EARLY CRIMES

EARLY CRIMES

By Max Allan Collins

Perfect Crime Books

157 pages

All readers have favorite writers; those talented scribes who spin a yarn in a style and fashion that entertains our personal taste in fiction.  In the field of mystery fiction, Max Allan Collins, is one of mine and getting a new book with his name on it is always a cause for celebration.  Whereas this one is of particular significance as it collects three of Collins’ first ever attempts at crime writing and offers us a glimpse into his evolution as a writer.

The book, handsomely produced by Perfect Crime Books, features two of Collin’s short pieces that date back to his college days and a longer novella.  Believe me; digging into this book was akin to finding long lost treasure ala Indiana Jones.

“Public Servant,” is the first short and is clearly an homage to Jim Thompson’s classic “The Killer Inside Me,” which Collins admittedly confesses.  Still it has a sharp slicing bite like an innocuous paper-cut; looking innocent but leaving a trail of blood.  Whereas the second short, “The Rack,” is a tip of the pulp fedora to classic noir novels and films wherein the luckless protagonist, despite his best efforts, is doomed from the beginning and can do nothing but accept his damning fate.  It’s not a genre I’m particularly fond of and the less said here, the better.

The book’s real gem is the novella, “Shoot the Moon,” which is a twisted, funny crime caper that goes horribly wrong for two naive high school graduates.  Fred, who likes to gamble too much, and his best friend, Wheat, owe the school’s muscle bound football jock a lot of money.  When the jock’s bimbo cheerleader suggest they run naked through a wedding reception at a nearby by hotel, the boys agree to the stunt strictly to satisfy the debt.  What neither realizes is that the girl being married is the Police Chief’s daughter.  They are both caught, arrested for streaking and sentenced to lock up in the county jail for several months. 

That punishment isn’t very severe as the facility is used primarily to house inmates awaiting trial.  Those convicted of serious crimes are sent to the state penitentiary.  While serving their time, the lads make the acquaintances of Elam and Hopp, two older seasoned criminals, who con them into play cards to help pass the time.  Without giving away the plot, the boys get conned and, upon their release, go home thinking owe the crooks a few dollars.  A few weeks later, Elam and Hopps show up on their doorstep demanding thousands of dollars.  Then truth of their predicament descends on our heroes like the proverbial ton of bricks.

Once again they are in a jam because of a gambling debt only this time the buy-out isn’t going to be simple prank.  Ed and Hopp have their eye on a small bank in a nearby town and coerce Fred and Wheat to helping them rob it.  They do this by fabricating yet another lie which our gullible protagonist swallow, hook, line and sinker.

What happens next is an unexpected literary curve ball thrown at us by a truly gifted writer.  Collins has always had a penchant for infusing even his most gritty tales with off the wall comedy bordering on screwball antics.  In “Shoot the Moon,” he dishes it out in perfectly measured doses and Fred’s dire fate begins to spool out of control while he desperately tries to find a way and save himself and Wheat.

The plot threads come together so brilliantly at the conclusion, I was both shaking my head and laughing at the same time.  Honestly, this madcap crime tale would make a truly funny short film. Till then, do yourselves a favor, pick up a copy and laugh a little.  It’s good for the soul.

BLOOD AND STONE

BLOOD AND STONE

(Stone Soldiers # 3)

By C.E. Martin

ISBN # 978148481485

308 pages

No writer in the New Pulp movement writes more intense, all out battle action sequences than C.E. Martin.  His Stone Soldiers series, of which this is the third, is a unique blend of superhero dramatics blended with Tom Clancy style military encounters.  “Blood and Stone” wraps up the first story arc began with volume one, “Mythical,” as Colonel Mark Kenslir and his super soldiers of stone from Detachment 1039 confront the ancient monster-god Tezcahtlip in the heart of the Yucatan jungles.  It is there the ancient shape-shifter has set up his new empire posing as the Mayan deity Kukulcan.

Throughout this series, beside his hyper-pulp pacing, Martin has created some truly memorable characters to populate his over-the-top saga.  With “Blood and Stone,” he adds yet another remarkable player in Dr. Laura Olson, Kenslir’s vampire ally, who joins his team in leading the hunt for Tezcahtlip because in their first encounter, the beast ripped out her heart and ate it.  Sound outrageous?  You bet it is and becomes a pure adrenalin rush from cover to cover.

Our single nagging critique is that sometimes Martin gets caught up in his own gory excessiveness and it becomes repetitious.  The goal of all good writing is that every single sentence, paragraph and chapter is vital to the narrative.  Towards the middle of this adventure, we were stopped short by a chapter which, aside from displaying the villain’s inhuman cruelty, adds nothing new to the plot.  Because we were already well aware of the monster’s character, this entire chapter was pointless.  Martin would do well to enlist an experienced editor to help him recognize these excesses and help him avoid them in the future.

That being said, “Blood and Stone” is a terrific third volume in a very original concept and one this reviewer is eager to see expanded to other storylines. 

