THE MEN WHO MADE THE YANKEES

THE MEN WHO MADE THE YANKEES

By W. Nikola-Lisa

Gyroscopebooks.Com

113 pages

This is not the first time we’ve reviewed a non-fiction book in this column.  That is not the relevant note here but rather what the theme of this new review is and our own personal passion.  Let it be known loud and clear, this reviewer is a bonafide Red Sox fan.  Always have been and will die as such.  So what on earth would possess us to read, let alone review a book about the history of the Red Sox’s greatest rivals, the New York Yankees?  Our answer isn’t complicated at all.  We not only love baseball, in all its incarnations, but we are history buffs as well.  Thus when this book was offered to us, there was absolutely no hesitation in requesting a copy.

“The Men Who Made the Yankees,” is a wonderful story filled with little known anecdotes about the real history of America’s favorite pastime.  Chapter after chapter, author Nikola-Lisa sets forth the twisted, often antagonistic, rise of professional baseball in America and completely it was intertwined with the post-Civil War growth of our great nation.  Baseball’s evolution was tied to rising prosperity of its major eastern cites as the industrial revolution came into full force.  As Americans left the 19^th Century agricultural mores of being tied to 18 hour days and through the advent of fantastical new machines found themselves with the treasure of leisure time, sports and theater entertainments mushroomed across the land.

Every “big city” wanted its own baseball team.  Savvy entrepreneurs from all walks of life began to see the money-making potential of professional baseball and leagues began to sprout up like weeds; so many that it was difficult for the average fan to keep up with what players were playing for what teams…in what leagues during the years between 1890 and 1910.  Those twenty years saw the emergence of dozens of teams, ornery managers, colorful club owners and truly gifted ballplayers.

We loved how deftly the author wove his way through this convoluted period while at the same time etching these larger-than-life personalities that would give their blood, sweat and tears to make baseball successful.  He tells the beginnings of traditions, gives us simple factoids such as how the first balls were made from wood and cloth and how their ultimate transformation into the hard spheres we know today would change the entire game fundamentally.  It is these side-line essays that enrich the entire book and make it something truly special.

The long time baseball fan will recognize many of the names in this story whereas the rookie with a pension for understanding history will be equally rewarded by picking up this little book.  As a kid growing up in New England, we fondly remember an old radio sportscaster who would end his show with this phrase, “Next to religion, nothing contributes more to the wellbeing of America than sports.”  “The Men Who Made The Yankees,” has that very same philosophy and to that we simply say, “Amen.”

SHERLOCK HOLMES - Blood to the Bone

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Blood to the Bone

By Andrew Salmon

A Fight Card book.

89 pages

Among today’s writers of New Pulp fiction, two men have risen to the top of their generation’s class in writing new Sherlock Holmes mysteries.  One of these is Canadian Andrew Salmon, the other is British and I’ll let you guess at his identity.  Last year, after having penned a half dozen traditional Homes and Watson tales for Airship 27 Productions best selling series, “Sherlock Holmes – Consulting Detective,” Salmon accepted an offer from Paul Bishop, the creator of the popular Fight Card series, to write a Sherlock Holmes boxing story.  The result was “Work Capital,” one of the finest Sherlock Holmes tales this reviewer has ever enjoyed.  That it went on to be nominated for several publishing awards came as no surprise to anyone who had had the pleasure of reading that novella.

Now Salmon and the Fight Card crew have given us a sequel that is as good, if not better, than its predecessor in “Blood to the Bone.”  Again, as he did before, Salmon digs deep into the history of British bare-knuckles fighting and offers up an amazing plot heavily dependent on the incredible fact that that form of pugilism was not confined to men.  I had never heard of the fairer sex’s participation in this rough and tumble sport and reading through the story was truly amazed at this revelation.  As he did in “Work Capital,” Salmon cleverly puts forth authentic facts and then weaves his elements of fiction around them so that the two become symbiotic.  Thus leaving the reader with both having experienced a wonderful read while at the same time expanding his or her education on the history of boxing.

Eby Stokes and her husband, Richard, are boxers who work for a traveling circus and often fight together in tag-team fashion taking on challengers from the audience, both men and women alike.  When Richard goes missing just prior to their new engagement just outside of London, Eby seeks out the aid of Mr. Sherlock Holmes and his faithful chronicler, Dr. Watson.  Watson is quick to point out that Holmes’ interest in the manly art of fisticuffs was of a scientific nature and he relished any opportunity to study the martial sport and increase his own considerable abilities in that field.

