|
|
Post by Bartwald on Jul 13, 2004 11:48:24 GMT -5
...if you like your literature dark, that is. The name is Michael Slade and I guess some of you are already familiar with it or perhaps his books (ten of them so far); for me he's right now the peak of my reading interests - and it all started last year when I bought, quite accidentally, his novel "Evil Eye". This year the first Polish translation of Slade's book came out ('Death's Door' as 'Drzwi do smierci') which made me immensely happy as his stuff in English really is hard to get in my country; here's hoping he becomes popular here and his other novels get translated, too. Some of the early covers:  |
|
|
|
Post by LivingDeadGirl on Jul 13, 2004 16:45:28 GMT -5
Looks pretty cool! I'll have to check him out.
|
|
|
|
Post by Bartwald on Jul 14, 2004 6:44:59 GMT -5
You won't regret it! And even if you will - Slade is pretty violent and not everyone likes that - it will be a memorable read at least!  Here's 'Death's Door' - the last Slade book I have read - in Polish:  And in English:  |
|
|
|
Post by LivingDeadGirl on Jul 18, 2004 10:39:10 GMT -5
I was in Books-A-Million yesterday & they had a couple of his books. "Ripper" & "Cutthroat". I'll probably read one of them when I get finished w/ the one I'm on now. They looked pretty good.
|
|
|
|
Post by Bartwald on Jul 18, 2004 15:29:24 GMT -5
'Cutthroat' precedes 'Ripper' so I think it's a good idea to get this one first - they're all connected by a group of characters and some of them die on the way, so it's better to read them in order. But it doesn't matter all that much - I started from the very middle of the series and still got hooked. Hope to come back from England with a bunch of Slade's books myself!   |
|
|
|
Post by Bartwald on Aug 5, 2004 6:04:10 GMT -5
Here comes a surprise: I used all my powers to contact Mr. Slade and it finally happened!!! So please get prepared for my interview with him that is going to be presented here in a day or two!
You can't imagine how excited I was when Michael Slade said "Yes, you can send the questions in"... and how terrified I was that then he may be disappointed with the sort of questions I came up with. Believe me folks, I wouldn't be any more intimidated doing an interview with Stephen King!
It's all over now, the author seemed to like the questions after all, and he appeared to be extremely nice and his answers very exciting. If you are not his fans yet, I hope the interview will turn you into fans - among others, I got his opinions on King, Lovecraft, Poe, Hitchcock and even Michael Moore's Bowling For Columbine, so I think you all should be entertained. Just watch this section for it.
|
|
|
|
Post by Heineken Skywalker on Aug 5, 2004 7:28:50 GMT -5
Looking forward to it, Bart. Congrats on scoring the interview!
|
|
|
|
Post by 42ndstreetfreak on Aug 5, 2004 14:19:40 GMT -5
Became a slade fan when I read the truly excellent and very clever "GHOUL" (some of the best plot twists EVER) then moved on to the first book "HEADHUNTER"...which, although getting bogged down at the start in technical specs and procedures, was another great read and again, very clever.....and very cruel.
Since then I have read them all.
My biggest problem with slade (currently 'Slade', which started out as a group of Canadian Lawyers, is one man and his Daughter) is that 'he' is overly cruel to his lead heroes.
They do not have a nice time of things, and some cruel....VERY cruel fates are flung upon them.
I know for a fact that an event in "HANGMAN" angered a lot of slade fans. It was needlessly cruel to a popular lead character(s).
And an event in "BURNT BONES" was also needlessly nasty to one of the lead Police characters....an assault that was unpleasent enough, but then went one further into shockingly needless violation.
The later books are also not as clever in the 'whodunnit' stakes.
And the books really need to be read in order, as many aspects are carried through, and references made to past events.
The first books though are essential reading, and a perfect mix of the macabre and the insightful. With lots of stuff to learn as 'Slade' covers Police history, forensic procedures and general history...some of which can get a bit much and slow the plot down, but much of it is fascinating.
BUT in general...Slade not only writes some superb Police (Mountie) procedures, but populates the books with interestimng and engageing leads, some macabre and nasty deaths, delightfully twisted psychosis and some extremely clever twists.
Well done on getting the interview!
|
|
|
|
Post by Bartwald on Aug 5, 2004 14:25:58 GMT -5
My biggest problem with slade (currently 'Slade', which started out as a group of Canadian Lawyers, is one man and his Daughter) is that 'he' is overly cruel to his lead heroes. They do not have a nice time of things, and some cruel....VERY cruel fates are flung upon them. That is very true. I remembered that you said something like it on HorroSpeak once and - but of course - I got to ask Slade how he feels about this particular thing (i.e. being cruel towards his main characters). |
|
|
|
Post by LivingDeadGirl on Aug 5, 2004 17:23:05 GMT -5
Sounds like I really need to check him out. These sound exactly like the kind of books I like to read. Hopefully they'll have more of his books in the next time I make it to Books-A-Million.
|
|
|
|
Post by Bartwald on Aug 6, 2004 13:54:33 GMT -5
Sounds like I really need to check him out. These sound exactly like the kind of books I like to read. Hopefully they'll have more of his books in the next time I make it to Books-A-Million. Still, if you could find two Slade's books there you should consider yourself lucky, livingdeadgirl! At least in comparison to what Polish readers get - just ONE book translated so far! And London doesn't look all that great either if we talk Slade: thanks God for the Murder One bookshop there, the only one that had them! I still haven't read either "Cutthroat" or "Ripper" so, you know, I do envy you! |
|
|
|
Post by 42ndstreetfreak on Aug 6, 2004 15:22:30 GMT -5
You have to watch out for alternative titles as well....
"Zombie" and "Evil Eye" are the same book.
As are "Primal Scream" and "Shrink".
In fact Bart......Have you got "Shrink"? If not send me your address and I can give you a copy of it under the "Primal Scream" title as I accidently bought it not knowing it WAS "Shrink".
"Shrink" finishes off the plot of the first book "Headhunter".
|
|
|
|
Post by Bartwald on Aug 6, 2004 16:07:16 GMT -5
In fact Bart......Have you got "Shrink"? If not send me your address and I can give you a copy of it under the "Primal Scream" title as I accidently bought it not knowing it WAS "Shrink". "Shrink" finishes off the plot of the first book "Headhunter". Great, 42nd - just great! "Shrink" is one of those I was still looking for! I'll send you my address for sure! |
|
|
|
Post by LivingDeadGirl on Aug 7, 2004 9:20:01 GMT -5
Looking forward to it, Bart. Congrats on scoring the interview! Great interview Bart!  And it makes me want to read his books even more now. |
|
|
|
Post by Bartwald on Aug 7, 2004 13:19:55 GMT -5
Thanks - glad to hear you liked it! Sorry for chopping it into three parts but it wouldn't fit as just one post. Here - www.brian-oshaughnessy.com/Michael-Slade-Interview.html - is a more reader-friendly version of it but this one's a bit shorter (now I wish I hadn't shortened it there). |
|
And it makes me want to read his books even more now.