MARLOW : INDIGO TIDE

MARLOW : INDIGO TIDE

By Bill Craig

Whiz Bang LLC

167 pages

Rick Marlow was a New York City cop with a promising career of ahead of him.  One night, while answering a call about a body found in an alley, he was shot in the back by his own partner, Nolan, and left for dead.  He later discovers, after surviving multiple surgeries, that his pal had taken his own life after shooting Marlow; all because Nolan was a dirty copy and Internal Affairs was on to his sins.  Unfortunately for Marlow, the detectives of I.A. come to the conclusion that he too was crooked by association and began an harassment campaign hoping they could intimidate him into confessing his wrong doings.

Despite the fact there was absolutely no evidence against him, Marlow knew the investigators wouldn’t relent and thus he had no other option than to quite the force and seek employment elsewhere.  Who ever said life was fair? 

Marlow decided it was also time for a change of scenery.  At one time his deceased father had worked as a private investigator for a lawyer named Walter Loomis now practicing in Key West, Florida.  Taking what little he owned, Marlow headed south to find Loomis and offer to work for him in the same capacity as his father had once done.  Loomis, familiar with the young man’s plight and inexcusable treatment at the hands of the NYPD, accepts his offer and gives him a job.  A smart man, Loomis had been close to Marlow’s father and is willing to take a chance that Marlow is cut from the same cloth as his old friend.

Marlow’s first assignment is to find a young woman who has come into a sizeable inheritance from the death of her two grandfathers.  The girl had dropped out of sight months earlier and the executor of the estate wants her found to settle things.  Taking what little data provided by Loomis’ client, Marlow eagerly begins his hunt.  But what starts as a simple missing persons case soon escalates into something a whole lot deadlier and Marlow is suddenly crossing paths with one of Miami’s most powerful tycoons, dodging bullets, confronting outlaw bikers, and coming under the surveillance of the Cuban secret police.  What is it about this young woman that ignites such a storm of violence and why are very bad people doing their best to make sure Marlow doesn’t find her…alive?

Bill Craig is no stranger to well plotted, private eye capers, having created the Sam Decker series a few years ago much to acclaim of mystery fans.  With Rick Marlow he has another winner in envisioning a believable, world weary character with just enough honor to fight the good fight, protect the innocent and take on the bad guys even when the odds are stacked against him.  Marlow’s pedigree clearly harkens back to Sam Spade all the way to Jim Rockford and Craig never misses a beat.  This is familiar territory that never gets old when handled by a writer of his caliber.  Pick it up; the adventure is just beginning.

SPIRIT OF STEAMBOAT

SPIRIT OF STEAMBOAT

A Walt Longmire Story

By Craig Johnson

Viking

146 pages

“Spirit of Steamboat” is the best story I’ve read all year.  It is easily the best Walt Longmire story I’ve ever read and could perhaps be the best single piece of fiction Craig Johnson has ever written. 

Now let me back that all up.  The wonder of this little novella is how perfectly all the pieces fit together.  The plot is a gem of simplicity which then becomes the surface on which Johnson lays out some truly powerful moral tenets.

It is Christmas Eve, 1988, and newly elected Sheriff Longmire is given a challenge unlike any other he has ever faced before.  A ferocious winter storm has come barreling out of Canada and threatens to overwhelm most of the western states.   Due to the weather, a horrible highway accident has transpired leaving a very young girl the sole survivor of her family.  But she has suffered severe burns over her body and unless she can be flown to the Children’s Hospital in Denver, she will die.

Longmire is at the Durant, Wyoming airfield awaiting a Med-Evac helicopter bringing the patient and her grandmother to rendezvous with a fixed wing aircraft that will take them the rest of the way to Denver.  The problem is the storm has arrived earlier than predicted and made flying conditions impossible for any of the aircrafts housed at the airfield; all but one that is.  Set in the back of the giant hangar is an old B-25 Mitchell bomber from World War II named Steamboat after a legendary rodeo stallion by the same name.  When Longmire begins to suggest the possibilities of using the old warbird to complete their mercy flight, he’s told that not only is he crazy for suggestion such an idea but where in all of Wyoming is he going to find a qualified pilot to fly the old relic?

If you’re a fan of this series, you already know that Longmire’s predecessor, and mentor, is a cantankerous, one-legged old cowboy named Lucian Connally.  As it turns out, the former sheriff was a bomber pilot in the war who flew in General Jimmy Doolittle’s raid against Tokyo within weeks of American’s entry into the conflict.  Longmire manages to locate Connally and “recruit” him for the mission.  Connally in turn drafts the lovely Julie Luehrman, a local school teacher and pilot to be his co-pilot as he argues he’ll need someone with “two” legs to help him control big plane.

When the medical helicopter arrives with its precious cargo, Longmire is given another set-back.  Neither of the medics is willing to accompany them on the dangerous flight to Colorado aboard the vintage bomber.  They consider the flight impossible and neither is willing to risk their lives. And therein lies the moral center of this fable; just how valuable is any single life?  Is it really worth endangering many to save one?  For Walt Longmire, there is no complexity to that question whatsoever.  He knows the right thing to do regardless of the odds against them.  In the end, it is his good friend, Doctor Bloomfield who volunteers to go along and watch over their patient replacing the cowardly medics.

Once the Steamboat takes off into the whirling, white maelstrom, the story accelerates into a nail-biting adventure as these four good people dare to battle a raging blizzard to save the life of a little girl.  Flying on a wing and a prayer, finding courage deep within themselves, the crew of the Steamboat perform selflessly thus demonstrating by their actions all that is good and noble in humanity.

