DOSSOUYE -The Dancers of Mulukau

DOSSOUYE

The Dancers of Mulukau

By Charles Saunders

Sword & Soul Media

320 pages

Fantasy adventure writer Charles Saunders is often compared to Robert E. Howard as his Imaro is very much as strong a barbarian hero as is Conan; the difference obviously being that Imago’s world is not that of Howard’s Hyborian era but rather that of Africa’s mythological past. Since the 1970s his tales of Imaro have thrilled legions of readers and continue to do so to this day.

Still, if Howard’s Conan had the fiesty Red Sonja, one would fully expect Saunders to offer us a black female warrior to co-exist in this particular setting. Several years ago he did just that in bringing to life the amazing, beautiful and truly mesmerizing Dossouye; a native of the kingdom of Abomey, where women warriors are as prominent as their male counterparts. Then Saunders went Imaro one better by giving this sexy, independent amazon a very strange pet; Gbo the war-bull. From their first appearance in print, this duo has fired the imagination of fantasy lovers and rightly so.

Now comes this full length novel that takes the pair to a foreign country far from their homeland.  Dossouye is hired as a bodyguard, along with a troop of male mercenaries, to accompany a group of magical entertainers known as the Dancers of Mulukau on their journey to the city Khutuma.  In Khutuma, the well water is contains special rejuvenating properties which provide the people with long, abnormally healthy lives.  Yet at times the wells run dry and only the magic of the Dancers can replenish them; thus the urgency of their mission.

But the trip across a barren desert is fraught with dangers both natural and supernatural; the latter because of the Dancers physical condition.  They are all hermaphrodites; possessing both male and female organs. Whereas the majority of people from the neighboring kingdoms do not concern themselves with this fact, one particular group of mountain dwellers known as the Walaq are very much aware of it.  The Walaq are religious zealots whose extremist ideology sees the Dancers as freaks of nature who, according to their deity, must be completely exterminated from the face of the world.

As you can see by this very delicate social subplot, this isn’t your typical sword and sorcery fare.  Which comes as no surprise if you’ve read any of Saunders past works. Charles Saunders is an insightful, gifted adventure writer who uses his story-telling talents to not only entertain his readers, but to enlighten them in the process; to dispel the curtains of ignorant prejudices that still encumber our society and continues to perpetuate needless suffering and pain on others all for the sake of some subjective “norm” that truly doesn’t exist.

“Dossouye –The Dancers of Mulukau,” is a fast moving, thrilling and original fantasy adventure that breathes fresh air into this long established and often times too familiar genre.  His writing is flawless, his characters captivating and in the end he delivers a truly satisfying reading experience like few others working in the field today.  And here’s my prediction, gleaned from being one of his staunches fans from the start, no one will be able to read this book without, upon finishing it, having the urge to go out and collect all his other books.  Do yourselves a favor, don’t fight the urge.

THE DESTINY OF FU MANCHU

THE DESTINY OF FU MANCHU

By William P. Maynard

Black Coat Press

210 pages

When William P. Maynard wrote The Terror of Fu Manchu, it justifiably received an overwhelming positive reception from the pulp community.  Not only had Sax Rohmer’s classic character been resurrected after decades, but by a wonderfully talented writer able to tell the story in Rohmer’s same, unique literary voice.  Reading that book one could easily imagine it having been penned by Rohmer, it is that good.  And before all the hoopla had died down, it would go on to receive many acolytes and even a Pulp Factory Award nomination for Best Novel of 2010.  This success did not go unnoticed by both the publisher and the licensors.  They wisely concluded that Fu Manchu fans would want more from this skilled writer and were only too happy to sign Maynard to write a sequel.

The Destiny of Fu Manchu is that rare follow up book that is better than the first.  Which is no small feat by any means.  Taking a different tack, Maynard opts to tell this new thriller through the eyes of British Archeologist, Prof. Michael Knox rather than those of Dr. Petrie, the original series’ best known raconteur.  In doing so, he offers the readers a marvelously new perception of these classic figures from both sides of this on-going saga.  Knox, unlike Petrie, in not a selfless, courageous hero but rather a shallow, womanizing opportunist who, upon finding himself entangled with the deadly forces of the Si Fan, immediately flees with no other plan than to save his own skin.  

For whatever reasons, Fu Manchu and his enemies are after a hidden Egyptian power buried under one of the pyramids Knox and his colleagues are excavating.  When his associate is brutally murdered by oriental assassins, Knox disguises himself and flees, hoping to escape whatever dangers have befallen him.  Instead he is found, seduced and hypnotized by Fah lo Suee, the daughter of Fu Manchu.  She is the most alluring Femme Fatale ever created in pulp fiction.  At the last possible moment, Knox is rescued by the determined Sir Nayland Smith of British Intelligence; Fu Manchu’s arch rival. From that point onward, the narrative becomes a world spanning adventure going next to the jungles of Abyssinia and London, then on to Munich before making a complete circuit and ending back in Egypt.

Maynard cleverly weaves in a diabolical plot that has Knox and Smith involved with Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s Munich meeting with Chancellor Adolf Hitler in an ill fated attempt to forestall a second world war.  His portrayal of Hitler and his bullying manipulation of the western world leaders is deft and insightful blurring the line between history and fiction to tell a fantastic, mesmerizing tale.

As ever, Maynard’s true genius is his comprehending Fu Manchu’s complicated character and motives so that by the book’s epilogue, it leaves us contemplating what forces compel men to achieve power and glory when aware both will ultimately destroy them. In the end, the differences between the hero and the villain seem inconsequential, both being obsessed to the point of self-destructive hubris.  The Destiny of Fu Manchu is the finest pulp novel this reviewer has read this year.  It is going to take something truly remarkable to usurp that number one spot.  We shall see.

