Conan - The Flame Knife

“Three-Bladed Doom” was a short story authored by Robert E. Howard starring his character El Borak. It was not published during Howard's lifetime. There were two versions of the story, one printed in REH Lone Star Fictioneer in 1976 and a longer version in the Zebra paperback of the same name published in 1977. However, L. Sprague de Camp decided to rewrite the story to feature Conan, which was a common occurrence for both de Camp and Lin Carter in the 1960s and 1970s. “Three-Bladed Doom” was rewritten and included as part of de Camp's novella The Flame Knife. It was originally published in Tales of Conan in 1955. The novella was then reprinted as part of the Conan the Wanderer collection by Lancer in 1968 and then again as its own book, Conan: The Flame Knife, in 1981 by Ace. The story was also adapted to comic form in Savage Sword of Conan #31-32.

The Flame Knife is set during Conan's “Free Companions” era. He's instructed by Kobad Shah, the king of Iranistan, to lead a team of men to hunt a bandit named Balash. The problem is that Conan and Balash are old allies and Conan refuses the task. Instead, he teams with his companion Tubal and the two, along with a woman named Nanaia, ride to Balash's camp in the Ilbars Mountains to warn him of Shah's pursuit. Meanwhile, Shah is stabbed in his chambers by an assassin carrying a sacred knife marked with a symbol of the Hidden Ones. Whatever that means. Shah, along with his royal guard's captain, believe that Conan's sudden departure and the arrival of this assassin means that the Cimmerian is instrumental to this Hidden Ones cult. Shah orders a large army to hunt and kill Conan.

Convinced by Balash that there are mysterious things happening on the Drujistan border, Conan, Tulal, and Nanaia head there. This is where the narrative finally begins to settle in. Conan discovers a large city within the rocky terrain housing the Zuagirs, a mysterious tribe led by a leader deemed The Magus who declares he is part of the ancient Hidden Ones cult. 

Soon, the book kicks off a rapid pace as Conan escapes imprisonment and commits to freeing Nanaia, who has been captured by The Magus. Conan's overall goal is to overtake the Zuagirs and use their fortified city as a compound where he and the Free Companions can hold off Shah's oncoming forces. Conan fights a giant snow ape (depicted beautifully by Sanjulian on the Ace paperback cover) and finally ends a longtime rivalry with Olgerd Vladislav, the raider he usurped in Howard's 1934 Weird Tales story ”A Witch Shall Be Born”. 

Overall, this was just an average novella. If you have read de Camp's Conan stories you know that his version of Conan is much different than Robert E. Howard's. In de Camp's novels Conan is a cookie-cutter hero that personifies all that is good. The bad guys are carbon-copy bad. In The Flame Knife, Conan wants to free Nanaia. If Howard wrote this, Conan's nihilistic approach would be something to the effect of, “So what?” Additionally, I'm not sure under Howard's watch if Conan would attempt to even save Balash. With de Camp's writing, I mentally can compartmentalize his work as more of Conan the Barbarian's comic character. I do the same with the Tor paperbacks. These are “heroic” Conan stories. 

The Flame Knife is an average Conan novella filled with swordplay, prison escapes, crazy cults, and a fiendish cave creature. If the comic version of Conan is your jam, then this knife spreads the enjoyment. Get the book HERE.

Black Hound of Death

Robert E. Howard's weird fiction story “Black Hound of Death” first appeared in the November 1936 issue of Weird Tales. It was also included in the Summer 1976 issue of Dark Phantasms, the 1978 Sphere collection Weird Tales Vol. 1, and countless other volumes housing weird fiction and Howard stories. My review is from the Trails in Darkness 1996 paperback collection from Baen.

The story takes place at night in a dense forested area in the American southeast. While Howard doesn't specifically state Kirby Garfield is a lawman, it is implied based on his actions in the story. Through a first-person perspective, Garfield explains to readers that he's in the part of the forest to deliver a message. A man named Braxton has escaped from the law leaving a “ghastly toll of dead behind him.” Garfield believes Braxton is in the area and he is riding on horseback to warn a reclusive man named Richard Brent of the potential danger. 

