So did you get my little joke I was doing. What do you mean you don’t get it. Well if you go back a few columns starting with ‘Mexicali Blues’ it might dawn on some. I had myself a little idea. To use Grateful Dead song titles as my column titles. Now I did give myself some rules. I could not use the super obvious ones – Truckin’ or Touch of Grey would have been Dead giveaways. Also as much as I would have loved to use certain titles they had to actually fit and work. So sadly there is no China Cat Sunflower, Sugaree or Stella Blue.

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In the nick of time they come a running and usually a gunning. This column in the never ending run of reading is about Spies and those super agents that we have come to know and love. Well actually this column will feature three new characters to this column that is. So let’s get started with what is one of the most obvious double entrendes ever. Ladies and Gentlemen I present …

THE COXEMAN #5: IT”S GETTING HARDER ALL THE TIME (1968) — Michael Avallone

Don’t let the name on the cover fool you folks. This is Michael Avallone plain and simple. Also this book seems to be one of his Men From UNCLE entries or at least an aborted plot idea. Just with the hint of sex. Oh there is sex in the book and talk of all kinds of kinky things. But to be honest its a whole lot of slap and tickle. Sure they talk about things but it never goes full bore so to speak in the descriptions.

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Cards are a central point of these three entries. Actually all three books make up a series from the prolific James Hadley Chase. Mainly tyne whole car motif deals with having an upper hand. Or worse a joker in the deck that pops up. So lets settle in for the adventures of Helga Rolfe.

AN ACE UP MY SLEEVE (1971) by James Hadley Chase

Helga Rolfe is the central figure in this story. That has more double crosses in its short length then most series have in their whole run. The book starts out innocently enough. We find Helga in Europe on one of her yearly trips for her husband. A crippled buisnessmen who controls an empire. She is there to meet up with their investment banker. And maybe find someone to help her pass her time.

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This column could easily have a new title of Swords, Sandals, Sorcerers and Spelunking. We travel the world of reading this time in a definite fantasy world. Be it just under the earth’s crust. A far away land and even a far off world that is ruled by swords. To start things off will keep it local. And by local an entrance through a volcano.

JOURNEY TO THE UNDERGROUND WORLD (1979) – Lin Carter

I’ve never read any Lin Carter in my sic fi loving youth. No reason why mind you. Was always intrigued, just never did. Now this book falls into the Lost World genre. You know a group of explorers come face to face with dinosaurs and cavemen who are living under the Earth’s crust. That sums up this book.

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Detectives of all sorts make up this column — two new to it, even though I reviewed a later book in one of the series. You’ll also note two familiar faces who have been missing from my reading too long. Kicking things off is the first entry from the prolific Ngaio Marsh and her creation of Inspector Alleyn.

A MAN LAY DEAD by Ngaio Marsh — Marsh was always one of those authors who, whenever I would go to used bookstores, had a row or stack of her books, all with some truly cool covers. I just never had a clue to where to start. Then, of course, it would slip my mind when I got home to look it up. Well, now all that’s changed.

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Let’s take a trip in my rocketship. You are going to the great beyond this time out as I cover some old-school science-fiction action. Kicking things off is a series that is still continuing in its origin country, so get your space helmet, kick back and wait for the countdown. I just hope you don’t suffer any “space madness,” you eediot!

PERRY RHODAN #1: ENTERPRISE STARDUST by Karl Herbert Scheer and Walter Ernsting — Growing up, I was a sci-fi fan. I still am — just not as strong a one as I was in my teen years. Back then, I would always come across the PERRY RHODAN series, which is so long, it has more than 100 paperbacks. The problem is I never found a jumping-on point, aka book number one, until now.

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It’s time once again to saddle up and ride into the Old West. This trip to the frontier will be a little different, since the first two books covered are ebooks from the fine folks of Piccadilly Publishing, who have been putting out some solid reissues. I figured it was damn time to cover a few. The third book is from a long-running series that a friend of mine who is not a fan of the genre swears by.

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This week’s column title is the soundtrack to this column. While reading all three books for this entry. I was dealing with two cats who think my bed is actually theirs; they will both lie on it day in and day out, snoring louder then any of my roommates I’ve had since college. We are talking locomotive-type snoring. Still, it’s a steady rumble of a noise.

THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON’T THEY? by Horace McCoy — Being more familiar with the movie that was made from this 1935 book, I’ve been on the hunt for McCoy’s novel for years, to no avail until the Kindle. I’m amazed how truly dark and existential it truly is, even if I knew the outcome and what to expect.

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Continuing with the riches of the ebook world, this time out we tackle a true boon for those e-reading machines: the world of reprinted old pulps. Now, there are a few publishers out there doing their darndest to get as much material out there as possible. What is a boon for these little machines also points out something else: As much as I wanted to read these books in print format, the prices could get a little steep. But thankfully, the ebook prices are rather reasonable for the amount of material you get. Let’s check out some of these reprints and also a series that is trying to recapture those good ol’ days.

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I’m a huge fan of Matthew Holness’ creation of the character Garth Marenghi. It’s a joke that if you grew up at a certain time (the ’80s), the humor is so obvious. DARKPLACE asks, “What if a prolific author not only wrote a TV series, but also starred and directed it? And his main output is low-grade horror that relies on cheap sex and over-the-top ideas. Marenghi is based on a few authors, one being Guy N. Smith. So let’s take a trip to the roots of one of the truly hysterical characters ever to come to the little screen.

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