In the Heat of the Summer (aka The Mean Season) by John Katzenbach

 

(pb; 1982)

From the back cover

“In Miami, they call July the ‘mean season.’ This summer, a clever, elusive killer is terrorizing the entire city—and making frequent phone calls to crack newspaper reporter Malcolm Anderson.

“Now Anderson is trapped by the hottest story he’s ever had—trapped between his editors who want him to keep the story alive, by the cops who want him to help catch the killer, by his girlfriend who wants their lives safe again, and by his own fascination with the tortured murderer looking to get even for the sins of Vietnam.

“The story is making Anderson a national celebrity—and could make him the killer’s next victim.”

 

Review

Summer, a good, sometimes hard-to-set-down thriller, begins rough and chatty, but once it gains focus (about a quarter of the way through, about the time the killer contacts reporter Malcolm Anderson) it becomes a solid read, with effective commentary on the media’s role in war and murder as well as a few plot-convenient-dumb-character moments (e.g., Anderson giving away key killer-capture information to the killer). The edge-lined ending leans more toward whimper than bang, but it works for the book, Katzenbach's first. The resulting film—I forget its ending—likely had a different more bang-oriented finish, given Hollywood’s penchant for more crowd-pleasing, easier-to-digest fare.

#

The resulting film (and the reason why the book was retitled), The Mean Season, was released stateside on February 15, 1985. Phillip Borsos directed it, from a screenplay by Christopher Crowe (billed as Leon Piedmont).

Kurt Russell played Malcolm Anderson. Mariel Hemingway played Christine Connelly. Richard Jordan played Alan Delour.

Richard Masur played Bill Nolan. Joe Pantoliano played Andy Porter. Andy Garcia played Ray Martinez. William Smith played Albert O’Shaughnessy [cinematic stand-in for Peter O’Shaughnessy].

The Friends of Eddie Coyle by George V. Higgins

(hb; 1970, 1971)


From the inside flap:

"Eddie Coyle and the 'friends' of Eddie Coyle - the people he can trade in for his own safety and who can kill him for theirs - are hoods.  If the 'wise guys' - the syndicate wheels who occasionally surface in Eddie's world to give an order or punish a mistake - are the underworld equivalents of tycoons and executives, then stocky, henpecked, worried Eddie Coyle is the working stiff of crime.  He is fearful of being sent up for a second time (for hijacking a truck); he is trying to better himself by providing guns for a Boston-area gang whose bank robbery technique is proof against almost every contingency - if nobody talks.

"This is how an old hand, Eddie, goes about his business; how a young punk, Jackie Brown, gets his education in being a stand-up guy; how Dillon, bartender and occasional contract killer who knows everything, keeps the boys in line.  This is how the hoods - the gunmen, armorers, drivers, heisters and executioners - see themselves.  This is how they deal with each other and talk to each other in the authentic, elaborately oblique language born of the paradox of the underworld. . ."


Review:

Full of snappy, tough-guy dialogue and blunt, sudden action, Friends is a good, entertaining crime read, with its colorful characters and few-frills writing.

Worth checking out, this.

#

The resulting film was released stateside on June 27, 1973.

Robert Mitchum played Eddie Coyle.  Peter Boyle played Dillon.  Richard Jordan played Dave Foley.  Steven Keats played Jackie Brown.  Joe Santos played Artie Van.   Alex Rocco played Jimmy Scalise.  Mitch Ryan, billed as Mitchell Ryan, played Waters.  James Tolkan played "The Man's contact man".

Peter Yates directed the film, from a screenplay by Paul Monash.

Dune by Frank Herbert

(hb; 1965: first book in the Dune Chronicles)

From the back cover

"Set in the far future amidst a sprawling feudal interstellar empire where planetary dynasties are controlled by noble houses that owe an allegiance to the imperial House Corrino, Dune tells the story of young Paul Atreides (the heir apparent to Duke Leto Atreides and heir of House Atreides) as he and his family accept control of the desert planet Arrakis, the only source of the 'spice' melange, the most important and valuable substance in the cosmos. The story explores the complex, multi-layered interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion as the forces of the empire confront each other for control of Arrakis."


