TARGET LANCER

TARGET LANCER

By Max Allan Collins

Forge Books

305 pages

Available Nov.2012

John F. Kennedy was the first American Catholic to become president back in 1960.  That was a big deal for this reviewer who was Catholic, 13 years old and entering his freshmen year at St. Thomas Aquinas High School, a parochial school in Southern New Hampshire.  Three years later, while sitting in a study hall as a junior, we were interrupted by the announcement over the public address speakers that President Kennedy had been shot while riding in a motorcade through the streets of Dallas, Texas.

As much as that news was a tragedy for the entire country, those of us too young to realize the consequences of such a murder watched the transition of power take affect just as we’d been taught in our civic classes and found comfort in that process.  Five years later, while serving in army in Vietnam, the news of Bobby Kennedy’s assignation during his own campaign for the presidency had a much deeper impact. Here we were in a strange, foreign country supposedly fighting for freedom and democracy while back home the nation’s future was being decided by an insane gunman’s bullet.  The world seemed to have gone completely mad.

The Twentieth Century certainly had its defining moments, many of them acts of violence forever imprinted on our national consciousness.  Naturally the public wanted answers and within week’s of the President’s death a government investigation was launched and came to be known as the Warren Commission.  At its conclusion, it declared that Kennedy had been slain by one lone, crazed gunman named Lee Harvey Oswald.  As all of you are well aware, Oswald was gunned down in front of the Dallas jail within days of his capture and died before ever going to trial.  His killer was the owner of a local strip joint with mob connections named Jack Ruby.

Ruby swore he acted on his own until his death in prison of cancer.  Yet to many people his silencing of Oswald seemed to be a cleverly staged killing orchestrated by Machiavellian forces that wanted the truth kept hidden; the same cabal that was actually responsible for Kennedy’s death.  As years passed, many investigators, both private and public, began to uncover mountains of damning evidence that in the end turned the Warren Commission’s finding upside down and definitively proved them to be one massive cover up foisted on the American people.

When we learned that Max Allan Collins’ newest Nathan Heller historical thriller would involve the Kennedy assassination we were naturally intrigued.  What new light could the talented Collins and his phenomenal research partner, George Hagenauer, shed on one of the most overexposed criminal events in all of history?  Having just finished reading “Target Lancer,” the answer to that question provides the basis for one of the most gripping mystery plots ever put to paper.  As usual, Collins sets a historically accurate background then superimposes his own thoughts and beliefs about its scenario via his fictional hero, Nate Heller; the owner of the A-1 Detective Agency of Chicago.  At the book’s opening, Heller is recruited by the Chicago branch of the Secret Service to help with security measures for the president’s planned visit to the Windy City.  Apparently during the Fall of 1963, Kennedy’s people had begun to organize his re-election campaign via several big city visits to include Tampa, Chicago and then Dallas.  With only one year remaining in his term, it was time to start politicking once more.

Within days of agreeing to help the local authorities, Heller is sent to interview a Chicago detective who he has come in contact with an irrational ex-marine who might pose a genuine threat.  From this slim lead, Heller and his partner, a black Secret Service agent named Eben Boldt, learn of a professional hit squad made of two Americans and two Cuban refugees apparently surveying the proposed route of the president’s motorcade through the city.  As each new element is uncovered, Heller starts mentally assembling a jigsaw puzzle that perfectly defines a clandestine military operation.  By the books end, he has unraveled a murderous conspiracy made up of gangland figures and corrupted government agents to eliminate Lance; the Secret Service code name for President Kennedy.

What “Target Lancer” exposes is that the there were three identical hit squads, and their duped patsies, established in all three cities prior to that fateful November in 1963.  As with all Heller books, the historical afterward Collins provides is just as informative as his fiction is captivating.  Upon finishing the book, this reviewer couldn’t help but wonder, now that most of the real principles have all died and gone to their eternal court of judgment, what it is we, as a nation can learn from such history?  Evil men do exist and that we must be ever vigilant to assure they do not usurp the rights of the many by their insidious acts of violence. 

For both students of history and lovers of suspense mysteries, “Target Lancer” is a masterful work not to be missed. Collins just keeps getting better and better.

SUSPENSE, SUSPICION & SHOCKERS

SUSPENSE, SUSPICION & SHOCKERS

By Charles Beckman Jr.

Von Boeckman Fiction Factory Publications

ISBN # 9781479238736

265 pgs.

Several months ago I received an e-mail from a woman named Patti Boeckman. She told me her husband, Charles Boeckman, for most of his life had been a professional pulp writer working in the 40s and 50s under the name of Charles Beckmen.  Between 1945 through to 1975 his short crime stories had appeared in such pulp magazines as Dime Detective, All-Story Detective, Manhunt, Detective Tales to name just a few leading up to many sales in 60s and 70s to Alfred Hitchock’s Mystery Magazine.

A native of Texas, raised during the Great Depression, Charles had two loves; writing and music.  He became a success in both fields.  He taught himself to play saxophone and clarinet and during his travels throughout the south from Texas to Florida he often played with many reputable jazz bands until he formed his own.  In 1990, he earned a star in the South Texas Music Walk of Fame and his band to this day still plays in October Texas Jazz Festival.

