Juri Nummelin's Posts - CrimeSpace2024-03-28T12:25:52ZJuri Nummelinhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/jurinenhttps://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/60987989?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1https://crimespace.ning.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=jurinen&xn_auth=noBeen a hell of a Falltag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-12-20:537324:BlogPost:1731222008-12-20T16:30:00.000ZJuri Nummelinhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/jurinen
Sorry not to have been here almost for all of the Fall. Been too stressful, with everything flying in air at the same time - and I literally mean it. (Umm, no, not the things flying in the air part... That hasn't happened. Yet. We'll keep our fingers crossed.)<br />
<br />
The paperback line was delayed, but Duane's and Al's books are coming out in March and April. Kevin Wignall's Who Is Conrad Hirst? (which is one of the best thrillers I've ever read) should follow in June. Then come James Sallis's Drive…
Sorry not to have been here almost for all of the Fall. Been too stressful, with everything flying in air at the same time - and I literally mean it. (Umm, no, not the things flying in the air part... That hasn't happened. Yet. We'll keep our fingers crossed.)<br />
<br />
The paperback line was delayed, but Duane's and Al's books are coming out in March and April. Kevin Wignall's Who Is Conrad Hirst? (which is one of the best thrillers I've ever read) should follow in June. Then come James Sallis's Drive and Scott Phillips's The Ice Harvest. Man, if these are the only books that will be published in the line I'm so happy, since they are great books and really deserve to be translated.<br />
<br />
"If"? Yes, there hasn't been much enthusiasm about this with the Finnish bookshops and the presales have been pretty low, but we are hoping for good word-of-mouth and all that kind of stuff.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, I'm rereading Ross Macdonald's The Instant Enemy (1968), which I once though was worse than the other Lew Archers, but now I notice the Finnish translation from the early seventies just isn't very good. Nevertheless, a great novel, like almost everything Macdonald wrote. I truly wish he'd be better known. Once he was one of the greats - still is, in my opinion. I'll try to write more fully about this in my Pulpetti blog, stay tuned. (Don't you think there's already too much of this Web 2.0 thing? Blogs, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter... oh yeah, I have a Twitter account, at twitter.com/jurinen.)<br />
<br />
I'm also putting together an all-female issue of Isku, my crime fiction fanzine, with stories by Patti Abbott and Sandra Ruttan, alongside Finnish stories, both original and reprint. (It's not actually all-female, since I'm in, but I wrote my usual Joe Novak story from the view point of a woman, talking to a shrink about his affairs with Novak.)<br />
<br />
Happy Yuletide to everyone!Editing the translationtag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-06-23:537324:BlogPost:1474442008-06-23T10:14:00.000ZJuri Nummelinhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/jurinen
Again, sorry for the absence. I've been swamped with work for two months and haven't really had the time to do any side stuff.<br />
<br />
I'm editing the Finnish translation (my own) of Duane Swierczynski's The Wheelman. The translation will be out in October and will start a new paperback line I'll be editing - handpicking the best of the new hardboiled and noir. Al Guthrie's Kiss Her Goodbye will be the next novel in the series. Arrangements have been made for another three novels.<br />
<br />
The books will have…
Again, sorry for the absence. I've been swamped with work for two months and haven't really had the time to do any side stuff.<br />
<br />
I'm editing the Finnish translation (my own) of Duane Swierczynski's The Wheelman. The translation will be out in October and will start a new paperback line I'll be editing - handpicking the best of the new hardboiled and noir. Al Guthrie's Kiss Her Goodbye will be the next novel in the series. Arrangements have been made for another three novels.<br />
<br />
The books will have illustrated covers, like Hard Case Crime. I'll be posting the illos in the photos section. The art is done by a young Finnish guy called Ossi Hiekkala, who really knows what he's doing.And now in Swedentag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-04-16:537324:BlogPost:1367992008-04-16T10:36:18.000ZJuri Nummelinhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/jurinen
I posted more stuff on Nordic private eyes, this time with the help of Anders Engwall, who's the premiere hardboiled aficionado in Sweden. Here's his lengthy comment:<br />
<br />
http://pulpetti.blogspot.com/2008/04/swedens-private-eye-novels.html
