Hello, and welcome to this week’s column, brought to you by the fine folks of the Dharma Initiative. If you haven’t figured it out by now, the theme is the now-finished-up TV series LOST. It’s one of the few dramas I stuck with for its whole run — for me, a highly enjoyable ride. I’ve found three books whose titles have a LOST connection: The first and third should be pretty obvious, while the second could fit into so many episodes, but I’ll go with Jack and Locke. And for those who care, Ben Linus was the greatest character of the whole show, with Sawyer a close second. Now all I have left is THE BIG BANG THEORY and COMMUNITY.
CHARLIE SENT ME! by Carter Brown — This 1963 novel was an odd one, to say the least, introducing us to Larry Baker. He’s a TV comedy writer who has a way with the ladies. For the reader, the problem is Baker is the lamest of Brown’s bunch. For me, his books are just pure fun to read, but this one was like a bump on a log of a read. There are moments to keep you going to the finish, but you never connect with anyone involved.
Baker who works for a big-time TV comedian who has his own variety hour. The character seems like an amalgam of Milton Berle, Jackie Gleason and Sid Caesar. Like these gentlemen, this comedian is a control freak who gets off on his power. Baker just avoids his duty as a writer, and is more interested in trying to find out why some mob goon is coming around repeating the book’s title, while also dealing with the murder of a pal who took a bullet that was due for someone else.
You get plenty of drinking in this one and a futuristic home which must have inspired Woody Allen in SLEEPER. Still, the mystery is cut-and-dry, and Baker is pretty much wallpaper. Then again, for the 60 minutes it took me to read, it wasn’t all bad. But I’d search out other Brown books before picking this one. Not all of them can be winners; you sometimes end up with a bomb the size of Jughead.
THE DESTROYER #36: POWER PLAY by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy — It’s always fun to delve into the world of Remo and Chiun, especially when you figure out who is being parodied within the first few pages. This 1979 entry is about as thinly veiled as you can get. If I was to say “publisher of a men’s magazine who gets off pushing as many buttons as possible” and throw in an attempted assignation plot, one name comes to mind: Larry Flynt.
Here, he goes by the name Wesley Pruiss. I’m guessing most people are thinking Pruiss must be the bad guy of this little adventure. Far from it — he is the one Remo and Chiun are hired to protect. There’s also a corrupt reverend who is most likely based on one of Flynt’s biggest targets, Jerry Falwell. But again, the good reverend is not the man behind it all, either. Oh, no, this one has a truly devious mind behind it all, and it’s up to Remo and Chiun to figure it out.
Murphy and Sapir make their version of Flynt and his magazine as extreme as possible. All the foldouts pose with animals who are a bit excited, to say the least. But Pruiss comes off like a little nebbish who just wants to put out his periodical. He even moves to a county he buys lock, stock and barrel, just so he won’t be bothered.
Of course, Remo and Chiun have plenty of action to deal with, namely an assassin who bites off more than he can chew by going up against our twosome. Once again, this series does nothing but entertain in ways at which other men’s adventure books fail. The use of satire goes so well in this genre. Now since I’ve read another DESTROYER novel, it makes me want to go through about another four or five soon.
THE SEA TRAP by Nick Carter — It’s the spy who loved everybody. Actually, I’m using that line for a reason which will be explained as we go along. Once again, our intrepid spy Nick Carter is on a suicide mission: to find out about the disappearances of submarines and a mysterious island on which no one is allowed.
Since this is a Carter book, of course, the first person Nick meets in his travels is a very young and willing girl, who just so happens to have a new job as a personal assistant to a hermit-like scientist. Take a wild guess where she will be working. Yes, this series is that predictable.
But Nick just can’t go to the island, so he has a cover as one who studies water currents. That’s right up there with Denise Richards as a nuclear expert. This shut-in scientist is of the crazed, sexual kind, who gets off with whips and chains. Shocking! Then again, this book came out in 1969.
What I found slightly disappointing is that it promises a giant payoff of a fight at the end. What we get is a giant clam that swallows the subs whole. Hmmm, that sounds sort of familiar. But it’s nothing compared to all the woman who have been locked up on the island and abused beyond belief, to the point that once Nick frees them, they go after their guards in a way that reminded me of moments in THE ROAD.