ME AND MY SMELL

ME AND MY SMELL

Story by Rob Howells

Art by Nikola Radulovikj

A “Between Your Toes” Creation

(http://www.createspace.com/3796191)

28 pages

There are times in all our lives when our souls need a very strong dose of absurdity and silliness.  It’s a playfulness small children understand all too easily and the real genius behind great children’s books such as this one.  The story is simple enough, our hero wakes up one day decides he no longer is going to wash or bathe. With each new passing day of his steadfast new resolution something very strange begins to occur.  A rather peculiar odor begins to emanate from his body causing lots of weird reactions by the people around him.  This pungent new smell continues to grow until the ultimate conclusion is revealed.

From page to page, I chuckled and marveled about both Howells’ inventiveness and artist Radulovikj’s wonderful illustrations. This is easily one of the funniest books I’ve ever read and I am going to be showing it to all my friends, young and old alike.  If you have small children, or simply want to remember what true silliness is, you so need to pick up, “Me And My Smell.”  Honestly, you’ll be so glad you did.

MICKEY SPILLANE ON SCREEN

MICKEY SPILLANE ON SCREEN

By Max Allan Collins & James L. Traylor

McFarland & Company, Inc.
(www.mcfarlandpub.com)
(800-253-2187)

210 pages

Scholarly treatises such as this volume, which examines the film and television adaptations of mystery writer, Mickey Spillane, run the risk of committing the most ironic literary sin of them all; producing a boring book about an entertaining subject. A large part of Spillane’s success, beside devising clever plots, was his gift of writing  stories that brought a great deal of joy to his readers. Perhaps no other popular writer of the 20^th Century ever connected so powerfully with the American post World War II psyche as did Spillane, which in itself is no great puzzle.  Spillane was very much a product of his times, a veteran and every day working stiff who saw returning GI’s with true empathy. He was one of them.

By the late 1940s Spillane was writing about a tough guy private eye with an Old Testament philosophy.  Sickened by the horrors of a world war, Mike Hammer, had had a belly full of evil and injustice and wasn’t going to take it anymore.  His singular voice was one of righteous indignation unwilling to capitulate to the powerful elite eager to profit from a society weary of conflict.  These were the new carpetbaggers whose target of their greed were the innocent, decent people trying to build new lives. Without being asked, Hammer found himself the wolf at the door, protecting the sheep against all the other wolves.

By the time Hollywood came knocking, his books were world wide best sellers and Spillane’s legions of fans were anxious to see his rough and tumble tales brought to the silver screen. Sadly, the results of those adaptations weren’t always pleasurable either to Spillane or his devotees.  Some went on to achieve cult status while others drifted into TV late night obscurity barely remembered today. In this extensive and wonderfully presented study, Collins and Traylor set the records straight, giving each Spillane film and television series a thorough and insightful inspection.  Their unbiased criticisms of the good, the bad and the ugly are all well researched reports from cast bios to screen writers’ credits.

Some of the surprises contained detail the ideological differences between conservative Spillane and left-leaning producer Victor Saville and his partner director, Robert Aldrich. Both Saville and Aldrich clearly despised the character of Mike Hammer and attempted to paint him in a negative light via their version of “Kiss Me Deadly,” with actor Ralph Meeker as Hammer.  Yet, as explained in the book, it was this very antagonism that ironically resulted in perhaps the finest Mike Hammer movie of all time.  Go figure.

Another highlight is their look at “The Girl Hunters,” a British black and white production in which Spillane took on the role of his most famous creation and played him to screen perfection; perhaps the only writer to ever do so in film history. 

This and other installments offer long forgotten vignettes from both Spillane’s associates and often relate Spillane’s own documented opinions of these adaptations, pro and con. We especially appreciated their closing the book with reprinting one of the last interviews Spillane gave to Collins, neatly summarizing his own personal and caustic observations on these various teleplays.

“Mickey Spillane On Screen,” is a thoughtful examination of one of the greatest mystery writers in American history and the celluloid treatment of his works.  It should have a place of honor in every film and mystery lovers’ library.

UCHRONIC TALES - The Zeppelin

UCHRONIC TALES – The Zeppelin

By W. Peter Miller

Uchronic Press

(www.unchronictales.com)

55 pages

Recently I reviewed a short digest novella from Moonstone Books and mentioned liking this handy format for a quick, enjoyable reading experience. Well, California based writer, W. Peter Miller has launched his own series of such small paperbacks called “Unchronic Tales,” and the first one is entitled, “The Zeppelin.”

Now from the back cover copy, we’re told that these books will be set in an alternate world which is much like our own but then again different in some pretty startling and unique ways.  And make no mistake about “Unchronic Tales,” they are definitely part of the New Pulp Fiction movement sweeping the literary world today.

The hero of this first novella is American Agent Clark Tyler who has gone over to England at the start of World War One to enlist and do his part.  When a super Zeppelin, the Eisern Feist, attacks London one night, British Intelligence learns the bombing raid is actually a cover up for a more sinister German mission.  The Germans have kidnapped the daughter of famous scientist and are bringing her back to Berlin to utilize the special formula she now possesses, a formula that bestows her with a rather unbelievable ability.

Thus it is that she must be rescued at all cost and Tyler and his team fly off in modified tri-planes to overtake the dirigible, get aboard her and find the young lady before the massive airship can cross the channel and reach Germany.

Miller’s writing is pulp-perfect and the action nonstop from beginning to end. Tyler is a great, stalwart champion and the young, lovely scientist a spunky spitfire capable of holding her own when the action kicks into high gear. But before they can successfully complete her rescue, both of them will have to battle their way through an entire crew of German airmen and a team of highly trained, deadly German Commandos. 

Having relished this great little book, this reviewer is looking forward to digging into the second titled, “The Horn.”  If it is as good as, “The Zeppelin,” we pulp fans have much to celebrate.

TALES OF THE ROOK

Tales of the Rook

Edited by David White & Barry Reese

Pro Se Productions

Reese Unlimited Imprint

Guest Review by Kevin Rodgers

Barry, Reese, the creator of the Rook, recently invited his New Pulp colleagues to enter his universe and take turns with his iconic character.  Five writers accepted his invitation and allowed their creative talents and imaginations to propel the Rook into dangerous predicaments and thrilling plots. I’d been waiting impatiently for “Tales of the Rook,” to arrive because I knew this anthology would be well worth the money and I was right.

