McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
Police Organizational Question(s)
Paynesgrey:
Ah, Dirk Pitt's boy I see. ;)
Have you ever read John D MacDonald's Travis McGee series?
Ren:
Never heard of John D. MacDonald or his series, is it worth looking into?
I hadn't really thought of the Dirk Pitt comparison, I was actually going more for Jaques-Yves Cousteau (A personal hero of mine). Heck I even named their ship "Calliope"...8)
Though I could see some of the Dirk Pitt angle in their except instead of being heroic as well as working with a Government Organization the father is more of a Treasure Hunter for greed's sake than for posterity or world-saving etc...trying to make characters that are more human and less super-human, or at least super-trained. main character is a cop and very athletic, but he's got his flaws just like everybody else and everyone around him.
I really loved the depth of the characters in "Terriers" and love to be able to write with that kind of depth...and humanity. We'll see how it goes.
Paynesgrey:
Travis McGee is a classic rascally antihero, along the lines of Repairman Jack, Indiana Jones and Han Solo. Those characters all probably drew a bit from Travis. The books run from the 60's through the 80's. Travis is basically a self described "beach bum" who lives in a houseboat, makes a living as a "salvage consultant". Somebody gets conned or ripped off, can't get thier money back legally, Travis fixes that in return for half of what he recovers. The books are a mix of private detective, sting/con games, and good old fashioned ass whipping. The writing style is surprisingly advanced, more like Raymond Chandler than "an action book." For example, the writer lays out the personality and psyche of a rather predatory young woman with the following bit:
--- Quote ---“She sat up slowly, looked in turn at each of us, and her dark eyes were like twin entrances to two deep caves. Nothing lived in those caves. Maybe something had, once upon a time. There were piles of picked bones back in there, some scribbling on the walls, and some grey ash where the fires had been. “Jane Doe will do just fine,” she said.”
--- End quote ---
Darker Than Amber John D. MacDonald.
Travis is no super hero, he takes his lumps and isn't always the guy who wins a fight. He's clever and sharp, but still gets outwitted from time to time, even gets played himself once in a while. The books are very, very, politically incorrect though, as they were written starting back in the 60's. The series also paints a fine picture of Florida That Was, in a writing style that lets you taste the food and drinks, smell the sea salt.
Ren:
That name does sound familiar thinking about it. I'll have to look into the series assuming I can still find it. Though it does sound like the kind of odd character I'm trying to write...may still do the consultant angle, but then I would have to figure out what else he does.
Paynesgrey:
Hit any decent used bookstore and you can net quite a haul. They're usually kept in the "myster" section. Author is John D MacDonald. (Also the guy who wrote Cape Fear.) All of the Travis McGee books have a colour in the title, like "The Lonely Silver Rain" or "The Girl in the plain brown wrapper", and "A Tan and Sandy Silence". They're popular enough you can usually find new copies in a Barnes & Noble or Borders.
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