Has anyone read this guys books - a character who is probably as dispicable as covenant, set in middle america - crime novels.
well worth the read, and i'd be interested in anyone's comments

Moderator: Orlion
it's been a few years since i read Crumley but i'm not sure i'd compare him with Ellroy. Ellroy is DARK, maybe the darkest of the contemporary "hard-boiled" crime writers. i might not have said that prior to reading his memoir My Dark Places, but let me tell you, when Ellroy says dark places, he really means it. the guy's been "down in the zero" as Andrew Vachss would say.Encryptic wrote:Haven't read any of his stuff, but after looking him up, sounds pretty good, similar to James Ellroy's work.
You could be right. Don't think I've ever read any fiction that comes close to touching Ellroy (just re-read The Big Nowhere recently, as a matter of fact) in terms of his style. After reading My Dark Places, it's not hard to see where it all comes from. Great writer on a lot of levels.Lucimay wrote:it's been a few years since i read Crumley but i'm not sure i'd compare him with Ellroy. Ellroy is DARK, maybe the darkest of the contemporary "hard-boiled" crime writers. i might not have said that prior to reading his memoir My Dark Places, but let me tell you, when Ellroy says dark places, he really means it. the guy's been "down in the zero" as Andrew Vachss would say.Encryptic wrote:Haven't read any of his stuff, but after looking him up, sounds pretty good, similar to James Ellroy's work.
i went crazy with the dark guys for a while...Vachss, Jim Thompson, David Goodis, Ellroy, Charles Willeford and well...lots of others.