In short order, Holmes and Watson find the missing boxer only to have him snatched away and murdered within a matter of minutes of their locating him.  If Richard Stokes disappearance had piqued the Great Detective’s curiosity, the man’s cruel murder instantly stokes that flame into an obsessive flame.  Having established a warm rapport with the lovely Eby Stokes, Holmes devotes himself to solving the murder and bringing her husband’s killers to justice.  But to do so, he will have to disguise himself as a professional fighter and Eby’s new partner in the circus bouts.  Something dear old Watson objects to soundly.

I’ve always believed that one of the greatest challenges in writing Sherlock Holmes isn’t so much detailing his exploits and understanding Dr. Watson.  All too often, less accomplished writers forget Watson is very much his own man and his relationship with the bachelor sleuth wasn’t always smooth sailing.  Such is the case in this adventure and the contentious head-butting between the two companions is what makes the book especially entertaining.  Salmon channels the stodgy old Afghan veteran brilliantly and in doing so brings us intimately into his tale.  We are spellbound from the first page to the last.

“Blood to the Bone,” is a magnificent addition to the Holmes canon and should be in the library of every Holmes enthusiast in the world.  Yes, it is that good and I honestly believe Conan Doyle would have truly loved reading this book.  I know I did and believe so will you too.  Thanks Andrew Salmon and Fight Club.  This book is a treasure.

DEVOURING WIND

DEVOURING WIND

(Book Two of the Exchange)

By Dale Cozort

Available at Amazon

235 pages

In book one of this series, a huge portion of Illinois was transplanted to an alien world and vice versa.  The people, who chose to remain on that other, more hostile world, tagged it Bear Country.  By the end of that first novel, there were two colonies of humans established in Bear Country.  One made up of good people longing for a simpler, more basic life and eager to recreate the old frontier spirit in themselves.  The other group was escaped convicts from the Illinois State Prison, dozens of hardened murders, thieves and rapists preferring this new savage land rather than return to their incarceration back on our earth.  The book ended with survivor Sharon Mack and her fiancée, government agent Leo West, resigned to the fact that eventually there would be a bloody confrontation with the convicts to resolve which group would ultimately control Bear Country.

With “Devouring Wind,” writer Dale Cozort picks up the story of Bear Country and immediately adds a new wrinkle to his tale, aliens.  Another “exchange” has occurred and this time, rather than transferred another chunk of our familiar earth to Bear Country, the unexplained phenomenon has brought over a piece of land from an alien world.  At its core is an ancient, ruined city buried under a jungle of black vines.  Both the settlers of Fort Egan, the frontier community, and the convicts, under the leadership of Sam Kittle, see the new alien presence as something dangerous; to be studied with extreme caution.

When surveyor drones fly out of those supposedly lifeless buildings and begin scouting both camps, it soon becomes clear some manner of automated alien machinery is still active in the ruins and poses a real threat to all humans in Bear Country.  In the end both sides have no recourse but to form a shaky alliance to explore this alien territory.  All the while several members of the convict town are plotting to overthrow Kittle and take control of Fort Egan.  Sharon, her autistic daughter Bethany, and a former convict named Woody are caught in the middle of these machinations doing their best to keep things together while at the same time solve the mystery of what destroyed the alien city and learn if it is still a viable danger to their own existence.

We’ve read lots of science fiction over the years with alternate world themes but nothing quite like what Cozort has created in this highly imaginative series.  His characters are wonderfully complex and their interactions with one another are the sparks that fire up this storytelling engine.  He mixes human psychology with our understanding of social mores and from this recipe offers up a truly thought-provoking adventure we thoroughly enjoyed.  Hopefully there is a book three on the way.  That would make us very happy indeed.

A SERPENT'S TOOTH

A SERPENT’S TOOTH

(A Longmire Mystery)

By Craig Johnson

Penguin Books

335 pages

First of all, we really wish we could read these in order, but life has conspired against us with this particular series so we plow ahead reviewing whichever is within arms reach at any given day.  Two week-ends ago, we were packing for a flight to Kentucky and wanted a lightweight paperback to read on the plane.  The nearest on hand was this Longmire mystery by the ever reliable Craig Johnson.  We stuffed it in our bag and headed out.

Having read several Longmire mysteries, we’ve only ever found we really didn’t care for.  Not a bad track record and “A Serpert’s Tooth” falls into the positive box in a big way as it delivers all the things we love about this series.  When a runaway teenage boy is discovered in Absaroka County Wyoming, it’s left to Sheriff Walt Longmire and his  team of deputies to uncover the boy’s identity and get him back to his family.  It is soon learned that he escaped from a fanatical religious cult with headquarters in South Dakota.  Upon further investigation Longmire learns that the boy’s mother has gone missing about the same time he popped up in the sheriff’s backyard.