What Charles and Patti were unaware of until recently was the resurgence in pulp fiction brought about via the internet which allowed life-long fans and newcomers to come together and begin creating forums to share their love of this escapist literary genre.  Patti, a former school teacher, discovered all this accidently while surfing the web and began to dig deeper into this wonderful phenomenon which invariable led her to the New Pulp Fiction movement.  A smart lady, she jotted down names and e-mail addresses and methodically reached out to many of these “new” pulp enthusiasts and that was how her letter of introduction popped up in my e-mail box.

At that time Patti and Charles were considering collecting many of his crime stories and self-publishing a book.  Hearing this, I, and many of my colleagues, encouraged them to pursue this plan.  The idea of a new collection of authentic pulp tales produced by the actual writer was too good a dream to let slip away.  Then after a few months, Patti wrote again.  This time with the news that they had gone and achieved their objective and the result was this book, “Supsense, Suspicions & Shockers,” by Charles Beckman Jr.  She asked if I would like a copy to review.  That had to be the easiest question I’ve ever answered in my life.

This book, which sports a truly gorgeous cover by amazing Laura Givens, is crammed with twenty-four stories; every single one of them a dazzling display of originality and deft story-telling technique.  Like the finest writers of the pulp era, Beckman had a keen, unerring grasp of human psychology and he employed it like a skillful surgeon carving up plot twists that turn on a time and more often than not, leave the reader both surprised and delighted.  No easy feat.  At the same time, because the book is so packed with stories, a true sense of the times emerges from the pages enveloping the reader taking them on a nostalgic journey back to an American landscape that can only be remembered in such pieces.  And throughout, Beckman’s background in music, especially the vibrancy of New Orleans jazz, is often the spiritual background to his cautionary yarns about desperate men and women struggling to survive in a bleak and desolate world.

Here is a sniveling coward bitten by a rattlesnake facing his own demise with joy, a walking dead man with a hole in his head, a musician being hunted by death itself, a cop after the punk who killed his wife and a husband who believes his devoted wife is about to murder him for absolutely no other reason than to simply do him in.  These are a small sampling of the unique characters that populate Charles Beckman’s fiction and once you’ve met them, I doubt seriously you will ever forget them.  There is a true humanity to these tales that seeks to uncover the good in even the worst of people and thus leaves the reader with a poignant optimistic hope for the future.  

“Suspense, Suspicion & Shockers,” is a genuine treasure trove of great pulp fiction by one of the best writers to ever tap his fingers over the keys of a mechanical typewriter.  There was magic in those fingers and it awaits you in this book.

PS – My copy arrived autographed.

MYTHICAL - Heart of Stone

MYTHICAL: Heart of Stone

By C.E. Martin

ISBN # 9781479128372

239 pages

The explosion of self-publishing has flooded the reading world with thousands upon thousands of new works by unknown writers.  For the most part, logic and literary tradition dictates 95% is crap.  One percent is great and the other four percent is made up of really good stories worthy of being sought out and enjoyed.   C.E. Martin’s “MYTHICAL : Heart of Stone,” is very much part of that delightful four percent.  This is a superior action/adventure fantasy which mixes the superhero genre with lots of mythological magic.

Colonel Mark Kinsler is the leader of a squad of stone soldiers known as Detachment 1039.  When their attempt to capture and destroy a terrorist shape-shifter goes horribly awry, Kinsler is the only survivor.  His body, petrified in stone, is dumped in the Arizona desert where it is discovered by a group of five high school seniors on a final jaunt before graduation.  The only girl among the group, Josie, is somehow personally drawn to what she believes is a bizarre stone sculpture of an Adonis like figure. When she inadvertently helps Kinsler heal and regain his human form, she soon finds herself caught up in a fantastic world of spies and ancient superbeings.

Kinsler, having suffered temporary amnesia, initially relies upon Josie and her four male companions to help him sort out his current predicament.  Eventually, as his memories slowly return during their trip to Vegas, he soon realizes his target is planning on killing the visiting vice-President and assuming his place in the government.  Unsure as to whom he can trust, Kinsler has to rely on Josie and the boy named Jimmy to see him through his mission.

Martin writes amazing action sequences that race across the pages effortlessly.  They are so well delivered with sophisticated attention to the smallest details.  His skill pulls the readers into the middle of these slugfests and brilliantly allows them to experience each vicariously. Very few writers have this storytelling gift so well realized.  Oh, sure, there are some clichéd plot devises, but they never seemed forced and become integral parts of the narrative from beginning to end.  What the book does is open the doors to a unique world that is much like our own and yet very, very different. But Martin is wise enough not to overwhelm us with those differences too quickly and deftly reveals them gradually so that by the book’s climax, we’ve been fully introduced to this other Earth; one I very much want to revisit again real soon.

“MYTHICAL : Heart of Stone,” is something old made new and a true pleasure to discover.  And it’s only the first step in what I predict is going to be an amazing series.  Buy your ticket and get on board now!

UCHRONIC TALES - The Horn

UCHRONIC TALES

The Horn

By Peter Miller

Uchronic Press

58 pages

The Horn by Peter Miller is his second little novella published in digest form and featuring American Insurance Investigator Clark Tyler.  Using small sized text in only fifty-pages, “The Horn” tells a very speedy pulp actioner that is easily read in one sitting.