On his way he stumbles upon a man begging for help after being ripped to shreds by some sort of animal. He screams at Garfield saying that “HE” done it. He relays a story to Garfield on how he was hired by a white man (wearing a mask) as a guide to Brent's house. But, somewhere along the way the mask slipped away and the man went on the attack. The man later dies in front of Garfield after providing him a warning to leave the area.

The book ventures into a pulpy horror nightmare as Garfield and a few stragglers venture to Brent's house and prepare for the flesh-ripping forest menace to appear. Of course there is an explanation on who – or what – is killing people and how it all ties to the fugitive Braxton. I can't give away any more details because it would inevitably spoil the reading fun. Trust me, the story is worth pursuing and delivers a hair-raising creature-feature experience. Recommended! Get the vintage copy of Trails in Darkness HERE.

Isle of the Undead

Pennsylvania native Lloyd Arthur Eshbach (1910-2003) discovered science-fiction at the age of 15. He soon began writing his own stories and sold his first to Science Wonder Stories in 1929. Eshbach became influential with his small Fantasy Press, initially publishing authors like E.E. Smith and Robert A. Heinlein. My first experience with Eshbach is the novelette Isle of the Undead, originally published in the October 1936 issue of Weird Tales. 

It begins with Cliff and his girlfriend Vilma on a rented yacht sailing through a sea of fog. Cliff rented the yacht, and it's captain, a guy named Corio, to entertain his small group of vacationing friends. Cliff and Vilma are horrified when they spot a strange galley ship approaching. As it nears, the couple see the crumbling timbers are blackened with rot, the prowl is bent backwards, and the mast is a jutted broken arm. But, the real terror lies in discovering the wretched crew of undead “things” sailing on the ship, a group of raggedy men that appear bloodless white with puffed and bloated skins as if they had been drowned and left in the sea for a very long time.

Soon, Cliff, Vilma, and the crew are manhandled by these monstrosities and taken to an obscure island hosting an enormous castle. Inside, they discover that this island is home to an undead legion of vampires that ransack vacationers and use them as sustenance to quench their nocturnal thirst.

I was thoroughly entertained by this pulpy horror tale and found Eshbach's writing so descriptive and imaginative. He creates scenes of stark-white terror when the group learn of their fate inside the Hellish castle. He really had to deliver the goods to match J. Allen St. John's ferocious cover design. However, his writing blends a sense of swashbuckling adventure as Cliff attempts to liberate his lover and friends. There are rescue attempts, sacrifices, nautical adventure, and plenty of fisticuffs as the group fight to survive the Isle of the Undead. 

You can listen to this story for free using Librivox, read it online at archive.org, or order a cheap copy online HERE. 

Open Season

Open Season began life as the novel The All-Americans, authored by David Osborn. Osborn simultaneously wrote the book and the screenplay and it was purchased by Columbia Pictures. The title was changed to Open Season and the novel was published under that title in 1974 to coincide with the film release. The movie starred popular actor Peter Fonda. In other parts of the world the film was titled Recon Game. 

In Open Season, the book introduces three college buddies who take an annual trip into the Wisconsin forest to hunt deer...and people. So the deal is that these three guys, Art, Greg, and Ken, take this sabbatical hunting trip to drink beer, kill deer and other wildlife, and rape a woman. Here's how it works. 

These three men kidnap a man and woman each year, a couple of lovers, and take them into the wilderness to hunt. The victims are chosen at random and after they are hunted and killed they sink the bodies into a scummy lake. So, it is The Most Dangerous Game just changed slightly. However there is something a little different with this plot point. 

While these three men are out hunting deer as well as the two people they have captured as targets, another mysterious hunter is in the forest hunting the hunters. So, the niche is that deer hunters are being targeted and hunted which fits into a little niche I like to refer to as “Deer Hunter Horror”. 