I posted more stuff on Nordic private eyes, this time with the help of Anders Engwall, who's the premiere hardboiled aficionado in Sweden. Here's his lengthy comment:<br />
<br />
http://pulpetti.blogspot.com/2008/04/swedens-private-eye-novels.htmlFinnish private eye novel at its besttag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-04-14:537324:BlogPost:1365472008-04-14T12:35:03.000ZJuri Nummelinhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/jurinen
Check out my long blog post at Pulpetti:<br />
<br />
http://pulpetti.blogspot.com/2008/04/jorma-napolas-one-off-private-eye-novel_13.html
Check out my long blog post at Pulpetti:<br />
<br />
http://pulpetti.blogspot.com/2008/04/jorma-napolas-one-off-private-eye-novel_13.htmlCurrent readingstag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-04-10:537324:BlogPost:1359372008-04-10T12:00:00.000ZJuri Nummelinhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/jurinen
After having finished editing my porn book and writing another one (both, sadly (?), non-fiction), I've been reading Bill Granger's Schism from 1981. It's one of his Devereaux spy novels. I'm not big on spy novels, but I find myself liking this very much. It's about a Vatican spy that worked as a missionary in Vietnam and Laos in the fifties, disappeared and gets back around 1980. CIA, Vatican and other people are of course interested in him and Devereaux is hired to find out what the man…
After having finished editing my porn book and writing another one (both, sadly (?), non-fiction), I've been reading Bill Granger's Schism from 1981. It's one of his Devereaux spy novels. I'm not big on spy novels, but I find myself liking this very much. It's about a Vatican spy that worked as a missionary in Vietnam and Laos in the fifties, disappeared and gets back around 1980. CIA, Vatican and other people are of course interested in him and Devereaux is hired to find out what the man really knows. I don't remember seeing much discussion on Bill Granger lately, is he still writing?<br />
<br />
Today I received a package from John Weagly containing four Hard Case Crime novels, by Christa Faust, Russell Hill, Robert Bloch and Richard Aleas! Woo-hoo! This is so great. I just can't wait to get my hands on them... sadly I'll have work-related books to read, such as the Finnish translation of William Morris utopian classic, News from Nowhere. There are no babies blowing up things in that one, let me tell you...<br />
<br />
John also packed along one of his own books, a small paperback called The Undertow of Small Town Dreams. Thanks very much!My absencetag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-03-15:537324:BlogPost:1309862008-03-15T19:04:04.000ZJuri Nummelinhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/jurinen
Sorry for the absence. Just haven't really had time to read anything crimeish lately - been focusing on porn and erotica for a book (or actually two; I have an anthology of vintage Finnish porn writing coming out).<br />
<br />
I'm translating one of the most important debuts in American crime writing in Finnish, though. I'll be posting about this soon in every venue I can think of, but now it's still very much hush-hush.<br />
<br />
As for films, I watched Plunder of the Sun by John Farrow from a David Dodge novel…
Sorry for the absence. Just haven't really had time to read anything crimeish lately - been focusing on porn and erotica for a book (or actually two; I have an anthology of vintage Finnish porn writing coming out).<br />
<br />
I'm translating one of the most important debuts in American crime writing in Finnish, though. I'll be posting about this soon in every venue I can think of, but now it's still very much hush-hush.<br />
<br />
As for films, I watched Plunder of the Sun by John Farrow from a David Dodge novel and Man in the Vault by a director whose name I can't recall at the mo', from a novel by Frank Gruber. (Is it by Andrew McLaglen, the Western director? Perhaps.) Both quite solid B or B-ish films, heartily recommended. Plunder of the Sun was highly better of the two, though, vivid and hardboiled.Totally forgotten and ephemeral PI seriestag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-01-15:537324:BlogPost:1150632008-01-15T12:05:00.000ZJuri Nummelinhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/jurinen
<p>A private eye series Kevin Burton Smith doesn't know about? Really? Check it out at my blog:</p>
<p><a href="http://pulpetti.blogspot.com">http://pulpetti.blogspot.com</a></p>
<p>A private eye series Kevin Burton Smith doesn't know about? Really? Check it out at my blog:</p>
<p><a href="http://pulpetti.blogspot.com">http://pulpetti.blogspot.com</a></p>My list of 2007tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-01-04:537324:BlogPost:1108232008-01-04T13:13:00.000ZJuri Nummelinhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/jurinen
<p><em>I posted this list to the Rara-Avis e-mail list earlier today and thought I should repost it here:</em></p>