Barry Reese rightly anchors the collection with his newest Rook tale called, “The Killing Games.” Reese’s story interrupts a sea voyage for Max Davies, and his wife, Evelyn, who are forced to journey to a mysterious island after their ship is damaged in a storm. Ruthless Nazis, a mysterious castle and other devilish surprises await them on this island.  Reese’s exciting tale sets the tone for the rest of the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed “The Miss Beantown Affari,” by Ron Fortier.  Fortier uses his keen eye for detail and his mastery of action sequences to turn a beauty pageant into a wild shootout and abduction. I can’t say too much more because I don’t post spoilers in my reviews. Still Max Davies/the Rook definitely finds a way to expose the sleazy underbelly of old-school Boston and pinpoint the reason for all this chaos.

Up next is Bobby Nash who really knows how to turn up the heat and compel the reader to feel claustrophobic in his brilliant tale, “Where There’s Smoke.” I felt sympathy for the Rook when he steps into a trap and realizes there’s no escape from an arsonist’s inferno.  What follows is a fast paced sequence of events involving a well-equipped, hard to defeat villain.

Reese, Fortier and Nash rely heavily on action and adventure in the first half of this volume.  The second part of the book, which features stories by Mike Bullock, Percival Constantine and Tommy Hancock showcases the supernatural aspects of the Rook’s crime fighting saga.

Bullock lures the Rook into a labyrinth of demonic intrigue in, “Onyx Raven,” an imaginative, well written tale which introduces an intriguing, new character named Xander Janus.  We will be seeing more of his adventures in the future.

Percival Constantine ups the ante with the Family Grace’s connections to vampires and zombies in an entertaining contribution called, “The Curse of Baron Samedi.” The fun of this story is Constantine’s Rook is not Max Davies, but a future hero wearing the bird mask.

At the end of the anthology, Tommy Hancock pits the Rook against the classic pulp villain Doctor Death in a highly descriptive page turner called, “The Rook Nevermore,” which sets the stage for future Rook novels to be penned by Hancock.

In the end, “Tales of the Rook,” is a satisfying blend of well written, carefully crafted stories which held my interest from beginning to end. Fans of New Pulp should add this book their libraries without hesitation!

MERKABAH RIDER - Have Glyphs Will Travel

MERKABH RIDER

Have Glyphs Will Travel

By Edward M. Erdelac

Damnation Books, LLC.

338 pages

In his two previous books in this series, writer Edward Erdelac established a sweeping tableau that encompasses the American southwest in the years following the American Civil War.  His hero is a Jewish Mystic known only as the Rider. He is a veteran of the war between the states whose one-time religious teacher, Adon, betrayed him and his fellow students to become the agent of ancient alien gods. The Rider chases him across the frontier, his goal to kill him and end the threat he poses.

“The Long Sabbath,” picks up where volume two ended with the Rider and his African ally, Kabede, being chased across the desert by an army of zombies led by three of Adon’s renegade riders. They come across a small U.S. Cavalry outpost and hope to find refuge and support. Instead they are taken prisoner and thrown into the stockade as wanted felons. When several soldiers suddenly commit suicide, the others turn to the Rider and Kabede for succor. Then some of the troopers begin painfully morphing into strange monstrous creatures at the same time the fort is set upon by the legion of undead.  “The Long Sabbath” is a relentless horror-fest that once begun, never lets up and easily one of the scariest tales I’ve ever read.

This is followed by “The War Shaman,” where the Rider and his companions are enlisted by a traveling salesman to help prevent an alien entity from persuading various Indian tribes to ban together and use black magic to annihilate all whites and Mexicans. To stop them, the Rider, working through body of friendly Apache brave, must convince Geronimo of the shaman’s true identity and goals. Another rousing battle between good and evil with the Rider being aided by the Indian spirits of the mountain; a truly imaginative yarn.

The third tale is called, “The Mules of the Mazzikim,” and revolves around the Rider’s obsession with a demon succubus he encountered in a previous battle against the forces of evil. According to Satan, Nehema is being punished by her mother, Lilith, for having aided the Rider. Now our hero feels compels to seek her out and rescue her. Unfortunately the celibate warrior is tricked by his own naïveté and by the time he realizes his folly, he has been manipulated into a trap and finds himself sentence to the newly constructed Yuma State Prison. This is a tale of twisted love in its most perverse disguise and easily the best crafted story in this collection.

Next up is the most pivotal chapter in the saga thus far. “The Man Called Other” finally has the Rider coming face to face with his renegade teacher, Adon.  Only now Adon has inhabited and is controlling the body of the Yuma Prison warden where the Rider is being held for having slain the woman succubus Nehema. Alone and at the mercy of his arch enemy, Rider must fall upon his faith as never before to shield him against Adon’s manipulative abilities and their confrontation in the dream world.

By the fifth and final story, “The Fire King Triumphant,” the Rider and his handful of allies have discovered they possess the an arcane document that will allow the Old Ones to breach the wall between dimensions and achieve their ultimate goal, the invasion of the Earth and its utter subjugation.  But no sooner do they uncover this final piece of the puzzle then the Rider is shot down in the streets of Tombstone by a “blue” gunslinger who then steals the sacred scroll and rides away leaving our hero bleeding to death.  Now that’s what I call a cliffhanger.

“Merkabah Rider – Have Glyphs Will Travel,” is a fine addition to the previous volumes but more than ever begins to weave a tight pattern giving the readers a closer glimpse of the overall series.  In the process the stories become episodic in nature and though I’m still going to recommend the book, I do so with the caveat that you pick up volumes one and two first.  Otherwise you are going to find yourself both enjoying this feast but still feeling like a whole lot has been left out. 

THE SPIDER - Wings of the Black Death

THE SPIDER

Wings of the Black Death

(An Audio Book)

Radio Archives.com

6 CD Set

4 hrs. 46 min.