In the book, three men capture a man and woman who are secretly having an affair away from their tranquil married life. They leave their spouses behind for a short vacation into the woods to do the nasty. But the two are targeted at a motel by Art, Greg, and Ken and hauled into the Wisconsin wilderness. There, they shackle the man in the kitchen and then convince the woman to consent to sex with all three men repeatedly. She goes along with it thinking they will befriend her and she can then escape whatever awful things they have planned for her. She even likes the whole ordeal when she gets going with the men. 

On day two the three hunters give each of the victims a 20 minute head start to run into the wilderness and commence to being chased. The three men of course have rifles and the victims have twigs and branches. Totally fair. Kinda like deer hunting, right? The fight is fixed. But, once the chase ensues another hunter unknown to the reader begins hunting the three hunters. 

Open Season is a savage and violent book at 267 paperback pages and definitely not for the squeamish. There is graphic sex with faces and heads being shot off. But, the book is really good at about page 120 and the pace never slows down. It is also double-pleasure as Open Season works as both a high-octane action novel but also as a mystery as readers guess who the hunter-killer may be. High recommendation.

Solomon Kane - Rattle of Bones

Robert E. Howard's story “Rattle of Bones” was first published in Weird Tales in the June 1929 issue. The story was also printed in Skull-Face and Others, Magazine of Horror #11, Red Shadows, and a host of collections by the likes of Wildside Press, Del Rey, Bantam, and Baen. The story was adapted to comic form in the Savage Sword of Conan #18. 

“Rattle of Bones” features Howard's Puritan hero Solomon Kane. In the Black Forest of Germany, both Kane and a man named Gaston L'Armon stop for the night at the Cleft Skull Inn. After the bartender's strange behavior, Kane advises Gaston that they should bar the door to their room. While searching for something to secure the door with L'Armon discovers the skeleton of a man. One of the legs is shackled to the floor. Something is amiss in the strange Cleft Skull Inn.

This is a very simple but effective story. Kane discovers that he knows L'Armon from somewhere else. As the two investigate the skeleton, Kane is held at gunpoint by an assailant. I can't tell you too much more due to spoilers. “Rattle of Bones” is a mere eight pages, so anything else would disrupt your enjoyment of Howard's writing. Thus far, this is my least favorite of the Solomon Kane stories I've read, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing considering how much I enjoy this series. Every installment has been entertaining. Get it HERE.

Note - Howard's first draft was published in the first issue of The Robert E. Howard Foundation Newsletter in Spring of 2007. That version apparently has a different ending.

Fred Fellows #04 - Born a Victim

Here's what we know about Fred Fellows, the protagonist of 11 crime-fiction novels by Hillary Waugh, a Mystery Writers of America Grand Master. He is the Chief of Police in the fictional city of Stockford, Connecticut. His right-hand man is Detective Sergeant Sidney Wilkes with back-up assists in the stories from Sergeants Unger and Gorman. He likes milk and sugar in his coffee. I gained these significant details from reading the series first two installments, Sleep Long, My Love and Road Block.  I don't have the series third installment at the time of this writing so I had to jump ahead to the fourth book, Born Victim (1962). The order you read these books plays no part in the storytelling. 

In Born Victim, I discovered that Fellows has a wife named Cecilia, sons named Peter and Larry, and two daughters (no names provided in this book). The author makes note that Peter is age 13, which adds a personal connection. The plot for the book has Fellows and his men challenged with the disappearance of a 13-year old girl. 

In prior books Waugh would title each chapter a date and time of the investigation. In this novel he has elected to standardize the chapters numerically. The first chapter kicks off the story with Fellows receiving a call from his officers that Barbara Markle, the aforementioned girl, hasn't returned home in a few hours. Fellows initially dismisses the sense of urgency and importance due to the child only appearing to be tardy for a curfew - not a revelation of murder or malicious intent. He goes out to visit Barbara's mother Evelyn to gain any insight on the girl's disappearance.