By the book’s poetic finale, I was emotionally wrung out.  “Spirit of Steamboat” is a book I plan on giving to friends as a Christmas gift this year.  It is a reading experience I want to share with them…and you.  But before that, I want to say to Craig Johnson, “Thank, you.”

GIDEON SMITH and the MECHANICAL GIRL

GIDEON SMITH and the MECHANICAL GIRL

By David Barnett

Tor Books

351 pages

Over the past few years, the sub-genre of Steampunk has gotten quite popular to the point of becoming a separate fandom entity with gatherings and conventions dedicated to it solely; from costuming to gadgetry.  The few books we’ve read in the vein have been truly enjoyable which was why we were delighted to get this new title from good folks at Tor books.

Whereas Steampunk and New Pulp often collide, that’s never been more apparent than in David Barnett’s wonderful, “Gideon Smith and the Mechanical Girl.”  In this alternate world, Gideon Smith is the son of a fisherman living in the quaint seaside village of Sandsend, England.  Although happy, Gideon dreams of being a hero and experiencing moments of high adventure like his favorite pulp hero, Captain Lucien Trigger; Hero of the Empire.  Then one day his life is turned upside by an act of violence; his father and his crew disappear while out to sea.  When the local constable is unable to help him solved the mystery, Gideon turns to a London writer named Bram Stoker who has come to Sandsend in hopes of finding inspiration for a new book he wants to write about vampires.

All too soon, ominous events befall the small town.  A foreign sailing ship goes aground with only a dead captain tied to the wheel and a savage wild dog aboard.  Next the local constable vanishes while exploring local caves and a young boy is accosted by a bizarre humanoid frog-like mummy.  Stoker is convinced a dark evil has come ashore and he supports Gideon’s plan to go to London and solicit the aid of his hero, Captain Trigger.

Along the way, Gideon discovers a life-like mechanical girl named Maria whose inventor has also gone missing leaving her in the care of a sadistic male servant.  Gideon rescues Maria and together they make their way to the capital in hopes of finding the answers to both their mysteries.  In the end, Gideon discovers the truth behind his glorified idol and must come to grasp with the reality that magazine heroes are all too often just fiction and nothing more.  To find the answers he seeks, he will have to challenge himself beyond his boyhood dreams and tackle overwhelming obstacles along the way.

Fortunately he is not alone in his grand quest as he inadvertently gathers a colorful  group of characters willing to accompany him.  Joining Stoker and the mechanical girl are a fat, obnoxious city reporter named Bent, Elizabeth Bathory, the widow of Count Dracula, a beautiful airship pilot and a notorious Texan outlaw.  Together their adventure leads them to through the streets of London and then to the exotic dessert sands of Egypt where an ancient weapon is being assembled by a madman with one goal; to destroy the British Empire.

From beginning to end, “Gideon Smith and the Mechanical Girl,” is a pure delight any pulp fan will enjoy.  Unlike many of the convoluted, modern day thrillers we are constantly bombarded with these days, it a glorious reminder of the classic high adventure tales of such writers as H.G. Wells, Jules Verne and Robert Louis Stevenson all delivered with unabashed bravura.  Barnett knows how to tell a whopper and the world he creates in this story is one this reviewer hopes to revisit often.  It sure beats the hell of reality.  

LEZ VAMPS

 LEZ VAMPS

Stories inspired by the art of Mark Wheatley

Edited by Gary Henry

Guest Reviewer Derrick Ferguson

See, I had no idea at all there there was even a Lesbian Vampire genre in print or movies. If I had, you can bet your sweet bippy I’d have been all over it in no time at all. Mark Wheatley explains it all in his highly entertaining introduction to LEZ VAMPS but I’ll give you the thumbnail: the short stories in LEZ VAMPS are based upon one of Mr. Wheatley’s paintings. His fans liked it so much a contest was launched to find the best short story based on that painting. And an extraordinary painting it is.  But don’t take my word for it.  Bounce on over to his Facebook fan page and check ‘em out for yourself.

Fortunately for us, the decision was made to collect some of the best entries into a digital anthology that is available for free. And it’s made a believer outta me when it come to the Lesbian Vampire genre.

But the first story “The Adoption” by James Smith wasn’t the one that did it for me. It’s the sort of story that as I was reading it I was way too aware of the fact that I was reading a story. It’s supposed to be humorous, I get that. But the overall effect on me was that of a guy in a bar jabbing you in your ribs with his elbow telling you what he thinks is the funniest joke in the world and you’re sitting there praying he’ll finish so you can get back to watching the ball game and drinking your beer.

“Boundary Dispute” by Cynthia and Mike Arsuaga did sell me on the premise, I’m happy to say and it should have been the first story in the book. This piece is drenched in sensual atmosphere and moodiness. Let’s face it, you give me a story that’s about Lesbian Vampires and I expect my fair share of erotic titillation. This story delivered exactly that.

