TALES FROM THE PULP SIDE

TALES FROM THE PULP SIDE

Editor John L. French

Dark Quest Books

133 pages

Every now and then a little book like this comes along and makes me happy to be a pulp fan/reviewer.  “Tales from the Pulp Side” is basically four seasoned new pulp writers coming together to present three rip-roaring pulp adventures featuring their own heroes; all of whom pay homage to the classics of the 1930s.

Up first is editor/writer John L. French’s “Wolf Hunt” featuring his Shadow-like avenger, Nightmare.  In this tale, millionaire playboy Michael Shaw has everyintention of giving up his second life as the gun-blasting vigilante Nightmare.  Alas, when a sadistic gang boss murders the District Attorney’s key witness and kidnaps the man’s two young sons, Shaw simply cannot sit idly by and watch evil triumph.  Reluctantly he dons his black regalia and once again hits the streets as the obsessed, unstoppable force for justice, the Nightmare.  This is a whopping good story.

Then comes one of the most audacious pulp characters ever envisioned, the Pink Reaper as written by Patrick Thomas in a story called “The Games People Play.”  Imagine the Domino Lady crossed with the old golden age comic Phantom Lady and you’ve a mild idea of this alluring creature who fights crime in a very, VERY skimpy pink outfit that leaves little to the imagination. Of course Kaye Chandler depends on her lush body to stop male crooks in their tracks making them instantly forget all else except her almost X-rated appearance.  Now to be fair, Kaye also wears an all black cape that, when folded about her, makes it possible for her to disappear into the shadows.  Made by her late inventor uncle, who was murdered, Kaye inherited his marvelous inventions and used them becoming a masked vigilante.  In this particular outing she deals with a new mysterious crime figure known as the Green Hood.  A master strategist, the Green Hood hopes to manipulate others to do his bidding, thus, even though she does foil his plan by the end of the yarn, he is still at large; obviously to reappear at a later date. Note, this story also gives us a glimpsed into the masked-hero shared world as built by these four imaginative writers.  Lots of heroes come and go, some we’d very much like to see again.

Finally the book wraps it all up with a really cool Doc Savage wannabe, Doc Atlas as created by Michael Black and Ray Lavato in “The Green Death.”  When a wealthy young man disappears in the South American jungles, Doc and his two aides, Mad Dog Deagan and Ace Assante head into this green hell to learn his whereabouts.  What they find instead is a secret Nazis base camp experimenting with a new terror drugs in hopes of resurrecting the “New” Third Reich.  Fast paced and full of pulp action, this was a pure joy to read and a fitting finale to a really great fiction package.

“Tales From The Pulpside,” delivers what it promises and then some.  Guaranteed to entertain any true pulp fan and hopefully help recruit many new ones along the way.  We would truly love to see more like this.

JOYLAND

JOYLAND

By Stephen King

Hard Case Crime

283 pages

There was a time when this reviewer thought writer Stephen King could do no wrong.  His early works, though rough around the edges, still remain his strongest works. Somewhere in his struggling-writer’s soul, King had lots to tell us about those things that go bump in the night. Then, as often happens with success, his books became bloated with pretentious homilies. This reviewer prefers writers who are questioning rather than those who have all the answers.

Pointless social commentary such as his recent “Under the Dome” became thinly veiled sermons against the evils of conservatism; King is an avowed liberal and never misses a chance to snip at the other side.  We were beginning to think we’d never enjoy another good yarn by this once humble, innocent craftsman and then along comes “Joyland.”

Maybe the wisdom of age has settled into his creative bones.  His narrative voice here is steady and focused.  This is King eschewing politics and religion for a glimpse into the magic of every day life with his old insights sharper than ever.  His hero, whose voice he captures marvelously is young Devin Jones.  He has just finished his first year at the University of New Hampshire and suspects the love of his life, Wendy, is about to dump him.  Fearing the worse and unable to face it, Devin heads down to the shores of North Carolina to take a summer job working at an old amusement park called Joyland.  There he meets several other college kids, Tom and Erin, plus an assortment of wonderfully eccentric characters from the carnie folk who run the park to the Mrs.Shoplaw, the widow who manages the boarding house in which he and his new friends stay.

Within weeks of “learning the ropes,” Devin learns that the park’s haunted house ride was once the site of a gruesome murder and the ghost of the slain victim is believed to haunt the darkened tunnels within.  He also befriends Annie, a single mother raising her son Mike who is crippled by muscular dystrophy. Mike also is a bit psychic, as Dev soon learns.  Slowly the rigorous routine of daily manual labor and the congenial warmth of his new companions ease Devin’s heartbreak until he begins to accept life without Wendy may not be such a horrible fate after all.

But there is still the ghost in the haunted house, a mystery he and the lovely Erin begin to investigate.  They soon learn that the murder at Joyland was in fact one in a chain by a serial killer who hides in the vagabond world of carnivals.  At the same time, Dev begins to feel an attraction to Annie, each of them seeing through the other’s protective shell; she to devote herself to her son while he to avoid ever falling in love again.

King’s writing here is beautiful in its simplicity like an effortless poem.  It moves like the pace of beach tide, coming in and going out gracefully and ensnaring the reader with its hypnotic rhythms.  “Joyland,” though containing elements of horror and mystery, is really a coming-of-age story about innocence loss and the courage to see every new day for the miracle each contains.  In that it won me over completely.  “Joyland” is sure to become be one of Stephen King’s most enduring tales.  Spin the wheel and we’ll take a bet on that, even if we don’t win a kewpie doll.