Evelyn lives on a poor stretch of suburbia backed up to a river. She's a single mom that works long hours. Her response to various questions is alarming - she acts as if Barbara is already dead. Fellows can't quite grasp why the mother is assuming the worst. Over the course of several interviews Fellows learns that Barbara's family history is murky. As more and more time passes without the girl's return the case evolves from locating the girl to solving a homicide. 

Waugh's novels follow a standard formula of introducing the crime, typically murder, and then taking the readers along the police procedure of investigating every tip, clue, and piece of evidence. The running theme behind the girl's disappearance runs from dates for the dance to a mysterious truck idling beside her house. But, the focus of the investigation, which ties into the book's title, is Barbara's murky family history. Evelyn's secrecy on who Barbara's father is, a faked marriage, and a family dynasty in jeopardy of exposure. 

An aspect of the series debut was conflict with the press. Fellows often battles press leaks and aggressive reporters that seem to infiltrate his office. This novel touches on the police providing the public with details but not allowing the press to pressure his men. There is also a rare occurrence where Fellows loses his cool on one of his officers. Typically Fellows is level-headed and keeps an air of professionalism. As the case presents more challenges the pressure to find the girl's whereabouts - dead or alive - begins to weigh on his shoulders.  

Born Victim was another fantastic police procedural installment. Hillary Waugh has a knack for this style of storytelling and draws the readers into the investigation smoothly. It's an easy reading experience that delivers a few surprises and an emotional ending. The characters are interesting and persuasive, the crime is compelling, and the prose is ultra-tight and plot-propulsive. In other words, track down a copy of this one. Highly recommended. 

Buy a copy of the book HERE

High Hunt

Author David Eddings (1931-2009) authored best-selling fantasy epics like The Belgariad, The Dreamers, The Elenium, and The Malloreon. However, before Eddings ventured into the worlds of American fantasy, he wrote a number of adventure manuscripts. Some were never finished and one was even burned. What remained was the novel High Hunt, which Eddings wrote in prison in 1971. The book was published by G.P. Putnam's Sons in 1972. My copy is the 1988 Ballantine paperback with excellent artwork by Cliff Miller (The Hard Corps, M.I.A. Hunter). 

High Hunt is written in first-person narrative by Washington resident Dan Alders. Dan has just been discharged from the Army and is in between life journeys from soldier to full-time college student. In Tacoma he runs into two very attractive young girls who are protesting America's involvement in the Vietnam War, Clydine and Joan. Dan gingerly dismisses their protests and decides his next step to adjust to civilian life is to re-connect with his estranged brother Jack. The two aren't close, but Dan still has his brother's phone number.

The reunion between Dan and Jack sets up a series of character introductions and sequences that consume most of the book's first-half. In many ways this section of the narrative is what I consider the American Dream of the 1970s – the real one and not the fantasy. Jack is living in a trailer court with his new wife and two kids. He's friends with a guy in town named Sloane that runs pawn shops and car dealerships. He's also friends with a disgruntled ex-Marine gunnery sergeant named Lou who may be suffering from PTSD. As Dan is introduced into this motley crew of alcoholics he begins to see some disturbing behavior. Lou is secretly banging Jack's wife while Jack is secretly banging anything with legs. The same can be said for Sloane who is in an open relationship with his wife. 

Later, Dan ends up meeting Clydine again at a party. Fortunately, she doesn't remember him so Dan makes a smooth move by cleverly creating a lie. He explains to Clydine that his is out of prison for dodging the draft and for rebelling against the war. Clydine is so moved by his integrity and kind heart that she goes back to his place and puts out. The next morning she finds Dan's Army jacket and becomes furious. However, the two of them work it out and a bulk of the book is dedicated to their relationship. 

