ANGEL OF DEATH

 

ANGEL OF DEATH

A Pendergast Novel

By Preston& Child

Grand Centra Publishing

333 pages

 

“Angel of Death is the 22^nd Agent Pendergast novel by writers Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. It is most likely the last. The book is the second half of a story begun in the previous outing, “The Cabinet of Dr. Leng.” In that adventure, Pendergast’s ward, and paramour, Constance Greene has travel into the past of New York City circa 1881 to rescue her brother and sister from the genius madman, Doctor Leng. Upon discovering this, Pendergast, accompanied by his loyal friend, Detective Vincent D’Agosta, follows her. There they discover Constance has created a new persona for herself and woven an elaborate plan to destroy her nemesis. Unfortunately, despite her own cunning, Constance has been exposed and is now at the mercy of Dr. Leng. He threatens to murder her siblings unless he gives him the formula for immortality. 

If you’ve never read a Pendergast adventure before, this isn’t the place to start. In fact, this reviewer would logically assume this final entry was dedicated to the legion of Pendergast fans around the world. Yes, the series has been that popular and is clearly one of the most exciting pulp sagas ever created. In “Angel of Death,” our heroes match wits Leng, a cruel and soulless master strategist. If they fail, the threat is he will somehow travel into our present time and pose a threat to all of mankind. As a finale, this is a gripping, suspenseful entry and a most satisfying conclusion to what has been one hell of a literary thrill ride.

EARTH SWAP

 

EARTH SWAP

By Dale Cozort

Chisel & Stone Publishing

377 pages

 

Imagine parallel worlds. On ours, we have yet to travel to the planets in our Solar System. Thus is the case for Ward Parke, his siter Katrina and best friend Stan Baird. Then one night, while star gazing, they realize they are no longer in our universe by the difference they see in the heavens. In fact, our Earth and somehow been swamped with another Earth from another world. Thus, our Earth was no ensconced in a dimension where Mars and Venus had been colonized, where the moon was inhabited and all these various human factions were caught in the middle of a bloody interplanetary war.  

Then, as if to add fuel to the fire, a mysterious, white skinned Venusian woman named Pandora crash-lands near Ward’s home. In her possession are black stones containing one of the oldest libraries of knowledge ever created. It is a prize all three factions are desperate to get their hands on. Baird believes the woman, who he christens Pandora, is somehow involved with the Earth switch, but before that can be explored, Ward’s ex-wife, Pat, steals the rock-library and disappears back to their country town. Whereas he is busy, being the President’s Science Advisor, Ward sends Stand and Katrina after her.  

Cozort has over the years cemented his reputation as the writer of alternate world thrillers and “Earth Swap” may be his most ambitious effort to date. Note, it is not an easy read, as there are several off-world subplots and soon get entangled with the human cast and at times things get confusing. But for the reader willing to sign, the story soon becomes a non-stop adventure ending with an all-out space battle that would have done E.E. Smith proud.

WEASELS RIPPED MY FLESH!

 

WEASELS RIPPED MY FLESH

Edited by Robert Deis & Wyatt Dole

with Josh Allan Friedman

# new texture

432 pgs

 

The literary evolution of American literature has had many branches; none more vital than what has always been referred to as populace fare. In other words, fiction that appealed to masses, regardless of their economic status or education background. The heart of this thread has been Pulp Fiction from its earliest iterations. Thriving in the 1930s and 40s, its rough paper format died out after World War II to be replaced by cheap paperbacks and Men’s Adventure Magazines, or MAMs.  

For the past decade, Robert Deis and Wyatt Doyle have been on a mission to not only shine a spotlight on those MAM titles, but to give bring credit to the talented writers and artists who created them. In this new, super packed anthology, they, along with co-editor Josh Allan Friedman, have culled a dozen of the best, wildest and most insane tales to have appeared in various MAMs throughout the 50s, 60s and 70s. From cover to cover, this volume is a blast, both entertainingly and informatively. From its now infamous title to its witty closing essay by MAM’s editor Bruce Jay Friendman, this book is a treasure.