EL MOSAICO

EL MOSAICO

(Scarred Souls)

By Michael Panush

Curiosity Quills

201 pages

Sorry to sound like a broken record, but Michael Panush is rapidly becoming one of my favorite New Pulp writers.  Having discovered him via “Dinosaur Jazz,” a book we nominated for Best Pulp Novel of 2012, we then discovered his “Stein & Candle Detective Agency” series about two post-World War II occult detectives.  As if that isn’t enough to keep this prolific writer busy, now he’s launched as yet another series which can best be described as Frankenstein done western style.

During the Civil War, a Confederate doctor/occultist has the brilliant idea of stitching together body parts from dead soldiers and then animating them using black magic. His plan is to fill the rapidly diminishing ranks of Southern companies with these reanimated corpse soldiers.  He manages to create one such patchwork man before being killed by Union bombardment.  That one and only success is Clayton Cane.

Cane is a bounty hunter traveling the untamed west of the late 1860s and because his very nature is always encountering one fantastic monster after another in this first collection of adventures; there are eight total and each is a gem.

In “Bayou Bloodshed,” Cane is hired to find a black girl who has run off to a secluded island in the middle of the swamps.  The island is populated with two desperate clans; one of gatormen and the other of werewolves.  Needless to say, Cane’s mission is not an easy one.

Then Panush offers up “Red Blades of Whitechapel,” whereby his jigsaw hero end up in London to hunt down a serial killer with a royal pedigree.  Considering this story’s open-ended climax, the main villain could well return for a future encounter.

With “Dead Man’s Band,” Cane captures an outlaw alchemist named Black who leads a band of dead outlaws.  When these deceased desperados attack the hotel Cane is hold up in the pitched battle appears to be El Mosaico’s last stand.

“Monster Men of Malchite Falls” has the bizarre bounty hunter infiltrating a weird fortress laboratory in the middle of the dessert to rescue a little boy. What he discovers is another mad scientist much like the man who put him together.

In “Tomb of Kings” Clayton Cane is one again employed by the British Government to act as security for an archeological dig in Egypt. When the leader of the expedition unearths and revives the Nameless Pharaoh, Cane must ally himself with Arab dessert warriors to defeat an ancient army of monsters.

Back in the U.S. the man-made gunslinger is next hired by the cavalry to help down an old Indian shaman who may be unleashing an army of ghost braves to defend their land in the moving “Ghost Dances.”

In the seventh story, Cane travels south of the border hunting a gang of vicious stage coach robbers and teams up with a wily Mexican bandito named “Tarantula.”

Lastly Cane is hired by a foreign professor to help him track down the whereabouts of the Ragnorak Hammer before it can be used to destroy the world. When their hunt takes into a brutal Minnesota blizzard, they received unexpected aid from an immortal Viking legend.

“El Mosaico – Scarred Souls” is the epitome of New Pulp fun and originality.  It’s a dandy mash up of cowboys and creatures and the wise reader should saddle up and join Clayton Cane.  The ahead looks to be truly fantastic.

JUNKYARD DOGS

JUNKYARD DOGS

(A Walt Longmire Mystery)

By Craig Johnson

Penguin Books

306 pages

Happily one doesn’t have to read the Walt Longmire series in order to enjoy their levity, fast paced action and classic mystery formulas.  We should also point out that the highly popular television series, which is also a great deal of fun, is decidedly different from the books to make both unique and worthy of your attention for various reasons.

When the owner-manager of the local junkyard and landfill dies under mysterious reasons, Sheriff Longmire naturally suspects the big time land developer making noises to move the refuse facility.  But when that individual, upon escaping from custody, is shot to death in a small park in the middle of a snow blizzard, Longmire finds himself back to square one.

As anyone who has been following this series knows by now, the rugged high plains of Wyoming are as much a part of these tales as are the convoluted plots themselves.  Whereas with this particular case, poor old Longmire is really put through the physical ringer as he gets sprayed in the face with a heavy dose of Pepper Spray, bitten on the butt by a mean German Shepherd and in the end has a stack of scrapped automobiles dumped on him.  He somehow manages to survive all these challenges and bring the murderer to justice making him the quintessential western hero.

Of course this book has references to past exploits and although they don’t impede the enjoyment, they will make you want to go out and pick them up.  This is one series you won’t want to miss a single installment.

BLACK PULP

BLACK PULP

Edited by Tommy Hancock, Gary Philips & Morgan Minor

Pro Se Productions

288 pages

Guest Reviewer - Lucas Garrett

Every once in a while a book comes along that changes the playing field, that opens up new horizons where there once were none to be found. BLACK PULP is such a book.

Published by Pro Se Productions, under the careful and diligent leadership of Tommy Hancock, BLACK PULP brings together some of today's best writers to tell stories of the extraordinary, the uncanny, the arcane, but never the mundane.

My fascination with BLACK PULP comes from a deep-seated need to right an unfortunate wrong in literary history.

I am a man of color, and as a man of color, I have read countless tales of adventure and intrigue where the main protagonist was primarily of Caucasian descent. Especially, in the Pulp literature of the 1930's, 1940's, and 1950's. People of color were either non-existent, servants, savages, or villains to be defeated and subdued. Very few characters of color were treated with the dignity and respect that they deserved. Times were different in those days. Racial politics and culture were the policy of the day, especially in the Deep South, and parts of the North such as New York, Chicago, and Boston. It was a time when people of color were supposed to know their place. It was a dark time in our nation's, and to a larger extent, our world's history. And despite the fact that I now live in a time when many are trying to sugar-coat or forget that period in our history, I refuse to do so. It is a battle scar my country, and our world, must live with, and embrace, in order to go forward, which brings me back to BLACK PULP and its true importance.

