tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post3450231743093064629..comments2024-03-18T11:01:42.459-05:00Comments on Pretty Sinister Books: FFB: The Glass Spear - S. H. CourtierJ F Norrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-34272619750395650352014-05-06T09:01:55.929-05:002014-05-06T09:01:55.929-05:00One demerit for you, Mr. Angelini, for being a no...One demerit for you, Mr. Angelini, for being a non-observant sleuth. ;^) <br /><br />I got my first Bingo last month (April 11 post on <a href="http://prettysinister.blogspot.com/2014/04/ffb-cornish-coast-murder-john-bude.html" rel="nofollow"><i>The Cornish Coast Murder</i></a>). It was notated in the Reading Challenge update, too. You can see it's the diagonal line running from the upper left hand corner (G1) to the lower right hand corner (N6).J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-57168532797869749892014-05-06T03:03:51.376-05:002014-05-06T03:03:51.376-05:00Sounds really great, thanks John - and darn if you...Sounds really great, thanks John - and darn if you aren;t about to get your first bingo!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-90438721200031976772014-05-03T08:01:17.899-05:002014-05-03T08:01:17.899-05:00Another solid review, John. I hope you won't m...Another solid review, John. I hope you won't mind if I focus in on your complaints about the avaricious booksellers who charge absurd prices for books they deem scarce.<br /><br />I was reminded of this practice earlier this week when I received an email from Abebooks about one of my "wants". Seems yet another seller had listed Horace Brown's <i>Whispering City</i>, a novelization of <a href="http://brianbusby.blogspot.ca/2011/05/horace-brown-saturday-matinee.html" rel="nofollow"> the 1947 film noir of the same name</a>. It is indeed a scarce book, but not nearly so scarce as some would have you believe. There was a time when a copy might be listed for $100 or so - but no more thanks to an Ontario bookseller who recently listed his copy for US$750, exclaiming: "The National Library of Canada [<i>sic</i>] does NOT have a copy either!" Well, the same might be said about a quarter of the books reviewed on my blog. The seller then adds, "the only copy I have ever seen and I can safely say, will likely ever see" - to which I respond that I've never seen a copy, but I have read several listings over the past few years. In other words, I've never seen a copy only because I've never cared to pay what was asked. The problem now is that the new listing appears to take its cue from the Ontarian, asking £399. <br /><br />Apologies for the rant.Brian Busbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04120341319506205062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-68165651000779067472014-05-03T03:29:37.138-05:002014-05-03T03:29:37.138-05:00John, this is a great find and an excellent review...John, this is a great find and an excellent review. I didn't know about Sidney Hobson Courtier or his books. I have read very little fiction set in Australia and that includes a couple of books Nevil Shute and he wasn't even Australian by birth, though he died there. One of his novels, "Beyond the Black Stump," was set in the Australian outback and had aboriginal people who were treated well in the story. <br /><br />I often pick up old paperbacks by writers "I think" are forgotten only to discover they're not so obscure in the rest of the world. Still, it's a discovery for me.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-982288877209573122014-05-02T11:48:00.911-05:002014-05-02T11:48:00.911-05:00It is indeed a good one, Yvette. I'm hoping I ...It is indeed a good one, Yvette. I'm hoping I can get this one reprinted at Raven's Head Press. We have a lot of requests floating out there. The waiting for the desirable "Yes" is sometimes unbearable. Three books in preparation, too.<br /> <br />Yes, CPL is Chicago Public Library. Bad habit of mine. I ought to be more clear for the rest of the world.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-40020642019871985152014-05-02T11:11:54.336-05:002014-05-02T11:11:54.336-05:00Ooh, oooh, this sounds good, John. Maybe Huldah &#...Ooh, oooh, this sounds good, John. Maybe Huldah 'saw something nasty in the woodshed.' I so hate it when good authors are buried by the sands of time. (Read the comment on SOFTLY DUST THE CORPSE.) I will definitely keep an eye out for Courtier's work.<br /><br />What is the CPL? Oh, Chicago Public Library?Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-57098815518022511562014-05-02T10:21:42.157-05:002014-05-02T10:21:42.157-05:00I enjoyed this so much I went in search of as many...I enjoyed this so much I went in search of as many of his books I could find. The CPL has three other Courtier books saving me a load of cash. But I did buy two that had no US editons and were affordable. The most unusual is <i>Softly Dust the Corpse</i>, a mystery in which sand is used as a murder weapon! J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-37793524369109290792014-05-02T10:10:39.218-05:002014-05-02T10:10:39.218-05:00Thanks for reviewing this one, John! The Glass Spe...Thanks for reviewing this one, John! <i>The Glass Spear</i> stood in the doubtful category of my wish-list, but, naturally, it will be moved up now. <br /><br />I have read one book by Courtier, <i><a href="http://moonlight-detective.blogspot.com/2011/03/is-all-that-we-see-or-seem-but-dream.html" rel="nofollow">Death in Dream-Time</a></i>, which wasn't as spectacular in terms of a mystery novel, but the story has some powerful and imaginative scenes using dioramas of the Aborigine story of creation.TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.com