The Vigilante #01 - New York: An Eye for an Eye

This novel, “New York: An Eye for an Eye”, is the debut of a six-volume series entitled ‘Vigilante’. The house name is V.J. Santiago, but it’s written by Robert Lory of ‘John Eagle Expeditor’ fame. It’s a Pinnacle book, and was released in 1975 with easily one of the worst covers of the genre. It’s made painfully abysmal by the promise that it’s “More ruthless than The Executioner and more vengeful than Death Wish!”. Luckily, the book’s pretentious (boisterous) claims are overshadowed by quality writing and an engaging story. Surprisingly, this one is a solid representation of what makes this “revenge” sub-genre so compelling.

The book’s prologue quickly introduces us to a very violent East Seventy-Seventh Street in New York. A young woman named Janet is raped and killed across the street from our protagonist Joe Madden. It’s an eerie precursor of the horror awaiting Madden and his young wife Sara. Lory takes some time introducing us to Madden and building the obligatory relationship not only with his wife Sara, but the reader as well. We go through a hectic day in the life of Madden – business meetings, projects, deadlines in the hustle and bustle engineering field. The two leave a social engagement late and find themselves robbed and viciously assaulted on a vacant subway car. The result leaves Madden hospitalized and his young wife dead.

Lory crafts a progressive, well-developed novel around grief. It’s a portrait study of Madden’s mental state, painting the metamorphosis from shock to grief, heartbreak to hopelessness and ultimately anguish to vengeance. The author blankets each chapter in bleak realism, enveloping the reader in the downward spiral of this man. While “vigilante” is certainly a descriptive term, most of the book is the poignant sea of sorrow. Within the first week of the attack, Madden starts to create a campaign for vengeance. The author builds in a little know-how by explaining that Madden has killed before. He served in the Korean War and provides a little background on a memorable battle. Beyond this, the character knows nothing about crusading or righting the wrongs of lower-class America. He enters battle with a makeshift kitchen knife housed with tape inside of a cardboard sheath. His targets are of the low-life variety – muggers, purse-snatchers, etc. - but he averages a kill a night. Later, he pushes the envelope and keeps an assailant’s .38 revolver and uses it in a climactic killing of a trio of rapists.

The series could be misconstrued as a clone of the vigilante spawn of 1968. At least for this novel, that certainly isn’t the case. While probably not as relevant as an Elmore Leonard or Brian Garfield, the book is every bit as engaging as Messmann’s ‘Revenger’. While this “revenge the death” study in human behavior is captivating, the hardcore fans could shrug off it’s overutilized plot. I’d approach the book as more of a portrait of loss instead of the gritty, men’s action adventure that it professes to be.

Snowbound

Classic crime publisher Stark House Press has reprinted Bill Pronzini's 1974 stand-alone heist novel, “Snowbound”. This edition is also packaged with another short Pronzini novel called “Games”. “Snowbound” is a well-written short novel about a heist crew (think of Richard Stark's ‘Parker’) who decides to lay low at a safehouse in a small, wintery, mountain town where everybody seems to know each other. In addition to the hold-up crew, the town is also occupied by a boozy recluse with a mysterious past, a mayor with a sexual secret life, a horny housewife seeking companionship, a couple expecting their first child and a handful of secondary side-characters. The cast is vividly-realized as Pronzini takes the time to give them each actual subplots and character development - something often lacking in classic heist novels. A snowstorm and an avalanche seclude the snowbound town and creates the novel's central tension that drives the story forward. The plotting reminded me of Stephen King in the way a cast of independent characters converge in the novel's protracted, bloody climax. The easy-read story moves at a good clip, and the ending was very satisfying. Fans of heist novels and "confined space" suspense stories will find a lot to enjoy in “Snowbound”. Highly recommended.

The Trailsman #256 - High Country Horror

This ‘Trailsman’ adventure, “High Country Horror” (James Reasoner as Jon Sharpe), starts out being a wilderness survival story, as Skye Fargo meets a wagon train of settlers in serious trouble. They’ve been deceived by their guide, who steered them into the mountains far from the Oregon Trail before robbing and abandoning them just as the first blizzard of winter arrives. These opening chapters are superb, and they were so promising that I was a little disappointed that the book soon changes course. 

Instead of a Donner Party drama of hunger and slow death, we find Fargo leading the settlers to the shelter of an abandoned fort, where the crooked guide re-appears with his well-armed outlaw gang and terrorizes them all over again, though Fargo does his best to help. Amid this action are interludes with a death-dealing Sasquatch-like figure known as the Lost River Lurker, who appears from time to time to attack people before mysteriously disappearing. 

These narrative pieces don’t necessarily fit together perfectly, but the author’s gifts for atmosphere and suspense make it all work. The story concludes with a strong confrontation scene and then, as if to place a cherry atop the sundae, there’s a surprise twist. But that twist didn’t make much sense to me. I won’t give anything away, but the revelation we get is a bit hard to believe. Sometimes a sundae doesn’t need a cherry, and I think the novel would have been better had it ended half a page sooner. But overall, this was a gripping novel and the Lurker really helps it stand apart from the roughly 400 other ‘Trailsman’ stories.

Winner Take All

Mark Steele is an out-of-work Man of Adventure bumming around San Francisco when he hears a knock at the door. The man on the other side of the door is a stranger - but one who looks exactly like Steele. This is the opening scene of James McKimmey’s 1959 Dell paperback, Winner Take All. This obscure crime novel has been given a second life through a 2018 re-release from Stark House Press. This new re-issue is packaged with a 1957 “innocent man accused” novel called Perfect Victim, also by McKimmey, as well as a 2004 interview with the author by “Noir Originals” scribe and author Allan Guthrie. 

It turns out that Steele’s doppelgänger is a heretofore unknown twin brother who was separated at birth. And while Steele lived a hardscrabble life fighting in wars and taking care of himself, Byrd planted his flag into the privileged trappings of the idle rich - trust funds, women, booze, and gambling. As hardboiled genre fiction fans might expect, the reason that Byrd seeks out Steele was not for a tearful brotherly reunion. He comes with an offer: Can Steele pose as Byrd to negotiate a settlement on a large gambling debt owed to the mob? Seeing an opportunity to turn a buck and find some action, the braver brother accepts, and the story is off and running.

It would have been easy for McKimmey to structure the novel differently - by having the non-violent brother drafted to take the place of his soldier-of-fortune twin and find his own manhood in the process. Instead, the author puts us into the mind of the brother who is more comfortable in a world of violence and unpredictability, and that adds to the fun of this one. While the set-up of this short novel is rather contrived, the execution is superb - mostly due to the author’s skill with first-person crime novel narration. The book has all the trappings of the hardboiled crime stories of the paperback original era - thuggish mobsters, a sexy femme fatale (or two) and twisty double-cross plot devices. It’s a blast of a story - violent, sexy, and compelling - and well worth your time. 

The Executioner #07 - Nightmare in New York

The seventh installment of The Executioner series is 1971’s Nightmare in New York. Finally, the riveting action arrives both domestically and sequentially in this triumphant return to form for author Don Pendleton. After the series’ debut quartet, the thrill-ride slowed as it was exported to Europe. The fifth and sixth volumes were off-target for Bolan and his experienced skill-set. Humor, perverse sexcapades and a bizarre treatment of the character left plenty to be desired. With Nightmare in New York, the series experiences a revival with one of the best entries in Pendleton’s initial 38-title run.

