Mark Timlin

[benedictjjones]

picked up 'Sharman and other Filth' last week - great stuff! really enjoyed the Sharman short stories and the 'Filth' novella was decent and although written before reminded me of Hutson's 'Exit Wounds'. the non-sharman short that started the book was only okay but that was the only weak point.

has anyone read the Sharman novels? any good? also i never saw the TV series worth a watch or a bit poo?

[andydecker]

I read one of the early Timlin decades ago. At the time I had problems with the idea of a british P.I. It seemed so, well. unrealistic compared to Philip Marlowe and the dark streets of tinseltown.

But I remember some surprising violence with sawed off shotguns.

[pulphack]

hey ben, i've read all bar Falls The Shadow (which you can't get for love nor money!), and would thoroughly recommend them. based on what else you've liked over the years, i think you'll love them.

there are about 16 in all, and the early ones are tough, but as the years progressed by the end of the 90's although they were still tight, taut and violent, he's painted himself into a corner where the violence got more hyper as he tried to up the ante, so some of the rawness was lost to an almost cartoon element. having said that, i still loved them. the last two at the time - Quick Before They Catch Us and All The Dark Places - were back to the old form. there was then a long hiatus in which he wrote the wonderful Answers From The Grave, a big book and maybe his stab at the great British novel - if the GBN could be blood soaked and on speed. that's recently been revised and republished as Guns From Brixton, and i don't know what he's done to revise as i haven't read it yet. there's also a new Sharman which has terrible notices from hardened Timlin fans, so i'll approach with caution.

the Sharman series was a bit arse at the time (though i like Clive Owen) as there was no way it could be as violent and filthy as the book on ITV! saw some re-runs on a cable channel a few years back, and it was very stylised and of its time, so quite interesting; Network have put it out on dvd, but don't invest unless you read the books and can't get enough of Sharman...

i always wondered if the reason ITV canned it for so long was because of Timlin's brief experience of being asked to write for the Bill, which ended up with the producer getting a broken nose. Timlin could often be seen tearing it up at crime fiction conventions, and was Derek Raymond/Robin Cook's unofficial minder in his later years. the rock'n'roll Sharmans have some of the best rock related fiction of anything as Timlin was a roadie/ tour manager/ minder for the likes of Marc Bolan and The Who, and a bit of rock pig geezer in his day.

his own website is arse, but The World Of Nick Sharman has a good bibliography, as Timlin also did some interesting looking erotica, some of those SAS series books, and a couple of other things under pseudonyms.

he's the closest the late 80's and 90's came to true pulp madness in the UK, and a splendidly focused writer. you could rip holes in his style, but it doesn;t matter, as he knows what he wants to achieve and throws out anything that would detract from this (which of course is what most critics hate, as they like writers to show how clever they are).

go for Pretend We're Dead or The Street That Rhymed At 3AM if given the option - great starting points, but then maybe i'm only saying that as they're my favourites!

[andydecker]

May 10, 2011 19:15:58 GMT pulphack said:

Pretend We're Dead or The Street That Rhymed At 3AM

Great titles.

[benedictjjones]

cheers!!

"The Street That Rhymed At 3AM " - they have that in the shop where i bought 'sharman and other filth' for about £3 - so i'll grab that as soon as i can.

i'd read a bit about Sharman before and was a little put off by all the guns etc. (for a british PI) but really liked the short stuff.

thanks again for the advice.

[nick]

hi,

find out more about Mark Timlin's books at nicksharman.co.uk

I run the site so get in touch if you need any more info

[stuyoung]

I read a few Timlin books back in the '90s and they were good fun, although as has been pointed out they could get a bit cartoonish in their use of violence. Recently fancied trying them again and picked up Romeo's Tune and Pretend We're Dead which, if IIRC, was the first one I ever read.

[stuyoung]

Nick, I forgot to mention that I was looking at the Sharman site just before stumbling across this thread. Nice looking site. I enjoyed the article on the Sharman books.

[stuyoung]

I read Timlin's All the Empty Places yesterday. A fun read even if I did see the twist coming a mile off.

[benedictjjones]

reading 'the street that rhymed at 3 AM' - great stuff, should be able to finish it at lunch time.

[benedictjjones]

have ended with about 6 of the sharman novels since i first started this thread! they can be ott but i do enjoy them.

[ltd]

May 31, 2011 22:38:37 GMT stuyoung said:

I read a few Timlin books back in the '90s and they were good fun, although as has been pointed out they could get a bit cartoonish in their use of violence. 

I enjoyed the early ones, they had a good feel for South London lowlife, but I'd agree they became more cartoonish as they went on. Sharman mowing down assorted scumbags with heavy duty ordnance started to get a bit silly.