QUEEN'S GAMBIT by Walter Tevis
I am not sure what drew me to this book. I know nothing about chess and the book was chock full of chess matches. I was unable to follow the moves and,
in fact, had never heard of terms like the "middle game" before.
Beth, an orphan, is taught chess by the janitor at the school/orphanage where she lives. She begs him to learn and at once excels. Once adopted, her adopted mother uses (in a benign way) her ability to support them. Both of them are in flight from any real world. We follow Beth from match to match across the years. She picks up some bad habits in terms of substance abuse along the way. An interesting book about a child prodigy and how she makes the jump to an adult champion. Highly recommended especially for those who play the game.
Tevis also wrote THE HUSTLER and THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH.
Sergio Angelini, MURDER WITHIN MURDER, Frances and Richard Lockridge
Yvette Banek, WARRANT FOR X, Philip Macdonald
Les Blatt, DEATH OF AN AIRMAN, Christopher St. John Sprigg
Brian Busby, BLONDES ARE MY TROUBLE, Douglas Sanderson
Bill Crider, THE VIOLENT ONES, Brant House, ed.
Scott Cupp, SOME OF YOUR BLOOD, Theodore Sturgeon
Martin Edwards, THE MAN WHO LOST HIS WIFE, Julian Symons
Ed Gorman, KILLER, Dave Zeltserman
Rick Horton, Ace Doubles: Conan the Conqueror, by Robert E. Howard/The Sword of Rhiannon, by Leigh Brackett
Jerry House, DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, Flint and Spoor
George Kelley, DEEP QUARRY, John. E. Stith
Margot Kinberg, BLANCHE ON THE LAM, Barbara Neely
B.V. Lawson, GOOD COP, BAD COP, Barbara D'Amato
Steve Lewis/David Vineyard, THE WOMAN WITH THE BLUE PENCIL, Gordon McAlpine
Todd Mason, CONJURE WIFE, Fritz Leiber
Matt Paust, THE CONSEQUENCES OF DESIRE, Dennis Hathaway
James Reasoner, TERROR STATION, James V. Swain
Kevin Tipple. A DANGEROUS THING, Bill Crider
TomCat, SCHEMERS, Bill Pronzini
TracyK, FUNERAL IN BERLIN, Len Deighton
Westlake Review, ENOUGH, Donald Westlake
15 comments:
Patti, you should also look into Tevis's brilliant collection of short stories, FAR FROM HOME. Unsurprisingly, he also wrote the sequel novel to THE HUSTLER, THE COLOR OF MONEY...happily, Tom Cruise couldn't ruin the novel as he did his best to do with with the film, with considerable success.
I know how to play chess, and Barbara and I play occasionally, but I'm not sure I could follow moves in the usual chess shorthand.
I had forgotten about this book, which I have owned for many years in a hardcover, but never read. Just one more book I should donate. I'm sure I bought it because I enjoyed The Hustler so much. That first edition is a keeper and I even know where it is. I wasn't aware of the short story collection, which I will try on hunt down.
And mine's up! Happy Black Friday! And thanks.
CONJURE WIFE, Fritz Leiber
http://socialistjazz.blogspot.com/2015/11/ffb-conjure-wife-by-fritz-leiber-street.html
Kent Morgan--I haven't read his other late novel MOCKINGBIRD, remember it getting a mixed response, but have been meaning to pick it up. Along with Patti's choice.
No internet to add entries!
Och! I'll stick a hotline in here then:
Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber (Street & Smith 1943; Twayne 1952)
Richard--I used to volunteer for a reading service, WASHINGTON EAR, for the visually impaired in the DC area; I was a habitual late-arriver there, as well, so often was "stuck" with the less-desired aspects of the WASHINGTON POST: the comics, the ads and the chess column. I, too, an a (terrible) chess player, but had never learned the shorthand used in such transcriptions...so my first reading or so was pretty disastrous, till I Learned Better. I think I've forgotten everything since then (twenty years ago) except X for takes.
Reading the comics was pleasant for me (DOONESBURY: "The waffle which represents President Clinton continues with his speech behind the podium..."), but the ads were indeed dire...one could only read a few rather randomly selected items.
I hope Prashant sees your review, Patti. He LOVES playing chess AND books about chess. This sounds perfect for him.
I'm smiling because I remember someone once trying to teach me to play chess. HA!!
What a great choice, Patti. And thanks for including my post in with these other great posts.
Computer problems are temporarily resolved. Evidently someone in the neighborhood has the same IP address and is hexing our computer. Or maybe something else is happening. Don't ask me: I'm a technological luddite.
Anyway, I was able to post a Forgotten Book late this afternoon. Eric Flint & Ryk E. Spoor's 2004 mountain fantasy DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER.
A few months ago, I tried to read Louis Sachar's THE CARD TURNER, a YA novel about bridge (which, like chess, is something I've never been able to grasp). I thought I might actually figure out how bridge is played--especially as it figures so much in Golden Age mysteries. But, sadly, I couldn't make heads nor tails of bridge--and I suspect it would be the same as me trying to learn chess.
I definitely want to read The Queen's Gambit
No internet until today. Looks like a good list. Hope y'all had a swell Thursday.
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