The Island of Doctor Moreau

H.G. Wells (1866-1946) is widely considered the father of science-fiction. He authored over fifty novels, some of which are still being adapted today into mixed media formats. Sci-fi, fantasy, and even horror writers often cite Wells as an influence on their work. His most popular novels include The Time Machine (1895), The Invisible Man (1897), War of the Worlds (1898), and the subject of this review, The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896). 

In the novel's beginning, Edward Prendick and two other passengers board a lifeboat as their passenger ship sinks into the southern Pacific Ocean. Eventually Prendick, a dehydrated starving husk, is the only survivor. A ship spots Prendick and rescues him, but in a wild turn of events Prendick is forced from the vessel and placed in a dinghy where he must face the very real possibility that his terrifying ordeal is recycling. Thankfully, a passenger on the ship named Montgomery takes pity on Prendick and allows him a stay on a very strange island. 

Prendick, who possesses a scientific education, learns that this eight-mile island is a type of laboratory owned by Dr. Moreau. Prendick remembers that he had read about Moreau's macabre experiments in vivisection and his subsequent banishment from England. Here on the island Moreau continues his work with the assistance of Montgomery and a surgically altered manservant named M'ling. 

Wells' narrative submerges Prendick into the Hellish world of a mad scientist with delusions of Godhood. Prendick learns that Moreau is surgically combining humans and animals. Disgusted and frightened he escapes Moreau's compound only to discover that the island hosts Moreau's terrifying lab result – beast folk. These beasts include humans merged with bears, dogs, sloths, hyenas, wolves, and ape. These beast folk have a bestial lust for Moreau which plays havoc on Prendick's escape.

The Island of Doctor Moreau is a horror novel like no other. Wells ignites a sense of terror as Prendick slowly pulls the curtains from Moreau's freakish lab and discovers the nightmarish prison that he has now joined. There's panic and then a heightened frenzy as Prendick attempts to disable Moreau and Montgomery while also becoming a new “god” for the Beast Folk. Wells easily transforms the mood from moments of somber solitude into grueling action and gun play. The finale is a type of role reversal that was fitting for the nature of the story. 

In a time when humans are now receiving animal organs to survive (ex. Towana Looney), The Island of Doctor Moreau is a grotesque vision of the future. Wells was ahead of his time in predicting favorable medical revolutions through painful trial and error. Gene edits and lab-created organs were a thing of the future but Wells was mired in the wonder. The author presents some trigger-points on Darwin's evolution, animal cruelty, and mankind's pursuit of an animal-state of freedom and survival – no gods, no masters. 

The Island of Doctor Moreau is a classic for a reason. Get your copy HERE.

Deathworld #01 - Deathworld 1

Thus far I've really enjoyed the science-fiction series installments by Harry Harrison. Titles like The Stainless Steel Rat, To the Stars, and Brion Brandd. I've mostly heard good things about his three-book series Deathworld. However, what really peaked my interest in reading the series was the commentary by Nick on the Book Graveyard channel and blog. He was lukewarm on the series debut and third installment, but trounced the second novel. I wanted to see what the fuss was all about so I jumped in with the debut, Deathworld. It was originally serialized in Astounding Science Fiction in 1960 and published in paperback, hardcover, and contained in trilogy omnibus editions.

Jason dinAlt is introduced to readers as a professional gambler who possesses psychic ability. His gift allows him to win big consistently, a pattern that attracts an ambassador named Kerk from the planet Pyrrus. He funds Jason with a large amount of money to wager in a game of dice. Jason's reward for winning is to keep a portion of the pot. After successfully pulling off the casino job, Jason asks if he can join Kerk on his trip back to Pyrrus.

Pyrrus is a hostile planet where every living organism has evolved into instant human-killing. Blades of grass, animals, insects – everything is fatal to humans. However, Kerk and his people have committed their lives to eventually dominating the planet and killing these organisms. With money won by Jason, Kerk can purchase more weapons so his people can accomplish their mission. Jason is puzzled by the struggle and wants to learn and participate in the taming of Pyrrus.

After weeks of training, Jason is allowed to leave the safety of Kerk's habitat. But, as he explores this terrifying deathworld he learns there are other people on Pyrrus that don't behave in the same fashion as Kerk. These people possess a type of animal husbandry that allows them to live in harmony with the killer organisms. Is Kerk and his people the real problem? Or, do these weird people have a secret agenda in defying the planet's killer instincts?

Deathworld is an entertaining science-fiction novel that begins strong, has a solid second act, but falters a few steps in the grand finale. The book's resolution didn't make a lot of sense to me and I found Harrison short-cutting his plot design with an empty payout. It wasn't enough to detract from the book's enjoyment and made for a unique read regardless. Jason's behavior and characteristics – the stellar everyman – was similar to Jan Kulozik of Harrison's To the Stars trilogy. I recommend Deathworld and you can get it HERE. 

Hacking Mall

Shortly after Brian G. Berry authored the Chopping Mall novelization, the publisher, Encyclopocalypse Publications, pulled the book from store shelves and severed ties. Berry's first response? Write another horror/science-fiction hybrid set in a shopping mall in the 1980s. The end result is Hacking Mall, independently published in 2024. 

Berry places readers in a Dystopian-styled 20th century where the stock market has crashed, society has devolved, and most inner cities now bristle with jacked up criminals possessing military grade materials. Their higher-than-usual toughness warrants a special type of police force – Defender 2000.