When his routine probes into the church’s history, and past run-ins with the law, start to draw some very reactionary actions from the cult, Longmire soon suspects the group is hiding more than just a body.  Further investigation links the group to former government agents with connections to illegal oil drilling.  Like all good mysteries, this one comes with all sorts of pieces that at the beginning seem totally unrelated; impossible to form into one cohesive image.  But Longmire is tenacious if nothing else.  He’s got an orphan boy on his hands, a possible dead mother and the shady dealings of a cult group that attempts to impede his investigation at every turn.  Then, amidst this convoluted puzzle, a crazy bearded fellow shows up claiming to be a two-hundred years old Mormon gunfighter on a mission for the prophet John Smith.

Johnson’s best stories are those that mix his wry, sarcastic humor with brilliant flashes of intuition that peers into the human psyche like a laser beam.  He mixes dark humor with love and loss so brilliantly, you’ll find yourself reading some of his passages out loud like the poetry they really are.  “A Serpent’s Tooth,” is classic Longmire and honestly, we couldn’t give it any higher praise. 

LIGTHWEIGHT - Senior Year

LIGHTWEIGHT

(Senior Year)

Nick Ahlhelm

Metahuman Press

151 pages

Kevin Mathis is an only child living in a world with superheroes.  He lives in a town called Federation and is about to start his senior year of high school.  Neither a nerd nor a jock, Kevin is pretty much your average American teenage boy.  He has two close friends, Andy, who he has known since childhood and Millie, his neighbor next door. 

As the school year begins, Kevin is plagued by strange dreams in which he is flying while at the same time hearing strange, ominous voices.  Over a period of a few days he discovers he has the ability to move things with his mind; telekinesis.  He gets so good at using this skill he eventually ends up saving the city from a runaway robot and decides to become a masked superhero.  He takes the name Lightweight.  Though he shares his secret with Millie, he still finds having a dual identity a problematic challenge.

Which only gets worse after he is confronted by a hooded figure called the Gray Man who informs Kevin he is actually a pawn in an ancient war between the forces of good, the Eloi, and the forces of darkness, the Morlock.  Yes, they’ve taken their names from the H.G. Wells classic sci-fi novel, “The Time Machine.”

Nick Ahlhelm has a keen awareness youthful awkwardness and insecurity.  Kevin, Millie and Andy come across as believable teenagers all of us have met before.  It is this juggling of life, school and hormones that make Kevin such a fun character.  By the time he meets a sexy, female werewolf named Howl, the book is speeding along like a runaway freight train until it comes to a screeching, cliffhanger finale.  And that, fellow readers, is our one warning in regards to this tome; it is only the first in a series and the ending is by no means the climax.

So if you don’t like continuing series, then you’d best let this one pass.  On the other hand if you enjoy well written superhero fiction that takes a fresh, new look at this familiar genre, then “LIGHTWEIGHT – Senior Year” is something you really should pick up.  It’s a quick and fast read and we enjoyed it a great deal.  Happily, the next one is sitting on our bookshelves and we’ll be digging into it shortly.  Stay tuned.

WHERE STORIES DWELL

WHERE STORIES DWELL

By I.A. Watson

Pro Se Press

204 pages

If you haven’t been paying close attention over the past few years, then it might have escaped you that one of the leading voices in New Pulp Fiction these days is British writer, I.A. Watson.  We can confirm that easily enough by telling you in the past ten years he’s won two of the coveted Pulp Factory Awards for Best Short Story.  The first was for a Sherlock Holmes story and the second for frontier adventure featuring the characters from James Fennimore Cooper’s “Last of the Mohicans.” 

Now that bit of information leads us into this particular volume which is a pure reading light.  You see those Pulp Factory Awards I just mentioned are given out by the internet group on Yahoo called the Pulp Factory; an informal group of New Pulp writers, artists, editors, publisher and fans with a membership numbering 128.  Watson has been a member since its inception nearly ten years ago and he has used this particular internet board to regale his fellow members with entertaining essays covering such a wide range of topics it sometimes boggles the mind.  Let anyone even hint at an odd tidbit found on-line and instantly Watson is putting forth a two page dissertation on the subject, filled with insightful commentary, humor and the most outlandish historical notes once could ever imagine.

Watson’s Pulp Factory essays have rambled freely over such topics as the birth of heroic fantasy and fairy tales; the legend of King Arthur, heroes, the most powerful female monarch in history, how bad guys die, the purpose of using chapters, the dead World War II hero, Hollywood’s misunderstanding of pulps, etc. etc. etc.  Just to name a few of the dozens between these pages.  There’s even an essay explaining the genealogy of British Kings which I confess still confuses me to no end.  But what was crystal clear from the first page to the last was just how much fun this book truly is.

