Bill James: Police procedurals
He's the one who fools people. The characters seem so cartoonish on one level, the books go down like candy. But you know what, he's got an eye for human relationships. Like you wouldn't believe. Read the best one -- Roses, Roses -- and tell me otherwise. But don't read that one first. Go a book or two back in the series so that one can really kill you. Great beach reading: very quick, light,engaging, but still worth your time.
Chester Himes: Noir crime
Where Bill James is light and funny, Chester Himes is dark and intense, deeply political. Try any of his books from the Coffin Ed/Gravedigger Jones series. There are laughs in there, the kind that hurt. He's only a million times better than Chandler or Hammett, without ever being corny or embarrassing. I recommend Blind Man With a Pistol and also Cotton Comes to Harlem.
Phil Dick: Sci fi
I don't think I really have to pitch Phil Dick. Valis, Transmigration of Timothy Archer, 3 Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, yo
You almost can't go wrong.
Any others? I'd add Walter Mosley, I think his project is a larger, human project, not one limited to the constraints of his genre. I think Jonathan Lethem can go this way too, but I don't think he's done it yet.
He's the one who fools people. The characters seem so cartoonish on one level, the books go down like candy. But you know what, he's got an eye for human relationships. Like you wouldn't believe. Read the best one -- Roses, Roses -- and tell me otherwise. But don't read that one first. Go a book or two back in the series so that one can really kill you. Great beach reading: very quick, light,engaging, but still worth your time.
Chester Himes: Noir crime
Where Bill James is light and funny, Chester Himes is dark and intense, deeply political. Try any of his books from the Coffin Ed/Gravedigger Jones series. There are laughs in there, the kind that hurt. He's only a million times better than Chandler or Hammett, without ever being corny or embarrassing. I recommend Blind Man With a Pistol and also Cotton Comes to Harlem.
Phil Dick: Sci fi
I don't think I really have to pitch Phil Dick. Valis, Transmigration of Timothy Archer, 3 Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, yo
You almost can't go wrong.
Any others? I'd add Walter Mosley, I think his project is a larger, human project, not one limited to the constraints of his genre. I think Jonathan Lethem can go this way too, but I don't think he's done it yet.