With the expansion of the increasing popular New Pulp movement, it was only inevitable that the audio book industry would enter this exciting new field.  One of the most aggressive to do so in the past year has been Radio Archives out of Spokane, Washington, headed by the wonderfully creative and energetic Roger Rittner.  Working with noted pulp writer and historian, Will Murray, Rittner and Radio Archives have began doing expansive audio book versions of classic pulp thrillers with the feel of genuine old time radio melodramas.  It is important to note that these are not exact, full cast recordings, but by adding brilliant sound effects and period background music, Radio Archives provides such marvelous audio atmosphere as to beautifully mimic those old radio plays.

“Wings of the Black,” was written by Norvell Page, writing as Grant Stockbridge, and appeared in the December 1933 issue of “The Spider” magazine. This exciting audio adaptation produced and directed by Rittner, features Nick Santa Maria as both the narrator and primary male characters to include Richard Wentworth, aka the Spider, and Police Commissioner Stanley Kirkpatrck along with Robin Riker who takes on the role of Nita Van Sloan, Wentworth’s paramour.  They are absolutely marvelous, each evoking these well known characters as we all imagined they would sound…and act towards each other.

The plot centers about a fiendish villain calling himself the Black Death. He has managed to get a strain of the Bubonic Plague and is systematically unleashing it on the people of New York City. He will only stop when they pay him a billion dollar ransom.  As if that were not horrendous enough, this merciless fiend has managed to convince the police that it is the Spider who is responsible to the point of leaving the Spider’s telltale crimson seal on the foreheads of his policemen victims.  Now, for the first time ever, Commissioner Kirkpatrick finds himself believing the Spider is in reality a heartless monster and he proceeds to hunt him down with all the resources at his command. Suddenly Richard Wentworth is battling both the fiendish mastermind and the police, frantically trying to evade capture until he can solve the mystery of the Black Death and bring him to justice.

Rittner’s direction is pace-perfect as he leads both Santa Maria and Riker through each chapter hitting all the right beats, from moments of intense action scenes to those of quiet, anxious reflection as the pair, depending on each other as never before, endure the Spider’s greatest challenge of his crime-fighting career.  Radio Archives’ “The Spider – Wings of the Black Death,” is a winner from the opening scene to the last. It pulls the listener into the raw, brutal, fantastic world of the classic pulps and in the end provides such a unique, rewarding experience as to delight both old and new fans alike.

Finally, this audio book is available both as a digital download and in the 6 CD set, both reasonably priced.  For those into new fangled digital toys, this reviewer would imagine the digital version would be their obvious choice. Whereas the legion of audio book listeners who prefer enjoying books while on long road trips will find the CD set much to their liking.  Either way, this is a package you will be thrilled with.  And if you aren’t familiar with audio books, this is easily the right book to begin with.  Enjoy.

THE LONE RANGER - VENDETTA

THE LONE RANGER

VENDETTA

By Howard Hopkins

Moonstone Books

124 pages

It is somehow appropriate that the very first title in Moonstone Book’s new line of small paperback novellas would be the late Howard Hopkins, “The Lone Ranger – Vendetta.” Howard, who passed away unexpectedly last winter at the age of 49, though a versatile writer in all genres, was primarily known for his western novels under the penname of Lance Howard. Thus when Moonstone acquired the rights to produce new prose adventures of the famous Masked Man and his Indian companion Tonto, it would be to Hopkins they would turn first.

“The Lone Ranger – Vendetta,” is Howard at his finest, at ease narrating a fictional adventure of the old west that is still deeply rooted in the authentic aspects of that setting. Hopkins knew western lore, culture and lingo.  His delving into the Native American spiritualism that motivates the Ranger’s companion is brilliant and adds as yet another layer to a character many of us have known most of our lives. Hopkins also has no difficulty accepting this hero’s old fashion moral code about never taking a life, of always wanting to serve justice and never capitulating to his own personal desires for vengeance which is the theme of this short novella.

From out of the Ranger’s tortured past comes as yet another monster in human form seeking to wreak pain and suffering on our hero and all those he holds dear.  This time the villain is none other than the widow of Butch Cavendish, the outlaw who ambushed the six Texas Rangers in Brian’s Gap and in the process created one of the most iconic legends ever to come out of the old west.  Unbeknown to the Ranger and Tonto, Cavendish had been married and now this female murderer launches an insidious plan to find, capture and kill the Lone Ranger. But before she does so, she and her gang of cutthroats invade the town of Coopersville and proceed to butcher its citizenry.

All too quickly the Lone Ranger discovers for himself that female species is often deadlier than the male. But to stop her will he have to sacrifice his life and at long last fill the empty grave that awaits him in Brian’s Gap? “The Lone Ranger – Vendetta,” is a fast paced, thought provoking action western that looks beneath the man named John Reid and his history, revealing a heart big as the west and just as noble.  That it would mark the final chapter in a gifted writer’s stellar career is truly fitting, as Howard Hopkins the man was as large a talent as the hero he loved so much.

This is a book to own and treasure for all western fans; young and old.  Thanks Howard, and until we meet again, happy trails.

SGT.JANUS - SPIRIT BREAKER

SGT.JANUS – Spirit Breaker

By Jim Beard

Airship 27 Productions

160 pages

Guest Reviewer – William Patrick Maynard

There is a longstanding tradition of occult detectives. Sheridan Le Fanu is generally considered the originator of the sub-genre with his chronicles of Dr. Martin Hesselius. Together with William Hodgson Hope’s Carnacki, Seabury Quinn’s Jules de Grandin, and Manly Wade Wellman’s John Thunstone, Dr. Hesselius’ cases are generally regarded as the finest examples of a continuing occult detective hero in the supernatural realm of mystery fiction.

Willie Meikle, Jim Butcher, and Simon R. Green are among the outstanding contemporary practitioners of the form. Now one may add Jim Beard and his creation of Sgt. Roman Janus to the list of occult detectives whose exploits are worthy of a larger audience. Beard is among the select group whose work is exclusively aimed at the niche market for New Pulp. Sgt. Janus, both as an original creation and as a literary work itself, raises the bar for Beard’s fellow authors to match the same exacting standard achieved here.