And this is where, as a fellow publisher in the New Pulp field, I humbly tip my hat to Tommy Hancock of Pro Se Press.  While the rest of us were reading Watson’s essays and enjoying them, it was Tommy who had the oh-so brilliant idea of publishing them and producing this remarkable book.  Oh, and if you are wise enough to pick up a copy, there’s a challenge for you in the very cover by Jeff Hayes, which includes an item related to every single essay in the book itself.  Can you pick them all out?

“Where Stories Dwell,” is that rarest of books; on that both amuses and informs at the same time by a writer I’ve come to believe is truly the World’s Last Renaissance Man.

Read it and then tell me I’m wrong.  That’s a safe bet on my part.

THE SPECIALISTS

THE SPECIALIST

By Joel Jenkins & Derrick Ferguson

PulpWork Press

306 pages

In the world of New Pulp fiction, two of the coolest heroes out there are Derrick Ferguson’s Dillon and Joel Jenkins’ Sly Gantlet.  The latter has appeared in several in adventures along with his brothers as they are a world famous rock and roll band who just happen to work for the U.S. Government as a side job.  Whereas Dillon is a globe trotting adventurer much in the tradition of Leslie Charteris’ Saint, only with a lot more punch and swagger.

That these two larger than life heroes would team up for one action packed tale would cause for celebration.  To do so in three tales, as this volume collects, is nothing but sheer pulp action Nirvana. 

In “Dead Beat in Khusea,” our two heroes cross paths in Northern Africa and immediately butt heads over a beautiful Princess who once left Dillon out to dry in a previous adventure.  No sooner do Dillon and Sly start going at each other when the lady in question is abruptly kidnapped by a group of black-clad terrorist and taken to a long hidden Nazi stronghold in the desert mountains.  Their aim is to revive a horrible biological weapon that has lain dormant since World War II and use it to blackmail the rich countries of the world.  The problem is the chemical threat has no antidote and could easily destroy all of mankind if allowed to spread freely.  Now it’s up to our two heroes to find this hidden base, rescue the damsel in distress and save the day.  And that’s just the first story.

“Dead Beat in the Gobi,” has Sly and Dillon fleeing from a Russian military base with the biological weapon they’ve just stolen.  When their helicopter goes down in the frigid wasteland and they open the sealed canister they discover a beautiful woman awakening from a cryogenic nap.  What’s her connection to the biological weapon and how will our two adventurers escape an all out attack by wilderness cannibals hoping to make them the main course of their next meal?

“The Specialists,” is the novella length final entry of the volume and easily one of the most action packed tales we’ve ever read.  It’s pretty much a final swan song to one of the characters as Sly, Dillon and a half dozen other special operatives are sent on a suicide mission into Russia to destroy a munitions factory that has built four electronic pulp generator bombs; any of which could knock out the power grid of any country if denoted in the upper atmosphere.  From its inception the mission is plagued with mishaps until it is obvious to our two central characters that there is spy onboard determined to see the mission fail before it is even begun.  “The Specialists” reminded us a great deal of some those early Alistair McLean thrillers such as “The Guns of Navaroone” and “Where Eagles Dare,” only set the clandestine world of modern espionage.  Our only critique is that at the offset there are too many characters to keep track of and it becomes confusing to remember whose who.  But again, a minor quibble, as before too long many of them are dead and the core group of survivors that manages to infiltrate the hidden Russian facility are finally etched as the story goes into hyper-drive.  Once begun, “The Specialists” is impossible to be put down.

This book is one of the finest produced since the inception of the New Pulp Movement and we urge you to pick up a copy.  They don’t get any better than this.

AN OLD FRIEND OF THE FAMILY

AN OLD FRIEND OF THE FAMILY

By Fred Saberhagen

Tor Books

207 pages

“An Old Friend of the Family,” was the third in the New Dracula series written by the late Fred Saberhagen (1930-2007).   Best known for his Beserker science fiction series, his reimagining of the Dracula legend put forth the concept that Vlad Tepes, the Prince of Wallachia, only became a vampire after he was murdered.  In the books, he is the protagonist and the humans bent on his destruction are portrayed as bumbling fools.

This volume was the third in the series and with it he moved the saga to modern times with the descendants of Mina Harker, Dracula’s one true love, living in the suburbs of Chicago (where Saberhagen was born) and coming under the attack of New World vampires hoping to lure the Old Count to America and defeat him. 

It is the middle of a brutal Illinois winter and Kate Sutherland is kidnapped party and made into a vampire.   Her grandmother Clarissa, Mina Harker’s granddaughter, recalls being told that should she, or her loved ones, ever find themselves in danger, all she had to do is read aloud an ancient Latin chant and help would appear.  After Kate’s body is discovered, her younger brother Johnny is then snatched and brutal kidnapped.  The old woman, with the help of her remaining granddaughter, Judy, speaks the chant and a few days later Dr. Corday arrives on their doorstep.  He is the old friend of the family and though vague and mysterious, it is immediately obvious to Gran and Judy that they have a very powerful ally in this strange old man.