<p></p>
<p>The strongest novel I read during the last year was Richard Matheson's I AM LEGEND from 1954 that was translated in Finnish for the first time. It's hardboiled and it's noir and I really think everyone on this list should read it, even though it's also science fiction and horror. Forget the films.<br></br><br></br>Other noirish and hardboiledish novels I enjoyed during…</p>
<p><em>I posted this list to the Rara-Avis e-mail list earlier today and thought I should repost it here:</em></p>
<p/><p>The strongest novel I read during the last year was Richard Matheson's I AM LEGEND from 1954 that was translated in Finnish for the first time. It's hardboiled and it's noir and I really think everyone on this list should read it, even though it's also science fiction and horror. Forget the films.<br/><br/>Other noirish and hardboiledish novels I enjoyed during 2007:<br/><br/>Allan Guthrie: HARD MAN<br/>Sean Chercover: BIG CITY, BAD BLOOD<br/>Kevin Wignall: WHO IS CONRAD HIRST? (without Matheson, this would be the book of the year), also Kevin's AMONG THE DEAD<br/>Brian Garfield: KOLCHAK'S GOLD; HOPSCOTCH<br/>Reed Farrel Coleman: THE JAMES DEANS<br/>a collection of Leigh Brackett's Mars stories<br/>Stephen Greenleaf: GRAVE ERROR<br/>H.A. DeRosso: .44 (perhaps the noirest Western novel ever written, very much like David Goodis)<br/><br/>I also might add that Marquis de Sade's JUSTINE is just as chilling as any noir novel and qualifies as a crime novel. Not hardboiled in the sense of "colloquial", though.<br/><br/>One of the most important things on the publishing front in Finnish was that Stephen Crane's Western short stories were translated for the first time in a nice collection. Some might detect pre-noir tones in them.<br/><br/>The major disappointment of the year was Paul Malmont's hyped THE CHINATOWN CLOUD DEATH PERIL.<br/><br/></p>Hardboiled complaintstag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-12-08:537324:BlogPost:1020882007-12-08T11:12:56.000ZJuri Nummelinhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/jurinen
<p>There's only one magazine in Finland that concentrates on crime fiction, Ruumiin kulttuuri / Body Culture. I contribute to the mag quite regularly and have for example interviewed people like Michael Connelly, Vicki Hendricks and Jason Starr and written articles on David Goodis, Hank Janson, the female noir fiction of the fourties and fifties (Margaret Millar, Dorothy Hughes, etc.) and James Hadley Chase. I've always tried to avoid a fanboy attitude and concentrated on the content of these…</p>
<p>There's only one magazine in Finland that concentrates on crime fiction, Ruumiin kulttuuri / Body Culture. I contribute to the mag quite regularly and have for example interviewed people like Michael Connelly, Vicki Hendricks and Jason Starr and written articles on David Goodis, Hank Janson, the female noir fiction of the fourties and fifties (Margaret Millar, Dorothy Hughes, etc.) and James Hadley Chase. I've always tried to avoid a fanboy attitude and concentrated on the content of these writers and their historical significance.</p>
<p/><p>Now, I just heard from the editor-in-chief that he's had complaints about how I've had too much stuff on pulp and noir in the mag and he'll have to cut it down. I had suggested a shortish article on Otto Penzler's 1,000-page anthology The Big Lizard Book of Pulps, which I think should merit some notice even here in Finland. Now there won't be any. I've had some three to five articles a year in the mag and all the other pages are about cooking in crime novels, Agatha Christie, new Swedish crime novelists and other stuff. Why isn't there room for other types of literarute?</p>
<p/><p>At the same time, I've been wondering about why hardboiled crime fiction has never been in favour of the Finnish crime fiction reading public or even fandom. Of course there are counter-examples, Chandler has been a favourite, but I've heard some people complain that he's too violent. Too violent?! Chandler?! What the f---? Why read crime novels if one can't take violence?</p>
<p/><p>Note to self: calm down. I almost caused a fire when I was pondering about what I should say: I'd put a kettle on the stove to make me a cup of tea (hey, I'm not really that hardboiled!) and forgot it. The water had run dry and the kitchen was full of smoke... The kettle went to ruin. You can also blame my ADD for this, it's happened before...</p>The latest Iskutag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-12-06:537324:BlogPost:1014872007-12-06T20:34:25.000ZJuri Nummelinhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/jurinen
<p>Just posted the latest issue of Isku to the printers. It's a small press crime fiction magazine that I edit and publish (and also do the layouts for). You can see the cover by Henri Joela in my photos. It's an illo for the story by Timo Surkka, who's one of the last real pulp writers working in Finland, having penned dozens of Jerry Cottons and other stuff for various magazines. It's a nasty revenge story. In translation I have Ed Lynskey, David Terrenoire and Barry Ergang. Other writers are…</p>