Chapter 11 is a nightmarish flashback of how the book's main character, Alex Murphy, was badged and sent out into the world after four grueling months of police academy. He's partnered with Jackson and the two are investigating gunshots stemming from blocks upon blocks of ghetto tenements. The probe leads to a massive firefight in a meth lab. Alex barely survives the lab's explosion while his partner is seemingly incinerated within. 

In the book's present, Murphy, along with two other officers, have been selected to wear Defender armor. These “sleeves” envelop the men in bullet-proof steel, complete with internal advanced optics programmed to locate criminals. Integrated into the armor is an advanced weapons system including automatic guns, a laser sword, and the ability to release a toxin that creates horrific delusions and a lust for murder. 

As the narrative guns its way through neighborhoods overwrought with crime, Murphy and the other Defenders begin to lose control of their sleeves. The automatons abandon their predetermined set of coded instructions and force their users to kill both criminals and innocents. The machine-over-man scenarios appears periodically and disorients the officers. 

Arden Plaza Mall is a local shopping center that now houses a criminal empire ran by Kane, a lunatic with an aggressive penchant for rape and murder. When the Defenders are ordered to penetrate the mall, Kane and his army fight back using their own sophisticated weapons. Caught in the crossfire are innocent prisoners hoping the battle will provide a small window to attempt escape or for an uprising. The mall has its share of bad guys, but none compare to a behemoth cannibal nicknamed The Butcher. He performs exceptionally well as the ultimate final boss. 

Berry describes himself as a mood writer that loves 1980s B-movies. Hacking Mall pays homage to the low-budget trash films like Warrior of the Lost World (1983) and 1990: The Bronx Warriors (1982), but the most obvious influence is a more mainstream offering in Robocop. Berry's protagonist even shares the same name with the cybernetically enhanced Detroit police officer. There's also a character named Zed that just happens to be the name of a villain in the Full Moon riffraff titled Slave Girls from Beyond (1987) and the hero's name in Zardoz (1974)  . But, it wouldn't be a 1980s-styled action-adventure paperback without the CAR-15 automatic rifles, a mainstay in something like Stephen Mertz's long-running M.I.A. Hunter series of shoot 'em ups. 

Hacking Mall is an installment in Berry's series of stand-alone books titled VHS Trash. However, the waves and waves of baddies being obliterated by the heroes is like a side-scrolling arcade shooter (call it a NeoGeo Novel). It's excessive, exaggerated, and ridiculous – but that's the central appeal. To quote 1980s pro-wrestling personality Jim Cornette: “For the kind of people who like this type of thing, that's the kind of thing that those people like.” I'm one of those people. Hacking Mall is a nostalgic highly recommended romp. Get it HERE.

I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom

Jason Pargin is a humorous and deeply-creative author of science fiction and horror who came to prominence under his pseudonym David Wong. His latest novel is a stand-alone effort called I’m Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom from 2024.

The premise is simple introducing the two main characters and the book’s titular McGuffin. 26 year-old Abbott Coburn works as a rideshare driver for Lyft. He is summoned to a Los Angeles street corner by the app where he meets Ether and her large, black box - the kind that rock bands move their gear within. The woman explains she does not, in fact, need a ride to the airport but she can pay Aaron $100,000 to drive her and the black box to Washington, DC on behalf of her shadowy employer. The catch? He can’t know or discuss the contents of the box. It’s a secret mission.

Abbott is resistant, but she keeps increasing her money offer until he must say yes. Together they embark on a cross-country road trip with goons, Abbott’s father, and a retired FBI agent in pursuit. The nationwide hide-and-seek journey goes viral and becomes an internet phenomenon. There are plenty of action set-pieces and madcap twists along the way. The plotting is brisk, and Pargin’s prose is quite readable.

The best parts of the book are the monologues from the characters dissecting the human condition in our divisive and Internet-obsessed culture. The author has a lot to say about the world and brings those ideas forth through his characters. This is a smart person’s book shrouded in a comedic-adventure wrapping.

It’s also a lot of fun to read. I enjoyed this book so much, and I hope the author embarks on more standalone novels in future. Highly recommended. Get it HERE.

The Last Night to Kill Nazis

David Agranoff is a San Diego author, screenwriter, blogger, podcast host, and quite possibly the strongest advocate for Philip K. Dick's literary work than any other. His debut novel, The Vegan Revolution...with Zombies, was published in 2010. Since then he has authored nine novels including The Last Night to Kill Zombies. The novel was published in 2023 by Clash Books with vivid cover art by Joel Amat Guell.

In this military-fiction and horror hybrid, Agranoff utilizes a real event from World War Two as a foundation to craft this unusual tale. Heinrich Himmler, one of the most notorious figures of the war, was a powerful Nazi politician, Reich Commissioner, and Commander. He is primarily considered the organizer of the horrific Holocaust and second only to Hitler in terms of absolute evil personified. Shortly after Hitler's suicide, and hours before Russia's Red Army stormed his underground bunker, Himmler was able to escape with several other leaders into the countryside where they remained on the run for several days before being captured by British intelligence. While in detainment Himmler was able to fatally swallow his hidden cyanide pill.

Agranoff begins his novel as the Red Army is within striking distance. Himmler is able to escape with as SS Officer named Heinrich and a few other Nazi personnel. In the countryside, the group travel by truck to a mountaintop fortress to meet nearly 100 German officers that await a plane that will transport them to safety in Manchuria. It's in this seemingly impenetrable fortress where the book's second half takes place.