Dr. Corday waste no time investigating the attacks on the Sutherlands and offers his assistant to Joe Hagen, Kate’s detective boyfriend.  It is Corday who, upon examining Kate’s body in the morgue before her autopsy, discovers that she is not dead.  Rather she’s been turned and he manages to get her out of the morgue and sequesters her in the family mausoleum until he can properly educate her in regards to her new status as one of the undead.

But as the savage blizzard continues to blanket the Windy City and its outlying communities, Corday’s supernatural foes learn of his arrival and double their efforts to capture and destroy him.  “An Old Friend of the Family,” is a gripping, fast moving vampire adventure told by a master whose hero is presented in a new light while maintaining his dark appeal.  We’d heard of this series often over the years, especially of this particular entry, and are now very glad to have finally read it.   If you’re a fan of classic vampire tales, this book will put a huge smile on your face.  Just watch out for the fangs.

THE SLEEP DETECTIVES

THE SLEEP DETECTIVES

By Matthew Bieniek

Self-Published

ISBN-13  978-1493620142

134 pages

Many times, while attending various pulp conventions, new writers will present me with copies of their self-published books to obtain a review.  Such was the case with this little gem from Matthew Bieniek.  It is a wonderful, extremely well written story about a young man named Tony who has the ability to go places and events in his dreams that have actually happened.  All he has to do is think of the time and place before falling off to sleep and in his dreams he is there.  This can happen with mundane incidents to those with rich historical significant such as being at Gettysburg to see President Lincoln deliver his famous address to a war weary nation.  Or appearing in a parking late at night to see who it was that stole his co-worker’s car.

Tony works in a grocery store and spends most of his time with his best friends, Dom and Danny.  When he confides in them about his special “dream” abilities, they see the potential for Tony being able to assist the police in solving crimes that have been relegated to the cold-cases files.  Eventually, Dom gets a job with a local detective agency and connects Tony with the owner of the company.  Invariably our likeable hero is asked to help solve the five year old disappearance of a young lady.  This assignment takes him to some dark places and ultimately endangers Tony and his friends when a  murderer is exposed.

“The Sleep Detectives” is fresh, original and its characters believable from the first page to the last.  Bieniek’s pacing is balanced and he pulls us along effortlessly.  It is rare to find such an unpretentious writer who clearly loves what he is doing and achieves what he sets out to do, completely entertain his readers.  Go find “The Sleep Detectives.”  You’ll be glad you did.

FLYING FISH "PROMETHEUS"

FLYING FISH “PROMETHEUS”

By Vilhelm Bergsoe

Translated by Dwight R. Decker

Vesper Press

47 pages

When little books, sometimes called chap-books, land on my desk, they bring within their pages lots of unique, long forgotten literary treasures.  FLYING FISH “PROMETHEUS” is a very old Danish science fiction tale reminiscent of the works of Jules Verne.  It is a rare story, considering its source, and little known among most sci-fi buffs until only recently.  It was published in 1870 and tells the story of a Danish engineer who travels in a remarkable airship.

In the tale, the author sets his adventure in the future of 1969 and his hero is on his way to Central America to witness the opening of the Panama Canal.  The fun of this short tale is seeing which of the author’s predictions came true and which were pure flights of imaginative fancy. (Pun intended.)  Perhaps the greatest of these being the aircraft itself which works less than conventional dirigibles and more like an actual flying fish having to propel itself out of a body of water to attain flight. 

For those of you who enjoy finding such long lost sci-fi gems, this wonderful package comes with additional material to include an essay on the author and the story’s history and a post article by the translator, Dwight Decker, on his role in bringing the story back into print and the inherent challenges in the translation.  All in all, FLYING FISH “PROMETHEUS” is a rare sci-fi oddity we think readers will enjoy discovering…at long last.

BLUE LABYRINTH

BLUE LABYRINTH

An Agent Pendergast Novel

By Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

Grand Central Publishing

403 pages

“Blue Labyrinth” is the fourteenth novel in our favorite new pulp fiction series starring Special FBI Agent Aloysius Pendergast.  We first discovered the remarkable, acerbic millionaire detective when a close friend gifted us with a copy of his third adventure, “The Cabinet of Curiosities.”  We were hooked immediately and compared many of the character’s talents and attributes to Walter Gibson’s classic pulp hero, The Shadow.

