Zombies, zombies, everywhere! Long a staple of horror movies, the living dead have recently lumbered their way to prominence on TV, in comics, novels and dozens of story collections. So why then should we pay particular attention to a novel with the innocuous title DEAD OF NIGHT? Because it’s from Jonathan Maberry, one of the most inventive and reliably entertaining authors currently mining the undead trend.

Desdemona “Dez” Fox, and partner JT Hammond, police officers in the small town of Stebbins County, Penn., are called one morning to the grounds of Hartnup’s Transition Estate, a local mortuary, for a suspected break-in. They find two horribly mutilated corpses, and evidence of a third gone missing. As Dez and JT inspect the grounds, the two bodies suddenly come back to life and attack them.

Meanwhile, Bill Trout, a local tabloid news reporter (and Dez’s on-off boyfriend) follows a lead that the body of a recently executed serial killer was secretly claimed by a family member in town, but now that body is missing. Trout takes the story trail to the Hartnup’s Transition Estate, where he is quickly chased away by Dez.
 
Trout’s research eventually leads him to Dr. Herman Volker, the man who gave the serial killer the lethal injection in prison. Trout leans that Volker instead injected the murderer with a drug that would keep his consciousness alive while his body decomposed — part of the secret government biochemical weapon research Volker once conducted.

But the drug had a serious side effect: It reanimated the killer’s body, filling it with an immediate hunger for human flesh. Additionally, the reanimation virus is highly contagious and transferred by a bite from the carrier. Now the killer has escaped, and he and his resulting victims are infecting the entire town.
 
As the number of infected grows, a hurricane-force storm approaches the town, forcing the children to seek shelter inside a school building. Before long, the place becomes a potential feeding ground for the hungry zombies. At the same time, the federal government in Washington, D.C., has been alerted of the outbreak and launches an immediate military-containment campaign which essentially would fire-bomb all of Stebbins County.
 
This combination of race-against-time and manhunt stories is presented through chapters alternating the action and focus between the main characters and several others. Lots of narrative ground must be covered, so Maberry frequently introduces characters who last no longer than a chapter or two.

It might take a little while to find the flow with all these frequent shifts, and the action seriously stalls during the long passages where Volker explains the plausible science behind his secret project. But the scenes involving Dez and JT are where Maberry kicks in his suspense thriller techniques, and then the pages can’t be turned fast enough.
 
By far the most notable moments are where Maberry takes us inside the intimate thoughts of the infected zombies. Such stories usually ignore this kind of insight, but the author shares with us the utter confusion and suffering these victims feel as they slowly lose the memory of their previous existence, not to mention control of their bodies, and give themselves over to the unrelenting hunger; turning them into what Maberry calls “a lost soul in a hollow body.” In the midst of all the breakneck action and tension, these moments remain long after the last page.
 
Since his groundbreaking 2009 novel, PATIENT ZERO, Maberry has distinguished himself as an author constantly bringing fresh and unexpected perspectives to the zombie subgenre. If you’ve been wondering what the appeal is to all the current zombie-apocalypse trend in multimedia, DEAD OF NIGHT is an excellent place to find out.  —Alan Cranis

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This week’s column goes back to the bread and butter of my reading pile: mindless paperbacks that were once commonplace in racks at truck stops. These are books with covers that promise the world, but can they deliver? Let’s find out …

C.A.T. #3: CULT OF THE DAMNED by Spike Andrews — Sometimes, there’s a cover you stare in amazement. This 1983 work is one of those: a guy fighting what looks like giant rats, a girl getting naked, a sniper, trains exploding, and one pissed-off dude. Well, 90 percent of that makes it into the story, which is also the problem: You have three storylines to follow, and they combine at the end in a rather forced manner.

C.A.T. stands for Crisis Aversion Team, considered the lowest of the low on the police force, which makes zero sense since the two cops assigned to it have three major cases to solve: a photographer who dupes models into showing up at a sleazy motel, where they are raped, beaten and killed; a sniper with some extreme religious beliefs, hence the book’s subtitle; and finally, an Arab overlord being hunted by his former countrymen.

Storylines one and three get mashed up together toward the end. Sorry to ruin the surprise. The second is there just to fill up pages. Across all, at no point will the reader care for one character. The cops are one-dimensional types that are common in such adventures: you know, super cops who will jump on top of cars while chasing a suspect, and bedding any pretty lady they might come across.

This book is a mish-mash of ideas. It seems a dartboard was used to set up plot points, all the while, Andrew was counting his words so he could collect a check. On the whole, it took me a total of an hour to read, and was forgotten 30 minutes later. If you can find it on the cheap, sure, try it out. But don’t expect much.

TANK WAR V: FIREFIGHT by Larry Steelbaugh — To quote Johnny Rotten, “Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?” That sums up my opinion to this 1992 book, in which there is so little going on, you feel as if golf were a contact sport.

The cover promises what looks like a tank attacking the Great Wall of China. Well, there are a few tanks in the book, and the enemy is Chinese, but that’s about it. The book first ties up all the loose ends from the previous installment, TANK WAR IV, so you can skip those 11 pages. Then it moves into the tank command team comprised by people with the following names: Titz, Fruits, Ham and Giesla. I’m totally serious.

The tank itself is called No Slack Too. Then add to the fact they get a few new tanks called Terrapins. I know of two Terrapins the team that plays for Maryland and the two that dance in front of a train station on a Grateful Dead album.

I should have bailed when I had the chance — like, at page 12. The bulk of the book has our group of “soldiers” meeting up with a Russian group to take on a Chinese outfit in Mongolia. Add maybe a page of action, and that’s FIREFIGHT, folks.

Look, I was not expecting some detailed battle that would make Rommel wet himself. But just one little, y’know, firefight would have done wonders for my attention. I have no idea how the other entries in this series are, and if my money is at stake, I’ll never know. WAITING FOR GODOT WITH TANKS would have been a better title or, for that matter, a better read.

SWAMP MASTER by Jake Spencer — For a book that had the lamest cover of this week’s three, I thought this 1992 effort was going to be the low point of the column. In actuality, this is the best book of the bunch, to the point I ordered books two and three in the series. But I’m getting way ahead of myself.

This one has it all. Allow me a quick rundown of some of the high points. We are introduced to John Firecloud, who has been trained by ancient shaman in a post-nuked America with an over-the-top general bent on domination. Now he wants to nuke what is now called Free Atlanta, filled with white-trash mutants. The hillbillies from DELIVERANCE come off as Mensa members compared to these creatures. Then there is a Chinese female badass who is teamed up with twins named Marcus One and Marcus Two.

The book follows two plots that never meet. Since this is the first of a series, plenty of groundwork is laid, while one thread follows the crazed general who holds a dinner party with a surprise guest. The other storyline follows Firecloud and his band of merry men as they try to free a scientist from a bizarre circus run by mutants.

There isn’t much more I can discuss without dropping spoilers, especially the shocking ending. Well, it’s a shock if you don’t pay attention to everything that precedes it. In other words, the revelation is so telegraphed that you should kick yourself if you don’t figure it out. Still, I’m super-psyched to read the sequels. I also get the feeling Spencer is probably a pseudonym for a name author slumming for a quick buck. Come on, certainly someone who reads this column must know. —Bruce Grossman

Buy them at Amazon.

It’s all building to something. With FATAL ERROR, the penultimate Repairman Jack novel, more loose ends are tied up while also building to whatever is to come. In other words, new readers should start at the beginning of F. Paul Wilson’s series, as this entry is more about exposition than suspense readers would expect.

The book picks up a few months after the events of GROUND ZERO, while also tying in Wilson’s young Repairman Jack YA series. If you want to stay spoiler-free from those works, stop reading now.

FATAL ERROR follows two separate storylines that, of course, are connected. First we have the return of two of Jack’s oldest friends, siblings Weezy and Eddie. Weezy is still paranoid that The Order is still out there to get her, and now Eddie is a full member of it and has questions of his own. The Order has a master plan to bring the world to its knees, and the book’s title gives you somewhat of a hint of how it will try to do so.

The second plot focuses on an Arabic man named Munir, who is in dire need of Jack’s help. Munir’s wife and son have been kidnapped by a psychopath, to put it nicely, who is making Munir go against everything in his religion, from eating pork and drinking beer, to making him a criminal of sorts. The psycho sends him Polaroids of his captives with written threats.

Elsewhere, another storyline is finished, with the birth of a child who will play a central role in events to come, while also answering a mystery that has been staring readers in the face since the character was introduced. You’ll do a face palm when you see how Wilson has hid the fact all this time.

FATAL ERROR really feels like old-school Repairman Jack in the way he is pushed to the breaking point. Again, people need to learn to never screw with anyone connected to him. For those expecting everything to tied up in a bow, you’re going to be sorely disappointed, as the next book is the final entry in the series and will do all that. —Bruce Grossman

Buy it at Amazon.

This week is all about those hip private eyes, two of which have been covered before and define cool, while the third one really fits the title of this column to a T. So let’s get settled in for some good-old-fashioned detecting with plenty of dames and a little kitty litter.

DEATH HAS THREE LIVES by Brett Halliday — When Mike Shayne puts his foot into it, to put it nicely, he really puts his foot into it. Case in point: Mike turns up to his secretary’s apartment, which is about to become ground zero to a major shit storm. First, Lucy Hamilton, Mike’s secretary, is hiding an ex in her bedroom who was just shot. And Mike has no idea.

As soon as the cops searching all the apartments in her building are gone, Lucy tells Mike what is going on. But when they open the door to take care of business, there lies Lucy’s ex … with his throat slit. Yeah, and things only get worse for everyone involved. Add to the list a blonde who no one is sure is really the woman they believe also turns up dead. Then there is the kidnapping of Lucy. which just amps up the ire of Mike.

All of this builds into a case that only Mike Shayne can figure out, with the suspect being someone close to the case, not to ruin things. The biggest clue comes in the form of a letter from Lucy to Mike, which does not play until the last few pages of this 1955 novel. And that is the best kind of Shayne: where it all builds and builds to the point of “how is this all going to work out?” with only 10 pages left. This is prime Halliday and well worth the read.

THE COCKEYED CORPSE by Richard S. Prather — If I ever had to recommend only one Shell Scott book to a newbie, this 1964 entry would be the one. It’s not the most complex mystery out there, but it’s definitely the most fun and a perfect example of the series.

Shell Scott is in desperate need of a vacation, and one comes to him with a catch: He needs to do a little investigating once there. The vacation/job in question is at a dude ranch where a movie is being made, the type that could have have been shot by Doris Wishman or Russ Meyer. Yeah, a film that is light on plot, but heavy on attractive women undressed and running around the Western scenery.

The case is that one of the actresses was killed being thrown from a horse. But the horse in question is very timid; even 6-year olds-would ride it with no worry. But as soon as Shell shows up to the set, trouble starts, in the form of two cowboys who start shooting first. Once Shell takes care of one of the cowboys, the other takes off. The shooter in question is someone Shell had trouble with in the past, which does not sit right, but the plot is more to have Shell run around with the girls while battling a gang of thugs from a previous novel.

There is plenty of humor thrown in, with some great moments like Shell disguised as a giant paper-mâché boulder and entering an amateur rodeo. But this book truly wins the coolness factor for name-checking THE IMMORAL MR. TEAS, one of Meyer’s first nudie cuties. Prather seems to really want COCKEYED to be an easy entry to new readers, while also pleasing longtime fans — a job he does perfectly.

And for the 13-year-old in me, plenty of scenes will play in my head.

BLACKSAD by Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido — Buy this! If you are any sort of fan of mystery/crime reading, this 2010 book is a must. Don’t let the fact that all the characters are animals dissuade you; they are fully developed characters just in the shape of walking and talking animals.

Its three stories inside will make you feel as though you stepped into a time machine, since all harken back to Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler in their prime. And if an introduction by Jim Steranko and praise from the likes of Neal Adams and Stan Lee aren’t enough, then keep reading. The book reprints three Blacksad stories, with the first two re-lettered to the author’s precise notes, and the third never been translated to English until now.

John Blacksad is a detective. More importantly, he is a giant black cat with a touch of white around his face. The opening tale, “Somewhere Within the Shadows,” has Blacksad investigating the murder of a former lover, leading to places the cops have been told to stay away from. But that won’t stop this private eye.

The second story deals with a kidnapped little girl who no one seems to worry about,including her mother in Arctic Nation. The final one focuses on a Communist plot reuniting Blacksad with a former friend of his youth who was a major influence on his life, despite hiding a dark secret.

The art is stupendous and the storytelling pitch-perfect. Don’t be thrown that, in essence, yes, it’s a graphic novel. Once you settle in and start reading and following the art, you will want more once it’s all done. This is a terrific collection that will win over any crime fan or animal lover. —Bruce Grossman

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Any collection calling itself the “best” leaves itself open for debate. This one, however, has the added issue of calling itself a collection of “noir fiction.” So, obviously, the claims against the entries are not only if they are the best, but also if they are indeed noir.
 
Fortunately, THE BEST AMERICAN NOIR OF THE CENTURY comes to us by way of James Ellroy’s insight into dark obsessions and Otto Penzler’s vast knowledge of crime fiction. Their combined efforts are enough to make us sit up and take notice. And if the 39 stories gathered here do not meet individual expectations of “the best,” there is no denying that they are all undoubtedly “noir.”

Just what is noir fiction? In the opening of his foreword, Penzler raises eyebrows when he likens it to pornography, “in the sense that it is virtually impossible to define, but everybody thinks they know it when they see it.” Later, he gets a bit more specific when he zeros in on noir works as “existential, pessimistic tales about people, including (or especially) protagonists who are seriously flawed and morally questionable. The tone is generally bleak and nihilistic, with characters whose greed, lust, jealousy and alienation lead them into a downward spiral as their plans and schemes inevitably go awry.”

In the introduction, Ellroy express it more poetically as “the long drop off the short pier and the wrong man and the wrong woman in perfect misalliance. It’s the nightmare of flawed souls with big dreams and the precise how and why of the all-time sure thing that goes bad.” 

Sound like fun? Then you’ve got the right book.
 
What follows is a chronological listing of such short and longer stories from American writers from 1923 to 2007. Don’t expect the likes of Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler here, as the moral grounding of their central characters is what, in Penzler’s opinion, separates detective fiction from noir fiction. The anthology leads with “Spurs” by Tod Robbins, 1923′s little-known literary basis of Tod Browning’s classic film FREAKS. While the ending of the story differs from the film, it is still creepy.
 
Other names, mostly familiar to dark crime fiction fans, follow. Like “Pastorale,” a 1928 story that set the mold for future works from James M. Cain. The 1940s and ’50s are represented by works from Day Keene, Dorothy B. Hughes, a little chiller from David Goodis, and a surprising and slightly out-of-character piece by Mickey Spillane, among others. The ’60s are represented by Jim Thompson and Cornell Woolrich. Although the dates represent the publication of these two tales, their essence harkens back 20 or 30 years earlier.
 
By the time we get into the ’70s and beyond, we see authors whose work is not exclusively noir, and some who have even ventured on to national best-seller lists, like Elmore Leonard, Jeffery Deaver and Dennis Lehane. But what’s more interesting is how these contemporary authors apply noir characteristics to noticeably different locales demographics, and even different narrative forms.

Authors like James Crumley, James Lee Burke and the lesser-known (but no less impressive) Scott Wolven take noir out of its urban settings and demonstrate how rural settings are just as ripe for betrayal, deception, and greed. The central characters in Leonard’s “When the Women Come Out to Dance” (2002) are an immigrant and the conniving wife of a wealthy immigrant. But then authors like Lawrence Block, Ed Gorman and Ellroy himself (in his 1988 look back at the Los Angeles of the late ’40s, via one of his “L.A. Quartet” characters) remind us of the dirty doings back in the big cities, too.
 