BLACK PULP is a wonderful anthology of short stories that expands the world of Tarzan, Doc Savage, The Avenger, The Shadow, The Spider, The Phantom Detective, The Green Lama, Ki-Gor, G-8, Secret Agent X, Secret Service Operator #5, and their contemporaries. And BLACK PULP populates this world with hitmen, boxers-turned-vigilantes, female aviators, wildmen, mercenaries-for-hire, private detectives, femme fatales, naval aviators, freedom-fighting pirates, paranormal investigators, real life lawmen, adventurers, and many more. It is a world where men and women of color are put in dire circumstances, and readers see how they deal with these situations. And these situations are made more perilous due to the times in which these heroic figures live such as Ngola, the African pirate who fights to free all slaves, and to severely punish all slavers from slave trading nations in the early 19th century. Or the real life legendary lawman, Bass Reeves, who blazed a trail throughout the Old West in the latter 19th century. BLACK PULP shows the reader that heroes of all colors and backgrounds can arise in oppressive times when needed.

BLACK PULP is a true no holds barred, adult, and realistic take on the world of the Pulps. BLACK PULP is not for the timid at heart.

When I read the stories, I feel as if I am being transported to the times and places in which these adventures are being told. There is a lived in quality to the stories of this book. I can smell the cigars and perfumes in offices and bar rooms; I can hear tires screeching as robbers or kidnappers try to get away, with the hero in pursuit, as gunshots are heard in the night; I see and hear the clanking of cutlasses and the firing of pistols onboard slave ships, and I hear the rattling of chains being unlocked as slaves of several generations are finally freed. I experience all of this, and more.

More importantly, I can relate with the main protagonists, and their supporting cast, and see the world through their eyes. And I want to see more stories about these characters.

In fact, I wouldn't mind seeing a crossover story starring Charles Saunder's Mtimu and Damballa.Or maybe having Gary Phillips's Decimator Smith and Alan Lewis's Black Wolfe teaming up with Derrick Ferguson's Fortune McCall for a case, or two. Or perhaps having Ron Fortier's Bass Reeves and Derrick Ferguson's Sebastian Red hunt down outlaws. That is how much I love the characters of BLACK PULP. And I see so much potential for more stories with these characters, and new ones as well, who will be as alive and vibrant as Doc Savage, The Shadow, and The Avenger. There is a depth to the characters of BLACK PULP that will pull you in, and have you wanting more. And I can see a world where all of these characters can co-exist with the great legends of golden age of Pulp. I can see Decimator Smith and the Green Lama meeting, fighting each other, and then teaming up to fight the villain of that adventure. Or Black Wolfe working with Secret Agent X on a case that brings the mystery man to Port Victoria, South Carolina. The possibilities are endless. I love thinking about it. And I love that BLACK PULP allows me to think about it.

Therefore, I would like to congratulate Walter Mosley, Joe R. Lansdale, Gary Phillips, Charles Saunders, Derrick Ferguson, Alan Lewis, Christopher Chambers, Mel Odom, Kimberly Richardson, Ron Fortier, Michael Gonzales, Gar Anthony Haywood, Tommy Hancock, Adam Shaw, Sean E. Ali, and Russ Anderson on a job well done. Thank you all for creating this fine piece of work that I hold in my hands, read on my Android phone, and my laptop computer. Thank you.

So should you pick up a copy of BLACK PULP? I think that you know my answer.

What are you waiting for? Go pick up a copy, or two! You will not be disappointed.

I'm know I'm not. I'm reading it again right now.

DOC SAVAGE - SKULL ISLAND

DOC SAVAGE – Skull Island

By Will Murray

Altus Press

385 pages

Pulp writer/historian, Will Murray, is no stranger to writing Doc Savage adventures.  He’s completed many from plot notes left by Doc’s creator, the late Lester Dent, all to critical praise from pulp fans across the world. But this reviewer never saw those as “originals” being that Murray was following Dent’s plots and not really coming up with his own ideas.  As Murray is a proven storyteller, this reviewer continued to hope that one they he would give us that Doc Savage adventure born solely from his imagination.  “Skull Island” is that book and it was worth the wait.

The book begins with the aftermath of the events portrayed in the classic RKO movie, KING KONG, with Doc returning to New York to discover the remains of a giant gorilla covering the streets beneath the Empire State Building in which he has his offices.  He then offers his services to city officials in regards to disposing of the behemoth’s remains.  Soon, with the assistance of his loyal companions, Monk and Ham, the body of King Kong is prepared and loaded on the tramp steamer that first brought it to the Big Apple.  As the ship sails away to return to corpse to its home on Skull Island, Doc tells his friends this was not the first time he had set eyes on Kong.  Naturally curious, they request he tell them of that meeting and thus Doc relates his yarn and we are sent back in time to what has to be considered Doc Savage’s first true wild adventure.

Upon his discharge from the military at the end of World War One, young Clark Savage Jr. is summoned to San Francisco by his father, Clark Savage Senior where is wait with an all Mayan crew of sailors aboard his lavish yacht, the Orion.  Captain Savage is about to undertake a quest across the uncharted waters of the Indian Ocean in search of his own sire, Stormalong Savage. The master of an old Yankee Clipper called Courser, Stormalong and his crew had disappeared eight years earlier and Doc’s father is obsessed with learning the fate of the old seaman.

That is the surface narrative that propels the physical adventure but Murray deftly employs to tell the underlying tale; the delicate relationship between Doc and his father. In doing so, he explores the mystery that has plagued pulp fans for decades; what actually compelled Savage Senior to have his one and only son molded, via various tutors, into a veritable superman?  There is a gaping relationship distance that exist between the two as young Clark tries to deal with his father’s decisions that kept them virtual strangers most of his formative years. 

