Duane Swierczynski at Murder by the Book, 9 August

In case y'all are in Houston this Saturday, Duane Swierczynski will be stopping at Murder by the Book at 4:30pm. I'm looking forward to meeting him and hearing him talk about his two latest projects, the novel Severance Package and his interactive mystery, Murder at Wayne Manor. I'm most interested in hearing how he made his breaks and got the gigs he now has.

I'll recap the talk later this weekend.

Friday Links of the Week (8 August)

Some good readings from this week. Enjoy.

When Google Owns You (thanks Boing Boing)

Stephen King on his new online story, "N" (thanks SF Signal )

Lessons Learned about Superheroes during the Summer of 2008 (thanks SF Signal)

The Dystopic Earths of Heinlein's Juveniles (thanks Boing Boing)

Top Steampunk novels to read (thanks SF Flare )

Update on CrimeWAV (thanks The Rap Sheet)

Interview with Michael Connelly (thanks Crime Fiction Dossier)

Some news from Christa Faust (from her website)

A Short History of SF Pulps (thanks Solar Flare)

Treason at Hanford: A Harry Truman Mystery - Chapters 4 and 5 online

I don't have a novel writing tip today so, to compensate, I've posted two chapters of Treason at Hanford: A Harry Truman Mystery.

Here is Chapter 4 and Chapter 5.

Yet Another George Pelecanos Interview

It's from Philadelphia City Paper (thanks Crime Always Pays, Declan Burke's great blog).

Here's a quote from it:

CP: One of the things I've always been so impressed by is your ability to use space and render D.C. almost like a character. In reading the work of some of your peers, I'm struck by how important place is to the success of a book. How much of your D.C. is real and founded in the streets and how much is created in your mind?

GP: Of course the characters are fictional and they're sort of walking through this fictional world, but as far as the grid goes, it's all pretty much real. I go out and check stupid things like, Is there a T in that alley behind Otis Place NW? I have to go to the alley and make sure that there is. In the historical books like Hard Revolution, if a character is walking down the street in April '68 in a particular week of that month, and the movie theater marquee says Guess Who's Coming to Dinner or something, it was playing in that movie theater on that day. I can guarantee you that. I don't make shit like that up. Even where it's crippling. In other words, [in The Turnaround] when Alex walks into the diner for the first time when he's a kid and the James Brown song is playing, and it's June in the book — if that song was released not until September of that year, I don't put it in there. It wouldn't have been coming through the radio. It's a long-winded way of saying I'm trying to leave a record.

I can relate to Pelecanos's comment about historical novels. When I was writing Treason at Hanford, my characters walked past a movie theater and they went to see a movie. I made a point of doing some research and finding out what films were playing in the spring of 1944. It's a fun way of writing but, like Pelecanos says, it can be a pain...if you care about getting things correct.

Writing for Comic Books:

From Bill Crider's webpage comes a question: If you could write for the comic books, what would you want to write and why? Check out Crider's page for the link to his answer, as well as those of other crime writers.

For me, I'm into realism. But, I'm also an historian. Thus, I'd like to write an espionage story set in World War II and starring Batman who needs the help of the Justice Society to foil the bad guys. And, given the war, I'd have Batman's foes (Two-Face, for example) actually help Batman against the Nazis or the Japanese.

Book Review: Severance Package by Duane Swierczynski

From all indications, we seem to be in the midst of a noir/pulp renaissance. Hard Case Crime, established in 2004, has been publishing and re-introducing out-of-print pulp novels to the 21st century. In the case of yours truly, it is an introduction, not a re-introduction. New technologies (podcasting, online magazines) have, ironically, replicated the delivery methods of old-school pulp magazines back in the golden age of pulp fiction. The climate of this first decade of the 21t century has a shadow over it, the shadow of two burning buildings that no longer stand. When those towers fell, new things emerged (wire tapping of American civilians, memos on how to redefine torture, Abu Garib) that have brought with it a certain sense of paranoia. These factors, and more, have created a climate where authors, new and old, have tried to put in print and words the zeitgeist of this decade. And one of those trailblazers is Duane Swierczynski.

