BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS >> False Identities
Ah, the pen name – the writer’s little tool that allows him to branch out in a different direction that fans might not expect. Case in point: Donald E. Westlake has written two series: one using his nom de plume of Richard Stark. But this column is more about people who wanted to keep it a secret, especially our first author, who was really upset when his ruse was uncovered.
THE LONG WALK by Stephen King – In high school, I owned King’s THE BACHMAN BOOKS collection of his then-four Richard Bachman novels, mainly to read the real RUNNING MAN story. But for some reason, I never read the other three stories here. I think it had to do with my required summer reading interfering, so the book fell by the wayside.
From 1979, THE LONG WALK is set in an alternative version of America’s future, where there is an annual long-distance walking marathon for teenage boys where the winner is given whatever he wants. The problem is there is no second place or, for that matter, any survivors except for the winner. See, the walkers are given three warnings for slowing down or even stopping. After that third warning, they are given their final ticket – one you would not want punched.
The story focuses mainly on local boy Ray Garraty, since the walk starts in his home state of Maine, as he and others make their way through this grueling battle of wills. All the action is of the walking and the slow deterioration of his fellow walkers, all under the watchful eye of a man known only as The Major, who seems to be the leader in this future. Through the story, King has the walkers give various bits of information to build their backstories and why they have signed up for this bizarre contest.
King points out in the introduction that the Bachman name let him throw caution to wind and have fun by writing a book where the good guys might not win. As someone who read a few King novels long ago, I was never a longtime fan. For me to point out “hey, everyone, there’s this great book by Stephen King you should read” is pretty much pointless. Most people already have that information, but for the few who might not have read his much darker Bachman stuff, grab this one. It delivers a great ending, unlike some of his other books.
WHO KILLED THE GOLDEN GOOSE by Fletcher Flora – Thanks to the tip-off from Stark House Press, this 1964 Ellery Queen mystery has been uncovered as another ghost-written one – and one in which Flora is more concerned with the characters than the mystery itself.
The straightforward story starts with an announcement from Slater O’Shea – a very rich man with a cast of freeloaders living with him – that he has drawn up a new will that will equally divided across 22 family members, including ones he does not care for. Slater figures this will keep him alive until his natural death. That’s all well and good in theory, until his niece Princess discovers her uncle on the floor dead.
While she tells the family members about her gruesome discovery, the others are trying to figure a way to let the gravy train still go on. She calls in the family doctor, who explains that Uncle Slater was killed and wants an autopsy, sending the rest of the family into a tailspin, with each accusing the others of the crime, if it really is a crime. Adding fuel to the fire is Prin’s boyfriend Coley Collins, who thinks of himself as an investigator of sorts, coming up with his own set of theories.
Now this is fine little mystery, but the problem is it’s pretty obvious who the culprit is, especially with the first of the many clues that are revealed. Sure, there are a few red herrings, but the other clues are so blatant, any mystery reader will pick them out real quick. But again, Flora is more about the situation and characters, painting the picture with such truly despicable family members, you’ll be glad they’re not yours – be they a crooked lawyer, a cousin who thinks he can bully his way to the top, and a total cock-tease of a cousin who wraps men around her finger.
PHOENIX FORCE #2: GUERILLA GAMES by Dan Marlowe – When I saw that Marlowe wrote a PHOENIX FORCE novel – here credited to Don Pendleton and Gar Wilson – I dug through my pile of them to include it here. It was a tragic mistake on my part. That’s not to say the 1982 book is not well-written, because it is. But it’s also really boring, with not a whole lot of action to hold the target audience’s attention.
People who grab this book want one thing above any other: tons of action. There is a intriguing idea concerning a group of hostages who are freed. Then, in typical fashion, they are recaptured by a fanatical group of terrorists. The Phoenix team is, of course, a cross-section of rough-and-ready guys, including one with a prosthetic arm.
The book switches back to scenes of the hostages’ torture – actually the best part. Marlowe has a real knack for writing this type of people-in-peril situation that when the action switches to the Phoenix Force and their preparations to free the hostages, it reads like you are flipping through the phone book. No novel of this sort should not have the people who are the stars not do anything of importance until the last two chapters.
Maybe if they just had let Marlowe write a story about hostages who are saved as a standalone, it would have been a great improvement. This is not something people should seek out, even if you’re a die-hard Marlowe fan. You definitely get the feeling that things were shoe-horned into the story so it could fit a series. Sure, it’s only the second in the series, but wow, does this one not fit well into that environment.
Next time: slipping through the Hard Case cracks. –Bruce Grossman
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF FLETCHER FLORA AND DAN MARLOWE:
• THE VENGEANCE MAN / PARK AVENUE TRAMP / THE PRETTIEST GIRL I EVER KILLED: A TRIO OF GOLD MEDALS by Dan J. Marlowe, Fletcher Flora and Charles Runyon
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF STEPHEN KING:
• CELL by Stephen King
• THE COLORADO KID by Stephen King
• CREEPSHOWS: THE ILLUSTRATED STEPHEN KING MOVIE GUIDE by Stephen Jones
• CUJO by Stephen King
• THE SECRETARY OF DREAMS: VOLUME ONE by Stephen King
• STEPHEN KING: THE NON-FICTION by Rocky Wood and Justin Brooks
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF ELLERY QUEEN:
• COP OUT by Ellery Queen
• THE COPPER FRAME by Ellery Queen
• THE DRAGON’S TEETH / CALAMITY TOWN by Ellery Queen
• THE FOUR OF HEARTS by Ellery Queen
• A ROOM TO DIE IN by Ellery Queen
• THE SPANISH CAPE MYSTERY by Ellery Queen
Been a long time since I read the Long Walk or other Bachman stories as well. If I recall, King said he wrote this as a young guy, and saw places where he could tighten the prose but left it intact as an integrity time piece of sorts. Pretty cool.
An action-less Dan marlowe novel? That’s a first. Then again, I’ve read elsewhere that most of his post-amnesia episode output is sub-par, at least when compared to classics like The Name of the Game is Death. Still, thanks for both the Marlowe and Flora heads-up.
I think The Running Man was the only of the Richard Bachman stuff that I ever read of Stephen King’s. I’ll have to check this one out. I haven’t read a lot of King’s books in years, but I’ve been wanting to check him out again.
Westlake had another series written under the nom de plume Tucker Coe about a guy named Mitch Tobin.
Thanks Glen I think I’ve come across a few reprints at Borders way to pricey for the size and length.
Keith trust me I’m in no way a King fan. I read Salem’s Lot in Middle School just never did anything for me. But I do like the Bachman stuff. Going to give the Dark Tower series a shot again. REad the Gunslinger years ago.