A dark, ominous tone is set in the book’s prologue. Pendleton recaps the first six books and advises that Phase One and Phase Two of the Mafia War, which he calls “The War of Attrition”, has ended. He promises readers that Phase Three is here and it’s “The War of Destruction”. Pendleton prophesizes: 

“He will hit them now in their omniscience, in their omnipotence; their omnipresence, he reasons, will then fold under its own weight. Bolan is in the saddle, his mount is destiny, his target is the Kingdom of Evil – wherever its ugly head may rise”. 
The grim nature at the beginning spills into the book’s opening scenes of Bolan arriving stateside through Kennedy International airport. Flanking the emerging Bolan is Sam “The Bomber” Chianti and his Manhattan-based Gambella Family. In a strange, yet superbly written encounter, Bolan exits a helicopter into a hail of gunfire. He escapes - with hot lead in the shoulder and a small tear in his hip - thanks to a trio of young beauties.

The book starts to settle in as Bolan is nursed back to health by the three young women. The author takes the opportunity to establish a relationship and continue to build on Bolan’s need for love despite hopeless abandonment of normalcy. The Gambella Family is now the primary target for Bolan, particularly Chianti’s lifelines. In Bolan’s acute awareness of Mafia operations, he leisurely kills three hired hands in a hotel, stuffing them in a trunk before shaking up the mob shops and racketeering joints. 

In hilarious scenes, we see Bolan talk the talk and walk the walk right into the lairs of lieutenants and Mob don Freddie Gambella (snatching a cool 25K on the way out). Frequently, he kills and leaves his trademark marksman badges. This is the classic Bolan we saw in Phase One and Phase Two, that slick and violent destroyer; the swift and cold hand delivering point blank justice.

After learning of the brutal rape, torture and death of one of the trio of young girls, Bolan is the grimmest we’ve seen him since the original War Against the Mafia. He hits the mob hard in a meat packing plant, at one-point firing round after round into the head of a deceased enforcer. Her age, beauty and prior friendship sets Bolan on a vengeance trail. He calls a local television station and coolly warns: 

“I am going to destroy the Gambella Family. One by one, crew by crew, business by business – I am going to wipe them. I will not be bought off or scared off by threats against defenseless and innocent persons, and if one more sweet kid is turned to turkey because of me, then these turkeymakers are going to discover what a real nightmare is all about. There is no escape for these people. I know each of them, I know where they go and what they do, and I am going to hunt them down, all of them, and I am going to execute them.”

This book not only flashes the same gritty badge as the early part of the series, it also recalls key characters. Bolan has a verbal exchange with undercover enforcer Leo Turrin, an older ally from the opening quartet. He asks Turrin about Valentina and the status on his younger brother (whom we haven’t heard much about until now). I love how Bolan explains to Turrin in the exchange, “I’m no detective. I’m an infantryman”. No truer words have been spoken about this turbulent character. The book’s finale captures Bolan’s barbarous assault on Stoney Lodge, the Gambella headquarters. The heated exchange leaves Bolan with only one choice – go fight the next battle in a war he can’t win. 

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Spur #15 - Hang Spur McCoy!

There were over 40 volumes of the western series ‘Spur’. The Leisure house name was Dirk Fletcher but these were actually written by journeyman writer Chet Cunningham (‘Jim Steel’, ‘Outlaws’, ‘Pony Soldiers’). “Hang Spur McCoy!” is book number 15 and was suggested as a good starter for new readers. There’s a brief introduction in the opening chapter, but later expanded as a sufficient backstory in Chapter 12. Spur McCoy grew up in New York as the son of a wealthy merchant and importer. After graduating from Harvard, Spur took a commission in the infantry during the Civil War. As a captain, Spur was appointed as one of the first US Secret Service Agents. For validity, the author states Spur was chosen out of ten finalists for his horse riding and service pistol marksmanship. After exceptional service in Washington, he was transferred to St. Louis to manage all of the action west of the Mississippi. Thus, a series was born with a legitimate character, purpose and the open-ended ability to place him in any sort of drama and adventure in the perilous west. 

Cunningham kickstarts “Hang Spur McCoy!” with a bang. Our government agent is firing at an outhouse with a Spencer repeater. During the exchange Spur is wounded badly with a leg shot and awakens in the midst of a noose-ready posse. The sheriff and three make-shift lawmen have sentenced Spur to a lynching after accusing him of rape and murder. Once he successfully defends his position, the sheriff comes to Spur’s aid only to be outnumbered by the hostile trio. With a bound sheriff, the three struggles tying a noose. The sheriff assists, but cleverly ties a Murphy’s Knot to allow a faux presentation of Spur hanging. The deed is done and the three ride off with the sheriff staying behind for the pulse check. Other than a horrendous rope-burn and a bum leg, Spur is ready to complete his mission.

Some authors may be complacent with this being a simplistic and over utilized plot. Stretching out a revenge yarn for 200-pages is quite manageable and most authors worth their salt can milk this. While the author has Spur tracking those responsible for his hanging, the bulk of the story is the assignment – solving a counterfeiting racket in Twin Falls, Idaho. It’s slightly convenient that one of the hangmen is directly associated with the counterfeiting, but it’s forgivable. The action has Spur in detective mode sourcing the operation from start to finish. Along the way is a plethora of lovely ladies for the inevitable mattress romps. Fans of the series understand (need?) the obligatory 10% sex inclusion and it certainly spaces out the gumshoe portions in pleasant fashion. The finale has Spur unarmed in the forest facing adversity…and two armed gunmen. While Cunningham heats the barrels, “Hang Spur McCoy!” pauses for a tender moment as Spur shows compassion for one of the accused. This unique angle is one of the many little nuances that makes Cunningham’s work so enjoyable.

Wilderness #01 - King of the Mountain

“King of the Mountain” is the excellent debut of David Robbins' ‘Wilderness’ series. It was released by Leisure in 1990 under Robbins’ pseudonym David Thompson. The series ran 66 volumes over the course of 20 years, and also extended to “giant” versions as well as omnibus collections. Set in New York City (population 100,000) in 1882, Nate King is a low-level accountant with a crappy boss and a job with limited upward mobility. His girlfriend is a materialistic pain in the neck who will only marry him if he can establish that he has the capacity to support the spoiled girl. A solution to this problem presents itself in the form of a letter from Nate’s long-lost Uncle Zeke, the family pariah who ventured west to pursue frontier adventures. Zeke wants Nate to meet him in St. Louis and promises a share of the “treasure” Zeke has amassed. Driven by his own wanderlust and greed, Nate sets off on a horseback adventure to meet Uncle Zeke in St. Louis. From there the adventure continues westward. This is basically an origin and travel story where a city dandy learns the ways of a wilderness mountain man on a cross-country horseback adventure. The mentor/student scenes are both enlightening and captivating. The road adventures include run-ins with dangerous wildlife, kindly Native Americans, scalp-hunting savages and conniving road thieves. There are plenty of scenes of explosive, bloody violence and tension-filled stand-offs. The author also injects several interesting historical tidbits of pre-cowboy frontier life in the unsettled west - you’ll be thrilled while learning a thing or two. This debut was a straight-up, nearly perfect genre novel and it will make you want to continue the story into book two and beyond.

