THE GODS OF GOTHAM

THE GODS OF GOTHAM

By Lyndsay Faye

Berkley Books

427 pages

One of the joys of reading any Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes mystery is their settings.  It is unlikely Doyle’s purpose was ever to offer an historical travelogue but nonetheless we are given such in each and every tale.  Whereas Lyndsay Faye, following in Doyle’s footsteps, which she does incredibly well in “The Gods of Gotham,” is decidedly intent on showing us the astounding world of New York City in the nineteenth century.  The burgeoning metropolis on the Hudson is as much a character in this epic saga as its struggling inhabitants battling to eke out a living from day to day against overwhelming odds.

Timothy Wilde and his older brother, Valentine, are the orphaned sons of two Irish immigrants.  Val works as a firefighter and is active in the Irish Democratic Party while Tim manages a bar and is saving his money to propose to Miss Mercy Underhill, the daughter of a protestant minister he has grown up loving.  When a horrible fire destroys both his business establishment and his apartment building, Tim is suddenly destitute without a penny to his name.  Without conferring with him, Val enlists them both into the newly formed New York Police Department being assembled by Judge George Washington Matsell.  Like all good historical novels, fiction and fact have to work together smoothly and the birth of the New York Police is deftly handled here as it depicts the aversion to its creation by New Yorkers who saw it as just another gang in a city riddled with such.

Tim begrudgingly accepts his “copper star” until something better can come along.  Then one night he bumps into a runaway child prostitute covered in blood.  It is she who tells him of a mysterious black-cloaked man responsible for the murder and mutilation of over a dozen children; all of them employed at various brothels throughout the city.  All of which leads to the discovery of a gruesome gravesite in the woods north of Twenty-third Street.  As these events come to light, Matsell sees in Tim a moral stubbornness in his desire to pursue the case while at the same time exhibiting a keen mind for puzzle-solving; the type of skills required in this post-crime situation.  Tim, much to his own surprise, is becoming a detective; a role that will lead him down the dark, depraved alleys of the human psyche.

“The Gods of Gotham,” is a truly remarkable writing achievement. It would not surprise this reviewer if Lyndsay Faye did not have a working time-machine hidden in her New York apartment as the scenes she describes are so brilliantly real. In every sense they transport the reader back to a world that, until now, only existed in dusty museums.  She brings that past to life and in doing so enriches us all.

THE SHOTGUN ARCANA

THE SHOTGUN ARCANA

By R.S. Belcher

Tor Books

396 pages

One of our favorite books of last year was “The Six-Gun Tarot,” by R.S. Belcher which we reviewed at that time as one of the most original, audacious weird western novels ever written.  Now comes its sequel and we totally need to find new, better adjectives worthy of this amazing follow up tale of the most haunted town on the frontier, Golgotha, Nevada.

The Mormon mayor possesses a magical sword and golden armor left to his father by the Prophet John Smith.  The richest man in town, Malachi Bick, is a fallen angel. The Sheriff, Jon Hightower, was once hanged; it didn’t take and now is considered some kind of immortal whereas his chief deputy is a shape-shifting half-breed named Mutt.  The widow Maude Stapleton is the three times grand-daughter of the pirate queen, Ann Boney and the town blacksmith, Clay Turlough is a frustrated scientist attempting to raise the dead with the blood from unholy worms. These are but a handful Golgotha’s colorful citizenry.  There are many more, all of whom eventually play a role in the story’s central plot. 

Raziel, another fallen angel calling himself Ray Ziel, has come to Golgotha to find the skull of the first mortal ever murdered.  Within this aged relic has been imprisoned the essence of destruction.  Should the skull be destroyed then this malevolent spirit would be released and infect all humans; turning them into mindless creatures of death.  This is Raziel’s goal and to achieve it he sends out an ethereal call throughout the world calling only the most savage, cruel, monstrous people to heed his summons and come to Golgotha. 

Thus Bick must ally himself with Sheriff Hightower and his supernaturally gifted associates in finding a way to battle Raziel and defeat his army of butchers before they can lay waste to the town and capture its treasure, the possessed skull. 

The action never lets up for a second and Belcher juggles all his wonderful characters with a master’s touch, allowing each ample time with their various subplots while moving the main narrative forward.  It is an unrelenting pace and the suspense mounts rapidly until upon reaching the final battle between good and evil, the reader is transfixed; mesmerized in such a skillful way unable to stop until the final page has been devoured.  Weird westerns are easily one of the most popular genres of new pulps today and no one writes them better than R.S. Belcher.  “The Shotgun Arcana” is a fantastic book lovers of the macabre are going to applaud long and hard.  Miss this one to your  regret.