Janus, in Roman mythology, is the god of the gateway to the past and the future. So it is with Sgt. Janus, a character who provides the essential link between the astral plane and our own reality. The eight stories in this collection depict the character through the eyes of his clients. The device works brilliantly in giving the reader differing perspectives on the detective and his methods.

Consequently, one wonders why the conceit is not more commonly employed in genre fiction. One suspects that as appreciation of Beard’s talent grows, the device may become more common in certain quarters at least. As a testament to Beard’s plotting and characterization, I was unable to rank the stories in the collection as I found them to be uniformly excellent.

The book’s publisher, Airship 27 has deservedly made a name for itself among pulp-specialty houses for not only the writing talent they employ, but also the design of their books which is rarely short of stunning. It is no exaggeration to say that their titles place consistently among the best-looking on the market with cover and interior artwork of a surprisingly high caliber. Given the diversity of narrative viewpoints in the collection, it is perhaps only appropriate that artist Eric Johns delivered eight unique illustrations to grace each of the stories.

Johns’ stylistic range is surprisingly broad. The illustration for the first story, “The Portobello Cetacean” could be a Lynd Ward woodcut in the vividness of his depiction of the ethereal struggle between occult detective and spirit. While a Manga-style illustration is entirely appropriate for “This Unbroken Lock.” The lifelike quality of the highly-charged erotic illustration for “Lydia’s Lover” is likewise a perfect match. Johns employs an exaggerated Fumetti-style to depict the disturbed sexuality of “Sculpted Velvet” and one cannot imagine a more evocative choice.

As the description of the artwork suggests, Beard’s fiction is anything but pat and routine. While he may deliberately conjure the spirits of authors of Victorian and Edwardian occult fiction before him, Beard’s prose is fresh and entirely modern in his, at times, frank and unsettling tales of the wages of his characters’ past sins. Each story breezes by and like the best tales told round the campfire, it leaves the reader hungry for more. 

Not only does the changing narrative voice keep each story fresh and exciting, so does Beard’s decision to make Janus House, the detective’s residence an integral part of the formula. As Mervyn Peake ably demonstrated with Gormenghast and contemporary masters such as Neil Gaiman have proven to good effect time and again, treating a mysterious house as a character only adds to the narrator and the reader’s sense of disorientation. Where this genre is concerned, such a decision only serves to heighten the mystery and compel the reader and narrator to move forward with the story.

It is only fitting that by the time one reaches the shocking conclusion of the final tale, “The Unfinished Landscape,” Beard’s occult detective stays true to his name and passes through a portal few before him have dared to venture. As the entirely appropriate title of the final story suggests, the door is left open for more adventures from this timeless original in the classic tradition. I for one will be eager to let Roman Janus (and, by extension, Jim Beard) be my guide. Sgt. Janus, Spirit-Breaker come highly recommended.

+++

William Patrick Maynard was authorized to continue Sax Rohmer’s Fu Manchu thrillers beginning with The Terror of Fu Manchu (2009; Black Coat Press). A sequel, The Destiny of Fu Manchu was published earlier this year by Black Coat Press.  Next up is a collection of short stories featuring an Edwardian detective, The Occult Case Book of Shankar Hardwicke and a hardboiled detective novel, Lawhead. To see additional articles by William, visit his blog at SetiSays.blogspot.com

FOUR BULLETS FOR DILLON

FOUR BULLETS FOR DILLON

By Derrick Ferguson

PulpWork Press

142 pages

Over past few years several new pulp writers have created terrific heroes that easily compare with the classic characters of the 30s magazines. One of these is Dillon by the talented Derrick Ferguson.  Dillon is an African American modern day adventurer who travels the globe aiding people in desperate need of rescue and at the same time taking on insidious villains of every imaginable form.  The thing I absolutely love about Dillon is that even in the midst of the most dire situations, when death practically is assured its ultimate victory, he manages to retain his sense of humor making him the coolest pulp hero of them all.

After offering up a couple of fast paced novels which first introduced us to Dillon and his exploits, Ferguson this time collects four short tales that were published in various projects over the years and this fan is most grateful for this.  These four action packed thrillers display the range of settings and atypical missions our hero takes on, each is a fast, mile-a-second read that will leave blisters on your fingers.

“Dillon and the Bad Ass Belt Buckle,” finds our hero and his mentor, Eli Creed, in the jungles of Cambodia to rescue an American film actress.  Their mission is successful up to the point they lose their transportation and have to seek refuge in a fortified camp called Cheap Prayer. It is by a mercenary outlaw named Kudro Mayoka. I won’t spoil the fun with any more details except to add the plot revolves around Dillon challenging Kudro to a survival race with the winner becoming the enclave’s new leader and claiming a giant belt buckle studded with jewels and emblazoned with the words BAD ASS.  Honestly, I don’t think I stopped laughing once while reading this one.

“Dead Beat in La Esca,” is a real collector’s treasure as it was co-written by Joel Jenkins and has one of Joel’s pulp characters, guitar player Sly Ganlet meeting up with Dillon one night in a fancy nightclub.  Unbeknown to the both, they’ve been set up by a mysterious organization that wants them both out of the way.  The irony is both men may actually do the bad guys a favor by killing each other first.  A different kind of story and though worthwhile, was the weakest in this collection.  Guess I just like my Dillon flying solo.

“Dillon and the Escape From Tosegio,” is another one of those oddities.  It’s a rollicking, non-stop thrill ride which was penned as a prequel to the first Dillon novel.  It reminds one of those opening action prequels in the James Bond movie, done to set the stage and get the audience in the proper mood.  Having read “Dillon and the Voice of Odin,” when I came to the end of this short, I could easily envision the opening credits of the bigger movie.  Really happy to see this one in print for all Dillon fans.