Perhaps the most argument-prone entry is the 1993 novella “Mefisto in Onyx” by Harlan Ellison (no stranger to arguments). While Ellison has published crime and suspense stories, he’s best known for his speculative fiction and dark fantasies. So, not surprisingly, the narrator of “Mefisto” is a telepath who “jaunts into people’s landscapes.” Once you get beyond that (if you must get beyond it), the work reveals itself as a story as full of lies, deception and manipulation as anything from the authors also included in this collection. And thus proves that noir is not necessarily restricted to crime.

Whether you take issue with the particular entries by individual authors, or if other authors even deserve to be included, there is no denying that THE BEST AMERICAN NOIR OF THE CENTURY is a source of unsettling but essential and valuable reading, and should immediately be added to your “must read” list. You might even find the collection immensely entertaining — in which case, as the editors warn, you best keep it to yourself. —Alan Cranis

Buy it at Amazon.
 

Ian McDonald’s last several masterpieces (RIVER OF GODS and BRASYL) set an incredibly high bar for any author with aspirations of becoming better with every book that he writes. But though both of those novels were works of genius, they weren’t books I could convince my friends who aren’t well-versed in science fiction to read.

They’re dense, demand a lot of faith in the story and the author, and require some hardcore intellectual gymnastics for readers to internalize the masterful cultural prognostications that McDonald makes with his future India and time-muddled Brazil. But McDonald’s somehow managed to outdo himself with THE DERVISH HOUSE.

It’s still got the future travelogue aspects, the wonderful futurism and the dense understanding of a culture that is definitely not Western, but it also manages to be wonderfully accessible without sacrificing any of the aspects of McDonald’s writing that makes it so enthralling.

The setting this time is Turkey, and the characters are the people living and working in the vicinity of the titular dervish house. Of course, they are eclectic: There’s a boy whose medical condition isolates him from the sounds of the world and lives vicariously as an intrepid detective; a young college graduate trying to make her way out of the grasp of her family and into the business world; a disgraced scholar who whiles away his time reminiscing on regrets; an antiquities dealer who takes on an impossible quest; her husband,with a daring plan to become a master of the financial universe; a street preacher who aims to change the world one small problem at a time; and his brother, who kicks everything off by happening to be present at ground zero of a suspiciously non-lethal suicide bombing and subsequently sees a world filled with djinns, angels, elementals and saints.

These protagonists’ lives intersect and intertwine, and the amazing twists and turns of their respective capers bring out the tiny details of the country in which they live. The Turkey that McDonald creates is evoked masterfully by Stephan Martieniere’s cover art — oversaturated colors and the thrum of power, information and the lived-in humanity of the world.

Like RIVER OF GODS and BRASYL, McDonald’s use of setting as an essential character works its magic throughout the plot, portraying a nation caught both geographically and culturally between the West, the East and the Middle East. Everyone’s got fancy smartphones, but they also go to street judges for the remediation of everyday disputes, deal with hellish commutes to work in cars that share roads with much less-evolved forms of transportation, work on revolutionary nanotech in dusty bazaars, and chase half-forgotten legendary relics across a city that’s known many regimes and was once the seat of an empire.

THE DERVISH HOUSE is one of those books for which there needn’t be a blurb on the inside jacket inadequately describing the plot in a couple of paragraphs. Read it on trust — McDonald knows what he’s doing. Anyone who gives THE DERVISH HOUSE half a chance will take up residence in a mindspace that compares only with those created in his other works. There had better be more where this came from. —Ryun Patterson

Buy it at Amazon.

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• BRASYL by Ian McDonald
• CYBERABAD DAYS by Ian McDonald
• RIVER OF GODS by Ian McDonald

This week, we’ve got a group of guys you don’t want to screw with, featuring two long-running series we’ve been covered before. The third book is the start of another one, so we’ll see how that goes — keep your fingers crossed. Let’s start it off with a later appearance from that fun-in-the-sun beach bum named Travis McGee.

THE GREEN RIPPER by John D. MacDonald — Seventeen books into the series and MacDonald throws this reader for a loop with the 18th. This 1979 entry was my fastest read of a Travis McGee novel ever. For some odd reason, I just flew through it. Also, it’s more in the vein of a James Bond story.

Her name was Gretel, and she was the one who finally conquered McGee. But in his world, nothing ever goes smoothly, especially when what he thought was his true love winds up dead from some mysterious disease. This sets McGee into action — this time not at some tilted windmill, but a dragon. No one can stop him from charging in — not even two mysterious agents who seem to know more than they are telling.

McGee goes across the country to a quasi-church of nefarious means. To go further into the church’s activities would be a major spoiler, but it’s actually pretty timely. McGee plays the part of a fisherman looking for his runaway daughter, but what he discovers sends a chill down the reader’s spine.

This book is loaded with action. You also get a sense that McGee is slowly coming to terms with his life, since early on in the story, he reflects on people he has lost who he helped. All the more shocking is how brutal this story gets for him. I mean, as much as he comes off like 007, he has a streak in him that makes Matt Helm look like a pussycat. Sure, it moves away from that carefree beach bum of early outings, but in no way should this book be passed over as later-period MacDonald. Its truly McGee throughout — just with a new purpose of not to be crossed.

THE INFILTRATORS by Donald Hamilton — For those keeping track, this 1984 book is 21 in the Matt Helm series, and is one of the later and thicker novels. Sometimes, they feel as though they were padded to hit a certain page count. Even though this one is double the size of earlier adventures, it reads like an earlier episode.

This time, Matt is entrusted to pick up a former prisoner and take her wherever she would like to go and make sure no one takes a shot or two at her — which, for Hamilton, happens pretty quick in this one. See, Madeline Ellershaw and her husband were both accused of being spies, with a wealth of evidence pointing to the fact. But Madeline’s husband went missing nine years ago and she was left holding the bag, so to speak. This actually turns out to be a much larger conspiracy that involves another government agency and the overthrow of the U.S. government.

The “who”s and “why”s are best left for readers to discover, but once a certain name pops up, most will know that what’s up. We actually see Madeline change from the out-of-shape mess who just got out of prison into a lean, mean, fighting machine, all thanks to Helm and his insistence of her spending time at his agency’s ranch.

New readers might want to read DEATH OF A CITIZEN before tackling this one, since a page and half gives away major plot points of that previous novel. Hamilton seems to have really come back to the Helm character in this one, especially with how he changes Madeline into someone that she would never believed in her previous life. I’ll just say that her character has a terrific payoff, even though Matt is none too pleased with how things end. Sometimes, the hero doesn’t get the girl. Especially when they become such a great shot.

RAVEN SETTLES A SCORE by Donald Mackenzie — I’ve got a better title for this 1978 book: RAVEN SURE IS A BORE. This is not the way to start out a detective series. It took less time to read this book than listen to the first Velvet Underground album. (I’m not joking; I finished reading as “European Son” was just starting.)

The cover promises a playboy ex-cop, but the story is a sleepwalk through a kidnap case. There is little I can fully remember from reading it, and I literally just finished it a few minutes ago. The case has something to do with a Korean drug cartel that kidnaps an American girl named Arabella. Our hero, John Raven, is called upon by someone I can’t even remember — or want to, at this point — to bring her back.

The novel moves at a fast clip but nothing really happens to keep a reader going. Yes, there is some forgettable gunplay, but to be honest, reading instructions to make iced tea is more engaging. From what I can tell, there are plenty of other books in this series. Now, it must sound like I’m being mean-spirited to some old, forgotten franchise, but I really have a near-zero recollection of what happened in it, or if anything happened. If the other books are anything like this one, I’ll skip them. —Bruce Grossman

Buy it at Amazon.

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF DONALD HAMILTON:
• THE AMBUSHERS by Donald Hamilton
• THE ANNIHILATORS by Donald Hamilton
• THE BETRAYERS by Donald Hamilton
• THE DEVASTATORS by Donald Hamilton
• THE INTERLOPERS by Donald Hamilton
• THE INTIMIDATORS by Donald Hamilton
• IRON MEN AND SILVER STARS edited by Donald Hamilton
• LINE OF FIRE by Donald Hamilton
• THE MENACERS by Donald Hamilton
• THE MONA INTERCEPT by Donald Hamilton
• MURDERERS’ ROW by Donald Hamilton
• NIGHT WALKER by Donald Hamilton
• ON GUNS AND HUNTING by Donald Hamilton
• THE POISONERS by Donald Hamilton
• THE RAVAGERS by Donald Hamilton
• THE RETALIATORS by Donald Hamilton
• THE REVENGERS by Donald Hamilton
• THE SHADOWERS by Donald Hamilton
• THE TERMINATORS by Donald Hamilton
• THE TERRORIZERS by Donald Hamilton
• TEXAS FEVER by Donald Hamilton
• THE VANISHERS by Donald Hamilton

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF JOHN D. MACDONALD:
• DARKER THAN AMBER by John D. MacDonald
• A DEADLY SHADE OF GOLD by John D. MacDonald
• THE DEEP BLUE GOOD-BY by John D. MacDonald
• THE GIRL, THE GOLD WATCH & EVERYTHING by John D. MacDonald
• NIGHTMARE IN PINK by John D. MacDonald
• A PURPLE PLACE FOR DYING by John D. MacDonald
• THE QUICK RED FOX by John D. MacDonald
• THE SCARLET RUSE by John D. MacDonald
• SOFT TOUCH by John D. MacDonald
• A TAN AND SANDY SILENCE by John D. MacDonald
• WHERE IS JANICE GANTRY? by John D. MacDonald

One of the many pleasures of last year’s PATIENT ZERO, Jonathan Maberry’s outstanding novel that introduced the character of Joe Ledger, was how the author took an outrageous premise and made it completely credible. In THE DRAGON FACTORY, his follow-up, Maberry amps up the outrageousness factor by several degrees. But again, thanks to his energetic prose and narrative drive, he has us believing it.

Ledger has been approached by ominous government security goons before, but this time, he senses that something is seriously wrong. Rather than comply with their demand to come with them, he distracts them with a few well-placed punches and flees. While on the run, Ledger learns that the U.S. executive branch, currently run by the vice president while the president recovers from surgery, is out to dismantle the Department of Military Science, the fiercely patriotic, but under-the-radar agency for which Ledger works.

The DMS chief thinks the key to the dismantling might be connected to a team of agents who were dispatched to explore the contents of an underground fortress in Colorado, and then suddenly disappeared. Ledger and a skeletal crew of armed agents are assigned to find out what happened.

Meanwhile, all across the world, doctors and representatives of various health agencies are alarmed at the sudden frequency of diseases that were either previously eliminated or rarely seen, thanks to modern vaccines. What’s especially troubling is that these diseases, once restricted to genetics, have now become communicable, like the common cold, and the victims are predominantly minorities.
 
While all this is going on, we also are introduced to Cyrus Jakoby, a bona fide mad scientist who is genetically reviving long-extinct species, while secretly working on a plan to purify and improve human beings. His albino-twin son and daughter are also geneticists, but their work is devoted to creating an army of nearly indestructible mercenary soldiers. 
 
Needless to say, neither Jakoby nor his offspring is devoted to the betterment of humankind. In fact, as Ledger and the DMS discover, Jakoby is responsible for the diseases that are wiping out minority populations around the world. His experiments are intended to continue the “master race” plan perpetrated by Nazi Joseph Mengele. And any resistance to the final detonation of Jakoby’s Extinction Clock — Ledger and his crew, in other words — will be met with the monstrous mercenaries created by the twins.

Maberry juggles what seems like half a dozen separate and disconnected storylines at once, while presenting the overall circumstances of the novel. It’s a little disorienting at first, but there is more than enough curiosity planted along the way to keep us reading — especially in the first-person sections with Ledger himself — while waiting for everything to fall together.
 
And, of course, it does. Along the way, however, Maberry’s villains and their quirks dance dangerously close to caricatures (due, perhaps, to the author’s proflic work on various current Marvel Comics titles). Just when such moments approach overload, Maberry shifts gears to the suspenseful and often explosive action of Ledger and his crew as they battle the mercenary monsters and edge closer to Jakoby and his Extinction Clock.

Maberry, who previously cut his teeth with some high-octane horror novels, is quickly becoming a master at politically-tinged, horror-enhanced, pulp thrillers. Like its predecessor, THE DRAGON FACTORY is gripping and engrossing fun. Believe it. —Alan Cranis

Buy it at Amazon.

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• PATIENT ZERO by Jonathan Maberry

Search this site and you’ll find we are big fans of F. Paul Wilson, for his short stories, standalone novels and his-soon-to-be-finishing Repairman Jack series. But there is a set of books on my shelf which I’ve been staring at for close to three years. I’m referring to “The Adversary Cycle,” which starts off with THE KEEP and then the first Repairman Jack book THE TOMB. The early titles are slowly being revised and reissued, mainly to update the stories with the current times, but in this column, I’ll be reviewing the older editions. Be forewarned: Spoilers abound.

THE TOUCH by F. Paul Wilson — The revisions to this novel deal with technology and a few musical references, since iPods and Emminen were not relevant in 1986, when this book first came out. The story deals with Dr. Alan Bulmer, a family physician whose life changes drastically when he is touched by a dying patient in the ER who can cure people by just a touch.

Walt has now passed along that power to Bulmer; as great as that power can be, it’s also a huge downfall, especially when he starts curing patients from lifelong ailments. Word spreads about him, and he is looked upon by his fellow doctors as some sort of charlatan.

Sylvia, a widower with an adopted autistic child named Jeffy, is friends with Bulmer, but isn’t sure if she should let him cure her son, especially after it’s discovered that for everyone he helps, a little bit of Bulmer dies inside. Meanwhile, a senator follows the doc’s strange goings-on, seeing Bulmer as his ticket for a cure. This pretty makes the senator the big baddie of the book.

Like other Wilson books, the story all ties into a larger picture, with characters coming in and out of these novels. But this one can stand alone, since the only person with any connection to the other books was only written about in two recent novels. But that does not mean that characters from THE TOUCH don’t appear on down the line.

The revised edition has a short story at the end called “Dat-Tay-Vao,” which is the tale of how this mysterious power winded up in the United States, by way of a soldier in Vietnam named Walt.

REBORN by F. Paul Wilson — This 1990 novel is a direct sequel to THE KEEP, in the sense certain things come to fruition. The first half focuses on a young man named Jim Stevens, who makes a discovery he wishes he never found out. At the halfway mark in the book, the huge secret is explained.

Before that, JIm is a happy-go-lucky fellow married to Carol. Not everything is as perfect as it seems, for Jim is an orphan who has always tried to find out who his real parents are. That question gets answered when he is called upon for a will reading of a leading scientist who died in a plane crash and left Jim the bulk of his estate. It becomes apparent that this scientist was Jim’s biological father … but then he comes across some old journals which spell out JIm’s secret. For those who don’t want the book spoiled, I suggest you skip to the next paragraph: Jim is not really the scientist’s son, but an exact clone.

What makes matters worse is the secret is made public by a reporter, throwing the rest of the book into a tailspin, since certain people who believe they are chosen to fight the anti-Christ see Jim and his family as the enemy. This one builds on the foundation of THE KEEP, but REBORN can be read as a standalone, even if new readers will miss some of the nuances that tie the two together.

REPRISAL by F. Paul Wilson — For those chomping at the bit to read about these books and not have anything spoiled, come back next week, since I’m about to spoil most of REBORN. This 1992 sequel has two storylines, one about a college student named Rafe, who seems wise beyond his years and just a bit of a bad boy. A concurrent storyline deals with a priest we met in REBORN, who has forsaken his previous life because of horrific events involving his time at working at the orphanage.

