameux voleur de la littérature américaine : John Dortmunder.       « Jimmy the Kid« , d'après Donald Westlake, mise en scène Eric Jeanmonod, Compagnie du Théâtre du Loup. A découvrir au Théâtre du Loup jusqu'au 18 juillet. Un faisceau d'éléments converge vers l'évidence : les bains thermaux d'une petite ville – attraction touristique et noyau économique – sont contaminés. Un fait divers d'une rare banalité aujourd'hui… Sauf que la pièce a été écrite en 1882 par le grand dramaturge Henrik Ibsen, et qu'il s'agit d'un de ses chefs-d'œuvre… « Un ennemi du peuple » se joue au Théâtre de l'Orangerie jusqu'au 25 juillet  

The sixth episode of our season on the awesome movie year of 1967 features Josh's personal pick, John Boorman's Point Blank. Directed by John Boorman from a screenplay by Alexander Jacobs, David Newhouse and Rafe Newhouse and starring Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, Keenan Wynn, Carroll O'Connor and Michael Strong, Point Blank is based on Donald Westlake's novel The Hunter. The post Point Blank (1967 Josh's Pick) appeared first on Awesome Movie Year.

Durée : 4:40 - Cette semaine, voici la sélection de notre chroniqueuse Lucienne Chapé pour vos prochaines lectures : - Qui gagne perd, Donald Westlake (Rivages Noirs) - Meurtres au paradis, Anne Glenn Cover (Albin Michel) - Lune de Papier, Mitsuyo Kakuta (Actes Sud)  

[…] Toujours de tout coeur avec sa police, la Salle 101 donne du tonfa dans la joie pour rétablir l’ordre et la sérénité dans la SF française, la preuve : Ru, roman français s’il te plaît de Camille Leboulanger. Un homme d’ombre, roman picaresque de Jeff Noon. Les oeuvres complètes de Donald Westlake, tout un [...]

[…] Toujours de tout coeur avec sa police, la Salle 101 donne du tonfa dans la joie pour rétablir l'ordre et la sérénité dans la SF française, la preuve : Ru, roman français s'il te plaît de Camille Leboulanger. Un homme d'ombre, roman picaresque de Jeff Noon. Les oeuvres complètes de Donald Westlake, tout un […]

9 věcí, které nevíte o bondovce Zítřek nikdy neumírá: Proč se Anthony Hopkins vzdal role záporáka? Ve čtvrtek večer na COOL dorazí nadčasová bondovka Zítřek nikdy neumírá. Pierce Brosnan se v ní utká se zlým mediálním magnátem, který chce rozpoutat třetí světovou, jen aby jeho impérium mělo exkluzivně o čem psát. Příběh z dávných časů dodnes platí za, inu, překvapivě relevantní story, jejíž padouch je zlotřilým mixem Stevea Jobse a Billa Gatese. A o to paradoxnější je, že se bondovka Zítřek nikdy neumírá rodila za tuze velkých bolestí... 09) Po úspěchu Zlatého oka bylo zcela jisté, že vznikne i následující brosnanovská bondovka, tlak na vznik filmu ale přišel z nečekaného směru – nový majitel studia MGM, miliardář Kirk Kerkorian, si totiž usmyslel, že by měl další obří film studia vyjít před novou emisí akcií. Filmaři sami se nad tímto limitem ošívali, protože jim bylo jasné, že by výsledek mohl promhat pověst série právě po Zlatém oku. 08) Zároveň šlo o první bondovku, která se natáčela po smrti otce zakladatele všech bondovek, Alberta R. Broccoliho. I to se podepsalo na nejistotě, která se svazovala s natáčením filmu. A aby toho nebylo málo... 07) ... režisér Martin Campbell, který natočil právě Zlaté oko, odmítl nabídku na jeho “pokračování”. Dle svých slov se nechtěl vyprofilovat jako rejža, co natočil dvě bondovky po sobě. Vzpomeneme-li si na Spectre, možná nešlo o špatné uvažování! 06) Filmaři si také dlouho nebyli jistí, jaký příběh bude zvolen. Slavný spisovatel Donald Westlake v roce 1995 přišel se dvěma náměty, které se motaly kolem předání Hongkongu z rukou Britů do náruče Číny. V každém ze scénářů totiž záporák chtěl Hongkong zničit před plánovaným předáním v roce 1997! V MGM se ovšem následně podívali na kalendář a zjistili, že by na předání došlo pár měsíců před premiérou filmu, takže se nápad hodil do koše. 05) Jak později filmaři uvedli, během prvního natáčecího dne tak neměli scénář filmu zdaleka ještě hotový. Brosnan sám řekl, že měli “scénář funkční jen v některých oblastech”. Méně gentlemansky se k filmu vyjádřil Anthony Hopkins (!), který měl tehdy hrát záporáka Eliota Carvera. Hopkins totiž kvůli chaosu projekt opustil tři dny potom, co na roli kývnul (!!), a filmaři tak k vymýšlení děje museli zároveň uprostřed natáčení přeobsadit de facto druhou hlavní roli. 04) Čínská stopa nakonec leccos vynahradila díky prolnutí filmu s elementy z hongkongské akce. K filmařům se přidala nejen Michelle Yeoh, ale také kaskadérský tým Jackieho Chana. Žádný ze západních kaskadérů totiž nechtěl s Michelle točit její scény, protože se na place rvala jako skutečná bojovnice, nikoliv jen jako herečka. 03) Michelle Yeoh si sama odehrála i všechny své kaskadérské kousky a mezi povedené historky z natáčení patří třeba ta, při které hecovala motorkáře, aby ve scéně honičky motorky s vrtulníkem jel co nejrychleji, “protože jí pak lépe vlají vlasy”, což prý umocňuje divácký pocit z nebezpečné rychlosti. 02) Traduje se, že veselici na place završil režisér Roger Spottiswoode, který rovněž v motorkové scéně řekl jak Brosnanovi, tak Yeoh, že ten druhý si sedne na sedadlo spolujezdce. Výsledná “rvačka” o přední sedačku tak vlastně vůbec není hraná... 01) Zřejmě nejukrióznějším dokladem toho, že měla bondovka Zítřek nikdy neumírá štěstí svým tvůrcům navzdory, je její jméno. Filmaři původně v originále zvolili název “Tomorrow Never Knows” (Zítřek nikdy neví) inspirovaný stejnojmenným songem Beatles. Zároveň ale vybrainstormovali i několik jeho variací, mezi nimi i “Tomorrow Never Lies” (Zítřek nikdy nelže). Při faxování dokumentu ke schválení hlavounům v MGM ale vypadla tiskací barva, a výsledkem byl nejen název “Tomorrow Never Dies” (Zítřek nikdy neumírá), ale i prozření, že tahle variace zní lépe než ty, které se reálně vymyslely. https://coolmagazin.iprima.cz/filmy/vsechno-co-nevite-o-zitrek-nikdy-neumira   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Episode 83 of the Paperback Warrior Podcast, we discuss the evolution of sexual content in genre paperbacks. Also discussed: Carter Brown, Adult Westerns, Ardath Mayhar, John Kildeer, Frank Cannon, Sam Spade, Wade Miller, Lawrence Block, Donald Westlake, Jonathan Craig and much more! Listen on your favorite podcast app, at paperbackwarrior.com or download directly here: https://bit.ly/3cziXF7 (Music by Ben Sound)