Wasteworld #01 - Aftermath

U.K. author *Laurence James has become a regular staple here at Paperback Warrior. I’ve covered a host of his novels ranging from the ‘Apache’ western series to his popular post-apocalyptic runs on ‘Deathlands’ and ‘Survival 2000’. The “Piccadilly Cowboy” had a knack for science-fiction and the post-nuke formula, evident as early as 1983 with the four-book series ‘Wasteworld’. It’s debut, “Aftermath”, was released in the U.K. by the Granada publishing house under one of James’ many house names, James Barton. Collaborating with Granada is popular British artist Richard Clifton-Dey (Blue Oyster Cult, Ray Bradbury). The talented painter showcases a barren, dismal “wasteworld”, accenting hero Matthew Chance’s post-apocalyptic struggle perfectly. With rather large print at 128 pages, this is two-hours…spent.

Like any post-nuke worth its salt, “Aftermath” curtain jerks with a paragraph explaining Afghanistan was invaded, the US took the banana countries and a war was fought over Cuba. The breaking point was an invasion into Libya as the parts of the world experienced oil shortages. The bombs went up and down…and now most of the world is riddled with radiation, disease and devastation. Marine Air Corps pilot Matthew Chance was fighting in a campaign over the Crozet Islands in the Indian Ocean when the nukes exchanged. Apparently, the bombs really had no effect on Matthew or the surrounding area. Surviving the ordeal, he somehow ends up in Mexico (told to the reader through a verbal exchange with a mutant) where very little devastation has occurred. Other than the air bases, Mexico has very little radiation or physical stress. As charming as it sounds, Matthew has to get to Texas to find his ex-wife and their two children.

The book’s opening chapters has Matthew washing up on a shore in New Orleans. He’s somehow sunk a cigarette boat in the gulf with kilos of cocaine and gallons of fuel. His bartering goods are ultimately destroyed and the only possession he can carry to shore is a fighting knife. This quickly comes in handy as Matthew fights off a gang of deadly, feral cats to prove his validity. Soon, he’s exploring the city only to find New Orleans is now ran by a voodoo priest named Amos. The African Americans have actually enslaved the white survivors and now serve as labor and enforcement for “king” Amos. After seeing Caucasians being buried alive, pale-faced Matthew quickly runs for safety. He runs into a swarm of 7-foot hunchback ogres and mutant, rabid dogs. His only safety is in the sewers where he befriends a female mutant named Alice Adams. In a wacky scene we learn Alice can only communicate by ESP and she’s a permanent resident – her mutant deformity is that she is bloated to a supersized blob of lethargic fat. With that size comes great stress – she can’t fit through the sewer exits.

Alice offers to aid Matthew in his journey to Texas (how?) if he will simply go kill Amos. Matthew makes a failed attempt only to be awarded with the obligatory jail time. Amos forces Matthew to shoot a few white prisoners while requiring him to fly a Cobra helicopter into the bayou to kill an army of Cajun opposition. It’s utterly ridiculous, made even more convoluted by an insane decision on the part of Matthew to blow the helicopter up. Why not just fly the damn thing to Texas and save the family? Instead, Matthew wastes an entire helicopter fighting rabid dogs and mutants near the sewer entrance. In the book’s finale, Matthew, now teaming with the very mutants he was fighting, attempts to exchange Amos for some Cajun prisoners.

I loved the brief backstory on Matthew and the mono myth creation. This really set the book up well, and despite our hero fighting cats, he’s introduced as a likable guy. The chase scenes within the brothel and wine cellar were very effective and bordered on horror’s penchant for dark spaces and hypertension. I found James really ahead of the game with an early style of writing in describing residency. A lot of the zombie fiction of the 00s would depict characters entering homes and finding dead bodies. I always found that part of zombie fiction entertaining…although oddly anonymous and thought provoking. Here, Matthew enters a number of homes and finds the same scenario. Often, he simply drags the bodies into a room or piles them up downstairs. I thought this was a unique aspect considering the time of release – 1983. By the middle of the book James’ throws the baby out with the bath water. Alice Adams is absolutely bizarre and the vile villain is dull and lifeless. Where the book’s beginning made Matthew interesting and somewhat respectable…the closing chapters are studies in character erosion. The book’s cover painting and slim design makes it collectible…but I would never read this again.

* Justin Marriott of Paperback Fanatic, Sleazy Reader, Men of Violence, etc. suggests that this book may have been written by a different Piccadilly Cowboy in Angus Wells. He cites two different sources for pegging Wells as the author. First was an interview he did with crime writer James Harvey, who had worked with Wells and James on prior work. Second is the fact that Laurence James excludes 'Wasteworld' from his bibliography submitted to Paperback Parade. 

The Enforcer #01 - The Enforcer

Lancer released The Enforcer in 1973. It was the debut of a series that lasted four volumes with the publishing group before Manor purchased the line and released two more (including reprinting some with better art). The series was written and created by Andrew Sugar, who would later contribute for Argosy as well as books in The Israeli Commandos line. After one stand-alone title, Yank, the author seemed to retire from writing around 1979.  No other published works are known. Oddly, there’s some mystery behind this particular creator. Some have speculated that Andrew Sugar was actually a woman named Andrea Sugar. However, according to the Glorious Trash blog, a fan and former Sugar colleague states this is false. Blogger and author Paul Bishop discovered evidence from a court case (her lawsuit over naming rights of Dirty Harry film franchise) that he lived his later years as a woman – Andrea Sugar.

While The Enforcer appears to be another entry in the popular “vigilante revenge” sub-genre, don’t let the cover fool you. There are very little comparisons contrary to the book’s obvious knock-off of The Executioner styled covers. The cover suggests this is a “great new series”. It’s not. It also shows us a Mack Bolan clone holding a handgun. That’s not in the book. The tagline of, “The contract’s out from the Mafia masters – get the Enforcer before he gets us!” has absolutely nothing to do with this book. There’s no Mafia, no contract and the Enforcer isn’t out to get anyone. The book’s jacket is a scam just begging for you to spend your hard earned .95 cents on this guy instead of Bolan. I hope you didn’t.

Alex Jason is a successful author and lives in a nice apartment complex in New York. In the book’s opening chapters, we learn that Jason is in the final stages of stomach cancer and weights roughly 100-pounds. He’s not exactly in tip-top fighting shape regardless of his martial arts background. Aside from controlling his pain using inner self-control called Ki, he spends his dying days depleting his funds and having heavily detailed sex with his girlfriend (who at one-point wishes Jason had two penises to please her with). Jason entertains an offer from a mysterious hologram – he can live an additional two years if he can contribute his services to the John Anryn Institute. How is this possible for a terminal Cancer patient? Simple. A guy named Flack has invented successful body growing (and cloning). Frankenstein influences in a men’s action adventure tale?

In what of the most outrageous storylines of any genre series, Flack can simply place Jason’s mind in perfect bodies that he has grown from cells. While these bodies are healthy, strong and enamored with ginormous penises, they do have a flaw. After about 90 days the body will essentially melt and Jason will need to be replaced in a new body. Each time this happens…the brain waves become a little duller. It’s not a flawless process but Jason understands the risks. Soon Flack and his institute has Jason in laser beam training, an important part of his first mission – destroying oil wells in Cuba to spur a dictatorship’s downfall. After meeting, and screwing, a trainer named Brunie (also a cloned body), Jason is off to Cuba (?) to shoot the oil well with a laser beam. Unfortunately, his raft sinks along with most of his supplies. Considering Jason has no prior military experience and writes books for a living, he is soon captured by the dictator and forced into a three-month prison sentence of torture and penis flicking (by another man).

