I’m a huge fan of Matthew Holness’ creation of the character Garth Marenghi. It’s a joke that if you grew up at a certain time (the ’80s), the humor is so obvious. DARKPLACE asks, “What if a prolific author not only wrote a TV series, but also starred and directed it? And his main output is low-grade horror that relies on cheap sex and over-the-top ideas. Marenghi is based on a few authors, one being Guy N. Smith. So let’s take a trip to the roots of one of the truly hysterical characters ever to come to the little screen.
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For me growing up, the two DR. PHIBES movIes starring Vincent Price were always must-see TV. Even today, if I get in the mood, I’ll pop them on. I had no idea that both spawned novelizations by their screenwriter, William Goldstein, with a third done years later as a prequel.
Now the first two — DR. PHIBES and DR. PHIBES RISES AGAIN — are essentially the movies, plain and simple, but with some added scenes and information. In the first book, we actually get a full backstory to each of Phibes’ victims.
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DARK CITY is a direct sequel to 2012′s COLD CITY, the first part of F. Paul Wilson’s trilogy of Repairman Jack’s early years. How direct? It pretty much picks up maybe a month after that first book ended. Longtime readers of the Repairman Jack series know what to expect. In other words, new readers should either pick up book one of this series or, better yet, start with 1984′s THE TOMB, since Wilson does very little recap of those events or the “fixer” character’s leanings.
This entry ties up some loose ends from COOL CITY, while also setting into motion what will all come to a head in the final book of the trilogy, the forthcoming FEAR CITY. A running plot thread has to do with fundamentalists who are hell-bent on bringing jihad to New York City; Jack previous came up against them and their child slavery ring.
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Beau Riffenburgh’s PINKERTON’S GREAT DETECTIVE is a thorough and exhaustive biography that looks at the life of who is considered the ultimate Pinkerton agent, James McParland. The man was so widely regarded that even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would have him appear with Sherlock Holmes. Riffenburgh has done extensive research on a person of which little has ever been written about.
The story of McParland focuses on the larger cases of his tenure. First, the focus is on the Molly Maguires, a society of Irishmen who attacked the railroads, while the latter details McParland’s involvement with Butch Cassidy. The book does it job, but is extremely dry. That might turn off some readers, but for those who can take the facts and figures that make up a good portion of GREAT DETECTIVE will find the subject fascinating, while also contradictory. —Bruce Grossman
Buy it at Amazon.
Over the years, when it came to men’s adventure, there were always a few series that escaped me, the ones I would hear great things about and how different they were. But when I would come across a copy, the seller wanted way too much money for me to take a chance, or worse, the copy was severely beaten up and falling apart … and they still wanted too much!
But now, thanks to ebooks and, in particular here, the fine folks over at Prologue Crime, one series is getting a new appraisal: THE LONE WOLF. From 1973, the first book, NIGHT RAIDER, sets everything in motion. Mike Barry was actually the pen name of Barry Malzberg, better-known for his science-fiction work. It’s been said he wrote the whole 14-book series in one go-round.
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