These strands tie into what could have been stopped in REBORN: namely, the birth of a baby to Carol, whose husband, Jim, died long before. We follow the life of Rafe and a woman he becomes attached to, while we given small little chapters about Carol and the son she named Jimmy. It becomes apparent Jimmy is unlike any other kid; as a baby, he is able to speak complete sentences and has total disdain for his mother.

I think you can tell where this is all headed. Anyone who has read the Repairman Jack series and THE KEEP will figure out the quasi-surprise. The story never comes right out and says what is really going on until the final 30 pages, when all the pieces are put together and the lines are pretty much drawn to lead into the final conflict in the next book. Wilson does a great job keeping all these balls in the air that he started juggling back with the first installment. He peppers the book with a super-brief cameo from THE TOUCH. Its one of those blink-and-miss-it things, but it gives crucial info.

NIGHTWORLD by F. Paul Wilson — This 1993 effort is what the whole series has been building toward: the final showdown between Rasalom and Glaeken, whom we met so long ago in THE KEEP.

Everybody has a chance to shine, with Repairman Jack being central to it all. With his series, we know what kind of problems he has faced, but they don’t even come close to what happens here, when giant holes start appearing all over the globe, and somehow, the sun is taking longer to rise while the days get shorter.

But back to those holes: Wilson shows off his influences big-time, with all sorts of creepy crawlies coming out at night. At first, it’s flying bugs, which would scare the crap out of anyone, but as the book progresses, the monsters get much bigger and scarier, such as the giant tentacled creatures — a nod to H.P. Lovecraft.

If people go into this thinking it’s all Repairman Jack, he is only part of the story — a crucial part, sure, but he’s still a supporting character. What’s a shame is that people in Jack’s world are pretty much shoved off to safety real quick, which is understandable, since he has always been one to put the two women in his life first. Certain payoffs may upset a few readers. I won’t go any further on why, but the whole horror aspect is upped.

I’m guessing one scene in particular is probably going to be written out in the revised version, since Wilson used it already in BY THE SWORD. Ditto every cultural reference, since Wilson brings up radio stations that no longer exist and stadiums that are completely gone. And Jack is very much a tourist from the early ’90s, unless people are still wearing acid-washed jeans and Hard Rock Cafe T-shirts.

On the whole, if you put all those things aside, the novel is a perfect ending to this cycle. Just don’t get ripped off by some overzealous bookseller; you can still find most of these in used bookstores. —Bruce Grossman

Buy it at Amazon.

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• AFTERSHOCK & OTHERS: 19 ODDITIES by F. Paul Wilson
• ALL THE RAGE by F. Paul Wilson
• BLOODLINE by F. Paul Wilson
• CONSPIRACIES by F. Paul Wilson
• F. PAUL WILSON’S THE KEEP by F. Paul Wilson and Matthew Smith
• GROUND ZERO by F. Paul Wilson
• HOSTS by F. Paul Wilson
• JACK: SECRET CIRCLES by F. Paul Wilson
• JACK: SECRET HISTORIES by F. Paul Wilson
• LEGACIES by F. Paul Wilson

JACK: SECRET CIRCLES, the second book in the young Repairmen Jack trilogy, picks up a month after the events of SECRET HISTORIES. And F. Paul Wilson goes full-tilt from page one. This time, Jack and his friends still go through the Pine Barrens, even though they should know better, since in the previous novel, they found a dead body that suggested a ritual-type killing and a strange box with a mysterious pyramid inside.

Here, they discover a much larger problem in the middle of the barrens: a full-size pyramid that’s a larger version of the one they found in the box. But that is only one thread going through this plot. The major one concerns a missing boy named Cody, whose bike has been found at the outset of the barrens, while he has disappeared without a trace.

How this ties into Jack’s new discovery helps lay the groundwork for what Jack will come up against later in his life. So we get Jack and his friend Weeze coming up against the strange lodge to which members of the town belong, while Jack tries to fix a problem dealing with family abuse.

Unlike the first book, the story takes place while Jack has entered high school, and his brother and sister are away at law school and med school, so CIRCLES doesn’t focus on his own family life as much. It does tie up a few loose strands, however; we again encounter the old woman and her dog that are central to the larger series, while also witnessing the powers of the Otherness via a Vietnam vet nicknamed “Weird Walt.”

People who have read the Repairman Jack series probably will figure out what Jack is most likely going to face in the final book, whereas the teenage set these books are aimed at will patiently wait the final tale before jumping into the main series. I really need to stress that this series has to be read in order, because if you don’t, you truly will be lost.

Wilson never talks down his young audience. He captures life as an odd teen perfectly, especially as we see Jack getting closer to what is probably going to be his first taste of young love. So if you know some middle schooler looking for a book that doesn’t involve some emo vampires or a school of wizards, this series is an starting point to set them off on a new set of adventures. —Bruce Grossman

Buy it at Amazon.

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• AFTERSHOCK & OTHERS: 19 ODDITIES by F. Paul Wilson
• ALL THE RAGE by F. Paul Wilson
• BLOODLINE by F. Paul Wilson
• CONSPIRACIES by F. Paul Wilson
• F. PAUL WILSON’S THE KEEP by F. Paul Wilson and Matthew Smith
• GROUND ZERO by F. Paul Wilson
• HOSTS by F. Paul Wilson
• JACK: SECRET HISTORIES by F. Paul Wilson
• LEGACIES by F. Paul Wilson

This week, it’s a mixed bag of material, all from authors I’ve covered before. We have the return of the lawyer who can do no wrong; a Gold Medal writer trying out his new set of spurs; and finally, an early adventure from a character whose series is slowly drawing to a close. Also, for those who come here for the covers, that first one is a personal favorite. I mean, hotsie-totsie!

PERRY MASON SOLVES THE CASE OF THE DARING DIVORCEE by Erle Stanley Gardner — Sometimes I wish I could go back into time to the 1970s and pick up every mystery paperback, because I just love the photo covers from that time. Perry Mason books are a mixed bag; they are so plentiful that to come across a dud is no surprise. This 1964 one is not stellar Mason by any stretch, since it’s one of those books that not only shows its age, but falters because of it.

A woman wants Mason to be her divorce attorney, but leaves his office before she even has a meeting, leaving her purse behind. Then Perry gets a strange phone call from a a fellow attorney who is to represent the husband, which throws Perry since he never accepted the woman’s case. When she never comes back for her bag, the real fun starts.

In the purse is not only a large sum of money, but a gun that has been fired twice. This leads Perry to the Las Vegas home of Adelle Hastings, to whom the bag and gun belong, but she never set foot into his office. Come to find out, she is actually the third woman to have been married to Mr. Hastings. And then we find out Adelle’s husband has been shot dead with two bullets.

Again, this is not the strongest Mason. There’s a lot of misdirection for readers, and items like answering machines are all the rage. The case itself is pretty open and shut, once more information is given out about the dead husband. Of course, it all comes down to greed and money. You’re better off looking for a better Mason title or just pick up one of Gardner’s Cool & Lam mysteries. Those never disappoint.

LONGARM AND THE BLUE NORTHER by Tabor Evans — This 1981 title is the second LONGARM book that I have ghostwritten by Harry Whittington, the king of the paperbacks, so expectations were set high, and this story does not disappoint. It’s very obvious that this could have easily been changed to a modern setting, since the bulk of the story comes off noir-like. But don’t worry, Western fans: There is plenty of horses and gunfights to keep it in that genre.

U.S. Marshal Custis Long — aka Longarm — is given an assignments his boss promises is a simple job: heading to Colorado and find out who is cutting the barbed wire that surrounds government land, and feeding their cattle on the government dime. Of course, this job is not simple once Longarm makes it to that area, especially when he is fired upon by a young woman named Mozelle Lobatos, whose family does not take too kindly to strangers. Yes, it’s a cliché, but I can deal with it.

Mozelle explains that she is a bad shot and was aiming for something else. She and Longarm head into town, where the real trouble kicks in. First, we come across a young actress named Amber, who is being attacked by the town troublemaker. Longarm takes it upon himself to be the white knight on the horse. Then, there’s the local lawman, who does not appreciate Longarm coming into town.

This being a Whittington Western, there are more problems a-brewing — namely, the actress is in a loveless marriage. I’m truly only scratching the surface of the story. Whittington peppers the book with a murder, a ROMEO AND JULIET-like subplot and an evil mastermind who wants all this land for himself. This LONGARM is literally packed with action from start to finish. It’s well worth seeking out, even if you don’t care for horse operas.

JACK: SECRET HISTORIES by F. Paul Wilson — Normally, young-adult fiction is not what you would expect in this column. Now, I’ve covered some of the YOUNG BOND adventures, and, like those, these are treats for longtime fans of the main series.

This 2008 book finds Wilson writing about the future Repairman Jack as a teen, with his whole family still intact. Fans of the series know full well that the death of Jack’s mother — which is discussed in the first book, THE TOMB — is what set him on his career. But before all that, Jack was a normal kid with some close friends. Two, to be exact, who pop up later in GROUND ZERO.

SECRET HISTORIES deals with this trio of teens discovering a dead body in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, leading them to find a mysterious box that only Jack can open. We are introduced to some supernatural characters who will become central to the Repairman Jack series, including an old woman and a Vietnam vet who might have the power to heal by touch. But it’s more about Jack as a teen, learning new skills, and reading pulps and comics.

And then there are all the great references to the time this takes place. Anyone who grew up in the 1980s is going to get a great laugh about the computers, Atari games and what was on Jack’s stereo. The main mystery is somewhat tied to the Otherness, while Jack finds out about his father’s actions in Korea and how the triads try to keep that all very secret.

This is a perfect introduction for teens. After they tackle this book and the sequel, SECRET CIRCLES, they may want to move onto the much larger series. The mystery does a fine job for its intended YA audience, but there are more than enough winks and nods to longtime fans to enjoy it, too. They will enjoy all the groundwork that Wilson lays down, knowing full well what’s to come for young Jack. —Bruce Grossman

Buy them at Amazon.

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF ERLE STANLEY GARDNER:
• BATS FLY AT DUSK by Erle Stanley Gardner
• THE BIGGER THEY COME by Erle Stanley Gardner
• THE CASE OF THE HESITANT HOSTESS by Erle Stanley Gardner
• THE CASE OF THE WAYLAID WOLF by Erle Stanley Gardner
• THE CASEBOOK OF SIDNEY ZOOM by Erle Stanley Gardner
• CROWS CAN’T COUNT by Erle Stanley Gardner
• THE DANGER ZONE AND OTHER STORIES by Erle Stanley Gardner
• FISH OR CUT BAIT by Erle Stanley Gardner
• FOOLS DIE ON FRIDAY by Erle Stanley Gardner
• GOLD COMES IN BRICKS by Erle Stanley Gardner
• PERRY MASON SOLVES THE CASE OF THE PHANTOM FORTUNE by Erle Stanley Gardner
• SOME SLIPS DON’T SHOW by Erle Stanley Gardner
• SOME WOMEN WON’T WAIT by Erle Stanley Gardner
• TRY ANYTHING ONCE by Erle Stanley Gardner

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF HARRY WHITTINGTON:
• THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. #2: THE DOOMSDAY AFFAIR by Harry Whittington
• TO FIND CORA / LIKE MINK LIKE MURDER / BODY AND PASSION by Harry Whittington
• YOU’LL DIE NEXT! by Harry Whittington

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF F. PAUL WILSON:
• AFTERSHOCK & OTHERS: 19 ODDITIES by F. Paul Wilson
• ALL THE RAGE by F. Paul Wilson
• BLOODLINE by F. Paul Wilson
• CONSPIRACIES by F. Paul Wilson
• F. PAUL WILSON’S THE KEEP by F. Paul Wilson and Matthew Smith
• GROUND ZERO by F. Paul Wilson
• HOSTS by F. Paul Wilson
• LEGACIES by F. Paul Wilson

1. PARIAH by Dave Zeltserman — Taking the top spot for the second year in a row is Zeltserman, in the follow-up to last year’s SMALL CRIMES. To say this surpassed that is an understatement. It’s a great ride from a writer who is truly becoming the crime voice of Boston. Screw you, Lehane.

2. RICHARD STARK’S PARKER: THE HUNTER by Darwyn Cooke — The graphic novel of the decade. What this book does is what film directors have been screwing up for years: adapting Richard Stark/Donald E. Westlake to perfection. A must-have for any crime fan.

3. SANCTIFIED AND CHICKEN-FRIED: THE PORTABLE LANSDALE by Joe R. Lansdale — A great collection of Lansdale’s short stories focusing on his Texas roots. This is not only a great introduction to the man’s work, but also has some of his best pieces, including cult favorite “Bubba Ho-Tep.”

4. FIFTY GRAND by Adrian McKinty — A fantastic page turner from early this year that might have slipped by many readers out there. Don’t let this novel pass you by; once it grabs the reader, it doesn’t let go until the brutal finish.

5. DON’T CALL ME A CROOK!: A SCOTSMAN’S TALE OF WORLD TRAVEL, WHISKEY, AND CRIME by Bob Moore — One of the best pieces of nonfiction that I got to cover this year. You would swear that it reads like some long-ago pulp, but it’s all true.

6. THE COLDEST MILE by Tom Piccirilli — The sequel to THE COLD SPOT picks right up where the previous book ended. Again, this is like a mirror universe for fans of Richard Stark’s Parker series.

7. LOSERS LIVE LONGER by Russell Atwood — The first of the two Hard Case Crime titles to make my top 10 this year is a top-notch detective story with, sadly, my least favorite Robert McGinnis cover.

8. LAST DAYS by Brian Evenson — The best book that had a cult of amputees. This is truly the find of the year.

9. HONEY IN HIS MOUTH by Lester Dent — The second Hard Case book on this list and the one that truly blew away all my expectations. The man who gave the world Doc Savage was only scratching the surface of his writing powers, as this lost novel proved.

10. ALL THE DEAD VOICES by Declan Hughes — Feel-good reading for those who think BOYS DON’T CRY is light entertainment. Burke is the second coming of Ross Macdonald.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Richard Stark reissues – Six more books came out from the University of Chicago Press, and hopefully that the rest will make it out sooner than later.

GROUND ZERO by F. Paul Wilson — Repairman Jack’s world is getting closer to the endgame, and this one tied up some very large loose ends.

JUMP by Tim Maleeny — Maleeny takes on his Agatha Christie persona for this solid mystery that harkens back to the days of Poirot and Marple, just with a big bang and a bigger body count.

THE LITTLE SLEEP by Paul Tremblay — Narcoleptic private eye — ’nuff said.

AND THE WORST:
AND ANOTHER THING … by Eoin Colfer — I’ve had bowel movements that were more interesting.

Next time: Back to business. —Bruce Grossman

Buy them at Amazon.

With PERSONAL EFFECTS: DARK ART and now 7TH SON: DESCENT, J.C. Hutchins is pushing the boundaries of the conventional novel. In this interview, he discusses how he got there against initial odds, and how the Internet will change — but not kill — the traditional publishing model.

BOOKGASM: While the transition of Internet serial to published book is no longer an aberration, it’s also not yet the norm. How did you make that leap, and do you expect more to do so in the near future?

HUTCHINS: You’re absolutely right; we’re seeing more and more storytellers serializing their fiction online — though by my observation, the quantity picked up by major publishers is still pretty small. Indie publishers are wisely watching the online fiction space and making far more offers to authors. This model, regardless of publisher size, is win-win: Authors bring an existing platform to publishers, and publishers benefit via sales from those dedicated fans.

To my knowledge, my experience serializing my 7TH SON cloning thriller trilogy as a podcast is unique in that I seemed to do everything wrong — and eventually, a great deal right — in getting its first book, 7TH SON: DESCENT, into print. Industry veterans, stifle your snickers: I’m about to recount the literary equivalent of WHAT NOT TO WEAR.