It is 1932 in Los Angeles and someone has stolen a priceless ancient artifact from a museum. Tyler is brought in to investigate.  It turns out the object taken might well be Gabriel’s Horn and should it be played could produced unimaginable devastation to the area in which it is sounded.  As soon as Tyler pieces this unbelievable story together, he then learns the most likely culprits are Nazi spies who intend to “blow” the horn at the Los Angeles Olympic Games in the hopes of killing thousands and discrediting America at the same time.

This short thriller moves rapidly and is a real page turner.  Tyler, whom we last saw in the first Uchronic digest, “The Zeppelin,” is a likeable hero and I hope Miller has lots more of these mini pulps coming our way. 

HAWK -Hand of the Machine.

HAWK

Hand of the Machine

By Van Allen Plexico

White Rocket Books

350 pages

Space Operas have been around since Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers first burst forth in America’s funny pages. They certainly had their pulp counterparts from E.E. Smith’s Lensmen series to Edmond Hamilton’s Captain Future series and many others.  Then with the advent of television American children were inundated with such TV series as Tom Corbett – Space Cadet, Space Patrol and dozens of others all culminating in the 1960s with Gene Roddenberry’s “wagon train in space,” Star Trek.  Of course the eventual jump to the big screen was never far off.  Sci-fi space operas had been around since the serials but none were so audacious and clearly proud of their comic and pulp roots as George Lucas’ Star Wars franchise.

Which brings us full circle to the advent of New Pulp Fiction and a classic genre that never really went away thanks to likes of Frank Hebert, Jack Vance and E.C. Tubb.  Now you can add another name to that list of extraordinary space opera creators in Van Allen Plexico.  From his ground breaking comic inspired Sentinels series to the Vance inspired, “Lucian - The Dark God’s Homecoming,” this writer has jumped into the deep end of the imagination pool with no hesitation as this new novel proves.

Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away (sorry, I just couldn’t stop myself) the known universe was looked after by a computer intellect that spanned space and was called The Machine.  To enforce justice and order it created, via cloning, a small group of unique warriors to command its military forces.  They were known as the Hands and chief amongst these were Eagle, Falcon, Condor, Raven and Hawk.  When an insidious evil appeared from nowhere to threaten the peace and security of the universe, the Hands were deployed to battle this mysterious foe known simply as the Adversary. Although the Hands were successful in thwarting their enemy, they did so at a tremendous cost none of them could have foreseen.  One day The Machine suddenly went silent and the elite members of the Hand were found cut off and isolated for the first time in their existence.  Some were betrayed, captured and destroyed while others vanished without a trace.

The universal empires began to collapse and a new Dark Ages descended throughout the realms of mankind.  Thus it would remain for nearly a thousand years until one day, on a distant space station, a new Hawk was awakened.  Unfortunately the process was interrupted before all memories could be downloaded and the revived warrior found himself suffering from amnesia while at the same time thrust into combat on a space station combating bug-like alien invaders.

Hawk manages to escape aboard a small space programmed to respond to his commands and during his flight the craft’s artificial intelligence attempts to fill-in the missing gaps to his actual identity.  As if doesn’t wasn’t trouble enough, Hawk’s travels soon bring him to the aid of yet another awakened Hand; this one a Falcon whose damaged body has been augmented with cybernetic parts.  Upon being rescued by Hawk, Falcon is at first suspicious of his savior unwilling to believe a “new” Hawk has been allowed to be cloned.  This particular attitude only piques Hawk’s curiosity all the more and he begins to pester his former ally about his mysterious past.

Soon the two become aware that Hawk’s rebirth is tied to various alien confrontations throughout this sector of the space all indicative that the once defeated Adversary is back and once again and eager to pick up with his quest for domination.  Mysteries continue to pile on while our duo attempt to piece together the secrets of the past in hopes they will somehow provide a solution to the threats now facing them.

Plexico’s ability to drive a narrative at light-speeds is unquestioned and even though the book comes in at a whopping page count, its pacing moves the reader along fluidly with each new chapter adding to both the plot and its inherent suspense all leading to a very satisfying climax.  An ending, by the way, with ample potential for sequels starring this great cast of characters. 

Still, the amnesia-plagued-hero seeking his identity is a plot Plexico has now used in several of his titles and is quite frankly becoming a bit too familiar.  As much as I admire his work and look forward to each new book, it is this reviewer’s hope that his next protagonist won’t be saddled with this same repetitive ploy.  That would be a real misstep in a stellar writing career thus far.  That said, “HAWK – Hand of the Machine,” is a solid space opera that is guaranteed to entertain you.

BOOKS - Old & New

BOOKS : Old & New

If you’ve been a follower of this blog for a while, then it is no secret to any of you that I love books.  I am a genuine book lover and have been most of my life from the time I first learned to read.  Books have been my magic carpet ride through thousands of amazing worlds and adventures.  And my taste is as eclectic as is my passion for reading. I love mysteries. I love biographies.  I love histories.  I love action and adventure.  I love science fiction and fantasy.  I love….well, I think you get the picture by now.  It probably would be better to simpler to state I do not like romance novels.  Sorry. Bodice-rippers are the exception to the rule that I simply cannot swallow.  But then again, as a sixty five year old male, I’m certainly not their target audience.  Ha.