DOCTOR OMEGA & THE SHADOWMEN

DOCTOR OMEGA AND THE SHADOWMEN

Edited by J.M. & Randy Lofficier

Black Coat Press

278 pages

Earlier in the year we saw the cover to this anthology and were greatly intrigued by it. Till then we had never head of Doctor Omega.  This was obviously a sequel of sorts to the book “Doctor Omega” by Arnould Galopin that Black Coat Press had published several years ago. Then, much to our delight, our good friend, Lucas Garrett provided us with a copy of that old French science fiction adventure thus familiarizing us with this hero.  We read the book; enjoyed it immensely and wrote up an enthusiastic review in which we noted many of the similarities between Doctor Omega and another highly popular Doctor, this one of British origins on the telly.

Then we happily went out and bought a copy of this title.  It is a collection of thirteen brand new Doctor Omega stories as penned by some of the best writers in the New Pulp field today; from G.L. Gick, Chris Roberson, Stuart Shiffman and Matthew Baugh to name a few.  Let me add that every story in this volume is excellent, though they vary in theme and length considerably, there is in each a spark of gleeful imagination and twisted perspectives on daring-do.

From wonky vampires to cowboy heroes, Prof. Moriarity and the Bride of Frankenstein, the good Doctor’s adventures are peppered with classic fictional characters easily recognizable and handled with deft interpretations.  And though it seems unfair to single out one particular entry, we must applaud the fateful meeting between Omega’s ship the Cosmos and a tiny little craft from the planet Krypton.  You can pretty much figure out what happens next.

“Doctor Omega and the Shadowmen” is one of the best anthologies released this year and it is guaranteed to entertain fans of the fantastic.  Do yourselves a big favor and pick up copy.  You can thank us later.

GIDEON SMITH & THE BRASS DRAGON

 

GIDEON SMITH & THE BRASS DRAGON

By David Barnett

Tor Books

352 pgs.

Last year we discovered a truly marvelous steampunk title, “Gideon Smith and the Mechanical Girl,” by David Barnett.  It was so audacious in its alternate-steam world presentation mixing original characters with figures from various literary classics.  It was such a joy to read, we nominated it for Best Pulp Novel of that year and, as with all fun reads, we fervently hoped that Barnett would grace us with a sequel.  That he has is a cause of much celebration and proving himself a genuine fantasy adventure master, he delivers a follow-up tale twice as grand as its predecessor.

It is months since the events chronicled in the first book a young Gideon Smith, the native of a small fishing village, has been named the Hero of the Empire by the Queen and has become an agent of the Foreign Service.  Accompanying him on his adventures is the corpulent journalist, Aloysius Bent, and the lovely airship captain, Ms Rowena Fanshawe.  After returning from an assignment in the South Pacific, they are ordered to British America to retrieve Apep; the mechanical dragon stolen by the Texas outlaw Louis Cockayne along with Maria, the clockwork girl.  This is a personal mission to Smith as he has fallen in love with Maria and is determined to rescue her from Cockayne.

But this America is primarily an untamed land with only its coastlines having been settled; the British in the east, the Japanese in the west and the Spanish to the south.  Upon their arrival in New York, they learn that Cockayne is hiding in the free Texas town of San Antonio now called Steamtown and run by Thaddeus Pinch; a cyborg gunfirghter named more machine than man.  Pinch is a sadistic fiend who operates the coal mines of Steamtown through the pain and suffering of hundreds of kidnapped slaves.

To save Maria and retrieve the Brass Dragon, Gideon and his friends have to battle a private army of cutthroat mercenaries and battle a prehistoric monster.  But as in their first adventure, they manage to recruit new allies among which are a genius Japanese inventor, an immortal freedom fighter known as Nameless and a beautiful Zorro-like senorita whose prowess with a rapier is deadly.  The action is non-stop, the locales both familiar and strange and all of it populated by some of the most colorful characters ever put down on paper.  “Gideon Smith and the Brass Dragon” is a rollicking adventure and for David Barnett’s second winner in a row.  We can only wonder what he has up his imaginary sleeve for book number three.

ADONIS MORGAN - Nobody Special

ADONIS MORGAN

(Nobody Special)

By Frank Byrns

115 pages

Pro Se Press

There are several respected writers in the New Pulp movement who specialize in tales of realistic superheroes.  One of the best is writer Frank Byrns as he amply demonstrates in this paperback collection starring his metahuman character, Adonis Morgan.

The five stories here detail the adventures of a man riding the unpredictable rollercoaster that comes with having super strength.  Early on we learn that Morgan went the traditional cape and mask route upon attaining his powers but the world being what it is, he gave up that romantic calling fast.  He then tries his hand at being a movie stuntman; being impervious to most kind of traumas does have advantages.  But when he’s framed for murder by a fellow metahuman with a long-held grudge, even that quickly sours.

Next he’s a nighttime taxi-driver and eventually a bodyguard for a campaigning senator assigned to protect the man’s younger, trophy wife.  When she’s kidnapped, Morgan is once again the public patsy.