Jack decides a hunting trip into the high peaks would be a great bonding time and a way to kick back, drink a lot of beer, and complain about the old ball and chain. So the group (Lou, Jack, Dan, Sloane, and a nerdy guy named Stan) hire a guide and go on a week long hunting trip. Once these men enter the wilderness, far from civilization, their unchecked emotions leads to some animosity between each other. The Vietnam Veteran hints to the nerdy guy that he is banging his wife (which may not be true). So, seeds are planted and things begin to spiral out of control. 

One morning while hunting Dan spots Stan crawling through the brush and taking a rifle shot at Lou. This is the perfect example of Deer Hunter Horror (see Podcast Episode 109). Hunters turning on hunters. Lou believes Stan is trying to kill him while Dan and Jack have an altercation. Sloane becomes deathly ill and the entire hunting trip becomes a bit of a drag for everyone. 

High Hunt is an extraordinary novel. It is an emotional melodrama with a stretched tension as the reader submerges into these strained friendships and affairs. Dan's character is admirable and it was particularly touching how he connects with the old-timer serving as the hunting guide. That man's son had been killed so he finds Dan to be an equal to the son he lost. At the same time Dan's adjustment into civilian life while balancing a college education and his newfound love in Clydine is just a great reading experience. There is so much emotion and intended humor on these pages. 

If you are searching for a fast-and-furious action-oriented novel, then High Hunt won't fill that need. Instead, this is a realistic, poignant image of American life in the 1970s – protests, soldiers' homecomings, the demise of the 1950s family dynamic, PTSD, and a cagey resolve that this is the new normal. Brilliant novel. Highest recommendation. Get it HERE.

Charlotte Shopping Trip

On his newest book hunt, Eric hits the Queen City to search for vintage paperbacks in two popular independent book stores. Can he find the good stuff or just settle for the average? Watch below or by clicking HERE.

The Curse of the House

“The Curse of the House” is an early short story authored by Robert Bloch (1917-1994). It first appeared in the February 1939 issue of Strange Stories. It was later included in Subterranean Press's The Reader's Bloch series that concentrates on the writer's fantasy, horror, and science-fiction offerings. 

One of the unique features of “The Curse of the House” is that it upends the haunted house formula, proving that Bloch was already thinking outside of the box with his macabre artistic style. Instead of the average-man thrust into nightmarish home ownership or positioned as a haunted house-guest, Bloch flips the narrative by having a house “haunt” the average-man. The key is that this haunted dwelling can travel and follow the man throughout his life. It is an animate object with the ability to transcend boundaries – both physical and literary.  

The story is presented in first-person perspective by an unnamed doctor. He is interviewing his newest patient, a guy named Will Banks. Banks explains to the doctor that a house is haunting him. He then reveals that as a student he delved into the Black Arts. So much so that he traveled across the globe in a pursuit of olden devil-worship. His most alarming stop is in Edinburgh. It's here that Banks interviewed a warlock, Brian Droome. Droome invites Banks into his home and explains that his family have generations upon generations of active witchcraft. Droome is very open and hospitable to Banks, but as he temporarily leaves he instructs Banks to never go into the home's basement. He is adamant about this. But, Banks does and this creates the awful predicament that plagues his every waking moment. The house is alive.

There is a lot to this story that I can't divulge here. If you enjoy a classic horror tale that offers a non-traditional approach then look no further than Bloch's excellent “The Curse of the House”. While I'm not certain what Bloch is transcribing here, my guess is that it is a look at the mental health industry and its inner strengths and weaknesses in the early 20th century. The basement could represent an abstract approach to healthcare with authorities suggesting it is off-limits. The side-effects and long-term ailments could parallel the idea of the “house” haunting the patient. 

You can read this story HERE.