So why this pause in our normal book reviewing now?  Only to take a few minutes to thank all of you who have stopped by here and shared my passion for reading.  We may not always agree on our opinions of certain titles but our mutual love of reading has made us total kindred souls in a very special and unyielding bond.

In the past week I’ve received nearly a dozen new books.  Several were sent by major New York publishers as I am listed on many of their reviewers’ lists.  Others, which I pay particular interest to, are sent from the authors’ themselves who have somehow tripped over this site and liked it enough to want me to see their wares.  Being totally honest here, that kind of flattery does earn these titles my interests over those randomly sent along by a book marketer.  Being a writer, I appreciate the effort to create something and applaud those writers working to realize their dreams.  Obviously I will never guarantee anyone a glowing review, only that if you send me your work personally, you can be confident I will get around to reading and reviewing it.

Which is a good segue into point number two here.  Getting hundreds (no exaggeration here) of books every year from dozens of publishers, it is impossible for me to read and review all of them.  Like all reviewers, I weed through what comes in to find those authors I’m somewhat familiar with and enjoy and new titles that catch my particular interest and curiosity; enough to put them on the TO READ stack.  The others eventually get donated to local libraries so that others can read and enjoy them.

And finally there are those books that I go out and buy for myself.  I do have favorite writers and regrettably I rarely get their titles from publishers.  The other day, while browsing through a local Barnes & Noble, I came across a copy of Robert Heinlein’s novel “The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress.”  I first read it in high school back in the mid 1960s and had relished it greatly.  Seeing that one single copy on the shelf, I instinctively picked it up and bought it to re-read it.  Considering its been over forty-five years since that last reading, I’m very anxious to see how I will react to it now.

Do you ever re-read favorite books?  It is like revisiting old friends, isn’t it?  I don’t often have the luxury to do so, but there are two I tend to go back to regularly as they resonate something new to me each time I pick them up.  One is “The Last of the Mohicans,” by James Fenimore Cooper, easily my all time favorite American classic.  The other is Frank Herbert’s “Dune.”  I consider “Dune” one of the greatest, most imaginative novels every written. And as stated before, with each re-reading, something new is revealed to me about the world we live in, our hopes, philosophies, adventures and dreams. 

In the end, as we move further and further into the digital age of Kindles and Nooks, more and more of my colleagues envision a day when there will only be electronic books. It is a day I pray never comes as I will always wish the tactile sensation of holding a book in my hands. I will always look forward to sitting back in my office recliner, taking a sip of coffee from my ceramic mug, then relaxed and ready, opening a new book and taking that first step into a new adventure.  I hope many of you will continue to join me. It’s been one hell of a ride thus far.

THE HIDDEN CHAMBER IN THE GREAT SPHINX

THE HIDDEN CHAMBER

IN THE GREAT SPHINX

By Linda A. Cadose

Self-published

100 pages

ISBN #978-1-4685-0807-9

More and more would-be writers are discovering self-publishing and realizing their dreams of being published.  Unfortunately most of them do not have the services of a  professional editor and a great deal of what we are seeing is rife with typos, grammatical errors and sadly devoid of any real literary styling.

Linda A. Cadose is a Registered Respiratory Therapist and teacher with a Master’s Degree in technical and professional writing from Northeastern University. That’s a very prestigious academic background but none of it is a substitute for good storytelling, something that is instinctive to good writers and cannot be taught.

Ms.Cadose’s first book is intended for the juvenile market which is obvious from the start and she narrates a good tale with very likeable characters.  Unfortunately she is falls into the teacher’s trap of assuming the book must be filled with lots of accurate scientific, geographical and historical facts.  All well and good, but not to the point of interrupting the story in long running exposition paragraphs that instantly pull the reader out of the fiction she is weaving.

Despite these faults, I did like this book.  I liked it because of the characters and the adventure they go on together.  Sure the writing was stiff and too “instructional” but it kept moving forward and there was an evolving plot that gradually produced a genuine mystery with a few legitimate surprises towards the end.  Still, I would have enjoyed delving a bit more into characterization, especially of the foreign players. 

Everyone in this book spoke too well.  Most people, even the highly educated, rarely speak in the same manner they lecture or write. They speak in short phrases, use lots of slang and colloquialisms. Every person has a unique speech pattern/rhythm that is discernable to an experienced writer and they use such to differentiate their characters from one another.  These are part of the writing craft that I hope Ms.Cadose will discover and she continues in her new writing career.  She does have talent; it’s crude, but still visible in this first outing. With a good editor, I’m confident her skills will mature.

I’ve a ten year old granddaughter who is a ferocious reader and I am passing along this book to her because I believe she’ll enjoy it.  Perhaps that’s the best thumbs up I can give “The Hidden Chamber in the Great Sphinx.”

DINOSAUR JAZZ

DINOSAUR JAZZ

By Michael Panush

Curiosity Press Book

316 pages

Saying I liked this book would be one of the grossest understatements ever to come from my pen.  “Dinosaur Jazz,” by Michael Panush has leaped into the top three of my favorite pulp novels thus far this year.  Yes, dear readers, it is that good, as I’m about to explain.