Hunting Himmler is a small counter-intelligence force lead by Noah, a Jewish fighter and ex-Army Ranger now serving the OSS (early CIA). His team hopes to penetrate and climb to the mountain fortress to kill every Nazi in the fortress. But, with over 100 Nazis occupying this defiant stronghold, what chance does his quartet have in facing these overwhelming numbers?

The answer is Count Reiter. 

In a thrilling enhancement to the breathtaking traditionalism of a World War Two adventure novel, Agranoff introduces a Dracula-like character named Reiter. His castle in the Carpathian Mountains was ransacked by the Nazis, who not only disturbed his domicile but also his centuries of sleep. Reiter wants vengeance and will stop at nothing to kill Nazis. But, in this book Reiter is being kept as a prisoner by the Allies. In a desperate bid to hunt and kill Himmler the Allies agree to a deal with Reiter – help them orchestrate a massacre on the last official night to kill Nazis in exchange for freedom. 

The Last Night to Kill Nazis is nothing short of remarkable. The book's first hundred pages is a type of dangerous road trip introducing Heinrich and his pregnant lover Alice, who both are equal main characters to Noah's opposition. The author masterfully utilizes short chapters, each time stamped, to tell individual stories and angles presenting Alice's experiences as well as Noah, Reiter, and Heinrich's. These punchy chapters help keep the book's 250-pages turning at lightning pace. Once these characters collide atop the mountain the narrative increases speed to match the staccato gunfire, pounding footsteps, and infernal screams as Nazis meet the Hellish Prince of Darkness. 

If Bram Stoker, Alistair MacLean, and Quentin Tarrantino collaborated on a project they surely would deliver this masterpiece. The Last Night to Kill Nazis is epic entertainment and comes with my highest recommendation. Get it HERE.

Paperback Warrior Jigsaw Puzzle Out Now!

Experience vintage action-adventure paperbacks like never before! The PW Jigsaw Puzzle is out now and designed by me! Get it HERE.

Snakehaven #01 - Doom of the Dark Delta

Author James Reasoner is mostly known for his western contributions in the Stagecoach Station, Longarm, Trailsman, and Wind River series titles. But, Reasoner has a sincere fondness for the pulps, evident with his blog reviews and commentary on the subject through social media. It is that admiration for the genre that prompted him to author a pulpy sword-and-sorcery series titled Snakehaven. As of this writing there are three installments – Doom of the Dark Delta, Fear on the Fever Coast, and Lair of the Serpent Queen. These are one-buck ebooks that weigh in at one-hundred pages give or take a font size. 

In Doom of the Dark Delta, readers learn that series hero Jorras Trevayle is from the land of Albrionne. His father is Lord Amaril and he has two brothers, both of which serve in a loyal and honorable way. Trevayle, being the brave-hearted iron-fisted hero, served as a soldier. On a mission to quell an uprising, Trevayle was betrayed by a superior officer and sent back to his land in chains. Lord Amaril, apparently torn on the matter, buried Trevayle in work – which is where this novella begins. 

Trevayle began a journey down the Gulf of Matoxia to have a contract signed by a plantation owner specializing in giant snakes. These enormous serpents are called Nloka Maccumba. His ship was taken over by pirates and Trevayle washes ashore on an island unknown to him. Immediately a naked woman burst from the swamp as warriors chase her. Trevayle, unarmed, joins the woman in running from these armed combatants. 

Later, he learns that this woman is the daughter of the plantation owner he was to originally meet. Trevayle is then thrust into a battle with a ruler named Ostrizahl as well as the giant serpents, savage troops, and even the woman's own allies. On this island Trevayle has no alliances, no allegiance, and often no weapons. Outnumbered, he must fight to survive this grisly ordeal. 

Through chases, sword fights, prison escapes, and damsel-in-distress rescues, Doom of the Dark Delta is a pulp-inspired sword-and-sorcery tale that is brimming over with nonstop action. With the shorter page length, Reasoner puts his skills to the test with quick character development that matches the fast-paced narrative. I'm imagining this is just as fun for the author as it is for the reader. Doom of the Dark Delta is just fantastic and highly recommended for anyone that loves a great men's adventure. Get it HERE.

Girl on the Beach

We've covered two prior novels by Bruce Cassiday, one stand-alone book, The Girl in the Trunk, and The Buried Motive, the first of two Cash Madigan novels featuring a Manhattan bonding investigator. Cassiday was a versatile writer that transitioned from the pulps to writing paperback originals in crime-noir, science-fiction, and gothics. I discovered a sleaze novel titled Girl on the Beach that Cassiday authored using the pseudonym of Max Day. The book was published by Beacon in 1960 and remains out of print at the time of this writing. 

The novel is set on the shores of fictional Seahaven, Connecticut (probably based on West Haven), specifically a makeshift two-story studio house brooding over Long Island Sound. Artist Shad Crispin makes a mediocre living selling his paintings to the local art community and trusts his business affairs to a sneaky agent. Shad is in a relationship with Cynthia, an independently wealthy woman who met him at his easel in Central Park and quickly installed him in Seahaven as her boy-toy. He lives and sleeps at the studio and Cynthia lives at her Village apartment. It works.