“Lez Vamps” by Johnda Estep is what I call a Hit The Ground Running Story. It starts off fast and doesn’t let up. Most of it is carried along by dialog which is something I greatly admire in any writer as I feel my own work just doesn’t feel like if it has much meat unless I provide description. But some writers can convey exactly what they want to a reader by the skillful use of dialog and that’s what’s going on here. It’s a nice change up from the previous story which is heavy on description that feels like a heavy cloak wrapping around you. This one bounces back and forth and never slows down from start to finish.

Gordon Dymowski’s “Out There In The Night” is a straightforward story of vampire seduction. Mr. Dymowski tells a story that could easily be the beginning of a novel, if he wishes to take it further. But then again, he doesn’t have to. Between this story and “Boundary Dispute” I was beginning to get the whole thing about Vampire Lesbians…it’s not about sex and it’s really not even about the vampirism. It’s all about the seduction. Like the song says, that’s the hook that keeps you coming back and that’s the hook that kept me reading.

“Theatrics” by Bill Nichols did what I think “The Adoption” was trying to do: be a funny Lesbian Vampire story. The difference is that “Theatrics” actually is funny because Mr. Nichols got out of the way of his story and told the story instead of trying to impress me with how much of a funny guy he is.

“The Prey” by Askshat Sinha is really one that made me sit up and go ‘whoa’ because it started out to be one kind of story and subtly shifted into another so smoothly that I got blindsided and that’s exactly what I think the author was going for. This is the kind of story I read anthologies for and why I love them so much. “The Prey” has a gut punch of an ending I found very satisfying and enjoyable.

“The Undead” by Charles Baird also continues in that theme of seduction that I found I responded to in my favorite stories of this anthology. The sex and the actual vampirism is almost a byproduct of the way that the characters come into vampirism. They want to be seduced and they want to feel the overwhelming emotion of being pursued and seduced.  It’s like a drug and this story as well as “The Prey” and “Out There In The Night” communicates that very well.

“Vampires: A Short Essay” by Russ Rogers didn’t turn my crank at all.  Just like “The Adaption” it’s a story that came across to me as the writer trying to show how how hip and cool and funny he is rather than giving me a story worth my time to read.

There are a couple of poems in this anthology as well: “Night” by Johanda Estep and “Savior In The Tent Of Countess Reynardine” by Steffan Gilbert” that I didn’t review because when it comes down to poetry, I am way outta my league. My appreciation of poetry begins and ends with Dr. Seuss and I’m not ashamed to admit it. But if if you’re a fan and appreciate erotic poetry then by all means, check out the two offerings and maybe you’ll get more out of them than I did.

So should you read LEZ VAMPS? Well, first of all it’s a free read so there’s that to take into account. And most of the stories are pretty good so I’d say Yes. As for me, I’m going to hunt up more movies and stories about this Lesbian Vampires genre apparently you guys have been hiding from me.

(This E-book is avaible for FREE at the following links.)

http://bit.ly/17XdOik
PDF
http://bit.ly/16tz9w0
MOBI
http://bit.ly/1funBAF

THE ADVENTURES OF GRAVEDIGGER

THE ADVENTURES OF GRAVEDIGGER

By Barry Reese

Pro Se Press

146 pages

The fun of any Barry Reese pulp fiction is that very element; the fun.  It is an inherent element in every thing he writers and this, the premier volume, of his latest new character series is no exception.

Charity Grace grew up on the way-way wrong side of the tracks in Sovereign City.  The end result of this hard-knock life was her becoming a petty thief and ultimately led to her violent murder.  But cosmic forces manifested by a mysterious Voice are not prepared to allow her eternal slumber just yet.  Instead, floating in a weird limbo state between life and non-existence, Charity is offered a proposition.  She will be allowed to return to the land of the living for a period of three years.  In that time she must become an agent of righteous vengeance and eliminate, permanently, all who prey on the innocent in Sovereign City.  In other words she will become a vigilante executioner.  Considering her only other option is most likely eternal damnation, Charity wisely accepts the Voice’s offer.

Once back, her body renewed with new found vigor and abilities, she soon learns that she is only one in a long line of such special avengers known by the name, Gravedigger, though she has the dubious distinction of being the first female to assume the role.  With the all too brief mentoring of the former Gravedigger and his big, black British assistance, Charity begins to adapt to her new role.  Of course this being pulp fiction, she soon finds herself coming up against an assortment of supernatural menaces to including the gruesome Headless Horseman of American folklore; only he now proves to be a real entity and nearly impossible to kill.

We could go on and on about the cool elements Reese throws into this heady pulp stew chief of which are the cameo guest appearances by two of his other popular heroes, the Rook and Lazarus Gray and their very different reactions to the Gravedigger’s arrival on the crime-fighting scene.  And then there’s the historical back story that adds even more mysterious layers to the plot and is a clever hook for future volumes.

“The Adventures of the Gravedigger,” is another winner from one of the most entertaining writers in New Pulp today.  And friends, that’s saying a whole lot.

THE AUSLANDER FILES

THE AUSLANDER FILES

By Michael Patrick Sullivan

Pulp 2.0 Press

110 pages

World War II has been raging for months when the white haired man awakens in a hotel room with no memory of who he is or what he is doing in America.  All he knows is that he speaks and thinks in German, vocally with an Austrian accent. So why is he in America?  And why does he have dreams that lead him to various cities where Nazis agents are about to launch acts of sabotage against US bases and interests?  Could it be that he planned those mission?  That he is the Nazis Master Spy and if he does get his memories back, will they prove him to be a heartless monster?