By the time the two of them find Skull Island while battling South Seas island headhunters and the giant gorilla called Kong, the action sequences seem like oddly written after thoughts. They come and go like a pointless carousel useful only in filling pages and carrying us to the ending. As a traditional pulp adventure, “Skull Island” is a mediocre effort that never achieves its clearly imagined potential.  Whereas its look back at the character of Clark Savage and his devotion and loyalty to his obsessed father is the true treasure of this book; one we truly believe Lester Dent, had he been given the opportunity, would have relished writing.  For that fact alone we say, thanks Will Murray for filling in the gaps.

THE BIG CLEAR

THE BIG CLEAR

By Christopher Harris

Short Cypher Press

275 pages

Mason “Dub” Storm was a Special Forces sniper in the first Gulf War and then worked in East African locales such a Somalia with an elite secret platoon.  In the end Storm began to question his own justifications for his assignments and just who his puppet masters really were.  Ultimately he left the service and returned to his home base of Austin, Texas to pick up the pieces of whatever remained of his soul.

As the book opens, Dub, is a two bit stoner working, whenever he can get a customer, as a private investigator.  Because of his drug connections, he comes in contact with Angela Easley, the strung out youngest daughter of one of the richest men in Texas.  Her three year old son, Hunter Parsons, has been kidnapped and she begs Dub to find him for her.  Well aware he is venturing into a world as alien to him as the foreign battlefields of his past, the weary private eye agrees to help out until the police take over.  It all seems easy enough.

Right. Until Dub recalls Angela’s older sister, and her Daddy’s chief business assistant, is none other than the high school sexpot from his youth, Heather Easley.  One look at her in her expensive mannish business suit over her hour glass, trim body and Dub finds himself floating in ancient dreams that were never ever going to come true.  Then, a friend named Kid, who had been helping him with surveillance, is brutally murdered and Dub’s hands are once again covered in other people’s blood.  Gunfights, steamy sex and a mystery with enough twists to give us a queasy stomach abound in these pages.

Harris’s style is a mix of traditional noir and punk giving the narrative a smooth jolt throughout and becomes quickly addictive.  He deftly mixes Dub’s confused present with his hellish past and when the two collide viciously towards the finale, it is a satisfying resolution though still an ambiguous one.  Dub Storm is one of the most complicated heroes I’ve encountered in a long, long time and one I’m hoping to see in action again soon.  This is a well-executed thriller by a writer worth keeping an eye out.  Go pick up “The Big Clear” and prove my point.

THE LAST JAZZ BAND

THE LAST JAZZ BAND

By Charles Boeckman

Jazztex Publishing Co.

185 pages

When World War II pilot Charlie Neil learns his beloved wife, Meg, has died only months before his discharge, his world is turned upside down.  He returns to an empty apartment in New York City and is cruelly haunted by the dreams he’d left behind. Then an old war buddy, and fellow musician, Ted Riley, calls from South Texas to tell Charlie he’s putting together and hot jazz band and wants him to pack his clarinet and come join him to make musical history.

What follows over the next three years is a full tilt life altering odyssey for Charlie and his fellow members of Joe Barney’s Jazz Band.  From the honkytonks of Corpus Christi to the seedy dirt alleys of Mexican cantinas, Charlie, Ted, Skinny Lang, Cemetery Wilson and Big Irving play for all they are worth; drinking, carousing and taking on whatever life has to dish out. When they end up in New Orleans and manage to cut a demo tape, Ted is convinced it is only the beginning of their new found fame but Charlie can see the winds of change; their kind of reckless, pure jazz has run its course.

Writer Charles Boeckman is that rare soul who is both an accomplished musician and gifted writer able to infuse his fiction with the same feverish beat that propelled the wonderful music he has played all his life.  He weaves characters throughout his narrative like melodies always in flux, always changing, always moving to the inevitable final crescendo that is the end.

The story of Charlie Neil and his pal Ted Riley is funny, sad and heart wrenching in so many ways that it will leave the reader with a tear and a smile all the while tapping their feet to some unheard beat.  Why Hollywood hasn’t found “The Last Jazz Band” is a true tragedy.  If you enjoy inspired storytelling, find this book now!

LEGION 1: LORDS OF FIRE

LEGION 1 : LORDS OF FIRE

By Van Allen Plexico

White Rocket Books

311 pages

Something foul has invaded the galactic empires of mankind; something ancient and powerful beyond imagining.  Veteran space opera author, Van Plexico once again spins a tale of cosmic proportions but narrates it through the eyes of several believable characters thus bringing the reader along intimately for yet another thrill ride.

Military Colonel of the First Legion, Ezekiel Tamarlane is the protagonist in this book, the first of a new series, and he jumps onto the stage in full action mode having been ordered to steal one of the empire’s more treasured artifacts; an artifact he is personally in charge of protecting.  Thus successfully completing his secret mission he is then publicly demoted for allowiong the artifact to be stolen.

Sound convoluted?  You bet it does and soon Tamarlane finds himself the target of cleverly disguised murder attempts.  When he takes his suspicions to his trusted superior and mentor, General Nakamura, he is forced to confess his own part in the theft which has created dangerous political and military ripples throughout the known worlds.  To his credit, the General’s faith and trust in his subordinate motivates him to dig deeper into the affair all of which leads to their witnessing the Emperor’s disappearance into another realm where live gods and demons.

A rescue sortie is launched with Nakamura and Tamarlane in charge and what they find on “the other” side is far beyond their scope of reasoning.  That they manage to save the Emperor and his retinue is the catalyst for further attacks on both their lives until both must accept the undeniable truth that they are mere pawns in a vast conspiracy that threatens all the star kingdoms of man.

Plexico amps his already manic writing pace in this volume and readers had better buckle up because the action never stops from page one to the end.  In fact the climatic battle in the off world cathedral had this reviewer getting paper burns for turning the pages so fast.