This week's guest is Ozgun Tumer, a transactional business and tax attorney in Orange County, California. Check out his website: http://www.tumersharif.com/  You can also follow his firm on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TumerandSharif/    Oz chose The Hot Rock by Donald Westlake, a comic caper story involving a crew of thieves and their multiple attempts to steal the same emerald.   For more on The Hot Rock (and protagonist Dortmunder) see: https://www.donaldwestlake.com/dortmunder    I also referenced this blog post in the episode: https://thewestlakereview.wordpress.com/tag/john-dortmunder/

A comic caper with real star power in front of and behind the camera. Directed by Peter Yates. Screenplay by William Goldman based on a novel by Donald Westlake. Starring Robert Redford, George Segal, Ron Liebman, Paul Sand, Moses Gunn, Topo Swope and Zero Mostel. Score by Quincy Jones. How is the world wrong about this movie? From Bryan: Despite the true talent that made this movie, despite it being a breezy but smart good time, this movie failed to bring in audiences. It also is sadly never mentioned when folks gush about seventies movies 24-7. Well, heck, I guess we’ll gush about it. Featuring an interview with ALAN ABBADESSA of Sync Book Press (with Rodney Ascher) Alan Abbadessa's "Hindsight 2020" series. Find all of our episodes at www.theworldiswrongpodcast.com Follow us on Instagram @theworldiswrongpodcast Check out: The Director's Wall with Bryan Connolly & AJ Gonzalez & The Radio8Ball Show hosted by Andras Jones See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So what did I read this year? Well, I'm all over the place. But I thought I'd take a moment to hit some of the highlights. These are in no particular order. A Gentleman in Moscow By Amor TowlesThe best book I read this year is A Gentlemen in Moscow by Amor Towles. It's just a wonderful and wonderfully crafted book. I can't say enough great things about it. It has one of the most beautiful and perfect metaphors involving a wine cellar. I literally put the book down and cursed out loud. I couldn't believe how good it was. I thought about it for weeks. But really that's a technical thing. The story is set in 1922. It's about Count Alexander Rostov, an Aristocrat who survives the Russian Revolution because he wrote a poem. Instead of being put against the wall and shot, is sentenced to house arrest, and ultimately labor, in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. This book does what great art should always do, expand your experience of being alive. I don't think I've read a better book in the last five years and I don't expect I will in the next five. For after all, if attentiveness should be measured in minutes and discipline measured in hours, then indomitability must be measured in years.But as they came to the bend in the road where the Count would normally give a snap of the reins to speed the horses home, Helena would place a hand on his arm to signal that he should slow the team—for midnight had just arrived, and a mile behind them the bells of Ascension had begun to swing, their chimes cascading over the frozen land in holy canticle. And in the pause between hymns, if one listened with care, above the pant of the horses, above the whistle of the wind, one could hear the bells of St. Michael’s ten miles away—and then the bells of St. Sofia’s even farther afield—calling one to another like flocks of geese across a pond at dusk. The bells of Ascension . . .“I’ll tell you what is convenient,” he said after a moment. “To sleep until noon and have someone bring you your breakfast on a tray. To cancel an appointment at the very last minute. To keep a carriage waiting at the door of one party so that on a moment’s notice it can whisk you away to another. To sidestep marriage in your youth and put off having children altogether. These are the greatest of conveniences, Anushka—and at one time, I had them all. But in the end, it has been the inconveniences that have mattered to me most.” Anna Urbanova took the cigarette from the Count’s fingers, dropped it in a water glass, and kissed him on the nose.Since the day I was born, Sofia, there was only one time when Life needed me to be in a particular place at a particular time, and that was when your mother brought you to the lobby of the Metropol. And I would not accept the Tsarship of all the Russias in exchange for being in this hotel at that hour.”The Last Good Kiss By James CrumleyTo whipsaw things another great novel that I read was The Last Good Kiss by James Crumley. Here's the beginning:When I finally caught up with Abraham Trahearne he was drinking beer with an alcoholic bulldog named Fireball Roberts in a ramshackle joint just outside of Sonoma California, drinking the heart right out of a fine spring afternoon. I would say that Crumley is a guilty pleasure, but I don't feel guilty in the slightest. He's like Hunter S. Thompson and Raymond Chandler had a baby. After I finished that one, I plowed through two more of Crumley's books. No guilt. No regrets. The Story of the Stone by Barry HughartI read The Story of the Stone by Barry Hughart. It's the middle book of the Chronicles of Master Li and Number 10 Ox. These books aren't really like anything else. I have all three and didn't want to guzzle them. They're set in a mythical China that never was. They're wonderfully fantastic, very funny and surprisingly poignant in places. They are also something of a cautionary tale, the book struggled to get traction because it's in a genre of its own. It is fantasy, but Ancient Imperial China as a setting rather than the Middle Ages. Master Li is ancient and the smartest man in China. Number 10 Ox is the narrator and is played as the big, dumb strong guy, but there's a fair amount of unreliable narrator jazz.Big fun and great writing. Here's a couple of sloppily random snags“My surname is Li and my personal name is Kao, and there is a slight flaw in my character,” he said matter-of-factly. “You got a problem?”Fable has strong shoulders that carry far more truth than fact can.Master Li turned bright red while he scorched the air with the Sixty Sequential Sacrileges with which he had won the all-China Freestyle Blasphemy Competition in Hangchow three years in a row.The abbot used to say that the emotional health of a village depended upon having a man whom everyone loved to hate, and Heaven had blessed us with two of them.The Immortality Key: the Secret History of the Religion with No Name by Brian C. MurareskuReading this now. The book is an investigation into what is likely the oldest and most widespread religion -- centered around a funerary rite with hallucinogenic beer and later wine. I pounced on this after listening to an author interview with Andrew Sullivan. It's an intellectual detective story, and quite good. The first thing that hooked me was that this was an explanation for the Eleusinian Mysteries, which was a ceremony that was a well-kept secret in the Greco-Roman world. People made a pilgrimage to Eleusis, fasted, drank the beer, had unbelievable visions, and raved about the experience. Saying things like it's what made civilization possible. And say it removed the fear of death. Which was described as "If you die before you die you will not die."Best guess is the beer was brewed with ergotized wheat. But nobody knows for sure. But two things are interesting about this. One, we can actually test old vessels and figure out what was in these beverages right now. And modern medical research is showing that a single dose, if you will, of psychedelic mushrooms, cures depression and PTSD and takes away the fear of death in hospice patients. Essentially inducing a religious experience with chemicals. Johns Hopkins is doing this research, not some unwashed hippy with a YouTube channel.There are real questions about the early Christian Eucharist: was hallucinogenic? Was it an extension of the Eleusian and Dionysian mysteries. But for me, the craziest thing in the book to wrap my head around has been Goebleki Tepe the oldest known temple, dated from 10,000 B.C. Which appears to have been a sacred brewery for hallucinogenic beer. And, honestly, the hallucinogenic part is the least crazy part of that last statement. The 10,000 b.c. is nuts. That's 6000 years before settled agriculture. And the temple is constructed from gigantic slabs of stone, in a way that we didn't think people could build back then. Insert Ancient Aliens nonsense if you must, but the crazy part is that it reverses what I thought the causality of civilization. It was always thought that first came agriculture, then came beer. But it seems that beer -- as a sacrament -- predates civilization by thousands of years. The other crazy thing about his book is that the brewing of sacred potions was exclusively the realm of women. Old women. Which appears to be the origin of our archetype of witches. Boil toil and trouble anyone? And that this was stamped out as the underground Christ cult grew into the state religion of Rome. There's a lot going on in this book. And if anything I've just mentioned pique your curiosity, you should definitely check it out. Hamilton by Ron ChernowAfter watching the musical on Disney +, which scarcely needs praise from me, but is unbelievably fantastic. And amazing accomplishment on many levels -- I dipped into Ron Chernow's biography, it's also great. Here's a gem that seems uniquely appropriate to the current moment.