Wednesday 31 October 2018

2 BY JAMES SALLIS

I've read a few books from James Sallis in the past, though in truth I've not picked up anything by him for a few years now. These two might make get me back on track......






















James Sallis has penned well over a dozen novels in his career, six in his Lew Griffin PI series of which these two are a part of, a couple in the Drive series and three in his Turner series and a few stand alone novels as well as plenty of short story collections and poetry.

His work includes science fiction and plenty of non-fiction including a biography of Chester Himes.



Moth (1993)


One of the very few lights from Lew Griffin's dark and violent path has flickered out. His one-time lover, La Verne Adams is dead - and her daughter, Alouette, has vanished into a seamy, dead-end world of users and abusers ... leaving behind a crack-addicted infant and a mystery.

Abandoning his former career for the safe respectability of teaching, Lew Griffin now spends his time in an old house in the garden district - determined to keep his distance from the lowlife temptations of the New Orleans night. But an inescapable obligation is drawing the tormented black ex-p.i. to danger like a moth to a flame. And there will be no turning back when his history comes calling and the dying begins again.








Eye of the Cricket (1997)

Lew Griffin is a survivor, a black man in New Orleans, a detective, a teacher, a writer. Having spent years finding others, he has lost his son...and himself in the process. Now a derelict has appeared in a New Orleans hospital claiming to be Lewis Griffin and displaying a copy of one of Lew's novels. It is the beginning of a quest that will take Griffin into his own past while he tries to deal in the present with a search for three missing young men.

10 comments:

  1. This is potent stuff, Col. I hope you'll like Eye of the Cricket< when you get to it. I think his Lew Griffin is a well-drawn character, and this series has a good New Orleans setting, in my opinion.

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    1. Thanks Margot. The setting certainly adds to the appeal.

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  2. Can Lew Griffin's life get any darker? Col, I'm with Margot about his characterisation. The "Eye of the Cricket" cover begs to be picked up and read.

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    1. Prashant, the cover is quite disturbing and does grab the attention.

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  3. Col – I would like to read his book on Chester Himes.

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  4. Elgin, I think I might need to read more by both Sallis and Himes before I tackle that one.

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  5. Another author that I have a few books by but have not read yet.

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    1. Tracy, I have more than a few authors that fit the same bill and more than a few books by most of them!

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  6. He's a very nice guy, too. I used to read his sf/surrealism back in the days when he was associated with the New Worlds crew. More recently, I've read a couple of his noir novel(la)s, Drive and its sequel. I really ought to read more of his stuff, because I enjoyed those two.

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    1. That's good to hear. I have the Drive novels and really ought to watch the film which my son has a copy of. I also have a collection of some short stories which I'll probably never read - Time's Hammers, but you never know.

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