In the end this is of course all a set up for much more intrigue and dastardly alien shenanigans.  LEGION 1: LORDS OF FIRE is a fiction stew that is both new and familiar.  Imagine “Dune” as written by Robert E. Howard and that’s the gift we have here.  This is one of the best new pulp titles of the year thus far.  Miss it at your own peril.

JONATHAN STRANGE & MR NORRELL

JONATHAN STRANGE & MR NORRELL

By Susana Clark

Tor Books

1006 pages

Originally published 2004

Why is it I have books in my library that are nearly a decade old and I’ve yet to read them?  Now a devoted book reader will understand that conundrum all too well.  You see, it is virtually impossible for me to visit a bookstore and leave without buying something; even if I’ve already way too many books at home to get to.  None of that concerns me. The only fact that matters is I’ve found a title that intrigues me and so I buy it, take it home and, as mentioned above, stick it on the shelf until the time I choose to read it. Trust me, book lovers around the world do this all the time.  It is nothing unusual for us bibliophiles.

Of course there is another element that needs to be taken into consideration when reflecting on this topic of “when” a certain title will get read.  You see, I am a slow reader and never-ever worry about how long it takes me to get through the any title.  With any normal book of two to three hundred pages, I can expect to finish them in one week and this allows me to post a new book review here every week.  But that all goes out the window with books that are way-way bigger than the norm.  Knowing those will eat up weeks of my allotted reading time; I tend to put off picking them up until something out of the ordinary spurs me to do so.  Such was the case with this particular book, which, according to the interior data was first released to public in 2004.  This being the paperback edition, it has been sitting on my bookshelf for seven to eight years now.

What was that extra prompt that made me finally open it up?  Answer; recently having learned that BBC Television is going to produce it as a mini-series.  Intrigued by that revelation, there was no way I wanted to end up watching this series and not have read the source material.  Thus four weeks ago I packed it away in my traveling bag and took it with me to the Windy City Pulp & Paper convention.  At the airport I began the long journey through Susanna Clarke’s 1006 pages of delightful fantasy adventure and just now have put it down, finished.

In the late 1800s Britain is without any practicing magicians though we are told the country once had a rich tradition of such practitioners.  Alas, with the passage of time, they fell out of grace with the general public who, in their fickle nature, turned their interest and attention to the wonders of modern science.  No longer were spells and potions sought after and soon the transparent roadways that led to the fairy kingdoms became overgrown with brush until their very existence became a thing of myth and legend. Magic was a thing of the past.

So it would have remained save for the appearance of a quiet recluse named Mr. Norrell who one day makes his presence known claiming to be the only remaining magician in all of England.  When others dare to challenge his claim, Norrell suggest a test by which he will prove his ability to create something miraculous.  If he succeeds all other so called theoretical magicians must end their studies of the occult forever.  Needless to say Norrell is most successful making all the stone statues of a church come to life and start talking to the assembly gathered there.  The event propels Norrell to instant fame and he moves from his rural home to London along with his manservant.  There he is soon the most sought after celebrity in the city.  But at heart, Norrell is still a recluse and would prefer to remain at home studying in his vast library of magical lore.

When he ill advisedly resurrects a young woman who died days before her wedding to a British Lord of Parliament. Norrell has to call upon a cruel and sadistic fairy that exacts a wicked price for his assistance in reviving the maid, though ironically Norrell remains totally aloof to the tragedy he has created.

The book’s plot then picks up pace with the introduction of Jonathan Strange, a shy, introverted young nobleman who, on a whim, decides to take up magic as a livelihood.  Much to his surprise, and everyone else, Strange discovers he actually possesses the skills to do magic and is soon weaving various spells to the amusement and delight of his friends and fiancé, Arabella.  When Mr. Norrell learns there is another practicing magician in England he feels threatened, worried that the lad will upset the comfortable lifestyle he has carefully constructed for himself.  But when the two meet, Norrell is charmed by Strange’s naïve personality and takes him on as his student shortly after Jonathan and Arabella marry.

At the heart of the book’s conflict is the evil fairy who, upon rediscovering his ability to cross from his world to ours, sets about kidnapping the souls of innocent people he takes a fancy to, keeping them his spiritual prisoners.  Ultimately he sets his sights on Arabella and goes as far as to fake her death so that he may keep her forever in his fantasy land.  But the foul creature had not counted on Jonathan Strange keen intellect and stubbornness; his refusal to let any puzzle go unsolved.  In the end it is Strange who unravels the evil fairy’s schemes and sets about confronting him, human magic versus fairy magic.

Please understand, there is a whole lot more that happens in this whopping tome and covering every subplot and character would require me to write a book-long review.  Suffice it to say “Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell” is a grand fantasy adventure that will demand a reader’s willingness to sacrifice hour upon hour of his or her time but the rewards will be proportional as it is a fantastically brilliant novel that is so well imagined that by its conclusion, I was sincerely sad to see it come to a close.  Though it does so in one of the most touching and loving scenes ever put to paper.

One of the major characters asks Strange, should they become separated for whatever reason, how are they to remember him.  He answers, “Think of me with my nose in a book.”  1006 pages to reach that line and my eyes watered as I added, “Amen.”

Review – Epilogue

During this time, wanting to keep this column active, I was saved by the contributions of several dear friends who offered to submit as “guest reviewers.” My humble and deep thanks to Nancy Hansen, Todd Jones and Derrick Ferguson for their marvelous reviews.

WARBIRDS OF MARS - Stories of the Fight

WARBIRDS OF MARS

(Stories of the Fight)

Edited by Kane Gilmour & Scott P. Vaughn

Quick Draw Books

ISBN – 10:0984954813

ISBN – 13: 978-0984954810

476 pages

Guest Reviewer Derrick Ferguson

Here’s the thing; I love The Internet. I truly do. Yes, there’s a lot crap out there that gets in the way of the good stuff but the good stuff is there. It just sometimes takes me a while to get around it. Take for instance the webcomic WARBIRDS OF MARS that has been around for a goodish amount of time now. I, however have been woefully ignorant of it until I was made aware of the anthology WARBIRDS OF MARS: STORIES OF THE FIGHT and while it’s a hefty introduction to the situation and principal characters at the heart of the series it is one well worth reading due to the interesting mix of talent involved.