One frosty foggy night Shad sees a golden-haired girl laying on the beach and runs out to help her. After the thawing out, the gorgeous girl introduces herself as Lissa Cloud from the Iowa cornfields. Her explanation of swimming in the cold ocean at night is sketchy at best, but Shad goes with it. Obviously, there's a temptation here to jump little Lissa's bones, but Shad does the respectable thing and places her in the guest bedroom. Through the paper-thin wall, Cassiday enticingly describes Lissa's sexy unclothing to readers. Soon Shad awakens from the brink of sleep to find the vixen in his bed, confessing she is a virgin, and begging for love. Shad pisses himself off by throwing her in the guest bed and locking the door. 

The next morning Shad awakens to find that his sea nymph has disappeared. But, she took the opportunity to destroy his portfolio of nude paintings. Shad wants to know who the girl is and begins making a mini-investigation into her history. This is where things get interesting – Lissa may be a figment of Shad's imagination. Unable to corroborate his story, both his agent and lover believe that Shad made the whole thing up due to mental exhaustion. Instead of finding a detective, they begin searching for a psychiatrist. But, Shad later experiences another run-in with Lissa and begins to think she could be real.

I liked this crafty cozy mystery and enjoyed Cassiday's ability to transition nicely from a very tepid romance into a full-fledged crime-noir. Granted, there isn't a lot of locales trekked through the narrative, but I never became bored with the confined studio and tight atmosphere. The narrative's positioning in this small dwelling made the mystery aspect feel intimate. I also found Lissa – or the idea of Lissa – just sexy as Hell. 

Girl on the Beach isn't going to be anyone's literary mantle piece, but you could do a lot worse. Read the book for free HERE.

East Indiaman

Beginning in 1972, Griff Hosker became employed as an English and Drama teacher in northeast England. Upon his retirement after 35 years of service Hosker began his new life – a full-time novelist. He has authored over 150 books of historical fiction including over 25 series titles. He prefers his works to be self-published so he (and his family) have sole control of ownership, edits, and future reprints. I've been curious about his writing and decided to try his newest novel, East Indiaman. It was published in 2024 and is the first in a promised series. 

In the book's Prologue, William introduces himself to the reader in first-person narration. He's a boy without a family or home. His father died and his mother moved away to live in Java. As a wharf rat, William embarks on a life of theft and robbery to survive. After a successful string of crimes he learns that he chose the wrong victim. A notorious pirate is now after William to recover what was stolen from him. With no other recourse William hides on a ship headed north of the Canary Islands. 

In the early chapters William navigates the large boat and steals food and water from the crew and passengers. After stealing a crewman's coat William is eventually caught and brought before the Captain. Generously, they ask William to earn his own way by becoming a hard-working crewman working with sails and ropes. The experience humbles William and he eventually begins to see a life beyond criminality. After he makes a strong defense against pirates, William is asked to join a regiment of British troops – a type of special forces made up of former prisoners – to work for the East India Company.

William accepts the job and then East Indiaman really rolls into action. Through the book's second half William adapts to his new role as soldier, horseman, and killer. As he grows into a man he contends with the rigorous chores of rising through the ranks while in combat with nefarious village leaders, the enemy French regiments, and a secret mission to liberate a missionary family from a stronghold. 

Honestly, I wasn't sure how I would feel about Hosker's work and the fast and furious pace at which he writes and publishes his novels. Thankfully, East Indiaman is probably the best contemporary novel I've read this year. The book is expertly written in the first-person perspective and is presented as an epic adventure in a convenient 200 pages. Hosker successfully removes any fluff from his writing and sticks to the basics – tell a great story that is engaging while competently developing a character that adapts as the pages turn. This was such a treat to read considering historical fiction can lose itself in dense details that surround the plot. For validity, Hosker includes a list of his references to substantiate the story's locale and period as well as a brief history of the East India Company.

If you have the opportunity to try Hosker...please do. I also recommend a podcast interview that he participated in that gives some history on the author and his series titles HERE. I'm already reading another of his books and it is equally as entertaining. Highly recommended!

Get your copy HERE.

Ashton Ford #01 - Ashes to Ashes

There's no doubt that Don Pendleton took readers into some unusual places after writing a decade of The Executioner. Towards the end of Pendleton's involvement with Mack Bolan, he had already dabbled in science-fiction, political intrigue, and romance. His first real effort at hard-hitting crime-fiction were six books starring Joe Copp, a private investigator in the Mike Hammer style. But, it was the Ashton Ford series that really had people talking – good, bad, and indifferent. 

Ashton Ford, the psychic detective series, was published between 1986 to 1988. This six-book series stars Ford as a former naval intelligence officer that boasts in the opening chapter of Eye to Eye, the series debut, that he possesses all the talents of a spy. He has also had the good fortune of having a psychic ability. Apparitions and future visions are unveiled in a way he can't control. It is spontaneous, which is of little help in his profession as a private investigator.

Ford's newest client is Karen Highland, a wealthy woman on the verge of inheriting the billion-dollar trust left to her by her deceased grandfather. She comes to Ford because she wants to get laid. Seriously. Ford hangs around a New Age clinic and has discovered a way to create intercourse with women through telepathy. It's the ultimate high in a horizontal position. But, as Ford is explaining his qualms with dishing out the goods to a complete stranger, Karen's bodyguard is discovered dead.

Apparently, the dead bodyguard gets Ashford involved with the police and of course he needs to be better than they are in solving this murder. But, as he is introduced to Karen's suspicious doctor and trustees, there's another body – this one floating face down in the family's lavish pool. What's going on?