> “This misfortune affects me less than others,” he told Eliza Schuyler, “because it is not in my temper to repine at evils that are past but to endeavor to draw good out of them, and because I think our safety depends on a total change of system. And this change of system will only be produced by misfortune.”The Bobiverse Series -- Dennis E. TaylorThis series starts with "We Are Legion (We Are Bob)" I listened to a bunch of these, so I don't have a bunch of quotes. Just read them all. They are just lovely, humane, funny speculative fiction. A guy is turned into a Von Neumann probe, A self-replicating device to explore the universe. And as he goes, he replicates himself, fights off aliens, struggles help save humanity -- it's tremendously positive without being trite or stupid. Really, really great. And the audiobooks are some of the best I've heard. In fact, if I had to rank the best audiobooks I've ever heard this currently comes in third Best performance is Stephen Fry reading the complete works of Sherlock Holmes. Of course, the stories are great, but Fry is a great actor who loves Holmes and puts everything he's got into the performance. I can't overstate how good this audio is. Number 2 and Best ensemble performance is 'World War Z'And third place is Ray Porter reading Dennis Taylor's Bobiverse books. Richard Stark, The JuggerI dipped back into this one. Westlake -- Stark was Donald Westlake's pen name -- always said this was the worst book of the series, but there's a moment in this one that's just shockingly powerful. I won't ruin it, but Westlake is master for a host of reasons. Here's a bit of his description Freedman led the way to his office. He was short and barrel-shaped and walked as though he’d do better if he rolled instead. His face was made of Silly Putty, plus hornrimmed glasses.The Road to Character, by David Brooks This book is really a compilation of short biographies of people of great character and how they developed themselves. It is quite good. I dug into it as research on virtues. And the book paid for itself in the introduction here's an excerpt:I wrote this book not sure I could follow the road to character, but I wanted at least to know what the road looks like and how other people have trodden it. The Plan The plan of this book is simple. In the next chapter I will describe an older moral ecology. It was a cultural and intellectual tradition, the “crooked timber” tradition, that emphasized our own brokenness. It was a tradition that demanded humility in the face of our own limitations. But it was also a tradition that held that each of us has the power to confront our own weaknesses, tackle our own sins, and that in the course of this confrontation with ourselves we build character.My general belief is that we’ve accidentally left this moral tradition behind. Over the last several decades, we’ve lost this language, this way of organizing life. We’re not bad. But we are morally inarticulate. We’re not more selfish or venal than people in other times, but we’ve lost the understanding of how character is built.But it did occur to me that there was perhaps a strain of humility that was more common then than now, that there was a moral ecology, stretching back centuries but less prominent now, encouraging people to be more skeptical of their desires, more aware of their own weaknesses, more intent on combatting the flaws in their own natures and turning weakness into strength. People in this tradition, I thought, are less likely to feel that every thought, feeling, and achievement should be immediately shared with the world at large.This is the way humility leads to wisdom. Montaigne once wrote, “We can be knowledgeable with other men’s knowledge, but we can’t be wise with other men’s wisdom.” That’s because wisdom isn’t a body of information. It’s the moral quality of knowing what you don’t know and figuring out a way to handle your ignorance, uncertainty, and limitation.And in it I found this great quote from St. Augustine“How small, of all that human hearts endure, That part which laws and kings can cause or cure.”Aristotle's Politics and EthicsI first read Aristotle's Ethics in college for a class on Classical Political Philosophy. And I jumped back in, as research for thinking about virtueThere is an idea that reading old books is pretentious or stuffy or dull. And that's not been my experience at all. The reason to read books like this, even when they get a little hard is because they are incredibly useful. The Greeks and Aristotle, in particular, laid the foundation stones of civilization -- or drew up the attack plan for what G.K. Chesterton calls "the whole courageous raid which we call civilization." I like that metaphor, because it suggests heroism, fragility and glory in what reveals itself to the not-so-simple work of civilizing one's self and others. This gem came from the commentary to Aristotle's Politics. Aristotle's attention is here directed chiefly towards the phenomena of "Incontinence," weakness of will or imperfect self-control. This condition was to the Greeks a matter of only too frequent experience, but it appeared to them peculiarly difficult to understand. How can a man know what is good or best for him, and yet chronically fail to act upon his knowledge? Socrates was driven to the paradox of denying the possibility, but the facts are too strong for him. Knowledge of the right rule may be present, nay the rightfulness of its authority may be acknowledged, and yet time after time it may be disobeyed; the will may be good and yet overmastered by the force of desire, so that the act done is contrary to the agent's will.It underscores a naïveté of classical political thought -- and this is not to say that the ancients were generally naive -- this is just a mistake. Because, I think I could make a really good case that wrestling with yourself about doing what you know to be good is the defining human problem here at the beginning of the 21st century. The Good Shepherd by C.S. ForesterI have loved the Horatio Hornblower novels since I was, maybe 12. When I saw a preview of the movie Greyhound, I became aware that C.S. Forester had written this book about a commander of a convoy to Britain in the early days of WWII. Tom Hanks got this movie made, wrote the screenplay, starred in it. And that's a clue for you. Not that the movie -- it might be, I haven't seen it -- is good, but that the source material is excellent. Because somebody expended career capital to get it made. This is a tremendous book. The psychological tension and strain of command in combat is represented here in a way that I've never read before. I don't know how you could render this in film. And by that, I'm saying this book does what only books can do, very, very well. It's well-crafted and relentless in a way that doesn't lend itself to punchy quotes, but it made a huge impression on me. Fathers and Sons by Ivan TurgenevI just finished this one and I need more time to think about it. I read it primarily because another writer I greatly admire is giving a lecture on it, so I wanted to be adequately armed for the lecture. A lot of the book is concerned with what happens when you don't believe anything -- if it's even possible not to believe anything. For me, Russian novels manage to be profoundly psychological and spiritual and I can't ingest them quickly. But in it, I found this gem of a line. "Death's an old joke, but it comes fresh to every one."Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt VonnegutI have read embarrassingly little Vonnegut. I read Harrison Bergeron in school -- and it's prescience has terrified me ever since. Vonnegut is amazing. And I'm going to work my way through many more of his books. This was my start. Here's a taste.Like so many Americans, she was trying to construct a life that made sense from things she found in gift shops.And so it goes…Inventing the Individual: the Origins of Western Liberalism By Larry SiedentopThe biggest problem with not reading and not being familiar with history is that you can be easily fooled into thinking that the way things are now is the way that they have always been. Even highly educated and intelligent people can fall into this trap and become provincial in time. The book is a study of how the individual became the unit of social organization in the West. It's fascinating. For in the eyes of Islamic fundamentalists, and indeed in the eyes of not a few in the West, liberalism has come to stand for ‘non-belief’ – for indifference and permissiveness, if not for decadence. Why is that? And is the charge justified? This book is an attempt to find out. Its argument rests on two assumptions. The first is that if we are to understand the relationship between beliefs and social institutions – that is, to understand ourselves – then we have to take a very long view. Deep moral changes, changes in belief, can take centuries to begin to modify social institutions. It is folly to expect popular habits and attitudes to change overnight. The second assumption is that beliefs are nonetheless of primary importance, an assumption once far more widely held than it is today. In the nineteenth century there was a prolonged contest between ‘idealist’ and ‘materialist’ views of historical change, with the latter holding that social order rests not so much on shared beliefs but on technology, economic interdependence and an advanced social division of labour. Even the declining appeal of Marxism in the later twentieth century did not discredit that view. Rather, in a strange afterlife, Marxism infiltrated liberal thinking, creating a further temptation to downgrade the role of beliefs. That temptation became all the greater because of the unprecedented prosperity enjoyed by the West after the Second World War. We have come to worship at the shrine of economic growth.The Peloponnesian War by Robert Kagan and Thucydides Commentary Okay, every time I say Peloponnesian War - I've got this stupid line in my head. "Pelop's Ponesian War" Like a guy name Pelops decided to put on a war for entertainment. No idea why this is the case. But this seems to happen with Greek words. I have a joke about Sophocles as well. Big Guido -- "Mikey, why you always writing like that? You should be out playing ball."Micheal -- "I've got a paper due on Sophocles."Big Guido -- "Sophocles? How about you try Sophocles" (Grabs crotch)I've read Thucydides before. Hard, but worth it. Kagan wrote a four-volume masterwork on the history of the War for scholars then distilled it down into this book. I read these, partially because Thucydides is great. And partially as research for a project for something I can't really talk about while it's in the works. The Peloponnesian War was effectively the first “World War” Athenians v Spartans, all the other Greek city states picked a team. It’s got Vietnam baked in (the disastrous Athenian campaign in Syracuse), earthquakes, plagues and some of the defining speeches of Western Culture. Piranesi by Suzzanna ClarkeI liked it. It's gorgeously written, but it didn't have the impact on me that Dr. Strange and Mr. Norell did. I loved that book. Which is a kind of alternate history presupposing disused magic existed in the Napoleonic era. This is is my favorite part“Can a magician kill a man by magic?” Lord Wellington asked Strange.Strange frowned. He seemed to dislike the question. “I suppose a magician might,” he admitted, “but a gentleman never could.” The Toymakers by Robert DinsdaleI've only read half of this book. It's a Christmas book about a magical toystore in the Heart of London before WWI. In the spring, I started reading it on the recommendation of a friend and I decided to save it for the week of Christmas. It's marvelous magical realism. If you want a Christmas book -- this is the one. Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. ParkerThis is the blurb for the book: "A siege is approaching, and the city has little time to prepare. The people have no food and no weapons, and the enemy has sworn to slaughter them all.To save the city will take a miracle, but what it has is Orhan. A colonel of engineers, Orhan has far more experience with bridge-building than battles, is a cheat and a liar, and has a serious problem with authority. He is, in other words, perfect for the job."What nothing on the outside of the book will tell you is that this is a book about the tensions of civilization, racism, oppression and ideology. Orhan is part of a downtrodden minority in the book. Yet it falls to him to save the city and the empire -- the same empire that crushes everybody who's not the empire beneath it's cruel sandaled heel. There's a lot in this book.Orhan is also a magnificent narrator. And this book is funny, insightful, profound, here's a few clips. “A wise man once said, the difference between luck and a wheelbarrow is, luck doesn’t work if you push it.” “Beautiful people, though, I struggle with. Unless you keep your eyes shut or look the other way, you can’t help but have the awful fact ground into you, like the wheel of a heavy wagon running over your neck, that here is someone divided from you by a vast, unbridgeable gap, and they’ve done absolutely nothing to deserve it. Ogus’s wife – her name was Sichelgaita – was that level of beauty. I won’t even try to describe her, because they don’t make words that could take the strain. You felt ashamed to look at her.” “The way I see it, the truth is just barren moorland, all useless bog and heather. It’s only when you break it up and turn it over with the ploughshare of the Good Lie that you can screw a livelihood out of it. Isn’t that what humans do? They take a dead landscape and reshape it into what they need, and want, and can use. I’ve never hesitated to adapt the world to suit me, when I can get away with it.” “That’s how the world changes. It’s either so quick that we never know what hit us, or so gradual that we don’t notice. It’s only later, when books are written and scholars decide what mattered and what didn’t, that red lines are drawn – before this point, the world was this way, after this point, everything was different. You could be there and not have a clue. You could be asleep, or looking the other way, having a quiet s**t or screwing in an alley, and an unseen pen draws a line. Here the Empire ended. Here the Dark Ages began.” A lot of Conn IgguldenConn Iggulden is one of the authors of the Dangerous Book for Boys. But he also writes historical fiction. And, for my money, he makes Bernard Cornwall look like a chump. And Cornwall is excellent. This year I read the Emperor Series about Julius Ceasar. Last year I read his Genghis Khan series. Both excellent. Both in a page-turning, thrilling, gore and violence, arrrgh adventure! Way and as writing. Especially the first two books of the Ceasar series. Some very powerful human moments. And he write women very well. He's tremendously talented. And very diligent with this history. I also read The Falcon of Sparta which is his retelling to Xenophon's Anabasis. The story is one of the greatest adventure stories of all time. Xenophon goes with a 10,000 Hoplite Mercenaries to fight for Cyrus the Younger who attempted to steal the Throne of Persia, but gets killed and his army is defeated.All except the 10,000 greek mercenaries. See they were on the other side of the hill from Cyrus's army, so they are busy routing the rest of the Persian army. And when they find out Cyrus is dead, they have a huge problem. It's the story about how they fought their way back home to Greece. Or Coney Island. Because, not only is this a true story, but it's also the inspiration and plot of Walter Hill's classic 1977 film The Warriors. If you need some historical fiction, pick up some Iggulden. He's a master. And it's seriously fun to say his last name. Boswell's Life of JohnsonI'm reading this bit by bit. My sense is the biography has lasted better than anything Johnson wrote when he was alive. Which is a bit crazy because, except for his Biography of Johnson, it seems that Boswell might have been an annoying drunken hanger-on of a jackass who never did anything else right in his life. Samuel Johnson came from crushing poverty and hardship -- and pretty much single-handedly compiled the first Dictionary of the English Language. In the preface of which he wrote: It is the fate of those who toil at the lower employments of life, to be rather driven by the fear of evil, than attracted by the prospect of good; to be exposed to censure, without hope of praise; to be disgraced by miscarriage, or punished for neglect, where success would have been without applause, and diligence without reward.Among these unhappy mortals is the writer of dictionaries; whom mankind have considered, not as the pupil, but the slave of science, the pioneer of literature, doomed only to remove rubbish and clear obstructions from the paths of Learning and Genius, who press forward to conquest and glory, without bestowing a smile on the humble drudge that facilitates their progress. Every other authour may aspire to praise; the lexicographer can only hope to escape reproach and even this negative recompense has been yet granted to very few.He was also a prodigiously fast writer and reader. Boswell says this of him. 'Johnson knew more books than any man alive.' He had a peculiar facility in seizing at once what was valuable in any book, without submitting to the labour of perusing it from beginning to end. He had, from the irritability of his constitution, at all times, an impatience and hurry when he either read or wrote.Which makes me feel better about the way I sometimes raid nonfiction books rather than read them. Or maybe the way I render them, like one boils scraps of meat to render the useful fats out of them. I'm not going to take the time to find the precise metaphor. Whatever it is, it isn't pretty -- it's messy and nothing I'd want my children to watch. I just try to rip the guts right out of the book. And that fact that Johnson did it too makes me feel a little better. The Border by Don WinslowGood, but honestly, not his best. I would suggest The Power of the Dog -- the first book in the trilogy. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, but reading The Power of the Dog and The Cartel was an experience like I've never had before. Winslow knows the sordid ins and outs of the Drug War like few others and he gets so much out of it as an author. I am personally against the prohibition of drugs on moral grounds. In addition to being electrifying thrillers, these books help make the human cost of our price supports for drugs real. If cocaine wasn't expensive in the U.S. people wouldn't kill themselves for it in Juarez and Colombia. Pablo Escobar blew up an airliner and bombed the Colombian Supreme Court. That's on him. But it's also on us. But don't let my speechifying put you off. The books are great thrillers. If you liked Narcos, you'll love these. The Three Body Problem, by Liu CixinHere's the Amazon blurb: Set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion. The result is a science fiction masterpiece of enormous scope and vision.This is a triple winner of a great book. 1) It's great hard sci-fi. 2) It's is great psychological fiction. Not only is the science good, but the insights into people and society are great as well. 3) It's Chinese science fiction, so you get a glimpse into another culture. Having been to a few conventions and having met a number of sci fi and fantasy authors, it is a little dismal how conventional many of them are. There is a groupthink in what they call "The Field" of writing speculative fiction. And, of course, a lot of internal strife. Who's the good guys, who's the bad guys? I don't pretend to know, but you can get a lot of sameness in fiction when they have the same worldview and they've spend a lot of the same time in the same rooms talking about the same things in the same way. This book wasn't like that at all for me. It was brilliant and refreshing.Plus Others, but...That's for this post. Throw in some scattered reading in the Bible, Shakespeare, Economics and Poetry and it's a year well-spent. Of course, I wish I had a chance to read more, but, you know there was real life to be lived as well. If anybody has a suggestion of something I should read next year, put it in the comments. I have a bit of an addiction with buying books, so please enable me. Get full access to How It's Written by Patrick E. McLean at patrickemclean.substack.com/subscribe