Swierczynski is the author of three previous novels, Secret Dead Men, The Wheelman, and The Blonde, as well as some titles from Marvel Comics (Cable, Iron Fist) but Severance Package is the first novel of his that I have read. And it's a doozy. First off, the cover. I love old-school painted cover art, the kind that graced the covers of pulp fiction long ago and the kind that Hard Case Crime is bringing back. Severance Package, a trade paperback, has that neat textured paper, the kind that you'd find in an art store. Not coincidentally, the cover art looks like a comic book. The synopsis and the About the author section are basic type font but the other lettering, the teaser, and the blurbs all appear to have been inked by Jack Kirby. That's a cool vibe to imbue and it is a tantalizing entry to this novel.

The vibe continues throughout the book. Here's the basic premise: the company that Jamie Debroux works for is, in reality, a front for a black ops unit. They've been outed and, as such, they all have to die. You have a choice, the boss man says: drink a mimosa and fall asleep or get shot in the head with the gun my assistant is now holding. With that in mind, the novel is interspersed with a list of the employees' names. With each death (yeah, there are some deaths in here), that name is crossed off. What's fascinating as a reader is you don't know who is the person crossing off the names.

The action, as you would expect, starts off with a bang. On his Secret Dead Blog, Swierczynski posts a running feature called "Opening Shots" where he transcribes the first paragraph of certain novels as a way to get a reader hooked. I'll give you the opening sentence of Severance Package and see if you don't want to read more:

His name was Paul Lewis and he didn't know he had seen minutes to live.

This opening chapter also has one of a half dozen or so illustrations, done in black-and-white comic book style, by Dennis Calero, that depict a scene of the book. Well, we get to see, as well as read, what happens to Paul Lewis. Let me just say this: considering all the damage other characters endure during this book, it's one of the more peaceful ways to go.

(Speaking of opening shots, here is the opening line of dialogue from Swierczynski's The Blonde: "I poisoned your drink." Dunno about y'all but that makes me want to read more.)

Swierczynski, who lives in Philadelphia, gives the kind of detail to his town that I hope to give Houston. That is, he knows his town and writes little tidbits throughout the book that give the non-Philly reader a taste of the town not found at the touristy locales. It's the same thing Pelecanos does for DC, Lehane for Boston, Connelly for LA, and Wislow for San Diego. It brings the city to life.

The prose is quick but not dirty. I found myself flying through pages, looking up after an hour and finding out that I'd read more than 60 pages. That's quite fast for me, usually a slow reader. But the pace is pedal-to-the-metal, pell-mell into a brick wall. It's breezy in its way, rapidly jumping into the heads of all the characters, even one unnamed character late in the book. It's a good feature, breathing life into characters that, usually, only have minutes to live. As the story progresses and you witness the various violent actions, it's kind of fun to guess how the next character's demise will come. Believe me: there's one you won't see coming. Moreover, there's a certain time shift going on in places. Swierczynski will follow one character through an entire scene then jump into another character's POV. That second character likely was a silent witness to the actions of the first character, thus, we get a second opinion on certain actions. It's a neat way of giving certain scenes depth.

The Ending: I can't tell you about the ending. A good ending to a bad book or movie can salvage my opinion of the work. A bad ending to a good book/movie can ruin the entire experience. I'll say this about the ending of Severance Package: I loved the book...and the ending kicked me in the crotch. I didn't see it coming...but I should have. You might. But try not to think too much. This is a fantastic book. Just enjoy the hell out of it half as much as Swierczynski enjoyed writing it.

What I Learned As A Writer: As I mentioned before, the POV jumps in and out of his characters. I am usually the type of author that sticks to one POV per scene, allowing all the action and reaction to be from that one POV. If I need another, I'll change at a chapter break. And there are certain characters I never jump into. Not so, Severance Package. All the characters get their time to stand on stage. All the characters get a certain amount of time for a brief back story. This background helps the reader understand the actions of certain characters. You know how in horror movies, the characters never do the logical thing? Well, these back stories are Swierczynski's way of inculcating the reader as to why a character makes a certain choice. It's effective and I might try it in a future novel.

The list of names to be killed--and the growing number that get crossed off--is a great way of creating suspense. It's the ticking time bomb, a cadence you hear in the back of your head as the pages go by. Who gets it next, you ask, and how? The New York Times review states that Severance Package "plays like an extreme edition of “Survivor,” starring Uma Thurman and directed by Quentin Tarantino." It's just a fun, fast book, to be enjoyed in a rubbernecker, visceral kind of way. It has the kind of vibe that I want some of my fiction to be infused with, the literary equivalent of a summer blockbuster.