I spent about three years writing and editing what my fans now know as the 7TH SON trilogy … but it didn’t start out as a trilogy. Inspired by the epic scope and narrative stakes seen in my favorite novel, Stephen King’s THE STAND, I set out to write a story with cool pseudo-technologies, big ideas, big conspiracies and big action — widescreen, fate-of-the-world stuff. By the time I was done, I hadn’t written a book. I’d written a phone book. My manuscript was 1,200 pages long.

In addition to its monstrous length, the story didn’t play nice with genre classifications. It was a present-day thriller. It had sci-fi elements — human cloning and recorded human memories. There were dashes of cop procedural, a hint of horror, political thriller and zero romance. It also had seven human clone protagonists, all with similar names!

You and your readers shouldn’t be surprised to learn that when I pitched the book to around 60 agents in 2005, the thing was universally — and deservedly — rejected. I’d unwittingly sabotaged the salability of 7TH SON at every creative turn. I was horrified at my rookie mistakes. And yet, I believed the story was a good one, a fun and exciting one, and worthy of an audience.

During that year, I was introduced to podcasting — think downloadable internet radio — and discovered that a few authors were releasing their unpublished manuscripts as self-produced serialized audiobooks. I smelled an emerging trend and an opportunity to conduct an experiment. I was convinced I could never sell 7TH SON, but I could certainly share it, to ultimately see if the story had worth. I wanted to know. I wanted to know if I was nuts for writing this book.

Since there were no guarantee that folks would dig the book, I didn’t want to commit to recording the full, 1,200-page manuscript. I chopped the monstrous manuscript into thirds: Act I become 7TH SON: DESCENT, Act II became “book two,” etc. I bought a $50 microphone, got to work narrating “book one,” and posted the first episodes in early 2006.

Here’s where things got interesting: The story that was universally rejected found an audience tens of thousands strong. I certainly promoted the work, mostly by networking in the podcasting and blogging community, but the true heavy lifting hailed from my fans. They loved this book. They told their friends about it. More folks came. A community formed around the work, its characters and its author. Even now, two years after the original 7TH SON podcast novel trilogy concluded, the series generates around 100,000 episodic downloads each month.

In early 2007, I had an agent. By mid-2007, I was approached by St. Martin’s to help plot and write a “for-hire” supernatural thriller novel, PERSONAL EFFECTS: DARK ART. By fall 2007, the publisher chose to release 7TH SON: DESCENT in print. In 2008, the trilogy was optioned by Warner Bros. for film development. This year, PERSONAL EFFECTS was released in June; 7TH SON: DESCENT debuted on bookshelves a few weeks ago.

I’m convinced 7TH SON: DESCENT would not be in print now if I hadn’t told the story I wanted to tell — as genre-blurring as it is, and as long as that original manuscript was — failed miserably in 2005, and then took to the web and released it as a free audio podcast. Everything went wrong … and then I did every thing I do to make it right.

Since 7TH SON’s release, I have written and released a novella and a short story anthology in serialized audio format. I love the medium and distribution model, and my fans love me for giving them more free content. This is content that can be monetized down the road, if I wish. Well-fed fans are happy and evangelical fans.

BOOKGASM: In taking 7TH SON from podcast to page, did you have to alter any of its content? Do you think it works better in one medium over the other?

HUTCHINS: Since 7TH SON was originally written with print publication in mind, I didn’t alter much of its content for the podcast version. For instance, I removed some attribution from the recording when it was clear who was speaking, thanks to my performance. When I was editing and rewriting the novel for the print release, I took advantage of the opportunity to polish the story a bit, and add scenes and information that improved the story. The print version is a slightly different — but better — book. I’m grateful for the editorial guidance from St. Martin’s. Best of all, my fans are digging the changes, and the official “reboot” of the series.

I don’t prefer one medium over another, and believe that “porting” content written for print to audio can be an elegant, easy affair. Same goes for content written originally for audio distribution, to print format. These media play nice with each other.

I believe the truly — and positively — disruptive element is freely distributing the content online, regardless of medium. Giving away excerpts — or full novels, as I do — benefits authors, publishers, consumers and retailers. Authors using savvy promotion and free, “loss-leader” content attract consumers, which builds platforms and fans for life. Publishers benefit from having authors with these platforms, as their work already has a built-in base of buyers. It’s good business.

Consumers win because they can — much like sitting down in a comfy chair at a Barnes & Noble and reading any book there for free — experience the story at zero cost and risk. Via podcast or direct download, the bookstore conveniently comes to them, and they are empowered to make an informed purchasing decision. Finally, retailers benefit because these informed fans are striding into bookstores with purpose: to buy that specific novel. Once these shoppers are inside, they’re inclined to browse and — God willing — buy more great fiction from other authors.

I’ve received skeptical pushback on my belief in this model. I can live with that. All I know is that we wouldn’t be having this conversation had I not released my stories online for free.

Further, aside from years of anecdotal evidence from peers, I’ve seen a tangible relationship between book sales and my online promotions and free content. I reckon I’m moving more books than newcomer authors who have not embraced these strategies. This keeps my publisher happy.

BOOKGASM: Are there stories that should be told only online, rather than in print, or is the medium insignificant?

HUTCHINS: That’s a bit like asking if a novel should be presented only in print form, and not on a Kindle e-reader. The core content can be absolutely identical, yet presented in different media or distributed in different ways. Its effectiveness as a story doesn’t hinge on its presentation as much as how consumers react to that presentation. Those reactions can be as unique as the consumers themselves.

Will all of these consumers of the free content purchase a book? No. But this distribution ensures exposure to consumers who wouldn’t have otherwise heard of it, or its author. Some of these readers will purchase a book. Those are more sales than would have otherwise been generated. It’s found money.

However, there are absolutely ways to tell stories that leverage the strengths of these disparate media. A story that is written specifically for online consumption can use hyperlinks, and other Web-based technologies to create emotionally resonant narrative experiences. Porting these online-exclusive tales to other media, such as print, is probably a challenging, messy affair.

I look forward to diving deeper into this emerging form of online-only fiction. The current problem with it seems to be monetization. However, building fiction that can be experienced on an iPhone — combining not only the strengths of text, images, phone, online access … and even the device’s accelerometer — is easily monetizable. I have big ideas for that. All I need is capital.

BOOKGASM: In your opinion, will tomorrow’s publishing world be entirely digital, or will a happy balance be struck between the virtual and the physical?

HUTCHINS: The impending doom of the printed book is a myth embraced by pie-in-the-sky futurists and hand-wringing, overprotective traditionalists. Those guys need to take a chill pill, and understand that while digital formats will increase in market share in years to come, printed books will always be a part of our culture.

Do I believe e-readers will become nigh-ubiquitous? Sure, in about 50 years, maybe more. Even I — as a Kool-Aid-guzzling Kindle fanboy — love the tangibility of printed books, and more important, understand that most readers currently prefer that format. Much like browsing in a bookstore, printed books are a part our cultural experience. That will never, ever go away.

But much like the music industry in the 1990s, we’ll soon face a tidal shift in how generations prefer to experience their content. Children will come up in an era where e-readers are a normal part of the book-reading experience. This familiarity will dictate how they purchase their books. Meanwhile, folks who came up in the “print-only” era will — I hate to be morbid here — literally die, or alter their consumption habits.

Where does this leave authors? In theory, fat and happy. The need for novels — or other text-based entertainment — and literacy will not change. What will change is how the content is obtained and in what format it’s consumed. Where does this leave publishers? Again, in theory, fat and happy: the e-book market represents a new, robust revenue stream. As long as there are authors to publish and money to be made, publishers will survive if they embrace the emerging models.

But there are two links in the publishing chain that will feel the pinch.

Brick-and-mortar retailers — especially the big chains with their large stores — will be forced to evolve. Perhaps they’ll release branded e-book revenue streams, as B&N is doing with the Nook, to compensate for lower print book sales. Perhaps not. Regardless, I suspect stores will shrink in size. There will be fewer books in-store. Fewer employees. Less overhead. I envision progressive chains eventually embracing a more intimate shopping experience, in which in-store, print-on-demand machines can compensate for any “not-on-the-shelf” issues. These corporate-owned or franchised smaller stores can emulate the indie store experience, embrace hyperlocal or specialized indie sensibilities, and run off unstocked books when someone asks for one.

But it’s publishing’s complex distribution machine that I fear will suffer the most. This is the behind-the-curtain stuff that readers and many authors never think about. It’s why I empathize with publishers, and why I suspect so many of them fear committing to the notion that e-readers will eventually have deep market penetration. These publishers have decades-long relationships with a great many business, each representing an important and costly cog in a mammoth machine that begins with the chopping of trees and the acquisition of paper and ink, and eventually ends with the truck-based delivery of books to stores. Nearly every aspect of this complex system is eliminated when you wirelessly download a book to a portable device.

I’ve been thinking long and hard about these relationships, and how both publishers and brick-and-mortar retailers are beholden to them, both ethically and contractually. Those relationships must change, and the businesses that support the complex distribution system must change, too. It will likely be very painful.

Will people be reading, loving and collecting print books 50 years from now? Certainly. But far more consumers will be reading their books on electronic devices. I believe that writing’s on the wall. Companies that ignore that do so at their peril.

BOOKGASM: More books these days also seem to play around with multimedia aspects, such as your PERSONAL EFFECTS: DARK ART. Is this strictly a gimmick to attract new young readers who are Internet-savvy, or do you believe such methods can be used to fortify a story?

HUTCHINS: I can’t speak for the creators of other “transmedia” novels, and I can’t speak authoritatively about their content — I haven’t read them. I can share the philosophical intent behind PERSONAL EFFECTS: DARK ART.

While it’s reasonable to judge the “out-of-book” experience that accompanies PERSONAL EFFECTS — from tangible, authentic-looking items that come with the book to narrative-enhancing websites and other media — as a gimmick, it’s not an entirely fair judgment. Series creator Jordan Weisman and I were resolute in our commitment that these beyond-the-book experiences served the story, and whenever possible, delivered content that was as emotionally resonant as the fiction on the pages. The plot of the book was built with this in mind, and we quested to make those transmedia appearances within the novel as organic as possible.

While traditionalists may see this form of storytelling to be a gimmick — and trust me, it’s totally cool to be a traditionalist when it comes to how you experience your fiction; a reader’s comfort is paramount to me — I believe we’re often inclined to associate “different” with “gimmick.” It’s simply another way to tell stories. The fact that most of the narrative is sandwiched between a book cover causes the incongruity.

This is why I was so careful when I wrote PERSONAL EFFECTS: Dark Art. I made sure the audience could read the story from cover to cover, never touch the additional items or fire up Internet Explorer, and experience a complete — and hopefully satisfying — narrative. Unlike other transmedia novels that I’ve read about, PERSONAL EFFECTS’ reading experience was never held hostage by the extra stuff. Readers are empowered to opt-in to the “out-of-book” experience, and go as deeply as they wish to go. Alternately, they could ignore it outright, which I know some of them did.

I do believe we’ll see more of this media-blurring fiction in the upcoming years. The most successful projects will be the ones that respect a reader’s comfort level, and provide a satisfying story within the pages of the printed book. It’s a groundbreaking way to tell stories, and another emerging trend.

BOOKGASM: What’s in the pipeline for you?

HUTCHINS: Next month, I’ll wrap up the podcast “print edition” release of 7TH SON: DESCENT, and will begin recording the free serialized podcast edition of PERSONAL EFFECTS: DARK ART As that novel is being released in 2010, I’ll work on a free podcast audio series called THE 33, polish several movie treatments for my film agent, and then get cooking on two novels.

Here’s also hoping 7TH SON: DESCENT will be a sales success, and St. Martin’s will pick up its sequels for publication. I hope to be doing some editing and rewriting next year, as well. Cross your fingers for me! —Rod Lott

Buy it at Amazon.

OTHER RECENT BOOKGASM AUTHOR INTERVIEWS:
• Q&A with ARCHENEMY’s Frank Beddor
• Q&A with Asylum Press’ Frank Forte
• Q&A with TIME OF THE RANGERS’ Mike Cox

Photo credit: J.R. Blackwell

Just in time for Halloween, I give you some last-minute costume ideas, all of which can be probably done with stuff you already have in your closet. Most people will just think you came in your street clothes. But again, since this is the Halloween column, we do have to have a book with a monster or two in it.

CONSPIRACIES by F. Paul Wilson — Do you have some jeans and a nondescript T-shirt and maybe a baseball cap? If so, you can go as none other than Repairman Jack. (Hey, folks, I said these ideas were cheap!) It’s really funny to read an earlier book in this series since I’ve reviewed later ones, so I know where Jack will end up; also, you see major seeds being sown. This 2000 one is actually the third of the series, and the one where everything really starts to be mapped out for Jack and the overarching storyline.

Jack is hired by a man named Lew, whose wife has gone missing. Lew has been contacted by his spouse in a strange way: through his TV. Jack is not one to take a job like this, but Lew is insistent, especially when he explains that his wife is part of the tinfoil-hat brigade and was set to give a keynote speech at a big convention of the paranoid conspiracy nuts. From the outset, Jack is just a bit freaked out by this bunch, especially the head of the group who has some bizarre, monkey-like pet that seems to be able to communicate with his master.

The novel really sets the long story arc into effect, since Jack learns all about the Otherness and the weird occurrences that it might be connected with. There is a bit of a subplot, with Jack dealing with an abusive husband, just to keep the story in reality, since the main focus gets “out there.” For new readers, it’s easy to follow, but you still might want to read THE TOMB first.

THE DESTROYER #33: VOODOO DIE by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir — You just need a pair of chinos or khakis, a pair of black shoes and a simple black T-shirt, and voila! You’re Remo Williams! If you want to go the pricey route, find a kimono and go as Chiun.

Another entry in the long-running and sadly missed DESTROYER series, this 1978 entry finds our intrepid heroes go down to a banana republic to destroy a deadly machine that uses a plentiful drug called “mug” to turn men into puddles of goo. The story is filled with plenty of that humor you come to expect from this series, especially when Remo and Chiun are constantly attacked by other agents after this machine, all the while Chiun is trying to watch his precious soaps.

This novel is where a certain nails-on-the-chalkboard character is introduced: one Ruby Gonzalez. Just imagine Rosie Perez times 100, and it still does not hit how annoying she was. Thankfully, she was short-lived. Back to the story at hand, where President Carter very reluctantly employs Remo to take care of not only disposing of the deadly machine, but also to take out the leader El Presidente Corazon, who seems to be every stereotype of a lunatic generalissimo type, to the point he tests out the weapon on anyone in his sight who might be against him, including sleeping soldiers.

It’s a light read that flies by with plenty of action pieces to keep readers wanting more. The only slight problem is the use of zombies at the end, which seems a bit tacked-on. Still, zombies make everything better —  just ask Marvel Comics.

DOC SAVAGE: THE MYSTIC MULLAH by Kenneth Robeson — Dig through the closet and find a bunch of old Banana Republic gear. A safari suit would be perfect — if ripped, even better. Then you can head out as Doc Savage. For those who want to go full-force, a bit of bronzer would help.

Finishing out this column of Halloween is none other than my favorite pulp hero: Doc Savage. This 1935 book could easily fit into the category of my first pulp. It’s a great introduction to not only the pulp world, but the whole Doc Savage output. It really has so much going for it throughout the whole story, which deals with a ghost-like character named Mullah. He is a giant face that appears in the air, scaring the crap out anyone who comes in contact with it.

