QUARRY'S VOTE

QUARRY’S VOTE

Max Allan Collins

Hard Case Crime

237 pages

This is one series we came in late on, not having been aware of Max Collins’ hitman Quarry until Hard Case Crime convinced him to bring the character out of mothballs for one more tale; “The Last Quarry” in 2015.  We were hooked instantly and obviously not alone in our appreciation as the publisher continued releasing new Quarry tales.  By this time Collins had long since established himself as one of the premier mystery writers in the country. This was due in large part to his historical Nathan Heller crime novels and his posthumous collaborations with late Mickey Spillane in which Collins completed many unfinished Mike Hammer mysteries.

And still, despite these truly wonderful books, Quarry, in our opinion, is Collins’ most successful series.  A fact now bolstered by the forthcoming TV series being produced for the cable outfit, Cinemax.  In lieu of its premier, Hard Case Crime is reprinting the original Quarry novels first released in late 70s and early 80s.  “Quarry’s Vote,” first published in 1987 as “Primary Target,” is one of these.

As the story opens, Quarry has quit the killing game, married and settled down.  He’s also about to become a father for the first time.  One day, while his wife is away, he is visited by a stranger wanting to hire him to assassinate a radical political figure running in the current presidential race.  Quarry is offered the sum of one million dollars to take the job; the largest such payment he’d ever been offered.  Still, because of the contentment he’s finally found in his life, he turns the job down.  Days later he feels anxious about his decision, beginning to worry that his turning down the hit will have dangerous repercussions.  Tragically his haunting premonitions become reality and everything he held dear is taken from him in an act of cruel savagery. 

Having the survived this attempt on his life, Quarry sets out to find those who have targeted him and wreak his own brand of retribution.  Pulled back into his life as an agent of death, he sets about proving that his years away haven’t dulled his skills in the slightest.  He is the embodiment of the relentless Reaper and woe to those who find themselves in his path of bloody vengeance.

“Quarry’s Vote,” is Collins as his best, delivering a top notched thriller with a dark, twisted lacing of black satirical humor that weaves itself through his depiction of modern politicos from both sides of the aisles.  And it’s returning in this particular year of such a outlandish presidential contest couldn’t be more fitting.  We’re only too happy to cast our own vote for this Quarry ticket.  As you should be.

THE DEVIL DOGS OF BELLEAU WOOD

THE DEVIL DOGS OF BELLEAU WOOD

By Terrence McCauley

Down & Out Books

130 pages

“The Devil Dogs of Belleau Woods,” is a gripping war adventure set during one of the most brutal battles of World War One.  Corporal Charlie Doherty is a New York City cop who thought he was a tough guy but when he finds himself in a pitched battle alongside a handful of U.S. Marines against an overwhelming force of German troopers, he quickly discovers the true meaning of grit and courage. 

The book opens with Doherty the sole survivor of his company after a hellish battle with the enemy.  Alone in its aftermath, he founds himself lost in the dense forest of the Belleau Woods pinned down by a machine-gun nest.  Then two gutsy Marine officers arrive on the scene; Capt. Devlin and Lt. Barrows. Devlin, though young, is a seasoned warrior and quickly directs them into taking out the German gun.  Soon the trio hook up with a group of other lost Marines led by a grizzled Sgt. Ambrose.  Devlin believes the enemy is going to make another push to break through their lines and they may be the only force in the area capable of repelling them.

When they find a small, isolated French farm, Devlin decides it is the place where they will make their stand.  Their objective, to hold back the advancing Germans until reinforcements can arrive.  McCauley’s prose is terse and straight forward.  His fighting scenes are savage without being sensational.  He paints the horror of warfare with a detached, clear reporting and captures the pain, suffering, courage and ultimate sacrifice that are part of combat.

We haven’t read a war book this good since Richard Matheson’s “The Beardless Warriors.”  For a small volume it packs a solid punch proving once again that Terrence McCauley is a rising star in today’s fiction.  Not to be missed.

3 THE HARD WAY

3 THE HARD WAY

By Gary Phillips

Down & Out Books

295 pages

First before digging into this book’s trio of excellent pulp yarns, we want to tip our fedora to Down & Out Books.  A fairly new publishing house, the quality of their recent titles has been excellent and that bodes well for all new pulp readers.  In fact, the three novellas you’ll encounter in this volume were only available digitally until now; just another reason for us devoted book lovers should be grateful to this new outfit. Here’s hoping they are with us for many years to come.

Okay, so on to the review.  Gary Phillips is regarded as one of the finest new pulp authors in the game today and his reputation is well earned.  A prolific scribe, he has a passion for creating unique heroes with a recognizable pedigree going back to the classic pulps of the 30s and 40s.  In this book we get to meet three of the newest starting Malcolm Cavanaugh Bleekston; a sophisticated conman with the nickname McBleak.  Sauve and debonair, he follows in the footsteps of such notable crime figures as Parker and Raffles with just a smidgen of the Saint in there somewhere.  In this offering called “The Extractors,” McBleak sets his sights on a greedy developer and plots an elaborate and dangerous scam to fleece the crooked financier.  The con is meticulously planned out and with the help of some loyal pals, McBleak risks life and limb to come out on top.