The novel is one of those that promises a total over-the-top experience, but what you really get is way too much setup for very little payoff. At least it took barely any time to read. Can I really consider that a plus? —Bruce Grossman
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF CARTER BROWN:
• AND THE UNDEAD SING by Carter Brown
• BLONDE ON A BROOMSTICK by Carter Brown
• THE CLOWN by Carter Brown
• THE DESIRED by Carter Brown
• DIE ANYTIME, AFTER TUESDAY! by Carter Brown
• THE EVER-LOVING BLUES by Carter Brown
• THE HONG KONG CAPER by Carter Brown
• THE LADY IS TRANSPARENT by Carter Brown
• MURDER IN THE FAMILY WAY by Carter Brown
• MURDER IS A PACKAGE DEAL by Carter Brown
• THE NEVER-WAS GIRL by Carter Brown
• TRUE SON OF THE BEAST! by Carter Brown
• THE WANTON by Carter Brown
• ZELDA by Carter Brown
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF NICK CARTER:
• CODE NAME: WEREWOLF by Nick Carter
• DEADLY DOUBLES by Nick Carter
• DEATH MESSAGE: OIL 74-2 by Nick Carter
• DEEP SEA DEATH by Nick Carter
• THE GOLDEN BULL by Nick Carter
• HIDE AND GO DIE by Nick Carter
• ICE TRAP TERROR by Nick Carter
• THE KOREAN KILL by Nick Carter
• MACAO by Nick Carter
• THE OMEGA TERROR by Nick Carter
• PLEASURE ISLAND by Nick Carter
• REVENGE OF THE GENERALS by Nick Carter
• STRIKE FORCE TERROR by Nick Carter
• TARGET: DOOMSDAY ISLAND by Nick Carter
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THE DESTROYER SERIES:
• THE BEST OF THE DESTROYER by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir
• THE DESTROYER #5: DR. QUAKE by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #6: DEATH THERAPY by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #9: MURDER’S SHIELD by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #10: TERROR SQUAD by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #11: KILL OR CURE by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #13: ACID ROCK by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #14: JUDGMENT DAY by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #15: MURDER WARD by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #17: LAST WAR DANCE by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #18: FUNNY MONEY by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #19: HOLY TERROR by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #22: BRAIN DRAIN by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #23: CHILD’S PLAY by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #24: KING’S CURSE by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #26: IN ENEMY HANDS by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #30: MUGGER BLOOD by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #32: KILLER CHROMOSOMES by Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #33: VOODOO DIE by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #38: BAY CITY BLAST by Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #39: MISSING LINK by Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #41: FIRING LINE by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir
• THE DESTROYER #42: TIMBER LINE by Warren Murphy and William Joy
• THE DESTROYER #45: SPOILS OF WAR by Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #46: NEXT OF KIN by Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #48: PROFIT MOTIVE by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #49: SKIN DEEP by Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #52: FOOL’S GOLD by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #55: MASTER’S CHALLENGE by Will Murray
• THE DESTROYER #56: ENCOUNTER GROUP by Warren Murphy and Will Murray
• THE DESTROYER #67: LOOK INTO MY EYES by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #78: BLUE SMOKE AND MIRRORS by Will Murray
• THE DESTROYER #89: DARK HORSE by Will Murray
• THE DESTROYER #104: ANGRY WHITE MAILMEN by Will Murray
• THE DESTROYER #130: WASTE NOT, WANT NOT by James Mullaney
• THE DESTROYER #145: DRAGON BONES by Tim Somheil
• THE NEW DESTROYER: CHOKE HOLD by Warren Murphy and James Mullaney
• THE NEW DESTROYER: DEAD RECKONING by Warren Murphy and James Mullaney
• THE NEW DESTROYER: GUARDIAN ANGEL by Warren Murphy and James Mullaney
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF WARREN MURPHY:
• GRANDMASTER by Warren Murphy
• TRACE: GETTING UP WITH FLEAS by Warren Murphy
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- BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS >> Bring on the Bad Guys
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