The two most obvious statements that can be made about John D. MacDonald as a writer are, one, that he is prolific (sixty-three novels and hundreds of short stories to date) and, two, that he is immensely popular (at least twenty-six of his titles have sold more than a million copies each). While popularity is certainly no assurance of quality, neither is it necessarily evidence of inferior work. What is readily apparent to any reader of MacDonald's novels is that he is a writer of great versatility and talent whose high standards have combined with high productivity to produce a significant body of outstanding fiction.
Slip F-18, Bahia Mar, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, has become as famous an address as Sherlock's Holmes's 221b Baker Street flat or Nero Wolfe's West 35th Street brownstone…. Travis McGee has joined the small but select company of fictional characters who manage to transcend the boundaries of the books in which they appear. However, thanks to MacDonald's care in creating a character with substance as well as stature, McGee has also become an effective spokesman for public and private themes. An endlessly fascinating man, his growth, development, and faithful adherence to principles of moral behavior in an increasingly amoral world are sources of continuing interest. Equally important, he serves as a prism through which MacDonald is able to reflect his own views and opinions on dozens of issues of contemporary relevance. Whether assailing the venality and corruption he sees around him, bemoaning the regrettable decline in the quality of much of our contemporary culture, or deploring the shameless assaults on the environment, McGee has become an impassioned commentator on the way we live today—a feature that elevates his exciting adventures to a level of seriousness beyond mere escapist entertainment.
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