Chartered Love

Not much is known about author Conrad Dawn (1933-2002). He served in the U.S.M.C. From 1951 to 1954 and was wounded in action during America's involvement in the Korean Civil War. According to a brief book bio, Dawn was employed as a sailor, newspaper man, and also boxed. He traveled extensively and was married three times. Paperback Parade founder, writer, and literary scholar Gary Lovisi described the author as having “...the background and lived the life to write these kinds of wild action books true and accurate – and kick-ass!”. Lovisi's commentary on Dawn can be found in a new edition of Chartered Love, the author's 1960 paperback that was originally published by lowly Chicago sleaze word-slingers Novel Books. The novel is now available through Black Gat Books, an imprint of Stark House Press, with the original paperback cover. 

The book stars Captain John Darrow, a 200-pound muscular man with a leathery face blackened by years of hot sunny nautical travels. Darrow ships freight with his boat Malacca Maid and a hardened skipper named Adams. While at a bar in Macao, China, Darrow entertains a lucrative offer. A woman named Elizabeth wants to hire Darrow and his boat to help her locate a treasure she believes is in the Sulu Sea aboard a downed ship. Darrow isn't particularly interested until he hears the terms – four-million in gold for the taking. His share is half. 

The first half of the book details Darrow's preparation for the journey and deep-dive. He buys weapons from a suspicious arms dealer and gathers aquatic gear, both of which attract a Chinese gang led by a villain named Hayama. There's a kick the tires and start the fires battle before Darrow and Elizabeth can get up and running.

The second half of the book focuses on Darrow's chemistry with Elizabeth. The book was presented to consumers as a sleeze novel ripe with graphic sex. Like so many sleaze novels from the likes of Beacon and Monarch, the sex is tepid at a mere PG rating. But, Dawn has a flirtatious style to his writing that describes Elizabeth's undressing in such a marvelous and provocative way. These scenes counterbalance the propulsive central plot. As Darrow and Adams eventually find the ship embedded in the ocean floor, the struggle to free the gold safely becomes the prevalent story arc. Dawn adds in Hayama's fierce determination to rob Darrow as a side-quest that enhances the action and gunplay quite well.

Conrad Dawn had a real knack for nautical adventure and Chartered Love, despite the poor title, is a testament to his talent. The book's plot was reminiscent of another stellar 1970s adventure novel titled Pieces of the Game, authored by Lee Gifford and published the same year. If you are a fan of nautical adventure then Chartered Love is sure to please. Highly recommended! Get it HERE.

The Wilds

Claude Teweles, now Julia Teweles, was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was first published at the age of 15 by the National Geographic Society and worked as a production manager on the film City on Fire in 1979. Teweles' first novel, The Stalker, was published by Zebra Books in 1984. The only other novel I could locate was The Wilds, originally published in 1989 by Dell. Putting my hands on that book first, I decided to brave the elements and march in. 

The Wilds works like a survival adventure novel with an embedded sense of unease and suspense. The cover suggests this may be a woodsy slasher outing, which roped me, but the book is placed in my Paperback Warrior “disaster” tag due to the unexpected raging blizzard that entraps the characters.

One of three main characters is Gordon, a displaced former high-school teacher that is now working as an experienced camp counselor for Wolf Gulch. His nightmare happened last year when a young boy was mauled by a wild animal on his watch. Gordon is hoping all of this is behind him now as he launches into a new season of camp counseling.

The other two main characters are Del and Kyle, both of which have an underlining feud. Del is a 15-year old camp counselor that has some reserved psychotic tendencies. He must be first at everything and experiences an inferiority complex. His counterpart is Kyle, a teenager dealing with the loss of his baby brother in a freak bathtub drowning. Kyle has natural leadership qualities, but squanders opportunities with a reckless abandonment. The three characters are lumped into a group of about 15 campers total. 

As a confidence exercise, the group have the looming requirement to climb and cross a treacherous pass in the Sierra Nevada mountains. This is the same stretch that the famed Donner party experienced in the 1800s – the one with the people eating each other to stay alive. The group constantly spook each other with the phobia of a “Donner Man” stalking them through the wilds on a quest for human flesh. This tense urban legend maintains momentum as the group embark further into the forest, eventually creating hallucinogenic effects on the group when they are snowbound in a freak blizzard halfway up the mountain. 