This is followed by “Ten Seconds to Death,” in which we meet the Essex Man, Luke Warfield.  He is a former secret agent turned philanthropist who uses his agency to help people in need, support his community and bring justice to those who can’t afford it in a legal system corrupt to the bone.  If he sounds a bit like Bruce Wayne/Batman, trust us, that’s no accident.  Phillips loves his heroes brave and noble.  In this introduction to Warfield and his team, we learn something of his black-ops background when he begins to investigate the murder of his stepfather.  It appears an old colleague from that shadowy world has gone rogue and unless Essex can stop him, he will rain down death and destruction on Los Angeles.  This one moves like an Indy 500 speedster, giving us readers little to do by flip those pages and hold on tight.

Finally we get Phillips’ homage to the super pulp icons ala Doc Savage and the Avenger with Ned Noc Brenner, an extreme sports junkie who is recruited by a mysterious organization known as the Vigilance Initiative.  Under the direction of a genius inventor named Hiram Templesmith, Noc and two other agents are sent to foil the plot of a super criminal known as Prospero about to sell a flying-tank to whoever will bid the highest for this weapon of doom.  In true pulp fashion, Noc’s new pals also have their own unique skills. Kolburn is a human chameleon who can change his appearance via millions of nano-robots in his skin cells while the lovely Navarro has subtle by powerful psychic that allow her to sense the veracity of an opponent.  Together, the three efficiently set out to spoil Prospero’s scheme and obtain the anti-gravity machine before it falls into evil hands.

“3 The Hard Way,” is such an awesome volume as it stands.  But to sweeten the pot even more, Phillips has added a brand new Essex Man short to welcome readers to the worlds of his amazing imagination.  In a time when we are seeing more and more wonderful new pulp fiction entering the literary world, Gary Phillips is far out front leading the pack. It would do you well to start reading him now rather than play catch up later. 

CAPE HELL

CAPE HELL

By Loren D. Estleman

Forge Books

224 pgs

Available May 2016

Now we’ve only read a few books by Loren D. Estleman but those were enough to convince us of his immeasurable storytelling talents.  It is also clear he possesses a genuine fondness for westerns as this latest title soundly confirms.

Montana based U.S. Deputy Marshal Page Murdock, a seasoned lawman, is ordered by his superior, Federal Judge Harlan Blackthorne, to Cape Hell, Mexico, to investigates the activities of former Confederate officer, Captain Oscar Childress, said to be assembling a private army to capture Mexico City.  From there Childress plans to turn his attention to United States and attempt to start a second Civil War.

Murdoch finds the entire idea ludicrous but has little say in the matter and soon finds himself aboard an old steam engine train called The Ghost barreling his way south with a shifty Mexican engineer and Joseph, his Indian fireman.  Their destination, Childress’ camp hidden deep in the heart of the rugged Sierra Madres overlooking Cape Hell.

The ex-Confederate would-be conqueror is a well used plot that in lesser hands would have proven tiresome and unoriginal, but it is Murdock’s weary world voice that gives it a new feel.  His curiosity at what makes Childress tick and his stubbornness in seeing the mission completed offer up a truly likeable protagonist who, considering how many times he’s cracked over the head, must have a skull made of rock.

“Cape Hell” is as fast paced as the locomotive that carries us into the eerily beautiful but deadly landscape and in the end delivers a fresh, exciting yarn worthy of the best classic westerns.  This one is a winner hands down.

A HANDFUL OF HELL

A HANDFUL OF HELL

Classic War & Adventure Stories

By Robert F. Dorr

New Texture Books

323 pages

At the height of the classic pulp era of the 1930s and 40s, variety was the name of the game as magazine racks were inundated with titles covering every conceivable genre of fiction known to mankind.  There was clearly something for everyone; men, women and children.  In the post World War II years starting in the early 50s, pulps outgrew their small, square format and morphed into the more typical, larger publications.  With this evolution the diversity continued only now it seemed to be a lot more noticeable.  Glancing at drugstore racks, one could clearly see sections set aside for women’s interest ala romance and confession titles, whereas the kids now had their comic books and for the men readers; many made up of veterans, there were the Men’s Adventure Magazines or, as we’ve come to refer to them today, MAMS.

Month after month throughout the 50s, 60s and well into the 70s, dozens of title covers featured soldiers, sailors and airmen along with scantily clad, busty babes in all manners of death defying scenarios. These were periodicals loudly proclaiming their machismo and all things rugged. There were no fobbish, sophisticated intellectuals in these pages, but true American patriots, battling tough-guys willing to give all for God and country. The writers that produced mountains of these stories were men cast from the same mold as they heroes they wrote about.  None was better at this craft than Robert F. Dorr.