The set-up is fairly easy to get hold of: Invaders from outer space attack The Earth while it’s engaged in World War II. The alien invaders actually aren’t Martians but what the hey, WARBIRDS OF MARS is a great title so let’s not spoil it with minor details. The Martians have chosen this time to invade as for years they’ve had agents on Earth, half-alien/half-human fifth columnists that have been working behind the scenes to make the invasion easier. And with the world powers fragmented and not able to work together it’s not long before many major cities and nations are conquered and under control of the invaders. But there’s still hope: human resistance forces are fighting back with every weapon and resource at their command to take back the planet.

The core characters of WARBIRDS OF MARS: STORIES OF THE FIGHT! are an elite cadre of resistance fighters known as The Martian Killers. The leader is Hunter Noir, a fedora wearing, trenchcoated man of mystery who keeps his face bandaged. Jack Paris is your typical wisecracking, two-fisted pilot/adventurer. Josie Taylor is the team’s femme fatale and Mr. Mask is a human/alien hybrid who has joined the resistance, proving to be a valuable asset to the the team due to his having been trained by a samurai master.

These characters all get plenty of time to strut their stuff both in solo stories and in stories where they all work together but WARBIRDS OF MARS: STORIES OF THE FIGHT! also takes the opportunity to show what is going on with other people trying to survive in this hellish brave new world in various locations around the globe and through the eyes of characters both human and alien.

“Hunter Noir” by Scott P. Vaughn leads off the anthology with the origin of the leader of The Martin Killers and how the invasion began. It’s a good origin story with the only bump in it for me is the sudden decision by the protagonist to become a masked man of mystery while being hunted by the enemy and whipping up a costume and new name for himself in no time flat but y’know what? That’s just me. It’s that kind of story and you either go along with it or not. It wasn’t enough to make me stop reading the story and that’s the main thing.

“In The World Today” by Megan E. Vaughn is one of my favorite stories in the anthology as it concerns a small-town movie date and the effects the Martian Invasion has on it. It’s a short slice of small town American life kind of story but it doesn’t skimp on the characterization.

I love the weird western comic book “Desperadoes” written by Jeff Mariotte so it’s no surprise that I loved “Southern Cross” even though it wasn’t set in the Southwestern United States as I might have expected. (Ron Fortier takes care of that part of the country…we’ll get to it soon…be patient) No, Jeff takes us out to the South China Sea for this one as Jack Paris gets involved in Oriental skullduggery.

“The Deadly Triad” by Alex Ness is a nifty little look into what’s going on with the Chinese and Japanese and I greatly appreciated the break from the slam bang adventure of the previous story to take the time out to see what was going on elsewhere in the beleaguered world.

Sean Ellis has long been one of my favorite writers who never fails to disappoint and he doesn’t do so with “The Farmboy’s Adventure” which has an ending that I truly did not see coming and when it did I immediately went back to the beginning of the story to see if there were any clues that I had missed. I’m betting you’ll do the same.

“The Bitter Edge” is by Kane Gilmore and is another origin story. This one concerning Mr. Mask, so called because he wears a German gas mask constantly. He’s a lot of fun to read about as I kinda get the idea that Kane’s inspiration for the character was G.I. Joe’s Snake Eyes. But with Mr. Mask being a Martian/Human hybrid training how to be a samurai warrior brings an added dimension to the character that moves the story into an exploration of identity and self-respect that lifts it a notch above just another action/adventure entry.

As promised, Ron Fortier serves up a wild west romp with “The Monsters of Adobe Wells” which takes The Monster Killers way out west to team up with Sioux warrior Charlie Three-Feathers, a character I wouldn’t mind seeing more of if there are future WARBIRDS OF MARS anthology. And again, the changeup in setting provides readers with another aspect of the war against the invaders. The international aspect of this anthology is one of the best things about it and a western story fits in here just fine.

Megan E. Vaughn returns for “The Skull of Lazarus” which is a story that makes me wonder if Megan is a “Thunderbirds” fan as her Lady Doyle and Jerry reminded me strongly of Lady Penelope Creighton and her bodyguard/chauffeur Parker. This is an adventure built for nothing but sheer thrills and like Ron’s Charlie Three-Feathers, I hope to see more of Lady Doyle.

“Red Sky Phoenix: The Rise of Free Russia” is another snapshot from Alex Ness as to what’s going on in yet another part of the world. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have even more of these prose postcards in future anthologies (you think they’ve gotten the hint yet?)

“Human Guile” by Chris Samson is where I finally hit a major bump. I’ve read this story twice and still can’t quite wrap my head around what the story is about. It just seemed to me like there was way too much plot and way too many characters doing things I just didn’t understand why they were doing them. For me, motivation is a Big Deal in my fiction. It’s not necessary for me to like or dislike the characters but I do demand that the writer establish why they’re doing what they’re doing and I simply didn’t get that here.

“Surprise” by Stephen M. Irvin is indeed that as I didn’t expect to find a hard-boiled noir story in here but I as I continued reading more and more into this anthology it soon became apparent to me that this concept could and did support a variety of genre stories very well indeed such as J.H. Ivanov’s “The Road Out of Antioch” and “Shipwrecked” by David Lindblad, both of which are out-and-out horror stories with “The Road Out of Antioch” approaching Lovecraftian proportions of cosmic dread. It’s that good, trust me.