<p>Just posted the latest issue of Isku to the printers. It's a small press crime fiction magazine that I edit and publish (and also do the layouts for). You can see the cover by Henri Joela in my photos. It's an illo for the story by Timo Surkka, who's one of the last real pulp writers working in Finland, having penned dozens of Jerry Cottons and other stuff for various magazines. It's a nasty revenge story. In translation I have Ed Lynskey, David Terrenoire and Barry Ergang. Other writers are Petri Salin, Leo Mäenpää (a story from a 1955 pulp magazine) and myself.</p>Guthrie's Hard Mantag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-11-28:537324:BlogPost:981482007-11-28T11:25:10.000ZJuri Nummelinhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/jurinen
<p>Finished late last night Al Guthrie's Hard Man. Man oh man. Pretty rough stuff. Recommended if you can take it. I can see why some people have been so critical about this (and how it's all connected to the neo-noir discussion), though. Is there some sociological truth hidden in there? Or even questions?</p>
<p></p>
<p>My reading's been pretty vicious as of late. First Marquis de Sade, then Al Guthrie. I've also been reading collections of readers' letters from old porn magazines. They can be…</p>
<p>Finished late last night Al Guthrie's Hard Man. Man oh man. Pretty rough stuff. Recommended if you can take it. I can see why some people have been so critical about this (and how it's all connected to the neo-noir discussion), though. Is there some sociological truth hidden in there? Or even questions?</p>
<p/><p>My reading's been pretty vicious as of late. First Marquis de Sade, then Al Guthrie. I've also been reading collections of readers' letters from old porn magazines. They can be vicious, too, you know.</p>The ultimate crime noveltag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-11-11:537324:BlogPost:919182007-11-11T13:51:57.000ZJuri Nummelinhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/jurinen
Finished couple nights back the ultimate crime novel: Justine, by Marquis de Sade. From every social misdeed imaginable to every sexual misdeed imanigable. Someone could use the novel's plot and rewrite it in a modern setting. Now, that would be noir.
Finished couple nights back the ultimate crime novel: Justine, by Marquis de Sade. From every social misdeed imaginable to every sexual misdeed imanigable. Someone could use the novel's plot and rewrite it in a modern setting. Now, that would be noir.I Am Legendtag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-10-31:537324:BlogPost:878782007-10-31T10:19:13.000ZJuri Nummelinhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/jurinen
I'm currently reading Richard Matheson vampire/zombie classic I Am Legend from 1954. It's just recently been translated in Finnish - for the first time! I'm enjoying the book immensely and am wondering what kind of a shock it must've been to readers of 1954. It came out as a paperback from Gold Medal and people must've picked it up more from a habit than from really knowing what it's about. No wonder it's been so influential - there's lots of stuff that George Romero picked up from this (and I…
I'm currently reading Richard Matheson vampire/zombie classic I Am Legend from 1954. It's just recently been translated in Finnish - for the first time! I'm enjoying the book immensely and am wondering what kind of a shock it must've been to readers of 1954. It came out as a paperback from Gold Medal and people must've picked it up more from a habit than from really knowing what it's about. No wonder it's been so influential - there's lots of stuff that George Romero picked up from this (and I think Night of the Living Dead is a bit overrated, this one however is no dud).Saw Hostage last nighttag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-10-08:537324:BlogPost:793012007-10-08T11:53:39.000ZJuri Nummelinhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/jurinen
<p>I'm not too eager to seek out new crime thrillers and blockbuster movies, but as I was tired last night I decided to watch Hostage from the Finnish tube. Based on Robert Crais's novel, the movie is fast-moving and gripping, but the finale was way too much for me. Too conscious of the fireworks, if you know what I mean. The bad guy was also too bad - he became one-dimensional in the end (especially when he moved like Alien in the tunnel system of the house!). Bruce Willis was also a bit…</p>