There are so many things wrong with this book that I can’t possibly outline them all here. 

First, why would the institute want Jason to do these things? It’s 1973, why not some Vietnam specialist or other military trained professional? Second, the author spends a bulk of the middle of this book just doing day to day stuff at the prison – very mild torture, hotbox occupancy, penis flicking – with very little payoff. How does our paperback warrior escape? Brunie and his laser beam trainer, Tutley, show up to spring him from the camp. 

The book continues for another 40 pages as the team learns there is an Island of Dr. Moreau thing happening in some secret laboratory on the island. Without proper supplies and arms (the laser beams have a max capacity of 15 shots), they literally walk into the laboratory and threaten the commander with a spider in a bag. No shit. I’m not making this up. Utterly ridiculous…and fascinating. 

The book’s finale, which can’t come soon enough, circles back to the novel’s opening pages of Jason melting away on a Caribbean beach. It’s hard to imagine where the series’ will go from here – but I’m hoping less spiders in a bag, less laser beams and much, much better writing.

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Steel-Jacket

Vanderbilt scholar Merle Constiner was a pulp detective and western writer from the 1940s through his death in 1979. In the 40s, Constiner’s characters Dean Wardlow Rock and Ben Mathews were featured in the detective magazines, which later would also feature the writer’s ‘Luther McGavock’ series of stories. In the 1950s, Constiner had journeyed into the western genre contributing books for Ace. His last novel, “Steel-Jacket”, was released as Ace entry 78580 in 1972.

The book introduces us to 19-year old Joe Fugate, a rough-shod orphan that grew up on the streets. The opening chapter explains that Fugate is passing through Oklahoma after looking for work further south in Arkansas. He rides upon Mr. Dennis and his daughter Amy traveling by wagon to Stinson County, Oklahoma. Amy explains that her father purchased a ranch called Flying 8 and the two are off to live there and raise pigs. Fugate explains that the trek could be dangerous and Amy asks him to accompany them. Mr. Dennis refuses the offer and Fugate soon rides upon them again, only Mr. Dennis has been murdered and Amy is shooting at two killers.

In a rather nonsensical fashion, Constiner attempts to detail a strange transaction between owners of the Flying 8 and the Dennis family. Loosely, Mr. Dennis saved $15,000 in gold only to throw it away on a fraudulent letter he received from an unknown source. The letter explained that if he paid some mysterious train passenger the money, he could take over ownership of the ranch and live out his merry life as a pig farmer. It’s far-fetched to think this man saved money for half his life only to throw it away so easily. Fugate decides he will lead Amy to the ranch safely and resolve his own suspicions about the Flying 8. Along the way the two meet characters along the road, sleep in various towns and generally just waste the reader’s time. Eventually (and painfully), the two discover the mystery behind the ranch ownership and why killers were after Mr. Dennis.

It’s easy to recognize Constiner’s love for mysteries and detective work. “Steel -Jacket” is really a “who’s who” sort of story but jacketed (pun intended) inside the cloak of western fiction. There’s a couple of very quick action sequences but nothing that would quench the thirst of die-hard western fans. Aside from that, the book reads more like a young adult tale with both Fugate and Amy being very young and displaying “unexperienced” characteristics. It was the author’s last work and it’s fitting that his closure was this book’s rather tidy finish. I won’t revisit this one again.

Deathlands #02 - Red Holocaust

Laurence James (as James Axler) takes over full-time for the second entry in the post-apocalyptic series ‘Deathlands’. “Red Holocaust” was released in September of 1986, 90-days from the release of series debut “Pilgrimage to Hell”. This series is a conglomerate of science-fiction and post-nuke elements, neatly wrapped in a jacket of men’s action adventure tales. It’s a unique series, and with that comes an abundance of cheers and jeers from genre fans. I could fall in the middle as a borderline fan, but I’ve only fully digested the first two books. There’s plenty to unpack in the series with over 120 volumes making up this epic storyline.

“Red Holocaust” picks up from the end results of the first book. Ryan and the crew are emerging from a redoubt location they entered somewhere in the pacific northwest. They quickly find they are in a large stone chamber that houses cameras and speakers. While not directly threatened at this early junction, the group find they are in a precarious position. Soon, a mysterious voice comes on known as “The Keeper”. This voice commands they lay down weapons and exit the chamber or they will be gassed. The group is hesitant but continue through the exit. This redoubt is in the northern most point of Alaska and sits underground in a 70-mile long bunker. The author describes it as a large shopping mall complete with store fronts, supplies and endless media. This underground fortress is solely maintained by an old man, The Keeper, and his two wives Lori and Rachel. The three pose no immediate threat and allow Ryan and company to stay at the bunker as long as they like. The group rearms themselves using one of the shops. Ryan and Krysty take the time for lovemaking while the others rest up, watch old movies and reacquaint themselves into a regular lifestyle – as short as it may be.

Meanwhile, an army of Russians have moved into the Bering Strait area and are attempting to cross over into Alaska. These “Narodniki” (translated to proponents of Russian propaganda) are on a track to the US hoping that history books are correct. They feel that America is still firmly intact after the war, housing beautiful women, skyscrapers, large cities and immense wealth. The group is led by an imbecile named Uchitel and his brother. The author poses them as vile terrorists and makes their trek a primary piece of the book. The Narodniki take over small villages, rape everyone and engage in atrocious forms of torture and punishment. While this is happening, another group of Russian fundamentalists are in pursuit of the Narodniki – although we never really learn why. This army is led by Major Zimyanin and pieces of their trek is shown to the reader – albeit far less interesting.

At one point, Ryan is warned to never leave the bunker due to mutants prowling the outer walls. Obviously, he dismisses said warnings and journeys out only to be attacked immediately. Later, Ryan and Krysty find that there may be a pile of dead bodies inside the bunker and The Keeper and Rachel could be more dangerous than the initial observations. After leaving the armory (and seeing a crucified baby), the team is assaulted by The Keeper and Rachel and saved by an early warning from Lori. The group escape the bunker only to run into the Narodniki savages. The team is captured in a wild finale that features a nuclear bomb, Russian armies and a small earthquake. In what could be a future formula, the team “solves the crisis” and enters the redoubt once again. Book three will ultimately show the next destination and adventure.

From a development perspective, “Red Holocaust” provides plenty of thought provoking entertainment that sets more of the series’ mythology. We learn that Doc’s real name is Theophilus Tanner and that the redoubts can technically be time traveling portals. Doc explains that the government was perfecting the process but continually would lose travelers or pieces of the subjects each time they attempted forward or future travel. This book also thins out the herd a little by killing off a few members of Ryan’s team. We started with over 30…now we are down to a half-dozen. More importantly, the reader provides a lot of details regarding Krysty and her mutant powers. She has hair that can move and grasp things at her will while also allowing her incredible strength by calling on Mother Earth. I’m sure this will be expanded as we get further into the series. Next up is “Neutron Solstice” as the action moves into the deep south.