Now editors Robert Deis and Wyatt Doyle, two men dedicated to preserving the history of MAMS, have collected 17 of Dorr’s classic action adventure shorts that appeared in various titles between 1962 and 1970.  These blood and guts yarns portray American warriors in both the European theater and South Pacific, from on-the-ground hand to hand combat to the nerve-wracking trauma of airmen battling in the skies aboard massive air bombers. Then there are stories detailing the horror of the Korean conflict and finally brutally detailed accounts of jungle action in the steaming valleys of Vietnam.

Throughout them all, Dorr brings to each such authenticity that he immediately captures his readers and sucks them into action. Enough so that this reviewer could hear the sounds of the mighty Pratt & Whitney engines as they  carried airmen over enemy territory and felt hot lead zipping past his head as he crouched in a foxhole of hardened mud on a Korean hillside awaiting the oncoming charge of crazed Red Soldiers.  This ability to share an experience is the hallmark of a true writer. It is a rare talent only few have ever possessed and Dorr is one of them.  My personal favorite was his recounting of “The Incredible Glory Saga of the Boondock Padre.”  This is story of Father Robert Liteky, an Army Chaplain who won the Medal of Honor for his courage at the battle of Phuoc Loc three weeks before the Tet Offensive of 1967. You see, this reviewer was an Army Spec 4 stationed at Long Binh only a few miles away when this happened.  Robert Dorr’s story brought back lots of memories of the brave men and women I served with in those log ago days. Many never came home and we salute writers like Dorr for not letting their stories be forgotten.

“A HANDFUL OF HELL,” is a remarkable collection by a truly great writer. One we are damn proud to have in our library.  It deserves your support and then some.

SPANISH MOSS

SPANISH MOSS

(A Robineux Mystery)

By E.A. Cook

Rogue House Publishing

169 pages

Sometimes the story of how we received a particular book can be as interesting as the book itself.  Several weeks ago we walked into a very small local bookstore.  You know the kind, they make most of their income in selling or trading used books.  As we had a stack of such that were taking up way too much space in our office, we thought we’d stop by this little store and donate them to the owner.   We will never just trash a book, we love them too much. Thus this way they would hopefully end up in the hands of other bibliophiles like us and along the way provide a little sustaining income to the owner of the shop.

The charming lady who operated the store was happy to take the books off our hands, especially seeing the immaculate condition they were still in and we entered into a nice conversation about what we both liked to read.  Finally, as we were starting to say our goodbyes, she held up her hand, walked over to a shelf and picked up this small book with a light green cover.  She then explained it was written by a local writer here Fort Collins and she wanted us to have it.  She personally thought it was very well written.

And now on to our review of E.A. Cook’s “Spanish Moss.”  The protagonist, Calvin, has been physically abused by his father most of his young life.  When the man attempts to rape him at the age of fifteen, Calvin kills him in self-defense and runs away.  Via hitch-hiking, he wanders aimlessly through the south for several years until one night he’s picked up by a sexual predator.  In his attempt to flee, the boy causes car to crash off a bridge and into the waters of a dark and foreboding swamp.  Hours later, while crouched on the limb of a tree; he is rescued by a Cajun named Esteen Robinaux.  Sensing the boy’s fear and fragility, Esteen brings him to his mother, Miss Jovetta Robineux.   Gifted with “the sight,” Miss Jovetta welcomes young Calvin into their lives and informs him that he now has both a home and a family for as long as he wants one.

Having never known such kindness, the lad accepts cautiously but soon learns there is nothing phony about the Robineux, they are exactly what they appear to be, good and loving people.  In time he also meets Esteen’s only child, a beautiful young woman named Sophie who happens to be a Medical Examiner for the parish.  It is through her Calvin discovers the tragedy that befell the Robineuxs when Sophie’s mother, on a trip to New Orleans, was brutally raped and murdered.  The killer was never found.  As his new life progresses, Calvin begins to mature in both body and mind.  Both Miss Jovetta and Esteen provide him with sage life lessons while Sophie, a third-degree black-belt in Kenpo karate, teaches her adopted brother how to defend himself properly.

Upon turning eighteen, Calvin decides that the best way he can repay them is to go to New Orleans and hunt down the monster that killed Camille Robineux.  Though saddened by this, the family respectfully accepts to his decision.  They send him off with their prayers and well wishes.  At this point, Cook’s narrative becomes a true mystery as Calvin, now calling himself Vin, starts his investigations in New Orleans by contacting newspaper reporter Jack Turpin and Police Detective Liam Nation, both familiar with the old case.  The plot is convoluted and ultimately twist and turns on itself like a crazy pretzel demanding that the reader stay alert as each new character brings a new clue to the unfolding drama.  Cook’s depiction of the city and its popular landmarks add an authentic layer to this fast paced story and there is very little wasted wordage.  His writing is lean and mean, delivering an abrupt but satisfying climax. 