The back story goes like this.  At the turn of the 20^th Century, a massive island is discovered in the Pacific Ocean teaming with real dinosaurs.  Not only dinos, but wooly mammoths and saber-tooth tigers share this savage land together; creatures from different epochs. There is also a race of barbaric humans the early explorers of the island call Ape Men.  The island also contains half a dozen strange ruins completely alien to the world’s leading archeologist.  Called Archeron Island, it is the setting for Panush’s tale of high adventure.

The narrative kicks off several years after the end of World War One.  By this time colonists from around the world, especially Great Britain, have established cities along the island coast line and under the auspices of the League of Nation, an international administration sees to the day-to-day governing of this amazing land.  Still there are gangsters and smugglers who have made a lucrative business from all the natural riches Archeron offers. The protagonist is Sir Edwin Crowe, a dino guide/hunter and the son of the island’s discoverer, Lord Horatio Crowe.  Sir Edwin and his step-brother, an Ape Man named James and raised by Lord Crowe after his parents died, are content with their lives.  Edwin had fought in the Great War and his haunted by the memories of those days.

Their idyllic existence is unexpectedly turned upside down when a ruthless American industrialist, Selwyn Slade, arrives on Archeron leading an army of mercenaries and a coterie of lawyers. Slade wishes to buy all the land upon which the mysterious ruins rests and will do anything to possess them.  Then a rampaging army of Russian Cossacks and Mongols led by a sadistic former British General named Ironside appear in the jungles and randomly begin attacking some Ape Men villages while at the same time arming others with modern weapons and urging them to warfare.

Suddenly the land Sir Edwin calls home is about to erupt into battlefield that will leave it bloodied and scarred forever unless he can discover the truth behind Slade’s bizarre scheme and prove his connections to warlord Ironside.  From the swank jazz clubs of Victoria City to the frozen wastelands of the Aspholdel Heights, Sir Edwin, James and their colorful band of allies will battle desperately to uncover the truth and sacrifice all to save the most amazing island in the world.

Rampaging dinosaurs, sexy torch singers, airships, Tommy Guns, cavemen, pirates and a oriental Dragon Lady; “Dinosaur Jazz” has everything a pulp fancier could want and it’s all mixed brilliantly into a tale that is both original and marvelously entertaining.  It is the epitome of what New Pulp Fiction is all about and Michael Panush is a superior writing force to be reckoned with.  Enough of my prattling, if you love pulp fiction, “Dinosaur Jazz” is required readying. Do not miss it.

THE WORLDLY ADVENTURES OF NICKOLAAS

The Worldly Adventures of

NICHOLAAS

By Betty Davis

Self-published

ISBN # - 1463646992

ISBN # 13 – 9781463646998

62 pages

With the advent of the internet and print-on-demand, more and more creative souls are starting to publish their own works. One such lady is Betty Davis whose biography on the back of this slim childrens’ book says she loves teaching children ages 4 to 12. In the course of her career she developed a program that would ensure young readers would have fun while learning to read; a truly wonderful and noble endeavor. The world certainly needs more souls like Mrs. Davis.

That being said lets review her first self-published effort, “The Worldly Adventures of NICHOLAAS.”  The story is simple and direct.  Ten year old Nicholaas and his parents are moving from their home in Minnesota and traveling Leiden, Holland where his father has accepted a new job.  Moving from one’s home, neighborhood and familiar friends is always an arduous ordeal for any child.  Where Nicholaas is different is that his parents have instilled him a truly positive attitude towards life and a philosophy of seeing each new change as an adventure to be relished.

Thus, though somewhat sad, Nicholaas is much more excited about the journey they are about to undertake; first by plane to Tampa, Florida and then by cruse ship to Holland with several stops along the way.  Davis does a marvelous job of using each new layover as another imaginative adventure for the lad and the people he encounters along the way. She is a devoted grandmother and her style of writing is evocative of a loving adult reading aloud to an attentive child.  That is the feeling that permeated the entire story.

Nicholaas experiences snorkeling in the Caribbean and seeing the wreck of a pirate ship anchored on the see floor; nearly being lost in a violent storm while riding in a hot air balloon and exploring a deserted castle on the island of Madeira that appears to be haunted.  Each of these scenes is effectively narrated and the excitement the boy feels throughout will be easily transmitted to any young reader lucky enough to get a copy of this book.

That I liked this book is evident by my including both ISBN numbers to help you find it. This is a book any parent would have a great deal of fun sharing with their child.  Having said that, my next comments are directed to Mrs. Davis and intended as suggestions to improve any future projects she may undertake.  The use of story to help teach math and geography skills is laudable but at the same time does not excuse ignoring good English in the process.  Throughout the book the narrative shifts many times between past and present tense, a grammatical sin which proved to be jarring to this reviewer and we can only imagine would bother a young reader dealing with the book without an adult’s supervision.  Teaching good grammar is as important as any other social science, perhaps even more so?   

