I love James Ellroy’s writing…most of the time. With White Jazz, he went too far into incoherence, but LA Confidential is still on of my favorite books of all time. But one of the things I hate in genre fiction is the prequel (and not just because of George Lucas). With a prequel (especially in crime fiction), you start losing people who’s lives you can threaten. You know that Dudley Smith won’t be severely injured or killed because he’s still around in the future. You also know the future of the characters. The book starts being more of a spot-the-reference game than a story. So it was with these worries that I started reading James Ellroy’s latest LA novel Perfidia.
Category Archives: James Ellroy
James Ellroy LA: City of Demons is canceled
For the last couple of weeks, the ID network hasn’t shown the new episodes of James Ellroy’s LA: City of Demons. The speculation about the reason has been identified, it was canceled:
Mr. Ellroy’s early January tour was part of his selling of “James Ellroy’s LA: City of Demons,” a television series that aired on cable’s Investigation Discovery until it was canceled last week midway through its run due to low ratings. The series recounted Los Angeles crime stories, many from the 1940s and 1950s, through re-creations, interviews and Mr. Ellroy’s barked, almost yelling-at-the-audience narration. A talking, animated dog named Barko appeared in some segments with Mr. Ellroy, but the less said about Barko, the better.
But there is some hope for it coming back:
According to Investigation Discovery, the show was pulled due to low ratings but will hopefully be relaunched at another point: “We fully stand behind the strength and uniqueness of the show though and are hoping to find a new home for it later this year,” a spokeswoman said.
James Ellroy’s LA: City of Demons followup
Is anyone else watching James Ellroy’s LA: City of Demons? Or a better question might be, why am I still watching this? The subject matter is wonderful with great clips and photos about the crime from the time. They bring out interviews with people who were involved and generally do a wonderful job covering the topics. Then what’s the problem?
James Ellroy’s LA: City of Demons
The ID network (which apparently stands for Investigative Discovery) has a new series coming out: James Ellroy’s LA: City of Demons. It starts tomorrow (1/19) night and is scheduled to run through at least the end of February. The first episode deals with The Black Dahlia (the murder, not his great book
It should be a fun ride.
The Hilliker Curse by James Ellroy
The Hilliker Curse
American Tabloid by James Ellroy
American Tabloid by James Ellroy was a giant curveball by the hard-boiled detective writer. Those of us who loved his L.A. Quartet didn’t know what to expect when Ellroy finished with the 50s and started on the 1960s. The writing stayed as hard-boiled as ever, but Ellroy upped the scope from Los Angeles to the entire nation with a book that covers Kennedy’s campaign through his death. And what a ride we are on.
My Dark Places by James Ellroy
My Dark Places
Black Dahlia by James Ellroy
Black Dahlia by James Ellroy is the first of Ellroy’s L.A. Quartet (including The Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidentialand White Jazz). While L.A. Confidential is, by far, Ellroy’s best book, Black Dahlia is the one that first felt like a James Ellroy book. This is the first Ellroy book that you can pick up and as soon as you read the first page, you know you’re in a James Ellroy book. And as it’s based on a true story, we get to see Ellroy finally master the mixture of reality and make-believe that are notable in his future books.
L.A. Confidential by James Ellroy
L.A. Confidential is James Ellroy’s masterpiece. It’s on par with Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler as a noir novel. The third book in Ellroy’s L.A. Quartet, it’s easily the best police/detective novel of the last half of the twentieth century. Do not compare it with the L.A. Confidential movie based off the book, it’s much, much better. Based off some true events and interspersed with real people throughout the book, L.A. Confidential is a quintessential American crime novel that should be read by everyone.