Steven Brust recently posted on his LJ that he's been enjoying re-reading the Travis McGee books of John D. MacDonald after a long hiatus. In one of his responses to comments, he wrote
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You're pulling my leg, right? You've really never read any of color-coded mystery novels by John D. MacDonald, featuring boat bum Travis McGee, owner of "The Busted Flush", who makes his living as a "salvage consultant"?
It would never have occurred to me that this was possible.
Here's the Wikipedia articleFWIW, McGee was a cultural icon during the '70s, and nearly every ficitonal competent loner detective/fixer I've ever run across draws heavily on the McGee mystique. If you've lost something, and have no real legal (or other) recourse for getting it back, McGee may take the job of getting it back for you. He keeps half of whatever he recovers, as his fee. He takes his retirement in installments, every time he's got enough cash to carry him for a while, so that he'll enjoy it while he's still young enough
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Concur on not reading The Green Ripper, or for that matter The Lonely Silver Rain, until their proper places in the series. The rest is much less order-dependent, although occasionally you get a reappearance by an earlier character.
You're pulling my leg, right? You've really never read any of color-coded mystery novels by John D. MacDonald, featuring boat bum Travis McGee, owner of "The Busted Flush", who makes his living as a "salvage consultant"?
Nope.
It would never have occurred to me that this was possible.
Remember: I grew up with a family, in a town, where reading was weird and scary.
Where would be a good place to start? I'd say skip the first few books, and start with one from the established series before it got too formulaic. Any of Darker than Amber
This is also the guy who wrote Cape Fear, now made into 2 famous movies, and Condominium, the disaster novel about when the Category 5 hurricane hits Miami Beach.
He also wrote some science fiction, including at least one work that is now so classic it's cliché. Ever hear of The Girl, the Gold Watch, and Everything? Our Hero comes into possession of a watch that can stop time, allowing him to move around while everyone else is frozen in the instant... Great book. Also Wine of the Dreamers, which I haven't read but have heard good things about.
Oh, and if you ever find it in an anthology, his story "The Homesick Buick" is a much-reprinted classic mystery short, unrelated to McGee.
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CU
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It would never have occurred to me that this was possible.
Here's the Wikipedia articleFWIW, McGee was a cultural icon during the '70s, and nearly every ficitonal competent loner detective/fixer I've ever run across draws heavily on the McGee mystique. If you've lost something, and have no real legal (or other) recourse for getting it back, McGee may take the job of getting it back for you. He keeps half of whatever he recovers, as his fee. He takes his retirement in installments, every time he's got enough cash to carry him for a while, so that he'll enjoy it while he's still young enough ( ... )
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Don't read The Green Ripper early on. The Quick Red Fox is very good but ooof; I think it's around sixth in publication order.
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Nope.
It would never have occurred to me that this was possible.
Remember: I grew up with a family, in a town, where reading was weird and scary.
Where would be a good place to start? I'd say skip the first few books, and start with one from the established series before it got too formulaic. Any of
Darker than Amber
Added DtA to my wishlist.
Thanks!
CU
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He also wrote some science fiction, including at least one work that is now so classic it's cliché. Ever hear of The Girl, the Gold Watch, and Everything? Our Hero comes into possession of a watch that can stop time, allowing him to move around while everyone else is frozen in the instant... Great book. Also Wine of the Dreamers, which I haven't read but have heard good things about.
Oh, and if you ever find it in an anthology, his story "The Homesick Buick" is a much-reprinted classic mystery short, unrelated to McGee.
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thx
cu
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