As you can see, Byrns’ doesn’t offer up any rose-colored views; proving all too often that the fun stuff does indeed only happen in the comic books.  A world with real super powered people would, by the mere premise, be a complicated place.  One which he deftly portrays with ease.  From the first page, we dropped smoothly into this world and could easily empathize with Morgan.  Sometimes being a superhero just isn’t all it’s cracked up to me.  On the other hand, these stories are original and insightful and offer up a unique look into a little explored sci-fi pulp genre.  If you’ve never read superhero prose before, this is the place to start.

WAIT FOR SIGNS

WAIT FOR SIGNS

Twelve Longmire Stories

By Craig Johnson

Viking Penguin

183 pages

We reviewers are always trying to come up with fancy descriptions that will instantly cue the reader into exactly what kind of experience awaits them in the title we are reporting on.  It’s that tight-wire routine of giving away just enough of the idea without spoiling the actual contents.  With any Craig Johnson Longmire title, that’s not all that difficult.

Like the best fictional detective series ever put to pen, the joy in these mysteries is always the characters themselves with the actual who-dunnits really only an excuse to visit them time after time.  And the Longmire books are no exceptions.  Rather they excel at this process and every time a new one comes out, we can’t wait to spend more time with Sheriff Walt, Deputy Vic, George Standing Bear and all the marvelous characters who inhabit Johnson’s Absaroka County, Wyoming.

Over the past years, since beginning the series, Johnson has written a dozen short stories dealing with this series.  Some are poetic epilogues to certain novels while others are simply stand alone vignettes that do not require any real familiarity with the books.  What they all have in common is Johnson’s grasp of humanity with all its foibles and his unique homespun humor.  Here’s the bottom line, if Mark Twain had written mystery stories, they would have read a whole lot like the dozen between the covers of “Wait For Sign.”  That’s the best compliment this reviewer can offer.

LEGION III : KINGS OF OBLIVION

LEGION III – KINGS OF OBLIVION

By Van Allen Plexico

White Rocket Books

335 pages

For those of you who haven’t been keeping up, this is the third and final volume of Van Plexico’s THE SHATTERING trilogy. It is a mind-blowing, action packed finale far greater than anything we could have imagined.  Which is no small feat as we’ve been fans of Plexico’s writing since he burst on the scene with his superhero series, SENTINELS.

With THE SHATTERING books, Plexico’s love 80s and 90s science fiction comes shining through so that we can actually feel the influences of such writers Roger Zelazny and Larry Niven resonating throughout these adventures. 

KINGS OF OBLIVION picks up where all the multi-cliffhangers from book two, SONS OF TERRA, left off.  There are three levels of existence, the Above where the gods dwell, the Middle, or our reality, if you will and the Below where dwell all manner of hellish demons.  One such evil entity has been attempting through various devious manipulations to extend his control to mankind’s level and thereby become the lord and master of the known galaxies.  To achieve this end, the Man in Black has recruited the aid of several alien species and begun an all out assault on the universe.  Gone are the subtle, Machiavellian ploys of the first two books.  This foul beast, having been constantly thwarted by a handful of brilliant and tenacious soldiers, is now determined to totally shatter what he cannot possess.

Standing in his way are Legion Generals Agrippa and Tamerlane who in turn have allied themselves with members of an alien warrior race, the Dyonari and several of the last remaining gods from the fabled Golden City.  Together, this small ragtag group has overcome overwhelming odds while at the same time avoid killing each other in the remnants of a political coup wherein one of their own, General Iapetus, attempted to usurp the royal throne.

If you like rousing space battles, desperate last stands and daring heroes, you are not going to do any better than LEGION III : KINGS OF OBLIVION.  We said it before and it bears repeating, Van Plexico is the Master of Space Operas.  This latest entry cements that beyond any doubt what-so-ever!

SLOUCHING TOWARD CAMULODUNUM

SLOUCHING TOWARDS CAMULODUNUM

(And Other Stories)

By Micah S. Harris

Mino Profit Press

188 pages

Micah Harris is one of the finest adventure fantasy writers working today.  So we were thrilled when this little book popped up in the mail a few weeks ago.  It contains three new tales of the fantastic by Mr. Harris and each of them is a well-crafted gem.  One has to wonder, what with the lack of fiction magazines today, if any of these would have ever seen the light of day had it not been for the ease of self-publishing.  We are daily grateful we live in such an age when writers of this talent can follow this path and effectively make their efforts available we eager readers.

In the first tale, from which the book takes its title, a company of occultists hunt an inhuman villainess attempting to open a portal to our world so as to allow her demonic sire to enter.  Joining this stalwart group is the lovely Becky Sharp, a recurring character in Harris’ stories who has her own agenda.  The woman they are chasing kidnapped her baby girl and Becky is determined to rescue her no matter what the cost.  This story moves like a greyhound chasing a rabbit, from one marvelous scene to the next and even though many readers won’t recognize many of the classical references to these characters, it doesn’t dampen the enthusiasm in which Harris spins his story.  The climax is sheer over-the-top pulp genius.