The Wilds is a really interesting novel that has an identity crisis. It works like a horror novel – void of any traditional 80s horror. Instead, as the blizzard envelopes the group, the narrative evolves into a survival of the fittest campaign akin to Lord of the Flies. Kids turn on kids, hunger outperforms human decency, and people begin dying. In the book's finale, all three main characters are having terrifying experiences that they have created in their own minds due to the fatigue, hunter, and harsh elements. Whether any of this is real or not isn't a question – it isn't and every reader knows that. But, one has to suspend disbelief to really put themselves into the shoes of these stressed characters. If you can successfully do that, then The Wilds is an enjoyable read. If you want Jason in a hockey mask plowing down campers then you have taken the wrong trail.

Get The Wilds HERE. 

Ranking November Reads

In this video, I'm ranking my ten favorite reads from the month of November. Included are book covers, insert scans, and capsule reviews of books in the horror, crime-fiction, science-fiction, and fantasy genres. Watch below or directly on the YouTube channel HERE.

Conan - The People of the Summit

Bjorn Nyberg (1929-2004) briefly associated himself with Conan lore beginning in the 1950s. The Swedish author collaborated with L. Sprague de Camp in 1957 to write the novel The Return of Conan, published by Gnome Press. Nyberg authored two short Conan stories, “The People of the Summit” and “The Star of Khorala”, and both are featured in the paperback collections published by Bantam and Ace. Lately, I've been reading early The Savage Sword of Conan magazines and stumbled up on a story titled “Demons of the Summit” in issue three. It was based on “The People of the Summit”, so I decided to check out Nyberg's story before reading the comic adaptation. 

“The People of the Summit” features a twenty-something Conan taking a job as a mercenary to serve King Yildiz of Turan. Conan is provided the role of makeshift sergeant and ordered to lead a small army of Turanians into the Khozgari Hills in hopes to bribe and threaten the restless tribesmen from raiding Turan's lowlands. Sounds easy enough, right?

The Khozgari are brutal barbarians and they ambush the Turanian force leaving only Conan and a fellow soldier named Jamal alive to escape. The two are spotted by the daughter of a Khozgari chief and Conan takes her hostage to secure a safe pass back to a Turanian city. But, to avoid any unnecessary engagement, Conan decides to take the trio across the Misty Mountains. The chief's daughter begins screaming at Conan's decision and swears they will all be killed by the mysterious people there. She describes it, “'Tis a land of terror and death! Do not go there!”. 

But they do and this is where the bulk of the story remains. Nyberg's action scenes were well-written, but I felt Conan's dialogue left something to be desired. Additionally, Conan's strategies were nothing short of awful – he led his men into an ambush and then foolishly took a shortcut that led to even more danger than the original Khozgari warriors. On top of that, the chief's daughter is captured. It's just a complete failure on Conan's part, but I suppose without that we don't have a story. Nyberg's descriptions of a tower existing in the foggy whiteness of the Misty Mountains was very effective and moody, leaving a supernatural atmosphere to blanket these characters and story. 

As I mentioned in my opening, “The People of the Summit” was adapted into “Demons of the Summit” by Roy Thomas and printed in Savage Sword of Conan #3. The story's original appearance was in The Mighty Swordsmen collection published by Lancer in 1970. Additionally the story was also edited and published in Conan the Swordsman by Bantam in 1978 and was also included in a collection titled Sagas of Conan by Tor in 2004. Get the Bantam paperback HERE.

Hired Lover

Hired Lover was first published in 1959 under the pseudonym Fred Martin, but the real author was king of the sleaze-crime genre, Orrie Hitt (1916-1975), and its supposed to be one of his best novels. Thanks to Stark House Press, the short novel is back in print in a double paired with Summer Hotel (1958) and a fascinating introduction by paperback scholar, Jeff Vorzimmer.