Of course, we all know there are no such things as ghosts, so Doc is determined to figure out who is behind it all. Kenneth Roberson — aka Lester Dent — gives a list of suspects that could easily be the brains behind the whole operation. (Parts of the Mullah idea were hijacked for that way too cheesy DOC SAVAGE: THE MAN OF BRONZE movie — namely, the cartoon-like snakes that appear out of smoke.)

This would not be a full-on pulp adventure without a hidden city, and there is a beauty in this one: a walled city called Tanan that is near Tibet and populated by men who still think it’s the Middle Ages, what with all the swords and dead bodies laying about. The latter are used as deterrents so everyone will follow the Mullah’s rule.

All of Doc’s men appear in this adventure, but like most of the other books, Monk and Ham are the two who take center stage throughout the story with Doc. Now, Doc is not yet the superhero-like figure that Dent would make him later on. People get hurt in big ways and the action is par for the course. The story just shows why Doc is still re-read to this day. Sure, some portions might be dated, but there is one thing guaranteed reading a Doc Savage book: You get your money’s worth.

Next time: Wait, I thought they only put out romances. —Bruce Grossman

Buy them at Amazon.

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF LESTER DENT:
• DOC SAVAGE: FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE / THE DEVIL GENGHIS by Kenneth Robeson
• DOC SAVAGE #10: THE PHANTOM CITY by Kenneth Robeson
• DOC SAVAGE #19: PIRATE OF THE PACIFIC by Kenneth Robeson
• DOC SAVAGE: THE CZAR OF FEAR by Kenneth Robeson
• DOC SAVAGE: THE SPOOK LEGION by Kenneth Robeson
• HONEY IN HIS MOUTH by Lester Dent

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 #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 #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 #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

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF F. PAUL WILSON:
• AFTERSHOCK & OTHERS: 19 ODDITIES by F. Paul Wilson
• ALL THE RAGE by F. Paul Wilson
• BLOODLINE by F. Paul Wilson
• F. PAUL WILSON’S THE KEEP by F. Paul Wilson and Matthew Smith
• GROUND ZERO by F. Paul Wilson
• HOSTS by F. Paul Wilson
• LEGACIES by F. Paul Wilson

This column features a few books that have either been on my never-ending “to be read” pile, or, like the first entry, that I’ve been going through slowly. The one problem — if that is what you could call it — is with regular reviews and this column, some titles I want to read fall by the wayside for too long, so think of this week’s column as a sort of clearinghouse. No real theme — just some books that should have been read already. Sorry, I’m not Burgess Meredith in THE TWILIGHT ZONE (but I also don’t need glasses).

THE BEST OF THE SAINT: VOLUME ONE by Leslie Charteris — For those looking for a book to fill their time on long flights, here it is. This 2008 anthology, just shy of 800 pages, is a monster read. This is not a collection you could tear through on a leisurely afternoon, that’s for sure. And who would want to? These stories are all placed squarely in the 1930s, so longtime fans won’t have to deal with any of the wartime Saint stories.

What you get is Simon Templar showing off just how clever he is, all the while making the authorities look like the Keystone Kops. For collectors of the original novels, there is a bit of “buyer beware” here: Sure, it’s nice to have all these stories in one collection, but like the first three were actually a book by themselves, called ENTER THE SAINT; other stories have been cherry-picked from other titles, so you better make sure you don’t already have them.

The collection starts out with a great foreword by Ken Follett, who shows his love for and lavishes tons of praise on the books and stories that he read growing up. Onto the stories themselves: “The Man Who Was Clever” is where Templar shows off that he is not just some criminal, but a crimefighter going up against a drug smuggler. This is followed by a direct sequel of sorts in “The Policeman with Wings,” which deals with stolen diamonds and kidnappings. “The Inland Revenue” is a story that clears up a few loose threads, in that we are told that The Saint has been retired for a while, until trouble comes a-, all due to a book he wrote and a blackmailer named The Scorpion.

Also included is “The Simon Templar Foundation,” which actually has a lot to do with one of the books in the series, KNIGHTS TEMPLAR aka THE AVENGING SAINT. The story deals with a certain black book that details the exploits of wartime profiteering. “The Art of the Alibi” finds Templar going up against Simon Templar, or should I say, someone impersonating him. “The Affair of Hogsbotham” finds The Saint dealing with a man who thinks society needs to be more chaste.

I literally could go on and on, but I’ll close it out with “The Star Producers,” which deals with a deceitful acting school. To be fair, some of the tales show their age, but they are a treat to read, no matter how long it might take you — for me, about four months. From what I understand, VOLUME TWO is not as strong.

THE SAVAGE TALES OF SOLOMON KANE by Robert E. Howard — Best known for his creation of Conan, Howard came up with a few other heroes in his 12 years of writing, like a swashbuckling Puritan who fights the good fight against demonic creatures in Africa. One thing can be said about it all: They’re fantastic pulp adventures.

This 1998 book gathers all the stories and fragments that comprise the Solomon Kane output. He’s a man on a mission who is so set in his beliefs, no one is going to stop him, be it African warriors or some strange humanoids. The centerpiece and longest of the stories is “The Moon of Skulls,” where Kane is on a mission to save a kidnapped girl and comes face to face with an African tribe in a glorious lost city, which makes all of Errol Flynn’s swordplay look like two kids hitting each other with fungo bats.

Most of the truly great Kane stories are set in Africa, like “The Hills of the Dead,” where Kane faces zombies, or better yet, “Wings in the Night,” which has Kane fight bat-like humans in a lost part of the continent. Earlier on, you are treated to “Red Shadows,” where Kane tracks down a bandit to Africa, with a nice mix of magic and swordplay.

Other stories take place in Europe, like “Skulls in the Stairs” and “Rattle of Bones.” Before I forget, I really need to bring up the fantastic artwork of Gary Gianni. His renditions of Kane are top-notch. I just wish they let him do all the artwork for all these reprints, since his style is pitch-perfect.

For those who want more Kane adventures after reading this anthology, might I suggest the terrific companion piece put out by Dark Horse Comics called THE SAGA OF SOLOMON KANE, which is every Marvel magazine appearance of the character. Those comics used a bulk of the original Howard stories as jumping-off places.

KULL: EXILE OF ATLANTIS by Robert E. Howard — This 2006 collection is ground zero for American sword-and-sorcery literature. Howard not only created a new character, but a completely new genre that still survives to this day. Not being familiar with the Kull stories, I went into this book somewhat blind. I knew that Kull was Howard’s first creation, and that one of his stories was later reworked into the first Conan tale, and that’s it.

Del Rey outdid itself with this one, as with all the other Howard anthologies it has put out. My one problem is that the last three they have collected have serious carryover for anyone who has the others. But let’s get down to the Kull stories themselves.

“Exile of Atlantis” — aka “Untitled Story #1″ — tells of Kull’s banishment from Atlantis after he commits a crime, while “The Shadow Kingdom” is more of an action tale that Howard would excel at throughout his career. The Picts — anyone who has read any Conan knows they are usually the enemies — are actually Kull’s allies in these tales. They help him hunt down the serpent men who have sworn to kill Kull. This is full-on action, with countless scenes of beheadings and killings — just pure awesomeness!

It’s in the later stories Howard gets a bit philosophical, especially after the events of “The Mirror of Tuzun Thune,” which deals with Kull becoming fascinated by a wizard and his room of mirrors, not knowing the whole time it was all a plot to kill him. “By This Axe, I Rule” was heavily reworked into the first Conan story, “The Phoenix on the Sword.” The two don’t share a lot. The Kull plot deals with an assassination attempt on Kull and his burden as king, having to deal with ancient laws and traditions.

Not all Kull stories actually feature Kull. Take “The Altar and the Scorpion,” where he is only mentioned. “Kings of the Night” is actually a Bran Mak Morn story, in which Kull has a glorified cameo. The story drags under its own prose, since most of it deals with Morn detailing the army he is putting together.

The collection has a nice chunk of fragments included, with earlier drafts of select stories. The last piece, “Atlantean Genesis” by Patrice Louinet, is a complete history of Howard’s creation of Kull and his attempts of getting it published. It’s a terrific essay about one of Howard’s lesser-known creations.

Next time: Django! —Bruce Grossman

Buy them at Amazon.

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF LESLIE CHARTERIS:
• THE SAINT IN THE SUN by Leslie Charteris
• THE SAINT ON THE SPANISH MAIN by Leslie Charteris

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF ROBERT E. HOWARD:
• ALMURIC by Robert E. Howard
• THE BEST OF ROBERT E. HOWARD, VOLUME 2: GRIM LANDS by Robert E. Howard
• BLOOD & THUNDER: THE LIFE & ART OF ROBERT E. HOWARD by Mark Finn
• BOXING STORIES by Robert E. Howard
• THE COMPLETE ACTION STORIES by Robert E. Howard
• LORD OF SAMARCAND AND OTHER ADVENTURE TALES OF THE OLD ORIENT by Robert E. Howard

What’s the deal with Florida being ground zero for crime fiction? James Swain’s THE NIGHT MONSTER only enforces the idea that there are parts of the Sunshine State comprised of people creepier than carnies.

Jack Carpenter is an abduction specialist, meaning he is the go-to person when someone might have been kidnapped or a child goes missing. We witness his abilities throughout the novel, in quick asides to the major plot. The story starts early in Jack’s career, when he was rookie cop, called upon a domestic disturbance between a young woman and a man who jumped her. The problem is the culprit is no ordinary man, but what seems like a giant made of solid muscle, laying Jack out and taking the woman with no problem. Flash forward to the here and now, and Jack is about to come face to face with this kidnapper again.

In the modern day, Jack is watching his daughter’s college basketball game when he’s told about a creepy stalker type who has been filming the matches, planting attention on certain girls. When Jack confronts the stalker with the camera, the man has an ace up his sleeve. It’s then that Jack’s past comes at him like a freight train, knocking him out like he were a fly. This is only the start of a page-turning read, especially when, later that evening, Sara Long is taken by force from the motel where the team was staying.

THE NIGHT MONSTER is one of those books that does a great job of balancing the thriller aspect with the continuous storyline of the series. I had no idea this was actually the third book of a series; Swain does a fine job of not losing newcomers with information that only readers of the previous books can draw upon. Certain things are hinted at — namely, that Carpenter left the police force under a dark cloud — but nothing is made of it. In other words, readers can go back to those previous novels and find out for themselves, which is a pleasure. We are given just enough information to get a clear picture of Jack and the type of man he is.

Here, Swain has come up with a very elaborate story, in which readers find out that not only are these cases connected, but there are others. It’s all up to Jack to put the pieces together. It’s the type of plot where you might be able to figure out certain aspects, but never the full picture, until you are literally so deep into reading it, you want to see how it’s going to end.

It would have been really easy for Swain to take cheap outs or go for those clichés that permeate a good portion of today’s thrillers. The writing is the reason the story stands out so well. Sure, there are your moments of minor disbelief, but when they happen, it’s so late in the book, you won’t mind. THE NIGHT MONSTER is both terrifying and a thrill riddle that will keep you wanting more once it ends. —Bruce Grossman

Buy it at Amazon.

I have some good news and bad news for Repairman Jack fans out there. First, the bad news: In the introduction to the Gauntlet Press edition of GROUND ZERO, author F. Paul Wilson states there are only two more Repairman Jack books coming, with it all culminating in the long-promised, revised and reissued version of NIGHTWORLD.

As with the novels that have followed HARBINGERS, these stories are no longer self-contained, but telling a much larger tale while putting Jack through yet another adventure. This latest is definitely one for his longtime fans, since Wilson ties up a few loose ends while also laying the ground work of what is to come. It shares some of the ideas from the earlier CONSPIRACIES, since the major plot touches on the events of 9/11, and their connection to “the otherness.”

Using 9/11 is a touchy subject and a bold choice for Wilson to infuse into his mythology, but it fits the story well. However, it is a small part of the story after a quick fast-forward to the current year, where Jack’s past is about to make an unexpected appearance in a huge way.

Two of his childhood friends need his help desperately. A woman has been hit by a car and left a message for her brother, that if anything should happen to her, to look for “our Jack.” The brother is not sure what to make of it, and even when he contacts Jack, he is under the belief Jack is some appliance mechanic.

It’s not until they come face to face that it all comes rushing back to Jack of who this man is: Eddie, one of his best friends from his youth. Eddie’s sister, Weezy, has gone missing and needs Jack’s help. It does not take long for Jack to figure out where Weezy is. Jack also discovers she has become a 9/11 truther, as well as someone who knows about The Secret History.

From this point on, the book really delves into the mythology of the series, with characters from BLOODLINE and BY THE SWORD making appearances in subtle ways. We see the progress of a certain pregnant girl and her benefactor, while a member of the kicker movement plays a very vital role.

Not only has Weezy stumbled upon a real conspiracy, but all traces of it have been quietly erased. While plenty of action takes place, it’s balanced out by the larger story that slowly builds, especially when it goes all the way back to Jack’s youth and the people who populated his neighborhood. Some major questions are answered for longtime fans, mainly dealing with appearance of a certain woman who always seems to pop back into his life, while a certain enemy has not only started the beginning of the end, with the Twin Towers integral to his grand scheme.

Minus the opening page, the whole of the story is told over a week’s time. GROUND ZERO is not only packed with action and revelations, but told so well that fans will want the next two books now. Wilson has really started pulling out all the stops now for this series, with one portion — be it very brief — setting the record straight on something I’ve suspected: that Wilson himself is a fan of John D, MacDonald and the Travis McGee series. Jack himself states that he is just like McGee in some ways with his clients, with the big difference that McGee’s clients are way more eloquent. It gave this reviewer a nice little chuckle.

Wilson’s writing has never been sharper, with the story really focused on the main problem at hand, all leading to a climax where even Jack seems to be powerless with what he has to face. It’s truly going to make his fans giddy. In other words, this book is not the one to start with, folks — not even close. It’d be like starting to watch LOST on season four. —Bruce Grossman

Buy it at Gauntlet Press.

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• AFTERSHOCK & OTHERS: 19 ODDITIES by F. Paul Wilson
• ALL THE RAGE by F. Paul Wilson
• BLOODLINE by F. Paul Wilson
• F. PAUL WILSON’S THE KEEP by F. Paul Wilson and Matthew Smith
• HOSTS by F. Paul Wilson
• LEGACIES by F. Paul Wilson

Vampire hunter Laura Caxton is back again! That’s right: David Wellington, one of the brighter lights on the horror fiction scene these days, has brought back the seasoned police detective and vampire slayer from his previous three novels (13 BULLETS, 99 COFFINS, and VAMPIRE ZERO) for a fourth go-round in 23 HOURS. But there are plenty of new challenges for Caxton, and plenty of breakneck action to please fans of Wellington’s previous works.

We find Caxton inside the Marcy State Correctional Institution as the novel begins, having been arrested and tried for the kidnapping and torture of an informant from a previous case. A former cop is a potential target for hardcore inmates, and before the end of page 3, Caxton is the center of a cafeteria riot and brought before a hardened inmate who wants to make Caxton her slave.

But Caxton still has her fighting skills, and manages to break free. When order is restored, the sadistic prison warden confines Caxton to the Secure Housing Unit, an area where inmates are stripped of all rights and privacy. Meanwhile, Caxton’s former fellow officers — including her police photographer girlfriend, Clara Hsu — are investigating the scene of recent murders by vampires. Clara and the other officers know they need Caxton’s help, but are at a loss to figure out how she could guide them from prison. Against the warning of her superior, Clara visits Caxton at Marcy State and tries to brief her on the latest series of vampire attacks.

