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Jump to navigationJump to searchQuarry's List by Max Allan Collins (view source)
Revision as of 16:46, 29 August 2020
, 16:46, 29 August 2020no edit summary
A series like ''Quarry'' can sometimes take a while to settle in, but ''List'' shows that this does not always have to be the case. The books were not originally envisioned as a series, but once the publisher got in touch with Collins, he brought Quarry back and needed a way to make the character stick around and partake of more deadly adventures; therefore we have the list. This is a list of hitmen and hitwomen that many people want; whoever holds the list, holds the money. You can dictate who lives and who dies.
This being a Quarry novel, our antihero somehow manages to get himself right in the middle of the fight for the list. The criminal underworld think thinks that he has it and Quarry must disabuse them of this notion. Rather than taking a full -page advert out in The Times, Quarry does what he does best and tracks down the people after him and despatches them. It is this cold -heartedness that makes the book strangely appealing. Too many authors are hell-bent on making even their antiheroes somehow likablelikeable, Collins just does not care. All we know about Quarry is that he kills bad people. In a perverse way , you could be following one of the other characters in the book and witness them killing Quarry – you probably would not tell the difference.
The book works because Collins is such an effective writer. ''List'' is short and grimy; somewhat like its central character. It comes along, quickly packs a punch and then leaves. Most readers can probably finish the book in one sitting, but that is how the books should be read. There is a sense of dark entertainment to be had from quality pulp fiction and this is exactly what ''Quarry's List'' is.
Hard Case have has had loads of great exploitation fiction for a reader to get their teeth into, try one of the other outing outings in this series, such as [[Quarry's Choice by Max Allan Collins|Quarry's Choice]] or the ruder sounding than it is [[So Nude, So Dead by Ed McBain]].
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