Pulp fiction is arguably the foundation of American Literature. Not only did Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke, Block, Lovecraft, Burroughs and hundreds of others come from this highly stylized commercial writing form, but it is also the foundation of much of American Film and mythology.
Mystery and Suspence genres simply would not be what they are today without the crop of writers trained under the pulp deadlines and spareness of prose.
From these subgenres of Pulp come some of my favorite authors.
Most notably is Jim Thompson, the author of Pop 1280 and The Grifters, which was turned into a movie starring Angelica Huston and John Cusack.
Second is Patricia Highsmith, the author of the The Ripley novels.
The Talented Mr. Ripley, starring Matt Damon, is based on her most famous character.
I love hard boiled novels. Mike Danger, Mickey Spillane, Dashiel Hammett, and the rest.
Anyone else?
Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke and a myriad of other Sci Fi writers were my staples as a pre teen, teen, and young adult. I loved em then and still do... :)
Charles Willeford
early pulp like The Pick Up, later books like Cockfighter ,
the Hoke Mosely quartet, starting with Miami Blues,
(not counting the unpublished Grimehaven.)
two excellent memoirs,
I Was Searching For A Street, and Something About A Soldier.
and many more .
The sensibility of Tarantino's early films is pure Willeford.
Read Miami Blues, Willeford really gets Florida.
It was made into a movie (Fred Ward, Alec Baldwin, Jennifer Jason Leigh)
and Cockfighterwas also a film, by the same guy who did
Two Lane Blacktop
Lovecraft is great and F Paul Wilson is my modern day favorite disciple. Recomend Repairman Jack if you like the pulp style.
I read Conspiracies first and it is toss up if it or the Tomb is my favorite and Crisscross pokes good fun at Scientology but I read them all as soon as they come out. The Tomb is the first of the Repairman Jack novels but like the Wiki article it wasn't part of a repairman Jack series it was part of the Adversary cycle which is several different characters that come together in the sixth novel. The Tomb is where I would start as a sample of F Paul Wilson's work. The Keep(not a Repairman Jack Novel but part of the Adversary Cycle) has a great premise of with Natzis,Jewish scholars,Gypsies,mythic hero and bad ass evil monster coming together for two weeks of fun. The movie something the author regrets on this one.
By the way is the spelling actually Nazi.
http://www.repairmanjack.com/ (http://www.repairmanjack.com/)
Just so I can brag to any fellow Repairman Jack fans I have the Original 1979 copy of heroic Fantasy with the F. Paul Wilson short story "Demon Song" Glaken and Rasolom's first appearance.
My favorite Lovecraft collection The Doom that came to Sarnath. It has been many years since I read it I think I will break it back out. I will also pick up Quest of Iranon after the new year holiday.