Not long after the visit, Caxton senses something is terribly wrong inside the prison. And her fears are confirmed as she discovers that her nemesis, Justinia Malvern — the world’s oldest living vampire — has infiltrated the penitentiary. In short order, prison orderlies are made into “half-deads,” indentured servants existing in withering corpses. The warden, in fact, assisted Malvern’s invasion of the prison when the elder vampire promised the terminally ill man eternal life as one of her brood.

But what’s worse, Caxton learns that Clara never left the prison grounds, and is being held hostage by Malvern and the warden. And Caxton is told that she has 23 hours to surrender to Malvern, or Clara will be killed.
 
Wellington knows that pacing is essential to a story like this, and he deliver the goods. The action and various confrontations are nonstop and enhanced with all the requisite violence and suspense needed to keep the pages turning. Indeed, 23 HOURS feels like a classic piece of pulp fiction. But amazingly, Wellington never insults his readers’ intelligence with outrageous plot twists or coincidences. Then, when we think we know how things will be resolved, Wellington fools our expectations with an ending that not only works, but leaves us wanting more.

Newcomers to Wellington or his vampire hunter series won’t be seriously disadvantaged if they decide to start with this latest entry. There is enough background provided to fill in new reader without slowing things down. But you’ll want to immediately grab hold of the preceding novels to find out how Caxton and Malvern got to this point.

For the initiates, it’s simply enough to say, again, that Caxton is back. —Alan Cranis

Buy it at Amazon.

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• MONSTER ISLAND by David Wellington

Forensic pathologist Jonathan Hayes’ debut novel PRECIOUS BLOOD is now available in a mass-market paperback edition. And generally speaking, it’s worth a read.
 
New York medical examiner Edward Jenner never fully recovered from the emotional trauma of the “ground zero” rescues immediately following the 9/11 attacks, so he lives in a self-imposed retirement — that is, until a friend hires him to examine the crime scene and body of a murdered young woman in the East Village. The girl’s body is found nailed upside down to a wall of her apartment. But Ana, the murdered girl’s roommate, escaped from the scene before the killer could find her. Before long, she appears at Jenner’s door, frightened and desperate for help.
 

Just as he gets used to this intrusion on his solitary life, another young woman is found murdered. The method seems different, but upon closer examination, Jenner spots first one, then other similar markings on the bodies of both victims. That’s when he convinces the police investigators he’s working with that a serial killer is loose in the city. Jenner continues to explore the forensic clues found on the bodies and slowly pieces together how the killer chooses his victims and the ritual behind his murders.
 
Hayes doesn’t break much new ground in this forensic-based mystery. Where he shows real inventiveness, however, is in the motive and methodology of the killer and the murderer’s backstory formulation as well.
 
Unfortunately, he doesn’t devote as much revealing detail to his protagonist. Hayes hit upon a good idea when he first presents Jenner as a burnt-out case. But he fails to follow through with this trait, with Jenner acting only slightly hesitant during the initial examination. But once the similarities between the killings are discovered, his reluctance is completely forgotten. Some recurring doubt about his ability would have added some depth to his character. But perhaps owing to this being his first novel, Hayes is more interested in the plot than the characters.
 
On the other hand, Hayes’ prose is unchallenging and engaging enough to keep most of the 434 pages turning swiftly. This is especially helpful when he piles on the various anatomical and related forensic details he’s picked up from firsthand experience.
 
PRECIOUS BLOOD has more earnest talent and effort going for it than many similar stories in the currently crowded forensic detection field. So let’s hope Hayes takes the time to observe and record more about the living, breathing bodies — as well as the dead ones — in his next work. —Alan Cranis

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Preview it online.

One of the newest names in adventure thrillers is David Angsten, but we at BOOKGASM think his profile is too low for such a high talent. In DARK GOLD and now the new NIGHT OF THE FURIES, he’s already carved a noticeable chunk into the pop-lit landscape. Here, he discusses the genesis and inspiration of his mythic tales of travel and terror.

BOOKGASM: Legends figure heavily into your work, from urban to mythological. What is it about these that you find so alluring as a writer?

ANGSTEN: These myths are strange and mysterious, but also feel somehow familiar and true. There’s something at the core of them you recognize intuitively, but can’t quite put your finger on. The story circles this hidden center, mesmerizing you, but the essence, the truth, remains transcendent and invisible. You could give it a name, but it would only be a word, like the story, like the finger pointing at the moon. Looking for the inner truth of a myth is like looking for the inner essence of a diamond: You only catch it in flashes of insight.

BOOKGASM: Your plots are high-concept, yet your skill level in writing sits on a much higher plane of intelligence. Who do you consider your audience to be? Someone looking for a cheap thrill? A smart adventure? A little of both?

ANGSTEN: If a thrill is cheap, it’s usually too skimpy to be genuinely thrilling. And if an adventure isn’t smart, it’s dumb. I never understood why there had to be this choice between “literary” vs. “genre.” It’s a dichotomy foisted on a gullible public by snooty academics and newspaper critics, many of them frustrated writers. Too many authors of “literary” fiction cannot tell a story, and too many genre writers lack any artistic sense. The literary writer says she can’t be bothered with something as mundane as a plot, and the genre writer insists nothing matters but his story. There’s good reason for each to make excuses: It’s difficult to construct a proper story, and it’s equally difficult to write it well. I think you have to try to do both.

Look at the original “novel”: Homer’s ODYSSEY. Great action-adventure story, thrillingly plotted, and all told with beautifully poetic imagery and language. Shakespeare, same thing. He loved the cries for blood from the crowd, and the hearty guffaws from the groundlings, but he also liked the soft gasp of pleasure from the queen.

BOOKGASM: With novels set in Mexico and now Greece, I have to ask if you an adventurer/traveler yourself?

ANGSTEN: When I was a kid, every spring my father used to drive us up to go fishing in the wilderness of Canada. We’d travel as far north as the roads would take us. Then the mosquitoes would pick us up and carry us even farther. In college, I climbed the peak of the Grand Teton, and I hitchhiked back roads through France and Spain. I’ve scuba dived in the Caribbean and off the Pacific Coast, and for a while, I shot documentaries in various parts of the world. But in no way would I consider myself in the league of adventurers like Jack and Dan Duran. Jack is my alter ego, and Dan is my wandering shadow. They go places and take risks I would never dare myself.

So I’m no bullfighting Ernest Hemingway, but I’m not a housebound Emily Dickinson, either — though she certainly wrote incredible poetry. James Michener — no slouch when it came to traveling — said the really great writers were the ones like Emily Brontë who sit in a room and write “out of their limited experience and unlimited imagination.” The work of the two Emilys proves that talent trumps travel. 



BOOKGASM: Any particular authors or thrillers that inform or inspire your work?


ANGSTEN: The authors that inspire me are the ones I read as a kid: Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker, H.G. Wells, Ambrose Bierce. I think the thing they all have in common is a fascination with consciousness and the nature of “reality.” Nabokov — my favorite writer as an adult — said “reality” is one of the few words that mean nothing without quotes.

BOOKGASM: What can we expect from the third book of the trilogy? And beyond that?

ANGSTEN: Jack is heading east into Asia. His brother has disappeared again — searching for soma, the psychoactive plant that inspired the Sanskrit Vedas of ancient India, the oldest sacred texts in the world. It leads the brothers — and a character from their past — to the source of the legend of Shambhala, the utopian kingdom of Tibetan Buddhism.

In NIGHT OF THE FURIES, Jack confronts the extreme of the Dionysian — the chaos of absolute freedom. In the final part of the trilogy, SHADOWS OF SHAMBHALA, he faces the opposite end of the spectrum — the Apollonian impulse toward conformity and order — in the form of Islamofascists. Struggling between these two opposites, Jack will reach for some sort of synthesis, and hopefully bring the trilogy to a thrilling and elegant end.

What’s beyond that lies off the map for the moment. I’ll have to head out there on my next fishing trip. As the boat captain warned in DARK GOLD, “There be dragons.” —Rod Lott

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OTHER RECENT BOOKGASM AUTHOR INTERVIEWS:
• Q&A with HALLOWEEN AND OTHER SEASONS’ Al Sarrantonio
• Q&A with MY BRAIN IS HANGING UPSIDE DOWN’s David Heatley
• Q&A with VAMPIRE ZERO’s David Wellington

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• DARK GOLD by David Angsten
• NIGHT OF THE FURIES by David Angsten

All the news that’s fit to capsulize!

I WANT TO BELIEVE … I HAVE TIME TO READ ALL THESE
With THE X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE hitting theaters in a couple of weeks, HarperEntertainment has reissued all the original novels of Mulder and Scully’s otherworldly adventures. These have been out of print for several years, and now come with bonus material that includes excerpts from the publisher’s recent re-release of Jane Goldman’s THE X-FILES: BOOK OF THE UNEXPLAINED. Available once more are:
• THE X-FILES: ANTIBODIES by Kevin J. Anderson
• THE X-FILES: GOBLINS by Charles Grant
• THE X-FILES: GROUND ZERO by Kevin J. Anderson
• THE X-FILES: RUINS by Kevin J. Anderson
• THE X-FILES: SKIN by Ben Mezrich
• THE X-FILES: WHIRLWIND by Charles Grant

‘LOST’ IN THE LIBRARY
ABC’s cult hit LOST now has its own official book club, containing details about every work — fiction or nonfiction — referenced on the series. That includes everything from William Golding’s LORD OF THE FLIES to the tech text ECG WORKOUT: EXERCISES IN ARRHYTHMIA INTERPRETATION, as well as its own tie-in novel, Gary Troup’s BAD TWIN.

ON THE ‘HUNT’
Hard Case Crime editor Charles Ardai has announced a new pulp series titled THE ADVENTURES OF GABRIEL HUNT. Debuting next May, the novels will be issued once a month in true serial fashion, ghostwritten by several Hard Case authors under the nom de plume of Hunt himself, the globetrotting adventurer, with painted covers by Glen Orbik. “These books are for anyone who grew up reading H. Rider Haggard and Edgar Rice Burroughs or watching Harrison Ford wield his bullwhip at the movies,” said Ardai. “We’re talking classic adventure fiction, complete with horses, snakes, shovels, pickaxes, torches, traps, bottomless pits, barroom brawls, jungles, jewels, and just about everything else that’s ever made your heart beat faster.” For more info, sign up at Hunt’s website.

BAT BOY BEGINS
The late, lamented tabloid WEEKLY WORLD NEWS, which ceased publishing last summer, is in the process of compiling a complete archive of its issues since its 1979 inception for a DVD release. However, they’re missing a few issues to scan, and need your help. Those who can loan the company the editions they need for 72 hours will receive credit and two free copies of the disc. If you have any of the following WWN issues, e-mail them for details:
• 1979 (all issues)
• 1980 (all issues)
• 1981 (issues #4, 16, 17, 19)
• 1982 (all issues)
• 1983 (all issues)
• 1984 (all issues)
• 1985 (issues #1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 19-33, 42, 44-47, 49, 52)
• 1990 (issue #34)
• 1991 (issues #1, 24, 27, 29, 30, 32)
• 2000 (issues #2-8, 10, 41, 45, 48, 49, 52)
• 2001 (issues #1, 2, 8, 9, 12, 13, 17, 22, 23, 35-39, 42, 43, 49)

JUMP! JUMP! JUMP! JUMP! JUMP!
VIZ Media’s popular manga magazine SHONEN JUMP — the country’s most successful comics anthology — is turning 5. To coincide with the anniversary, its August issue will include a sweepstakes for a trip to Japan and a limited-edition poster. The company also will publish hardcover “collector’s editions” of such series as NARUTO, BLEACH, DEATH NOTE and DRAGONBALL Z, plus a special SHONEN JUMP FIFTH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTOR’S EDITION compiling the best comics, articles and interviews from the last half-decade. “These anniversaries are important benchmarks in the history of manga in both Japan and North America,” said Marc Weidenbaum, SHONEN JUMP editor. —Rod Lott

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Ah, the fairer sex is once again the topic of discussion in this, my 99th column. (To paraphrase Jay-Z, I’ve got 99 columns … you know the rest.) We have a trio of novels all dealing with women and their troubles. None of these, I’m guessing, are on the NOW reading list.

THE COMPANY GIRLS by Mona Williams – Hey, it’s typical bait-and-switch tactics with a Gold Medal cover. What promises to be a sleazy look at working office girls is more like a Douglas Sirk melodrama, heavy on the drama. The 1965 story is very much slice-of-life storytelling, with three women working for a hotel chain and vying to become the head of the operation when the boss is sent overseas for a few weeks.

Each is given their spaces for her individual story. We have Doris, a spinster whose only companion is that of a dog. There is a funny moment – probably shocking for its day – when she needs to fire a maid, who plays on Doris’ sexuality. Then there is Wilma, who was left by her mother when younger and her new husband, only to welcome back her mom and her new sister Melinda. This storyline is so of its time and feels like a total soap opera, kind of like that truly awful film dealing with teen pregnancy, written by that former stripper.

Finally, we meet Vivian, the married one of the bunch, and also one of the most ruthless. She tells a story to her husband about a time before she was married; he is shocked, then makes it his job to be the bigger bread-earner in the couple. The book is just total pap, with an ending that will surely piss off 95 percent of the women who ever read it. Here’s the spoiler: They give the job to an inept man who almost got a child killed. Dun-dun-DUN!

TO KISS OR KILL by Day Keene – Keene should be a name familiar to many as one of the better writers of the crime set of Gold Medal-style writing. Having read a gray-area version of MY FLESH IS SWEET, I was hooked on his style. This 1951 effort totally fits the bill of rough-and-tumble noir action.

The story is told from the perspective of Barney Mandell, a prizefighter who was just cleared as sane from an asylum which he put himself into. We meet Barney still groggy from the night before, with a naked dead blonde on a hotel room floor. From this point, Barney can’t fathom if he killed her or not, and maybe that he really was never cured. It doesn’t take long for him to picked up once the body is discovered.

Once picked up, a Treasury agent (of all people) wants to help out this palooka, but to explain further would ruin the story. Mandell also comes to terms of finding out his mother was never taken care of while he was away, even though he made it a point for his wife to do so. Then there is Mandell’s wife, who seems to be playing our hero for a chump. Keene moves the story along so quick, it’s a real treat to read. Add this to the never-ending list of recommendations that come out of this column.

COUNTERFEIT WIFE by Brett Halliday – Closing out this column is the return of our favorite redheaded shamus. Also this 1947 entry is the real deal in the series, being written by his creator and not some ghostwriter, so you know you’re in for a treat, which is exactly what this story is.

The funny thing is, it’s all Mike Shayne’s own fault he got sucked into this one. As we see, Shayne is ready to leave Miami to start a new life in New Orleans, only to get a phone call from his current secretary, who says she’s quitting. So as Shayne is deciding what to do, a man in a hurry asks him for his now-useless plane ticket. The man pays off Shayne with two $100 bills, with the bonus problem of getting their bags mixed up.

Obviously, this is ground zero for what is to come. After the plane leaves, a blond woman turns up looking for the man who just left. Shayne can’t believe a woman like this would be interested in such a schlub, so he follows her back to town. She stops off at a bar, so Shayne figures he can make some time with her and orders himself some drinks with his newfound cash. Except right away, the owner of the bar wants to know where Shayne got he money.

Take a wild guess what the money is, folks (it’s right there in the title). But since it’s a Shayne novel, there’s another problem: a kidnapped girl and her ransom money gone missing. And why is a former senator concerned about the money and what could be his connection to it all? It’s all cleared up by the end in typical Shayne style, which is what makes the earlier books so great. There are no gimmicks or cheap thrills – just some hardboiled fun wrapped up in a Robert McGinnis cover.

