Paperback Warrior - Conversations

Nick Anderson and I teamed up for another Guide to Gothics video, this time reviewing the 1974 Dell paperback The Traitor Within. It was authored by Alice White using the pseudonym of Alicen White. White won a Mystery Writers of America award and earned an Edgar for her 1972 novel Nor Spell, Nor Charm. She also played a key role in the development and leadership of the  Girl Scouts of America, as well as her teachings and mentorship at University of Kentucky, Purdue University, and the Mary C. Wheeler School. Check out the video, which highlights her career and literary work, directly on YouTube HERE.

Fog Country

Back on Episode 67 of the Paperback Warrior Podcast, we examined the life and literary works of a mysterious female pulp writer named Allison V. Harding. No one really knows her identity. It could have been Lamont Buchanan, a woman named Jean Milligan, or really Dorothy Mcllwraith. It's a mystery that will never truly be solved. But, regardless, Harding left behind a legacy of 33 tales of terror that helped elevate Weird Tales into the stratosphere of iconic magazine horror. 

In 2020, Armchair Fiction released a compilation of 16 stories culled from the pages of Weird Tales, Allison V. Harding: The Forgotten Queen of Horror. This book includes a story titled “Fog Country”, originally published in the magazine's July 1945 issue. 

“Fog Country” is told in first-person narration by Smith - “I'm known as Smith. Just Smith.” He has arrived back to the small town of Elbow Creek after several years of living afar. Smith describes this rural place as a type of mecca where evil forces flow, forces beyond understanding. He then documents for the reader a mysterious family known as the Hobells. They reside – or did at one point – in a robust mansion on top of the hill. They were the founders of Elbow Creek, but they were met with dysfunctional personalities. 

Smith describes the night when one of the Hobells, a troubled, fighting-man named Jess, engaged in a fight with his brother Tom. Tom's wife was murdered during the fight, but charges were never filed, and the two brothers remained bitter rivals...until the fog came.

Every so often, a thick, supernatural fog creeps in from the nearby sound to engulf the town and its residents. One night, the fog came and seemingly wiped out the Hobell family, evaporating Jess and the remaining family members. As the story hits the payoff pitch, readers realize that Smith is actually Jess's brother, Tom. He's returned to town and the mansion he now owns, free and clear of any rival family members. As he settles into the house, clearing debris and old memories, the fog begins to roll in again. Only this time...there may be a figure in the fog.

Like any good horror story, “Fog Country” relies on atmosphere as the main character. The house's isolation in the high forest, near the shore, is the perfect backdrop for Smith to meet his fate. The fog, described as thick and slimy, is the menace, although it's metaphorically just the town's buried secrets regarding this oddball founding family and the blight they've left on the township. The idea that Tom killed Jess isn't mentioned on paper, but it's an ambiguous delight that often made these old horror tales better – it's all in the imagination. You can make of it what you will.

You can read “Fog Country” in the Armchair Fiction omnibus, available HERE.    

The Night Boat

In high school, I read Robert R. McCammon's Swan Song. The book, which was published in 1987 as a mass market paperback by Pocket, won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel in 1988. I was so impressed with the book that I swore that day I would read every McCammon paperback. As book promises go, I didn't follow up and have managed to neglect reading any of the author's books since. 35-years later, I finally have read my second McCammon book – The Night Boat. It was published in 1980 as a paperback by Avon.

The Night Boat is like the paperback equivalent of an Italian zombie film. I've watched the cult-cringes like Zombie Lake (1981), Shock Waves (1977), and Oasis of the Zombies (1982), so I know my way around the undead films featuring Nazi soldiers stirring from some ancient slumber to devour human brains. McCammon feeds off of that for this book, which was his third published work (actually his second written novel).

McCammon sets this underwater horror story in the golden sands of the Caribbean, specifically a fictional, small seaside village named Coquina Island. During WWII, the island was shelled and burned by a Nazi sub. Off the coast, British submarine hunters were able to torpedo the vessel and sink it to the ocean. The island's natives, steeped in Voodoo, curse the German corpses in their aquatic tombs. Then, David Moore comes along and mucks it all up.