In the end, this little tome works nicely as an introduction to a cast of colorful characters we’d very much like to see return.  Vin Robineux and his remarkable family certainly deserve an encore.

BIG TOP TALES

BIG TOP TALES

Edited by Jim Beard & John Bruening

Flinch Books!

168 pages

This is such a fun anthology and we want to applaud editors Jim Beard and John Bruening for not only bringing together a half-dozen truly exciting, fresh stories but for coming up with the concept in the first place. When you consider the fact that there were hundreds of pulp titles in the 30s and 40s and that they covered almost every conceivable topic fiction might offer, it is a minor miracle these two intrepid editors actually found one that hadn’t ever been utilized.  And in doing so have given New Pulp a really exciting new theme. 

The setting is 1956 and circuses are dying out in America thanks to the advent of highways and television.  No longer do the citizens of small towns and villages have to depend solely on these traveling shows to provide them with excitement and entertainment.  And so the members of the Henderson & Ross Royal Circus travel the land wondering how much longer their way of life will continue.  Here’s a quick look at the six terrific entries that make up this first volume of “Big Top Tales.”

“Trial of the Scorpion,” by Frank Schildiner features Marko the Knife Thrower as he confronts the evil twisted genius who raised him as a child.  While in San Francisco, Marko is called before the Master to answer charges of betrayal leveled at him by a rival member of the organization and can only prove his innocent by participating in the Trial of Scorpions.  Schildiner is one of the most imaginative writers in New Pulp today and this story is both gripping and fun.  Here’s hoping we see the Master again soon.

Up nest is “Deadly Triangle,” by Nick Ahlhelm and stars trapeze artist Lulubelle Rose Jensen, the circus’ trapeze artist.  This one is a murder mystery with Rose being targeted by a serial in St. Louis.  Fast paced with a terrific finale worthy of the Big Top.

With “Broken Bones,” writer Rocko Jerome introduces us to the Skeleton Man, Parker Stente, in a sad, sweet melancholy story about love, courage and destiny.  This one surprised me in such a wonderful way.

In the “Ringmaster’s Son,” by Ralph L. Angelo Jr., circus master of ceremony, Tim Tennyson’s reckless past comes back to haunt him when the train stops in the little town of Wellsboro, Penn.  A woman from his past claims to have given birth to his son twelve years earlier.  Is she telling the truth or is her claim a scam to blackmail the flamboyant Ringmaster?

Next we have John A. McColley’s  “A Trunk Full of Memories,” in which the Elephant Lady, Daphne, is confronted by an old flame from her German past; a one time lover corrupted by the Nazis.  Having built a new and positive career in the circus, with her elephant Surlee, she will fight to maintain that life no matter the cost.

Finally writer Sam Gifford wraps everything up with “Because It is Bitter,” the story of the young 15 hear old roustabout, Joey, and his first crush on a girl.  In this instance she is a local bareback rider and his experience is both tender and heartbreaking.  A coming of age amidst the sawdust of the Big Top.

Having known many such traveling shows as a youngster in rural New England while growing up, these stories brought back long forgotten memories of a simpler time in America.  This is a stellar collection and brings with it a unique nostalgic magic that will linger long after you finished it.  Highly recommended.

SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL

SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL

By Terrence McCauley

Polis Books

328 pages

In 1953 British writer Ian Fleming wrote “Casino Royale,” and gave the world super spy James Bond, 007.  The irony is Fleming, who had been in Naval Intelligence during the war, set out to portray a believable espionage agent who would appear to those around him as someone innocuous and boring.  Then in 1960 Universal adapted his book “Dr. No,” as a film with debonair Sean Connery in the role and from that moment on, James Bond was altered forever.  Gone was the drab, realistic settings to be quickly replaced with pulpish super-villains, beautiful sexy femme fatales, exotic locales and fantastic techno gadgets.  Hardly the realism Fleming originally envisioned.  That authentic, punch-to-the-gut grit would come from another source, one purely American.

In 1958, mystery/crime writer Donald Hamilton wrote “Death of a Citizen,” and introduced American agent Matt Helm.  Helm was the total opposite of the suave and sophisticated Bond.  He didn’t drink expensive champagne or drive foreign sports car, but what he could do was eliminate enemy agents with a cold, efficient brutality that was uncompromising in its savagery.  Helm’s world of espionage was a stark, realistic landscape most readers had never glimpsed before.  It was if Mickey Spillane had taken over for Fleming.  In fact, many years later, Spillane actually dipped his toe into these waters with his Tiger Mann books.  Still, put up against Hamilton’s Helm series, they too fell flat.  Though many writers attempted to imitate Hamilton’s style, none could capture his unforgiving authenticity.