And finally, the book’s over all design, though adequate, demonstrates a lack of effort.  Photos used to illustrate the text are poorly chosen ala the picture of the sunken skiff/lobster boat that is suppose to represent the wreck of a 16^th century pirate galleon.  I would suggest to Mrs. Davis that there are hundreds of retired art teachers on the internet today, many of which might have been easily persuaded to join this project and provided her with some truly gorgeous artwork representative of her imaginative story.  She need only go net surfing to find them. Things to keep in mind when planning the next Nicholaas adventure. 

WRITTEN IN TIME

WRITTEN IN TIME

By Jerry & Sharon Ahern

41 pages

Baen Science Fiction

Trying to decide what book I wanted to take with me when traveling to the Pulp Fest Convention in Columbus, several weeks ago, I grabbed a paperback that had been sitting on my To-Read stack for a few months.  It was “Written in Time,” by Jerry & Sharon Ahern and appeared to be an action-adventure science fiction novel dealing with time travel; a favorite sub-genre of mine. While packing the book away in my backpack, a niggling memory surfaced in my mind about a particular post I’d seen recently on Facebook concerning a writer’s recent passing.  For whatever reason, Ahern’s name was the one I remembered.  Sadly my memory proved to be working just fine because, after finishing this truly excellent novel, I discovered that Jerry Ahern, age 66, had indeed passed away only last month, 24^th July, 2013.

From what I gathered, he and his wife were best known for their sci-fi series called, “The Survivalist,” about an American family surviving in a world ravaged by a nuclear war.  One of the hallmarks of Ahern’s writing was his expert descriptions of hand weapons employed in his fiction as he was himself an authority on handguns and contributed to many well known magazines such as “Guns & Ammo.”

“Written In Time,” mirrors the Aherns a great deal as the protagonists are Jack and Ellen Naile, a popular husband and wife sci-fi writing couple.  One day they receive a photo in the mail sent to them from a fan in a small Nevada town.  The picture, a clipping from the local newspaper dated 1904 shows Jack, Ellen, their daughter Elizabeth and son David all wearing western garb and standing before a general store bearing their name, “Jack Naile – General Merchandise.”  After several tests the two come to believe that the photo in the clipping is authentic and not a hoax; meaning sometime in the near future some bizarre event is going to hurl them almost a hundred years into the past.

From this point forward, the Nailes set about planning for the event and doing their best to prepare themselves for their new life in the past.  Eventually the freakish event occurs and our cast is sent back in time.  There they slowly begin to adapt to turn of the century living and the challenges it presents them while being careful not to affect any changes that may alter the future itself. 

Unfortunately the Nailes’ nephew, Clarence, having been told of their coming time travel adventure becomes obsessed with duplicating the phenomenon and joining them in the past.  In the process of successfully achieving this goal, he inadvertently sets into motion actions that ultimately exposes their experience to an unscrupulous business woman.  Being immoral, she sees the potential for riches and power to be won by shaping time to her own will.  When Jack and Ellen become aware of this new faction that is about to invade the past to control the future, they scramble to find allies to help them thwart her deranged plans and save history.  The person they recruit to their cause is none other than Vice-President Theodore Roosevelt.

The true fun of this book is that it really is two books in one; a fantastical science fiction adventure and a bona fide western actioner.  The Aherns pull this off seamlessly and after finishing the book, this reviewer had to wonder if in the writing, both of them saw it as a very special, intimate dream fulfillment to cap their writing careers.  That it would be their last book together lends a poignant credibility to that idea.

Sixty-six in our age is not a long time and yet Jerry Ahern seems to have filled it to overflowing with living a life of love and creativity.  After reading, “Written In Time,” it is clear we’ve lost a truly gifted and original voice.  R.I.P. Jerry Ahern and thanks.

SCAVANGER

SCAVENGER

By David Morrell

Vanguard Press

324 pages

In September of 1960 I began my high school career at a Catholic parochial school in New Hampshire.  At the time I and my classmates arrived at the building, it had not even been fully constructed, which is why they were accepting only one class, we freshmen. We had no upper classmen and would remain the “senior class” all four years.  I’ve some fun memories of sitting in a Civics class while jack-hammers pounded away directly across the hall in what would be our gymnasium.  Six months into that first year, the Bishop visited to officiate at a very special dedication ceremony the highlight of which was setting the building’s final cornerstone.  In that block of granite and cement had been placed a time-capsule containing the names of all the students and teachers present. I’ve never forgotten that day because the thought of my name in that time-capsule still excites my imagination. Who knows when in the far distant future, when that capsule is finally unearthed, what future students will think of us?  Will they wonder what we were like and what our school days were like?  What will their future world be like?

Time-capsules are hardly new and in this fast moving thriller by David Morrell they are the basis for a fascinating plot that involves a nightmarish race against death to uncover the ultimate time-capsule and expose its long forgotten secrets.  Written as a sequel to his award winning thriller, “Creepers,” this book was published in 2007 and features the same hero, former army vet and police detective, Frank Balenger. 

Belanger and his lover, Amanda Evert, are barely recovered both emotionally and physically from their horrible experiences in the first book when they are invited to a mysterious lecture concerning time-capsules sponsored by a historical society in New York City.  On a whim they attend and in the middle of the presentation are drugged into unconsciousness.  When Amanda awakens she finds herself somewhere in the southwest with four other kidnap victims.  They soon learn they’ve been abducted by a psychotic games player who wishes them to discover a very unique time-capsule which supposedly contains the secrets of universe.