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The Revenger #01 - The Revenger

There’s no denying that Don Pendleton’s 1969 premier of The Executioner series was the prime catalyst for the gritty, vigilante vengeance sagas. The early 70s was a fertile time period, growing numerous series’ that commonly referenced “er” ending titles (i.e. Butcher, Penetrator, Enforcer). Author Jon Messman had contributed to the genre as early as 1968 with five Nick Carter: Killmaster novels over a two-year period. After his own failed series, Hotline, Messmann was placed on a Signet debut called The Revenger in 1973. As Glorious Trash scribe Joe Kenney points out, initially this was probably a one-off novel that escalated into six total volumes. The book exhibits no signs of a continuation and is missing advertisements for the next book. There isn’t a display indicating The Revenger is the first of a series. These are typical publisher traits inviting readers to stick around for the next installment – with their cash in hand. Regardless how it was intended, The Revenger is pure quality. The whole series now exists as a brand new edition through Brash Books.

Today, this plot has run its course and may have been treading familiar ground even in 1973. It’s the revenge yarn we’ve read and watched since the early pulp adventures and westerns. Messmann utilizes it really well by exploring the human emotions while simultaneously providing a very vulnerable “executioner”. Ben Martin is ex-military and served in Vietnam as a killer for various US branches including the CIA. In brief recollections, the reader tells us how Ben would wait patiently in rice patties or filthy jungles for days awaiting perfect shots. His skills were valuable and Ben served his time well. 

In the book’s opening pages, we see Ben as a produce shopkeeper in lower Manhattan. He’s happily married to Donna (they make love a lot) and they have a small son, Ben Martin Jr. Ben’s shop is experiencing the typical Mafia protection racket, this time extended by the Gennosanti family. They want payment for protection or the store owners will experience…stiffness. When they knock on Ben’s door, he sticks an envelope opener through a guy’s hand and disarms them. Coolly, he calls the police who ultimately are pressed by the attorneys to let the enforcers just walk.

This particular family is managed locally by Joe Colardi. The Colardi family presents itself as fine, upstanding citizens and attend PTA meetings and donate large sums to the school. Generally, they are well liked. Beneath the surface, Joe is under pressure to deliver results for the Don of the Gennosanti family. With Ben refusing to pay, roughing up his goons and generally resisting the mob’s presence, Colardi has Ben’s son kidnapped. After a brief phone exchange, Ben agrees to negotiate with the Colardi crew if they can safely return his son. Unfortunately, they accidentally allow the boy to walk off of a rooftop to his death. Colardi loses his mind knowing that the Don won’t be happy of the negligence and the kidnapping, which was unbeknownst to him.

The second half of the book starts to resemble The Executioner debut War Against the Mafia. Ben becomes a bone-chilling assassin, seemingly dismissing life, marriage or any semblance of normality. His only purpose is to kill the mob. Like Bolan’s first planned assault, Ben purchases long guns and optics from a sporting goods store and camps out in the city taking out targets. Ben kills 13 enforcers in a few short hours and puts Colardi on the run in a city he has sworn to rule. Eventually, the Don becomes involved with a strategic plan to eliminate Ben’s explosive vendetta. The finale occurs on an early morning Ferry trip as Ben faces Colardi and Don’s enforcers.

Overall, this book works exceptionally well as the typical revenge yarn. It keeps a a brisk pace considering there is seldom any gunfire exchanges. Ben is the believable action hero - making mistakes, carelessness, vulnerability. In this book, he’s simply a human doing very human things. Emotions, debating strategy, recalling experiences while still trying to communicate with his wife Donna post-tragedy. The breakdown from human to cold assassin is a slow burn, but a morbidly entertaining one. The book’s bloody closing pages sort of recycles Ben Martin’s life. Killer to family man to killer…and perhaps family man again? If only it were a stand alone novel. Five more entries prove that isn’t the case. Messmann would later go on to write most of the first 200 volumes of The Trailsman while dabbling in other genres like science-fiction and horror.

Hawker #04 - Deadly in New York

Randy Wayne White, writing under Carl Ramm, wrote and released the fourth ‘Hawker’ novel, “Deadly in New York”, in 1984 via Dell Books. I’ve enjoyed this series for the most part and typically use it as breakage between team combat and post-apocalypse books. It’s a happy medium and for the most part an entertaining one. For those new readers that aren’t aware of ‘Hawker’ mythology – it’s fairly simple. Billionaire Jacob Montgomery Hayes provides resources to tough ex-Chicago policeman James Hawker. Hayes wants the wrongs righted and isn’t afraid to make Hawker an extension of his own vigilante hand. The book’s prior three entries placed Hawker against Florida mobsters, Los Angeles gangs and Irish terrorists. His fourth mission? Third Reich leftover Nazis posing as corporate real estate tycoons.

The book opens with an assassin named Renard seemingly murdering Hawker in a Caribbean bungalow. Of course, this was just a decoy piece of plaster. In a wild opening scene, Hayes and his mysterious butler Hendricks throw a scorpionfish at Renard, leaving him on the verge of death and dumped in the ocean. On the flight back from the Caymans, Hawker and the reader are brought up to speed on what’s so deadly in New York. It turns out a large corporation called Fister wants to reclaim a war-torn portion of The Bronx. To do this they are using illegal subsidiaries to capture government grants. With the federal funds the corporation will build large apartment complexes and office towers. Honestly, that isn’t really such a bad thing. Sure, it’s illegal but corporations do this all the time. But what puts it into the heart of a men’s action adventure story is that the inhabitants of these Bronx streets are ethnic Germans that are starting to rebuild the area, take it back from the goons and striving to create a better place free of corporate restraints. They won’t budge on leaving their homes…so Fister is bringing in the meat grinders to put tremendous pressure on the Germans to leave. The plot has been done to death…but now with Hawker in it.

Earlier, Hawker spent some time in New York surveilling the layout and hangout of the corporation’s mob enforcers. They are headquartered in a large warehouse near the river. Hawker, being a bit of a loose cannon here, loads up a knapsack, walks into the building and literally sprays every living creature with Ingrams submachine guns. Careless, ill-advised and doomed to fail, Hawker’s spraying puts him on the run inside the warehouse, climbing staircases and dodging gunfire. Thankfully, he places sausage rolls of C-4 as he goes. Once he hits the top…everything below him blows. Hawker escapes the burning warehouse with the help of a New York city cop named Calis who’s friends with Hawker’s old colleague in Los Angeles (second book). After a quick mattress romp with a thankful German beauty, Hawker jumps on a plane to rescue employer Jacob Hayes. Where’s he at? Great question.

In a backstory that is running behind Hawker’s deadly assault in New York, details finally emerge regarding Hayes’ mysterious butler Hendricks. The prior three books had always hinted there was more to the English chap than what was presented. This book reveals Hendricks’ past as a secret agent for the English during WW2. He actually entered Hitler’s sanctuary during the Soviet invasion, saw the body and removed a treasured relic from the dictator’s lap. In London, Hendricks consults a war buddy and puts the pieces together – Fister Corporation is operated by a Nazi named Fisterbaur and an old spy named The Druid. There’s a little more backstory here that could flesh out more of a future role for the butler. In the meantime, Hayes has been captured by Fister’s goons and tortured with surgical tubes and scalpels. The book’s finale has Hawker fighting back to back with Hendricks to save Hayes and crush the Nazi corporate raiders.

White throws an abundance of data at the reader in this fourth volume. Finally, we gain some insight on Hendricks and learn that he might gain a prominent role in future books. While there was a lot to unpack, the plot was fairly simple and, if not unoriginal, certainly carries the same “let’s bully the residents until they depart” theme that is heavily borrowed by other media. There was a rushed pace to the book and forced some scenes upon the reader. The New York ally in Calis was never expanded, the love interest was never developed and at the end of the day…we still don’t quite understand what this Druid role was within The Third Reich. Not a highlight of the series thus far but enjoyable nonetheless.

