Saturday, December 24, 2016
Peter Porges, R. I. P.
| Inkspill - New Yorker Cartoonists News: Peter Porges, who began his New Yorker career in the summer of 1965 (his first drawing in the magazine appears above) died this week at age 89. Mr. Porges was perhaps more widely known as a MAD artist (one of its famed Usual Gang of Idiots), but his New Yorker career spanned thirty-five years. Jack Ziegler, a New Yorker colleague, told Ink Spill today:
Friday, December 23, 2016
Season of Ice --Richard Prosch
Let's get this out of the way right at the beginning: Season of Ice is dedicated to me, which makes me feel humble and proud. I wouldn't feel that way if the book weren't really good, but it is.As you can see on the cover to the left, Season of Ice is a collection of crime stories, most, but not all, of them set in the present day. I say that because Prosch is a fine writer of westerns, too, and a winner of the Spur award. My favorite story is probably the one that gives the book its title both because I always enjoy it when a crime in the past has consequences in the present. Also this one, lik others in the collection, shows Prosch using the Nebraska weather to great advantage to echo the darkness of the story. But all the other stories are good ones.
One of the non-contemporary stories is "The Luck of Frankie Irish," set in a terminal at JFK airport during the blackout of 1965. The blackout is part of Frankie's luck. This story gives Prosch an opportunity to write in a different voice, and it's funny. The other historical story is "The Dead Hand," and it's set much farther back in time, just after WWI. It's a story of revenge and a good one. Like many of the stories, it has a good twist at the end.
"#peacerocks" is definitely contemporary, and all too possible in today's world.
The book opens with "Gun Guys." I love a story where the geezer wins. It's followed by "Fool Me Twice," a noir tale that lives up to the title. And you gotta love a tense tale like "Chester Dokes," in which a guy some call Chester the Molester becomes a little bit of a hero.
As I said earlier, all the stories are good ones, so you can't go wrong. Highly recommended, as it would be even if it were dedicated to Joe Lansdale.
FFB: Springer's Gambit -- W. L. Ripley
Since I enjoy W. L. Ripley's novels about Wyatt Storme so much, I thought I'd try his other series and see if it's just as good. And, sure enough, it is.Cole Springer is a smart-mouthed piano player who owns his own bar in Aspen, but he's broke and could use some money. He also happens to be a former Secret Service agent and Iraq vet who's mighty handy with a gun and a knife. (Okay, I don't know about the knife; I couldn't resist stealing that line from "Wolverton Mountain. The gun part, though, I'm sure about.)
Max Shapiro is a real estate guy who's also a money launderer for the mob. When he finds out he has cancer, he tells the mob to kiss off. Then he finds out he doesn't have cancer, after all. Uh-oh. What he needs is a bodyguard, and Springer's the best.
Add a hitman having a midlife crisis, a beautiful Colorado state cop, hapless mob types, Shapiro's girlfriend who's way too good for him, Feds out to make a name for themselves (and who happen to the the cop's ex-husband and ex-lover) plus the gambit devised by Springer to save Shapiro, get rich, and solve all the other problems.
What you get is a fast-moving story full of quirky characters, action, great one-liners, and a well worked out caper. It's funny, too, and the writing is a pure pleasure to read. Now I have to look for the other books in the series because I'm well and truly hooked.
Thursday, December 22, 2016
P.J. Lambrecht, R. I. P.
P.J. Lambrecht, Monkeewrench' series co-author, dies: Patricia “P.J.” Lambrecht, co-author of seven best-selling thrillers featuring the St. Paul Monkeewrench gang, died Wednesday on her own terms after entertaining her oldest friends. She was 70.
Gordon Hunt, R. I. P.
AOL Entertainment: Gordon Hunt, director of live-action and animated work who was also the father of Helen Hunt and the husband of actress B.J. Ward, died Saturday. He was 87.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
This week in the 'bloids
This week in the 'bloids: What happens when the tabloids hit bottom? We find out this week, when the ‘Globe’ brings us five photo-filled pages of the “worst butts in showbiz,” along with some of the worst picture captions and most labored puns accompanying celebrity derrieres..
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