Conan - Savage Sword of Conan #01 (Titan)

Robert E. Howard's Conan licensing is a moving target in the comics industry. Many associate the character with Marvel based on the success of the 1970s Conan the Barbarian comic and the Savage Sword of Conan magazine. However, the character was a dominant force when Dark Horse comics purchased the license, only to lose it to Marvel decades later. Recently, the entertainment studio company Heroic Signatures purchased the licensing and offers their IP to anyone with a thick wallet – like British publisher Titan Comics.

Titan began publishing their series, Conan the Barbarian, in August of 2023 through a licensing agreement with Heroic Signatures. In February, 2024, the inevitable The Savage Sword of Conan black and white magazine was published. Like any respectable Conan fan, I bought two copies of the first issue in hopes that I can wallpaper my future grandchildren's home in thousand-dollar bills. I hope to review more modern Conan publications so I thought I would begin here with the first issue of The Savage Sword of Conan by Titan Comics. 

My issue features the cover created by Joe Jusko, an astounding artist that painted Conan the Barbarian trading cards in the 1990s. In other Conan-related works, he provided interior illustrations for the Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed RPG and Dynamite's Red Sonja. The other Jusko cover associated with this issue is the FOC cover which is the full panel with no fonts or title. The cover is also featured in black and white in the inside to accompany a Conan short-story titled "Sacrifice in the Sand" by Jim Zub, which was inspired by Jusko's art. 

Roberto De La Torre is an important artist in modern Conan. De La Torre was an active contributor on the Conan the Barbarian (2019-2021), King Conan (2021-2022), and Conan: Exodus and Other Tales (2021) titles that were all published by Marvel. I really enjoy his artwork and his amazing Conan pin-up is on page three. Additionally, Rebeca Puebla (007: King and Country, Bettie Page) provides a pin-up of Belit on page six. Fans of the 1970s Conan the Barbarian comic will enjoy artist Howard Chaykin's pin-up of Solomon Kane on page 77.

As you open the magazine, the first thing that really stands out is a personal introduction by Conan royalty, Roy Thomas. He provides a brief history of Conan in the comics and the pains and triumphs of the character in print. Thomas also adds that he was invited by Titan to write more Conan stories for this magazine – an offer he is apparently taking them up on.

The issue's main story is "Conan & The Dragon Horde". It was written by John Arcudi, a veteran comic storyteller that wrote in Savage Sword of Conan issues #150-152, 158, 165, 182 and also penned stories for Savage Tales. Arcudi is a dynamic, all-around author that has contributed to hundreds of comic titles since 1986. The story's art was created by Max Von Fafner. He created the cover for Conan the Barbarian #3 (2023), Conan: Battle of the Black Stone #2 (2024), and a variant cover for this Savage Sword of Conan issue. 

In the story, Conan is serving as a general in a Hyrkanian cavalry division headed to a large fortress in the Hyrkania desert. Conan is leading a band of soldiers, bandits, and mercenaries that are assisting an ousted prince in returning to the fortress to seize a lucrative treasure hold. There are twin soldiers serving the prince (who totes around two lions) that immediately piss Conan off when they insult a Turanian woman, Ineah, serving as a weapons engineer. 

Soon, Conan beds down Ineah and Von Fafner leaves nothing to the imagination. She is gorgeous. But, she proves to be a capable fighter and a brilliant mastermind in terms of weapon placement and use. The bizarre part of the story is when a dinosaur – yes a dinosaur – breaks from the fortress and attacks Conan's men. Thankfully, Ineah saves the day with her ballista. 

When Conan and company make camp outside of the fortress, they are surprised that no one from within the compound has bothered to attack them. As the days continue with no activity, Conan uses his thief background to climb into the city to determine what is actually happening there. 

I felt that the story was just okay. The artwork leads the way, as usual, and Conan's mannerisms and leadership is par for the course. There's nothing to dislike about Arcudi's writing, but it didn't wow me like a traditional first issue's lead story should. 

The aforementioned “Sacrifice in the Sand” short story by Jim Zub followed. Honestly, I just skipped it to jump into the Solomon Kane story, “Master of the Hunt”. This is the first of a promised trilogy of stories that places Kane on the hunt for a monster terrorizing a village. The story and art is by Patrick Zircher, a veteran that has worked on numerous Marvel and DC titles like Action Comics, Detective Comics, Superman, Captain America, Avengers, and Iron Man just to name a few. I love Solomon Kane so I was anxious to see what he could do with the character.

The story is set in Glamorgan, Wales on All Hallow's Eve. A blind man drinking ale in a bar explains that this night is when the gateways between worlds is very thin. Outside the tavern, readers are treated to small panels showing some sort of monster attacking and killing sheep. The next day Kane arrives and sees the monster's tracks. He chances upon a woman and her son living in a small farmhouse. The woman explains that her husband has embarked on the “great hunt” with other villagers in search of the monster.

I can't give too much away here due to spoilers, but this was a well-written, fast-paced narrative that excellently “got” REH's Kane character. There are scenes of Kane praying as well as dialogue emphasizing Kane's commitment to God to rid the world of evil. Although the twist ending could be seen a mile away, it didn't detract me from the story and art. The promised sequel should take the characters and monster in a new direction and I'm looking forward to that. 

More Solomon Kane is included at the end with an excellent essay penned by Jeffrey Shanks explaining the character's publication history and failure to equal the popularity of Kull and Conan. 

Overall, The Savage Sword of Conan #1 was pretty good. There's nothing to complain about, but at this point there is just so many Conan comics, books, collections, ebooks, and stories being published that the market is completely saturated. You could read nothing but Conan your entire life and never get through it all. With that being said, my failure to be overly stimulated by this new version of Savage Sword can partly be blamed on too much too fast. I have the same issue with Batman. It's an embarrassment of riches available to anyone anytime.

Get this issue plus the following two issues HERE.

Assault on a Queen

Jack Finney's first three novels – 5 Against the House, The Body Snatchers, House of Numbers – all appeared in glossy magazines before being compiled into full-length published novels. All three of those novels were so successful that they were adapted into films. As expected, Finney's fourth career effort, Assault on a Queen, followed that exact same trend. It was first published from August through September of 1959 in the Saturday Evening Post under the title The U-19's Last Kill. This serial was later published as Assault on a Queen by Simon & Schuster in the same year as a hardcover. In 1966 this book was adapted into a film starring Frank Sinatra.