And therein lies the premise of the Auslander; a word that translates in German to mean alien.  With this enigmatic character, writer Michael Patrick Sullivan has created a truly original hero but with all the trappings of traditional pulp action.  This little booklet contains ten very short tales, each approximately 3,000 words in length that are quickly put forth, filled with frenetic pacing that never lets up.  Obviously being so short, there is no room for wasted exposition which is what makes each a gem of pulp fiction.

Sullivan also writes with a modern sensibility devoid of the melodramatic romances of the early pulps.  The Auslander kills, both the guilty and the innocent, to accomplish his missions and foil the saboteurs.  It’s a morally ambiguous line he is willing to cross time and time again.

Kudos to publisher Bill Cunningham and Pulp 2.0 for collecting these stories in a terrific paperback you don’t want to miss.  This reviewer is hoping we haven’t seen the last of the Auslander.

ALL TIMELINES LEAD TO ROME

ALL TIMELINES LEAD TO ROME

By Dale Cozort

Stairway Press

303 pages

So I’m at the Windy City Pulp & Paper show earlier this year having a conversation with crime novelist Terrence McCauley when a fellow walks up and hesitantly interrupts us. He introduces himself to Terrence and explains how they had both been finalist in a recent writing contest, with Terrence beating him out for the top prize.  At which point I’m then introduced to writer Dale Cozort who asks if I review books. I said yes and he handed me a copy of “All Timelines Lead to Rome.”  Believe me, we reviewers come by books in some truly interesting ways.

So here I am, months later, having worked my way through my To-Read-And-Review stack and there’s Cozort’s book.  Okay, I think, let’s see what this guy has to offer.  Answer, a whole lot, all of it good.  Within the first two chapters, I was hooked.  Cozort is a damn good writer with a gift for creating original characters that constantly surprised me by acting completely logical; a very rare occurrence in most of today’s fiction.  His dialogue is wonderfully fresh and realistic.

The plot revolves around American scientists in our world having discovered several natural portals that open into another, alternate earth.  On this other earth, the Roman Empire stagnated and Western European culture was never developed; thus indigenous races living in the Americas were allowed to evolve their own cultures far beyond anything we are familiar with today.  Because of the modern, instantaneous communication environment in our world, keeping the existence of the portals a secret is impossible and therefore the government creates a special department, the Bureau of Timeline Integrity – BTI, to guard and monitor the portals to Timeline X. 

When the headless body of young murdered woman is discovered possessing an ancient Roman scroll from Timeline X, Boston Detective Darla Smith is assigned to the case.  She travels to Chicago headquarters of the BTI to team with BTI Archeologist Scott White.  While investigating the murder, the two begin to suspect a wealthy computer outfit called Bergen Industries may have created their own portal and are using it to travel back and forth between worlds for some unfathomable scheme.

“All Timelines Lead to Rome,” is a deft mixture of science fiction and mystery thriller that moves at such an easy pace, it never bogs down.  The reader is instantly invested in the characters and their motivations that propel the action and builds to a memorable finale that is superbly realized.  This is one of those few books that, by the time I’d reached the last page, I was sorry to see it end.  Dale Cozort has set up a really plausible setting with richly complex characters in a story told with thought provoking imagination; the hallmark of any good science fiction.  Should he ever return to the world of BTI and Timeline X, I’ll be the first buy another ticket.  You should too.

CHARLES BOECKMAN PRESENTS JOHNNY NICKLE

CHARLES BOECKMAN PRESENTS JOHNNY NICKLE

Edited by David White

Pro Se Press

91 pages

Last year, veteran pulp writer, Charles Boeckman self-published a collection of his many short stories entitled, “Suspense, Suspicion & Shockers.”  At that time many of us involved with the New Pulp movement greeted this volume with a great deal of excitement and fanfare.  Here were 24 short pulp nuggets by one of the best wordsmith ever to pound a typewriter.  I recall giving the book a glowing reviewing, urging all my readers to pick up a copy.  (And yes, it is still available.)

Normally that’s where this story should end, but it doesn’t  Several weeks after Boeckman’s book made a splash, Pro Se Press Managing Editor Tommy Hancock, came up with the idea of producing brand new stories by other writers featuring some of Boeckman’s characters that has appeared in those shorts.  He put out the word throughout the pulp community grapevine and several writers took up the challenge; signing on to write these new stories.

CHARLES BOECKMAN PRESENTS JOHNNY NICKLE is the first result of this concept and it stars itinerant trumpet player, John Nickle, a footloose and fancy free musician trying to eke out a living with his horn during the post World War II era.  This slim volume features two stories.

“Notes in the Fog,” was written by Richard White and has Johnny and his new band, the Daybreakers, playing a gig in Monterey, California.  Keeping with the tradition of pulp pacing, we no sooner are made of aware of Johnny’s current situation when he is approached by the beautiful wife of an old buddy.  She tells the jazz man that her husband has been murdered by a known mobster but the authorities are unable to bring the gangster to justice.  It seems this powerful boss has half the local police in his pocket.  Of course Johnny doesn’t want any part of this, as he prefers to avoid bloodshed, particularly his own.

