I woke up this morning remembering how MacDonald would have his character ruminate about culture and technology. For example, he wrote about the Casio red LED watch, and how—because leaving the display on would drain the battery—you had to push a button to see the time. That made it similar to a pocket watch: you had to actively seek out the time, which kept the constant awareness of time from intruding on your life.
It also got me trying to recall which book included his thoughts on providing slightly misleading information on forms that would go into databases—like a wrong birthday on one form, or a slightly incorrect address on another. It seemed like a quirky idea then, but it feels even more timely now.
I’m planning to revisit some of the books; it’s been years. I remember my favorites being Nightmare in Pink and One Fearful Yellow Eye.
It all reminded me how MacDonald often ruminated on technology and privacy. I dislike the phrase “ahead of his time,” but it might apply here.
Does anyone still read these?
by OhK4Foo7
2 Comments
I reread Gold a few years back. A little (ok, well, quite a little) dated as you’d expect, but MacDonald is a pro’s pro. I think they are all solid up to Turquoise or maybe Lemon, after that it definitely drops off. I actually prefer his stand alones now, and there are a whole bunch of those.
There are reprints from 2013 on Amazon, so they must have had enough of an audience still to make that worthwhile.
My parents still have the first run paperbacks. My brother was named after Travis McGee.