In “The Anti-Pope of Avignon,” Harris channels Robert E. Howard the Puritan travels to Avignon to put an end to threat posed by the beautiful Fausta, the bastard love child of the late Pope Alexander VI and Cesare Borgia.  He has been hired by a community of French Hugenots who see her as a mortal enemy to their way of life.  But the Puritan is captured and thrown in a dungeon where he uncovers the presence of an unholy spirit called the Horla.  It is this demonic being that is the real villain and only his sword, wielded in holy righteousness, may save the day.  Any fan of the Solomon Kane stories should feel right at home with this delightful yarn.

“May the Ground Not Consume Thee…” is the last of this triple treat.  None other than Alexander Dumas’ Count of Monte Cristo comes to the aid of a tortured French maid whose vile and sadistic husband has made it impossible for her to see her own daughter. To resolve the woman’s plight, the Count plots an elaborate scheme which includes duping a cruel, ageless vampire into being his pawn.  Once again Harris demonstrates his insane plotting genius.

In the end, it would impossible to pick which of these three pieces we enjoyed the most. All are equally well written, captivating and sheer reading treasures.  For a little book, this one packs a wallop and we strongly urge you to seek it out.  This is what good pulp writing is all about.

DNA

DNA

By Raven Bourne

Self-Published

Available at Amazon.com

405 pages

Long ago, after Star Trek had become a huge media success, the book world jumped on the profit-bandwagon and we were suddenly flooded with new Trek novels written by multitudes of recognized sci-fi authors and eventually others by amateurs entering the field.  Always intrigued by how others viewed characters we enjoyed, we picked up lots of these and for the most part those by veteran sci-fi scribes were enjoyable while others were outright entertaining.  Then one day we picked up one particular paperback written by two ladies and within the first two chapters had to put it down as the tale was so steeped in juvenile romanticisms, it was as if someone had turned a classic space opera series into a Harlequin Romance.

Which was when we realized that there are writers, regardless of their skills or life experiences, unable to disguise their respective genders in telling a story.  We are not saying that is a bad thing, only that it is a recognizable facet among some writers.  Case in point, had we not known Raven Bourne’s gender before digging into her book, we would have easily identified it as having been penned by a woman within the first few chapters.  How so?  Because there is unavoidable romantic fantasy lens that shades every single aspect of this novel from plot to pacing and characterization.  This is clearly a female perspective and it is so pervasive, we doubt many of our pulp action-loving readers would be able to honestly appreciate it.

With that disclaimer out of the way, let’s look at what this DNA is all about.  Dr. Raen McNeil, a beautiful, sensitive genetic biologist, uncovers a secret relating to the evolution of mankind.  In fact this revelation argues against the accepted principles of known science and hints at alien manipulation.  What if mankind’s tendencies towards violence and all the baser, savage instincts were never suppose to be the norm?  What if a particular genetic code was purposely excluded from our ancestors locking us into a fate of perpetual destruction?

No sooner does Raen uncover this missing gene then she is abducted by a humanoid alien who believes she is his intended soulmate.  Meanwhile a major pharmaceutical company hires private eye, Jacob Fourth, to find her.  Jacob is a no-nonsense pragmatic character with an ego to match.  His search for Raen, although interesting in the locales it takes him, is the book’s weakest section and could easily have been shortened.  Once Jacob finds Raen and her alien-lover, both of them are whisked away way on a starship and sent on an amazing journey at the heart of which lies either the salvation of mankind or its demise.  Bourne’s aliens are fun as well as fascinating and it is their interaction with Raen and Jacob that is most rewarding. Whereas most space opera sagas are filled with ray-blasters, starship encounters and hostile environments, DNA is more a fantasy forum to explore religion and philosophy and their relevance to the human condition.  In the end, DNA puts forth some interesting theories and examines who we are as race while suggesting a peaceful future as a genuine alternate path…if we are wise enough to choose it.

We hope to see more from Ms. Bourne but humbly suggest her next project be leaner and less ambitious allowing her to improve her skills while trimming the extraneous fat.  The shorter lessons are usually the ones we remember best.

STINKING RICH

STINKING RICH

By Rob Brunet

Down & Out Books

277 pages

Danny Grant is a young Canadian just out of high school with absolutely no talent or ambition to get ahead in life.  More content to be a pothead slacker, he survives pulling whatever scams will bring him quick, easy cash.  Then he lands a dream job, watching over a huge crop of marijuana for a biker gang.  But is he has no clue who hired him.  All contact is done via texting etc.  Danny’s job is to make sure the plants, growing in a big barn on the abandoned country farm are kept watered until harvested.

