Hey guys, Going to be making a trek down into town this evening or maybe tomorrow to do a little shopping. Got some cash burning a hole in my pocket and was wondering if anyone has any good recs of fresh new-noir that can be found at the local Barnes and Nobel.
By the way it doesn't have to be Neo-Noir, If you are in love with a new release this holiday season let me know as well.
Thanks a million in advance
Could try one of these? I've seen a couple at Borders and B&N.
Right on. Thanks, Renfield. I hadn't heard of those.
I'm late to the game on this post, and the book isn't brand-spanking new, but I highly recommend Paul Malmont's "The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril" for noir-ish pulp goodness. Ridiculously fun.
http://paulmalmont.com/shop/the-chinatown-death-cloud-peril/
I highly doubt it will be sitting at your local B&N but you gotta check out Warmed and Bound.
@jenny thanks for that just ordered it.
@brandon I ordered W&B on my iPad a couple weeks ago. There's some pretty damn good stuff in there so far. Mind if I ask you a question. Who are the top new-noir writers out there?. I'm still getting my feet wet in this genre. I've read both clevengers books and everything by chuck (though I'm not sure he's considered new-noir. Anyway, just trying to get a grasp
Thanks
I know I already recommended him, but I would say Charlie Huston - though he's been around for a while. Not exactly new. His stories are pretty modern takes on the noir genre.
OK, I actually mentioned Huston in a different thread... Read something by him! haha
Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death is great.
Yes, Charlie Huston is great. His new one Sleepless isn't my favorite of his but it did end up sticking in my head for a while after I read it. Everything he puts out is going to be a treat.
@Pete, thanks for the rec. I've never heard of him and I just scored a signed first online for 20.00
Shit dude that's pretty sweet. I hope you enjoy it! :)
@Hetch
I really couldn't tell you much about neo-noir. That's really not my bag. Nik Korpon comes to mind though.
@Hetch: I toot this guy's horn as often as I can (not, like, in a gay way, because that would be necrophilia): James Crumley. He's a really fantastic bridge between the Chandler/Stark crowd and the newer guys. I think he's probably contemporary with Elmore Leonard, so he might not fit your "neo" criterion. But he's really good. If you like crime fiction you owe it to yourself to read The Last Good Kiss. I pimp that book so hard I'd be willing to send you my copy if I hadn't already loaned out all three of the copies I owned never to see them again. Bordersnakes is also a decent start.
I second Utah's rec. He sent me a copy after a very close win in a Thunderdome battle. Excellent book. And I also second Elmore. I love that guy's work. Tishomingo Blues come to mind as well as Road Dogs. Really anything by him. Not up on neo-noir too much so I don't have any suggestions there.
Elmore is awesome. James Ellroy is a classic too-L.A Confidential was a revelation to me. I'm glad to see Charlie Huston getting some love, Mystic Arts is really fun, and I wish the HBO pilot went through. Has he come out with anything else since then?
If you're looking for something a little bit more trippy, check out Christopher Baer's Judas trilogy, starting with Kiss me Judas.
James Crumley. He's a really fantastic bridge between the Chandler/Stark crowd and the newer guys. I think he's probably contemporary with Elmore Leonard, so he might not fit your "neo" criterion. But he's really good. If you like crime fiction you owe it to yourself to read The Last Good Kiss. I pimp that book so hard I'd be willing to send you my copy if I hadn't already loaned out all three of the copies I owned never to see them again. Bordersnakes is also a decent start.
Yeah Crumley I've been very interested in reading his series. I've read bits and boobs but haven't gotten a copy of the first un yet.
There's some librarian on youtube that reviews a bunch of neo-noir and thriller stuff and the guy has some pretty solid reccomendations. I usually don't watch all the videos cuz he's a twitchy Northerner but still dude knows about crime.
Echoing what Brandon said (um, months ago. . .), Nik Korpon's one of my favorite neo-noir authors (he's in Warmed and Bound as well). I'd start with his By the Nails of the Warpriest novella.
Also, I'm currently reading Jedidiah Ayres's F*ckload of Shorts collection, and loving it a fuckload. Three bucks on Kindle. He co-hosts the St. Louis "Noir at the Bar" reading events, and edited the popular anthology of the same name. (Fair whoring warning: I'll be in the second volume of this in the fall, with many others.)
Anthony Neil Smith has a bunch of fun neo-noir novels out there. Craig Davidson's Rust & Bone collection. Richard Thomas's short stories.
Most of my noir reading in recent years has been leaning to the southern gothic authors.
Oh man, I loved Neil Smith's All the Young Warriors.
Also, I'm not sure if it is exactly considered Neo-Noir, but I just finished Chuck Wendig's Bait Dog. It's the sequel to a novella of his-Shotgun Gravy, and while I really enjoyed the first one, this one blew me away. The elevator pitch I would use to describe it is Veronica Mars meets Winter Bone. Right now, the kindle version is 2.99 and you get both Bait Dog and Shotgun Gravy, which is a really good deal.
Just saw this thread. For sure pick up Will Christopher Baer's trilogy, KISS ME JUDAS, PENNY DREADFUL and HELL'S HALF ACRE, starting wtih KMJ. Also, Craig Clevenger's books, THE CONTORTIONIST'S HANDBOOK and DERMAPHORIA. As far as Stephen Graham Jones goes, try ALL THE BEAUTIFUL SINNERS. Lesser knowns, for sure check out Nik Korpon's work. Craig Davidson's work as mentioned is excellent, RUST & BONE, as well as THE FIGHTER and also SARAH COURT. I'm sure you've already read Palahniuk's FIGHT CLUB. That should get you started.
My first novel TRANSUBSTANTIATE leans more towards the speculative, it's more sf/f/h/nn, but my shorter stuff is definitely neo-noir. I have a .99 story up on Amazon entitled "Victimized" that is a great place to start (thanks Gordon for the shout). Or I have a lot of free stuff via my blog.
