Hard Case. Best of the Best.

[buddy]

Well, based on Charles advice i just finished reading Branded Woman.

I can see why this would make you want to start something like Hard Case. I am really glad it's in print again. It was very Kill Bill.

The thing I love about these reprints is that they can be so big and pulpy and gaudey.I mean that in a really good way. It's not that these books don't have a subtext it's that everything in them is completely over top including the metaphors.

I mean, I just read "361" where a man's life become overtaken with the singular vision of avenging his father and then he is attacked becuase of the blind spot that creates. Oh ya, and he also has one eye. It's too much fun.

It's one of the things that made me love Branded Woman. I don't want to ruin anything but the title is the most literal meaning of the phrase.

Thanks again to Hard Case for digging this up. I'll look up some more Wade Miller but most of the stuff on google comes up with is baseball stats.

[Paul_Hochman]

This link should help, buddy. Wade Miller was actually a writing duo.

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buddy wrote:
Well, based on Charles advice i just finished reading Branded Woman.

I can see why this would make you want to start something like Hard Case. I am really glad it's in print again. It was very Kill Bill.

The thing I love about these reprints is that they can be so big and pulpy and gaudey.I mean that in a really good way. It's not that these books don't have a subtext it's that everything in them is completely over top including the metaphors.

I mean, I just read "361" where a man's life become overtaken with the singular vision of avenging his father and then he is attacked becuase of the blind spot that creates. Oh ya, and he also has one eye. It's too much fun.

It's one of the things that made me love Branded Woman. I don't want to ruin anything but the title is the most literal meaning of the phrase.

Thanks again to Hard Case for digging this up. I'll look up some more Wade Miller but most of the stuff on google comes up with is baseball stats.

---

[JKL]

Two for the Money and Grifters Game are certainly two of my top picks.

To be honest, I started looking at the Hard Case list and there are too many great books to start listing favorites. There's really been only one Hard Case book I couldn't get into enough to finish, and one or two that while I liked them I just didn't find them totally satisfying. Other than those, they've all been great reads, and highly addictive. I think the fact that Hard Case alternates between reprints and newer works is a great thing, because it keeps things interesting.

I find I read a few Hard Case books, then pause to read something totally different, then go back to Hard Case for a few more, etc., over and over!

[CharlesArdai]

I'm glad you're enjoying them (most of them, anyway!). One thing that's always interesting to me is how, for any given book we publish, there are some people who will passionately talk about how much they love it and others who will declare it's the worst we've ever published. The only exception I can think of is Charles Williams' A TOUCH OF DEATH -- I don't remember a single negative review of that one...

--Charles

[Curt42]

My favorite Hard Case Crime book, ironically, is not a reprint, but the new THE CONFESSION. It reminded me in style of A KISS BEFORE DYING in the sense ** spoller alert ** that the narrator is not necessarily what we think he is. The narrator starts off as a character that we trust because he is telling us the story and we have always been taught to trust the narrator, but as the story progresses our relation becomes strained because we are not sure whether he deserves our trust or not.

Otherwise I enjoyed DUTCH UNCLE for some strange reason and for the new books I enjoyed THE LAST QUARRY.

As far as background, a friend told me about Hard Case Crimes before they came out. He never bought any of the books, but I have bought and read every one since the start. I now have a nice row of 39 books on my shelf. May there be 39+ more.

[Paul_Hochman]

Great news! Hard Case has announced "The First Quarry" (see link).

http://www.hardcasecrime.com/books_bios.cgi?entry=bk48

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Curt42 wrote:
My favorite Hard Case Crime book, ironically, is not a reprint, but the new THE CONFESSION. It reminded me in style of A KISS BEFORE DYING in the sense ** spoller alert ** that the narrator is not necessarily what we think he is. The narrator starts off as a character that we trust because he is telling us the story and we have always been taught to trust the narrator, but as the story progresses our relation becomes strained because we are not sure whether he deserves our trust or not.

Otherwise I enjoyed DUTCH UNCLE for some strange reason and for the new books I enjoyed THE LAST QUARRY.

As far as background, a friend told me about Hard Case Crimes before they came out. He never bought any of the books, but I have bought and read every one since the start. I now have a nice row of 39 books on my shelf. May there be 39+ more.

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[buddy]

Since we are still talking about the Best of the Best I still have to say that The Gutter and The Grave is one of my favorites ( but I have liked pretty much everything I have read in the series with a few exceptions)

I know that the original book was called "Cannon for Hire" and there were a some changes made for the hard case release. Has any here read the old paperback or know how it differs?

I guess I am also curious if it was McBain/Hunter himself that made the changes and does anyone know why?

I am also excited to hear that there are some Curt Cannon stories in the "Learning to Kill" collection. Can't wait to look them up.