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Swampmaster #02 - Hell on Earth

“Hell on Earth” is the second novel in Jake Spencer’s (real name Jerome Preisler) post-apocalyptic trilogy ‘Swampmaster’ and was released by Diamond in 1992. Often compared to the ‘Mutants Amok’ series by David Bischoff (under house name Mark Grant), ‘Swampmaster’ is a senseless no-brainer, complete with mad scientists, Native American commandos and tumor covered mutants waging war in the Florida Everglades. It’s boneheaded Neanderthal action that makes very little sense to the reader…and author. But it exists, and by that fact alone I feel obligated to read and review it for the men’s action and adventure fans.

The series debut, “Swampmaster”, explained that nuclear war has devastated what was once the US. Since then, civilization as we know it has changed dramatically. By 2009, the country has been fragmented and now consists of 16 states that have unified to form The National Front (TNF). This TNF union is tyrannical and backed by big military. To live in one of these states is to ultimately sacrifice freedom and liberty; slavery and labor for food and shelter. While this is an umbrella theme through the series, the trilogy only focuses on Florida’s coastline and a small pocket of resistance led by a Seminole martial artist named John Firecloud…or Swampmaster depending on scene and page.

In the first novel Firecloud liberates a train carrying circus performers and uses the passengers as allies in his battle against The National Front in St. Augustine. “Hell on Earth” picks up a month or two later with Firecloud, acrobatic twins The Marcuses, Zeno and love interest Saralyn ambushing a convoy of heavily armed TNF troopers in the Everglades. In one outrageous scene, the Marcus twins handspring across the battlefield to draw fire away from Firecloud’s crew. Unbelievable. In another early scene a Dodge Colt station wagon emerges through the jungle carrying a carload of mutants dressed as clowns and wearing women’s wigs. These “White Trash” mutants are covered in tumors and festering sores and serve as slave mercenaries by TNF. It is this sort of stuff that carries “Swampmaster” into the realms of the ridiculous. I’m not sure if it propels the action or unintentionally serves as a distraction.

The premise for “Hell on Earth” is the TNF are setting up a new military compound off of Long Pine Key called Life Harvest. This is a laboratory sitting on an enormous oil well platform in the Gulf of Mexico. There’s a Dr. Guderian there who is playing mad scientist and allowing soldiers to remotely control mutants through brainwaves. Firecloud’s white stepbrother Bill Coonen is featured as a hired mercenary for TNF and proves to be a worthy opponent. Senior leader Groll, a recurring vile villain from the series’ opener, is in charge of the operation and routinely curses and kills his own men to show superiority while playing video games like ‘Hitler’s Legacy’ and ‘Auschwitz’. Opposing the over-the-top antagonists is the likable good guys. There’s Firecloud’s band and a cool little shopkeeper named Joe that just wants to help people.

Swampmaster learns of the existence of Life Harvest and leads The Marcuses and Saralyn in a high-speed assault featuring armed boats and jet skis. Both Saralyn and Swampmaster get captured and taken back to Life Harvest for the obligatory torture sessions. After strenuous and brutal exercises, Swampmaster is led to an arena where he must battle a seven-foot mutant that is controlled by Groll remotely. Saralyn attempts to free herself simultaneously as The Marcuses attempt to blow up the platform. It’s a climactic and awarding finale that sees all guns blazing in a rescue attempt, sea battle and a surprise twist that reveals itself to the shock of the reader. All of these elements play an important role in the book’s upgraded quality when compared to its predecessor. While certainly not top-tier literary fiction, “Hell on Earth” is enjoyable and rescues the series from the ‘Mutants Amok’ and ‘Roadblaster’ occupied cellar.

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Last Mountain Man #07 - War of the Mountain Man

William W. Johnstone released his seventh ‘Last Mountain Man’ book in May of 1990 for Zebra. “War of the Mountain Man” continues the adventures of paperback warrior Smoke Jensen and his westward war with land barons, rapists, outlaws and criminal fast-draws. At this point in time, it’s all rather cookie cutter as Johnstone seemingly just phones in the action by recycling fights and enemies and placing them in subsequent books. At one point, two characters shockingly absorb Smoke’s account of killing over 200 men in prior adventures. It’s a testament to the series' high body count and the protagonist’s own immortality. Smoke may be grazed by bullets or fists, but his unwavering legacy just continues on – maybe at the expense of the reader.

The book’s opening chapter explains that Smoke and his wife Sallie have sent the kids abroad via a steamship. Sallie wants to spend some time alone with Smoke and wants the two of them to go visit an old school colleague, Victoria, in Montana. Victoria and her husband Robert have inherited a ranch in Hell’s Creek where a land baron named Max Hutchins resides. Smoke is weary of the visit, but is reading between the lines – Sallie needs Smoke’s skills to liberate the two ranchers. The two arrive at a small town on the Swan River where Smoke is informed that a survivor named Jake Lewis is still alive. Readers may remember that Smoke avenged the death of his first wife in a camp called Uncomphagre in the series’ first book. Jake, a survivor of Smoke’s Uncomphagre raid, is working for Hutchins which is an easy connect-the-dots for the author and an inevitable showdown for readers to anticipate.

Barlow is a corrupt little place where Hutchins has killed off the paper editor, Marshall, and tarred and feathered the minister. He’s replaced them all with his own men, something that Smoke corrects instantly upon arrival. Collectively, he rallies the town’s 30 willing citizens to fight back against Hutchins and his 100 gunners. The town votes to elect Smoke as the sheriff and soon the town is rebuilt – bank, shops, school, police force, etc. 

Barlow is an unusual spot geographically. The north end is controlled by Hutchins and the south is ruled by an equally vile criminal in Red Malone. The two split the gambling, whoring and raping equally and Smoke soon cuts off all supply trains in and out of Hell’s Creek. There’s no railroad to this part of the country…so needless to say Smoke prompts the ultimate war with Malone and Hutchins. A bulk of the book’s story is hit and run tactics by both men, some rapes, burning and, of course, some death. The finale is predictable as the town defends the raiders in the not so epic showdown.

Johnstone never seems to run out of books, yet he is clearly out of ideas here. Malone and Hutchins are molded from the same elements as the series’ prior bad guys – Potter, Stratton, Richards, Hanks and McKorkle. These books wouldn’t be nearly as lethargic if we actually saw Smoke injured or simply pressed face first to the boards. Instead, Smoke is arrogant to the point of annoying because he, like the reader, knows he is invincible. It’s nearly pulp fiction as Smoke runs around, often completely alone, and kills off dozens upon dozens of bad guys. We love the hero, but at the same time we need vulnerability. Smoke is never in danger. It’s unfortunate, but this series is rather stale and lifeless with a barrel-chested hero that has immortality.

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Dakota #01 - Dakota Warpath

Author Gilbert Ralston is better known for his writing credits in Hollywood. Ralston helped create the “The Wild Wild West” show and wrote for similar television pieces like “Laredo”, “The Big Valley” and “Gunsmoke” in the 1960s. Ralston, born in Newcastle, Ireland, attended college at Sierra Nevada College, worked as a journalist and was a member of the Western Writers of America. All three of these experiences, combined with his screenplay skills, contribute to the look and feel of this series, ‘Dakota’. The series debut, “Dakota Warpath”, was released by Pinnacle in 1973 under the guise of just another hard-hitting action series. It isn’t necessarily in the mold of a ‘Death Merchant’ or ‘Destroyer’. This is more of a white-knuckle detective vehicle…that still manages to delivers the same goods.