For this he’s paid several thousand dollars a week; money he quickly loses at a local Indian run casino.  All of which leads to him accidently clubbing another slacker in the head with a baseball bat and the poor guy.  He buries the corpse in the woods behind a trailer park.  As soon as the biker gang sells their crop, Danny plans to take his final paycheck and vamoose.

But his luck continues to run bad and during the night of the drug exchange, a police officer stumbles onto the scene.  Then someone torches the packed grass and the entire barn goes up in flames.  Bikers and their buyers scatter and in the confusion a duffel bag containing seventy-five thousand dollars disappears.  In truth, Danny has escaped with it.  He buries the loot under the outhouse of an old man who lives in the woods and then is promptly arrested and sent to prison on a manslaughter charge.

And that’s just the opening chapters of Rob Brunet’s hilarious crime comedy filled with some of the craziest, eccentric characters you’ll ever find packed together between two covers; both crooked and decent.  The plot goes into high gear when it skips ahead to Danny’s release from prison, an occurrence that has lots of people excited.  These include Perko Ratwick, the idiot biker who had hired Danny in the first place.  Since that night of the barn fire, the rest of his grungy gang blame him for the loss of their money and fully expect him to make amends by retrieving it.  Then there’s Officer Max Ainsley, the cop who accidently stumbled onto the drug buy and interrupted it  He is considered incompetent by his colleagues for not having called in back-up and having allowed the money to go missing.  Add to this cast the sexy Linette, Danny’s public defender who wants the money for herself and seduces Officer Ainsley into helping her find it.

Of course the only person who knows where the money is hidden is Danny.  Imagine his surprise when he digs up the outhouse to discover the duffel bag is gone!

Trying to properly describe “Stinking Rich” is like trying to catch grasshoppers.  You no sooner snatch up one then a dozen jump up all over the place.  There are lots of other great supporting characters that fill this wacky crime story and this reviewer was shaking his head and chuckling often before the entire madcap carousel finally spun down to an exhaustive finish.  Rob Brunet is a gifted writer who somehow manages to corral a dozen insane characters and through them tell a tale unlike any we’ve ever heard before.  He is a name you want to keep an eye on.  We certainly will.

HELLFIVE - El Mosaico Vol 3

HELLFIRE

El Mosaico Vol 3

By Michael Panush

Curiosity Quills Press

243 pages

One of the many things this reviewer loves about New Pulp is how writers are willing to change or alter standard book formats.  Michael Panush does that quite admirably in this, the third volume of his weird western series, El Mosaico.  For those of you who missed the first two volumes, the saga revolves around an American Civil War version of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein.”  Built by a demented southern doctor/scientist, Clayton Cane was assembled from the parts of dead confederate soldiers and brought back to life in the hopes of being the first of many such “reborn” soldiers in a last ditch effort to safe the Confederacy.  Luckily for the Union, the war ended before others could be created and Cane escapes his creator to begin his new post-war career as a mercenary bounty hunter in the Wild West.

That’s the basic premise of the books and volumes one and two were clearly put together as collections following Cane’s many bizarre adventures.  At the end of book two, he had settled in a small Texas town called Hellfire and become its sheriff.  “Hellfire” picks up exactly from that point and two thirds of the book details Cane’s efforts to protect the town from a power hunger mining corporation owned by one Gaspar Noble.  Noble wants to dig all the mineral wealth out of the grand Silver Mesa without a thought to how his greed will lay waste to the town and its people.

Though written as a novella, each chapter in the battle for Hellfire has a unique individual story twist.  Then, just as that major story concludes, Panush continues the book with two stories featuring Cane’s newly acquired female deputy, Nelly Needles, a terrific character that really livens up the series. And as if that wasn’t enough, there is one more huge surprise awaiting the reader.  Closing out the book, Panush propels us into present day with the introduction of yet another fantastic pulp hero, El Hijo Del Mosaico, a Lucha Dor Mexican fighter claiming to be the son of the legendary gunfighter. 

We’d love to tell you more, but would require spoiling some really great surprises that await you in “Hellfire.”  So now you can see our dilemma caused by Panush’ innovative approach to series writing.  Is this a novel or a short story collection? A strong argument could be made for both cases but that in itself seems foolish as the important issue here is the marvelous fun of this book offers up.  We lavished much praise on those first two volumes but without hesitation, “El Mosaico Vol 3 Hellfire,” is by far the best one yet.  If you like great weird western pulp action, you won’t find a better series than this one.  Nuff said!

THE CAGLIOSTRO CHRONICLES

THE CAGLIOSTRO CHRONICLES

By Ralph L. Angelo Jr.

Cosmic Comet Publishing

271 pages

Long ago we discovered a copy of E.E. “Doc” Smith’s classic sci-fi novel, “The Skylark of Space.”  What impressed us was how the action centered around two civilian scientists who build an amazing spacecraft and come up with the means to launch it into deep space where they have many fantastic adventures.  Smith is often credited as being the father of that sci-fi sub-genre known as the Space Opera.  But at that time most such tales generally featured military heroes whereas not so in this story.  The fact that the heroes were civilians was one of the many aspects of the book we enjoyed and so remember it fondly to this day.

