Can you guess the author/title of this vintage paperback just from the back cover copy? Leave your guesses in the comments section. (Hurry before Bill Crider nails it.)
ABIGAIL FORCE
1 hour ago
Friday, February 20, 2009
Backflash #1
Can you guess the author/title of this vintage paperback just from the back cover copy? Leave your guesses in the comments section. (Hurry before Bill Crider nails it.)
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16 comments:
Is it Cry Hard Cry Fast by John D. MacDonald?
Goddamnit, that was probably too easy. Nice work, Joe.
I just found that Gold Medal copy of Cry Hard, Cry Fast in my local used book store a few months ago.
(I was going to say JDM but I didn't know the book....yes, I suck.)
Shoot. I read that like, um, a couple weeks ago and didn't get. Someone slap my wrist with a ruler. Or don't...lots of typing to do, can't injure the hands.
Loved the book!
Day late, dollar short, but i knew the answer. Trust me! How about this one: "Down in swamp country a deputy sheriff meets and falls in love with a young lass, but her husband stands in the way ... for a time." Hint: JDM said the author was one of the most undeservedly neglected writers of his generation.
I think it's called YES PLEASE I'LL TAKE ALL OF THE ABOVE.
Leigh
Kinda sounds like "River Girl" by Charles Williams.
I'm out of town and just now getting on-line. But I might not have gotten it, anyway.
Yes, River Girl by Charles Williams. A great read.
Williams is my favorite Gold Medal writer. I think his work declined after 1960, but in the 50's...his novels were damned near perfect.
Hey, Mr. Swierczynski, I recently finished reading your latest work on the Punisher “6 Hours to Live” and even though the writing is well done, I felt you portrayed Philadelphia pretty wrong. To call it “thin” when there are a TON of problems here is so disrespectful, especially coming from a comic icon like The Punisher.
You had the Punisher go to Northeast Philadelphia, the safest of areas, where the only problem that area has are racist cops (I should know, I’ve been a victim of them and won my lawsuit) but yet you don’t have the Punisher go down to violence-plagued areas, like North Philadelphia or South West Philadelphia.
Now granted it’s a comic book and you’re a busy man, but if you haven’t noticed, Philadelphia for the previous couple of years, have been horrible. Check our murder rate; check how there’s been a City Hall probe going on for years. How our previous Mayor stole the tax payers’ money and spent it on his family vacations. How his brother owns crack houses down North Philadelphia.
How bout recently, our current Mayor has already shut down recreational parks for children to play in, and how Libraries are about to close just to bring in Casino’s for revenue. On top of that, officials in Philadelphia, who don’t even live here, have taken all funding out of other areas only to concentrate on Center City. They want tourists to come and see the sites, but for many, if you live anywhere outside of expensive Center City, you have no chance for survival.
Philadelphia has become a spawning ground for greed and corruption, and it’s a prefect fit for the Punisher to clean up. (And I have the pictures to prove it, as I’m a Photojournalist) However, you seemed to have missed the boat with a chance to bring serious problems to light of the masses.
Carlos: Thanks for taking the time to write. You make a lot of great points, but me just say that...
1.) As you say, this is a comic book version of Philly. And Punisher MAX is work of journalism. If I were doing a piece about crime in Philly, you're right--I'd be negligent in missing a lot of serious problems in this city. But it's not; it's a piece of fiction, with its own set of demands. (Personally, I'm not a big fan of fiction that preaches to me.)
2.) The Punisher picks his targets, not me. I know that sounds like I'm pushing the decisions off on a fictional character, but the Punisher has a very particular way of operating -- he tends to hit crime lords, organized crime figures... again in this fictional universe. For him to go nuts in a crime-ridden neighborhood (no matter how bad) isn't really in character for him.
3.) North Philly was very much in #67. Just saying.
Mr. Swierczynski, thanks for getting back to me in a timely manner. It is much appreciated as I wanted to hear your response. You could have easily ignored my statements, but you didn’t, thank you.
Let me start by saying I understand that Punisher MAX is work of journalism. It’s very clear that it indeed is, and it’s one of the reasons why I read it faithfully. I did see some of North Philly in #67 when Punisher speaks about “community development”, which is closer to the truth then you can possibly think. (Since we’re judging this on fiction)
I just felt that the Punisher was judging Philadelphia a little prematurely when calling it thin. Maybe I was just expecting too much, which could be my fault. When I heard the Punisher was coming to Philadelphia, after fighting Jigsaw in #65, I thought we would get Frank brutally taking out guys (which you portrayed well) but in higher crime areas, and also taking on the mentality of crime: An individuals fault or societies creation? Thus Frank can relate to, given his past. Like I said, maybe I just expected too much.
Now before I go any further, let me play devil’s advocate here and say the Punisher is only one man. He moves constantly from place to place, and couldn’t possibly know everything that’s going on Philadelphia. But on the flip-side of things, Punisher has always had a knack for Intel, so it’s kinda-hard to dismiss that.
The Punisher is truly a force of nature, who’s a big game hunter, even though he was accused of not being one in #66, by Louis. (Only one characters opinion) So you can see the layers/shades of grey that put me in question of Punisher’s choice of location and statements. Overall it is a solid book; it’s just what I addressed to you earlier, which bugged me. But as I said, I do thank you for your time and I’ll be looking forward to #68. Have a nice day.
I was gonna go with Little Women.
Hey, the new Piccirilli book comes out today! I got The Cold Spot on your recommendation and read it in a sitting. Can't wait to see what Chase does next.
Swierczy -
I just figured these were the themes for your next five books or so...
:)
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