Johnny Temple
Author of USA Noir: Best of the Akashic Noir Series
Works by Johnny Temple
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Gender
- male
- Occupations
- publisher
editor
bass guitarist - Organizations
- Brooklyn Literary Council
- Short biography
- [from Akashic Books website]
Johnny Temple is the publisher and editor in chief of Akashic Books, an award-winning Brooklyn-based independent company dedicated to publishing urban literary fiction and political nonfiction. Temple won the 2013 Ellery Queen Award; the American Association of Publishers' 2005 Miriam Bass Award for Creativity in Independent Publishing; and the 2010 Jay and Deen Kogan Award for Excellence in Noir Literature. Temple plays bass guitar in the band Girls Against Boys, which has toured extensively across the globe and released numerous albums on independent and major record companies. He has contributed articles and political essays to various publications, including the Nation, Publishers Weekly, AlterNet, Poets & Writers, and BookForum. He is also the chair of the Brooklyn Literary Council, which works with Brooklyn's borough president to plan the annual Brooklyn Book Festival in September. He is the editor of USA Noir. - Nationality
- USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Reviews
Akashic books has an extensive series of these "noir" anthologies, each set in a different city or region. As the title suggests, this volume features selected standout stories from the previous books, excluding the ones set in places outside the US.
As with any collection of stories, I liked some of these better than others, but on the whole it's an extremely high-quality anthology. (And, at 500+ pages, quite a meaty one, as well.) Some of these pieces are heavy on the plot, but I'd say most show more of them put more emphasis on character and atmosphere and a sense of place. Pretty much all of them are well-written. And they share a remarkably consistent feel. These are stories about the downtrodden, the damaged, and the corrupt, of people who strive hopelessly for something better or who suffer quietly under their burden of desperation until it bursts forth into violence, people who fall prey to the ugliness around them or give in and become part of it. It's actually given me a new, much more well-defined sense of exactly what that word "noir" means. Because, clearly, this is what it means.
Definitely recommended, if this sort of thing sounds at all like something you'd be interested in. I might recommend not reading it through too quickly, though, as it can get pretty darned depressing.
Now, I just want to know when they're going to think of my home state and come out with a New Mexico Noir. Come on, guys! Breaking Bad has left a large gap to fill! show less
As with any collection of stories, I liked some of these better than others, but on the whole it's an extremely high-quality anthology. (And, at 500+ pages, quite a meaty one, as well.) Some of these pieces are heavy on the plot, but I'd say most show more of them put more emphasis on character and atmosphere and a sense of place. Pretty much all of them are well-written. And they share a remarkably consistent feel. These are stories about the downtrodden, the damaged, and the corrupt, of people who strive hopelessly for something better or who suffer quietly under their burden of desperation until it bursts forth into violence, people who fall prey to the ugliness around them or give in and become part of it. It's actually given me a new, much more well-defined sense of exactly what that word "noir" means. Because, clearly, this is what it means.
Definitely recommended, if this sort of thing sounds at all like something you'd be interested in. I might recommend not reading it through too quickly, though, as it can get pretty darned depressing.
Now, I just want to know when they're going to think of my home state and come out with a New Mexico Noir. Come on, guys! Breaking Bad has left a large gap to fill! show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.I have read three volumes in the Akashic Noir series and found each one (from Baltimore to Richmond to Venice) simply disappointing, with little to offer beyond crime story novelty and geographical curiosity. Book after book seemed to be built from a collection of available writers; anyone with a few professional credits and a "yeah, I bet I can do that" attitude was getting in.
This best-of collection has the benefit of finally exposing the handful of diamonds this endeavor has produced. show more Quickly scan the contributors' bios and it is clear why. This is a large set of stories by experienced novelists and short story writers, many heavily awarded in the mystery and crime fiction field. The journalists dabbling in fiction and colorful local characters' contributions are left in the place-bound souvenirs where they belong. This book is what you've wanted out of Akashic Noir ever since you learned it existed.
This is one small downside worth mentioning, although easy to take given the size of this book: Some of the stories by the bigger selling writers don't belong. Michael Connelly's seems not more than an excuse to use research discarded from a higher profile project. T. Jefferson Parker's "Vic Primeval" is puzzlingly awful. show less
This best-of collection has the benefit of finally exposing the handful of diamonds this endeavor has produced. show more Quickly scan the contributors' bios and it is clear why. This is a large set of stories by experienced novelists and short story writers, many heavily awarded in the mystery and crime fiction field. The journalists dabbling in fiction and colorful local characters' contributions are left in the place-bound souvenirs where they belong. This book is what you've wanted out of Akashic Noir ever since you learned it existed.
This is one small downside worth mentioning, although easy to take given the size of this book: Some of the stories by the bigger selling writers don't belong. Michael Connelly's seems not more than an excuse to use research discarded from a higher profile project. T. Jefferson Parker's "Vic Primeval" is puzzlingly awful. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.I'm not sure what I expected when I requested this book. Actually - I do know...I had the idea that anything with "noir" would be some kind of Sam Spade detective collection. That led me to question why I was requesting it- I'm not a big detective novel fan.
Fortunately, my understanding of noir was a little off. The stories, each with its own dark twists and turns for the most part, didn't deal with detectives. The handful that did were still enjoyable. The talent was pretty much level show more throughout, making the collection a nice read. I'd recommend this collection and based on the strength of the talent here, even though it's a "best of the best" situation, I'd probably pick up the collections from the different regions - or at least areas I know personally. show less
Fortunately, my understanding of noir was a little off. The stories, each with its own dark twists and turns for the most part, didn't deal with detectives. The handful that did were still enjoyable. The talent was pretty much level show more throughout, making the collection a nice read. I'd recommend this collection and based on the strength of the talent here, even though it's a "best of the best" situation, I'd probably pick up the collections from the different regions - or at least areas I know personally. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
This is the first of Akashic's noir series that I read, but I have been looking at them for a long time, trying to choose which locale to go for - this one solves part of that issue, since it gathers the best of the American collections into one. And, the editor has done very well indeed - there's quite a wide spread, topic-wise, but most fit into the noir genre in their own distinct way. I've heard of the other collections that they tend to have a few great stories, a few good, and quite a show more lot of mediocre, but this one is the other way around; most of these stories are extremely evocative and only three of them I didn't care for at all (one of them I couldn't tell you what it was about if you paid me). Now I just have to figure which of the international collections to go for next. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 2
- Members
- 100
- Popularity
- #190,119
- Rating
- 3.7
- Reviews
- 11
- ISBNs
- 8
- Languages
- 2