Which brings us to Ralph Angelo’s “The Cagliostro Chronicles,” a bonafide space opera that follows in Smith’s footsteps with its protagonists being the crew of a civilian made spaceship.  Genius aeronautical engineer, Mark Johnson, has built the massive Cagliostro and outfitted here with a unique magnetic engine of his own invention that will allow it to travel faster than light; in effect transport him and his crew to the far reaches of the galaxy in the blink of an eye.  He and his hand picked crew are about to embark on a “shake-down” flight when Johnson’s friend, General Abruzzi begins acting very strangely.  Johnson suspects, for whatever illogical purposes, the general not only does not want him to launch the Cagliostro but is in fact planning to forcefully take it from.  Heeding his instincts, he takes off ahead of schedule and sure enough finds the entire Earth Space Navy chasing after him and his crew. 

Using their new FTL drive, they manage to escape to the farthest reaches of the galaxy and there, Johnson confides in his team; made up of a beautiful telepath named Ariel, a super-strong security chief and several other gifted scientists.  Under secret orders of the President, Johnson has learned that evidence exist of alien incursions into out Solar System and has been ordered to discover the origin of mysterious space messages intercepted by the government.  The Cagliostro’s first mission is to discover who is sending these transmissions and what their intent is.

We found this first half of the book slow.  Understandably Angelo was burdened with laying out the basic plot, identifying his characters etc.etc. in the basic set-up.  Still we kept hoping the pacing would pick and are happy to report it does so in grand fashion once we get to the inhabited, alien worlds.  From that point on Angelo is clearly channeling classic pulp writers like Doc Smith and Edmond Hamilton as he propels our likeable heroes into one adventure after another as they eventually realize the Earth is in jeopardy from a full-blown alien invasion armada.  By the time they race back to our Solar System, there isn’t a moment to spare.   Clones of government officials have infiltrated the highest branches of the government and are working to assure the invasion’s success. Exposing them is only a small part of the ray-blasting action.  Now it is up to Johnson and the crew of the Cagliostro to orchestrate a viable defense strategy that will give the Earth forces a chance to survive the coming onslaught.

If you like super space battles with thousands of ships engaged in a life and death struggle, with heroes larger than life and last minute rescues, “The Cagliostro Chronicles” was written for you and all Space Opera lovers.  It is a headlong rush into the wonders and dangers that mankind will some day have to confront.  Let’s hope we have real men like Captain Mark Johnson to lead the way. 

WHITE FIRE

WHITE FIRE

A Special Agent Pendergast Mystery

By Preston & Child

Vision

470 pages

When you read through 470 pages of a book and it seems like you only just started, you know it is a special book.  When you read a book that takes place in the majestic Rocky Mountains of Colorado while at the same time dealing with a lost Sherlock Holmes tale by Arthur Conan Doyle, it’s a good bet you’ve gotten into a truly unique and original adventure.  All of which are the hallmarks of the Special FBI Agent Pendergast thrillers by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.

Easily one of the best New Pulp series on the market today, the adventures of Agent Perdergast are always a treat filled with the bizarre and unexpected.  Alone, both Preston and Child are excellent masters of action fiction; together they are unbeatable. 

In this, the fourteenth of the series. Pendergast’s young female protégé, Corrie Swanson, finds herself in the exclusive ski resort of Roaring Fork, Colorado.  As a student of a prestigious criminal justice college, Corrie has traveled to the remote mountain town in hopes of examining the recently exhumed bodies of eleven miners who were supposedly killed and eaten by a grizzly bear in the late 1800s.  All of this is for a thesis paper she is writing.  But when she exactly sees a few skeletal remains from one of the bodies, Corrie spots an anomaly that doesn’t corroborate the recorded cause of death.  Because of this revelation she is soon arrested and thrown in jail for trumped up charges by some of the wealthier townsfolk afraid of what she has accidentally uncovered.

Of course word of her incarceration doesn’t take long to reach Pendergast and he arrives days later to rescue Corrie and investigate why she was illegal imprisoned.  But before his own detective work can get rolling, Roaring Fork is beset by a serial arsonist who targets the most expensive homes in the community.  This unknown sadist invades the rich mansions, overcomes the residing families and leaves them to burn alive in the fiery conflagration.  Thus it would appear Agent Pendergast is dealing with two separate cases and that beomces his conundrum; whether they are independent affairs or in fact actually related to each other.  And if so, how?

And why does the hundred years old grizzle bear killings involve a lost Sherlock Holmes story?

The word page-turner is all too often carelessly dropped into a review without any real justification.  In this case, there is no other way to correctly describe “White Fire.”  We’ve been a fan of the Pendergast series since its inception and soundly declare “White Fire” to be one of the best thus far.  It never misses a single beat in its literary melody of suspense and thrills. 