Other than the opening segment, the narrative is presented in first-person by Hugh, a former Navy Lieutenant that served in WW2 on a submarine. After the way Hugh has floundered from job to job and can't find a steady romance. He often dreams of being an independent person who isn't reliant upon a job to rob him of his valuable time. There is a particular tirade that Hugh unleashes about jobs (corporate America) robbing everyone of their life. He explains that we sell our time for mere dollars and never gain any satisfaction. Finney nails the perspective of middle-class Americans and it speaks volumes even 65 years later. He was a smart guy.

Hugh runs into a man named Vic that also served on a submarine in the Navy. The two were never friends but knew each other during their time in the war. The two strike up a conversation and Vic takes Hugh to a house on the beach to meet some other veterans. There, Hugh meets three other men, each representing England, Germany, and Italy. There is also a woman there named Rosa. It is quite the motley crew. Vic then explains the purpose of their meeting.

The German, a guy named Lauffner, has found the submarine he commanded during the war. It is on the bottom of the Atlantic just a few miles from the coast. The group of men want to bring the submarine to the surface so it can be restored and operational again. But what's the purpose?

In a clever way, Finney doesn't reveal to the reader what the submarine will be used for. Granted, there is a discussion about the wealthy people on board a British passenger ship called the Queen Mary and the book's title to give it away, but the first 100 pages leaves out the details. These first half of the narrative is spent with the men getting to know one another and the work they put into the submarine. There is a side-story with Hugh competing with the Italian over Rosa. 

The book's second half is the heist itself which I won't spoil for you here. In many ways the book works like 5 Against the House but on a grander scale. Finney concentrates on character development and emphasizing why these men want wealth and independence. This is a theme that I've pointed out before with Finney's literary work. Even in The Body Snatchers there is a sense of alternate perceptions and the need to transform into something else. Finney has a unique way of connecting the reader with the characters and he makes that connection in Assault on a Queen.

If you love heist novels by the likes of Donald Westlake, Dan Marlowe, and Lionel White, then the formula will please you – plan, execute, getaway. The idea of making it a nautical caper is genius. Jack Finney was an amazing storyteller and this book showcases that talent. Highly recommended! Get your copy HERE.

One Man's Treasure

According to his bio, Terrance Layhew is an amateur swashbuckler, Organic Inspector, and a national man of mystery. As the host of Suit Up!, he has reviewed countless contemporary novels and interviewed numerous independent authors and publishers. His novels include Reason and Romance (2022), Prose and Procrastination (2024), and men's action-adventure novel One Man's Treasure (2024). After receiving an ARC of the latter, I climbed aboard to sail the Caribbean.

The book is presented in first-person perspective, however each chapter is from the viewpoint of either Dix or Sam, two brothers on a quest for love and money. Dix is an aggressive corporate attorney fresh off of a pivotal merger transaction. He's also a playboy, an amateur swashbuckler, and an avid gambler. Which is one of the reasons Dix is at Sam's apartment in the opening chapter.

Dix explains to Sam, a much more preserved character who is on the verge of engagement to his spunky girlfriend Amy. Over Malbec and Wellington, Dix presents an ancient treasure map, and then in his chapter, explains to the reader how he acquired the map from a poker player in a high-stakes game. 

The next day Sam collaborates with a former college classmate turned geography nerd. They learn the map may date back to 1670 and is a remnant of a rivalry between a pirate named Killian Jack and Spanish nobles over a love affair with a princess. The map suggests a treasure dubbed the Caribbean Crown is buried on a small island in the Venezuelan basin of the Caribbean. 

One Man's Treasure sets sail with Dix and Sam, fully equipped for an expedition, renting a charter and searching for the shiny goods. However, there are plenty of obstacles and shady characters thrown into the narrative to provide an entertaining and exhilarating race to the finish. With Amy on the venture, Sam's love interest is highlighted, but the really fun aspect to this action-adventure novel is the chemistry between Dix and Mallory, a woman he loves. Layhew's smooth prose introduces an underlining plot that has a great divide between the two jaded lovers that nearly steals the show.

Layhew's juggling act of romantic love affairs and stolen treasure makes for a riveting and dynamic reading experience. From modern day pirates and high stakes gambling to sword fights and gunfire, One Man's Treasure is the proverbial action-adventure pulp of the year. Get your copy HERE.

Riverboat

Colorado resident Douglas Hirt has been an accomplished author of western fiction since 1991. Later, he threw his talent for historical fiction into a three-book series about a Mississippi riverboat during the 1800s and the ensemble cast of characters traveling on the steamship. The first novel in the series, Riverboat, was initially published in 1995 and remains available today from Wolfpack Publishing.

The Tempest Queen is the riverboat in question running up and down the Mississippi River filled with passengers and limited cargo in the years before the Civil War. Every passenger has a story, and Hirt leverages that reality into a Love Boat/Fantasy Island 300-page ensemble epic of criss-crossing and overlapping stories.

The captain is William Hamilton who has been on the river for 30 years and finally has a ship of his own. For this journey, he’ll be headed down the Mississippi for a week to The Tempest Queen’s home port of Baton Rouge. The boat is a football field long with multiple decks and 63 passengers plus crew. The ship is used for human transport but has many of the amenities of a Carnival Cruise lines and the passengers live in luxury on the journey.

My favorite passenger is the raffish professional gambler, Dexter McCay. There’s also an interesting subplot about a runaway slave who was captured in the woods and is now being transported in chains back to his cruel master’s estate by a loathsome and violent slave catcher. This sparks the novel’s action scenes and the author does a nice job using this as a vehicle to explore the variety of opinions regarding human enslavement in the run-up to the Civil War.

At 300-pages, the novel was a bit overlong and meandered at times, but this is a fine historical novel definitely worth reading. I’m thrilled that Wolfpack Press re-discovered it for modern audiences, and I’m looking forward to the next installment.

Get Riverboat HERE.

Book Store Collector's Mania!