An invigorating spritz of an episode after the dregs of last week, as the duo cover two short works of Christmas-themed horror: "Nackles" by Donald Westlake, about the origins of Santa's rival; and "Nicholas Was" by Neil Gaiman, about a captive Santa who longs to retire.

Ariel talks to Lisa and Brad Gullickson of the Comic Book Couples Counseling Podcast about Darwyn Cooke's graphic novel adaptations of the Parker novels by Donald Westlake writing under the pseudonym Richard Stark.Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/omnibusride)

Would you believe that there are series characters from Lawrence Block, Donald Westlake, John D. MacDonald and others that you know nothing about? We drop some serious knowledge bombs on Episode 61 of the Paperback Warrior Podcast with reviews of The Best of Manhunt 2 and A Great Day for Dying plus a special bonus unmasking of T.C. Lewellen. Listen on your favorite podcast app or paperbackwarrior.com or download directly here: https://bit.ly/3hj8mhQ (Music by Bensound)

Paperback Warrior Podcast Episode 55 delves into the world of heist fiction with a discussion of Lionel White. Also discussed: Annoying Price Stickers! Louis A. Brennan! Music to Accompany a Good Book! Donald Westlake! Skylark Mission by Ian MacAlister! And much, much more! Listen on your favorite podcast app or at paperbackwarrior.com or download directly at https://bit.ly/2Bs2bsT. (Music by Bensound)

Kendell Foster Crossen was the creator of MILO MARCH and THE GREEN LAMA, and on Paperback Warrior Podcast Episode 53, we discuss his work and life. Also discussed: Elmore Leonard, Donald Westlake, Loren D. Estleman, Mickey Spillane, Robert Martin, Manhunt Magazine and much more! Listen on your favorite podcast app, paperbackwarrior.com, or download directly at https://bit.ly/3gXMgBQ. (Music by Bensound)

Hey, Blankers! In Episode 44 we introduce Richard Stark's The Hunter, featuring the antihero of antiheroes, no-sense thief & miscreant Parker. Wrong Parker once, and you best watch your back.  Also in this episode, Kurt shares a Forgotten Classic, Nightmare Alley, we chat about Crime Fiction in the age of Pandemic, & we learn a bit about prolific-as-hell Donald Westlake.  Get in Touch! Join our Goodreads Group Visit our Patreon Email Us Facebook Twitter Don’t forget to rate us on Apple Podcasts and share the show with your friends!