Dakota is a half Piegan, half Shoshoni detective working out of the Sierras in Nevada. He’s an ex-Marine who served in Vietnam as a talker for an advanced unit. Apparently, Dakota and his two brothers were surrounded in the bush and only Dakota survived. There is a slight discrepancy to this story later as Dakota tells a Marine pilot he was a Ranger. In my research, only Army had Rangers but this could be associated with Dakota attending Army Ranger school at one point and possibly learning demolition. Regardless, Dakota emerges from the war and becomes a police force in New York before moving back to the Sierras to work his family’s ranch while simultaneously doing investigative work (and rodeo). All of this seems like a whole lot of hyperbole on the part of the author – but I’m going to say I absolutely love this character. In a lot of ways Dakota is the perfect merger of Craig Johnson’s dedicated sheriff Longmire and his loyal friend Henry Standing Bear. Again, this book was released in 1973 but is nearly the perfect precursor to Longmire. Dakota embodies the intelligent, western working man in the able hands of a brilliant writer.

“Dakota Warpath” performs its obligations as a series debut – introducing the character while also building validity. In the early pages we gain most of the above through a conversation between Dakota and a longtime friend named Sam Lew. Dakota is introduced to a potential new client, unknown at the time as Amy Rainey. She explains her husband was murdered in a Nevada town called Poison Springs and those same killers are targeting her. Before Dakota can take the case, Sam’s car explodes killing both Sam and Rainey. It’s Dakota’s crime to solve – did the killers target Sam or Amy and why? The town’s sheriff deputizes Dakota and soon the location is moved to Poison Springs. It’s your typical one-horse town controlled by a millionaire named Burton Ashley. He runs the place including its casino and ranch brothel. Dakota plays nice with Ashley for a little while, and later teams with the town’s deputy, Phillips, a journalist named Spring and a brief love interest in Janet. Dakota also teams up with a Navajo kid named Louis as he investigates the Rainey murders and Ashley’s complex criminal empire.

Ralston writes this book as a testimony to his screenplay experience. It reads like a movie or television episode where a lot of “on page” action isn’t necessarily described in exhaustive detail. For example, Dakota can walk into a familiar place and just know some of his hometown’s residents and friends. The burden isn’t on Ralston to explain how Dakota knows them or what they are wearing or where they are standing during dialogue. I actually prefer this style of writing and it certainly trims the fat off to leave room for the “meat and potatoes”. It keeps the book moving at a fairly high pace even if you were to cite the slow burn build up of the first half. The books finale is a firestorm for the last 40-50 pages, placing Dakota in the desert hills with a .38 against a half-dozen armed bad guys. That portion of the writing is very western oriented and captures intense cat and mouse tactics as Dakota defends his position. Nestled in between detective work, fist fights and gun battles s are some really touching moments where Dakota consoles a senile, elderly man, calls his mother nightly and returns a 15-year old girl to her father. It isn’t bravado, bullet belts and bare chests – Dakota is a human that makes mistakes throughout the book and isn’t afraid to admit it. There were four more books in this series and I wish there were more. Sadly, Ralston passed away in 1999 at the age of 87. He leaves behind a legacy of quality media including this career highlight - in my opinion. ‘Dakota’ comes highly recommended and should please fans of the ‘Longmire’ series.

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Doc Savage #08 - The Land of Terror

I’m notating this review as “Doc Savage 08” due to Bantam releasing these in paperback order. “The Land of Terror” was originally released as the second ‘Doc Savage Magazine’ issue in April, 1933. The confusion may lie in the fact that Bantam released their books out of the series' original publishing order (under house name Kenneth Robinson). I’m still a new reader of this character and many sources advise me to just read them in any order. So, with that explanation clearing the air…

“The Land of Terror” picks up after the events of the series debut, “Man of Bronze”. Savage is now receiving his pipeline of funds and can afford to travel the world righting wrongs. In one early effective scene Savage hands a fistful of cash to a woman experiencing blindness. He encourages her to use the money and a personalized handwritten note to seek out a surgeon friend of Doc’s. He does this while chasing a bad guy, which is ultimately the book’s setup and early premise. It turns out Doc’s friend and chemist Jerome Coffern is melted by a mysterious substance released by the villain Kar. In furious opening chapters, the reader is tagging along as Savage is on a highspeed foot chase to capture Coffern’s murderer. The killer is attempting to dodge Savage’s advance by running through New York streets, downtown apartment buildings and onto a tourist ship in the Hudson River. It’s a long but entertaining sequence of events that culminates in the killer escaping.

Later, Savage does a little detective work and learns that the melting substance being used is called the Smoke of Eternity and Kar’s gang plans to use it for robbing banks and other dastardly deeds. As a gumshoe, Savage learns that Coffern, a taxidermist named Bittman and a guy named Yuder traveled to a remote New Zealand location known as Thunder Island. After asking Bittman, an old friend of Doc’s father, about the trip, Bittman suspects that Yuder could really be the mysterious Kar and that the Smoke of Eternity could have originated from Thunder Island. After another furious chase scene that involves Monk being captured, the team pursue the bad guys from New York to Thunder Island. From here it falls into what I perceive as the typical Doc Savage adventure tale - exotic location, strange creatures, gunfire and a quest or chase to thwart some evil mastermind.

It’s only Dent’s second issue of writing this character but it’s clearly evident he has a firm grasp on what he wants to express to the reader. The first half of the book works really well as a simultaneous chase scene while still asking probing questions as an investigative pursuit of plot. The second half is by far the best as Doc’s team faces dinosaurs and Kar’s henchmen inside of a volcano. Fans of the series often point out the fact that this entry includes five killings, something Doc’s team doesn’t do much (if any) of in future volumes. High body count on a pursuit of vengeance. I’m okay with it.

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Outrider #05 - Built to Kill

Robert Tine’s ‘Outrider’ series comes to a premature ending with book five, “Built to Kill”. Genre fans hold the series in high regard – keeping in mind that it’s a fun, senseless ride that doesn’t convey any realism or seriousness. It’s 80s post-nuke fiction with all of the characteristics or stereotypes that go with it. The publisher, Pinnacle, was sold shortly after this book’s release in 1985, bringing to a halt the series with a promised book six (pictured below) never reaching fruition. Regardless, this closing chapter has a great makeshift ending that wraps up storylines and characters from the past four novels. I’m extremely satisfied with calling this book the ultimate finale.

Each of the past four novels had our hero Bonner battling marauders, gangs and tyrants in each of North American’s new territories – Slavestates, Hotstates and Snowstates. Chicago, where Bonner and other loners live, has always been a neutral city surrounded by dried up lake Michigan. It’s a hard area to attack, made even more difficult with the amount of firepower possessed by these loners and renegades. However, arch enemy Leatherman poses a scheme to align the territorial leaders into a collective combat force to take Chicago. It sounds awesome on paper…but realistically we just know Leatherman plans to eliminate everyone but his own forces. He wants to rule the whole continent and thinks the downfall of Chicago will be the best opportunity.