Ashes to Ashes is terrible. Don Pendleton can write a bad book and he proves it with this mediocre recycled private-eye plot. My issue isn't the recycling – God knows I read enough carbon copy gothic-romance novels – but it is the ridiculous pages and pages of New Age nonsense complete with detailed explanations of pseudoscience and the eternal struggle between God and the Devil. The character Ford is your typical West Coast private-eye. He drives a sports car, has a boatload of money, and women wanna screw him. Par for the course. The psychic thing comes into play twice, both of which are central to the resolution.

I can't recommend this book to anyone, but I'm sure it has a fair share of fans that are pleased with Pendleton's stark contrast between Bolan and Ford. I love horror novels, action-adventure, and crime-fiction, but the trio of sub-genres combined into this weird occult detective thing just didn't work for me. If you want to try it, get it HERE.

Midnight Vintage

Crystal Lake began publishing horror novels in 2012. In 2023 the publisher transformed into an entertainment company, complete with imprints and divisions like Crystal Lake Comics, Crystal Lake Games, Torrid Waters, and more. As of the time of this writing the company has published over 200 books. My first sampling of their work is the ebook short-story collection Midnight Vintage, a joint venture authored by Sean Eads (Trigger Point, The Survivors) and Josh Viola (The Bane of Yoto) with vibrant cover art by Skinner.

At roughly 338 pages, give or take a font size, the book offers 20 short-stories averaging about 20 pages per story. There is an excellent introduction by Stephen Graham Jones (The Only Good Indian, Night of the Mannequins) outlining the style and nature of the contained stories and a brief history of his friendship with both authors. I enjoyed the book and here are just a few of my favorites:

“The Making”

The narrative is presented in an unusual way with a transcript detailing an investigative conversation between a detective and a murder suspect. This transcript is embedded into a first-person perspective from Stradivarious Cooper, the murder suspect. Cooper explains he was a failed musician with a father serving time in prison. He accepts a bizarre job working for a doctor and his associates in a 3,000 square foot house that looks normal – except for the torture room in the basement. The doctor believes he can capture the proof of ghosts through Cooper violently abusing and murdering victims. The most horrible death insures a very real possibility that a ghost will emerge. However, as these things normally escalate in horror literature, the experiment bites the experimenter. This was a very good opening story that matched the style and intensity of the film Martyrs.

“Many Carvings”

In the book's intro, Jones describes this story as a type of EC Comics homage. I felt it possessed a Shirley Jackson's The Lottery vibe crossed with a more contemporary flavor like Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge. A young boy named Alaster lives in a small farming village. He is questioning why his father and brother haven't returned from “the market”. His mother grows sick and when she is forced to bed he journeys to a neighbor's house. Together the two venture to the home of a pregnant woman where they witness a very strange birth. Mixed into the narrative is a witch that grows pumpkins...in a field with no pumpkin patch. It's a unique story that had me guessing until the end.

“The Bidden”

Many of the stories in Midnight Vintage take place in the 1800s or early 1900s and involve small farming communities. This story is set on a cornfield and begins with a father named Wallace attempting to lacerate himself on corn stalks to feed his ghostly son John. The story then flashes back to the beginning to explain how John's mother Amanda gave birth to the son and the weird aftereffects of birth, growing corn, and the pain of loss and absence. It is easy to compare to the most popular corn-feel short of them all, Children of the Corn, but this works more like a country-fried Frankenstein story of creator and creation.

I also really enjoyed “Bright Rain” with its post-apocalyptic isolation mood. I sense that both of these authors are mood writers. Midnight Vintage isn't the first collaboration between the two. In 2024 Blood Bound Books published their novella Stolen Pallor. It's clear they have a wonderful chemistry in their storytelling. This collection is a testament to their synergy. Recommended!

Get the book HERE.

Paperback Warrior Podcast - Episode 112

Today's exciting episode reviews the life and career of a crime-fiction and pulp megastar named Stewart Sterling. He wrote over 400 pulp detective stories and is credited as the creator of the specialty detective formula. Sterling also wrote numerous paperbacks for publishers like Beacon, Fawcett Gold Medal, Dell, Ace, Pyramid, and Avon. Additionally, the fallout from the Brian G. Berry accusations, Eric reviews the new sword-and-sorcery novella Doom of the Dark Delta by James Reasoner, and much more. Listen to the episode below or on any streaming platform. You can also download HERE. If you prefer to listen on YouTube you can click HERE.

Listen to "Episode 112: Stewart Sterling" on Spreaker.

Sharpshooter Terror

Brian G. Berry is a contemporary horror, science-fiction, and action-adventure novelist that specializes in trash fiction. He has multiple series titles featuring stand-alone books like Slasherback, Chatter from the Tomb, and Splatter Madness. My first experience with Berry was his excellent Chopping Mall novelization, published by Encyclopocalypse Publications before being pulled from shelves for internal discord between the author and publisher (story HERE). In a recent interview with Berry, he suggested that one of his better books is Sharpshooter Terror, an installment in a series of stand-alone novels titled VHS Trash. I stepped into the crosshairs for a closer look.