Our narrator is a Chicago driving instructor named Mike Callahan who is giving a wealthy young woman named Kitty driving lessons. She’s super sexy and wastes no time seducing Mike. Kitty is married to a much older man. She claims he’s a sickly and cruel man nearly three-times her age. You see where this is going.

Girls like that in books like this are addictive and Mike becomes hooked on the sex with young Kitty. Opportunities abound when Kitty’s husband hires Mike to be her full-time chauffeur. This gives Mike access to Kitty but also access to her husband’s estate and proximity to the life of wealth and privilege he’s never enjoyed before.

Eventually, it occurs to Kitty and Mike that all of it could be theirs if Kitty’s husband was dead. No surprise to the reader who has enjoyed this plot dozens of times within the genre, but Hitt does a nice job managing the twists, turns and betrayals along the way.

If you enjoy femme fatale classics by James M. Cain (The Postman Always Rings Twice) or Gil Brewer (The Vengeful Virgin), you’ll love Hired Lover. This is Orrie Hitt at the top of his noir game. Recommended. Get it HERE.

Quarry #17 - Quarry's Return

Quarry’s Return (2024 Hard Case Crime) is the 17th novel by Max Allan Collins featuring his contract killer character - a series that has spanned the author’s entire adult life.

We join Quarry in modern times at age 71. He’s a widower twice and living alone in a cabin during the tourist off-season. He has an adult daughter who is a successful true-crime author based in the Quad Cities that straddle the Mississippi River between Illinois and Iowa.

The novel also marks the return of an Asian-American female assassin named Lu who was introduced in Quarry’s Deal (aka The Dealer, 1976) and Killing Quarry (2020). For his part, the author does an admirable job of reminding the reader who Lu is. She’s a great partner for Old Man Quarry.

Quarry and Lu are dealing with two problems in this novel. First, hit men are trying to kill Quarry, and he needs to find out why and deal with the client who commissioned his murder. Second, Quarry’s true-crime writing daughter disappeared while researching an active serial killer case for a book.

Quarry and Lu basically serve as murderous detective partners investigating the serial murders in hopes of shedding light on the daughter’s disappearance. They are competent detectives and the solution to the paperback’s mysteries makes for a satisfying read. You can’t go wrong with a Quarry novel, and this one is a winner.

Despite that, you probably shouldn’t read Quarry’s Return without reading Killing Quarry and Quarry's Blood as the new novel is a direct sequel to the other "Old Man Quarry" paperbacks. Collins brings you up to speed just fine, so you won’t be lost, but why not read them in order? For that matter starting the four-book miniseries with Quarry’s Deal probably makes the most sense, but you’re certainly old enough to make your own decisions by now.

Solid novel. Solid series. Go buy them all HERE.

Open Letter to Max Allan Collins:

Big fan, here. Love the Quarry books best of all.

Not to bring up a touchy subject, but you’re 76 years old, and I can’t help but wonder how many more Quarry books you have in you. I hope there’s many more, but you’ve indicated you may be done with the series.

Mickey Spillane did you - and the reading public - a great service by allowing you to keep Mike Hammer alive in your excellent continuation novels. Any chance you can pay it forward by picking a young, talented author and allowing him to continue the Quarry stories (which have always been unstuck in time) after you’re gone?

It’s seems like a no-brainer and your fans will be able to enjoy new books in the series long after you’re gone. Or maybe the new books will suck, and everyone will spend an eternity talking about how you were the only one who could make Quarry work. Either way, you win.

Chew on it. 

Ranking Stephen King's Night Shift

In this exclusive video, Eric presents a top 20 ranking of Stephen King's Night Shift stories. Each story includes a capsule review with tons of book covers, movie clips, and magazine inserts through the years from various publishers. Also some fun facts about King's work is included. Watch it below or stream HERE.