Eric loses what's left of his sanity when he dives into an obscure book store in central Florida. Loads of vintage paperbacks and hardbacks as well as pulp magazines, comics books, graphic novels, and pop-culture toys are featured in this exclusive video. Exciting characters include Conan, Tarzan, The Spider, Knight Rider, The Survivalist, Doctor Who, Star Trek, John Carter, Sherlock Holmes, and loads of Ace-Double science-fiction series titles.

Paperback Warrior Podcast - Episode 109

Into the woods we go! In this episode, Eric takes a journey through a popular niche genre of men's action-adventure novels - Deer Hunter Horror. Capsule reviews are presented for novels like Shoot, Open Season, Deer Hunt, High Hunt, and more. Also, a contemporary novel is reviewed titled East Indianman by Griff Hosker. Stream on any podcasting platform, stream below or download HERE. Be sure to check out the companion video HERE featuring a deep dive into an obscure book store in central Florida with loads of vintage paperbacks and appealing pop-culture. 

Listen to "Episode 109: Deer Hunter Horror" on Spreaker.

The Yellow Wallpaper

Author Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) mostly concentrated on writing non-fiction, magazine articles, poetry, and social theory. Her most famous work is a short story titled “The Yellow Wallpaper”, originally published in The New England Magazine in 1892. In 2015, Stephen King stated that the story terrified him. I have read numerous references to the work from influential writers citing it as an influence on their writing. Over the years I've never bothered to give it a whirl. Until today.

“The Yellow Wallpaper” is an epistolary story presented through journal entries that are narrated by the unnamed main character. For simplicity, I'll just refer to her as Jane. After giving birth to her baby, Jane descends into postpartum depression. In this Victorian age the best cure was thought to be extended rest. Jane's husband John rents a mansion for the summer in hopes this will cure her of her psychosis. 

Oddly, when the two arrive, alongside a housekeeper and John's sister Jennie, the narrator says that she is confined to a spacious upstairs nursery. Her descriptions of the room, which change over time, dominate the bulk of the narrative. Jane describes the living space as having metal rings in the walls, a floor that seems to have claw marks in it, barred windows, and a bed bolted to the floor. Seems suspicious.

The focus of course is the yellow wallpaper. Jane begins to see patterns and designs on the walls. Over the course of many days she believes the patterns are bending and being reshaped into new forms by a woman crawling inside the wall.

Needless to say “The Yellow Wallpaper” is disturbing. After the story's publication the author stated that her writing wasn't intended to drive people crazy, but to save people from being driven crazy. Gilman's motivation to write the story stems from her own mental anguish through postnatal depression and the treatment involved.

From the perspective of a horror or mystery fan, the story is wildly entertaining in its abstract style and open interpretation. No one really can provide a definitive answer on who the narrator is, if her baby is indeed alive, and if she is really in a summer home or a sanitarium. The possibilities are endless which is a testament to the story's secretive storytelling and the legacy it carries. Recommended. 

Stainless Steel Rat #01 - The Stainless Steel Rat

One of Harry Harrison's most successful series titles was the Stainless Steel Rat. The first published Stainless Steel Rat novel occurred in 1961. The series ran through 2010 with a total of 12 installments. Loving Harrison's series To the Stars as well as his Brion Brandd hero, I decided I needed to explore another of Harrison's titles. As a newbie to SSR, I decided to read the series debut simply titled The Stainless Steel Rat.

In a far-flung future world, James di Griz operates as a smooth criminal traveling solar systems and planetscapes searching for the next heist. In many ways he's no different than any criminal found in the books by Dan Marlowe, Donald Westlake, or Lionel White. He's a cool operator with a penchant for highly stressful and highly productive payoffs. But, where does the rat thing come from exactly? Here's how Harrison cleverly describes the series title and structure:

“Some don't show their weakness until they are adults, they are the ones who try their hand at petty crime – burglary, shoplifting, or such. They get away with it for a week or two or a month or two, depending on the degree of their native intelligence. But sure as atomic decay – and just as predestined – the police reach out and pull them in. That is almost the full extent of crime in our organized dandified society. Ninety-nice percent of it, let's say. It is that last and vital one percent that keeps the police departments in business. That one percent is me, and a handful of men scattered around the galaxy. Theoretically we can't exist, and if we do exist we can't operate – but we do. We are the rats in the wainscoting of society – we operate outside of their barriers and outside of their rules. Society had more rats when the rules were looser, just as the old wooden buildings had more rats than the concrete buildings that came later. But they still had rats. Now that society is all ferronconcrete and stainless steel there are fewer gaps between the joints, and it takes a smart rat to find them. A stainless steel rat is right at home in this environment.”

The beginning of the novel has diGriz knocking over an armored car full of money. Just when he thinks he has perfected the heist he is nabbed by the cops. They appreciate his criminal mind so much, and his historical reign of terror, that they make him a free man in exchange for working for The Special Corps. This is a branch of the League (that's space law) that takes care of the troubles that individual planets can't solve. What better asset to the cause than a criminal?

The first assignment for diGriz is the investigation of a mysterious battleship that is being secretly constructed on a peaceful planet in a tranquil part of space. diGriz's attempts to stop the construction leads to a conflict with a female mastermind of equal dexterity – a sexy seductress named Angelina. She's in the midst of creating a unheard of revolution on a peaceful planet free from problems. When diGriz abandons the Corps to go after Angelina alone it sets off a wild series of interstellar adventures that are perfectly penned by Harrison. 

Anyone worth their salt can see rave reviews online for the Stainless Steel Rat series. I'm here to tell you that all of their applause and approval is justified. This novel is just delightful in its simple plot, furious action, hilarious political intrigue, and the introduction of a marvelous literary character. The Stainless Steel Rat rings a crime-fiction bell complete with genre tropes made bigger and more outlandish with spaceships and planetary travels. If this debut is any indication, then this series is going to be a fantastic reading experience. I'm distancing myself from reading them all back to back. Good things come to those who...well you know what I mean. Highly recommended! Get the book HERE.

Paperback Warrior Primer - Steve Fisher

Steve Gould Fisher (1912-1980) was a prolific author of westerns, crime-fiction, and pulp stories in the early to mid 20th century. We've reviewed a number of Fisher's literary work including both shorts and full-length original novels. Today's primer looks at Fisher's military career and his contributions to all of the genres we adore here at Paperback Warrior.