<p>I'm not too eager to seek out new crime thrillers and blockbuster movies, but as I was tired last night I decided to watch Hostage from the Finnish tube. Based on Robert Crais's novel, the movie is fast-moving and gripping, but the finale was way too much for me. Too conscious of the fireworks, if you know what I mean. The bad guy was also too bad - he became one-dimensional in the end (especially when he moved like Alien in the tunnel system of the house!). Bruce Willis was also a bit one-dimensional and with him and his problems, the movie became too sentimental. The twist in the shootout in the end was nice, though. Nice beginning titles.</p>
<p/><p>I haven't read Crais's novel and I think I've read only one of his Elvis Cole novels, but I seem to remember it was pretty much okay.</p>H.A. DeRosso's gritty noir westerntag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-10-07:537324:BlogPost:790012007-10-07T17:31:26.000ZJuri Nummelinhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/jurinen
<p>There's some wild discussion about what's noir over on Rara-Avis e-mail list. My definitions for everything are always too loose, but this is noir: H.A. DeRosso's western paperback from 1953, .44. Check my blog post here:</p>
<p/><p><a href="http://pulpetti.blogspot.com/2007/10/1000th-post-ha-derosso.html">http://pulpetti.blogspot.com/2007/10/1000th-post-ha-derosso.html</a></p>
<p>There's some wild discussion about what's noir over on Rara-Avis e-mail list. My definitions for everything are always too loose, but this is noir: H.A. DeRosso's western paperback from 1953, .44. Check my blog post here:</p>
<p/><p><a href="http://pulpetti.blogspot.com/2007/10/1000th-post-ha-derosso.html">http://pulpetti.blogspot.com/2007/10/1000th-post-ha-derosso.html</a></p>Lippman and DeRossotag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-10-01:537324:BlogPost:776572007-10-01T20:37:07.000ZJuri Nummelinhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/jurinen
Two more books finished: Laura Lippman's Charm City (pretty much okay, but from the two Lippmans I've read, The Sugar House was the better one) and H.A. DeRosso's gritty noir western .44 from 1953. Highly recommended, even though there was some clumsiness in the rhythm and choice of words from time to time. Also very much like a crime novel and not a typical western with cattle drives and injuns.
Two more books finished: Laura Lippman's Charm City (pretty much okay, but from the two Lippmans I've read, The Sugar House was the better one) and H.A. DeRosso's gritty noir western .44 from 1953. Highly recommended, even though there was some clumsiness in the rhythm and choice of words from time to time. Also very much like a crime novel and not a typical western with cattle drives and injuns.Finished Malingtag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-09-25:537324:BlogPost:756012007-09-25T08:13:02.000ZJuri Nummelinhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/jurinen
Finished reading Arthur Maling's From Thunder Bay. Check it out if you can and have time. Not a masterpiece and actually it seems like a mainstream novel with a crime in it, but it was still enjoyable. I started Laura Lippman's Charm City after that. Have to start working again and stop reading no-job-related crime.
Finished reading Arthur Maling's From Thunder Bay. Check it out if you can and have time. Not a masterpiece and actually it seems like a mainstream novel with a crime in it, but it was still enjoyable. I started Laura Lippman's Charm City after that. Have to start working again and stop reading no-job-related crime.Huston's Already Deadtag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-09-24:537324:BlogPost:751982007-09-24T09:26:06.000ZJuri Nummelinhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/jurinen
<p>Vampire as a private eye? Yeah, right. It works, though, in Charlie Huston's Already Dead which I completed last Friday. It's a bit too long and there's not enough plot for me, but Huston's style is quite good and moody at times and he also shows being capable of Ross Macdonaldish moments that seem quite essential when we talk about private eye fiction.</p>
<p>Just now reading Arthur Maling's From Thunder Bay (1981). Anyone? It seems pretty good, a bit Dortmunderish, but not as funny. Lots…</p>
<p>Vampire as a private eye? Yeah, right. It works, though, in Charlie Huston's Already Dead which I completed last Friday. It's a bit too long and there's not enough plot for me, but Huston's style is quite good and moody at times and he also shows being capable of Ross Macdonaldish moments that seem quite essential when we talk about private eye fiction.</p>
<p>Just now reading Arthur Maling's From Thunder Bay (1981). Anyone? It seems pretty good, a bit Dortmunderish, but not as funny. Lots and lots cheap copies on Abe.</p>How could I forget...?tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-09-19:537324:BlogPost:737232007-09-19T10:13:01.000ZJuri Nummelinhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/jurinen
Add into my likings: Ross Macdonald, one of the biggest heroes. And Stephen Greenlead whom I recently rediscovered.
Add into my likings: Ross Macdonald, one of the biggest heroes. And Stephen Greenlead whom I recently rediscovered.