Meanwhile Belanger awakens on a Coney Island beach and realizes he and Amanda had been duped.  Putting his police skills to use with the assistance of a city detective, he begins to unravel the mystery of the perpetrator behind the elaborate hoax.  His overwhelming drive is to find Amanda whom he senses in is dire jeopardy.  Thus the first half of the book jumps back and forth between Frank’s hunt throughout New York piecing together what few clues he can find and following Amanda and her fellow prisoners as they race across a rugged terrain filled with horrendous death-traps all the while trying to fathom the so called “rules” of the game they are being forced to play.

Morrell is easily one of the finest thriller writers of our age and his body of work attest to his prestigious standing amongst his peers.  Though “Scavenger” is an enjoyable read and whips along at rocket speeds, the final act has it traveling down old and tired paths.  Without spoiling the story, this reviewer found himself annoyed by having easily surmised which of the characters would survive and which would not.  When you can predict the outcome of any book, its time for the writer to hang up over used plots and try something new.   

TRIPLE PLAY

TRIPLE PLAY

(A Nathan Heller Casebook)

By Max Allan Collins

Thomas & Mercer

211 pages

I am a fan of Max Collins’ historical detective series, the Nathan Heller mysteries.  From the 1940s through the 60s, each book has taken Heller on an incredible journey connecting him with many of the most celebrated criminal cases of the twentieth century.  Now comes this collection of three Heller novellas, each a delicious reading gem and worthy addition to the Heller canon.

What is even more entertaining is Collins’ introductory essay on the matter of the short literary form itself.  What is the difference between a novella and novelette?  Or are they the same thing and is that best described as a long short story or a short novel?  The fun of the essay is his insightful comprehension that the form is the product of the classic pulp tales of the 1930s and 40s.  It is evident that short novels were born in the pulp magazines and have sadly morphed in an awkward, literary white elephant in this age of bloated, fat thriller novels. Collins details the history of each of the three pieces in this volume, collected here for the very first time, and how length did factor into the writing of each.

First up is “Dying in the Post-War World,” my personal favorite of the three and by far the most convoluted and gruesome.  The story centers on the infamous Lipstick Killer case of 1946 where a young girl was kidnapped from her home, murdered and dismembered.  A veteran of the World War Two, Heller is trying to fit into this supposedly brighter new tomorrow with a new business and a pregnant wife.  Along comes this brutal case and he’s left wondering what kind of a world it truly is he and his fellow soldiers fought to persevere.

“Kisses of Death,” is an interesting entry in that it gives us Heller’s first meeting with Marilyn Monroe and their burgeoning relationship which is later explored in his recent novel, “Bye Bye Baby.”  It also has Heller working in New York City, Mickey Spillane’s old stomping grounds.  The tale also peeks in to the life of Chicago journalist turned screenwriter Ben Hecht is another winner.

Finally comes “Strike Zone,” about one of the most bizarre moments in professional baseball which this reviewer, a fan of the game, had never heard before.  It casused me to spend a few hours on-line checking out the histories of several of these characters who participated in a madcap publicity stunt concerning the most unusual pinch hitter to ever step up to home plate in a Major League contest.

If like me, you’re a Nathan Heller fan, then you have to pick this up.  If you are one of those yet to have encountered Collins’ pragmatic, world-weary hero then we can’t think of a better way to make that introduction.  “Triple Play,” is very much a grand slam, no matter what your favorite sport is.

DRAGON KINGS OF THE ORIENT

DRAGON KINGS OF THE ORIENT

By Percival Constantine

Pulpwork Press

177 pages

This terrific, fast paced fantasy action thriller is the second in the Elisa Hill, Myth Hunter series and even better than the first; no small feat.  Elisa Hill is a hunter of lost artifacts made famous in ancient lore.  Along with her mentor, Max Finch, and the Japanese kitsune, a type of were-fox changeling, Asami, she finds herself caught in a titanic contest between ancient oriental deities and a roguish creature of legend known as the Monkey King.

It is through this fabled half-human, half-simian being that they discover the four Dragon Kings are about to unleash their centuries old plot to dominate the world and make all mankind their slaves.  This they will accomplish by their powers to control the oceans of the world and wreaking havoc wherever necessary to force the various countries of the world to bow to their commands.

Now only Elisa, her two companions and an agent from the super secret Freemasons society are all that stand between total disaster and salvation. But can even these unique characters prove strong enough to win the day?

In this age of the popular urban fantasy genre, we seem to be inundated with more and more series featuring sparkly vampires, sexy witches and zombie private eyes.  Enough for this reader to yell, “Uncle!”  Contantine’s “Dragon Kings of the Orient,” packs more wall-to-wall action than any of ten of those other wimpy titles combined.  Being an American teacher in Japan, he has a unique, personal perspective on the Far East and its culture and uses it to great advantage in this rousing adventure tale. 

In the past, he has offered us other series but none of them can hold a candle to this one. Elisa Hill is a truly original, fun character and I hope we get to read many more of he exploits along with those of her truly remarkable supporting cast.  People, this book is a solid must read!

