9781847243331

PULP FICTION - THE VILLAINS edited by Otto Penzler

Author Information
Book Title: 
Pulp Fiction - The Villains
Author Name: 
Otto Penzler
Author's Home Country: 
USA
ISBN: 
9781847243331
Series: 
Pulp Fiction
Categorisation
Category: 
Crime Fiction
Sub Genre: 
Short Stories
Special Interests: 
Pulp Reprint
Publisher: 
Quercus

Harlan Ellison introduces a collection of 16 taut and muscular tales starring some of fiction's hardest-boiled criminals, crooks, desperado's and rogues. Anti-heroes to a man, these are the guys who can be guaranteed to outwit the cops, make off with the dough and get the girl. Just don't get in their way.

Book Review: 

I suspect that when, half-way through a book, you're still thinking that the introduction has been a highlight, it probably would be a good time to throw in the towel. 

Not that there's nothing particularly unpredictable about any of the stories in this anthology, having said that, I think that was part of the problem.  It was all a bit predictable, and most of the stories got overly tedious as a result.  Obviously, when reading these sorts of collections, some allowance has to be made for a differing sensibility, but I will confess that I was very quickly over the tough guy with the soft interior; the scheming women; the constant cliches and the rather transparent plots.

Having said that, it really was a fantastic introduction by Harlan Ellison, and it possibly could have been called worthwhile reading as an exercise in reminding me of how far we've come.  But to be honest, introduction aside, it was all pretty forgettable. 

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