Review

Dune is rich in political intrigue, treachery, oracular mysticism, lust, loyalty, love, jihad and societal upheaval, as well as many interesting, often conflicted characters. What makes Dune great is how it's simultaneously personal and emotional, yet coolly distant in an intellectual way, without compromising either of the elements, tracking the course of an empire over three or so years – Herbert manages this balancing act by focusing on the characters, while making them aware of their importance (or lack thereof) in the struggles and violence that consumes them.

This is one of my all-time favorite books. It has been since I read it as a boy (approximately thirty years ago); I've reread it several times since, and every time I read it, I get something completely new out of it – there are so many levels on which to take this landmark work that I foresee more readings of this personal magnitude in the years to come.

Followed by Dune Messiah.

#

Dune has been filmed twice.

The first film version was released stateside on December 14, 1984.

Kyle MacLachlan played Paul Atreides. Jürgen Prochnow played Duke Leto Atreides.  Francesca Annis played Lady Jessica.  Alicia Witt, billed as Alicia Roanne Witt, played Alia. 

Richard Jordan played Duncan Idaho.  Patrick Stewart played Gurney Halleck.  Linda Hunt played Shadout Mapes.  Freddie Jones played Thufir Hawat.  Dean Stockwell played Doctor Wellington Yueh.  Max von Sydow played Doctor Kynes.  Jack Nance played Nefud.

Sean Young played Chani.  Everett McGill played Stilgar. 

Kenneth McMillan played Baron Vladimir Harkonnen.  Sting played Feyd Rautha.  Brad Dourif played Piter De Vries.  Paul L. Smith, billed as Paul Smith, played The Beast Rabban.

José Ferrer played Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV.  Virginia Madsen played Princess Irulan.

 David Lynch scripted and direct the film.  Lynch also - uncredited - played a "Spice Worker".

If you see this film, make sure you see the three-hour/Director's Cut version, which makes more sense than the initial/studio-cut version of the film.

#

The second version began airing stateside as a three-part television miniseries on December 3, 2000.

Alec Newman played Paul Atreides/Muad'Dib, a role he reprised in the 2003 television miniseries sequel, Children of Dune.  William Hurt played Duke Leto Atreides.  Saskia Reeves played Lady Jessica Atreides.

P.H. Moriarty played Gurney Halleck.  James Watson played Duncan Idaho.  Karel Dobrỳ played Dr. Pardot Kynes.

Uwe Ochsenknecht played Stilgar.  Barbora Kodetová played Chani.

Ian McNeice played Baron Vladimir Harkonnen.  Matt Keeslar played Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen.  László I. Kish played Glossu Rabban.

Giancarlo Giannini played Padishah - Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV.  Julie Cox played Princess Irulan Corrino. 

John Harrison scripted and directed the miniseries.

Valdez Is Coming, by Elmore Leonard

(pb; 1970)

From the back cover:

“They laughed at Roberto Valdez and then ignored him. But when a dark-skinned man was holed up in a shack with a gun, they sent the part-time constable to deal with the problem – and made sure he had no choice but to gun the fugitive down. Trouble was, Valdez killed an innocent man. And when he asked for justice – and some money for the dead man’s woman – they beat Valdez and tied him to a cross. They were still laughing when Valdez came back. And then they began to die...”

Review:

Straightforward Western from Leonard, whose mix of action and dialogue reads in a choppy fashion; this is uncharacteristic of Leonard’s work, whose writing generally has a natural “flow.” That’s not to say that Valdez is mortally flawed – that choppiness actually works, when one considers that the story deals largely with Mexicans whose primary language is Spanish, not English.

Good book, this, possessing less brutality than one would expect (given the back cover blurb). This is not one of Leonard’s best works.

#

Valdez Is Coming was released stateside as a film on April 9, 1971.

Burt Lancaster played Valdez. Susan Clark played Gay Erin. Jon Cypher played Frank Tanner. Richard Jordan played R.L. Davis. Hector Elizondo had a bit part as a “Mexican rider.”

Edwin Sherin directed, from a script by Roland Kibbee and David Rayfiel.