Of course all such series have their ups and downs and loyal fans are always going to quantify certain entries as being better than others; the lackluster titles quickly shoved aside and forgotten.  Such has been the case with the Pendergast books and we are thrilled to report that “Blue Labyrinth” immediately moves to the top of our personal list as one of the best ever.

The action begins when Pendergast’s diabolical son is left murdered on his doorstep in Manhattan.  It is over, sadistic challenge that sends Pendergast on a twisted, trap laden hunt for one of the most cunning adversaries he has ever dueled.  One bizarre clue after another leads him from an abandoned casino in the Southwest desert to an over populated Brazillian ghetto filled with human misery and suffering.  Eventually a twisted motive somehow connected with his family’s past begins to emerge.  The entire affair is in fact a cold, calculating campaign against all those Pendegast holds dear.  It is a personal war and one he cannot afford to lose.

Once again writers Preston and Child whip up a brilliant, pretzel like plot that keeps the readers guessing from one page to another.  Once more, we readers sit on the edge of our armchairs following familiar cast players such as Detective Vincent D’Agosta, Dr. Margo Green and the ephemeral, always mysterious, Constance Greene as they join forces to help Pendergast survive the greatest threat he has ever faced.; one that will destroy him if they fail.

“Blue Labyrinth” is another top-notch chapter one of the finest thriller series on the market today and not to be missed.  Honestly, we can’t wait for the next one.

NOWHERE TO RUN

NOWHERE TO RUN

(A Joe Picket Novel)

By C.J. Box

Berkeley Prime Crime

320 pages

One of the things readers often do is give books as presents.  We’ve been doing that for years and recently our good friend, Gary Kato, send us “Nowhere To Run,” by C.J. Box.  In the past, we’d sent Gary several Longmire mysteries by Craig Johnson and mentioned how much the setting of Wyoming was an integral part of the tales.  Thus Gary’s opting to introduce us to Box’s work which, as it turns out, stars Wyoming Game Warden named Joe Picket. 

Like Johnson, Box uses Wyoming’s rugged mountains and valleys as a major part of his storytelling and it makes the book all that much more fascination.  In this day and age, particularly for urban dwellers, we often forget how big America truly is and just how much of it is still primal wilderness; wilderness that can prove deadly to the unwary travel. 

While investigating a strange incident reported to him by several hunters, Picket rides out into the deep mountains and comes across two brothers, identical twins, living in the mountains like hermits.  When he attempts to question them as part of his job things suddenly get violent and Joe finds himself on foot, wounded and being hunted by two men who clearly know the ways of the mountain.  But that’s only the beginning of this edge-of-your-seat thriller.  Through strength of will, Joe manages to escape his hunters and makes it back to civilization.  While recovering from his wounds, he learns that every single search party sent into the mountains to find the two supposedly psycho brothers has failed to find any physical evidence of them to corroborate his report.  Now people are questioning Joe’s integrity and even his sanity.

Frustrated by this turn of events and angered that no one will believe his story, Joe is more determined than ever to go back into those dark mountains and not only find the deadly twins but learn the reasons for their being there in the first place.  The answer to that question is somehow caught up in a political scandal with ties to Washington and several government agencies.  Is there a conspiracy involved?  Is someone purposely trying to impede Joe quest for the truth?

“Nowhere To Run,” is a taut, gripping adventure with a political undercurrent that many people will find unsettling.  Kudos for Box for having the courage to say what many of us feel today; that the real dangers to our way of life don’t lie in the wilderness, but in the halls of Washington D.C.  And now we need to thank Gary for introducing us to this amazing book and character.  If you haven’t met Joe Picket yet, what are you waiting for?

THE LEGEND OF CALEB YORK

THE LEGEND OF CALEB YORK

By Mickey Spillane & Max Allan Collins

Kensington Publishing

229 pages

Say the words Mickey Spillane and most readers will immediately Mike Hammer and hardboiled mysteries.  Perhaps the furthest thing from anyone’s thoughts would be a classic western adventure.  Which is exactly what this book is and its history is as fascinating as the tale it tells.  In his introduction, Max Allan Collins relates the friendship that existed between Spillane and John Wayne, one of the most famous western actors to ever grace the silver screen.  He believes it was this camaraderie that inspired Spillane to try his hand a writing a western screenplay that he hoped his pal, Wayne, would someday produce and star in.

Alas that never came to fruition but lucky for us, Spillane actually wrote the screenplay and it remained hidden amongst his files for all these years.  Upon discovering it, Collins opted to novelize it, sticking to the plot and action as Spillane had envisioned for his shoot’em-up horse opera.  After reading this book adaptation, we’re truly disappointed it was never filmed.

