poisoning your fantasy

[custardpringle]

It occurred to me today, since I have three weeks of school left and not much to do over the summer besides have surgery, write fic, and roller-skate: in all the recent run of Big Bang challenges, there does not seem to be a Classic Detectives Big Bang. And that is just a shame.On the one hand, I will have plenty of time to run this over the summer

Comments

[wishfulaces]

Dashiell Hammett! Who is the author, yes, but of classics in the genre. Also the Donald Lam and Bertha Cool books by A.A. Fair, aka Erle Stanley Gardner (which I realize NOBODY reads anymore, but Donald Lam and Bertha Cool deserve some love).

And I would say you're safe including Campion because you do include others like Christie--who might not have brought their characters up into the present day of the time, but she was still writing into the early '70s too. (Look at Tommy & Tuppence's last book.)

I would offer my services as co-moderator--having never moderated such a thing either!--except that I'm literally going to be traveling most of the summer. But I do like the idea. Does it even have to be a BigBang? Could it be a little one or just a straight ficathon? (I know, case fic really does make a lot of sense for this ficathon idea, but that might exclude some otherwise willing participants.)

[custardpringle]

The name Erle Stanley Gardner rings a bell! I might look into those-- if you'd told me a day sooner I would immediately, but unfortunately I began on Nero Wolfe this morning, so I expect to be at that for a while. My fiction-reading time, while substantial, has been kind of cut into by all the nonfiction I need to read in order to write fanfic for Lord Peter and Band of Brothers.

This is true! I'd completely forgotten that I once read a Poirot novel from the 60s-- I think it was called The Clocks? I try not to think about that one, because I thought the ending was a giant copout, but I do remember being startled by a reference to the atomic bomb and having to flip forward and check the copyright date

[trialia]

I have to say - if it is a Big Bang, I won't be taking part. I can't write long fic. :(

[custardpringle]

Aw :( I really am leaning towards the idea of making it a normal ficathon and a Big Bang sort of smooshed into one, because I want long fics with art but I also don't want to discourage shorter stories :(

[ryuutchi]

I'd argue that "classic noir" does count as "classic detective". Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe are kind of the first thing people think of when they think of private detectives.

I'd suggest nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, but that could just be me.

[custardpringle]

Philip Marlowe! Thank you! I was trying to remember his name but all I could google was "that guy who is not Sam Spade," which was not very productive.

Ooh, I hadn't thought of them! :O

[ryuutchi]

You're welcome! If you're including the Charleses, it would be strange if you left out the hard-boiled types. Sam Spade is by the same author, after all.

There's also C. Auguste Dupin, who was Poe's contribution and usually considered the oldest example of a traditional detective, but is not described as a "detective" per se, because the job didn't exist at the time.

[trialia]

Yesssss, do the Mystery! ficathon. And include Commander George Gideon (John Creasey) and Dr. Gideon Fell (John Dickson Carr) ;)

[custardpringle]

I have not heard of these dudes! Tell me about them :D

[trialia]

OMFG, you serious?? @_@; Wow. *grin* I love introducing people to new stuff, and I reckon you would love GG, given what you listed up above... He's a little late for 'Golden Age', but the books themselves fit quite well in the period between that and modern.

The Wikipedia entry for that character is under Gideon of Scotland Yard. You'll find some of the novels under the pen-name J.J. Marric, but I don't think you can get any of them new, now. The series by the original author was published between 1955 and 1976 (Creasey died in '73), and there are five more written by William Vivian Butler after that. I only have one of those, but it's fairly true to Creasey's style (far more so than Jill Paton Walsh is to Sayers' work!). I can't recommend starting with the first book, as they're all bloody hard to find. *g* I think I may have a duplicate of one of them somewhere, if you want it, but I'd have to check which one it is