Berry's ode to the VHS era places Sharpshooter Terror in the 1980s. In flashback scenes readers learn that Alan LaRue served in the Vietnam War in 1968. As a Screaming Eagle of the 101st, LaRue grew into the perfect soldier with a lack of obedience to skill set. He was fast-tracked to Recon School, joined Command and Control, and carried the war on his back in black ops missions hunting and assassinating NVA forces. After years of battle rattle, LaRue is eventually outnumbered in a firefight and is killed. But, that was just the beginning. 

LaRue's body is now a part of Project Night Stalker, a type of Universal Soldier program to create super troops impervious to emotion. Program. Assign. Kill. But, in a freak accident LaRue is dumped into the small rural community of Ashbury with scrambled programming that places every citizen on his kill-list.

LaRue's opponent is a man named Olson, an armed hunter seeking revenge for the death of his family. Mixed into the carnage is a type of First Blood scenario with the military working with the town's police force to try and bring in their man. There's cat-and-mouse tactics, lots of gunfire, and plenty of over-the-top violence. I appreciate that beyond the gory madness there's a really good narrative that should appeal to fans of 80s and 90s men's action-adventure paperbacks. Also, kudos to Berry arming LaRue with the .44 Ruger Redhawk with optics, the same legendary firearm used by Martin Stone in the glorious post-apocalyptic series The Last Ranger.  

Berry is an unrestrained author that charges into his literary lunacy Hellbent on shocking his readers. His writing style mirrors the 1980s cult cinema – those movies that went straight to VHS boxes hoping rental stores found enough sickos to rent them. We're talking about movies like Combat Shock, Deadly Prey, Escape from the Bronx, and The Last Hunter. I spent a good portion of my Dad's union pay renting these movies so I can appreciate Berry's homage with VHS Trash. Sharpshooter Terror is essentially one of these films in book format - the spillage of blood, brains, and bones on every page. 

Get your copy HERE.

The Sergeant #05 - Doom River

For my money, the best WW2 men’s action-adventure series was The Sergeant by Len Levinson, writing as Gordon Davis. The series follows U.S. Army Sergeant C.J. Mahoney through Europe kicking Nazi ass along the way. Installment #5 from 1981 is called Doom River.

The novel begins following the liberation of Paris in 1944 and Mahoney is banging a French whore who charged him 10 cigarettes for the sex. After his tryst, he walks right into one of the finest, most brutally violent, action set pieces I’ve read in years with Mahoney confronting some kraut holdouts in the Paris Opera building.

Levinson uses fictionalized strategic meetings between George Patton, Dwight Eisenhower, and military brass to give the reader context about the strategic importance of the mission Mahoney and his fellow soldiers will be undertaking. In this paperback, the mission is for U.S. Army troops to fight their way across the Moselle River in France into solidly German turf.

For this assignment, the military brass agree to assign Mahoney’s long-time sidekick, Corporal Cranepool to work with our Sergeant. The pair only have eight hours to get their slacking new platoon of lazy, complacent soldiers outfitted and motivated to cross the river under heavy resistance from the Germans.

While there’s never any question about the battle’s outcome or Mahoney’s fate, Doom River remains a fantastic combat adventure by one of the greats of the genre. Levinson can always be counted on to mix violent, bloody adventure with sex and humor to deliver the goods. His paperbacks will always be a must-read. Get the book HERE.

A Short Stay in Hell

A Short Stay in Hell is a 2012 short novel of speculative science-fiction by an evolutionary biologist and philosopher named Steven L. Peck about a guy who goes to a very unusual version of Hell.

Our narrator is Soren Johansson, who lived a perfectly reasonable and ethical life but nonetheless awakens in Hell after his death. At orientation, Soren is informed by a demon that Hell is actually temporary, and he will eventually get to Heaven if he completes an unusual task.

Soren’s Hell is a vast library filled with shelved books as far as the eye can see. Soren’s task is to go through the books and find the one among them that chronicles his life on earth. There are others in the library working on the same task along with Soren.

The setup for a vast library of this nature filled with mostly nonsensical and irrelevant books was borrowed by the author from a 1941 short story from an Argentinian librarian and author Jorge Borges called “The Library of Babel,” but Peck’s version is more of a smart, humorous, and tragic science-fiction meditation on the pitfalls of living forever.

Can the residents of the library work together to use process of elimination to find their biographies? How big is this library, anyway? There’s adventure and sorrow and romance in these pages wrapped in some serious Big Ideas making this one of the finest short novels I’ve ever read. Highest recommendation. 

Get the book HERE.

The Woodkin

According to his bio, Alexander James is a Seattle-based writer that enjoys Dungeons & Dragons, Double Stuff Oreos, and hiking. But, we aren't on a dating site. Alexander James also loves to write and experienced the publication of his debut novel, The Woodkin, in 2023 via CamCat Books. This unusual horror-hike novel was nominated for an Audie Award for Thriller/Suspense and earned an Independent Publisher Award for best Mystery/Thriller for Audiobook. I enjoyed my childhood backpacking the Appalachian Trail so I was anxious to see where James would take me on the trail. 

Protagonist Josh Mallory experienced a tragic childhood due to his mother dying in a blazing housefire. The memories of that day are firmly etched in his scarred memory. Josh grew up, attended college, and now finds himself in a strained marriage with his wife Deb. After discovering she may be cheating on him, Josh decides to embark on a three-week “find myself” hike through the Cascade Mountains using the popular Pacific Coast Trail.  