Fisher was born on August 29th, 1912 in Marine City, Michigan. At some point his family relocated to Los Angeles so his mother could pursue an acting career. Fisher was enrolled into Oneonta Military Academy. It was there that he apparently sold a story to a small magazine as a teenager. But, he had enough of school and his personal life and ran away at age 16. He would later join the U.S. Navy and was stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii. 

Fisher's writing career took off with two articles that he wrote for the Navy's magazines – Our Navy and U.S. Navy. When he was discharged in 1932, Fisher returned to Los Angeles to continue writing for U.S. Navy. His work was so closely aligned with the Navy that they officially advertised Fisher as “The Navy's Foremost Writer”. 

Outside of the Navy publication, Fisher also started writing original short erotic fiction stories, which was published in 1933 and 1934 in magazine format. Sometime in the late 20s or early 30s, Fisher became married. In 1933, he moved to Greenwich Village in New York and lived close to the offices of Street and Smith, the dominant pulp publisher at that time. Friends and contemporaries stated that Fisher had a rough time as a New Yorker and was evicted several times. It became known that he even pawned his typewriter and used rejected manuscripts at lunch wagons promising that someday he would make it.

Author Frank Gruber moved to New York around the same time so the two of them became lifelong close friends. The friendship pushed Fisher in the right direction. Later, the two became friends with Cornell Woolrich. In 1934, Fisher's first non-erotic or romance story was published. It was a nautical story called “Authorized Mutiny” and it was published in the February 1934 issue of Top Notch. Some resources show his first non-erotic story was “Hell’s Scoop” and it was included in the March 1934 issue of Sure-Fire Detective Magazine. In 1935, lowly publisher Phoenix Press published his romance novel Spend the Night. They also bought and published two more of his novels - Satan's Angel and Forever Glory. 

By 1936 Fisher had become divorced. He then married a Popular Publications Inc. editor named Edythe Syme. By 1937, Fisher was really hitting his stride and providing stories regularly for Black Mask. In 1938, Fisher also refined his romance stories and sold them to the slick magazines like Empire, Cosmopolitan, and Liberty. 

Fisher's pulp career is often highlighted by the characters he created and wrote about. I've highlighted some of the prominent characters:

Captain Baby Face – This character's name is Jed Garrett but he's known as Captain Babyface and he works for the American Special Agent's Corps. His mission in the series is to kill Mr. Death, an evil genius working for Germany. There were ten total stories and they ran January through November of 1936 in the Dare-Devil Aces pulp magazine. The publisher Age of Aces has all ten stories combined into one awesome, 230-page volume and you can obtain it through Amazon HERE. 

Sheridan Doome - Doome is a Lieutenant Commander and chief detective for U.S. Naval Intelligence. His job is to investigate crimes committed on Naval bases and ships. Doome flies a special black airplane and his face is monstrously disfigured from a WW1 explosion. These stories appeared in the back pages of The Shadow Magazine beginning on May 1st of 1935. There were six Sheridan Doome stories in The Shadow Magazine in 1935. These six were the only Sheridan Doome stories published under Steve Fisher's real name. Beginning in 1937, they were all written under the pseudonym Stephen Gould. In the pulp magazine The Shadow, there were 54 total Sheridan Doome stories between 1935 and 1943. Fisher also placed Sheridan Doome in two full length novels - 1936's Murder of the Admiral and 1937's Murder of the Pigboat Skipper.

Big Red Brennan – This character is a U.S. Naval Intelligence agent fighting enemy spies in the U.S. and in Shanghai. Accoring to Spy Guys and Gals, who gather information from The Encyclopedia of Pulp Heroes by Jeff Nevins, Big Red Brennan's adversary is a former American Naval Lieutenant who sold out to a spy ring of Chinese and Mongolians. There are 24 Big Red Brennan stories and they ran from October 1936 through December 1937 in a pulp magazine called The Feds. The rest of the series was in the magazine Crime Busters and that ran from February 1938 through May 1939.

Danny Garrett – Garrett is a 13-year old shoe shine boy in New York City that solves crimes and catches criminals. His nickmane is Shoeshine Kid Detective. There were 65 of these stories from 1936 through 1946. Nearly all of these are in The Shadow. Two were in Crack Detective Stories and one in Mammoth Detective. There were even more Danny Garrett stories during that time written by both William G. Bogart and Fisher under the house pseudonym Grant Lane. The character was so popular that it spawned 18 appearances in comic book form beginning with Doc Savage Comics #1 in 1940. 

Tony Key – This character appeared in 12 stories in Detective Fiction Weekly and Black Mask from 1937 to 1941, beginning with “Murder Game–With Mirrors” in Detective Fiction Weekly, May 15, 1937. Key works in Hollywood and poses as a film and television agent. But, his real job is a detective for the film studios. He solves crimes involving producers, actors, and writers. He's described as always wearing flannels, white shoes, a white sweater, and a black coat. He has “patent leather hair.” His secretary and lover is the smart, pretty platinum blonde Betty Gale, and his ally is Mickey Ryan on the Homicide Squad. You can purchase the Tony Key stories in a collection from Black Mask HERE.

Mark Turner – Turner works as captain of the detectives in Honolulu, HI. He’s described as having red hair and a red Vandyke styled beard. Because of his brown eyes offset by red hair, the natives call him Red Eyes. Turner appeared in five stories. They were published in The Mysterious Wu Fang, Mystery Adventure Magazine, and Ten Detective Aces from 1935 to 1937. 

Johnny Connel – Perhaps the shortest lived character, Connel only appears in two stories. The first was “Murder Melody” and it was in Detective Tales June 1941. That same character is in “Blues for a Dead Lady”, which was in Detective Tales March 1951. I couldn't locate any information about this character. 

Fisher wrote about 500 stories for the magazines and pulps but he also wrote a number of full-length novels. His most popular book is probably the 1941 novel I Wake Up Screaming. It's about a promoter who is a suspect in the murder of a starlet. The book was compared to Cornell Woolrich, which makes sense considering Fisher and Woolrich were friends. He even has a character in the book named Cornell as a tribute to his friend. The book became a hit film the same year and kick-started the crime-noir film era. It was even filmed again in 1953 under the same title. With I Woke Up Screaming, Fisher really made a statement that he had moved on from the pulps.    

