L.A.-based P.I. Shell Scott has a change of scenery when he goes to (the fictional) Verde Island. Instead of the usual assortment of syndicate tough guys, Scott must go up against a voodoo priest.
Posts tagged Los Angeles
Anonymous asked: Have you ever played LA Noire?
Ah, an anon who isn’t totally ridiculous!
I actually have not, though i am curious about it and tempted to play it. But I play video games very infrequently (as in half a dozen times in my life). And every video game commercial I see is ridiculous to the point of being hilarious.
But L.A. Noire might very well (and should!) be better than the homicidal pandas I see crashing around commercials for some other game. Or the Ninja guy fighting the redcoats? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Do grown men really pay attention to this stuff?
Anyone else play L.A. Noire and have any recommendations? And what’s with the misspelling?
Ex-newspaperman Jacob Asch is Arthur Lyons’ contribution to hardboiled PI fiction. Asch seems a bit more deductive than other private detectives, but otherwise par for the course. Still, not a bad read if you like private eyes.
Dead Ringer was published in 1977, but this fairly common edition is from 1983. The reprints published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston certainly reflected the 1980s in their cover design. I have other Asch novels from the same series of reprints, so you may see other garish covers in the months to come—consider yourself warned.
Boxing fans may be interested to know that Asch dedicated Dead Ringer to Ken Norton.
As I’ve said before, Blade Runner is sci-fi. But the film’s film noir influences are prominent. So I’m kicking back and enjoying the movie this weekend.
And I would be remiss if I discussed Blade Runner without addressing the debate. What do you say, geeky tumblchums? Is Deckard a replicant?
Shell Scott: all the Cold War testosterone of Mike Hammer, but with a much more highly developed sense of humor.
