BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS >> One-Name Wonders
The ’80s must have been a gold mine for fans of the aggressors, with so many out there cluttering the field. But for every Matt Helm, Mack Bolan and even Remo Williams, there were some that fell by the wayside. Here are three.
THE TERMINATOR #1: MERCENARY KILL by John Quinn – His name is Rod Gavin, a paid killer for the U.S. government. He is on his last mission of the contracted eight and then he will be free and clear, like every third-rate spy book series out there.
Gavin is told to go to a Central American country where the U.S. has a puppet regime in charge and dispose of a man for them. But of course, the whole setup turns to shit. Gavin is set up by the former head of the Central American desk, who has been taking millions of dollars in drugs and money for his own benefit.
There are no real surprises that haven’t been done before (or since, to a much better degree). In fact, this 1982 novel is so by-the-numbers in its tone and treatment, I felt dumber while reading it. That’s not to say it doesn’t offer escape – it’s just been done to death.
The plot literally plods along with a bad case of chapter break-itis. That’s when a ton of action happens in that blank page separating the chapters. If you’re in the mood for some total mindlessness and very little action, you might enjoy it. Just be warned: There’s so little substance, you’ll feel like you just ate a Krispy Kreme.
THE AVENGER #3: COLOMBIA CRACKDOWN by Chet Cunningham – Sometimes these books have no idea who they are talking to. Take a total badass aggressor type, add the “Just Say No” campaign, and that sums up The Avenger, aka Matt Hawke, whose wife was brutally killed, which we’re told over and over in gory detail.
Because of this, Hawke is on a one-man mission to kill anyone involved with the drug trade. And I do mean everyone, from pushers to the heads of the families. This 1988 offering just makes your head spin with all the coincidences that happen so easily. Everyone Hawke meets in his search has a connection to the drug families, be it a girl who was gang-raped and turns up right outside where Hawke is eating his lunch, or a man who works on a coffee plantation who takes Hawke to a secret airstrip where Hawke blows up a shipment.
So, yeah, there is plenty of action, but also plenty of preaching of how bad cocaine and crack are. You know, I never knew drugs were bad until I read this book. Of course, the basic story is just basic: Hawke goes from Florida to Columbia on his search for the drug families’ operation. The action is top-notch, but the DEA agent-style preaching is way too heavy-handed for this novel’s audience.
There is a much better book on the subject, called KILLING PABLO. It’s nonfiction and some of its stories are jaw-droppers.
THE SPECIALIST #1: A TALENT FOR REVENGE by John Cutter – A pal of mine told me this 1984 novel was a must-read, explaining that its real author tries to dismiss it. But more on that later.
Yeah, it’s a must-read, alright, for some of the most over-the-top action since KILL BILL, including a battle on the coast of France that would bring back memories of Normandy, all from a one-man wrecking crew by the name of Jack Sullivan, mercenary for hire. He’ll work for anyone as long as the price is right.
This is how over-the-top the book gets: The woman who hires him wants her enemy’s head on a silver platter. But the job won’t be easy for Jack since he is going up against his old teacher. We’re introduced to countless people so quick in the book, you may get dizzy. It’s all over the place with plotting, but it more than makes up for it in the action. It gets to the point where I needed a crib sheet to keep track of how many men Sullivan lays to waste. I just wish the writing were a bit more up to snuff.
Now that brings us back to its author trying to distance himself from it: John Shirley. Lucky for us, he has a message board where he answers questions, such as mine. If whacked-out scenarios are your thing, grab The Specialist if you can find him. Just don’t expect a cohesive plot or character development.
Next time: Three authors that don’t suck, no matter what you pick up. –Bruce Grossman
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THESE AUTHORS:
• IN DARKNESS WAITING by John Shirley
• THE OTHER END by John Shirley
Shirley’s never distanced himself from THE SPECIALIST series or dismissed it. As it inspired the Stallone film, it gave him his first screen credit. But it was a “work for hire” series written under a pseudonym. None of his pseudonymous works are listed on the Web site. Is it comparable in qulaity to much of his other work? No. As you yourself say, the plot is all over the place, although it does display great imagination and over-the-top action.
He seems pretty dismissive in his response to Bruce’s question, and that’s too bad, because the books are awesome, if I’d have written them I would have a special leather jacker made that said “LADIES: I WROTE ‘THE SPECIALIST’ BOOKS” on the back.
It was the prodding of a friend of mine to cover that book. He was also the one who pointed out how Shirley has distanced himself from them.
That’s some good prodding.
I’m the prodder, by the by. I’ve read about half a dozen of the Specialist books (gotta get around to doing full blown reviews of these myself) and they are indeed, erm, “over the top”. Amazingly they are more digestable than some of the trash I’ve read & reviewed, but they are just so, so very hokey. And I have to say that I am just a little bit disturbed by all the really graphic sex that goes on in them. I’m certainly no prude, but I have to wonder why constant references to the protagonist’s eight-incher and such comments as “…take me through the back door!”, “…I don’t know if I can fit it all in my mouth!” and “…worked at it like a giant candy cane…” really need to be in there. Well OK, I can guess why, but it makes me wonder how it fits with John Shirley’s quote: “But the Specialist books, though as well crafted as I could make them with the speed I had to write them, are not my finest moment as a writer…”. In the end, this stuff is trash, but more readable and certainly more rabidly gratuitous than a lot of the other trash you could be reading (like, I dunno, the Gor novels…).
I grew up in a household where my dad would take me to used bookstore after used bookstore in search of black-spined Doc Savage paperbacks, as well as any Avenger books we could find, and I loved the specialists books just for that reason–as a 12-year-old.
So an anonymous poster asks you on your author’s message board: “John was just wondering why there is no mention of The Specialist series on the site. Especially since your name does come up on the amazon listings for it also.”
He doesn’t identify himself and say it is in the context of commenting on the books somewhere. He doesn’t even say he’s read the books.
The author — who was hired to write the books to certain specifications more than 25 years ago in an extremely limited amount of time — answers, in about 10 seconds, fairly: “But the Specialist books, though as well crafted as I could make them with the speed I had to write them, are not my finest moment as a writer…”.
The books AREN’T his finest moment! Good grief, what is he supposed to say? have you read some of his “finer moments”?
The books were written for what waas then called the “men’s action” genre. They are what they are. They are over-the-top, violent, and sexy. That’s what they were supposed to be.
As for the leather jacket — I doubt if Mrs Shirley would really care for that, uh, fashion statement?
Well excuse me I did not tell him I was reviewing a book he does not like to bring up anymore. To be brutaly honest I was not even expecting a response about my question.
[...] FROM U.N.C.L.E. #2: THE DOOMSDAY AFFAIR by Harry Whittington • THE OTHER END by John Shirley • THE SPECIALIST #1: A TALENT FOR REVENGE by John Shirley • TRAVELER #1: FIRST, YOU FIGHT by John [...]
[...] 1984 adventure offers the most mindless fun. I was ready to goof on the fact that the real author disavows these novels, but I’ll hand it to John Shirley: As ridiculous as this book gets – and it [...]