Fisher authored 16 total full-length novels including No House Limit in 1958, which was later reprinted by Hard Case Crime. 

Fisher moved to Hollywood, CA and began a long-running, highly successful career writing and producing films and television shows. He was nominated for an Academy Award in 1944 for his screenplay Destination Tokyo, which was adapted from his novel. He wrote and produced seemingly hundreds of shows and films up until his death on March 27th, 1980 in Canoga Park, CA.

Island of the Dead

It would be difficult to discuss zombie novels without including a cornerstone of the genre, Brian Keene. Many consider his novel The Rising (2003), along with Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead, as catalysts for zombie pop-culture of the 2000s. Keene's novel spawned a sequel, City of the Walking Dead, and two additional entries that live in the very undead world of The Rising. Additionally, Keene authored stand-alone "zombie" novels like Dead Sea (2007), Entombed (2011), and The Complex (2016). Now, in 2024, he returns with another living dead novel in Island of the Dead, published by independent publisher Apex Book Company with glorious artwork by Mikio Murikami (Silent Q Design). The book flips the narrative by placing zombies in a sword-and-sorcery environment, an ambitious hybrid described by Keene as Robert E. Howard (Conan the Barbarian) meets George Romero (Night of the Living Dead).

In the book's opening pages, slaves aboard a galley ship learn that Einar is from the northern barbarian tribes. But Einar, who has worked as a thief, mercenary, pirate, and a bodyguard across sweltering deserts, mountain peaks, and jungles, is quick to explain to his fellow captives that his tribe doesn't call themselves barbarians. As introductions are made, readers learn that Einar was arrested after a tavern brawl that left several people dead. He now serves as a slave on a ship lifting, pushing, and pulling oars across the sea to a war-torn land. 

Einar hesitantly advises a charismatic slave named Chuy that he plans on escaping the ship. After convincing the guards that he must relieve himself at the head, Einar is able to overtake the guards and free the slaves. However, a freak storm has appeared that creates a disaster for the ship and crew. While the fight for liberation ensues, monstrous tidal waves thrust the men into the depths of the ocean as the ship is destroyed. When Einar awakens he discovers he has washed ashore on an island alongside a few fellow slaves and a number of guards. What is this mysterious island? What horrors does it host? These are all enjoyable surprises that await readers as they explore the Island of the Dead.

Keene makes a valid reference to Robert E. Howard with his Conan-styled hero Einar. The barbarian often speaks like the Cimmerian, referring to friend and foe as “dogs” while expertly wielding a sword to hack and decapitate enemy hordes. His diverse background parallels Conan's own experiences as a pirate, thief, and mercenary. In fact, in terms of Conan lore, Island of the Dead's early premise is similar to Lin Carter and L. Sprague de Camp's 1967 story “The City of Skulls”, which was adapted to comic form in Savage Sword of Conan #59, Conan the Barbarian #37, and even the “Blood Brother” episode of the Conan: The Adventurer animated show. 

The placement of this barbaric hero in a zombie-styled universe is an exhilarating concept enhanced by the violence, gore, and temperament of Keene's unique storytelling. In a horror sense, this story delivers the goods in grand fashion. However, looking beyond the zombie dangers, the story also possesses a cagey human element that presents both the slave and ruler's eternal dilemma and the political strife that ignites a powder keg. These apocalyptic stories always prove that human design and the quest for power leads to chaos and ruin. As scary as they may be, the zombies are just the innocent weapons of man's destruction.

Island of the Dead is out now and you can get your copy HERE.

Conclave

Robert Harris (born: 1957) is a contemporary British novelist with several books adapted for the screen, including his 2016 Vatican intrigue novel, Conclave.

The Pope is dead, and it’s time to pick a new one. This is done through a secretive process among the College of Cardinals in an election done away from the eyes of the world. The conclave is held by the Cardinals locked in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel. Harris’ novel takes the reader behind the scenes among the politics and backstabbing in this fictionalized (but, I imagine, realistic) political convention.

The paperback tracks the Dean of the Cardinals, Jacopo Lomelei, who is tasked with administering the conclave event and the secret voting that takes place among the participants and candidates. We meet the conservative cardinals and the liberal cardinals jockeying to be the next pope. There are mysteries and revelations that take place along the way as well as an enigmatic Cardinal that no one has ever heard of before.

In many ways, the novel reminded me of Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians where the candidates are being (figuratively) knocked off one at a time by the other attendees. Lomelei is portrayed as a humble and godly servant fighting hard to herd these ambitious cats vying for infallible papal supremacy.

Mostly, the novel worked quite well and was genuinely interesting and suspenseful. That said, I can't imagine anyone being captivated by the book without a personal history rooted in the Roman Catholic tradition. Otherwise, they might as well be choosing the head of a beer-swilling college fraternity. The book is devoid of any physical action, and the suspense derives solely from high-stakes political jockeying and gamesmanship. 

After a satisfying ending, Harris throws in a final-page curve ball twist ending that was just bonkers. I can’t decide if it was a good twist or a bad twist, but you’ll never see it coming, and it may ruin the book for some readers. Consider yourself warned. It was certainly an audacious literary choice. 

With the stipulations outlined above, this was a great – and very readable – novel. By now you should know if it sounds like your thing or not. It definitely made me want to read more of Harris’ works. Highly recommended. Get it HERE.

Johnny Hawk #03 - Fast Riders

The fictional character Johnny Hawk first appeared in publication in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine's November 1968 issue. The character appeared the following year in the magazine's April and June issues. The character then appeared 10 additional times in the pages of Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine between 1970 and 1976. The character was created and written by Edward Y. Breese, a New Jersey author that also wrote short Mike Shayne stories. He also contributed shorts to other magazines like Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and Zane Grey Mystery Magazine. My first experience with the author and the Johnny Hawk character was the third appearance, found in the novelette Fast Riders from Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine's June 1969 issue.

Due to not having access to the other Hawk stories, and what little information exists online, I was able to determine that Hawk is sort of an action-man, described as an “adjuster” who sometimes finds himself at odds with the law. He lives in Miami, Florida and enjoys short vacations that involve fishing in central southern Florida, a rural swampland that is ruled by deadly wildlife. It is on a fishing trip that Hawk discovers a different type of threat. 