Next time: Column #100! With guest stars galore: Quint, Zardoz, Mrs. Peel, Seymour Goldfarb Jr., Mitchell! and the bad guy from HOT FUZZ. –Bruce Grossman

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OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF BRETT HALLIDAY:
• ARMED … DANGEROUS … by Brett Halliday
• BODIES ARE WHERE YOU FIND THEM by Brett Halliday
• COUNT BACKWARDS TO ZERO by Brett Halliday
• FOURTH DOWN TO DEATH by Brett Halliday
• GUILTY AS HELL by Brett Halliday
• MERMAID ON THE ROCKS by Brett Halliday
• NEVER KILL A CLIENT by Brett Halliday
• TARGET: MIKE SHAYNE by Brett Halliday

First, some background. Then, the evidence:

“She palmed him in the solar plexus.”
—GOD’S WAR by Kameron Hurley

“Rupert opened the door and doubled over laughing like he’d taken a punch to the solar plexus.”
—BAKED by Mark Haskell Smith

“But when she sang, she was a mythological beast, a bird flying high in the sky, a punch in the solar plexus from the woman you love.”
—VERSION 43 by Philip Palmer

“The landlord reacted with a blow to Jonas’s solar plexus.”
—HOLLYWOOD HILLS by Joseph Wambaugh

“He set her down and turned back to Roland in time for Roland’s fist, traveling toward Stein’s body at great velocity, to make impact with the unmuscled pit of his solar plexus.”
—STEIN, STONED by Hal Ackerman

“And then it would hit them like a ton of bricks in their psychic solar plexus.” —GAME CHANGE by John Heileman and Mark Halperin

“I turned to the one on my left. Jumped backwards away from him over the wreckage of the chair and horse-kicked the guy behind me in the solar plexus,* aiming for the wall two feet past him. *For those following along in their GRAY’S ANATOMY, in medicine the solar plexus has been called the celiac plexus for the last few decades. About as long as it’s been since anyone read GRAY’S ANATOMY.”
—BEAT THE REAPER by Josh Bazell

“Boone dropped Jerry with a short sharp right to the solar plexus and left him puking Cuervo on the floor of the bar as he walked out to his truck.”
—THIS WICKED WORLD by Richard Lange

“He felt as though he’d taken a war club to the solar plexus.”
—.45-CALIBER FIREBRAND by Peter Brandvold

“So a few days later, I find myself in a cab on the way to the studio with the magazine’s design director, who keeps assuring me that there will be nothing edible on my solar plexus and no Mapplethorpian whips in my orifices.”
—THE GUINEA PIG DIARIES: MY LIFE AS AN EXPERIMENT by A.J. Jacobs

“With a sharp crunch, the attacker sank translucent teeth into Glyn’s ribs and bit off the top of the Englishman’s body at the solar plexus.”
—FRAGMENT by Warren Fahy

“They might have noticed that whereas my right hand was certainly moving to catch him by the collar, it was only moving a split second after my left hand had already stabbed him in the solar plexus, very hard, but close in to our bodies, hidden and surreptitious.”
and
“A hard blow to the solar plexus will do that to a person.”
—GONE TOMORROW by Lee Child

“As she ran toward the figure he raised the knife, but she knocked his hand aside, punching him in the solar plexus as she did so.”
and
“Mulvaney crouched to hear; there came a quick movement, Pendergast’s fist arm shot upward into the cop’s solar plexus, and with an abrupt sigh of expelled air Mulvaney bent over the gunwale.”
—CEMETERY DANCE by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

“He easily ducked a sluggish roundhouse punch, then pounded the beast’s hairy solar plexus.”
—ENEMIES & ALLIES by Kevin J. Anderson

“His mouth opened and I could actually see his chest expand as he drew in a sharp breath in order to scream, but Top rose up lightning fast and kicked him hard in the solar plexus with the tip of his steel-reinforced left shoe.”
—PATIENT ZERO by Jonathan Mayberry

“Then I hooked a hard left into his solar plexus.”
—THE MURDERER VINE by Shepard Rifkin

“He swung his scuba tank like a wrecking ball into Hassan’s solar plexus, doubling him over.”
and
“Knox stretched both arms around the big man’s waist, made a fist of his right hand, thumb just below the solar plexus, then squeezed his abdomen with a sharp upward thrust.”
—THE ALEXANDER CIPHER by Will Adams

“Cape dropped his knees, landing on Tommy’s solar plexus.”
—GREASING THE PIÑATA by Tim Maleeny

“It was perhaps five minutes later that Major Smythe felt a curious numbness more or less in the region of his solar plexus.”
and
“He measured the distance to Mr. Krest’s solar plexus.”
—QUANTUM OF SOLACE: THE COMPLETE JAMES BOND SHORT STORIES by Ian Fleming

“Like a sock in the solar plexus.”
—THE LAUGHTER OF DEAD KINGS by Elizabeth Peters

“He aimed the knife point at Remo’s solar plexus, and moved forward, knife, hand, and arm.”
—THE DESTROYER #10: TERROR SQUAD by Richard Sapir & Warren Murphy

“It was written quickly, in an almost unintelligible script. I can make out the words ‘amateurs,’ ‘solar plexus,’ ‘hand,’ and ‘should have run.’”
—DO TRAVEL WRITERS GO TO HELL?: A SWASHBUCKLING TALE OF HIGH ADVENTURES, QUESTIONABLE ETHICS, AND PROFESSIONAL HEDONISM by Thomas Kohnstamm

“The sharp tip of the steel blade struck the apache in the solar plexus and pierced upward into his heart.”
—THE GUNSMITH #23: THE RIVERBOAT GANG by Robert J. Randisi

“His second hard blow landed on the boy’s solar plexus.”
—WHO CAN SAVE US NOW?: BRAND-NEW SUPERHEROES AND THEIR AMAZING (SHORT) STORIES edited by Owen King and John McNally

“As the man came abreast, Quinn slammed his elbow into his solar plexus.”
—THE DECEIVED by Brett Battles

“Frank butts him in the solar plexus with the blunt end of the bat, then swings the handle up in an arc and catches the man under the chin.”
—THE WINTER OF FRANKIE MACHINE by Don Winslow

“Got one chair leg in the guy’s solar plexus and another in his gut.”
and
“Behind it lies the celiac plexus, the largest autonomic nerve in the abdominal cavity. Sometimes called the solar plexus.”
—NOTHING TO LOSE by Lee Child

“He felt like his hips and solar plexus had been hit by a pair of sandbags.”
—OLD FLAMES by Jack Ketchum

“The revulsion hit Hewitt’s solar plexus in one direct shot.”
—SEPARATED AT DEATH by Sheldon Rusch

“You must smash engine in solar plexus!”
—DIANA PRINCE: WONDER WOMAN — VOLUME ONE by Denny O’Neil, Mike Sekowsky and Dick Giordano

“As I struggled to get to my feet, the heel of his palm struck me in my solar plexus.”
—THE MARK by Jason Pinter

“I rolled over to see Gaius Justus Gallicus with his short sword sunk to the hilt in the solar plexus of Jeremiah.”
and
“‘No Master-’ Simon began to shout but he was cut off by a vicious blow to the solar plexus from Peter, who then pushed the Zealot to the ground and sat on him while furiously whispering in his ear.”
—LAMB: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO BIFF, CHRIST’S CHILDHOOD PAL by Christopher Moore

“Remo got a little metal twister that came with the Garby’s and poked it into Jethro’s solar plexus to help him breathe.”
—THE DESTROYER #7: UNION BUST by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir

“Jo blocked him with her body, then threw three quick blows: A straight-hand finger strike to his neck, followed by a closed fist shot to the solar plexus.”
—VERTICAL COFFIN by Stephen J. Cannell

“She dropped her bag from her shoulder, stepped across the car, and sent a punch to his solar plexus that drove the wind out of him.”
—CIRCUMFERENCE OF DARKNESS by Jack Henderson

“And the second you get tired is the second that someone lands a fist to your solar plexus or a foot to your head.”
—L.A. OUTLAWS by T. Jefferson Parker

“He felt the gun against his spine just as the black cop swung a lazy arm toward his solar plexus, clenching his fist at the last minute and knocking the wind out of him.”
—BEATING THE BABUSHKA BY Tim Maleeny

“He drove a fist into her solar plexus and knocked the air out of her, shut her up.”
—HEART-SHAPED BOX by Joe Hill

“I dropped back down, my breath gone; then his steel toe kissed my solar plexus.”
—STEP ON A CRACK by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

“Gabriel struck him again, this time in the solar plexus.”
—THE SECRET SERVANT by Daniel Silva

“Bourne grabbed the policeman’s pistol and drove another fist into the man’s solar plexus.”
—THE BOURNE BETRAYAL by Eric Van Lustbader

“The powerful killer pulled him up by the neck of his parka and then swung his machine pistol around hard into Harvath’s solar plexus, knocking the wind from him.”
—BLOWBACK by Brad Thor

“She kneed him in the groin, and shot her elbow hard into his solar plexus.”
—THE PRODIGY by Charles Atkins

“On his solar plexus, there was a rectangle of gauze taped down with bandages.”
—PRECIOUS BLOOD by Jonathan Hayes

“Sandy brought the .45 to eye level in a Weaver stance, left elbow low, and took nearly five seconds to put five rounds into a melon-sized group in the target’s solar plexus.”
—PROMETHEUS’S CHILD by Harold Coyle and Barrett Tillman

“Another second and he would wheel oh so unexpectedly and put a move on Bishop, probably a punch to the face or the solar plexus.”
—DAMNATION STREET by Andrew Klavan

“It struck Belinsky like a blow to the solar plexus.”
—RED MOON by David S. Michaels and Daniel Brenton

“The next blow was to his solar plexus.”
—DEATH AND THE DEVIL by Frank Schatzing

“By the time I boarded, Ali was nowhere to be found, and I was left feeling as if I’d been kicked in the solar plexus.”
—POWER PLAY by Joseph Finder

“Raoul let the search continue for fifteen seconds before he Frisbeed the small folder across the room, where the corner of it hit Tiger at high speed in the solar plexus.”
—CATEGORY 7 by Bill Evans and Marianna Jameson

“With casual cruelty, DeGroot kicked him in the solar plexus, doubling him over with pain.”
—SAFE AND SOUND by J.D. Rhoades

“It was as if someone had punched him hard in the solar plexus.”
—THE DYING by Leslie Horvitz

“The beast roared and launched, its large head striking Caster in the solar plexus and bowling him over.”
—MORBID CURIOSITY by Deborah LeBlanc

“Max dug a furious left-right combination into the kid’s ribs and solar plexus.”
—MR. CLARINET by Nick Stone

“His first hint that all is not well comes when a masked and gloved Laurent appears out of a shadowed nook and knocks him dazed and sprawling with a single punch to the solar plexus.”
—INVISIBLE ARMIES by Jon Evans

“Strahov wheels on me furiously and slams a big fist into my vulnerable solar plexus.”
—VOLK’S GAME by Brent Ghelfi

“Keller stunned her with a stiff-fingered jab to the solar plexus, then took hold of her and broke her neck.”
—HIT PARADE by Lawrence Block

“I thought the name would land like a punch in the solar plexus, but it fazed him not at all.”
—MARKED MAN by William Lashner

“Williams crouched, straightened, and drove his massive fist into my solar plexus.”
—STRAITS OF FORTUNE by Anthony Gagliano

“Remo liked him, but not so much that he didn’t knock him out by releasing his shoulder, leaning forward, and driving a hard index finger into his solar plexus.”
—THE BEST OF THE DESTROYER by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir

“The sound of him saying her name was like a punch deep into her solar plexus.”
—THE BLUE ZONE by Andrew Gross

“‘It’s taken a while to establish that we all speak English here, don’t we, pal?’” Vinnie said, whirling and punching the nearest body in the solar plexus with his fist, causing the man to groan.”
—CI: HOMELAND THREAT by David DeBatto and Pete Nelson

“A pair of hands built for wrapping around glass mugs clamped under my solar plexus and squeezed.”
—AMERICAN DETECTIVE by Loren D. Estleman

“Losing Tony Stevens was akin to a boxer taking a hard punch to the solar plexus, but it hadn’t knocked him down.”
—SHELL GAME by Jeff Buick

“Sightlessly informing himself of his position and the angle of his arm by the hold she has on him, Chase yanks the knife from between Crow’s teeth and sinks the blade at a downward angle into his solar plexus.”
—YOU DON’T SCARE ME by John Farris

“Williams struggled beneath him, but Art drove a knee into his solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him, then wrenched the rifle free with a finger-snapping yank.”
—CARVED IN BONE by Jefferson Bass

“When the husband charged me I finally lost the temper I’d been trying so hard to keep and I punched him sharply in the solar plexus, pulled his shirt over his head, and pushed him to the floor.”
—THE FALLEN by T. Jefferson Parker

“Before Jun could stop him, Yuan wrenched the sword from her grasp and jabbed it back at her, catching her in the solar plexus and knocking her down.”
—STEALING THE DRAGON by Tim Maleeny

“‘It’s your solar plexus,’” he said by way of explanation.”
—DEATH IN PRECINCT PUERTO RICO by Steven Torres

“The next, more carefully directed, struck Branch in the solar plexus.”
—PANDORA’S LEGION by Harold Coyle and Barrett Tillman

“Before she could respond again, his fist slammed her solar plexus, doubling her over, causing her to gasp for air.”
—DEAD HEAD by Allen Wyler

“The husband was about to pass him when his hand whipped out, punching Lichter in the solar plexus.”
—JUDGMENT DAY by James F. David

“She punched Freddy as he came, a hard thrust to the solar plexus.”
—JACK KNIFE by Virginia Baker

“He connected with the Dark Angel’s Solar Plexus.”
—THE BOOK OF NAMES by Jill Gregory and Karen Tintori

“I landed a hard punch in his solar plexus, a popping sound came from his throat, his weapon dropped to the floor, and he fell to his knees, gasping for breath.”
—MAN IN THE MIDDLE by Brian Haig

“McNeil jumped up to defend his friend and coworker, and instantly caught a two-finger jab to the solar plexus.”
—AMERICA’S LAST DAYS by Douglas MacKinnon

“Freddy Aviles rocked gently from his center of gravity, which in his case was located near the solar plexus.”
—THE TRIKON DECEPTION by Ben Bova and Bill Pogue

“Nat felt something akin to a heavy punch in the solar plexus.”
—UNQUIET SPIRIT by Derek Wilson

“Still reeling from the kick to his stomach, he wasn’t ready when Daniel came at him again, delivering a roundhouse kick that struck him in his solar plexus.”
—CAUSES UNKNOWN by Leslie Horwitz

“As he fell, Yeoman swung once with his fist, to the solar plexus; the man grunted and lay still on the ground.”
—GRAVE DESCEND by John Lange

“I let go of Beth Ann, and punched him in the solar plexus.”
—SCHOOL DAYS by Robert B. Parker

“I pounded my fist into his solar plexus.”
—TIN CITY by David Housewright

“Jack delivered a hard palm jab to his solar plexus.”
—HARBINGERS by F. Paul Wilson

“And Hewitt had to push her guts back down into her solar plexus when she lifted the sheet, saw the same look of destroyed innocence on another tragically expired face.”
—THE BOY WITH PERFECT HANDS by Sheldon Rusch

“She smashed with the ball of her foot, nailing his solar plexus.”
—THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE by Kim Wozencraft

“He drove the first punch-a haymaker-straight at my solar plexus.”
—THE SHADOW CATCHERS by Thomas Lakeman

“One hand wrested the gun out of the Guardian’s hand while the other struck him in the solar plexus.”
—THE TESTAMENT by Eric Von Lustbader

“But his training in Kali paid off as he sidestepped and struck her in the solar plexus with the extended fingers of his right hand.”
—COUNTERPLAY by Robert K. Tanenbaum

“He yanked him forward and at the same time brought his left knee up, delivering a vicious blow to the older man’s solar plexus.”
—CONSENT TO KILL by Vince Flynn

Even if virus thrillers are dime-a-dozen, one has to hand it to Jeff Carlson for finding a unique angle for his debut novel PLAGUE YEAR: His medical malfeasant is a lab-created nanotech designed to kill cancer, but instead kills people when it’s unleashed on an unsuspecting public. But it can only survive at altitudes under roughly 10,000 feet, so those few survivors at ground zero – California – who managed to make it up the mountains to safety don’t have their flesh eaten by these microscopic monsters.

