I've always loved pulp fiction, the writing that today people refer to as noir pulp fiction.
The genre has a storied history from Dashiel Hammett to Raymond Chandler to Jim Thompson to James Crumley, with other stops along the way.
What I love most about these books is their ability to tell a story with stripped-down, yet powerful prose which puts on no airs as it drives the story.
The book listed above, Anthony Neil Smith's Slow Bear, is a great example of the current state of noir pulp fiction. As I read it, I often thought it was a newly discovered James Crumley piece, and that's the best praise I can heap on a writer.
And, as readers of these blogs know, I am a fan of short books. Slow Bear clocks in at only 130 pages, but don't let that page count fool you. It's a helluva read.
It might even convert you and send you out scrounging for worn dime novels at a used book store if you are lucky enough to find such a place.
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