Slog - Comments on Tony Hillerman http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/tony_hillerman The tremendously popular author of 18 mystery novels set on Navajo reservations is dead at 83. I've always meant to read one—he was one of the few contemporary series mystery authors who was praised for the high quality of his prose—but I have not as of yet.... Copyright 2008 Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:00:00 -0800 Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:01:49 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by rtm Paul,

you should read a couple. he is a cut above most series mystery authors.

]]> rtm http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/tony_hillerman#c1183743 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/tony_hillerman#c1183743 Books Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:04:52 -0800 Comment by Nora I've read him--he's very good.

But Ruth Rendell is a fabulous writer PERIOD, not just a good mystery author.

]]> Nora http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/tony_hillerman#c1183744 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/tony_hillerman#c1183744 Books Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:06:29 -0800 Comment by Uncle Vinny I always assumed Tony Hillerman was the same as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hillerman, Higgins from Magnum, PI.

]]> Uncle Vinny http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/tony_hillerman#c1183751 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/tony_hillerman#c1183751 Books Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:18:26 -0800 Comment by Postman I think his first book was "Fly on the Wall," a wonderful story about a New Mexico legislative reporter caught up in a murder mystery. I've read a lot of books about reporters and "Fly on the Wall" is one of my all-time favorite depictions of the trade.

Start with that one Paul and you won't be disappointed.

]]> Postman http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/tony_hillerman#c1183770 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/tony_hillerman#c1183770 Books Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:34:35 -0800 Comment by Luisita PhD Oh shit. . so sad. Such good books too. Nasty, ratty villains, and clever cops Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. Good descriptions of weather too.

Paul get off your butt and read one of his novels.

Damn right, que descanse en paz Tony

]]> Luisita PhD http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/tony_hillerman#c1183771 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/tony_hillerman#c1183771 Books Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:34:45 -0800 Comment by inkweary He was one of my favorite I-need-a-book-for-the-plane-authors. His plots were clever, his characters were always interesting, and the pacing was great. His careful research into his First Nations characters and their sociolgy was an added bonus.

]]> inkweary http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/tony_hillerman#c1183811 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/tony_hillerman#c1183811 Books Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:13:40 -0800 Comment by beckaboo Oh god, that's heart breaking. I've been reading his books since I was ten. My mother, father and I would pass them around. He hasn't put anything out for a few years, but I kept hoping for another Jim Chee book.

]]> beckaboo http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/tony_hillerman#c1183829 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/tony_hillerman#c1183829 Books Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:25:17 -0800 Comment by Bruce Garrett I loved his stories. They introduced me to a different kind of mystery plot. Mysteries of motive, as opposed to mysteries of means. In the stories I'd read in my schoolboy years, you solved the puzzle by figuring out how it was done. In Hillerman's stories it was always the 'why' of it that was critical. I loved that. I loved that his stories were so character driven. I loved that they were tied so closely to the landscape of the four-corners, one of my favorite places in the world to wander.

]]> Bruce Garrett http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/tony_hillerman#c1183990 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/tony_hillerman#c1183990 Books Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:01:49 -0800