New novel attempts to resurrect Sam Spade - "In Spade & Archer" - Rich Kid - Thousands In Gold Coins
Arizona Coin Collector
http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/liveit/article/595493
New novel attempts to resurrect Sam Spade
Published Saturday March 7th, 2009
By Joe Gores (Alfred A. Knopf)
Veteran mystery writer Joe Gores has written Spade &
Archer, a "prequel" to Dashiell Hammett's 1930
masterpiece, The Maltese Falcon.
Taking on Hammett is a formidable task. The Maltese
Falcon was a novel of astounding originality. It
virtually invented the noir style. And the novel's
protagonist, Sam Spade - disdainful of authority,
wisecracking in the face of danger, and impervious
to the wiles of conniving women - defined the
American private eye for all time.
Still, Gores would seem to be a logical candidate
for the job. He's something of a Hammett expert. He
made Hammett, who worked as a Pinkerton detective
before taking up writing, the hero of one of his
16 previous detective novels (Hammett, 1975.) And
Hammett's daughter, Jo Marshall, gave Gores her
approval.
Gores has said that in writing the book, he "set
out to find out for myself who Sam Spade was when
he started out." By that standard, the book doesn't
work, because we still don't know.
Gores does invent new details about Spade's past. But
from the very first page of Spade & Archer, Sam Spade
is the same cool customer we came to know in Hammett's
book, and Gores provides no insight into how he got
to be that way.
In writing Spade & Archer, Gores abandoned his own
broad prose style and chose instead to mimic Hammett's
staccato dialogue and clipped narrative.
In Spade & Archer, Spade is hired to find a rich
kid who is trying to run away to the South Sea
Islands, investigates the theft of thousands of
dollars in gold coins, looks into the apparent suicide
of a banker, helps out a young woman who's gotten
herself into some kind of trouble, and is hired by
the illegitimate daughter of Sun Yat-Sen to track
down missing money that was raised for him by
Chinese Americans.
Gores clumsily weaves all of these threads together
into a single, hard-to-swallow mystery.
- reviewed by BRUCE DESILVA
The Associated Press
RWF
"Arizona Coin Collector" <nos...@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:fL6dnS3GhfpICC_U...@earthlink.com...
Arizona Coin Collector
"RWF" <R...@200903.invalid> wrote in message
news:gou5dg$qio$1...@news.motzarella.org...
> WTF does this have to do with coins?
>
---- snip --------
In Spade & Archer, Spade is hired to find a rich
kid who is trying to run away to the South Sea
Islands, investigates the theft of thousands of
dollars in gold coins, looks into the apparent suicide
of a banker, helps out a young woman who's gotten
herself into some kind of trouble, and is hired by
the illegitimate daughter of Sun Yat-Sen to track
down missing money that was raised for him by
Chinese Americans.
---- snip ----
RWF
this group.
That applies to about 90% of your posts.
"Arizona Coin Collector" <nos...@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:2LydnYXNHfTZZC_U...@earthlink.com...
Arizona Coin Collector
news:gov27n$cm7$1...@news.motzarella.org...
> Just because a coin or coins are mentioned doesn't make it germane to this
> group.
> That applies to about 90% of your posts.
>
>
Hello RWF
Please don't insult my intelligence with the stupid
remark you made above. You have made off topic postings
postings in this group. Below is one example. It is not my
problem, nor it is my concern that you hate everyone in
this group. You offer little or nothing positive to
anyone in this coin group. The only thing you know what
to do is flame others out. THAT IS ABOUT THE ONLY
THING YOU DO!
Here is and example below:
----------------------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: "RWF" <R...@200902.invalid>
Newsgroups: rec.collecting.coins
Sent: Friday, February 20, 2009 6:01 AM
Subject: OT: Obama lies again...
After campaigning on a promise to restructure the failed NAFTA deal, BO
went to Canada and stated the agreement would not be changed.
How can you tell when BO is lying? His lips are moving!
Oh yeah - the "peace" candidate just sent 17,000 more soldiers to die in
Afghanistan.
Change we can believe in - yeah right!
IMPEACH OBAMA!
RWF
> "RWF" <R...@200903.invalid> how forgot to take his meds wrote in
> message news:gov27n$cm7$1...@news.motzarella.org...
>
>> Just because a coin or coins are mentioned doesn't make it germane to
>> this group.
>> That applies to about 90% of your posts.
>>
>>
>
> Hello RWF
>
> Please don't insult my intelligence with the stupid
> remark you made above.
I'm not the only one who has complained about the inanity of many of
your posts.
Arizona Coin Collector
"RWF" <R...@090308.invalid> wrote in message
news:gp0gbi$qdj$1...@news.motzarella.org...
>
> I'm not the only one who has complained about the inanity of many of your
> posts.
Hello
The number of people who have complained about
me is very small compared to shear high numbers
about you RWF, and your constant flaming of others.
You may want to clean up your keyboard. The "s" key
is not working well.
PC
>
>
> You may want to clean up your keyboard. The "s" key
> is not working well.
You inadvertently stepped on a land mine. Inanity is a valid and different
word than insanity.
I sincerely believe you will do yourself a favor by putting the guy in a
killfile. He will not stop harassing you. You probably realize that by
now.
RWF
Did I use a big word you couldn't understand?