The Hardboiled Dicks

by Ron Goulart

pulp fiction anthology

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Short Stories

296 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1965

About the author

Pseudonyms: Howard Lee; Frank S Shawn; Kenneth Robeson; Con Steffanson; Josephine Kains; Joseph Silva; William Shatner.
Ron Goulart is a cultural historian and novelist. Besides writing extensively about pulp fiction—including the seminal Cheap Thrills: An Informal History of Pulp Magazines (1972)—Goulart has written for the pulps since 1952, when the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction published his first story, a sci-fi parody of letters to the editor. Since then he has written dozens of novels and countless short stories, spanning genres and using a variety of pennames, including Kenneth Robeson, Joseph Silva, and Con Steffanson. In the 1990s, he became the ghostwriter for William Shatner’s popular TekWar novels. Goulart’s After Things Fell Apart (1970) is the only science-fiction novel to ever win an Edgar Award.

In the 1970s Goulart wrote novels starring series characters like Flash Gordon and the Phantom, and in 1980 he published Hail Hibbler, a comic sci-fi novel that began the Odd Jobs, Inc. series. Goulart has also written several comic mystery series, including six books starring Groucho Marx. Having written for comic books, Goulart produced several histories of the art form, including the Comic Book Encyclopedia (2004).

Reviews

[Still · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book -at the age of 15- was my introduction to the world of hardboiled detectives in short stories originally published in such pulps as Black Mask, Detective Fiction Weekly, and Dime Detective.

Now, I'd previously read (on the sly) a few Mickey Spillane "Mike Hammer" paperbacks my grandmother had obtained, drawn to them by their lurid cover art no doubt. (She was also a great consumer of "true detective" magazines as well.) Spillane - in contrast to the wise-cracking crime-solvers introduced in this collection- was a ham-handed buffoon.

This terrific anthology, assembled by editor Ron Goulart was my introduction to the writing of John K. Butler, Frederick Nebel, Norbert Davis, Raoul Whitfield, Richard Sale, Lester Dent, Erle Stanley Gardner, and Frank Gruber.
I became a lifelong consumer and collector of detective fiction which would broaden into a fetish for noirish thrillers as well all due to this little 268 page paperback.

Ron Goulart provides an informative 18 page introduction and single paragraph introductions for each entry in the anthology along with a min-bibliography for each author. In addition, on the last 3 pages he provides a list of authors and books of interest to readers who enjoyed the types of stories contained in this collection.

Which is how I discovered Hammett and Chandler.

This book had a huge impact on me as a teenager. I didn't even know what pulp magazines were let alone that this kind of fiction existed outside of mainstream stuff like Sherlock Holmes, Mike Hammer, and Perry Mason.

I hold an undying devotion to Ron Goulart and Pocket Books for bringing this book out in paperback format in 1967.
I own 4 copies of this book & buy additional copies whenever I come across them.
I have no idea why.

[Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eight hardboiled detective stories mostly from 1930s pulp magazines, edited by Ron Goulart. At least a couple of authors should be still recognized: Lester Dent (of Doc Savage fame) and Erie Stanley Gardner (of Perry Mason fame). Stories are of varying quality.

[Ben De Bono · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, a confession. I bought this book a number of years ago 100% because I have the sense of humor of a teenage boy. I didn't have any plans to read it. I just wanted to have a book called "The Hardboiled Dicks" on my shelf.

I finally got around to reading it this summer. Glorious title aside, the stories are a great sampling of the bygone era of pulp detective fiction. Their literary quality is varying but, their value is more for the peak into their time than for the stories themselves.

Recommended for lovers of noir pulp fiction and dick jokes alike!

[AC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second rate pulps = third rate writing. For real aficionados. But others can skip it. None esp. appealed to me.

Erle Stanley Gardner, “Bird in the Hand” (1932). A ‘cerebral’, Raffles-like, Lester Leith story.
See: https://theinvisibleevent.com/2023/08...

Raoul Whitfield, “China Man” (1932). This is one of the Jo Gar stories. It feels (because it is) artificial. See Boris Drayluk’s interesting 2013 biography of Whitfield. A prolific Black Mask star (a writing machine), he was burned out by 1934; another ruined life — tragically ruined by alcohol, sexual passion (Amy Vanderbilt Thayer), and Tuberculosis. Very sad.

Lester Dent, “Angelfish” (1933). A highly regarded story, though it didn’t really work for me. Dent generally wrote to formula (by which he swore), but not when writing (as here) for Black Mask. For the formula, see Lester Dent’s Master Plot Formula apud Michael Moorcock, "How to Write a Book in Three Days": www.ghostwoods.com/2010/05/how-to-wri...

Norbert Davis, “Don’t Give Your Right Name” (1941). A Max Latin story: cp. https://thrillingdetective.com/2019/0...
See The Complete Cases of Max Latin (1988; with intro by John D. MacDonald): https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...

This collection also includes stories by the even more minor pulp writers like Frederick Nebel, Frank Gruber, Richard Sale, and John K. Butler (a “wingnut”) — which, perhaps, I’ll get to some day if those writers ever catch my attention.

[William Malmborg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic stories from back in the golden era of hardboiled detective fiction. My favorite was "Death on Eagle's Crag" by Frank Gruber which first appeared in a 1937 December issue of BLACK MASK followed by "Bird in the Hand" by Erle Stanley Gardner which first appeared in DETECTIVE FICTION WEEKLY in a 1932 April issue. Both stories had amazing little twists that I did not anticipate and clever actions by the 'heros' -- especially Lester Leith's little ploy in "Bird in the Hand". Every story was incredibly entertaining and brought me back to the 30s in a way that history books just can't. Highly recommended.

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great selection of 30s pulp crime.

[Brett Bosley · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, this was a compilation of pulp detective stories from between the wars. I wasn't entirely sure if the title was tongue-in-cheek or not when I got it (it wasn't.) Some were pretty good, some less so, but none put me to sleep. Nice reading list included.

[Paul W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much. I read it when I was young and still remember it. I first started it because of the title and wow, what a fantastic book.

[Philip Clum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure fun!

[Thrillaminute · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of fun. The Saint in Silver by John Butler and Winter Kill by Frederick Nebel were standouts but all the stories were enjoyable.

[Rishindra Chinta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of eight hard-boiled mystery novelettes and they're all pretty good. I particularly liked "Don't Give Your Right Name" by Norbert Davis, "The Saint in Silver" by John K. Butler, and "Bird in the Hand" by Erle Stanley Gardner. I liked that most of these stories were by authors who are kind of obscure now (at least I'm assuming they're obscure, since I've only heard of Gardner and Lester Dent (the author of the Doc Savage books)).

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fun! Recommended.