“Tengo treinta y tres años, fui a la universidad una temporada y todavía se hablar inglés si alguien me lo pide, cosa que no sucede con mucha frecuencia en mi oficio. Trabajé en una ocasión como investigador para el señor Wilde, el fiscal del distrito. Su investigador jefe, un individuo llamado Bernie Ohls, me llamó y me dijo que quería usted verme. Sigo soltero porque no me gustan las mujeres de los policías….Me despidieron. Por insubordinación. Consigo notas muy altas en materia de insubordinación, mi general”. “El sueño eterno”. Raymomd Chandler. Los años de la Depresión y la segunda guerra mundial van a suponer la presencia obsesiva del miedo tanto individual como colectivo. Los cinco años de guerra dejan terribles secuelas: los millones de muertos y heridos en combate y el terror a la bomba atómica. Sin embargo, para los intelectuales lo peor aún no había llegado: en 1.947, el presidente Truman instauraba la “guerra fría” con la intención de aislar la creciente influencia internacional del comunismo. Esto trajo consigo la creación del Comité de Actividades Antinorteamericanas que, impulsado por el senador Mcarthy, llevó a cabo desde 1.950 a 1.954, con su tristemente famosa “caza de brujas”, la más implacable persecución de izquierdistas y progresistas que recuerda la reciente historia de los Estados Unidos. De entre los muchos escritores represaliados hay que citar a Dashiell Hammett y Howard Fast. Así pues, aunque sobreviven las tendencias “hard boiled”, llegando a alcanzar incluso una de sus cimas señeras con la obra de Raymond Chandler, la tendencia predominante va a ser la psicología criminal, que, aunque surgida en el decenio anterior, estaba más en consonancia con una sociedad traumatizada. Este subgénero se centra en la exploración psicológica del crimen y del criminal. La novela negra, no obstante, va a ir fragmentándose en otros subgéneros, como la “crook story”, basada en la vida de los delincuentes profesionales; la “police procedural”, relativa a la policía y a sus métodos de investigación, no siempre lícitos, y a la “penintentiary story”, que, narrada por los propios presos, describe la vida en las prisiones. La guerra fría y la represión mcCarthiysta son el caldo de cultivo en que germinan la violencia y la obsesión sexual del Mike Hammer de Mickey Spillane, la crítica acerada de David Goodis, cronista de una sociedad regida por el miedo y en la que cualquier ciudadano pude convertirse en víctima, y la solidaridad y la denuncia de la corrupción que caracteriza la obra de William P. McGivern. Sólo por el personaje de Philip Marlowe, una de las creaciones más extraordinarias del género, Raymond Chandler (1.888-1.959), el renovador y maestro indiscutible del “hard boiled”, junto a Hammett, ocupa ya un lugar en primera fila en la novelística contemporánea. Marlowe, que entró inmediatamente en la leyenda, en gran parte gracias a las interpretaciones cinematográficas de Humphrey Bogart, se caracteriza por ser un hombre sensible y solitario, apasionado por la verdad, moralista y algo cínico. La corrupción de la sociedad, donde la obtención del dinero y el poder lo es todo, es uno de los temas prioritarios en el conjunto de la obra de Chandler, y puede afectar tanto a las fuerzas policiales como a los políticos. Enfrentados a esa corrupción y al paso del tiempo que todo lo destruye, lo único a lo que pueden aferrarse los protagonistas de Chandler, hombres duros e independientes, acostumbrados a codearse con criminales y policías, es su código individual del honor. Partiendo de Chandler, Ross MacDonald (1.915-1.983) crea una serie de novelas protagonizadas por Lew Archer (ex-delincuente, ex-policía, antiguo miembro del contraespionaje americano y divorciado), narrada en primera persona por el propio detectiva, especializado en los dramas familiares de la decadente clase alta californiana. La obra de esta autor, pesimista y desencantada, experimenta una evolución que va desde una primera época caracterizada por la acción y la violencia hasta una segunda etapa de mayor distanciamiento y objetividad que lleva a actuar a Archer en un segundo plano, como una especie de hilo conductor de la trama, en la que el detective desempeña el papel de psicólogo. Patricia Highsmith, escritora americana residente en Europa, es la figura femenina más destacada de la novela negra. El grueso de su producción se inscribe en la psicología criminal y en la crook story; el delincuente como protagonista. Su obra destaca especialmente por centrarse en la génesis del crimen, que suele partir de una gran idea, y por la singular importancia que le concede al comportamiento del delincuente, generalmente masculino, mezcla de instinto y razón. Todo ello está enmarcado en ambientes de la vida cotidiana y contado a un ritmo lento que contribuye a crear una peculiar atmósfera de violencia verbal y psicológica. Frente a la versión maniquea que frecuentemente se ofrece de la realidad en la novela de detección, el conjunto de la obra de Patricia Highsmith nos presenta un aguafuerte complejo, frío y corrosivo de las relaciones humanas, en especial las de pareja. El inquietante y peculiar delincuente Tom Ripley, protagonista de varias de sus obras, ilustra lo dicho. Cabría destacar, por último, la obra policíaca de Fredric Brown (1.906-1.972), adscribible plenamente a la psicología criminal, aunque su lirismo fantástico y su sentido del humor algo surrealista lo alejan un tanto de los cánones de esta corriente. En sus argumentos pueden rastrearse elementos autobiográficos y una despiadada crítica de la sociedad. Brown explora la moral oculta de dicha sociedad, valiéndose de un sutil análisis del comportamiento de sus personajes, a los que a menudo coloca en situaciones al borde de la pesadilla. A partir de los años sesenta la novela negra deja de ser un coto cerrado para escritores norteamericanos y su influjo se expande por todos los países del mundo occidental, arraigando especialmente en Francia, Italia y España con novelistas de la talla de J.P. Manchette, de G. Scerbanenco y de Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, respectivamente. Y es tal la cantidad de escritores que surgen, con sus peculiares interpretaciones del personaje del detective privado, que resulta imposible enumerarlos en este breve recorrido por la novela policial. Ello es muestra inequívoca de que este género es el paradigma por excelencia de la cultura urbana y postindustrial, al margen de sistemas políticos, sociales y económicos. Que el género policial permanece abierto a cualquier realidad lo prueba su capacidad para adaptarse temáticamente a las consecuencias de los sucesos históricos más relevantes, ya sean los asesinatos de los Kennedy y Martin Luther King, las guerras de Vietnam , Afganistán, los Balcanes, el terrorismo, los movimientos hippy o punk, las revueltas raciales de la población negra en los Estados Unidos en la década de los sesenta,etc...Asimismo ha sabido amoldarse a las transformaciones sociales con sus nuevas pautas morales y formas delictivas que van desde el terrorismo internacional a los complejos delitos financieros. Novelistas de ganado prestigio como Truman Capote con “A sangre fría” de 1.965 o Norman Mailer con “Un sueño americano” del mismo año se decantan hacia el tema criminal y obtienen un gran éxito de ventas, lo que lleva a otros escritores a la busca de un resonante best-seller como el logrado por Mario Puzo con “El padrino” en 1.969. Las crecientes reivindicaciones raciales tienen como consecuencia la aparición a mediados de los sesenta en la literatura, y en el cine, de una pléyade de detectives negros, rompiendo así con la tradición del género de que estos, tanto privados como oficiales, sean de raza blanca. De entre ellos habría que destacar a Sepulturero Jones y Ataúd Ed Johnson, protagonistas de varias novelas de uno de los mejores narradores de este periódo: Chester Himes (1.909-1984). Los métodos de los policías de Himes se basan en la brutalidad, producto de la dura realidad en que se mueven, la jungla del superpoblado barrio de Harlem, en Nueva York, verdadero epicentro de todas estas obras. El protagonismo concedido a los negros es también una de las variadas facetas del prolífico Donald Westlake, uno de los valores más sólidos de la novela negra. En su compleja y amplia producción destacan la humanidad, el lirismo, y, sobre todo, el humor. Este último, junto con la ironía y el sarcarmo, está basado en el planteamiento de situaciones absurdas en un contexto realista, lo que lo convierte en un renovador del género. El éxito de las colecciones policíacas, la creciente celebración de premios y congresos, las continuas adaptaciones cinematográficas y televisivas y la utilización del estilo narrativo policíaco por parte de un gran número de escritores contemporáneos, como Umberto Eco o Eduardo Mendoza, parece confirmar que el género policíaco goza todavía de mejor salud que nunca, a pesar de los agoreros que no dejan de vaticinar su próximo fin. El género policíaco ha atraído a tantos y a tan diversos lectores, que ha llegado a decirse que es una auténtica máquina de crear lectores. Espero que, si aún no es así, muchos descubran también la fascinación que ejerce el misterio y el placer que proporciona resolverlo tras una lectura atenta y creativa.