Until now.

In “Sympathy For The Devil,” Terrence McCauley introduces us to a ultra secret organization known as the University and one of its top agents, James Hicks.  Leagues ahead of the CIA and NSA, the University has developed an amazing data gathering network by promoting the advancement of such modern day wonders as the internet, spy satellites and other cutting-edge communication devices.  These tools make it possible for Hicks and his colleagues to monitor every major metropolis on the globe.

When one of Hick’s assets, a long time experienced agent, is drugged into betraying him, Hick’s finds himself knee-deep in a mystery whose solution maybe reveal a new and catastrophic threat to America on the scale of 9/11.  What he had believed to be a small terror cell operating in New York City has somehow, under his own scrutiny, evolved into something a lot more complicated and deadly with far reaching international sponsors.  A new group of fanatical Islamic Terrorists have begun a multi-faceted plan to attack America unless Hicks can mobilize the Universities’ substantial forces to uncover and defeat them.

With Hicks, McCauley has given us another Matt Helm.  Hicks is a lone; tough-as-nails patriot with no ties or loyalties to anything but his country.  He is a dedicated shadow warrior who will do anything, to include torture, to completely annihilate his enemies.  He understands the barbaric nature of his foes and is more than willing to give them the same ruthless treatment they exhibit daily.  And in so doing, he steps off the pages of this fast paced thriller as a truly remarkable protagonist, unflinching is his purpose and lethal in its execution.  Finally, in James Hicks, Matt Helm has a worthy successor and one we want to see a whole lot more of.  “Sympathy For The Devil,” is one of those rare books that makes you sit up and cheer.  Don’t miss it!  You will regret it later.

LIGHTWEIGHT - Black Death

LIGHTWEIGHT – Black Death

By Nicholas Ahlhelm

Metahuman Press

129 pages

If you think surviving four years of high school it tough, try doing it as a superhero who can control gravity. That’s Kevin Mathis’s challenge in the second of Nicholas Ahlhelm wonderful series that explores both the angst of burgeoning maturity with the fantastical eternal conflict between the forces of good and evil. As the Federation city hero known as Lightweight, has more problems than your average soon-to-be graduate.

Picking up where the first book left off, Kevin is well into his senior year and quickly coming to grips with the fact that he has become a major pawn in battle between two secret organizations known as the Eloi and the Morlocks. Yes, the connection to H.G. Wells famous “The Time Machine” is referenced. The two groups have been monitoring the rise of mankind throughout time and each believes Kevin is the catalyst that will ultimately either save the world or destroy.

Naturally he disagrees. All he wants is to be left alone. We were thrilled to see the action kick off immediately and Ahlhelm doesn’t waste a minute getting things revved up to full speed. Along the way he reveals some hidden secrets from that first outing such as the identity of the mysterious Gray Man who revealed to Kevin’s totally surprise..  At the same time his romantic relationship with the lovely German exchange student, Constanze, continues to evolve even though she is a Morlock and can morph into the were-woman Howl. In the end she may be his staunchest ally in the climatic battle to come.

“Lightweight – Black Death” is what all sequels should be; better than the first. And that’s exactly what you have here. A continuation of an epic saga that is both riveting and fun and certainly has us wanting a whole lot more. This is how superhero novels should be done all the time.

GEORGE WASHINGTON'S SECRET SIX

 

GEORGE WASHINGTON’S SECRET SIX

By Brian Kilmeade & Don Yaeger

Sentinel Books

232 pages

If like us, you are a devoted student of history, the title alone will have you wanting to know what this book is all about. What it reveals, in carefully research documents, is that during the American Revolutionary War, when George Washington battled the greatest military empire in the world of that era, he was aided by a band of colonial spies who made it possible for him to outwit his foes and win our independence. The story is one of unbelievable ingenuity and courage on the part of six brave Americans, five men and one woman, who would become known as the Culper Spy Ring.

Early on in the battle for freedom from England, Washington understood he could never defeat the British by overpowering them in combat. Militarily the British forces were far superior in numbers and hardware. Were Washington to challenge them through combat alone, he knew his cause would be lost.  But if he forestall the British, making the war a protracted costly affair then in the end the British Parliament would capitulate and sue for peace.

To do this he had to outwit his enemies; i.e. out-spy them. In any struggle the combatant who has the most knowledge of his enemy’s strengths and weakness will ultimately learn to circumvent them to his benefit.  Once New York had fallen to the British, Washington set about creating a spy network that would operate throughout that vast metropolis from the streets of Manhattan to the villages of Long Island.  Cunning agents whose identities would be known only to the army officer who would lead them, Colonel Tallmadge. 

Tallmadge had gone to school when Nathan Hale and when Hale was captured and executed because of an ill-advised reconnaissance mission, it was a personal blow to the young officer. Washington then made clear that only Tallmadge would know the name of the person he chose to assemble a band of citizens to spy on the British forces that surrounded them daily. This person in turn would give each of his people a code name by which to operate. Thus neither Washington nor Tallmadge ever knew who their daring spies were.