Early in the hike Josh (who uses the name Switchback) discovers a rotting corpse in a rugged ravine. Hoping to notify authorities, he continues his trek and meets a couple of other hikers. The most vibrant is an old hippy-esque guy nicknamed Appletree. He seems innocent enough and the two share a fire one night and Josh learns of a nearby town called Bedal. After hiking to a secluded roadway, Josh hitches a ride into town.

Bedal is a strange place where some of the town doesn't seem to physically hear or see Josh. Others have conversations with him, but it is all misplaced ramblings that seem senseless. He discovers a bulletin board with postings of missing hikers and tries to find a semblance of law and order to report the dead body. However, this weird little place doesn't have any police, working phones, or rangers. When Josh attempts to buy supplies he is introduced to the irritating character of Coars, a drug peddler that operates the town's only store. 

Soon, Josh is back on the trail and discovers more eerie things – a dead deer with a knife embedded in the skull and a wild “forest child” that seems to possess a nefarious motive. Eventually Josh finds the book's horror and it all relates to something in a cave deemed “Woodkin”. All around him Josh hears the words “feast for the woodkin” as he spirals into a really violent and dark experience cutoff from civilization.

There's a lot to unpack here, but the most entertaining parts of the book is simply Josh's flashback chapters that visualize the things that happened in his childhood. His need for a Sony Playstation, a football injury, and the horrific fire. If it wasn't for these chapters removing the reader from the forest, the book would have been rather lifeless. Picture the television show Lost without the character flashbacks. Just jungle and mystery yawns, right? The Woodkin is like one long episode of Lost where nothing makes any sense. Things happen that appear to have just been created by the writer that very second. I'm sure there is a mythology to the madness but I was completely lost on what was happening. One minute it is Wrong Turn, the next it's The Ritual, other times it's Rambo II in a forest prison. I had flashbacks of frustrating gamer days when Silent Hill and Deadly Premonition had no rhyme or reason. Just atmosphere. 

Go read The Woodkin and tell me what the Hell the book is about. I finished it. I'm weary from the fight. But, I finished it. Maybe you can too. Get it HERE.

Hunter at Large

We've covered author Thomas B. Dewey quite extensively here on Paperback Warrior, including a Primer article and a podcast episode. The Indiana native wrote 36 novels between 1944 and 1969. Of his stand-alone novels and series books the one novel that I have been the most excited about is Hunter at Large. The book was originally published in 1961 as a Permabook paperback. Stark House Press chose to reprint the book in 2024 under their Black Gat imprint. The novel is now available in physical and digital editions. 

Mickey Phillips (almost Spillane backwards!) is a tough cop. He makes his living beating the streets as a detective. His only real peace in life is the quaint country house he shares with his beautiful wife Kathy. The two have a wonderful harmony together, evident in Dewey's charming opener. 

Like a rifle-crack in the dark this perfect tranquility is shattered. Two men arrive at Mickey's door and briefly ask if “Mickey Phillips” lives there" (this is important). Mickey obligingly says yes and the two men immediately sap him. He's then handcuffed and strung up to watch the ultimate nightmare play out in front of him – the rape and murder of his beloved Kathy. Afterwards, one of the men frees Mickey from his bondage, shoots him, and then the two walk out of his life. 

Mickey survives the intended fatal shot. He's rushed to the hospital and spends weeks in rehabilitation from broken bones and painful surgery. When he's back on his feet Mickey resigns from the police force to pursue his own justice. But where does he go with no clue to the identity of the murderers?

Surprisingly, Dewey sidesteps the invitation to turn Hunter at Large into an action-packed novel bursting with energy. Instead, this is a methodical 250-page manhunt as Mickey drifts from city to city hoping to find the killers. It reminded me a little of The Fugitive's quest for the one-armed man in the old television show. Mickey befriends a prostitute, falls in love with a Mexican hotel worker, and works as a bartender. 

As much as I wanted this novel to intensify I was still very much intrigued on the direction Dewey was taking. Mickey's hunt is entertaining and is brimming over with the core mystery – who were these men? With no apparent ties to Mickey or Kathy's past, and no remarkable clues left behind, the search leads to some interesting places. There's no big twist here. Nothing convoluted that's paramount to the identity and discovery of the killer and motive. It's a slower narrative built with a sturdy framework of investigation and resolution while still retaining an intimate attention. Compelling, rewarding, and recommended!

Get your copy HERE.

Paperback Warrior Conversations - Brian G. Berry

Today, Paperback Warrior introduces an exciting new segment to its video and podcast programming called Conversations. In this inaugural episode, Eric sits down with horror author Brian G. Berry to discuss his action-adventure, horror, and science-fiction novels, his unique writing style inspired by cult cinema and trash VHS, and the recent controversy surrounding his novel's removal from store shelves and his dismissal from Encyclopocalypse Publications. Stream the audio portion only HERE. Watch the visual version HERE or stream below:

Conan - Conan the Valorous

Author John Maddox Roberts took his first swing at Tor's Conan pastiche novels in 1985 – Conan the Valorous. Many consider Roberts contributions to the Tor line as the most enjoyable, and thus far I would agree. I enjoyed his novel Conan the Bold and wanted to try his very first experience with the character. 

Conan the Valorous is stationed between the L. Sprague de Camp/REH story “The Blood-stained God” and “The Frost Giant's Daughter”. Conan is out of money and staying at an inn in northern Koth. A messenger comes to his room and asks that he meet a Stygian woman named Hathor-Ka. In that meeting Hathor-Ka, an aspiring Stygian sorcerer, offers Conan a great deal of money to carry a magical flask to Cimmeria. The goal is for Conan to pour this flask in the cave of Ben Morgh, the ancestral home of Conan's god Crom. Conan swears he will make the journey and perform the task in exchange for up-front money.