The beginning of the story explains that Hawk is in the back-country fishing. He has a six-shot .22 revolver, a knife, and a fishing pole. These things are important. Hawk's elderly African-American friend Pop lives about a mile away in a swamp shack that was built by his grandfather in 1895. Hawk originally met Pop when he saved him from some thieves in a bar four years ago, so the two have a close friendship. Pop has an 18 year old beautiful girl named Marabelle.

Preparing to fish in different holes, Hawk walks to Pop's shack and from a distance can see complete carnage. Three bikers with swastikas have killed Pop and nailed him to the walls of his shack. They are beginning to rape Marabelle. Hawk's issue is he has a .22 pistol that won't do much damage. He walks up to the trio, carefully aims the .22 and puts a shot between the eyes of the first biker. Another biker has a .38 that he uses recklessly. Thankfully, Hawk is able to throw his knife and kill him. The other biker quickly leaves during the fight and steals Hawk's vehicle. 

Marabelle thanks Hawk for saving her and the two take Pop from the wall and place him inside. Marabelle informs Hawk that the violence is just beginning. Neither of them have a car or boat and the biker is on his way back to town to get the rest of his gang. Marabelle and Hawk know they only have one path – run to the swamp and hope to outrun them on foot. But, Hawk only has 4 shots left in his .22 and he has 3 bullets in the biker's discarded .38. Not much firepower against an armed biker gang. 

Man, this story was incredible. I am a sucker for “outgunned with low ammo” stories and books and this one fit that particular niche quite well. Fast Riders features Hawk trying to save Marabelle by killing off the bikers one by one in the swamp. The goal is to kill a biker, get his bullets or weapon, then rinse and repeat. Eventually, the numbers are too great and Hawk has to make a life or death decision. Breese's writing was ultra-violent and gritty and he provided me so many reasons to cheer for Hawk and Marabelle. The villains are evil, the good guy is admirable. Oddly, sometimes it isn't clearly defined enough, but Breese avoids the confusion. Fast Riders is highly recommended.

Loren Swift #01 - Foul Shot

Author Doug Hornig (b. 1943) is a New York native that graduated from George Washington University in 1965. He went on to work in various industries as a factory worker, taxi driver, bar singer, clerk, photographer, and journalist. He authored the Loren Smith four-book series of private-eye novels set in Charlottesville, a small college town in northern Virginia. The books were published by Scribner from 1984 through 1988. I am starting with the debut, Foul Shot, which was nominated for an Edgar.

Loren Swift was born and raised in Charlottesville. He flunked out of the University of Virginia (UVA) as a freshman and ended up in the American military serving a stint in the Vietnam War. He is divorced, has an old VW he calls Clementine, is a dedicated UVA basketball fan, and he works as the city's one and only private-eye – a career choice that has kept him living check to check. 

The book begins with Swift arriving at an enormous mansion owned and occupied by the Majors family. When Swift arrives he meets John and Elizabeth Majors and is provided a potential case. Their daughter has gone missing from UVA and they are worried. Swift takes the case for $100 per day including expenses. On the way out of the deep mansion he is interviewed briefly by “The Colonel”, the girl's grandfather. He tells Swift he doesn't trust Elizabeth and wants to have her investigated. Swift politely rejects the offer because he concentrates on one job at a time.

The book then flourishes into a captivating sleuth thriller with Swift digging up intricate details about the Majors family. The plot begins to focus on the family's attorney and his motivation for blackmail. When Swift discovers a deep and dark secret concerning a Majors family member he is able to connect the blackmail pattern. However, there is more than one crime being committed and that enhances the overall story and drives it into a frenzied pace. 

I have a fondness for the book due to growing up in southwestern Virginia and experiencing the Charlottesville area on a number of visits. The book's title represents the inclusion of a character paramount to the story, a highly touted UVA basketball player. The rivalries I watched as a kid between UVA and North Carolina are highlighted in this book. But, beyond the nostalgia, it is a fantastic crime-fiction novel set in the world of college basketball. 

Hornig's inspiration is Robert Parker's Spenser, evident with Swift even reading a Spenser novel in the book (The Judas Goat). He's glib, sarcastic, humorous, and enjoys Irish whiskey. Through first-person narrative the reader uncovers the clues in traditional fashion, but kudos to Swift for bringing an unexpected payoff to the finale. There are a number of private-eye references made and the book utilizes a number of genre troupes that keep the pages turning. 

Foul Shot scores as a smooth page-turner and Hornig clearly has a gift for propelling the reader into some dismal places – a desired destination when it comes to murder mysteries. I'm looking forward to the remainder of the series. Highly recommended. Get yours HERE. 

Killer Delivery

According to his online biography at Blossoms Spring Publishing, Calum France was born in Stirling, Scotland and began writing at a young age. He holds a BA in English Literature and has authored two full-length novels and a novella in the horror genre. I acquired an ARC of the novella, Killer Delivery, published by Sapphire Creed Ink and published in 2024 as a one-dollar ebook. 

The opening chapter, “Cold Night”, places readers in a secluded mansion in the small town of Aberlea on a snowy Halloween evening. It is here that Jonathan Harker (obvious homage to Bram Stoker), successful wealthy novelist, performs the ordinary task of ordering food to be delivered to his home. But, a deranged super-fan named Karlee Monroe has been waiting outside of Harker's home for just this occasion. She savagely executes a gore-gash-to-the-door-dash and then takes on the disguise and carries the food into her literary idol's home. 

But, Killer Delivery offers readers two more surprises. Three burglars decide that this Halloween night is the perfect opportunity to break into Harker's home. Conveniently, as Karlee is inside Harker's home, the three bungling burglars tie Harker to a chair and begin the gun-wielding threats to cough over money. However, all of these intruders are shocked when they realize that Harker doesn't write his murder thrillers as fiction.

This novella slightly resembled Thurlow's Christmas Story, a short story that was authored by John Kendrick Bangs and published in Harper's Weekly in 1894. In that plot design, an author's fan surprisingly appears on his doorstep and then weird things happen. But, in a more modern sense, the novella is like a cross between Dexter and The People Under the Stairs in its clever home-invasion concept plopped neatly upon a stainless steel operating table under the gloom of a professional serial killer.  

