MINDBEAST

 

MINDBEAST

A Vermin Adventure

By Darryle Purcell

Offbeat Publishing

180 pgs

 

“Mindbeast” is the second in the new Vermin series by veteran pulpster, Darryle Purcell. The Vermin, dreaded foe of villainy, is in reality gifted cartoonist Vernon Jiles who has the ability to create life-like illusions and twist people’s perception of reality. He also brings to life the animal heroes and villains of his comic books. In this second adventure, which takes places a little over year since the first, Vernon has married Tenacity, his inking assistant and they have a baby boy named Vincent.

As the tale opens, several giant monsters appear in various locals around their home; one on an old western movie lot and the other down the street from their studios. Vernon quickly deduces the monsters are mere illusions much like those he weaves as the Vermin. The logical, and frightening, conclusion is there exist someone else with his abilities. Only this other illusionist is possessed with the obsession to amass power and wealth regardless of who he has to destroy to obtain it.

Then when this twisted soul joins forces with one of the Vermin’s old red terrorist foes, the action amps up fast. Once again, Purcell’s exuberant imagination is on full display and he spins a fast pace adventure filled with tons of action, awesome and fun heroes and truly merciless, black-hearted baddies. This is old fashioned, fun pulp at its finest.

LEVON'S KIN

 

LEVON’S KIN

By Chuck Dixon

Rough Edges Press

241 pgs

 

Even since discovering this series a year ago, with book seven, “Levon’s Home,” we’ve been playing catch up. Both going back to the first “Levon’s Trade” and jumping ahead to the newer titles. We are also well aware that there is a proposed film in the works. It will be based on a film script by Sylvester Stallone and star Jason Statham. That we are excited by that prospect is an understatement.

 

Okay, so on to “Levon’s Kin,” i.e. volume five. After the events in the cold wilds of Maine, Cade and his daughter, Merry, return to his home in Alabama to find rest and peace with his Uncle Fern; a rough old codger living in the backwoods with his three dogs. No sooner are they settled in when Cade’s half-brother, Dale, suggest they go hunting together after wild boars. Cade agrees but soon discovers he’s been duped in helping Dale destroy a hidden meth-lab operated by Mexican illegal’s; members of a dangerous cartel.  

Within days of that event, other Hispanics arrive and brutalize their counter-parts, a redneck outlaw family also in the meth business believing them to be guilty of the attack on their base. And just like that a blood war is ranging in the hills and bodies from both camps are piling up. When Cade realizes his loved ones are vulnerable and will eventually become collateral damage, he goes on the offensive.

Dixon crams more action in a single Levon Cade thriller than most writers do in a half dozen books. Many times, while devouring this chapter, we found ourselves recalling those days, after coming home from Vietnam, when we discovered Don Pendleton’s Executioner tales. Honestly, Levon Cade is the rightful heir to Mack Bolan. Oh, yeah.