This book is a revelation shining the light on a long hidden aspect of the Revolutionary War that may have been its most crucial element. So brilliant were the methods devised by the Culper Spy Ring to serve their mission, they are still taught today at C.I.A. headquarters in Langley, Virginia. And there the story of the Culper Spy Ring is kept alive to inspire today’s American agents, reminding them that all wars are not fought solely with guns and bombs but with clever intelligence gathering.

Kilmeade and Yaeger have done a wonderful job in bringing to life each of the secret six of which history eventually unmasked years after the war’s end. In fact the true identity of the only female member is still unknown to this day as well as her final fate. It is in these gripping accounts that we found ourselves empathizing with these ordinary citizens tasked to dare extraordianry feats of courage all for the glorious idea of a free democracy.  “George Washington’s Secret Six,” is an amazing book and one that should be thought to every high school student in American today.  There are no monuments to these spies and that is how they would have preferred it but their stories should be known and memorialized.  Freedom is never free, it has a price and these six amazing people were willing to pay it with their lives if need be.  We owe it to them to keep their legends alive.

HUNT AT WORLD'S END

HUNT AT WORLD’S END

(A Gabriel Hunt Novel)

By Nicholas Kaufman

Titan Books

269 pages

We recently participated in an on-line round table forum on how to avoid clichés when writing mystery fiction.  Webster’s defines the word as “…a hackneyed expression or idea.”  Hackneyed in that it has been repeated more time than anyone could ever count.  Which we suppose is what makes it a bad thing, this constant repetition. Whereas, unlike a single sentence or phrase, there are entire books that entirely one humungous cliché.  Case in point the classic pulp novels of the 30s and 40s and the current books and films  they in turned inspired.

Several years ago, publisher/writer Charles Ardai, applauded for bringing back the dark, gritty noir melodramas to the paperback world with his Hard Case Crime line, had the idea of launching a modern day Indiana Jones style series featuring a character named Gabriel Hunt.  Now in keeping with the Jones/pulp mold, Hunt is an archeologist who co-operates the Hunt Foundation with his brother Michael.  Whereas Gabriel is the adventurer, Michael is the desk jockey who sends him on his wild adventures around the globe seeking lost artifacts.  Ardai recruited a group of modern day pulpsters, all with established bonafides, to pen these fast paced actioners.

“Hunt at World’s End,” by Nicholas Kaufmann is one of the latest in this on-going series and everything in it is cliché; from the smart female archaeologist in distress to the ancient mysterious cult and the evil power hungry foreigner all vying to find three lost jewels that when brought together on the face of a lost idol will grant the person possessing them a fantastical power.  And so from Borneo to Turkey and finally the sands of the Sahara, Gabriel and his allies race against time to stop the dastardly villains from achieving success and thereby save the world.

There is absolutely nothing new in these pages but we still relished the book.  Like wearing a comfortable pair of slippers or a favorite lounge sweater, were delighted to have had the experience.  You see, dear readers, most of the best selling series of any kind have to fall back on tried and true elements which readers expect.  Sure, it is always nice to discover something new, fresh and original.   But trust me, in the world of fiction, that is all too rare and one soon comes to rely and enjoy those books done in a familiar style we come to appreciate over the years like good and trusty friends who will not let us down.  The Gabriel Hunt books are such pals and we easily recommend them.  “Hunt at World’s End” maintains their level of excellence with a fast paced narrative, colorful characters and exotic locales.  What more could a pulp fan want?

AMAZING - FANTASTIC - INCREDIBLE

AMAZING – FANTASTIC – INCREDIBLE

(A Marvelous Memoir)

By STAN LEE and Peter David and Collen Doran

Touchstone

192 pages

I was a 13 year old comic book reader when the birth of Marvel Comics launched the Silver Age of Comics in the early 1960s.  That’s why writer/editor Stan Lee, after family and teachers, has had more of affect on my life than anyone else in this world. Through his innovative changes to the media writing imperfect heroes with problems, he elevated the storytelling in comics and for the first time made them appealing to adults.  It is no small wonder that I grew up wanting to be a comic creator.

So yes, Stan Lee is one of my personal heroes and reviewing a graphic novel autobiography required a bit of distancing on my part.  What you have here is a one man’s story of what happened from his early days as a youngster in New York City to his becoming one of the most recognizable cultural celebrities in the world.  As with all such autobiographies, all we can rely on is his version and in that regards some of the stories concerning his conflicts with other well known comic personalities is to some degree suspect. In all such incidents we understand there was another side and yet Lee doesn’t shy away from those awkward events that were painful to him and his family. To his credit, he goes out of his way to credit people like Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and all the other amazing creators who built Marvel Comics. I was personally touched with his tribute to his own younger brother, Larry Leiber.  And whether you choose to believe his narrative completely or not, there is no escaping the fact that Stan Lee knows HOW to tell a story.

