mssrcrankypants ([info]mssrcrankypants) wrote,
@ 2008-10-29 06:24:00
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Current mood: busy
Current music:the insane buzz of competing duties in my head
Entry tags:books, noir, writers

Hooray for Hard Case Again
It's been quite some time (five years) since David J. Schow's last novel, Bullets of Rain, a twisting razorwire book of violence, identity, and mad nature (human, animal, environmental). I assume Schow has been busy with screenwriting work, and we did get a new short story collection from him--Havoc Swims Jaded--just last year. But now Hard Case is releasing Gun Work, and I'm all a-tizzy with excitement. As always, Hard Case provide a retro-pulp cover and tagline for the book: "Make sure you choose the right weapon for the job."

Just the right level of double-entendre to complement the cover image and fit the 1950s-era pulp vibe the series is aiming for.

To read a bit more about the book, check out suspense novelist Tom Piccirilli's interview with David Schow over at The Big Adios, a message board frequented by Pic, Max Allan Collins, Ed Gorman, and other folks who like to talk about noir, suspense, and mystery novels and films.

You can also read a sample chapter from the novel at the Hard Case website.

My one complaint about the series is that neither my local B&N nor my local Borders carries the books regularly; they only stock select titles, and usually only a few copies of any one of them. I never did manage to score a copy of Christa Faust's Money Shot or the re-release of John Farris's Baby Moll.

That's all I've got time for now!




(9 comments) - (Post a new comment)


[info]sherryaustin
2008-10-29 01:31 pm UTC (link)
I really enjoy your journal. You've been at it a long time, too!

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[info]mssrcrankypants
2008-10-29 10:39 pm UTC (link)
Thanks, Sherry. Yeah, I can't believe I've had this thing for over seven years now.

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[info]nick_kaufmann
2008-10-29 01:42 pm UTC (link)
You can always grab the Faust and Farris online.

I'm not a big fan of the cover to Schow's book. I think its the faces that aren't sitting right with me for some reason.

Also, Schow is writing a book for the same series I am!

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[info]mssrcrankypants
2008-10-29 10:41 pm UTC (link)
The man's face is the problem for me, now that you mention it. The woman looks fine, very in the tradition of pulp GGA covers. Cool about Schow being in the same series.

I hate ordering paperbacks online, as they're the only books that cost more (due to shipping) online than in stores. I suppose I'll buckle, though, if I can't find them at the Borders Dan mentions below.

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[info]dark_towhead
2008-10-29 02:28 pm UTC (link)
I'ma HCC book club member. I got this in the mail a week ago and have been champing at the bit to get into it... Unfortunately, I've had a couple of "Have to get this read and reviewed" books on my stack... Last time I checked, the Borders on Rt. 9 in Shrewsbury had most of the current HCC books (in the mystery section, filed under H, for Hard Case Crime???). Hopefully they have this one. I am a regular Schow reader (even if I do pronounce his last name incorrectly, heh), and have been excited about this one since it was announced last year.

Any interest in a review of this for Dead Reckonings?

And you probably already know that Christa Faust and David J. Schow are writing entries for the Gabriel Hunt series of adventure novels (http://www.huntforadventure.com/)... Recalling the wry observations from Schow's "Pulpmeister" (Red Scream) makes me particularly curious as to what he'll do with the Gabriel Hunt stuff.

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[info]mssrcrankypants
2008-10-29 10:43 pm UTC (link)
We might be up for something on this for issue five, in March. Thanks for the tip about the Rte 9 Borders--foolish me, I was looking for the books alphabetically by author, not publisher. Who do these Borders people think they are, the New England Mobile Book Fair? (Yay regional humor!)

Schow's always an interesting read, so I was excited to hear about this, too.

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[info]nihilistic_kid
2008-10-29 03:09 pm UTC (link)
I assume Schow has been busy with screenwriting work

Is Critters 7: Crit Harder out already?


I kid, I kid. I was gonna go get the book this afternoon, actually. There are luchadors in it!

Edited at 2008-10-29 03:09 pm UTC

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[info]mssrcrankypants
2008-10-29 10:46 pm UTC (link)
Ouch. I think he actually wrote a couple of the Masters of Horror episodes, or at least did the screenplays. So you can upbraid him about that now. And let's not forget the story for 2006's Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning.

He's a terrific short story writer....

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[info]nihilistic_kid
2008-10-29 10:51 pm UTC (link)
Oh yes, I quite like his short stories.

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