The storytelling itself is special because "Flash!" contains not a single word of ordinary prose. It's told entirely in the form of letters, telegrams, news reports, radio bulletins and one-sided telephone calls. And as those familiar with Daffy have come to expect, it's both funny and fun.
You'll find all this, plus my two-page Intro yapping about Richard Sale's life and career, in the just-out June 2015 issue of AHMM. Where can you get a copy? As you may recall when I was hyping "The Continental Opposite" (in the May issue), AHMM is carried by most Barnes and Noble stores, and is offered in a variety of eFormats by Amazon (HERE), B&N (HERE), Google Play (HERE) and Magzter (HERE).
And in case you missed it, I said a few words about Mr. Sale, along with Hammett, Cleve F. Adams, Lester Dent and others on the AHMM blog a while back. That's HERE.
Verrry cool. I'm on my way to pick up the copy right now.
ReplyDeleteSeeing this story start off in the form of a letter has reminded me of one of my favorite "forgotten" authors, characters, and books: Percival Wilde's "P. Moran, Operative" which is a collection of seven short stories which originally appeared in EQMM throughout the forties. Are you familiar with this book, Evan? If so, what's your opinion? If not, I'd recommend checking it out; I really think it's your cup of tea.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of Percy or his "P. Moran," Brian. There's a book?
ReplyDeleteThis guy talks a little bit about Wilde and the character. Click on Wilde's name and then scroll to the end of his section:
ReplyDeletehttp://mikegrost.com/unalign.htm#Wilde
Pronzini's 1001 Midnights also has an essay on the book, which collects all seven stories that were published in EQMM.