“Refined Elegance” by Scott P. Vaughn takes us home and if I had to make a choice between this one and “Hunter Noir” I’d have to go with this one, much as I liked “Hunter Noir.” It’s told from the point of view of Josie Taylor. The Martian Killers have been doing that for quite a while now, the war appears to have no end in sight and Josie is starting to ask herself and her teammates some hard questions the dangerous missions they routinely go on.

The stories are complimented by strong, solid artwork from Jean Arrow, Adriano Carreon, Mike DeBalfo, Bill Farmer, Matt Goodall, Christian Guldager, Robert Hack, Rob Hicks, John Lucas, Paul Roman Martinez, Nathan Morris, Dan Parsons, Nik Poliwko, Richard Serrao and Jason Worthington that serve the needs of the stories they were drawn for, successfully evoking the mood and tone of the prose.

So should you read WARBIRDS OF MARS: STORIES OF THE FIGHT? I certainly think so. One of my concerns about New Pulp is that it not fall into a rut. Masked avengers of the night and scientific adventurers are cool as hell, no doubt about it. But New Pulp can’t survive on a steady diet of those. Stories such as the ones in WARBIRDS OF MARS: STORIES OF THE FIGHT! that gives us mashups of war stories mixed with science fiction, horror, day in the life, hard-boiled noir and other genres provide a refreshing new dish for the palate of our imagination to taste and savor. It’s a solid package as you get a lot of story and art for your money and time. Enjoy.

ROBYN OF SHERWOOD

ROBYN OF SHERWOOD

(A graphic novel.)

Script by Paul Storrie

Art by Rob Davis

Letters by Michael Larson

Redbud Studio

96 black and white pages

(http://indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=7545)

Thanks to modern technology, we live in an age where unfulfilled dreams of the past have a new chance of being realized by creators.  Such is this case with this marvelous graphic novel which first saw the light of day several decades ago as a four issue mini series from Caliber Press.  In his introduction, writer Paul Storrie, relates the start and go problems the series had and how everyone involved was frustrated that it didn’t materialize as well as they had all hoped.  A series of accidents forced a change of art teams and in the end, though completed, the project left the team unsatisfied.

And so for over twenty years Storrie lived with an itch he just couldn’t scratch; until print-on-demand arrived on the scene.  He slowly began to realize it just might be possible to redo the book.  But this time collected as a one-shot graphic novel and so approached artist Rob Davis with the idea.  Davis agreed to help out. Over the past five years Davis worked meticulously from old original art or, when such was not available, drawing entire new pages all to make the book look and read as it was always intended.  Storrie credits him with doing the “heavy-lifting” and never giving up on the task.  This reader is damn glad he didn’t.

The tale takes place many years after both Robin and his Maid Marian have passed away as has King Richard.  Now John sits on the throne of England.  Unlike his brother, John he is a cruel and petty despot and inflicts burdensome taxes on the people that will forever keep them in abject poverty.  When the new Sheriff of Nothingham, on orders from John, attempts to hang the former outlaw, John Little, at a May Day celebration, a mysterious archer appears to save the old freedom fighter and soon word through the greenwoods spreads that the “ghost” of Robin Hood has returned.

In truth it is Robin and Marian’s only child, the lovely Robyn who born in a convent and then sent to live with her uncle, Will Scarlett, after Marian death.  She has returned to Sherwood to take up her father’s cause, to reassemble those of his loyal men who remain, ala Little John and Friar Tuck and to add a few new fighters such as Little John’s boisterous son, Thom Little.  Storrie’s fiction is set against a historically authentic background which makes it all the more entertaining.  The politics of the time play a part throughout the action as does a very complex mystery surrounding the villain responsible for Robin and Marian’s destruction.  He brings vibrant life to old and new characters and gives a timeless legend a fresh infusion of action adventure that made this a pleasure to read.

Whereas the art by Rob Davis is equally up to task of capturing these beloved heroes.  Davis’s research in clothing and armament is impeccable and his deft hand at portraying facial emotions is second to none in the graphic world.  In fact there is a sweeping, grandiose feel to his layouts that is reminiscent of the great Hal Foster’s work on Prince Valiant.  It is all too clear Davis has a true fondness for this classic and he has returned to it on several occasions providing gorgeous interior illustrations for Airship 27 Productions’ Robin Hood pulp book series.

We have only one critique and it is clear that this singular sour note was beyond the control of the creators.  Upon finishing “Robyn of Sherwood,” several major plot lines were left unfinished, including Robyn’s quest to avenge herself on the culprit responsible for her parent’s murders.  It is obvious those threads were to have been addressed in future volumes had the series continued at Caliber.  Now that it has been reborn in this stylish new format, maybe some day Misters Storrie and Davis will find their way back to Sherwood Forest and the beautiful Robyn to spin those untold escapades.  As we said at the start of this review, in this day and age, anything is possible.

Finally, self-published independent gems like “Robyn of Sherwood,” can only be obtained in one of two ways; either from the creators if you are fortunate enough to cross their paths at a comic con or can be ordered directly from the printers at Indy Planet.

(See the link above.)

STEIN AND CANDLE Vol II Cold Wars

STEIN AND CANDLE

Vol II – Cold Wars

By Michael Panush

Curiosity Quills Press

217 pages

One of the most enjoyable aspects of New Pulp Fiction has been the creation of memorable new heroes by today’s pre-eminent pulp writers.   Derrick Ferguson has given us Dillon and Mongrel to name a few.  Barry Reese has created a bunch of awesome characters, the most recognizable being the Rook and Lazarus Gray. And the list goes on and on.  Which is why this reviewer has become so enamored with Michael Panush’s series, STEIN AND CANDLE : Detective Agency which features two of the most original new pulp heroes ever to grace a page of purple prose.

