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Description
Never before has there been a comprehensive, inexpensive reference guide and overview to the genre of crime fiction like The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Crime Fiction. Veteran editor Mike Ashley’s historical introduction gives an overview of the crime genre, showing the background and development of crime fiction from the earliest days with Agatha Christie and Raymond Chandler through to the modern exponents of the craft such as Elmore Leonard and Ian Rankin. His A to Z covers five hundred entries on the major writers in the crime fiction field, from Edward S. Aarons to Mark Zubro, from the cult favorites to the best known, including Marjorie Allingham, Patricia Cornwell, Colin Dexter, Jim Thompson, and Minette Walters. The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Crime Fiction packs more information into its author entries than more expensive hardcover reference works. Each entry gives a brief biographical background with highlights for the cross-referenced key works, provides a full bibliography, and notes significant films/series adapted from their works. There are also added bonuses of a crime fiction glossary that defines the genre’s special terms and expressions, such as “hardboiled,” “impossible crime,” and “police procedural” and four appendices covering key characters, key books and magazines, key films and TV series, and awards and award winners, including the Edgar Awards, the Dagger Awards, the Shamus Awards, and other important awards. Crime fiction buffs, mystery booksellers, and anyone interested in crime fiction will find The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Crime Fiction to be an indispensable reference and an unbeatable bargain.Customer Reviews
Useful reference /critical work for crime and mystery fansI would not go so far as to call this an essential read for fans of the crime genre -be this in printed or visual media-but it is an exceptionally useful one and is likely to add immeasurably to their knowledge of the scene .
After a short introduction to the mystery novel which examines the various categories of the genre --police procedurals ,private eye novels and the highways and bye ways of the cosy crime novel-and gives the names of authors to explore under these headings ,Ashley gets to the real meat of the book.This is an A-Z of crime writers whose works were published for the first time after 1945.Each is given a potted biography ,with some ,not too profound critical analysis ,a list of titles with particular emphasis on mystery series they have written.Authorial pseudonyms are listed ,together with awards won ,web site details and the entry also suggests which novel to approach if you are looking into that author's work for the first time.
There then follows a section on movies and TV series ,a quick look at the mystery magazine scene ,some useful web sites for the devotee and to round things off a list of mystery and crime novel awards from a variety of countries together with the annual winners in each up to 2001.
The book will beyond question help newcomers to the genre and even the well read mystery maven will find authors and titles new to them .As ever with books of this type there are omissions that will baffle and irritate (no Stephen Booth ,or John Baker for instance )but the list of writers is pretty comprehensive and certainly steered me in the direction of previously unknowmn writers eg Michael Allegretto
My one serious caveat with the section -and indeed the book in general -is that it defines modern in chronological terms (post World War 2 )and several of the writers examined are not modern in feel or approach but rather hark back to earlier traditions such as the alleged Golden Age of English mystery of the inter war years.Conversely writers of an earlier year whose work resonates quite well with modern readers are exempt --eg Hammett , Chandler ,and other pulp masters such as Frederic Brown.
Minor quibbles aside this is a good buy and I especially welcome its touching on authors from outside the US/UK axis ,including European and Australian writers.
Well worth investing in.
A thorough, browsable resource work.
Mike Ashley's THE MAMMOTH ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MODERN CRIME FICTION concentrates on fiction -- books primarily, but also movies and TV series -- produced since World War II. So, don't look here for lengthy bios of Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie or Raymond Chandler and his fellow creators of the American hard-boiled school. Instead, Ashley gives a good accounting of the men and women who've made the most of what those masters left behind -- people as familiar as Ross Thomas, Reginald Hill and Sara Paretsky, along with rising stars like Robert Crais, Robert Wilson, Denise Mina and Peter Temple. That Australian Temple is included demonstrates this volume's welcome international scope. Rather than being overwhelmed by U.S. authors (who dominate here only when it comes to private-eye fiction), Ashley's book features an estimable range of British novelists and others, such as Batya Gur (Israel), Howard Engel (Canada) and Janwillem van de Wetering (Netherlands). In addition to offering briefs on prominent writers, Ashley gives suggestions of other crime fictionists who do similar work. The Loren D. Estleman entry, for instance, directs readers to Lawrence Block and James Ellroy, while the bio of Japanese author Masako Togawa suggests that fans try tales by the UK's Minette Walters.
Although readers well-versed in this field might question Ashley's failure to include such signal talents as Stephen Booth, Paul Johnston, John Farrow and Henning Mankell, it's good to see some exceptional writers who haven't produced anything in a long while -- like California novelist Arthur Lyons and Cincinnati's Jonathan Valin -- represented in these pages. And such an encyclopedia can't help but surprise even longtime readers of the genre. I admit, for instance, that I didn't know pseudonymous British wordsmith Susanna Gregory, most familiar for her series about 14th-century doctor/detective Matthew Bartholomew (A PLAGUE ON BOTH YOUR HOUSES), has a second set of books to her credit, written under the name "Simon Beaufort" and led by 12th-century Crusader Sir Geoffrey Mapplestone. Nor was I aware that Robert Irvine, who in the 1980s and early 90s penned a distinctive series of tales about Salt Lake City P.I. Moroni Traveler, has more recently been writing (with his wife, and under the pen name "Val Davis") old-aircraft-related mysteries, featuring archaeologist Nicolette "Nicky" Scott. Flipping through this paperback is likely to double the list of authors and titles you know you haven't enough time to read.
On top of all this, Ashley packs his 780 pages with lists of crime movies and TV shows. While the films (from "All the President's Men" to "Year of the Dragon") might at least be rentable, the write-ups on small-screen dramas make one either wistful (who can forget Michael Mann's period cop serial, "Crime Story"?) or wince (what the hell was Stephen J. Cannell thinking when he created "Hardcastle and McCormack"?). Appendices catalogue crime fiction award winners, related magazines and Web sites, and key characters and series. Well-researched, eminently readable and easy to use, THE MAMMOTH ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MODERN CRIME FICTION is a killer find. -- January Magazine, July 2002
NHRA.com(AP) — Ashley Force Hood held off her father, John Force, to claim the provisional No. 1 spot in Funny Car on Friday in the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka. Antron Brown and Mike Edwards also took the provisional top spots in Ashley Force Hood tops NHRA leaders in Kansas Ashley Force Hood tops in Funny Car field Ashley schools John as Force family goes 1-2 at Heartland Park -
Daily MailAshley cuts third of staffThat will fuel the belief that owner Mike Ashley is preparing to sell the club. Newcastle's last accounts showed that the club has 307 full and part-time non-football staff and it appears that the owner, Mike Ashley, has ordered a cut of one third. Newcastle United make 120 employees redundant RELEGATION THE GRIM REALITY Joey Barton will not be forced out of Newcastle, says agent -
Daily MailMike Ashley sells stakes in JJB Sports and scoops £4.5mBy Clinton Manning 29/05/2009 Embattled Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has raised £4.5million by selling his stake in high street chain JJB Sports. His 12m shares were snapped up by a mystery buyer, possibly JD Sports which could bid for JJB. Mike Ashley sells off JJB stake as future secured Ashley dumps part of JJB stake Share trade kicks off JJB rise -
BBC SportAlan Shearer may agree four-year contract with Newcastle at weekendShearer will not sign a contract until his lawyers have pored over the nuances of every piece of small print and there is consequently nothing unusual in his taking days rather than hours to reach agreement with Mike Ashley, Newcastle's owner. Newcastle owner Mike Ashley makes grovelling apology to fans Ashley says sorry to Magpies fans Future uncertain for Ashley and Shearer -