But within a few minutes of his encounter with the lovely widow, he’s roughed by two thugs and then witnesses the shooting death of a stranger.  Now the police are breathing down his neck.  “Notes in the Fog,” isn’t a bad story idea, but its execution and editing are shoddy.  It seems slapped together hurriedly without a clear plot path defined. Each scene, rather than clarifying the story seems to compound the confusion. 

As for editing, let me make this crystal clear, I do not have an issue with typos….ever. I found them in 100% (yes…100%) of the books I read.  It’s an imperfect world, live with it. So I do know how to ignore those little beasties, but what I cannot overlook is how, in two different places in this story, told in third person, the narrative jumps to first person.  Both instances stopped me cold and frustrated me greatly. 

“The Devil You Know,” by Brad Mengel completes the second half of this paperback and is the it’s saving grace.  Mengel’s writing is crisp, well thought out and wonderfully captures Boeckman’s characters; their personalities, nuances, etc.  He does this so well, the story feels like an extension of Boeckman’s tale, “Run, Cat, Run.”  Johnny and Nona Alexander, the widow of Bob Alexander from that solo story, are doing just fine with Johnny’s new band when they meet a slick agent named Captain Manning.  He wants his client, a young black guitarist, Connor Johnson, to audition for the band.  The talented guitar man soon demonstrates his skills much to Johnny’s delight and is soon playing and recording with the band.

But things are never quite that easy in the world of cool jazz. Connor has a way with the ladies and is soon flirting with the band’s torch singer, a sexy redhead who once dated the drummer, a tough bruiser with a mean jealous streak.  Then there is the young writer researching a book detailing the connections between the music world and the supernatural.  Rumors, suspiciously started by the boy’s agent, begin floating around that Connor, like the more famous Johnsons, may have sold his soul to Devil for the requisite fame and fortune.  When someone drops dead on stage during a live performance, all bets are off and the cops immediately zero in on Johnny Nickle because of his own notorious past.  Now it’s up to him and Nora to find the real killer and expose his, or her, twisted motivations.

Like any anthology, even one with only two entries, their level of appeal will vary.  In this case, “Notes in the Fog,” just doesn’t work.  Whereas “The Devil You Know,” is an excellent pulp yarn that truly pays homage to its source.  Brad Mengel is a gifted writer who delivers a quality effort. Whether that is enough to warrant picking this up, I leave to you, dear readers.

One final note may possibly tip the scales.  I rarely discuss a book’s cover or design, believing those are not the elements a reviewer should be focusing on.  Still, in the true tradition of the original pulps, JOHNNY NICKLE provides a gorgeous cover as rendered by Adam Shaw and slick packaging by Pro Se’s own Sean E. Ali.  Making this little book very, very easy on the eyes.

THE MAN FROM MARS

THE MAN FROM MARS

(Ray Palmer’s Amazing Pulp Journey)

By Fred Nadis

Tacher/Peguin Books

263 pages

The first time I ever heard about someone named Ray Palmer, it was in the pages of DC comics Silver Age title, “The Atom,” written by former pulp writer Gardner Fox with art by Gil Kane and edited by Julius Schwartz.  What I, and many of my kid colleagues didn’t know was that Schwartz had named the miniscule hero after the legendary science fiction pulp editor, Raymond Arthur Palmer (August 1, 1910 to August 15, 1977), one of the most colorful and controversial characters ever to put pen to paper.

And now we have “The Man From Mars,” by Fred Nadis, a truly remarkable, in-depth look at a unique, one-of-kind personality who both helped in the development of science fiction as a legitimate literary genre and was later accused by fanatical fans for having betrayed it by publishing works of sheer fantasy professing outlandish claims.

Crippled by an accident at the age of seven which broke his back, Palmer suffered a botched operation that stunted his growth and left him with a hunchback; he would never grow beyond four feet tall.  And yet there was an inimitable will inside him that burned like a spiritual nova propelling him to explore the world’s mysteries.  Credited with starting the first ever fanzine, The Comet, in 1930, Palmer would become a driving force in the sci-fi community until being hired to be the editor of Amazing Stories in 1938.

Nadis’s narrative is a rollicking, topsy-turvy ride through the ups and downs of one of the most fascinating personages in the cultural history of America.  Whether praised or vilified, it was clear Ray Palmer, nicknamed Rap, was an original and this volume is an honest look into both his life and the origins of “geekdom.”  If you are a fan of the pulps, comic books, science fiction, or occult mysticism, you will find something in this tale to make you sit up and take notice.

I am always leery of biographies, as too many do their subject matter a cruel disservice.  The last thing a book about a showman like Ray Palmer should ever be is dull and boring.  To Fred Nadis’ credit, “The Man From Mars” is truly anything but a fascinating and fun read from beginning to end.  Pick up a copy and get to know a truly amazing man.  You will be glad you did.

STEIN AND CANDLE Vol III Red Reunion

STEIN AND CANDLE Vol III

By Michael Panush

Curiosity Quills Press

232 pages

From the talented imagination of writer Michael Panush comes this third volume in the adventures of Mort Candle, a grizzled ex-Sergeant and his ward, the teenage occult expert Weatherby Stein.  Panush continues to chronicle their post World War II exploits as paranormal investigators and within these pages you’ll find the duo’s newest exploits as they travel the globe encountering all manner of supernatural monsters.  There are a total of six cases set forth here and each is a well presented pulp actioner, all worthy of the 1930s classics.

