tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668066.post5455528213800394475..comments2024-03-28T16:17:20.965-05:00Comments on Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine: FFB: A Touch of Death -- Charles Williamsmybillcriderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02350478005243505108noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668066.post-20220755236476009132014-07-12T10:40:35.268-05:002014-07-12T10:40:35.268-05:00The other Charles Williams that I know about was a...The other Charles Williams that I know about was a writer in the C. S. Lewis circle. His work had a lot more religion in it than the GM Charles Williams' books. Too bad the GM Williams didn't take up a pen name.mybillcriderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02350478005243505108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668066.post-5821175048222362152014-07-12T10:33:54.231-05:002014-07-12T10:33:54.231-05:00One problem Williams had was his name. Not that it...One problem Williams had was his name. Not that it was bland—it was no blander than Jim Thompson—but because he shared it with a couple of other writers, and nobody could keep them straight. (Well, I suppose somebody could. But a lot of people couldn't.)Lawrence Blockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09704874256656553287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668066.post-45366750966831866842014-07-11T09:53:22.009-05:002014-07-11T09:53:22.009-05:00As usual, Ed, you're absolutely right. Scarbo...As usual, Ed, you're absolutely right. Scarborough has several chances to pull back, but every time he thinks he's still just a bit ahead of Butler or the cops and that he can still pull it off. He's wrong, of course, like so many of Williams' protagonists.mybillcriderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02350478005243505108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668066.post-40266394546347635342014-07-11T09:41:24.078-05:002014-07-11T09:41:24.078-05:00You're right, Bill. Williams deserved a fame h...You're right, Bill. Williams deserved a fame he never got. Maybe it's because the old truism really is true--at some point you have to have a stroke of luck. Another reason (maybe) is that he never developed (or wanted to) a series character. <br /><br />And then there were his protagonists. They were out of James M. Cain and only Cain ever succeeded in selling that kind of introspective, melancholy, violent type of man. A number of Williams' men seemed fated to their to failures by sheer inertia--they could pull back so many times but they never do. <br /><br />The essence of noir of course but as with Cain Williams was in your face with this kind of fatalism. When you look at most pbo noir protagonists there's at least a modicum of the traditional hero in them. But not in most Williams. End sermon.Ed Gormanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06126267358266480356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668066.post-1007692487809045292014-07-11T07:03:08.823-05:002014-07-11T07:03:08.823-05:00I have a couple of the Pan editions. The covers a...I have a couple of the Pan editions. The covers are . . . not great.mybillcriderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02350478005243505108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668066.post-12653943289348396622014-07-11T06:44:22.683-05:002014-07-11T06:44:22.683-05:00Pan reprinted several of Williams's titles in ...Pan reprinted several of Williams's titles in England but I never saw that one.<br /><br />JeffAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668066.post-28813958816926506302014-07-11T06:41:49.683-05:002014-07-11T06:41:49.683-05:00Nice coincidence. I was going to review this exac...Nice coincidence. I was going to review this exact bnook today too, but remembered I was halfway through Lawrence Block's MONA so decided to do that one instead.<br /><br />Good choice.<br /><br /><br />JeffAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668066.post-39124432075195806672014-07-11T06:05:00.534-05:002014-07-11T06:05:00.534-05:00I agree, Ray. One of the best.I agree, Ray. One of the best.mybillcriderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02350478005243505108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668066.post-86466351831911147822014-07-11T05:37:35.971-05:002014-07-11T05:37:35.971-05:00Williams has a small cult following, his PBOs and ...Williams has a small cult following, his PBOs and - especially - hardcovers are not common and not cheap, and still for a wider audience he's almost unknown. <br />I read all of his books prior to this one, and he's a brilliant writer. Ray Garratyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00771800826581349483noreply@blogger.com