Zach Reino (Off Book) joins Kelly and Katai to read and interrupt Donald Westlakes creepy Christmas story, Nackles, and to analyze cool boat slang, Santas problematic position on capitalism, the progressive gender fluidity of Krampus and so, so much more!Plus, Engineer Alec gets roasted for poor penmanship!THIS EPISODE SPONSORED BY EVERLANE:www.everlane.com/public for FREE SHIPPING!CHECK OUT OFF BOOK:https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/off-book-the-improvised-musical/id1260742439?mt=2Follow Public Domain Theater on Instagram and Twitter to submit stories for the pod:http://twitter.com/publicdomainpodhttp://instagram.com/publicdomainpodPublic Domain Theater is a Forever Dog Podcasthttp://foreverdogproductions.com/fdpn/podcasts/public-domain-theater

On this episode, the Undertow team dives in to the Kill Or Be Killed finale in Issue #20. We also give our thoughts on the series as a whole and where it ranks in the catalog of Brubaker and Phillips. The episode also features a brief discussion on the upcoming original graphic novel from the team set to be released this October, My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies. Our monthly recommendations this month are Jack & Lucy, by Rachael Smith and Jacob Phillips, and 361, a Donald Westlake novel from Hard Case Crime.

In his tenth conversation with Bill Kristol, Harvey Mansfield recommends some important and diverting books from different genres. Mansfield discusses crime fiction, comedic novels, biographies, and political science and considers what we can learn from the best writers in these genres. Mansfield also interprets Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" as a critique of modern science. Other authors discussed include: Bill James, Agatha Christie, Donald Westlake, P.G. Wodehouse, James Q. Wilson, and Winston Churchill.

In his tenth conversation with Bill Kristol, Harvey Mansfield recommends some important and diverting books from different genres. Mansfield discusses crime fiction, comedic novels, biographies, and political science and considers what we can learn from the best writers in these genres. Mansfield also interprets Jonathan Swift’s "Gulliver’s Travels" as a critique of modern science. Other authors discussed include: Bill James, Agatha Christie, Donald Westlake, P.G. Wodehouse, James Q. Wilson, and Winston Churchill.

In his tenth conversation with Bill Kristol, Harvey Mansfield recommends some important and diverting books from different genres. Mansfield discusses crime fiction, comedic novels, biographies, and political science and considers what we can learn from the best writers in these genres. Mansfield also interprets Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" as a critique of modern science. Other authors discussed include: Bill James, Agatha Christie, Donald Westlake, P.G. Wodehouse, James Q. Wilson, and Winston Churchill.

Nancy Pearl, Steve Scher, Katy SewallRecorded at The Bryant Corner Café in Seattle. With so much turmoil in the world, sometimes a reader just wants to reset before plunging back into the intellectual fray. Nancy Pearl is calling the books you might turn to as palate cleansers.    Pretty quickly, though, the readers around the big table at the Bryant Corner Café started putting their own spin on the notion. First off, though, mark your calendar. Don Delillo has a new book coming out May of this year.  Nancy Pearl says “Zero K” is a cause for celebration. Palate Cleansers From Nancy The author Elinor Lipman. Nancy loves her books. She calls the frothy. She rereads “The Inn at Lake Divine” and “The Way Men Act” from time to time. She finds the writing appealing in all her books.  Leslie turns to her favorite mystery writers including, “Second Watch,” by J.A. Jance.  Other Palate Cleansers Mentioned This EpisodeJanwillem van de Wetering and his characters Grijpstra and de Grier.Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahöö and their character Martin Beck.    Nancy says “The Laughing Policeman” is one of their best. Bob says any good poem is a palate cleaners.  In non-fiction, anything by Bill Bryson  is a palate cleanser and in fiction, anything by P.G. Wodehouse.  Ros likes Stanley Kunitz and his book of poems about gardening. “The Wild Braid: A Poet Reflects on a Century in the Garden”   Tom cleanses his palate with The Ascent of Man with Jacob Bronowski  and Civilization by Kenneth Clarke.  Christopher likes the entertaining British writer Professor David Lodge and the American writer Jonathan Tropper.   Those two authors prompted Nancy to recommend Jonathan Coe.    She likes his novel “The Rotter’s Club.” Rita says her palate cleanser is Haruki Murakami.  Everyone's palate is different. Keith turns to Bernard Cornwell,  Margaret Atwood   or Donald Westlake.   Permalink

This week we are looking at a couple films adapted from crime novelist Donald Westlake. He wrote the books The Hunter and The Outfit under the pseudonym Richard Stark, and the films POINT BLANK and THE OUTFIT were born! So much angry walking and pistol whipping it’ll make your head spin! The post Episode 135: Donald Westlake appeared first on Silva and Gold.