At 100-pages, give or take a font size, the novella is presented in a smooth prose with plenty of imagery and compelling storytelling. While it is hard to create an innovative home-invasion plot with today's overuse of the plot design, France works his magic to propel this narrative into a riveting read laced with energy, violence, and a sense of lonely atmosphere that drapes the writing in a snowbound chill. Killer Delivery delivers the goods. Get it HERE.

Dracula

Dracula, written by an Irishman named Bram Stoker, was published in 1897. It was later a huge success in the 20th century and is the most popular horror novel of all-time. It inspired countless media platforms including movies, television shows, animated cartoons, action figures, comics, breakfast cereals, and costumes. The book's villain, Count Dracula, is often the icon for vampire culture - both pop-culture and the freakish folks that dress goth and avoid suntans. Dracula was, and is, a big deal.

Bram Stoker's Dracula is presented in a non-traditional way. The entire book is made up of diary entries, letters, transcripts of phonograph recordings, telegraph messages, and ship logs. It makes for a dynamic reading experience that bounces perspectives. 

The presentation begins with Jonathan Harker's diary entries. He's an attorney who has been asked to travel to the Carpathian Mountains in Transylvania to visit Count Dracula at his castle. The meeting is to settle some financial affairs and complete real estate purchases. However, Harker quickly learns that he has become a prisoner and he's only able to communicate with his fiancé Mina through letters that are read and approved by Dracula himself. Harker also discovers that Dracula is a supernatural being when he sees the Count behave like a lizard and crawl down the castle walls. There are parts of the castle that are restricted, but Harker is able to discover three vampire women that are also in the castle as well as a cemetery and chapel where the Count sleeps in a dirt filled box.

Harker eventually returns to England and is admitted into the hospital where he tells Mina everything that happened. Meanwhile, the Count has purchased an old house in London and arrives by boat in a mysterious fashion. Through diaries and letters the readers are introduced to Lucy, Mina's friend. Lucy begins to behave in a strange way and readers discover that she is a victim of Dracula, evident with puncture holes on her neck and her telepathic connection with the Count. 

Dr. Seward, who is also seeing strange behavior in a patient named Renfield, asks for help from his mentor, Dr. Van Helsing who determines that Lucy is a vampire. Together, they collaborate with other men to find Dracula's home. Eventually, horrible things happen to Lucy and the book's finale has Van Helsing and the other men chasing Dracula through the snowy mountains battling gypsies to kill Dracula.

First off, for 1897, this book is extremely violent. There's women being decapitated, garlic stuffed in the mouths of corpses, a baby that is kidnapped and drained of blood, children dying, etc. These are elements that probably created shockwaves at the turn of the century with not only the level of violence but the combination of intense scenes and the fiendish despicable villain. Despite the book's unpopularity upon publication, the intensity may have drawn filmmakers to the novel. 

The book's beginning with Harker in the castle was fantastic and the last 60 pages is really good with the chase and mystery determining Dracula's whereabouts. The ending is quite epic. The middle 200 pages was my biggest issue - which is the bulk of the book. The constant perspective changes from diary entries of one character to physician notes or letters of another character and the rotation just never glued me to the story. Also, Van Helsing's presence was a real letdown. He cries a lot, speaks like a character in Shakespeare, and is just way too literary for me. These 200 pages are similar to a medical thriller with blood transfusions and endless around the clock care for Lucy. 

I wish Dracula was a traditional novel, but its wide appeal is the style of presentation. Some people love it, others are just underwhelmed by the book. Overall, I really enjoyed Dracula but I'll never read it again. I'm one and done just because of the sluggishness of the middle. But, if you like horror, then Dracula is a mandatory read. You have to read it or else you really can't substantiate your love of vampire literature for something like Salem's Lot or Interview with the Vampire. Take a leap and try the classic. You'll be satisfied.

Ranking Dean R. Koontz Books

In this exclusive video, Eric presents a top 20 ranking of his favorite Dean R. Koontz novels. Each novel includes a capsule review with tons of book covers through the years from various publishers. Also, movie clips and some other fun facts about Koontz's work is included.

Paperback Warrior Podcast - Episode 108

Another exciting episode of the Paperback Warrior Podcast. In this episode, Eric discusses the life and work of legendary best-selling thriller writer Dean R. Koontz, complete with the numerous pseudonyms he used throughout his career and the many genres he contributed to. In addition, Eric reviews an iconic horror novel from the 1800s and reads a horrifying "when animals attack" story titled "Weasels Ripped My Flesh". You can stream the episode below, at YouTube, or on any streaming platform. Also, be sure to view the entirely different, exclusive video ranking Eric's favorite Dean R. Koontz novels HERE.

Listen to "Episode 108: Dean R. Koontz" on Spreaker.

Chopping Mall: The Novelization

Roger Corman's Concorde Pictures released Chopping Mall in 1986. The origin of the film's production stemmed from Corman's wife Julie negotiating a distribution deal with Vestron to create a horror film with a shopping mall locale. B-movie screenwriter, director, and producer Jim Wynorski joined the project to write the script (with Steve Mitchell) and direct. This was a partnership with the Cormans that would fuel future cult hits like Big Bad Mama II, Deathstalker 2, and Sorority House Massacre II and III (aka Hard to Die or Tower of Terror). Chopping Mall (initially titled Killbots) had a limited theatrical run but became rental store sustenance for millions of VCRs in the 1980s. Very few teenagers could pass up the amazing font and cover art.

In 2013, author, producer, and editor Mark Alan Miller teamed up with Shout! Factory to release the director's cut edition of Clive Barker's Nightbreed. Now, in 2024 Miller is the founder and president of the nostalgically modern publisher Encylopocalypse, which concentrates on horror, science-fiction, and action novels as both original content, reprints of prized vintage fiction, and new, fresh novelizations of cult films. His former collaboration with Shout! Factory inspired Encyclopocalypse to novelize Chopping Mall, which had previously never been novelized. Shout! Factory owns the rights to publish Roger Corman's film library. The marriage is a perfect curtain-jerk into more Corman films hitting the printed page. 

Chopping Mall's novelizations is by Brian G. Berry, an author of over fifty novels and the founder of Slaughterhouse Press. His most well-known series titles are Shark Files, Slasherback, and VHS Trash. Berry's experience with horror and his novelizations for SRS Cinema makes him the perfect fit for Chopping Mall: The Novelization (release date Nov. 19, 2024).