While Conan is on a road trip through Ophir, Nemedia, and the Border Kingdom, another aspiring sorcerer is doing the same, only a shortcut by river. Conan can't take this same route due to his Cimmerian heritage feuding with the Picts. This sorcerer, Jaganath, plans to ambush Conan in Cimmeria and steal this flask for himself. 

The book mostly works like one long road trip for the three-fourths of the narrative. The most entertaining portion of the novel is Conan's miniature adventure in a town called Cragsfell. Here, a chieftainess named Aelfrith is warring with a psychotic ruler living nearby. This part of the narrative explains the origins of the feud and how Conan can help. Initially, Conan declines his services to Aelfrith – despite her beautiful seduction – but once he learns that Aelfrith's daughter has been captured he changes his mind and leads a rescue by storming a castle and fighting off hordes of baddies. 

The book's last quarter features Conan aligning various Cimmerian clans to fight a sorcerer growing legions of followers, and a hideous creature, in the underground tunnels below Ben Morgh. 

The entertaining portions include the aforementioned rescue of Aelfrith's daughter (which could have been its own novel), Conan meeting various kinsmen from his boyhood, and the brief appearance of Conan villain-royalty in Thoth-Amon (from “The Phoenix on the Sword”). However, I feel that the last few scenes wrapped up the story too quickly with many promised fights evaporating like a silent fart. Jaganath has a killer in his ranks named Gopal and I was anticipating an epic fight with Conan. That never came to fruition. 

If you enjoy the very honorable, true good-guy boy-scout Conan character of Marvel's Conan the Barbarian comics or these pastiche novels, then this novel is certainly worth reading. I have a mindset when I read these types of Conan novels – this isn't the nihilistic gritty character created by Robert E. Howard, it's a re-imagining of Conan. If you can live with that then this book along with hundreds of other Conan works should be entertaining. Conan the Valorous is recommended. Buy it HERE. 

The Cassandra Crossing

Robert Katz (1933-2010), not to be confused with the film and television producer Robert A. Katz, was an author, screenwriter, and non-fiction writer from Brooklyn, New York. He authored numerous books and even faced criminal charges for his book Death in Rome (1967). The charge was defaming the memory of Pope Pius XII, which he was convicted and sentenced to 14 months in prison. The verdict was later overturned. 

My only experience with Katz is his 1977 novelization The Cassandra Crossing. Katz, along with three other writers, penned the screenplay for the movie in the early 1970s. The film was produced and released in 1976 with an all-star cast that included Sophia Loren, Martin Sheen, Ava Gardner, O.J. Simpson, and Richard Harris among others. Seeing that he already penned one-fourth of the screenplay, he chose to write the novelization, which was published in 1977 courtesy of Ballantine. I've never seen the movie because I'm a book guy.

The narrative begins in Europe as a Swedish duo attempt to break into a lab located at the International Health Organization (IHO). Oddly, only two U.S. Marines are there to stop any takeovers of the extremely deadly diseases housed in this facility. One of the two baddies, using a 357 Magnum with a silencer (which is mostly impossible), shoots the soldiers. But in the ruckus one of the Swedes is killed and the other manages to spill a deadly strain of the pneumonic plague (or something like that) all over himself. He then manages to escape the horde of U.S. Marines that are chasing him and boards a passenger train.

Katz then quickly introduces a ton of characters to readers in short paragraphs. As the narrative continues, the short paragraphs rotate around to present each of the characters' personal stories and situations. For example, the main character (if there really is one) is an acclaimed doctor named Chamberlain. His ex-wife (he divorced her twice) is on board as well and the two have a romantic fling while bickering about their prior marriages. It was an enjoyable and cute little shindig. Other characters include a hitman disguised as a priest, a small group of musicians and a groupie, a married couple, and the wife of a famed German businessman (or royalty). 

A group of doctors back at the IHO begin preparing for ways to re-route the train to a former Nazi concentration camp in Janov, Poland. To get there, they need to re-route the train through the Carpathian Mountains across a damaged and poorly constructed bridge – The Cassandra Crossing. As the passengers begin to get sick, the train is rerouted and the inevitable “ride or die” scenario comes to fruition as the train rolls on. 

There were four people writing this mess of a movie - keep that in mind. The film  earned the description “profoundly, offensively stupid” from the NY Times and “an unintentional parody of a disaster film” from Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune. While I enjoyed the overall plot design, I could never quite place what was happening on board the train with so many characters. Katz, anticipating the confusion, placed a checklist of characters at the beginning of the book with short descriptions – which kinda helped. But, there were so many aspects that just seemed pointless. 

Why even go to this former Nazi concentration camp in the first place? What's the point of possibly spilling a train and its diseased passengers into a ravine if the bridge may collapse? Why chance it? There were so many questions screaming in my brain as I was reading what should have been a high-octane thriller that burned up the pages on hot rails to Hell. 

The Cassandra Crossing isn't a terrible reading experience. As much as I was confused, I still found enjoyment in the overall concept. If you find the paperback affordable, it might be worth reading when you've had enough technically dense dives into Geoffrey Household's work to just need something less attentive. Lukewarm recommendation at best. Get it HERE.