The book kicks off with our guys in Japan in “Trouble in Tokyo.”  They are hired by a police detective discover who it is attacking rival Yakuza clans and in the process fomenting a gangland war that could severely hamper the city’s reconstruction efforts.  Soon Candle and Stein aren’t only dealing with sword wielding crooks but a secret ninja clan controlling ancient Japanese creatures of mythology to wipe out their foes.  This one is exotic wall to wall action without let up from beginning to end.

The X-Files meets Happy Days in “Teenage Wasteland” when Weatherby goes undercover in a suburban high school to investigate teenagers meddling with the occult.  Along the way he encounters ethnic prejudices, an athletic bully and a Sandra Dee like blonde beauty that turns his head and melts his heart.  Easily one of the weirder but most enjoyable stories in this series yet.

Then there is “Lounge Lizard” wherein our heroes head for Lake Tahoe to find a missing crooner who has run off with the his boss’ cash. This leads them into a deadly parallel world of dinosaurs and their lizard-men riders.  Exactly the mishmash Panush excels at.  Whereas in “Drac’s Back,” Castle, short on funds, accepts an assignment from a group of American vampires to help them travel to Transylvania and resurrect the greatest bloodsucker of them all, Count Dracula.  Stein is opposed to the idea and has good reason to be.  It doesn’t turn out well.

The fifth tale, “Stein Family Reunion,” has Mort and Weatherby in San Francisco encountering Adam, a monstrous individual created from parts of dead bodies by an earlier member of the Stein clan.  Thus do our heroes come to the aid of one of the most iconic monsters in English fiction.  After introducing Dracula to the series, we just knew “the monster” couldn’t be far behind.  

The book wraps up with “Big City Showdown,” parts one and two and is the longest single Stein and Candle adventure yet.  And it deserves that extra space as it has a sense of climatic finality to it.  Dracula and the Stein’s twisted wizard ancestor, the Viscount Wagner Stein, team up in New York with an audacious plan to conquer America.  The challenges these two powerful entities posed singularly proved to be difficult to our heroes in past encounters.  Now combined, they are virtually unbeatable; unless that is, our two occult detectives can assemble their own team to battle them.  And this is exactly what transpires until almost every major supporting character in the series reappears for this one cataclysmic confrontation between the forces of good and evil.  

There is a definitive air of closure by the story’s end that had this reader both pleased and sad.  If this is the end of the Stein and Candle Detective Agency, then they go out on a grand note that we applaud.  But we truly hope this isn’t the last chapter in one of New Pulp’s most imaginative series ever created.  Please, Michael Panush, we want more!

SWEET MONEY WON

SWEET MONEY WON

By Mycroft Magnusson

ISBN -13:978-1481952811

401 pages

Here’s a trick question for you.  Can any well written book ever be too long for its own good?  I would have thought that impossible until reading “Sweet Money Won.”  Which is going to make this review a delicate balancing act as I want all of you to understand how much I truly liked this book; in many, many ways.  Save one.  So allow me to applaud what is a truly superbly well crafted crime comedy reminiscent of Elmore Leonard’s best efforts.

Rick and Liam are two small time conmen living in the seedy Koreatown section of Los Angeles.  They survive hand to mouth on their meager rewards for the small cons they perpetuate, mostly on middle-class tourist visiting L.A. for the first time.  Magnusson deftly defines both their personalities so that they immediately appealed to this reader.  Liam, the smarter of the two, is the philosophical gambling addict who loves the Boston Patriots whereas Rick is the more reckless, by-the-seat-of-his-pants character who has a  problem with pornography and sex, the latter being what gets them both into a world of hurt.

When Rick takes their entire money reserve to rescue a Russian porn-princess named Svetlana, whom he’s met on-line, from her muscle-bound pimps, he puts them both in harms way.  Liam had placed a bet on a Patriot’s game, the cash being his debt should the Pats lose.  Of course the Pats lose and the Korean strong-arm bookies are none too pleased when Liam doesn’t have the money to cover his bet.  Now he and Rick have just twenty-four hours to come up with twenty thousand dollars.  It is at this point when  Svetlana agrees to help the boys by having sex with and then blackmailing a rich, up and coming congressman.

Reading “Sweet Money Won” is a truly engrossing, fun literary escapade that plays fast and loose with gunfire pacing.  Again, Magnusson’s prose is both insightful and inventive when it needs to be.  His writing is what is excellent and why I’m recommending you pick up a copy of this top-notch crime novel.

But Magnusson has to learn when scenes are extraneous and should be cut.  Any scene that does not serve the plot should be excised and there are several of these that frustrated me.  Rick’s Mexican weekend and Liam’s sports ticket scam are both unnecessary. A good editor could have trimmed this book by a hundred pages and helped shape it into an even better story.  I hope that’s a lesson he learns soon.  Rick and Liam and awesome characters and I’d love to see them in action again.