Berry's take on Chopping Mall mostly follows the film version, which is how I like my novelizations. After just reading Michael Avalonne's Friday the 13th 3-D novelization, which seemingly was written from a different script completely, I appreciate Berry's artistic integrity to preserve the film's original design.

The book, and film, concerns a technological advancement occurring at Park Plaza Mall. To detract theft and unruly behavior, Park Plaza has installed three robots deemed The Protector. They are armed with deadly, flesh-piercing devices like tasers, lasers, C-4 explosive, and pain-inducing pliers when in a pinch. The exterior of these robots is bulletproof. Why any of this is necessary at an average 80s shopping mall is never explained in the film other than security measures. 

One night after the mall closes for business, teenage employees stay late and converge inside one of the mall's furniture stores with their mattress mate. When a lightning storm frays the building's electronics, the robots are glitched and begin hunting the teens in the mall. These mop-headed survivors fight for their lives by stealing firearms, paint supplies (boom!), and other hardware to combat the run-amok robots. Like any 80s horror film there is the proverbial “final girl finale” to keep the faith. 

Berry's novel weighs in at 136 pages and presents these horrifying, stomach-clinching scenes of terror with enough descriptive detail to make it a bloody good time without being distasteful. I loved the breezy flow, shorter chapters, and the quick dismissal of the unimportant characters – pop, chop, and tase for (time) savings.

Unlike the film, Berry goes one step further and doesn't rely on the last page's embrace to welcome the credits. Instead, he includes a four page Epilogue titled “Protector 2.0” that explains the U.S. Army Special Weapons Division, funded by the Defense Department, staged this mall annihilation as an exercise to test how the robots would perform in combat. Berry also includes a scene from an undisclosed testing facility in California where the robots have killed a number of people before finally biting the hand that feeds in Dr. Vanders, in this case ripping her scalp from her head and shoving it in her mouth. Brian Berry can be nasty when he wants to be. 

Chopping Mall: The Novelization is a delightful retail rampage placing consumer combatants into an arena of oncoming death. Or debt from those monstrous credit card machines fueled on American capitalism and 80s excess. That's the believable horror story.

Buy your copy HERE.

Corpsemouth and Other Autobiographies

Although he has written two novels, New York creative writing professor John Langan is mostly known as an author of literary gothic horror short stories. Corpsemouth and Other Autobiographies is a collection of 13 short works compiled and published in 2022. I sampled four stories from the collection to see what Langon is all about.

"Kore" - This story is about a married couple with a preschooler who decide to create a Halloween haunted walk behind their house as a seasonal attraction for their kid’s classmates to enjoy. It’s filled with corny scares like rubber spiders and craft-store cobwebs. Kid stuff. Year after year the couple ups their scare game making their haunted walk more and more frightening and intricate. Could this be a vehicle to invite actual threats into the house? The climax of this very short story was plenty scary, but it really ended too soon. I wanted more, but I suppose that’s a pretty high compliment for a short story.

"Homemade Monsters" - In this one, our narrator is looking back on his childhood and his idyllic relationship with his parents among a crowded house teeming with siblings. His little rival friend gets off on destroying toys during play dates until finally enough is enough. Compelling, well-written story about childhood friendship frustrations, but not particularly scary.

"Shadow and Thirst" - August is a Newark cop visiting his father in the country. On an early morning walk, they see a ten-foot tower that has been mysteriously erected on dad’s property in the distance. The dad goes to check out this mysterious object while August heads back to the house with the family’s suddenly disturbed dog. When dad returns to the house, he’s…different. Psychotic. Dangerous. The secret to what’s happening lies in the odd tower, and the revelations are creative and satisfying. Best of the bunch.

"Corpsemouth" - The title story is the final one I read in the collection in which the narrator recalls a trip to Scotland in 1994. His father had recently died, and the trip is to visit dad’s family back in Scotland. He recalls his father’s final days in the hospital before his death, and the reader gets a glimpse into why this is a horror story. We also learn about Corpsemouth, a god/monster legend of the H.P. Lovecraft variety. The narrator also name-checks Stephen King in the story. Despite these solid ingredients, this overlong story failed to connect with me.

John Langan is a talented and inventive writer, but his work failed to frighten me in the manner Stephen King did in Night Shift or Skeleton Crew. I’d be interested in reading one of his novels because I’d really like to see what he can do with more pages to expand his thoughtful ideas.

Meanwhile, I intend to dip back into the Corpsemouth collection because these stories don’t benefit from back-to-back-to-back consumption. I’d definitely recommend this collection to anyone who enjoys their horror more cerebral and literary. Get your copy HERE. 

Sour Candy

Kealan Patrick Burke is an Irish-born contemporary horror author with a winning streak of highly-regarded terrifying novels and novellas. My first dip into his world was his 86-page Sour Candy, available as a thin paperback or a Kindle ebook.

The story opens with childless Phil grabbing some chocolate from the candy aisle of a Wal-Mart for his girlfriend at home. While browsing the sweet treats, he sees a little kid having a total meltdown in the store accompanied by his stoic and unreactive mother. Witnessing this, Phil’s primary thought is, “Man, I’m glad that isn’t my kid.”

On his way home from the store, a car plows into the back of Phil’s Chevy at a stoplight smashing the vehicle like an accordion. When the dazed Phil extracts himself from his car, he sees the driver who struck him is the lady from the store - somehow without her hellion child in tow.

That’s when things start getting scary as hell.

Giving away further plot points would spoil the fun, but if you’ve seen the terrifying film It Follows, you have an idea what’s happening. Creepy kid stories were a staple from the Paperbacks From Hell era of late 20th century horror fiction, and Sour Candy can be seen as a modern homage to that sub-genre.

I liked this story quite a bit and found it generally unnerving and quite scary in parts. I think the author was reflecting upon and playing with the anxiety that childless couples must feel at the prospect of upending their lives by having a kid. Be warned that this story won’t do much in the way of convincing young adults to take that plunge.

In any case, Sour Candy is a fun, scary ride that cemented Burke as an author to watch in the horror genre. Recommended.

Get the book HERE.