No Regrets, Coyote (W.W. Norton)No Regrets, Coyote, the latest offering from acclaimed novelist John Dufresne, is a crime story, but Wylie “Coyote” Melville is no detective. A therapist by trade, the highly observant and analytical Wylie becomes a volunteer forensic consultant late one Christmas Eve when he receives a phone call from his friend Detective Sergeant Carlos O'Brien of the Eden Police Department, requesting his immediate assistance on a fresh homicide case. Wylie has an innate ability to take in a scene and provide it with narrative structure—Carlos calls him a mind reader, but that's not exactly right. “I read faces and furniture,” Wylie explains. “I can look at a person, at his expressions, his gestures, his clothing, his home, and his possessions, and tell you what he thinks, if not always what he's thinking.” Wylie arrives at the scene of the crime, the Halliday home, to discover that all five members of the Halliday family have been brutally killed. Krysia Halliday is found on the kitchen floor with her head against the open oven door, apparently shot while baking cookies; her three pajama-clad children lie in the den amid a pile of partially opened Christmas gifts, each with a blindfold over the eyes and a bullet hole in the forehead; and the patriarch, restaurateur Chafin Halliday, his face nearly blown apart, is slumped nearby, not far from the murder weapon. A typed suicide note alluding to unnamed failures rests ominously on the kitchen table. The cops have it pegged as a murder-suicide at the hands of a desperate Chafin, but that explanation doesn't quite add up for Wylie. Who types a signature on a suicide note? Why wrap expensive Christmas gifts for a family you're about to dispatch? And why are there so few family photographs in the Halliday household? In this smart and utterly absorbing thriller, Dufresne masterfully introduces a host of quirky, realistic, three-dimensional characters. The effect is a carefully crafted character study of Wylie himself, as we get to know his motivations, his thought processes, and his limitations. No Regrets, Coyote is a dazzlingly intricate mystery that elevates the genre with its pointed insights into the workings of the human mind. Praise for No Regrets, Coyote: “No Regrets, Coyote is a very cool ride. If Raymond Chandler was reincarnated as a novelist in South Florida, he couldn't nail it any better than John Dufresne.” —Carl Hiaasen “No Regrets, Coyote is a novel so good you want to throw a party for it. It's tense, unnerving, fearless, and funny as hell. Beautifully rendered on every page, it may be a crime novel in name but it's literature for the ages.” —Dennis Lehane “If anyone has a vision of the world as compellingly particular and compassionate as John Dufresne's, I don't know who. No Regrets, Coyote takes noir fiction and slivers it with shards of humor, ironic insight, and an almost hallucinogenic specificity. This is lean and honest storytelling that is as moving as it is engaging. Read this book. Believe me, you'll have no regrets!” —Andre Dubus III “Genuinely funny, genuinely suspenseful crime novels are rare, but No Regrets, Coyote succeeds on both counts. John Dufresne's hilariously dark vision of South Florida brings to mind the work of such masters as Donald Westlake and Elmore Leonard. It's a lurid pleasure from beginning to end.” —Tom Perrotta “Get ready to read this one twice, people—once to see what happens, and again to savor the sentences. Here, American treasure John Dufresne has written a noir, but instead of playing by the rules of noir, he makes noir play by the Rules of Dufresne. And we are the beneficiaries. So sit back, put a cooler of beer by your chair, and settle in, you'll be here awhile:No Regrets, Coyote is impossible to close.” —Tom Franklin “John Dufresne has turned his considerable artistic gifts to the crime novel, and the result, No Regrets, Coyote, is touching, nervy, richly detailed, and populated with a cast of characters who are utterly unique and terrifyingly real. Its humor is abundant and warm-hearted, and its detective hero is unlike any we've ever met before. American crime fiction has just gotten a lot more interesting.” —James W. Hall “The ordinary crime novel narrows as it goes, the possibilities limited by deductive reasoning. But John Dufresne's No Regrets, Coyote is an extraordinary novel, expanding until anything seems possible and everyone connects. Steeped in place, wholly original, it is, line by line, one of the best books I've read in a long time.” —Laura Lippman John Dufresne is the author of seven books, including New York Times Notable Books Love Warps the Mind a Little andLouisiana Power & Light. He lives in Dania Beach and teaches creative writing at Florida International University.

A lifelong resident of Illinois, Levi Stahl works at the University of Chicago Press. For the past three years he has maintained a literary blog, I've Been Reading Lately. He has written for the Poetry Foundation, the Chicago Reader, the Bloomsbury Review, the New-York Ghost, the Quarterly Conversation, and McSweeney's Internet Tendency. His short fiction has recently been published in the New York Moon. Levi is also an editor with Joyland - Chicago edition (he's currently accepting submissions from current and/or former Chicagoans. For more information, you can e-mail him at levistahlATgmail.com) We met in Chicago to talk about his role as publicity manager for the University of Chicago Press. Early on we talk about copy writing and appealing to as many different audiences as possible, about tours and dealing with the media, about differences between university and mainstream publishers, Modernism, Robert Graves, black and white comedy teams, and finally, about the role Levi played in getting the UCP to re-issue a series of Richard Stark (pen name of Donald Westlake, who, sadly, died the day before we conducted our interview) ‘Parker' mystery novels, most notably The Hunter, which, though stained through with violent ‘thuggery' is, according to Levi, very well written, and filled with insight into humanity.  

CE TITRE EST VENDU EXCLUSIVEMENT AVEC LE COFFRET MICHEL DEVILLE - VOLUME 3 (6 DVD)« Tout ce que l'homme entreprend foire inexorablement. Soit on se lamente, soit on rit », dit Donald Westlake. Foirent donc les arnaques, l'adultère, les poursuites, les chasses au trésor. Quel trésor ?

CE TITRE EST VENDU EXCLUSIVEMENT AVEC LE COFFRET MICHEL DEVILLE - VOLUME 3 (6 DVD)« Tout ce que l'homme entreprend foire inexorablement. Soit on se lamente, soit on rit », dit Donald Westlake. Foirent donc les arnaques, l'adultère, les poursuites, les chasses au trésor. Quel trésor ?

Drowned Hopes