tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post8034268907265071000..comments2024-03-27T22:32:02.739+01:00Comments on Beneath the Stains of Time: It Takes a ThiefTomCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-31414521338304858822017-08-13T14:20:39.255+02:002017-08-13T14:20:39.255+02:00The Spy Who Read Latin is the Rand collection I ha...<i>The Spy Who Read Latin</i> is the Rand collection I have on the pile, but, as said before, the Ben Snow, Captain Leopold, Simon Ark and Nick Velvet have more of an allure at the moment. But don't worry. Eventually those Rand stories will end up on the top of the pile. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-51221107799637489512017-08-12T22:05:54.883+02:002017-08-12T22:05:54.883+02:00No, just blasphemy. :P No really, I'm just fre...No, just blasphemy. :P No really, I'm just fresh off reading The Spy Who Read Latin and am thinking about re-reading The Old Spies Club. The Rand stories have a pretty decent mix of espionage and mystery, from what I've read, I was just surprised that you didn't mention them.<br /><br />--The Dark OneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-11941889878936783292017-08-12T08:58:12.255+02:002017-08-12T08:58:12.255+02:00I do have a collection of Rand stories on the big ...I do have a collection of Rand stories on the big pile, but have to admit that it has no priority over the other ones. Is that very heretically? <br />TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-60090484429096539592017-08-12T05:52:29.871+02:002017-08-12T05:52:29.871+02:00TomCat : No love for Rand here? How disappointing....TomCat : No love for Rand here? How disappointing. :P<br /><br />JJ: I object, I recommended the Dr. Sam stories way back when, I'm pretty sure. And my logic for liking Hoch is less, "He did 900 stories" and more, "He did 900 stories and they're all pretty consistently good." Though I"m pretty sure I didn't word it that way. <.<<br /><br />--The Dark OneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-16637974087749568912017-08-10T21:50:44.214+02:002017-08-10T21:50:44.214+02:00Well, there's always the argument that the int...Well, there's always the argument that the introduction writer wanted to preserve the characters for the reader, I suppose. Doubtless a conscious decision was made to put the novel in the appropriate historical context and leave such things as plot and pasquinades of real people well alone so as not to spoil anything. That might be the line such a clearly slipshod writer might retroactively adopt were the oversight pointed out to them.<br /><br />Not, of course, that I have any idea what book we're talking about here.JJ @ The invisible Eventhttps://theinvisibleevent.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-43896176523915347652017-08-10T20:44:15.092+02:002017-08-10T20:44:15.092+02:00You would expect such an important detail to be me...You would expect such an important detail to be mentioned in the introduction, wouldn't you? Doubly so since the real Zaharoff, like his fictional counterpart, was a major arms dealer at the time of a World War. Nobody could possibly overlook such an important historical detail, I'm right, JJ? ;)TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-25088210531609886982017-08-10T18:59:52.752+02:002017-08-10T18:59:52.752+02:00Wow, I sure hope whoever wrote the introduction kn...Wow, I sure hope whoever wrote the introduction knew about that Zaharoff/Moriarty connection. 'Cos, y'know, something that big would be pretty embarrassing if it wasn't mentioned...JJ @ The invisible Eventhttps://theinvisibleevent.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-41425569117964647442017-08-10T16:48:54.927+02:002017-08-10T16:48:54.927+02:00No Hawthorne's were mentioned, huh? In that ca...No Hawthorne's were mentioned, huh? In that case, there's a good chance you were recommended the Nick Velvet collections, because there are several of them and (as said) he's a fan favorite. <br /><br />I'll probably do another volume, or two, of Hoch stories in the not so distant future. My recent readings rekindled my interest for the Ben Snow and Captain Leopold stories, but there are also the other Nick Velvet and Simon Ark collections to be considered. Choices, choices! TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-30842490733900547672017-08-10T16:37:25.592+02:002017-08-10T16:37:25.592+02:00Hoch wrote only a handful of full-length mystery n...Hoch wrote only a handful of full-length mystery novels and the most well-known one is arguably <i>The Shattered Raven</i>, which takes place during the Edgar Awards banquet of the Mystery Writers of America (MWA). The book is not a classic of the genre, but still a very fun read with a ton of cameos by real-life members of the MWA. A second standalone novel, <i>The Blue Movie Murders</i>, was published as by “Ellery Queen,” but have not read that one. So no idea if it's any good. <br /><br />He also wrote three science-fiction mysteries, <i>The Transvection Machine</i>, <i>The Fellowship of the Hand</i> and <i>The Frankenstein Factory</i>, but again, I have no idea whether they're any good. They're rarely mentioned by mystery readers, which makes me suspect they're more science-fiction than detective stories. I hope this helps. <br /><br />I'm equally intrigued by my next read. Just discovered that one of the characters is a thinly disguised version of Sir Basil Zaharoff, the real-life Professor Moriarty! TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-67731174441331762292017-08-10T16:33:09.063+02:002017-08-10T16:33:09.063+02:00When I asked for actual story recommendations on m...When I asked for actual story recommendations on my blog -- as opposed to people simply telling me Hoch was great because he published over 900 stories -- I have a feeling the ones that were mentioned weren't Hawthornes. I made a note of them somewhere (I'm constantly making notes of things like this -- if I die suddenly it's going to cause someone serious headaches figuring out the meaning of what they're going to find scrawled on bits of paper around my flat...). Anyhoo, expect an update at some point.<br /><br />I am <i>very</i> interested in your next read... :DJJ @ The invisible Eventhttps://theinvisibleevent.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-16687750493221554972017-08-10T14:50:29.632+02:002017-08-10T14:50:29.632+02:00Thanks for the review. :) Has Edward Hoch written ...Thanks for the review. :) Has Edward Hoch written any full-length mystery novels worth reading? I tend to shy away from short stories... Incidentally, you have got me intrigued regarding the next review. Jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03389512470283015279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-35421800604065260782017-08-10T12:06:27.234+02:002017-08-10T12:06:27.234+02:00Oh, come on, JJ! Are you actually going to pretend...Oh, come on, JJ! Are you actually going to pretend that you haven't already decided on one of the Dr. Sam Hawthorne collections? If you love impossible crime fiction, the first collections by Hoch you're going to gravitate to are the Hawthorne ones. <br /><br />By the way, you'll probably be interested in my next read. ;) TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-37919117758206900052017-08-10T12:05:03.075+02:002017-08-10T12:05:03.075+02:00You're correct, Anon. The story itself mention...You're correct, Anon. The story itself mentioned where the idea for the sea serpent came from and the culprit, and Hoch, took the ball and ran with it. I should have mentioned that "Circus Poster" started Hoch's record setting string of unbroken appearances in EQMM. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-18085815763519958622017-08-10T10:21:11.913+02:002017-08-10T10:21:11.913+02:00I'm finally going to read a "proper"...I'm finally going to read a "proper" Hoch collection next month (the only collection of his I've read so far is the Sherlock Holmes tales, which were not written to be collected) and am quite looking forward to seeing hat he conjures up. Not sure which one yet, but I have some time to do some research. Thanks for this review, as it'll help with the decision making!<br /><br />Er, that is all...JJ @ The invisible Eventhttps://theinvisibleevent.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-15168271234296383652017-08-10T10:11:08.103+02:002017-08-10T10:11:08.103+02:00I read somewhere that the idea behind the sea serp...I read somewhere that the idea behind the sea serpent actually comes from real life! And it is worth noting that "The Theft of the Circus Poster" started the long run of a Hoch story in every issue of EQMM until his death.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com