Mort Candle is an ex-Army sergeant tough-guy private eye who is parts Sam Spade and Mike Hammer.  Candle’s fist often speak louder than his words.  His partner is a teenage boy named Weatherby Stein, a German youth whose parents were killed by the Nazis.  Weatherby’s father was one of the world’s leading authorities on the occult and Weatherby was raised studying arcane lore thus making him, even at a young age, an expert in the dark arts.  Thus this duo travels the post World War II globe tackling all manner of bizarre adventures.  This is the second volume of their cases and like the first is jammed packed with memorable scenes that assure Stein and Candle a reserved niche in the halls of New Pulp Fiction heroes.

“Tiki Terror,” has the guys flying to Honolulu, Hawaii to solve a bizarre murder of a hotel magnate who was apparently eaten by sharks in his high-rise office far from the sea. While on the island, Weatherby is reunited with his older sister, Selena, a college student studying anthropology.

“Crimson Catch” takes our duo to the mysterious New England fishing town of Innsmouth where they cross paths with Lovecraft monsters from the deep.  Panush audaciously swipes the plot from “A Fist Full of Dollars,” having Candle play the part of the instigator pitting two occult clans of fishmen against each other.

With “Mort Candle’s War,” Panush continues the origin saga began in the first volume returning back to the Black Forest where Sgt. Mort Candle and his squad of Screaming Eagles fight a desperate battle to save young Weatherby Stein and deliver safely to General Patton’s Third Army.  Great combat sequences reminiscent of DC Comic’s old Sgt.Rock series.

In “Pharoah’s Palace,” Mort and Weatherby uncover an ancient Egyptian mystic operating a casino on Los Vegas and team up with legendary hero, Doc Dearborn and his daughter, Evelyn, to combat this ancient evil.

The fifth tale is called “The Hallow,” and has our heroes visiting rural Appalachia to rescue a miner’s daughter kidnapped by a coven of witches.  But before they can formulate an effective strategy, the witches snatch Weatherby and its left to Mort to rescue his young partner with the aid of a con artist turned preacher man.

“Business Proposition,” picks up on the episodic origin story of how the gruff former army sergeant and the special trained teenager hook up again in Brooklyn after the war and what leads them to form their partnerships as detectives who specialize in the bizarre. Easily our favorite tale in this collection.

Finally the book wraps with “Crypt Chasers,” a high-balling confrontation between Weatherby and malevolent distant relative who has returned from the dead and plans on unleashing his particular brand of sadism on the modern world.  Panush leaves the story open ended, having created what looks to be a recurring arch-enemy for our duo.  Making us all the more anxious to dig into the next volume of this terrific series.

We’d also like to applaud Curiosity Quills Press for a gorgeous design package here, from a beautiful cover to fitting interior illustrations that truly enhance each story.  “Stein and Candle Vol II Cold Wars” is a fantastic, thoroughly enjoyable book we cannot recommend strongly enough.  If you like New Pulp Fiction, Stein and Candle are you kind of heroes.  Move over Dillon and the Rook, you’ve got company.

THE RACE

THE RACE

An Isaac Bell Adventure

By Justin Scott (& Clive Cussler)

Berkley Novel

434 pages

After four fast moving thrillers which had turn of the century Van Dorn ace detective Isaac Bell pursuing terrorists and spies aboard battleships and overland on America’s rails, this fifth outing sends him soaring through the clouds with history’s first daring young men and women in their flying machines.

It is 1909 and San Francisco publisher, Preston Whiteway, is sponsoring the first ever cross continental air race from New York to San Francisco with the winner getting a prize of  $50,000.  Whiteway’s motives aren’t all altruistic as he has become enamored with the female aviatrix, Josephine Frost whom he has christened The Sweetheart of the Air.  But there is a major wrinkle in Whiteway’s plans.  Josephine’s husband, Harry Frost, a self-made millionaire, is wanted for the murder of her aircraft’s designer, Marco Celere.  Frost discovered his wife and her flying mentor were having an affair and after shooting the Italian, vows to do the same to Josephine.

Whiteway hires the Van Dorn agency to hunt down Harry Frost and bring him to justice at the same time protecting Josephine during the race.  The man put in charge is Isaac Bell, the Van Dorn’s best detective.  From the start, Bell’s own instincts warn him that the entire affair is skewered.  Celere’s body was never recovered from the woods of upstate New York where he was supposedly shot by the irate Frost.  Authorities dismiss this lack of a corpse telling Bell it most likely fell into the river beneath the ledge where the body fell and most likely washed away into the wilderness to become fodder for wild animals.   But Bell doesn’t like loose ends.  The entire shooting incident continues to plague his thoughts all the while he is following Josephine and the other half-dozen fliers from around the world all vying for the Whiteway prize.

When several airplanes are purposely sabotaged during the early stages of the race, Bell and his men begin to realize they have a second foe on their hands.  But who is it and what is this mysterious agent’s objective in ruining the air race?  In the end, Bell realizes he only hopes of successfully protecting Mrs. Frost is that he pilot his own aircraft and shadow her throughout the race from in the air. 

Once again, Justin Scott delivers a fantastic, brilliantly researched adventure that perfectly captures the sense of wonder and awe as the miracle of aviation arrived bringing it with it unimaginable potential, both good and bad, for the future of America and the world.  Here are flimsy contraptions made of balsa wood, painted canvas and untested engines all soaring on the courage of a handful of daring pioneers who reached for the heavens and took the rest of us along for the ride.  If you like action and adventure set against authentic, historical backgrounds, you cannot do any better than the Isaac Bell series by Justin Scott.  Sure, Clive Cussler’s logo is plastered over ever title, but save for the initial book, Justin Scott is the author and deserves all the praise we can give him.  Please keep’em flying, Mr. Scott and we’ll keep reading them.