Finally, Ferguson saves the best for last in “Dillon and the Judas Cup.”  Although I likened Dillon to action heroes like Bond, there’s also a great deal of Indiana Jones in his adventures and they revolve around arcane lore long forgotten in time.  Such is the plot of this yarn wherein a chalice made from the thirty pieces of silver paid Judas Iscariot for betraying Jesus, has survived through the ages bringing both power and tragedy to any who possess it.  Dillon is hired by a dying rich industrialist to procure the cup and once and for all hide away so that it can never again curse mankind.  To do so he must recruit two of his associates, a cat-burglar and a computer hacker.  Along with the industrialist beautiful daughter, they fly to the remote island where it is being held and launch their Mission Impossible-like plan to steal it.  Of course, like any other Dillon caper, things never go as smoothly as envisioned and soon all of them are racing for their lives to flee the atoll before its volcano erupts and sinks them all.  It’s a grand finale to a wonderful anthology.

If you’ve yet to meet Dillon, this the book is your invitation to a world of thrills and spills as delivered by a writer at the top of his game.  Ferguson’s love of action adventure explodes from every page and he always leaves his readers both satisfied and begging for more.  “Four Bullets For Dillon,” is a hands down winner and I’d be remiss not to mention it comes wrapped by a gorgeous cover by artist Anthony Castrillo.  What more could any pulp fan want?

WHY DOES BATMAN CARRY SHARK REPELLENT?

WHY DOES BATMAN CARRY SHARK REPELLENT?

By Brian Cronin

A Plume Book

Trivia/Pulp Culture/Comics

262 pages

What kind of book would you expect from a lawyer who is a true comic book geek? Brian Corbin writes a regular blog for Comic Book Resources which has brought him into contact with some of the leading professional writers and artists in the comic field, not to mention lots of enthusiastic die-hard fans along the way.

This collection of trivia lists is his follow up volume “Was Superman A Spy?” by the same company and it is absolutely wonderful.  With such bizarro lists such as Ten Crazy Items Found on Batman’s Utility Belt from which the book gets its title to such media related topics as Seven Bands That Got Their Names from Comics.  More and more comic cons are hosting all manner of comic trivia panels and contests and if you’ve ever entertained the idea of doing such, this little volume could prove invaluable.

My one critique is Cronin tends to spotlight the big two, Marvel & DC, overly much giving short shrift to lots of other great companies in the process.  An example found in his Six Cameos by Clark Kent and Lois Lane Outside of DC Comics. A little more research and he might have found the fan favorite scene in Now Comics “Sting of the Green Hornet” where Clark & Lois, circa 1940, are seen leaving after their interview with President Franklin Roosevelt.  Cronin is obviously unfamiliar with the scene and the series.  I’m not. You see, I wrote it. 

Again, a really fun book any comic fan would appreciate.

HELL IS EMPTY

HELL IS EMPTY

(A Walt Longmire Mystery)

By Craig Johnson

Penguin Books

309 pages

“Hell Is Empty” is as much about the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming as it is about the people who live within their shadows.  Absaroka County Sheriff Walt Longmire is transporting several prisoners to an out of the way wilderness locale to unearth the remains of a slain Indian boy murdered by one of the convicts; a psychopath named Raynaud Shade.  Upon meeting Longmire for the first time, Shade tells him he hears ghosts and believes the sheriff possesses the same ability.  Longmire, having fulfilled his duty in getting this human monster to the site, packs it in and starts down the mountain.

Within hours of digging up the boy’s bones, the convicts, following a plan devised by Shade, escape; killing several federal agents and marshals in the process.  When the news reaches Longmire, he realizes he’s the only lawman left on the mountain able to give chase and sets out after the killers alone.  Thus begins his incredible journey that will ultimately test both his body and his spirit as a savage winter storm is descending on the mountains and becomes a deadly participant in the drama.

Johnson’s title; “Hell Is Empty,” is an homage to Dante’s classic fantasy, “Inferno,” where the lowest levels of hell are not hot but numbingly frozen over much like the very peaks Longmire must conquer to capture Shade and save the female marshal he holds  hostage.  Now a resident of Colorado, I am daily reminded of the power and majesty of these mountain ranges and threat they pose to any who venture into them naively without the proper outdoor skills.  This book is more an adventure odyssey than a mystery. Longmire must confront his own inner demons while climbing higher to reach the snow blanketed Cloud Peak which is Shade’s final destination where both will confront each other in a primal contest of good versus evil.

The book is multilayered and despite it Heminwayesque narrative style, Johnson adds a new twist by having his protagonist guided by a giant Crow warrior called Virgil White Buffalo; his version Dante’s Roman poet guide. There is a crucial connection between the giant Virgil and the fleeing killer that Longmire slowly uncovers as the pair make their way through the brutal storm.  Soon the physical suffering the sheriff has to endure begins playing tricks on his consciousness until the reader realizes his companion may simply be the hallucination of a fevered mind.

“Hell Is Empty,” is the seventh book in the Walt Longmire series by Johnson and a terrific, gripping read unlike anything else on the market today.  It is fresh with interesting characters and skillful in its economic storytelling.  As the book’s cover announces, the series has been turned into a new A & E television series that will soon premier on Sunday evening June 3^rd and features Australian actor Robert Taylor as Walt Longmire with Katee Sachofff of Battlestar Galactica fame as his chief deputy Victoria “Vic” Moretti and Lou Diamond Phillips as best friend, Henry Standing Bear. If the show is as much fun as this book, then we’re all in for a treat.

DOMINO LADY - ALL'S FAIR IN WAR

ALL’S FAIR IN WAR

A Domino Lady Audio-Book

Written by Rich Harvey

Directed by Lance Roger Axt

Engineered by Piper Payne

Recorded at Broken Radio Studios, San Francisco, CA

Post Production by The AudioComics Company

One of the truly wonderful and totally unexpected results of the new renaissance in pulp fiction has been the resurgence renewed interest in old time radio dramas.  And what better subject matter for these new audio outfits then the classic pulp heroes of the 1930s and 40s.  Several companies have started producing audio books from the original pulp magazines and now for the very first time pulp fans can “listen” to the adventures of the Spider, Secret Agent X and many others.

Of course as all pulp fans know, there were very few lady avengers and the clear cut leader of that small group was writer Lars Anderson’s Domino Lady.  Now Audio Comics out of San Francisco, directed by Lance Roger Axt, has produced a truly marvelous original Domino Lady radio drama written by Rich Harvey and acted by a truly inspired cast.