“The Legend of Caleb York,” is a classic western with a tried and true plot about a nameless stranger who rides into the small New Mexico town of Trinidad and finds himself caught up in a war between the corrupt sheriff and local ranchers. Harry Gauge is a sadistic gunfighter who uses his badge to systematically gain control of most of the ranches in the area.  Gauge’s only real challenge comes from a blind rancher named Cullen and his lovely daughter Willa.  Within minutes of arriving in Trinidad the stranger guns down two of Gauge’s men in a fast-draw display that has the locals guessing the unassuming gunslinger’s true identity.

Reading “The Legend of Caleb York” is much like watching one of a dozen famous western movies; each character in the story is molded from iconic elements all of us are immediately familiar with.  The good guys are stalwart and the villains black-hearted as they come fueling the reader’s imagination in such a wonderful, traditional way.  Give this one big thumbs way up, western lovers.  It’s a six-gun blasting winner from the first page to the last.

PULPSPLOITATION

PULPSPLOITATION

Edited by Nicholas Ahlhem

Metahuman Press

177 pages

Exploit – A notable deed or act. To use to best advantage.  To make use of selfishly or unethically.

The word exploit didn’t attract any particular attention until the folks in Hollywood got  hold of it and then we were given the Exploitation film which was usually applied to any film which was considered to be low budget and attempting to gain financial and critical success by “exploting” a current trend or a niche genre of a base desire for lurid subject matter.  This meant these movies needed something to exploit and for most it was either sex or violence.  And we’ve all heard the term, Sexploitation.

So it is only logical to assume an anthology calling itself “Pulpsploitation” is going to be saturated with excessive, gratuitous sex and violence in large quantity.  To varying the degrees, the five writers in this collection have no qualms of dishing out both whenever necessary to keep their stories moving.  Still, the idea of seeing a classic hero like Airboy having sex is a bit unorthodox to this pulp fan; to say the least.  So this review comes with a very emphatic Adults Only recommendation. 

Now the five tales that make up this book spotlight not only classic pulp heroes but a few popular comic book stars also make an appearance.  Every story is a reimagining of the character in a new, more modern setting and that is the real fun here.

Ahlelm starts the collection with that vary Airboy adventure, “Time Enough For Love,” which has Davy Nelson reawakens after having been a prisoner aboard the Air Tomb for over thirty years.  The world of the 1980s is strange and alien to him to say the least Still he has the aid of the Flying Dutchman’s beautiful daughter to help get familiar with this brave new world.  She explains to him that remnants of an old Japanese foe are about to launch their own atomic bombs on the US and its up to Airboy to save the day.  But first he must find his super-plane Birdie and satisfying the lustful longings of his beautiful ally; which is where the tale gets R rated.  Alhelm’s a solid writer and he knows these golden age characters extremely well and we doubt seriously after reading through the obligatory “sex scene,” many of you will ever consider Davy Nelson a “boy” again.

Next up writer Teel James Glenn showcases as yet another comic hero; the Gunmaster.  Although personally not familiar with this character, we were educated easily enough in his story, “Praey For The Raven.”  Following the theme of the anthology, the story opens in the past with Gunmaster Dumas Poe chasing after his nemesis, the Raven.  He fails to capture him and many years later, it falls to his son, Darian Poe, to complete the mission.  In reading through this story, we were struck with how much Gunmaster has in common with another classic pulp/comic hero; the Green Lama.  Both are given backgrounds involving Far Easter mysticism, they both employ the same phrases and there exist a connection in their names.  All in the all, the original Gunmaster was very much a Gun Toting Green Lama.  Glenn is to be applauded for moving the series forward by the creation of the original’s son and promises to do much more with the concept in future volumes. 

By far our favorite entry in this collection was Frank Byrns creation of a brand new Black Bat to follow in the footsteps of the iconic pulp hero.  In the 80s, retired lawyer Tony Quinn has begun a legal foundation to help the impoverished minorities living in the poorer sections of New York.  One of his lawyers is Jackie Clay, a black man whose own brother is involved with dealing drugs.  When a gang war with a rival faction threatens to destroy innocent lives in his home community, Clay adopts the mantle of the Black Bat to bring justice to these modern evil-doers, all under the watchful eye of old Mr. Quinn.  And set to aid Clay in his future battles are two rather important members of the Quinn Foundation; Carol O’Leary, the redheaded daughter of Butch O’Leary and Detective Danny Kirby, the son of former conman, Silk Kirby.  Byrns’ new Black Bat and company is wonderfully realized and we can’t wait to read their further adventures.  We also appreciate that he eschewed any kind of sexual encounters; leaving us to enjoy a more traditional pulp yarn.