It's pulp fiction, pure and simple, just like they used to write in the old days. Rest assured Hammett, Keene, Spillane, and Westlake: the future of pulp fiction is in good hands with folks like Duane Swierczynski on duty.

P.S., Swierczynski will be stopping at Murder by the Book this Saturday, 9 August. If you're in Houston, come on by and say hello. And pick up some of his books. You won't be disappointed.

The Dark Knight: A Second Opinion

I got a chance to see “The Dark Knight” again this weekend. And, unlike my first time (in Houston, in an IMAX theater, complete with awesome and visuals), I saw it the second time at the Majestic Theater in Wills Point, TX. It’s a tiny town in northeast Texas where there is one theater showing one movie at one time (7:30pm). The Majestic itself is a restored theater dating back at least 30 years. The floors were wooden with carpet down the aisles, the screen was set back, just behind a stage where local folks likely produce plays, and the walls were close. Heck, even a train roared through town during the film, rattling the walls and adding a bit of impromptu reality to the story on the screen.

But that is the point. Many folks who see The Dark Knight will see it in shiny movie multiplexes with cement floors and state-of-the-art sound systems and soundproofed walls keeping reality away for 150 minutes. But The Dark Knight is a film with the feel of the 1970s, both in tone and in its hues. It felt natural to see this brand-new film in a theater where The French Connection was shown. Or Dirty Harry. It was a little like going back in time. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and then questions arose about our own time.

This is a movie that asks us questions about our reality circa 2008. Don’t think I’m going to slip into some political discussion here. It’s been done elsewhere and everywhere. In fact, a fellow blogger from the UK has written his own review of The Dark Knight that asks some serious questions. Go on over and get another perspective from across the pond.

Suffice it to say that Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, as they are, could not have been made in any other decade. They are distinctly post-9/11. As a historian, I enjoy watching old SF movies of the 1950s and seeing what they say about life in that decade when the Cold War was coldest. I wonder, in the present tense, which films will be the examples of life in this first decade of the 21st Century. I now have two candidates.

Seeing the film again, I got the chance to focus on the many nuances in the film. (BEWARE: SPOILERS abound).

A obvious one is this: The Joker robbed a bank. Plain and simple. How many superhero movies do you know of where the main villain just robbed a bank. Loved it.

In previous movie incarnations, I really got the sense that Bruce Wayne was the real guy and Batman was the mask. In this film (as in Begins), Christian Bale puts a firm answer to the question: which is the mask and which is the true self? Wayne is the mask and Bale lets you see it only for a fraction of the film, that being in the restaurant and at the fund-raiser. The rest of the time, even when he’s not in a mask, Bale is Batman. Bale is Batman when he and Alfred stitch up Batman’s wounds and when they are getting ballistics from a brick. He is Batman when he’s posing as a civilian in Hong Kong taking pictures. The one place where he’s conflicted is the short scenes with Rachel during the fundraiser. It’s the first chance you see Bale as Batman hoping he’ll have a chance to shed the Bat mantle but Rachel, just as in the first film, see through it. Bale/Batman knows the truth about himself: just watch him during the restaurant scene. He gets uncomfortable being Wayne. Another telling scene is in Begins when Wayne meets Rachel after he has swum in the fountain with the models. He doesn’t know who to be and tells her so. This, to me, is brilliant acting because you can see it on Bale’s face.

The Joker as mob boss. Certain adjectives come to mind when you read and see Joker in the comics: insane, sadistic, cunning. What Ledger brings to the role is vicious. There’s the scene, late in the movie, when Joker burns his half of the money, when he turns a knife on the Chechen and asks about loyalty. Joker says something like “Why don’t we cut you up in little pieces and feed you to your pooches and then we’ll see how loyal a hungry dog is.” There is so much redefinition of who Joker is in that one line. Joker in the comics is sophisticated. Ledger’s Joker is base, dirty, somewhat slimy. Joker the comics would never say “pooches” even though he’d likely still cut up the Chechen. But I got the impression that Ledger’s Joker really did cut that guy up. How else do you explain the fact that he had the dogs in the final showdown? Joker in Comics wouldn’t see the humor in it. Ledger’s Joker just doesn’t’ care. And that’s what makes Ledger’s Joker scary as hell. You just don’t know what he’s going to do.


