It became evident recently that I was guilty of severe child neglect: my older son had reached his 10th birthday without seeing Raiders, Temple or Last Crusade. Naturally, we remedied this unacceptable situation as soon as possible.

So here’s the thing about Indy. They aren’t high art. They aren’t making deep statements. They’re not even ambitious for action movies. But the thing they are – fun, light-hearted pulp thrillers – they are perfectly.

As a reader, I appreciate this. As a writer, I need to learn how to hit a target with such flawless aim. Somebody could write (probably somebody has written) a thesis on why they do what they do so well. Me, I’m still thinking about it. For now, I’d like to identify a few more “lowbrow” works that are unabashedly – and brilliantly –  just what they are.

Robert Parker’s Spenser novels.
Beat the Reaper, by Josh Bazzell
The music of Korpiklaani and Jackyl
The Princess Bride
Fritz Lieber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series

There are many more. Sadly, they are outnumbered by pretentious works by people who think they should do more with something that would have been fine just being entertaining.

Just my two cents. Thanks for listening.