Which is the part of this volume we can address with unabashed praise.  The art by Colleen Doran is magnificent throughout and finds her adjusting her style from realistic depictions of actual people to outlandish cartoony figures when depicting one of Lee’s many wacky anecdotes.  Kudos also go to Peter David, one of the finest comic scribes in the business. I have to believe he is partly responsible for taking Lee’s wandering reverie and shaping it into a linear tale with a beginning, middle and end. 

This book is a gem and for this veteran Marvelite, a treasure.  It was given to me by my family for Christmas.  They obviously know that within this aged body there still resides an eager, excitable 13 year old who so enjoyed this trip back to a much happier time.  As Lee would say, Excelsior!!    

THE HUMAN DIVISION

THE HUMAN DIVISION

By John Scalzi

Tor Books

431 pages

Rare are the times when a reviewer so loves a book that he or she has to share it with close friends and family, never mind their reading audience.  Such was the case years ago when we first read John Scalzi sci-fi actioner “Old Man’s War.” We hadn’t been that excited about a science fiction novel since the days of Asimov and Heinlein.  Thankfully that book was only the first in a series and subsequent titles set in that universe soon followed. All of them were exceptional and much fun. Scalzi is a skilled writer with a gift for creating endearing characters.

Now we have “The Human Division,” the latest in this series centered about the super military organization of earthlings known as the Colonial Defense Union. In the distant future, mankind has ventured into the stars only to discover they are populated with thousands of alien races, some friendly, others not so. To survive these encounters, humans create super soldiers, i.e. new scientifically enhanced bodies capable of withstanding harsh environments and going toe to toe with hostile aliens. These bodies are then offered to the Earth’s senior population; men and women in the twilight days of their lives. All they have to do is pledge ten years of service to the CDU and they’re consciousness is implanted into one of these green super bodies. Thus someone nearing death is given a second chance at life.

That’s the basic set-up. In this latest entry, a schism between the Earth and the CDU has materialized when it became clear to the governments of Earth that the CDU was basically using the planet’s over population as a breeding pool for their armies; an ugly truth that, when shown in such a harsh light, didn’t sit well with various Earth governments.  Earth has broken off relationships with the CDU prohibiting any further seniors from leaving. Then to add more headaches to the beleaguered CDU, a confederation of alien races calling itself the Conclave, begins overtures to recruit the Earth into their organization thus effectively separate it politically from the CDU.

As the book opens, members of the CDU’s diplomatic corps are tasked with smoothing over the Earth’s ruffled feathers and re-establishing a viable alliance between the CDU and its mother world. Without warning terrorist attacks are launched against both CDU envoys and Conclave diplomats. A mysterious third party has entered the game and is doing its best to start a war between the two space faring groups.  Caught in this topsy-turvy chaotic mess is the crew of the CDU Ambassador ship Clarke led by Ambassador Abumwe and captained by Sophia Coloma. Among the ambassador’s retinue are diplomatic assistant Hart Schmidt and CDU Tech Lt. Harry Wilson.  They are the book’s central cast and Scalzi tells his story via a series of interconnected short stories brilliantly wet forth; each building to the climatic finale.

“The Human Division,” recaptures the wonder and excitement of “Old Man’s War,” but on a grander scale and certainly left this reviewer wanting the next installment soon. This is old fashion sci-fi done right and we certainly need a whole lot more of that these days.

TRUCKIN' SANTA

TRUCKIN’ SANTA

Story by Paul R. Schwab

Illustrations by Emery Parker

Basti Publishing

39 pages

Okay, we’ve still got time to review a final holiday children’s book that landed on our desk a few days ago.  “Truckin’ Santa,” by Paul R. Schwab is a really fun story about how Santa Claus, his elf assistants and reindeer team end up stranded on the side of a country road in the middle of an horrendous blizzard on Christmas. With steadily falling snow making Santa’s sleigh too heavy to fly, he is grounded with almost half his toy deliveries yet to be made. It sure looks like Christmas is going to be a bust.

Then, after offering up a Christmas prayer to Lord of Peace, Santa and his friends see a huge 18 wheeler rig come lumbering down the road driven by a trucker named Nebraska Sam on his way home to spend Christmas morning with his wife and kids. Upon seeing Santa and his crew, Nebraska Sam stops and ask if there is any way he can help Santa save Christmas.  It does seem hopeless.  But then Santa remembers something Mrs. Claus had packed in his sleigh and gets an idea of how he, and the trucker from Ohio, might still be able to get all those presents delivers, blizzard not wisstanding.

Santa’s solution is brilliant and we won’t give it away.  We’ll just say this is a truly sweet and charming tale perfect little ones just learning to read.  The story is ingenious and fun and the art colorful to max.  This is the kind of book any small child would love to have.