Gordon’s tears. When confronting Two-Face at the end, there’s just enough light in the scene that you can tell Gary Oldman’s Jim Gordon had started crying when he feared Two-Face would really shoot Gordon’s son. I caught it the first time around but it’s still impressive. And I don’t care whether or not Oldman did it himself or a prop person applied eye drops. For Christopher Nolan to go to that detail really made the scene.

Eckhart’s Dent: My favorite scene with Eckhart is still the scene when Dent is interrogating the captured Joker henchman. Eckhart lets Dent’s rage loose. It helped me buy Dent’s fall later in the film. And this time, I caught Dent’s manipulation with the coin. He said, “Heads you live, tails you die.” Of course it landed on heads. Loved it.

Gyllenhaal’s Rachel: Katie Holmes was not altogether bad in Batman Begins. But I don’t think she could have pulled out the convincing performance during Rachel’s death. Maggie’s voice is what did it. It broke because the character knew she was about to die. And she was scared. It came across and made the scene heartbreaking.

One final note: on my previous review of The Dark Knight, I was so enthralled that I felt like I didn’t want them to make Movie #3. I write 'them' because even if Nolan chooses not to make Movie #3, the suits will. You can feel it in your wallet. It’s just a matter of time. But I am now less reticent. Seeing the ending again, the great Oldman/Gordon voiceover, explaining to his son why Batman has to flee and why GPD has to chase him sets up Movie #3 on very dark ground. And, if Gordon followed through and blamed Dent’s murders on Batman, there is ample and fertile ground to plow.

It is here where Ledger, as an actor, will be missed. He took the Joker template and made it his own. But Joker survived the story. In Movie #3, he will be the elephant in the room. Along with all the other roles Ledger will never be able to fill, it would have been nice to see his take on Joker after three-plus years in Arkham.

I think the Joker still has something to say to us. It’ll be a different era when Movie #3 comes out. The earliest will likely be 2011, three years into the administration of the next president, a few months before the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. Depending on who the president is, the world will look different. Batman will be different, especially if he will have been hunted (or disappeared) for three-plus years. I’d almost like to see Nolan wait four years but that’s not economically feasible considering the boffo business The Dark Knight is churning. Movie #3 will arrive and I’ll echo what Jay over at the Noir Soapbox wrote: “…are we on our way to getting the first truly consistent film trilogy?”

I think so. I just wonder what it’s going to say about us.

The Dark Knight: Here come the spoofs

The Dark Knight won its third week in a row. When's the last time a movie did that? It's a phenomenon. Thus, we're getting spoofs.

Here's one (via SFSignal; thanks!) that, uh, 'speaks' to a common criticism of the film.

Happy Birthday Dennis Lehane

Today, in the Writer's Almanac, Garrison Keillor let me know that it's Dennis Lehane's birthday. As I've mentioned elsewhere, it was Lehane's Mystic River that introduced me to modern crime fiction. From there, I discovered George Pelecanos (in the form of his Derek Strange novels) and, later, the novels from Hard Case Crime.

Happy birthday, Mr. Lehane. I hope you have a good one. And I'm looking very forward to your new novel, The Given Day.

George Pelecanos: Website Update

In case y'all don't travel to his website, George Pelecanos's website received a major update. He's book-related stuff, "The Wire" related material, and Pelecanos riffing on various things such as his favorite westerns, music he listened to on past tours, readings, and even his new GT.

New Friday Feature: Links of the Week

Nothing too complicated here, just some links I enjoyed throughout the week.

Enjoy.

• Bullets, Broads, Blackmail, and Bombs (via Bookgasm, every Wednesday)
• Writing Advice David J. Montgomery heard at Thrillerfest
• Trailer for Michael Connelly's next book (thanks Ed Gorman)
• Richard Stark's career (via Independent Crime)
• Brett Battles on the impact of 9/11 and this decades wars on literature and culture (via Murderati)
• Book review of Donald Westlake's Somebody Owes Me Money (via Pulp Fiction Reviews)
• Classic SF authors on SF (via SF Signal)
• Two new author interviews (Tony Black and Scott Phillips) at Allan Guthrie's website.
• Lou Anders on the future of book reviews, blogging, and peer-to-peer reviewing.