In San Diego for the new Pacific Coast Exposition, Ellen Patrick, daughter of the former State Attorney General, is only too willing to contribute financially to the mega event which will bring much needed revenue to the popular seacoast community.  When someone breaks into the aptly named Crime Does Not Pay pavilion and walks off with a unique one million bill printed by the Federal Reserve, it spells disaster for Mayor Benbough and his planning committee. Unless the bill can be recovered, the insurance company will demand restitution from the city and in the process bankrupt it.

Once again, the beautiful and audacious Miss Patrick dons her gown, cape and as the  Domino Mask slips into the fair grounds to do her own investigation.  She is nearly captured by her former paramour, private eye Roge McKane, on duty as the exposition’s chief of security.  The inter-change between these two is pure sauciness with double-entendres flying left and right and had this listener laughing aloud.

ALL’S FAIR IN WAR is a superb audio treat with great writing, perfect acting; especially by Karen Stillwell as Ellen Patrick/Domino Lady and Peter Carini as McKane.  The blues/jazz soundtrack is also a gem and easily sets the story’s atmosphere.  If we have one complaint is that this is only the opening chapter in the series and ends much too soon, leaving us wanting a whole lot more.  Axt and Audio Comics have produced a top-notch audio recording that is pure pulp goodness.  We recommend you order you copy now.  You thank us later.

Cast & Crew –

Karen Stilwell as Ellen Patrick/The Domino Lady

Peter Carini as Roge McKane

Mandy Brown as Dottie Jaster

Peter Papadopoulos as Dan Carley

Kevin Donnelly as "Moxie"

Bill Chessman as Samuel Benton

Lance Roger Axt as Mayor Benbough and your Narrator

Christine Marshall as your Announcer

Additional roles portrayed by the members of the Pulp Adventures Acting Company

www.audiocomicscompany.com is the URL for purchasing direct: also, we will have links to where All's Fair in War can be purchased via iTunes, Amazon Mp3, Zune, Rhapsody, Nokia, and eMusic starting next week (or I should say, when it's up on  iTunes, Amazon Mp3, Zune, Rhapsody, Nokia, and eMusic). Thanks!

www.audiocomics.wordpress.com

CREEPING DAWN - Rise of the Black Centipede

CREEPING DAWN

Rise of the Black Centipede

By Chuck Miller

Pro Se Productions

189 pages

Chuck Miller is emphatically one of the bright new voices in the New Pulp Fiction movement and last year burst on to the scene with this book.  It introduced the world to his truly mondo-bizarro hero, the Black Centipede.

Describing Miller’s twisted, odd and vibrant style is a challenge in itself.  Unlike traditional classic pulp writers, his work is a hodge-podge blend of history and fiction and told from way too many different perspectives.

Written in first person narrative, the Black Centipede is a young man who crosses paths with the infamous Lizzy Borden of Massachusetts and through her encounters a mysterious being calling herself “Bloody” Mary Jane Gallows; the supposed spiritual creation of Borden and Jack the Ripper.  If that wasn’t twisted enough, our hero is saved from being murdered when his own body is possessed by another alien entity representing itself in the shape of an ugly, creeping black centipede.  Once this merger occurs, he finds himself capable of many super human feats of strength.  He becomes, like Will Eisner’s Spirit, virtually impossible to kill.

From that point on his adventures have him crossing paths with real life figures such a gangster Frank Niti and newspaper tycoon, William Randoph Hearst who wants to turn the Centipede into a popular “real life” pulp hero in his own magazine.  Then there are villains like Doctor Almanac, voodoo fighter Baron Samedi who battle across Zenith City, each with his own perverse agenda and little regard for the citizenry caught in the middle.

It’s fanciful stuff indeed but this reviewer wishes Miller would make an attempt at sticking to one point of view.  Towards the end of this first outing, we are given an entire chapter told to us by a police officer who was on the scene.  Supposedly this is necessary because the Black Centipede was on the other side of town when the incident took place. Still paragraph after paragraph of hearsay is as deadly in a novel as it is in a court of law.  Writing rule of thumb, Mr.Miller, show us, don’t tell us.

Still as this is his first book, that one flaw is easily overlooked for the overabundance of originality infused in this book.  With “Creeping Dawn,” Chuck Miller clearly establishes himself as a voice to be reckoned with.  We predict a truly brilliant future for both creator and his one-of-a-kind hero.

SHERLOCK HOLMES -The Baron's Revenge

SHERLOCK HOLMES
(The Baron's Revenge)
By Gary Lovisi
Airship 27 Productions
Guest Reviewer Gordon Dymowski

When considering all the pastiches written involving Sherlock Holmes, it is rare to find one that is purely a sequel - most Sherlockian non-canon lore involves crossovers with other public domain characters, integration of science fiction and/or horror themes, or loose adaptations of the canon.

Gary Lovisi's Sherlock Holmes: The Baron's Revenge, published by Airship 27 Productions, is a rare novel - a straightforward sequel to a past Holmes story that manages to be a crackling good read.

The novel serves as a sequel to "The Adventure of the Illustrious Client" from 1927's The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes. Much like of Conan Doyle's later Holmes work, The Baron's Revenge shares a similar hard-boiled, almost pulp-flavored edge as it tells its tale. Thankfully, one does not have to read Conan Doyle's story in order to understand The Baron's Revenge, given various callbacks to the original tale.

It's also a daring book in that it is written (except for one chapter) from Holmes' perspective. Although it would have been easy to fall into cliche and write Holmes as exceptionally omniscient, Lovisi does Holmes a great service by writing the detective at the proper emotional tone. It is easy to "hear" Holmes narrating the story. Rob Davis' illustrations throughout the book provide it with the right sense of pace and atmosphere, almost making it seem like a "lost" edition of The Strand Magazine. (Thankfully, it is a relatively quick read - I finished it within two days while commuting back and forth to downtown Chicago).

The Baron's Revenge is one of those rare Holmes books - an unexpected sequel that is a very good read and well worth checking out. It is available through Airship 27 as well as Amazon.com.