The flipside: There’s only so much vegetation and animal life up there for them to consume before they have to start eating each other.

Hey, it happens.

Salvation exists high above the earth on the International Space Station, where idealist nanotech researcher Dr. Ruth Goldman orbits, devising methods to conquer the plague before it conquers mankind. When she decides she only can be of true help if she’s in the thick of it, her crew isn’t too amused, but makes an unscheduled and highly risky landing in Colorado.

That, obviously, is where the two threads merge. Think of it like the Donner party forming a book club, and their inaugural selection was Michael Crichton’s PREY. But whereas Crichton blends the storytelling and the science, Carlson tends to separate them. Thus, the thriller stops thrilling for several chapters of stats and lab lingo, and the narrative stumbles.

Keep in mind, it’s Carlson’s first, so he only can grow from here. And while I ultimately tired of PLAGUE YEAR’s redundancy in the middle, it still left me with enough goodwill that I look forward to see what he comes up with next. –Rod Lott

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All the news that’s fit to capsulize!

NO ‘MIDDLE’ GROUND
To promote MAN IN THE MIDDLE, Brian Haig’s latest political thriller, Hachette Book Group has created an online game in which visitors must determine whether each of 10 chilling scenarios are a plot from a Haig novel or from real-life world events. Regardless what you score (8 for me), it’s mildly amusing and vaguely depressing.

SIMMONS SAYS
For those of you who already have read, are reading or planning to read Dan Simmons’ new novel THE TERROR, Borders offers this brief essay from Simmons on the real-life events of the 19th century that inspired his epic tale of icy fright.

A CASE OF ANTICIPATION
Hard Case Crime has just announced a slew of forthcoming titles for 2007 and, presumably, early 2008:
• SLIDE, Ken Bruen and Jason Starr’s sequel to the lively BUST, coming in October.
• DEADLY BELOVED, a new novel by Max Allan Collins – and the first to feature his long-running comic-book detective Ms. Tree.
• ZERO COOL, another reprint from John Lange (the nom de plume of Michael Crichton), following GRAVE DESCEND. This one’s an adventure set in Spain.
• And, most notably, Hard Case is moving into twofers with SHOOTING STAR and SPIDERWEB, a pair of long-out-of-print Robert Bloch thrillers for the price of one. As in their original run, this premiere Hard Case Crime Double will print the book in the flip-cover format.

SCI-FI GETS BUTCHERED
Long in development, the Sci-Fi Channel finally debuts THE DRESDEN FILES on the night of Sunday, Jan. 21. This fantasy series, of course, is an adaptation of Jim Butcher’s series of novels about Harry Dresden, the detective with magical powers. The most recent book was PROVEN GUILTY, with WHITE NIGHT to follow in April.

THE MASTERS OF ‘MASTERS’
A little birdie (flu-free, one hopes) tells me to expect a tie-in anthology of stories that were adapted into Showtime’s popular MASTERS OF HORROR series, now in its second season. No further details yet, but considering the show has taken on the works of H.P. Lovecraft, Ambrose Bierce, F. Paul Wilson and Clive Barker, it sounds like a fine idea to me.

HAPPILY NEVER AFTER
One of BOOKGASM’s favorite websites is Curt Purcell’s Groovy Age of Horror, in which the cheese ‘n’ sleaze that were horror books and comics of the ’70s are reviewed. Now Purcell is writing a novel on his own, serialized online. Check out his NIGHT FALLS ON A FAIRY TALE as new chapters are posted. With a tagline of “Where storybooks end, the horror begins,” what’s not to love? Well, computer monitor-induced eyestrain, for one, but hopefully Purcell’s virtual monster mash will follow the path of David Wellington and find a home in print in the near future as well.

SELF-PROMOTION CORNER
Jan. 15 brings the release of the updated illustrated anthology GRAPHIC CLASSICS: H.P. LOVECRAFT. This edition carries 75 pages of new material over the now-out-of-print original edition, including “Sweet Ermengarde,” a unique Lovecraftian comedy – yes, comedy – scripted by yours truly and brought to manic life by Kevin Atkinson. Other new material includes adaptations of the fright master’s “Dreams in the Witch-House” and “The Shadow over Innsmouth”; reprints include the four-part “Herbert West: Reanimator,” with art by Richard Corben, Rick Geary, J.B. Bonivert and Mark A. Nelson. –Rod Lott

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Earlier this winter, an ice storm hit our Oklahoma City home that, among other things, killed heat to half the house and busted our pipes outside. Compared to the wintery, frozen stresses that befall the characters of Dan Simmons’ THE TERROR, I had it easy.

The real-life tragedy of the mid-1800s Arctic expedition of the HMS Terror and HMS Erebus informs Simmons’ work of epic horror. Commandering the ships are Captain Francis Crozier and Sir John Franklin, respectively, who seek a northwest passage for England but find instant trouble once their mighty crafts are frozen in place in the no-longer-liquid waters. Temperatures remain sub-zero, supplies dwindle, their food is tainted and crewmembers come down with scurvy. This all really happened, but Simmons throws them the biggest conflict yet: there’s a gigantic creature out on the ice that’s very, very hungry.

It’s not for nothing Simmons dedicates his novel to the cast and crew of cinema’s original helping of heat-deprived horror, THE THING. But here the creature is not nearly as tangible; rather, it’s a supernatural force with so few distinguishable features that it’s often referred to as “the shape.” Each chapter follows a different crew member, some of whom fall victim and some of whom think the beast has something to do with the arrival of the mute Eskimo woman to their ship. Regardless, the situation looks ever more bleak with each day.

I’d like to report that THE TERROR is the first great novel of 2007, but at nearly 800 pages, it’s overlong by a good quarter. There are only so many times that a ship’s inventory can be taken, that a man can be attacked, that discussion of situations hopeless take place before it’s clear the narrative suffers the same fate as its ships: being stuck in a holding pattern. Additionally, Simmons’ narrative – heretofore fairly grounded – grows too metaphysical for that final stretch, almost as if it’s a different novel entirely.

But up until that point, THE TERROR had me locked in its icy grip. Moving at a purposeful, careful pace, it’s designed to make you feel as hopelessly stranded as the seamen. It works. This is a book not meant to be read in an afternoon, but drawn out, to let the suspense build and build and build, with quick bursts of payoff. Even with an enormous cast of characters, Simmons does a fine job of keeping so many balls in the air (and it helps that you don’t need to get too attached to a good number of them). When writing a work of such length, any author runs the risk of not being able to sustain the story until the tail end, and such is the case here. But for the scenario it sucks you into and the jolts it provides over its majority still provides a solid return on your time investment. –Rod Lott

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Whenever I hear people relating their memories about “the pulps,” I’ll admit I’m more than a little envious for being born a couple generations late. All the reprints in the world can’t quite match the real deal, but coming across new tributes – like Subterranean Press’ RETRO PULP TALES – helps to compensate. Here, authors like Kim Newman, Tim Lebbon and Bill Crider bring yesteryear’s 10-cent dreams back alive, with appropriate speed and style.

A majority of the very best stories are right upfront. James Reasoner immediately puts the book in takeoff mode with “Devil Wings over France: A Dead-Stick Malloy Story.” On the surface, it seems like a simple World War II aerial combat tale, but shifts gears when an element of horror is introduced. Without giving anything away, you can probably figure it out from the title. Even more impressive is “From the Back Pages,” a murder mystery from Chet Williamson, ingeniously crafted in the form of excerpts from pulp letter columns, spanning nearly 40 years. It’s an experimental structure that could have collapsed, but not a word is wasted, and it’s exciting and brilliant.

But I’m absolutely in love with “Sex Slaves of the Dragon Tong” by F. Paul Wilson. If you read his contribution to last year’s DARK DELICACIES anthology, you know the man can handle a “Yellow Peril” yarn. This one is even better, with a detective out to crush an Asian plot to kidnap American blondes and ship them home for a life of prostitution. A break in the case comes only when an underage girl is snatched up by an overeager member, and her father happens to be a wealthy titan of industry. What makes it so great is that the villain and the girl are iconic characters, but unnamed because of copyright issues. The former is a no-brainer (Dr. Fu Manchu), but I’m keeping the child’s identity secret. Once you’re given enough clues to figure it out, you’ll laugh, smile and thank God for F. Paul Wilson. Another masterstroke, not to mention the best of the bunch.

I also really liked Al Sarrantonio’s “Summer,” a Ray Bradbury-esque look at a season that never ends and only grows more sweltering, and Stephen Gallagher’s “The Box.” No relation to the classic Richard Matheson story, it’s a crackling good tale of deep-sea terror, but from within the confines of a helicopter flight simulator in a giant water tank. It may only be 15 pages, but I couldn’t turn them fast enough to reach the conclusion. Alex Irvine’s “New Game in Town” is a snowbound crime thriller set in a pool hall full of crooks, college students and one officer of the law – a potent combination, even if the ending is a little confusing.

You’ll also find stories involving hungry buzzards, a giant in a basement, masked avengers and alien invasions. I’d argue that only one contribution is out of its element here, being Melissa Mia Hall’s GIDGET-obsessed sand/sex/saucers hybrid “Alien Love at Zero Break.” It’s too lighthearted (and the narrator’s surf-speak too annoying) to generate any excitement.

Luckily, that’s not the case for the majority of the book. Praise is due to editor Joe R. Lansdale for undertaking such a project and for allowing each writer to introduce their pieces with a little perspective and background information. Some bios would have been nice, however, as about half the authors were unknown to me. Modern homages to the pulp era are nothing new (witness the recent, similar ADVENTURE: VOL. 1), but they come largely from the small press; that makes them special, because you know they’re done out of love more than for the almighty dollar. –Rod Lott

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OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THESE AUTHORS:
• BERSERK by Tim Lebbon
• FLIGHTS: EXTREME VISIONS OF FANTASY edited by Al Sarrantonio
• HALLOWS EVE by Al Sarrantonio
• 999: TWENTY-NINE ORIGINAL TALES OF HORROR AND SUSPENSE edited by Al Sarrantonio

Now available at your nearest well-stocked newsstand, CRYPTIC MAGAZINE‘s cover proudly announces this “first amazing issue.” And I have to agree. Except for the “amazing” part.

Though generous in page count, Dead Dog Publishing’s CRYPTIC is amateurish in execution, sporting juvenile writing that reeks of first-draftism and design that tries its damndest to be unpleasant, if not outright unreadable. (Have you ever tried reading tiny red lettering in a medieval typeface on a black background in body copy? You’ll get your chance!) This “hey, we’re true horror fans, not pros” approach might be forgivable if CRYPTIC were a photocopied zine affixed with a single staple, but it’s a full-color glossy asking for your eight bucks. You’ve worked too hard for that money to give it up.

CRYPTIC’s selling point – and the one that swindled me – is its stated aim to emulate the late CREEPY and EERIE, dedicated to running original horror comics in a magazine format. The editor’s error-ridden letter claims “no one was publishing anything along the lines” of such, but readers of IDW’s excellent DOOMED – now in its second issue – know otherwise. The half-dozen comics here aren’t poorly drawn by any means, but they’re so deadly dull that there’s zero life in them. The one exception: a nearly wordless chain-reaction gore tale of Rube Goldbergian proportions, scripted by the all-too-generous Joe R. Lansdale.

The non-illustrated pages of CRYPTIC are far worse than any half-baked comic short. The book reviews are an eyesore (thanks to the aforementioned font fiasco), the profile of DAY OF THE DEAD‘s “Bub” says nothing and the “article” on CREEPSHOW 3 reads like an unedited press release. There’s a column called “Dr. Hall’s House of Forgotten Horrors,” which sounds promising, but its subject of NOSFERATU is hardly what any horror fan would consider “forgotten.” The cover-teased article on Dario Argento’s disturbing DEEP RED: THE HATCHET MURDERS is little more than a two-page plot summary.

It’s obvious the guys behind CRYPTIC are horror junkies, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. But the magazine format is not the ideal forum for them to exercise their love. When you pay $7.95 for a magazine, you expect a certain level of professionalism. It can’t be found in this, where the writing reads like 7th-grade journalism class assignments (with apologies to the word “journalism”), where not a paragraph goes by that isn’t in need of severe red-penciling, where the overall tone is so DIY that it’s off-putting. There’s a difference between typos and carelessness/ignorance; you already know into which category I feel CRYPTIC falls.

I really hate to be so harsh, but in this case, the criticism is well-deserved. As a horror fan myself, I want to support good horror magazines. CRYPTIC is craptic. –Rod Lott

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What’s a nice girl like The New York Times doing reviewing a bad boy like J.F. Gonzalez’s SURVIVOR? The NYT‘s cover blurb says the novel “pushes your eyes of the page and then pulls them back,” which is a euphemism for “this one is sick, but you’re just as sick for reading it.” Fair enough.

It begins with a highway road-rage incident that yields genuine unease (especially for someone like me who harbors travel anxiety), but is child’s play compared to the grisly scenario that will follow. The victims are vacationing yuppie lawyer couple Brad and Lisa Miller, and through a set of circumstances too complex to go into here, Brad has to spent the weekend in jail under citizen’s arrest. Lisa has it worse, however, when the man who put Brad in the clinker kidnaps her from her motel room and hauls her off to a remote cabin.

The man promises he won’t hurt her. But Al and Animal will! They are, respectively, the behind-the-camera and on-camera talent of a series of underground snuff films, in the next of which Lisa is set to star as the most unlucky and unfortunate receptacle of Animal’s fluids, desires and abuse. She won’t live through it, which is exactly the point of a snuff film (in reality, merely the stuff of urban legends … we hope).

Needless to say, a huge twist occurs before her life can be extinguished, and you’re going to react in one of two ways: by tearing through the rest as fast as possible to find out what happens, or by hurling the book across the room. Just before it, I thought SURVIVOR was fairly tame compared to other stuff I’ve read – perhaps one Habitrail away from matching the depravity of AMERICAN PSYCHO – but then that damned page 142 rolled around. I won’t divulge the details, but suffice to say, it’s not something I ever expected to read anywhere, an act that not only puts the “X” in “extreme,” but bolds and underlines it as well. And you’ve still got 230 pages left to go!

Yet I couldn’t not finish it, because I had to see these people punished. And that trip is wrought with frustration and tension, both marks of a truly effective horror novel. Passages will sicken, yet seem oddly comic, i.e. “But he’d never thought of a neck stump as a sexual orifice before last night” or “I like to baste the asses in the oven with onions and bacon strips.” But at least the shock has a definite purpose to the story; without it, there simply wouldn’t be one.

That said, SURVIVOR needs some tightening, as points and phrases are repeated multiple times, often in the form of awfully long exposition that is entirely repetitive. And despite that occasional bit of over-the-top dialogue, the book feels mostly grounded in reality, except when the bad guys get diarrhea of the mouth, such as when Animal launches into a 13-page explanation of how he came to be the beast he is. You could do it in two, though I’d argue it’s more horrifying not to know at all.

Purposely unpleasant and unflinching, SURVIVOR’s zero-immunity stance makes for a read that is good, though not exactly enjoyable. Make any sense? If so, you’ll likely be part of the group that makes it past page 142. –Rod Lott

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