For the first time ever!-two hardboiled classics!-joined at last! First published in 1933, Fast One is the roughest novel of the Black Mask school-praised by Chandler!-hailed by Captain Shaw! A searing tale of underworld Los Angeles, where the only crime is loving too much! To live outside the law you must be honest! Seven Slayers contains seven of Cain's very best short stories written for Black Mask! Each one a pip and a prize! Together in an attractive, readable edition-and for a very low cost-these two books comprise the Omnibus! George Carrol Sims wrote for Black Mask under the nom de guerre Paul Cain. As Peter Ruric, he wrote for Motion Pictures-including 1934's The Black Cat, a film distinguished by every element except its screenplay, and 1944's Mademoiselle Fifi, one of the lesser known films produced by RKO's Val Lewton. Sims dated the actress Gertrude Michael, said to inspire the character of Granquist in Fast One. Sims died of cancer in a Hollywood hotel.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Rough, quick entertainment of prohibition-era America,
By Gary Coffrin (San Jose, California, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Omnibus (Fast One / Seven Slayers) (Paperback)
It's great to have these works presented to a contemporary audience. Nearly all of Cain's stories appeared in Black Mask, the pulp magazine where the noir detective tale was born. Author Cain (1902-1966) published no stories after 1936, but wrote B-film screenplays into the late 1940's under the name "Peter Ruric."
Fast One, Paul Cain's only novel, features simple, declarative sentences. Cain's direct prose effectively communicates the slam-bam violence that drives the story. Fast One is rough, action-packed, terse, staccato. Blunt, quick, lean. Cain uses fewer conjunctions than any author I have read. This passage illustrates the point: `The house-phone rang; Borg answered it, said, "Send him up," hung up. He said, "Faber," over his shoulder, went to the door.' Cain generally uses the colon to introduce quotations, a convention used by several pulp writers of the time. The colon gives a more precise break, reinforcing the staccato rhythm of Cain's prose. Cain knows Hollywood and Los Angeles. Fast One is a prohibition-era account of corrupt L.A. politicians, cops on the take, warring underworld figures, and amoral lovers desperately trying to move ahead. The prose doesn't flow like Hammett's, but Cain's terse dialog still sounds pretty good. Cain uses no hyperbole, and this leanness holds up well. Gambler and gunman Kells leads a desperate race against fate. He refuses to be messed with by anyone. Every chapter has double-crosses, car chases, black-mailings, two-fisted action, bombings, stabbings, or shootings. The violent pace is unrelenting. After 200 pages of turmoil and continued introduction of more characters whose primary function is to die, the furious pace became numbing. The last chapters primarily concern Fells and his lover Granquist. Greater narrative power is achieved by focusing on the main characters and their fate. If there is any moral element in this tale of corruption and double-crossing, it is that Fells falls only when making a grab for the big score rather than purely seeking revenge against those who have wronged him. Cain's terse style and manic pacing have perhaps never been topped. However, the introduction of too many stock characters and too many sub-plots weakens the appeal. Cain's blunt style and the stunning noir conclusion of Fast One will win over most readers. The seven short stories in Omnibus will be enjoyable for anyone with an interest in early noir writing. They are more skillfully written than those by Carroll John Daly, a Black Mask writer who helped pave the road for Cain. However, Cain's work has less grace, continuity, and eloquence than Hammett's. While not great literature, Cain's works earn four stars or better for action and leanness of prose. Praise goes to the publisher for preserving these uniquely American tales from a bygone era.
5.0 out of 5 stars
The presentation these classics deserve,
By Rory Smith (Gilroy, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Omnibus (Fast One / Seven Slayers) (Paperback)
Previously I had purchased the Black Mask editions of both Fast One and Seven Slayers, and they were both almost completely unreadable.
Resurrectionary Press has done a great job in both including these two great works in one book, while at the same time presenting them so clearly. Bravo!
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