EMPIRE OF THE SUMMER MOON

EMPIRE OF THE SUMMER MOON

By S.C. Gwynne

Scribner

371 pages

I love history, always have.  What has always fascinated me about the people and events of the past is how truly amazing their stories were and sadly how many have been either forgotten in time or completely been altered through the lens of imperfect history.  Thus the true pleasure of this amazing book by S.C. Gwynne in detailing the story of the western plains empire known as the Comencheria that encompassed a giant land mass from Colorado down through Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas and into Mexico between the years 1836 and 1875.

Of course recalling some truly boring history classes in both high school and college, I long ago learned that the best histories are those that both entail the big picture of the social, cultural and economical movements that have shaped people at the same time refining this focus by spotlighting particular individuals representative of these greater factors.  Gwynne does that to perfection with this book as he sets out to relate the captivating story of the most powerful Indian tribe of them all; the Comanche, considered the best horse soldiers who ever rode into combat. 

Sadly most Americans my age first learned their western history via Hollywood movies and television which over the decades offered up two totally different and conflicting images of the American Indians.  From the silent movie era on through to the 1940s, the red men of the plains were portrayed as merciless savages. Then, after the second World War into the sixties, the pendulum swung radically in the opposite direction and they were showcased as the noble aborigines victimized by the onrushing invasion of the European bred white society and its Manifest Destiny.  Unfortunately both depictions, though containing kernels of truth, are gross exaggerations and for the most part equally untrue.

Gwynne, employing recorded accounts from various libraries, allows them to detail a race of nomads who lived off the massive buffalo herds that covered the plains and were constantly battling each other for supremacy.  War was their way of life and they were good at it, inflicting as much destruction and carnage on their foes as they were capable of which included killing women and children, enslaving others and torturing captives. They expected no less from their enemies were they to be defeated.  It was a cruel and barbaric way of life totally alien to anything whites of the time had ever experienced.

And as engrossing as this account is, the book then delves into the lives two of the most remarkable characters to have walk across this stage of time; Cynthia Ann Parker and her son, Quanah.  Kidnapped at the age of nine by the Comanche, Cynthia Ann was favored by them and as she matured became a true member of the tribe that had taken her eventually marrying a war chief and having three children with him; two boys and a girl.

The oldest, her son, Quanah, would go on to become the last and perhaps greatest Comanche war chiefs; a brilliant horseman, strategist and fearless in battle.  When Cynthia Ann was recaptured by U.S. Cavalry troops in a raid that killed her Comanche hasband, Quanah, twelve at the time, eluded the soldiers and with his younger brother in tow, escaped to find another related tribe.  From that point on he was on his own, a half-breed having to survive in a society that made no allowance for orphans. Through his inner strength, courage and intelligence, he became the Comanche’s most successful war chief and in the end, when the threat of total extermination loomed on the horizon, Quanah had the foresight to surrender and adapt to the new west; that imposed on him and his tribe by the victorious white invaders.

So much so, that by the time of his death, he was a famous, successful farmer who counted Teddy Roosevelt amongst his associates and allies.

“Empire of the Summer Moon,” was a finalist for the coveted Pulitzer Prize and this reviewer believes it should have won.  It is a truly powerful reading experience proving once again that truth is always stranger than fiction.  Amen.

THE COLD DISH

THE COLD DISH

By Craig Johnson

Penguins Books

354 pages

One of the benefits of writer Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire mysteries being adapted into a critically well received television series is having the publisher re-issue new editions of the books; to include the very first, “The Cold Dish.”  For those of you who have never read any of these or have yet to catch the TV show, which airs on A & E on Sunday evenings, you are missing some truly excellent entertainment and might want to run down to your local bookstore and pick up a copy of “The Cold Dish” right now.

The protagonist is Walt Longmire who has been the sheriff of Wyoming’s rugged Absaroka County for twenty-four years. A widow with an adult daughter, Longmire’s solitary life resolves around his job and his tight knit circle of friends and co-workers that include his feisty Deputy Victoria ‘Vic’ Moretti and Native American tavern owner, Henry Standing Bear. Longmire’s dry wit and sarcasm fuel his personality and adds a great deal of humor to otherwise somber, intense plots obviously centered around gruesome crimes.

In this first novel, a mysterious assassin is stalking four young men who two years prior had sexual assaulted an innocent Cheyenne girl with fetal alcohol syndrome.  When the judge lets them off with a light sentence, it only serves to heighten the tension between the local white community and residents of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation.  No sooner are the men released from prison then one of them is found shot to death and Longmire finds himself saddled with a case wherein the majority of the county has a motive; revenge.

One of the distinguishing peculiarities of the case is that the victim was murdered with a classic Sharps Buffalo rifle capable, in the hands of a marksman, of hitting a target at long range distances.  This one piece of information shortens the sheriff’s lists of possible suspects to a small handful to include Henry Standing Bear.

Johnson’s writing is brilliant and he combines the classic traits of a standard police procedural with the homey affectations of a western adventure; the beautiful Wyoming setting becoming as important an element of his tale as his characters.  He is also unafraid to add elements of Indian mysticism which lend a truly unique humanity to the story not found in most mysteries.  “The Cold Dish” is a masterful book that is both enjoyable and captivating and once finished, had this reviewer all too eager to find the next book in the series.  Honestly, it is that good…and then some.

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.