LaBrava was about a photographer.. and he helped an aging movie starlet in some way... but yes, I cant tell you exactly what else drove the plot.
― ian, Sunday, 19 July 2015 03:40 (nine years ago) link
so good. If I can't read leonard I always go to charles willeford for my Elmore-esque jones. Road Dogs is a really excellent out of sight/riding the rap/labrava sequel (features jack foley and two other characters from those novels.) it's not my favorite but I find it really memorable and foley had an ice cold line at the end that distills the criminal life down nicely.
Too tough to choose really.
― nomar, Sunday, 19 July 2015 04:22 (nine years ago) link
Think i prefer my Leonard a bit earlier than late eighties, but that may just be because the first ones I read were the slightly tauter early 80s stuff like City Primeval, Split Images, Stick, LaBrava. Of course there are many great books after that.
I'm sure Leonard arrived at his crime writing style by himself, distilled from many years toiling in genre fiction, but things like Get Shorty are essentially George V Higgins meets Donald Westlake. Carl Hiaasen seems like the first post-Leonard crime writer (tho' Leonard would never indulge in a good cause at the expense of story, and fun - that's both the pleasure of his work, and sometimes the limits of it too)
― sʌxihɔːl (Ward Fowler), Sunday, 19 July 2015 07:54 (nine years ago) link
this is wildly too broad a poll, and so many of his novels are so very good that it would be hard to separate them
― let no-one live rent free in your butt (sic), Sunday, 19 July 2015 13:05 (nine years ago) link
how come more/all of them haven't been made into films? seeing as the ones that have are quite/very good?
― piscesx, Sunday, 19 July 2015 13:12 (nine years ago) link
Be Cool was terrible (the book was bad though, and only written as fodder for adaptation), The Big Bounce is reputedly poor (sadly, it ought to have been a good match for George Armitage), the Freaky Deaky a few years ago looked insanely dire, Stick was really ungood, Killshot was a shambles, I didn't like Touch (but it does feel like Schrader intended to make the film it was), haven't seen any of the Westerns or '70s ones or any of the TV except the first three eps of Justified.
― let no-one live rent free in your butt (sic), Sunday, 19 July 2015 13:37 (nine years ago) link
how come more/all of them haven't been made into films?
How many novels or stories of his have been made into movies? Like, 10 or something? That's a lot! Plus "Justified," the rare short story spun into a series that inspired a novel.
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 19 July 2015 13:45 (nine years ago) link
Yeah, actually, it looks like there were a lot more, and a couple (Big Bounce and 3:10 To Yuma) made into movies twice. He also wrote screenplays and stuff. But they're not all good:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/every-elmore-leonard-movie-ranked-from-worst-to-best-20130514?page=2
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 19 July 2015 13:49 (nine years ago) link
52 Pick-Up is one of those movies that'll make you want to take about four showers after you're finished watching it. Great stuff. If you can get hold of the uncut version of Cat Chaser, directed by Abel Ferrara, that's another super grimy one.
I like the Detroit novels - 52 Pick-Up, City Primeval, The Switch, Unknown Man No. 89, Stick and Glitz are the ones that really stick out. Of the latter-day ones, the only one that really made an impression was Mr. Paradise, and I think it was because he went back to writing about Detroit.
― the top man in the language department (誤訳侮辱), Sunday, 19 July 2015 14:06 (nine years ago) link
Out of Sight also winds back to Detroit.
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 19 July 2015 14:35 (nine years ago) link
The Tall T and Touch are pretty good films.
― skateboards are the new combover (Dr Morbius), Sunday, 19 July 2015 17:09 (nine years ago) link
freaky deaky
― flappy bird, Sunday, 19 July 2015 17:15 (nine years ago) link
I voted for Swag, but other than that I've only read Killshot and Maximum Bob. I got a bit burned out on crime fiction after a couple dozen Westlakes, and before getting seriously into Leonard. Should try him again soon.
Swag is a lot of fun though.
― jmm, Sunday, 19 July 2015 17:26 (nine years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Friday, 31 July 2015 00:01 (nine years ago) link
Wound up voting for Unknown Man No. 89. I just read The Hot Kid last week; it was OK, but kept looping back to its main point too many times (we get it, the villain is obsessed with being the center of the hero's attention!).
― the top man in the language department (誤訳侮辱), Friday, 31 July 2015 01:47 (nine years ago) link
I've read and enjoyed quite a few of his books but have trouble remembering distinguishing details
This--the titles often no good as memory aids.
― as verbose and purple as a Peter Ustinov made of plums (James Morrison), Friday, 31 July 2015 02:31 (nine years ago) link
I like the Detroit novels - 52 Pick-Up, City Primeval, The Switch, Unknown Man No. 89, Stick and Glitz are the ones that really stick out.
agree w/this. Out of Sight too. I discovered Geo V Higgins after reading Elmore and though the Hig is way uneven I might prefer his dialogue-driven novels but no way is Leonard not classic. this poll is like the Donald Byrd poll I did on ILM years back, too much to choose from! voting City Primeval.
― got the club going UP on a tuesday (m coleman), Friday, 31 July 2015 11:40 (nine years ago) link
I've read about 23 of these, it's hard to choose! I wonder if any of the westerns will get a vote.
― Brad C., Friday, 31 July 2015 12:29 (nine years ago) link
there are so many goddamn good ones. voted for killshot but could've easily picked get shorty, city primeval, split images, rum punch
― extremely lag∞n postings voice (slothroprhymes), Friday, 31 July 2015 16:07 (nine years ago) link
Read about 10 of these. Swag is far and away the best, can't believe it's never been adapted for the screen
― it me, Friday, 31 July 2015 17:35 (nine years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Saturday, 1 August 2015 00:01 (nine years ago) link
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2015/sep/24/elmore-leonard-story/
― just sayin, Monday, 14 September 2015 01:52 (nine years ago) link
totally agree w/her assessment and favorites
― an emotionally withholding exterminator (m coleman), Monday, 14 September 2015 02:28 (nine years ago) link
That's the best thing I've read about Leonard
― Brad C., Monday, 14 September 2015 03:27 (nine years ago) link
I just read 'riding the rap', from his peak era. sublime writing, some great seeds for raylan givens in 'justified', killer ending (not in terms of a shocking scene or a shootout or whatever, but just how he writes it.)
everything I've read from him post-'out of sight' has been very good though.
― nomar, Monday, 14 September 2015 04:04 (nine years ago) link
thanks for the link just sayin.
― ian, Monday, 14 September 2015 17:10 (nine years ago) link
the library of america collection of elmore leonard's westerns rips so hard. hombre is amazing.
― na (NA), Tuesday, 2 May 2023 15:43 (one year ago) link
halfway through Glitz right now, so good
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 2 May 2023 15:49 (one year ago) link