Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 08:44:18 -0700
From: Michael Andre-Driussi 
Subject: (urth) OT: Vancean mystery novels

Adam Stephanides asked me to name the titles to my atomic-scale reviews.

THE FOUR JOHNS is the one that is "screamingly good until it completely
blows out (alas!)";

THE MADMAN THEORY is the one that is "okay, but still better imho than one
of the ones published under his own name";

A ROOM TO DIE IN is very good, one of his best mysteries (of the 6 I've read).

The mysteries published under "John Holbrook Vance" I've read are: THE
PLEASANT GROVE MURDERS (Joe Bain #2), THE FOX VALLEY MURDERS (Joe Bain #1),
and THE DEADLY ISLES.

Personally I would rank them all this way:

1. the Joe Bain books
2. A ROOM TO DIE IN
3. THE MADMAN THEORY
4. THE FOUR JOHNS
5. THE DEADLY ISLES

Adam wrote:
>Iirc, these are all from the series of paperback tough-guy mysteries
>published under Queen's name, but without Ellery as the detective.

Yes, that is correct.

>http://www.hycyber.com/MYST/queen_ellery.html lists FACE TO FACE, which iirc
>is a "regular" Ellery Queen novel, as "ghostwritten by Jack Vance?", though
>if you follow the link to "Novels Ghostwritten by Others," the attribution
>is repeated without the question mark.

I have not seen that attribution before.  It is not given in my Galactic
Central working bibliography.  Nor do I find it in Cunningham's JACK VANCE:
CRITICAL APPRECIATIONS AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY. Further investigation is in
order!

=mantis=



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