[CharlesArdai]

The differences between the original version of the paperback and the new version are fairly small. The biggest is that, at the author's request, we changed the name of the character back from "Curt Cannon" to "Matt Cordell," which was the name the character had when he first appeared in the pulps. Beyond that, we fixed a batch of typos and, I think, edited a handful of sentences for clarity. These were all changes McBain either asked us to make or that I asked him if he minded our making and that he then approved. Working with him on the book was a real pleasure -- it was crushing when he died soon after we finished.

--Charles

[buddy]

Thanks Charles,

It's cool to hear that it was so close to the original.

I am really glad the McBain was able to see the book relaunched with HardCase while he was alive. It must have been a thrill to have worked with him.

[CharlesArdai]

It was a thrill. Unfortunately, he died before the book actually came out. But he did get to read the final version and see the cover and choose the new title and write the new dedication to his wife...so it's almost as if he'd seen it come out.

--Charles

[ROCKETRAY55]

I would have to say, The Gutter And The Grave is right up there. I also really enjoyed Fright, I normally go for the detective stories but Woolrich is such a great writer. I could not put it down.

-Ray

[chade]

So much good stuff...where to begin? I really dug Fade to Blonde, but I have a weakness for period stories. Both of Charles' novels were really good. Home is the Sailor was a fun, quick read. I've read the Parker novels, but Lemons Never Lie was the first of the Grofield books, for me, so that was great. And Woolrich. What can I say about Woolrich? He may have written some of the most awful dialogue, but no one can make you feel suspense like the master.

My only complaint about the line would be simply wishing I could purchase posters or prints of the cover art. Manchess' art for Fade to Blonde and The Vengeful Virgin need to be on my wall. And Orbik? As much as I liked his cover to Wade Miller's (and speaking of Miller, when can we see Touch of Evil reprinted?) Branded Woman, his cover to Money Shot was awesome. And McGinnis? Who doesn't want to own something by McGinnis?

[Paul_Hochman]

Branded Woman is one of my all-time favorites. And Ken Laager's cover for The Murderer Vine ain't too shabby either!

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chade wrote:

So much good stuff...where to begin? I really dug Fade to Blonde, but I have a weakness for period stories. Both of Charles' novels were really good. Home is the Sailor was a fun, quick read. I've read the Parker novels, but Lemons Never Lie was the first of the Grofield books, for me, so that was great. And Woolrich. What can I say about Woolrich? He may have written some of the most awful dialogue, but no one can make you feel suspense like the master.

My only complaint about the line would be simply wishing I could purchase posters or prints of the cover art. Manchess' art for Fade to Blonde and The Vengeful Virgin need to be on my wall. And Orbik? As much as I liked his cover to Wade Miller's (and speaking of Miller, when can we see Touch of Evil reprinted?) Branded Woman, his cover to Money Shot was awesome. And McGinnis? Who doesn't want to own something by McGinnis?

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[CraigClarke]

Though several of the HCC novels have, on first read, struck me as particularly good, the one that has stayed with me long after reading it is The Last Match. There was no reason to expect that this previously unpublished novel (by the author of another book I didn't like) would be any good at all, but this memoir of a con man is one of the most engaging books I've ever read.

[chade]

I didn't much care for Plunder of the Sun either, which kept me from The Last Match. But if it's as good as you say, I might have to check it out. Thanks for the heads up.

[CharlesArdai]

Opinions vary on THE LAST MATCH -- I like it very much myself, but some find it a bit overstuffed, a bit too one-thing-after-another.  It's a book you really need to read to the end, though; some of the episodes that seem a bit disconnected at first come together in a really nice way in the end.  And I always find charming rogues irresistible, so a con man narrator is pretty much a sure-fire good time for me.

As for prints or posters of our cover art (something that came up in an earlier post), we've looked into this from time to time and may yet do it -- it's really just a question of figuring out which images to do (everyone has a different favorite), clearing the rights with the artist, and then figuring out how many copies people might order, since if it's not a lot the printing may not be cost-effective (if, for instance, only a few hundred people want this, we'd have to charge a lot for each copy just to cover our cost, and that in turn would reduce the number of people willing to buy, so you end up with a feedback loop).  But we'll keep looking into it -- and if we do it, we'll certainly let everyone on this board know!

--Charles

[buddy]

While we are discussing great covers, I recieved my copy of Zero Cool today. I thought the cover looked good on the website but now that I have the book I am impressed that the beach read that the bikinied gal on the cover is holding is Grave Descend

[Paul_Hochman]

Charles,

The model on your arm is the model on the cover of Zero Cool, right?

[CharlesArdai]

I'm not sure that's my arm she's on, exactly, but yes: It's Meredith Napolitano, a stage and film actress who also models and was kind enough to show up in vintage dress for us at last year's Book Expo.

She's terrific -- you might see her turn up on another cover at some point...

--Charles

[ROCKETRAY55]

Well I for one, look forward to seeing more covers with her on it.  Speaking of covers, I still say that Hard Case Crime needs to get a calendar out with all the great covers!

-Ray