THE SCARLET JAGUAR

THE SCARLET JAGUAR

By Win Scott Eckert

Meteor House

136 pages

Graced by a sensational, totally pulpish cover by Mark Sparacio, this little novella chronicles the second action packed adventure of Doc Savage’s daughter, Pat.  Well, not exactly Doc as created by pulp master Lester Dent, but rather his Wold Newton clone as envisioned by the late sci-fi author, Philip Jose Farmer.

For the uninitiated, Farmer postulated this fantastic idea that all the famous heroes and villains of the 19^th and 20^th Centuries for related by blood tracing their common ancestry to a dozen English men and women who had become exposed to a strange meteor’s radiation when it crashed by their carriages in a place called Wold Newton.  From that beginning these men and women became the originators of incredible heroes to include Tarzan, Sherlock Holmes, the Shadow and the Spider, Captain Nemo, the Avenger, Phineas Fogg and the list goes on and on and on.  Well, you get the idea.

Whereas most of these fictional personages were licensed properties, Farmer could not use them in his fiction.  He solved this problem by giving them different names while clearly describing them so as to be recognized by readers.  Thus Doc Savage in the Wold Newton universe became Doc Wildman; he married and had a daughter named Pat.  Farmer had begun to write a Pat Wildman novel, “The Evil of Pemberley House,” but passed away before completing it.  That task was left to his loyal and talented protégé, Win Scott Eckert.  That book met with both public and critical success.  Now Eckert takes over the reins with this new tale and Pat Wildman couldn’t be in more capable hands.

Looking like a very alluring female version of her famous father, complete with a near perfect physique of a bronze hue and gold-flecked eyes, Pat and her British partner, Peter Parker own and manage Empire State Investigations using her inherited Pemberley Mansion as their headquarters. Soon after a very distraught young woman arrives on their doorstep asking their aid in finding her missing father, a British envoy to a small South American country, they are attacked by a bizarre menace that turns people into red glass and then shatters them.  Soon Pat, Peter and their client are winging their way to upstate New York where she plans on arming herself with some of her father’s powerful weapons before moving on to their final destination, the country known as Xibum.

No sooner do they land in the states then they are set upon by mercenary killers working for a twisted villain known as the Scarlett Jaguar.  Pat soon discovers this fiend has threatened to destroy the Panama Canal with his mysterious ray unless the entire country of Xibum is ceded to him by the British government.  Now their quest to find the missing dignitary becomes a deadly race against time.  Once in Xibum, Pat begins to learn long lost secrets of her renowned sire’s past adventures.  But can she take on his heroic legacy and save the day?

Eckert skillfully whips up a truly fun tale that blends both the sensibilities of classic pulp fare with some wonderful seventies James Bond touches that the savvy reader will recognize instantly.  It’s a heady mash-up that works extremely well.  “The Scarlett Jaguar” is a terrific new pulp actioner you do not want to miss.

THE ELEPHANTS OF SHANGHAI

THE ELEPHANTS OF SHANGHAI

By Stephen Jared

Solstice Publishing Co.

275 pages

A while back actor Stephen Jared wrote a terrific pulp novel called, “Jack and the Jungle Lion,” which this reviewer totally enjoyed and recommended highly.  It told the story of Hollywood action hero, Jack Hunter, and how, while on a shoot in the jungles of South America, he met the lovely Maxine Daniels, fell in love and actually learned to be a real hero.  The first half of this book reprints that first adventure in its entirety before segueing into the second, a brand new story from which the book gets its title.  So if you are curious to read my thoughts on “Jack and the Jungle Lion,” feel free to search the archives here.  You should be able to find the entry easy enough.

Thus this review is about the new adventures of Jack and Maxine which are just as wild and crazy as the first.  It is 1942, five years since they returned from their jungle ordeal, married and went settled down to live on a spacious ranch in Texas. World War II is raging across the globe and democracy is threatened on all fronts.  Unbeknown to Max, Jack has gone to Chicago disguised as a two-bit hood to infiltrate the mobs because he has heard rumors they are in collusion with Japanese agents.  On his own, without any government sanctions, Jack has become a spy in the service of his country.  Gee, what could possibly go wrong with that idea?

Before you can whistle Yankee Doodle, he and a naïve would-be gangster named Johnny are sent to Shanghai by a crooked Senator to discover the hidden supply routes of the rebel Chinese forces.  The traitorous politician wishes to prove his loyalty to his new Japanese partners by revealing these much sought after routes and thus allow them to defeat both the Chinese and their American supporters.  What Jack doesn’t know is through a series of bizarre events, Max learns of his whereabouts and with the help of their old pilot buddy, Clancy, flies off to Shanghai to find out what the hell is going on with her quirky husband.

Of course once in Shanghai the action really heats up as Jack and Johnny quickly find themselves dealing with a brutal, sadistic Chinese warlord and a sultry Chinese femme fatale who not only recognizes the one time screen star, but then attempts to seduce him.  Which is when Max and Clancy show up.

Again, as he did in “Jack and the Jungle Lion,” Jared delivers a fast paced, old fashion adventure yarn peppered with just the perfect blend of hair-raising action and laugh aloud comedic bits to help lighten the tension.  Jack and Max are truly likeable characters and it is a treat to see them again as their continued romantic relationship shows no signs of ever getting dull.  Amen to that.