This book is worth owning and reading. Repeatedly.

Editor's note: Gordon regularly covers the intersection of Sherlock Holmes and the entertainment industry. You can also find him at Blog THIS, Pal! and Comic Related. 


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TEN-A-WEEK STEALE

TEN-A-WEEK STEALE

By Stephen Jared

Solstice Publishing

303 pages

In the early 1920s, former Army Lieutenant Walter Steale has returned to civilian life and settled down in Los Angeles amongst the glitz of the silent movie world.  His one ambition is to put the horrors of World War One behind him and get on with a normal, peaceful life. Unfortunately his brother, Sam, the state’s Lieutenant Governor, coerces him into working as hired muscle for his crooked boss, Governor Davies.  This leads Steale into brutal confrontations with crazy mob gangsters and a prostitution ring tied to several corrupt politicians.

When a gang boss is murdered in a bombing and then Steale himself is targeted in another, even in his wounded condition he is savvy enough to realize he’s been set up as a patsy by his own brother. To clear his name and stay out of jail, Steale must rely on the courage of Virginia “Ginny” Joy, a beautiful young movie actress whose star is on the rise. As unlucky a couple as can be imagined, Ginny has fallen hard for the veteran doughboy and is willing to jeopardize her own career to save his neck.

Author Stephen Jared is an accomplished film actor with a vast knowledge of early Hollywood history which he deftly employs here by creating a truly authentic background for his wonderfully crafted mystery.  Refusing to mimic classical noir settings, Jared presents a truly straight forward and original narrative that moves at its own leisurely pace.  Then when the reader least expects it, he delivers scenes of gut wrenching violence in such a cold, calculating style, this reviewer was reminded of the late Mickey Spillane’s work.

TEN-A-WEEK STEALE was a nice surprise in many ways, exceeding my own expectations and in the end delivers a better than average tale in a field overrun with cheap knock-offs.  Wally Steale and Ginny Joy make a nice team, let’s hope we get to see them again real soon.

CALL OF SHADOWS

CALL OF SHADOWS
By David C.Smith
Airship 27 Producitons
208 pgs.
Guest Reviewer - Joe Bonadonna

CALL OF SHADOWS is a tough, dark, very film noirish story. The main character is David Ehlert, a world-weary soul who comes to the aid of newly widowed Ava Beaudine, who is caught in a deadly game being played by her late husband's business partner, the slimy Tony Jasco. But what sets this modern-day thriller tale apart from your usual tale of gangsters and murder is that Ehlert is a powerful wizard born in 1886 but who looks to be in his mid-to-late 30s. And so, what you might think is going to be the usual web of intrigue and murderous intent, suddenly turns into an even nastier, sinister plot involving dark sorcery and one sick, twisted magician.

Ehlert is a haunted man, and the story behind the ghost who haunts him is a tale of true, heart-breaking tragedy. I can't talk too much about this novel without spoiling the surprises -- and boy, there are surprises on almost every page. Just when you think you have it all figured out, when you're sure you know where the story is going, Dave Smith makes a sharp turn to the left and takes you on a detour through the shadowy streets of magic, mystery, and mayhem. The wizard Ehlert is the kind of anti-hero we don't see too much of nowadays: elegant, quietly confident, and all-too dangerous. He's not an over-the-top, flamboyant pretty boy tossing off one-liners and worn-out cliches with a smarminess that would make Hollywood proud. Oh, no. His sense of humor is subtle and dry, but this guy is also as dark as he is unassuming. This is urban fantasy for adults. This is what Harry Potter might have grown up to become if he lived in a more realistic world and had tragedy scarred his soul, instead of his forehead. Ehlert stands right up there, shoulder to shoulder, with Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade, and all the great characters right out of Black Mask, Weird Tales, and the Golden Age of Pulp Fiction. Ehlert is a man with a past veiled in shadow, and a future that is just this side of grim: he's a man caught in a present that doesn't quite seem suited to him. And the tragedy of his life, the one thing that keeps him going, that gives his life purpose, is the soul of this novel.

But for me, the heart of this novel is the lovely, the endearing and unforgettable Ava Beaudine. Once you meet her, you'll never forget her. She'll steal your heart while Ehlert battles to keep evil forces from stealing her life, as well as her soul.

This is a taut, excellent thriller, with crisp dialogue, solid characterizations, hard-hitting prose, explosive and violent action, and a plot that'll keep you guessing and turning the pages. I'm reading it for the fourth time. Give it a shot -- you may find yourself reading it more than twice!

SAILOR

SAILOR

By Tom Epperson

Forge Books

352 pages

Tom Epperson is a stylist whose writing displays a truly unique sensibility rarely found in the field of modern thrillers before.  He writes about complex people both good and bad, each locked into a personal moral code that propels them to accomplish wonderful feats of heroism or disgusting acts of depravity.  When they collide through various unrelated chains of events the results are scenes of mesmerizing action.

Gina and her son Luke are on the run from her husband’s mob family in New York.  She had been living in the Witness Protection Program, after having testified and helped lock up her sadistic, cruel spouse.  The problem is her father-in-law wants his grandson and ultimately bribes one of the Marshals assigned to protect them.  By a miracle of quick thinking, she and Luke elude the assassin and flee westward ending up on the beaches of Southern California. Here they meet a quiet, likeable stranger named Gray who clearly has a secret past of his own.  All the while the crooked Marshall, a trio of his redneck pals and a pair of deadly Russian hit-men are all converging on them like the hot Santa Anna winds.

Imagine blending Elmore Leonard’s terse, economic prose with the fanciful poetry of a Ray Bradbury and you have “Sailor,” a truly beautifully crafted suspense thriller that plays across the reader’s imagination like the taut bow string of a mournful violin.  None of this comes as a surprise as Epperson also wrote the screenplays to two of finest noir films ever produced; “One False Move” and “The Gift.”  Like those two stories, “Sailor” is peopled by original, believable characters that inhabit a world both familiar and strange.  The tension, the violence and the hope infused in these characters is perfectly etched and by the book’s finale becomes a poignant reading experience you won’t soon forget.