DOC VOODOO - CROSSFIRE

DOC VOODOO : CROSSFIRE

By Dale Lucas

Beating Windward Press

224 pages

A few years ago we were introduced to the black pulp avenger, Doc Voodoo in his debut novel.  It was an auspicious one and in our enthusiastic review we made it quite clear we wanted sequels.  Now that wish has been answered in a marvelous fashion by author Dale Lucas affording we readers with another fast paced, wall-to-wall action thriller that is truly great reading experience.

In 1927 Harlem, the Italian mob boss, Harry Flood, has plans on taking over the neighborhood.  To do so he sends his goons to murder the leading community leaders which include the highly respected Reverend Barnabus Farnes amongst others.  At the last possible moment, the skull-faced, gun-toting Doc Voodoo comes to the rescue.  Farnes is totally unaware that the voodoo empowered avenger is actually Dr. Dub Corveaux, the kind-hearted, dedicated man of medicine who is sweet on his daughter, the lovely Fralene.

Incensed by his men’s failure to eliminate their targets, Flood cunningly plans to fight fire with fire, taking his lead from the mysterious black clad crime fighter.  He finds a Haitian witch and has her summon a demon to possess Rev. Farnes.  At the same time, a self-serving, black entrepreneur, Jebediah Debbs, tired of the pastor’s non-violent approach, begins to arm Harlem natives so as to form their own vigilante committee and deal with the mobsters’ threat bullet for bullet.

Now all of Harlem is on the verge of a massive blood-letting and its one shining hope for peace has become corrupted by unknown forces.  Suddenly both the skills of Dr. Corveaux and the abilities of his scary alter-ego will be called upon if catastrophe is to be avoided.  But can one man stand alone against the tides of both human and supernatural greed and cruelty.

Mixing classic pulp elements of both hero and horror genres, Lucas once again puts forth an amazing, totally gratifying tale that is as good, if not better, than the first book in this series.  “Doc Voodoo : Crossfire,” is easily one of the best pulp novels we’ve read this year and we will be nominating for several pulp awards come Jan. 15^, 2015.  That good?  You can bet your bones on it.

THE SPOOK LIGHTS AFFAIR

THE SPOOKS LIGHTS AFFAIR

By Marcia Muller & Bill Pronzini

A Forge Book

250 pages

There have been several husband and wife mystery-writing teams in the past but only two have ever both won the coveted MWA Grand Masters award; Margaret Millar and Ross McDonald and the authors of this book.  “The Spooks Lights Affair” is part of their Carpenter and Quincannon series and if this entry is representative of the earlier cases, we may have to go dig them up.

In 1895 San Francisco, Sabina Carter and John Quincannon are partners of a well known and respected private detective agency.  Although they usually work as a team, in this  book we find them handling their own individual cases. 

Carter has been hired by the wealthy St. Ives family to shadow their rebellious, overly romantic daughter, Virginia.  It has come to their attention that the girl has been seeing handsome young store clerk who does not meet their upper-crusty standards for an acceptable suitor.  Alas, the girl is frustrated by having the tenacious private eye on her heels constantly.  On a fog shrouded night, while both are attending a sumptuous gala hosted by the mayor; Virginia attempts to elude Carter and dashes up the side of a steep hill where she commits suicide by throwing herself off a cliff.

As tragic as these events are, they take a quick turn towards the mysterious when an extensive search of the area below the cliffs fails to find Virginia’s body.  It has somehow disappeared, vanished into thin air.

Meanwhile the always ambitious Quincannon is attempting to hunt down the solo bandit who robbed a local Wells Fargo office of thirty-five thousand dollars.  The bank has offered up a tidy reward for anyone who can find the culprit, bring him to justice and retrieve the stolen funds.  Thus it would seem the sleuthing partners are dealing with two separate cases.  But when they compare their notes, they discover that several of the people they are investigating have connections to one another.  How is dead girl’s older brother connected to one of the shadier figures involved with the bank heist?  What was the true role of the dead girl’s beau in her demise and subsequent disappearance?  Is he also part of the daring robbery?

The plot is complex and fun to follow.  Even more so is the authentic setting in which it plays out as Carter and Quincannon give us a wonderful tour of San Francisco in its gilded era from the infamous Barbary Coast to the rich Tenderloin gambling houses and garish brothels that catered to the city’s wealthiest men.  “The Spook Lights Affair” is both a terrific mystery plus a rollicking time-travel adventure populated with truly colorful figures both fictional and historical.  It is a fun romp by two masters of their craft who obviously enjoy working together much to their readers’ delights.

RAGTIME COWBOYS

 RAGTIME COWBOYS

By Loren D. Estleman

A Forge Book

264 pages

I have a particular fondness for stories that pair historical figures together in fictional adventures.  These people actually lived during the same time but in reality never met, ergo the wish-fulfillment element in this kind of what-if story.  That’s what Loren D. Estleman has done with “Ragtime Cowboys” and it works to perfection.