Do yourselves a favor and pick up a copy and have it ready for next Christmas. It’s a gift all of you will cherish.

AIRSHIP HUNTERS

AIRSHIP HUNTERS

By Jim Beard & Duane Spurlock

Meteor House

210 pages

It’s 1897 and the 19^th Century is coming to an end.  America, still rebuilding from the ruinous Civil War, is on the cusp of the Industrial Revolution.  Things look bright for the future until mysterious reports of strange flying aircraft begin to filter into Washington. Staring from sightings on the west coast, these viewings begin springing up in an eastward route until they become weekly occurrences in the skies over America’s heartland.

Unable to ignore the public’s fears as fueled by exploitation newspapers, two young men are sent to investigate different aspects of this phenomenon; Army Lt. Valiantiene and Treasury Agent Cabot.  All they manage to uncover is yet more mysteries such as the appearance of strange, counterfeit gold coins in the vicinity of the airship sightings and the brutal slaying of innocent country people at the hands of monsters that tear their victims apart as if they were rag dolls.  Can these beasts also be connected to the weird skyships?

About this time, both men are introduced to each other and told they are to work together as the first operatives in a new branch of the Secret Service to be known as A-23 Aero Marshals.  Up until this juncture, the book had been a straight mystery novel but once Cabot and Valiantine join forces, their burgeoning relationship adds the much needed fun part of the entire adventure and easily sets up the following series of events the two must content with and overcome.

If we have one critique with “Airship Hunters,” it is that the publisher should have announced somewhere on the covers that this was only the opening chapter of a series and that the main mysteries that set everything in motion are actually not solved by the book’s end.  Which is a minor cheat, but still a cheat.  You see, we liked this introduction to Cabot and Valiantine and are eagerly going to be awaiting the next chapter of this saga regardless.  We’d strongly urge you to join us.

SPEAKERS OF THE DEAD

SPEAKERS OF THE DEAD

By J. Aaron Sanders

A Plume Book

294 pages

Available 1^st March

It takes a rare brand of imaginative courage to transform a famous American poet of the 19^th century into a bonafide pulp detective and that is something author J. Aaron Sanders has in abundance.  As an associate professor at Columbus State University with a PhD in American Literature, it is easy to understand Sanders familiarity with poet Walt Whitman.  What is a revelation is his grasp of the times in which the writer lived and honed his skills to claim his cherished position in our cultural history.

The year is 1943 and young Mr. Whitman is working as a journalist for a New York paper called the Aurora.  Two of his dearest friends are Abraham and Lena Stowe, doctors operating a medical college for young women. When an unmarried girl is found dead from a botched abortion, the finger of guilt points to Abraham.  But before he defend himself in count, he is murdered and his wife Lena found standing over his mutilated corpse.  She is quickly arrested, tried and found guilty. Despite the fact she is pregnant with their child, the civil authorities fear a public riot and her death sentence is hastily carried out.  Poor Whitman makes a foolhardy attempt to stop her hanging but in the end Lena Stowe is executed in this barbaric fashion before his eyes.

From that point on, Whitman vows to uncover the truth behind the deaths of his friends.  Who really killed the poor unwed girl and put the blame on Abraham?  Who then butchered the innocent doctor and made it appear his own wife had committed the crime? It is at this point in Sanders tale that mores of the era come into play in regards to common practice of grave robbing to supply medical schools with cadavers on which their students could study.  In the early 1800s society was unwilling to accept that only through clinical dissections could medicine advance.  Zealot religious leaders saw autopsies as sacrilegious and believed if a body was dismembered after death, then the deceased would be incapable of resurrection as promised in the Christian bible; thus being eternally damned.  Thus the body snatching business was a lucrative one for a callous breed of criminals trying to survive in an overcrowded metropolis filled with both disease and political corruption.

Whitman, with the aid of an old editor friend, Henry Saunders, learns that Abraham had been advocating for a new Bone Law that would make it legal for medical schools to purchase cadavers. If enacted, it would end the illegal body snatching trade.  He suspects that would have been cause enough to make his friends the targets of the criminal ring unwilling to see their illegal profits come to an end.  Then, he and the female students of the Stowe’s school become threatened and the center of undue public scrutiny.  Whitman’s inquiries have alerted the killers and they are not about to allow him to discover the truth, even if it means silencing the reporter and hurting those nearest to him.

“Speakers of the Dead,” is a fast paced mystery to rank with the best this reviewer has ever enjoyed.  Sanders effortlessly propels his protagonist through the streets of a past New York that comes to life in his prose.  His characters are complex, vulnerable and brave Whitman emerges in a whole new light for those of us who struggled with his works long ago in high school.  This is a Walt Whitman who is very much the symbol of a country undergoing growing pains and aspiring to be something ever grander than its origins.  Pick up this book and get ready to be entertained to max.