The fourth tale is another winner; this one by Australian writer Steven Gepp.  He offers up a jungle hero named Tabu.  Having never heard of this character, we’ve no idea if he appeared in the pulps or comics.  It would have been nice if Gepp could have provided us with a little background history along with his bio.  Regardless, Tabu is very much a cookie-cutter figure who has been transplanted out of Africa and into a metropolitan US city where’s he’s become a big-time wrestling personality.  That alone was enough to have us enjoying this action story.  The Col War Russians are after a Star Wars type weapon invented by America and it’s up to Tabu to make sure it doesn’t fall into their hands.  All in all a very fun romp.

Lastly we have E.A.G.L.E. – Alpha & Omega by Caine Dorr that reads a great deal like many of the old classic pulp spy thrillers ala Secret Agent X and the Secret Six.  Commander Shannon is a veteran operative for a super secret outfit called E.A.G.L.E., which is his personal codename as well, that eliminates threats to America that cannot be dealt with by conventional law enforcement agencies; to include assassinations.  We have no idea if this tale is based on an actual pulp or is the author’s own original creation.  Either way, Commander Shannon comes across like an older version of Mack Bolan and the writing here is crisp, fast paced and delivers the standard action one would expect from such a genre.

All in all, book one of “Pulpsploitation” is extremely well realized with five top-notch stories any “adult” pulp readers will find entertaining.  And we would be remiss if we didn’t give kudos to a gorgeous cover provided by the super talented Nik Powliko.  This is a great package cover to cover and we’re only to happy to give it major thumbs up.  Hopefully a volume two is in the works.

THE INCREDIBLE ADVENTERS OF JAKE ASTRO

THE INCREDIBLE ADVENTURES
OF JAKE ASTRO   Vol One

By Ashley Sherer

PBM

287

One of the first rules of good genre writing is; never attempt to re-invent the wheel.  And by that we mean; each and every genre of fiction has its set of rules which you should never tamper with.  That is never more crucial then when writing space operas.  Space operas are those fun, action packed tales nowhere near the boundaries of hard sci-fi that is all about extrapolating current science know-how.  Space operas are Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, Star Wars, and yes, Star Trek.  They are about larger than life heroes having over-the-top outer space adventures.

So buckle up and get ready to blast off with the latest bonafide entry in this club; space pilot and adventurer, Jake Astor, as created by writer Ashley Sherer.  Jake is a loveable rogue in the Hans Solo mold and his own alien sidekick/co-pilot is a paranoid, conspiracy addicted green lizard-man named Mikja.  This first volume of their exploits contains five stories; the first three being connected.  Each is tons of fun and had this reviewer chuckling all the way through them.

Jake is a classic space-opera hero who, no matter how simple the job, is always going to end up in trouble thus having to depend on his wits and tenacity to survive.  No matter how much he considers himself a hustler, in the end he always does the right thing.  The adventures in this collection range from Jake and Mikja exploring jungle planets to uncover ancient treasures to battling space ghosts on a frontier mining colony.  Like we said at the offset, standard fare for this genre, but done with a real panache that proves irresistible.  The best space-opera every penned?  Hardly.  But without reservations you will have fun spending a few hours with Jake Astro.  He’s one cool dude.

THE COMING OF CROW

THE COMING OF CROW

By Joel Jenkins

Pulpwork Press

305 pages

For ever reviewer, there are always books we cannot read fast enough because, not only do we personally enjoy them so much, but because we also can’t wait to share them with our fellow readers.  This is such a book.

Joel Jenkins is among the elite of the new pulp fiction writers working today.  Like most prolific scribes, he has several different series available to pulp fans.  Of all of them, my favorite is hands down the weird western stories he’s done featuring his wonderful character, Lone Crow.  Crow is the last of his tribe; they were all butchered by a renegade band of Apaches.  Crow’s travels take him all over the North and South America, from the freezing rugged Alaskan frontier to the thick, hot cloying jungles of Brazil.  Wherever there is some strange mystery dealing with the occult, you are bound to find this Indian gunfighter making an appearance.  And when he does, look out!  Then the action kicks up a notch and it’s blessed bullets against all manner of beasts and monsters.

“The Coming of Crow” contains fourteen of Crow’s amazing adventures; a few having been previously published in other anthologies over the past few years.  That I’d already read some of these before didn’t bother me in the least, as having bound together in one glorious collection is the treasure here.  Another fanciful element of many of Jenkins’ Lone Crow stories is that he peppers them with historical western figures.  Among these accounts, Crow crosses paths with the likes of Wyatt Earp, Bass Reeves, Shotgun Ferguson and many other colorful western legends.

If you are a fan of weird westerns, then your library isn’t complete until you have this book in it.  I was happy to see Jenkins purposely labeled it Volume One which means he has a lot more Lone Crow stories coming our way and this reviewer couldn’t be any happier about that.