As unlikely as it seems, both Charlie Siringo and Dashiell Hammett did have several things in common; both worked for the famous Pinkerton Detective Agency at one time and both later went on to become published writers.  Siringo was recognized more for his illustrious lawman career which had him rubbing elbows with the likes of Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett and Butch Cassidy and his whole in the wall gang.  There have been scores of books and films about his life and career securely guaranteeing his place in western cowboy history.  Hammett on the other hand would gain renown for his literary achievements giving the mystery world such classic personages such as Sam Spade and Nick and Nora Charles.  Thus they were karmic opposites, one famous for his real exploits, the other for his fictional creativity.

And so Estlemen brings them together in 1921 California.  The tale begins in Los Angeles where a senior Siringo is attempting to write another book about his colorful past. He is visited by an aged Wyatt Earp.  Earp owns a horse ranch and one of his prized racing horses has been stolen.  He hires his Siringo to find and retrieve it.  The only clue they have is the suspected thief has just been hired to work for the widow of Jack London on her spread in the hills beyond San Francisco.  Earp sends Siringo to Frisco where he is met by a young man also a former Pinkerton veteran who will act as his guide and aide; one Dashiell Hammett. 

The dialogue between Siringo and Hammett is brilliant and hilarious.  While Siringo was a staunch Republican who despised socialist of every ilk, Hammett was an avowed liberal who never missed a chance to criticize the noveau American rich gentry.  From the second they meet, the sparks fly and it is only through their trials together that they ultimately come to respect each other’s grit and strength of character. How that mutual respect evolves is the true beauty of this cowboy fable. 

Oh, there’s also an underpinning plot of political corruptions wherein our two ragtime cowboys get mixed up with the Teapot Dome Scandal.  This was a bribery incident that took place between 1920 and 1923 during the administration of President Warding Harding which ultimately led to the Secretary of the Interior, Albert Fall becoming the first Cabinet member to go prison.  The entire plot is a nothing but a flimsy gimmick with which to bring Siringo and Hammett together against an authentic historical event.  Its revelations at the book’s climax are superfluous and easily forgotten.  What is not is the shoot-out at the London ranch and both Siringo and Hammett reliving their raucous rowdy youthful escapades one last time.

“Ragtime Cowboys,” is an insightful look into America’s past through the eyes of two remarkable men, both of product of their times.  It is one of the most enjoyable books I’ve ever read.

SNATCHED!

 SNATCHED!

By Charles Boeckman

235 pages

Prose Press

No baseball player hits a homerun every time at bat.  Nor does every writer produce a must-read thriller with each new book he or she releases.  I’ve made no secret in this column that I am huge fan of pulp writer Charles Boeckman and the fact that he is still writing in his 90s continues to both astound and inspire me.  Sadly, with his latest book he goes off into a multi-plotted ditch with no clear cut finale.

In fact, the book is divided into two very distinct parts as if it had been originally intended to be presented as two separate shorter pieces.  In the first half we meet our protagonist, private eyes Kate McHaney and her alcoholic musician ex-husband, Craig Dawson.  We’re given brief background histories of both; a reader’s digest encapsulation of their all too brief union and then the mystery begins.  The mayor’s teenage daughter has been kidnapped and it is suspected the culprit was a local mob boss with connections to the Mafia.  McHaney and Dawson are hired by the mayor and ultimately discover the real bad guys and in a climatic shootout in some arid Texas scrubland, rescue the young lady.

Now had the book ended there, we’d be applauding loudly and singing its praises.  But it does not and what we are then presented with are a series of interconnected vignettes regarding the gangland boss which all manage to involve our heroes in one fashion or another.  The old mayor has retired and the mobster is campaigning to replace him. Somehow Craig is recruited to run against him.  Then the two private eyes become the guardians of a young orphan whose father, a convicted drug-dealer, was murdered.  Soon thereafter the boy comes to Kate asking her help in finding a missing Mexican girl here in the U.S. illegally.  Which then puts the lovely detective in the crosshairs of the Mafia kingpin and days prior to the big election, Dawson disappears.

If this all sounds confusing, it is and it isn’t.  It is not difficult to follow because Charles Boeckman is the consummate writing professional and his technical skills are exemplary.  The reader has no problem following along with his tale. The problem is that narrative goes nowhere and by the end of the book there are no concrete resolutions to any of these plot threads.  The book is billed as the first in a series and so it is safe to assume Boeckman will pick up on these dangling plots in his next volume.  All well and good if the reader is fortunate enough to find the next book.  But even in a series, each chapter should be somewhat self-contained and close out on a genuine climax that does not require having to wait for a sequel.

Thus, as much as I liked these characters and the author’s storytelling, I’m left unsatisfied that the book does not have a real ending.