The author brings in all of the familiar characters of the series – Beck, Bonner, The Means, Clara, Lucky and even a surprise visit from a guy named Starling. At times it’s intentionally humorous and I found myself laughing out loud at the antics of Starling and Beck. Lucky actually plays a big part in the book, moving him from under the hood to a spot in the front seat. I always liked the character and it was really entertaining to see more of him. From an action stance, the novel does spend a lot of time setting up what is essentially a 10-page fight. I thought the inevitable confrontation between Leatherman and Bonner was more fizzle than spark. The book could have been fleshed out with a little more action but publishing and time restraints probably limited the author’s creative force. Overall, this series was highly entertaining and closed out perfectly in my opinion. Grab copies of these books and keep them safe and dry. Pass them on down the line and let the next generation explore this wacky and wild genre we know and love.

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M.I.A. Hunter #05: Exodus from Hell

Stephen Mertz is widely considered the main creator of the ‘M.I.A. Hunter’ series. He, along with Bill Crider and Joe Lansdale, wrote a majority of the series’ 17 books. For book five, “Exodus from Hell”, popular action and western author Chet Cunningham apparently came on board. I’ve spent a great deal of time digging under stones and bridges to provide the definitive verification of this – but just can’t seem to gain anything other than Joe at the Glorious Trash blog sourcing the book’s author in his review. It would certainly make sense as Cunningham also wrote the non-numbered book “Stone: M.I.A. Hunter” between books five and six. However, jury still out at the time of this review.

“Exodus from Hell” is another Jove paperback, released in 1986 under house name Jack Buchanan. Fans of the series know exactly what to expect when they flip open the novel – Mark Stone, Hog Wiley and Terrance Loughlin kicking serious jungle ass. This fifth entry in the series does plenty of that, but is unique to this line because it reverses the order of events from the series’ predecessors. While prior books followed the same formula, this book surprisingly does things just a little differently.

As the book begins we have a familiar scene unfolding with Stone and his mercenaries deep into Cambodia. The trio, along with hired assistance, quickly dispose of a small unit of Vietnamese soldiers before approaching a prison camp that’s housing three American prisoners of war. We are introduced to two of these characters as the author describes in graphic detail their daily rituals, struggles and punishment. In a furious opening scene, the camp is liberated and the trio are able to rescue two of the three soldiers. The third had perished under the harsh conditions before the rescue. Here’s where things get a little bit divergent. Instead of the book focusing on the heroes receiving the assignment, scouting the location and then making the finale rescue, this book reverses the order of events. “Exodus from Hell” is true to its name. This book captures the escape and trek out of hostile land.

If we assume the book is written by Cunningham, then his descriptive combat throughout the book would be at least partially written from experience. Cunning served in the Korean War, fought in two battles and, according to his website, participated in numerous line-crossing and prisoner patrols. All of that is presented with detail and authority here. He’s an engaging storyteller and really brings focus and clarity to the dangers awaiting Stone and company – the jungle environment, fatigue, opposition. As Stone attempts to get his company out of harm’s way, they can only watch in horror as the rescue chopper explodes. Thus, the premise of the book, hiking on foot through 200 miles of jungle to cross over into safehouse Thailand. Along the trek the group has one P.O.W. completely delusional, strong guy Wiley being injured and carted and a missionary that is attempting to transport six children out of harm’s way. All of these elements collectively create a perfect storm.

I hold this series in fairly high regard overall. It’s connected to my childhood and with that comes a certain kinship. But these books are just really well written, whether it’s Lansdale, Mertz, Cunningham or whoever. “Exodus to Hell” is a series highlight for me and one that definitely stands the test of time. It’s saturated with combat violence, presenting a gritty story of survival, but occasionally muffles the bang with heartfelt strives for peace. It’s a great story and I highly recommended it even if you aren’t a fan of the series. If you love this genre…you simply can’t go wrong here.

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U.S.S.A. #01 - Book One

“It’s 1996. The Fight to Save America Has Just Begun”. This slogan adorns the top of Tom De Haven’s ‘U.S.S.A.’ debut, “Book One” (also seen online as “Top Secret”). With its Avon release in 1987, this young adult novel paints a disturbing portrait of a future Dystopian America. De Haven borrows a bit from Ray Bradbury’s iconic ‘Fahrenheit 451’ to fuel this nightmarish vision of the United States of Secure America, a military controlled, ultra-right-wing state that has aligned closely with the Soviet Union. While “freedom” is still a viable option, its sacrifices are free speech, independent media and privacy. While the book was written and released in the 80s, a lot of the author’s themes and ideas predict what is happening in our own present day. It’s unsettling, yet a vivid reminder of how liberty is a hard fought and precious commodity.

In the book’s premise, a coup occurs in Washington on January 19th, 1995 that eliminates the government’s infrastructure. Congress is ultimately fired, along with the president. The military, led by a de-facto leader named General Sawchuk, takes control of the US proclaiming it the U.S.S.A. They align with the ultra-right-wing policies of the Soviet Union and, together, begin a worldwide campaign to tackle the Middle East and Mexico. All of this is recounted in the early chapters by the main character, Eddie Ludlow, in first person narrative.

At the beginning of the novel we learn that one year has passed since the coup, and patriotic “renewal” is enforced by aggressive New Cops and the military. Eddie is a high school student living in a small, midwestern town. The novel’s opening pages has Eddie and some friends sneaking off to a secret bazaar that allows students to sell and swap banned music. In a horrifying scene that echoes Bradbury, we see the New Cops arrive, dousing all of the outlawed media with flamethrowers. While that sort of imagery doesn’t envelope the entire novel, it definitely sets the tone that this is a foreign US.

A majority of this series opener is spent on just the day to day activities in and out of high school. It’s catered to the young adult crowd (arguably 12-17) so you won’t find heavy gunfire. There’s some, not a lot. Instead this one really soaks up the atmosphere of a very different “land of the free”. There’s one news channel and it is state controlled. Robotic birds serve as roving “big brother” cameras. The school only uses state propaganda and regularly replaces teachers with new government heads. One of Eddie’s teachers, Mr. Graham, asks, “Is patriotism – the love of one’s country – always the same thing as the love of one’s government?” This is during a discussion of ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’. Later, Eddie learns that Mr. Graham has been fired and seemingly homeless after challenging his students to think outside of the box.

While Eddie’s day to day is outlined, De Haven introduces some lovable characters in Mike, Roger and Eddie’s love interest, B.J. As the kids start to question their existence in the new regime, they team with an underground resistance group headed by “Denim Guy”. He challenges the group to think about the USA and how important it was and still is. They all strive to fight back, but understand “freedom isn’t won in an hour”. There’s a number of smaller plot lines – Eddie’s father is a reporter and is filming various protests across the country. B.J.’s father is employed as a scientist by the military and questions his country’s morals and ethics. The book’s finale is a bullet ridden chase scene that propels the story into later books.

De Haven was born in 1949 and I can see where his life experiences factored into the story. 50s and early 60s rock and roll could have been a bit taboo for him as a young man, perhaps an inspiration for some of the anti-media tactics of the New Cops. The author has written several fantasy novels, a Superman book and comes back to this series for it’s last entry, book four. I think he did a fantastic job placing himself into Eddie’s “young” thought process. The pacing is about right for this introductory tale, but will need to pick up as the series progresses forward. I own book two also but will need to locate and purchase the others. Based on this volume, it should be money well spent.

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