Moore, struggling with survivor's guilt after the death of his family, is a salvage diver who runs a small inn on Coquina. While trying to unearth some hidden treasure, Moore sets off a discarded depth charge that frees the German sub from its grave. The sub rises to the surface, and later, is placed in a harbor awaiting either another sinking or some sort of museum appraisal. But, Moore, the island's determined constable, and a museum curator look inside...and discover Nazi zombies. They accidentally free the soldiers, and the undead begin to attack the living.

This is pure popcorn horror fun, and I loved every page of it. This isn't anything epic, and it doesn't waddle away time and energy with a lot of characterization. It's a combination of nautical fiction, police procedural investigation, and survival horror as the island defends itself from the zombies and the “ghost ship”. There's a little bit of entrail-shredding graphic scenes, a small dose of sex, an underwater salvage that reminded me of Clive Cussler, and of course, the traditional fleshy flavor of the traditional zombie sub-genre – in pure pulpy fashion. Voodoo priests, sacrifices, small-town paranoia, ghosts, Nazis, and ghost ships. It doesn't get any more enjoyable than this. The Night Boat is worth sailing. 

Get the book HERE.

The Totem

David Morrell's The Totem was first published as a hardcover by M. Evans and Company in 1979. It debuted as a paperback in 1980 on Fawcett Crest. It was just his fifth published book, arriving years before First Blood's movie adaptation propelled him into the bestseller cosmos. In 1994, the author submitted his original version of the book – longer and unaltered – to his publisher Donald M. Grant. It is this version of the book that remains in print as physical, digital, and audio editions. 

A fictional small town, Potter's Field, Wyoming, is the locale for this interesting blend of genres. The primary pecking order is horror, followed closely by suspense, crime-fiction, and high-adventure. Often, too many ideas and concepts become burdensome, but Morrell's smooth prose and imagination keep the pages flowing. This was an entertaining reading experience from one of the storytellers in the business.

Sheriff Slaughter is the original town outsider, hired years ago from the big city to calmly, and quietly administer peace. He has a well-developed backstory, complete with trauma, divorce, and regret, that adds texture and depth. His professionalism is put to the test as mysterious killings begin to impact the town. Citizens and livestock are being mauled by wild animals. Yet, the bodies don't appear to have been traditionally devoured. It's as if they are simply being killed out of sport of some sadistic hatred of their lives. 

The thoughts of Slaughter, and his investigation, pan back and forth through a variety of colorful characters, none more interesting than an alcoholic journalist named Dunlap. He arrives in town to research a hippie cult that met an untimely end a decade before. There's also the brief appearance of a lovable, wise old veterinarian, a despicable mayor, and a handful of Slaughter's deputies that provide some ebb and flow in the investigation. 

In terms of crime-fiction, Dunlap and Slaughter put their heads together to learn more about the back-to-nature sort of cult that existed in town years prior. There's also the procedural stuff as Slaughter orchestrates the town's authorities into strategic places for the narrative to come alive – dark forests, empty fields, mountain terrain, and a creepy mansion. Which is where the horror really comes alive.

The horror aspect bridges several sub-genres, notably an “invasion” angle, as this super-rabies type of epidemic transforms the average citizens into homicidal maniacs. I've heard mentions that Paul Tremblay's Survivor Song, based on a super-rabies concept, may have taken inspiration from this novel. Regardless, The Totem is far better. There's also the “animals attack” formula, which was running at an all-time high during the 1980s, post-Jaws. But, oddly, this creepy mansion may have been my favorite portion of the book.

Years ago, a rich and affluent entrepreneur lived in this large house/mansion on the outskirts of town. He murdered his wife, but the authorities never located her body. Like these sorts of “house on the edge of town” rural-America myths go, rumors abound that she's still in the house, either existing as a neglected corpse or a rampaging ghost. The police are called to the mansion at night due to a rabid boy fleeing to the location after attacking a neighbor. It's flashlights, cobwebs, and staircases in a traditional horror flavor that Morrell would later perfect in his masterpiece, 2005's Creepers. 

I could probably write a coffee table book, probably longer than The Totem, about this novel, but I'll end it by just saying this: The Totem is an excellent horror novel that deserves its flowers. It is unique, innovative, and truly terrifying. Highest possible recommendation. Get the book HERE.

Psycho

Robert Bloch's seminal bestseller was Psycho, a 1959 hardcover first published by Simon & Schuster. It debuted in paperback in 1960 as a Crest Book, an imprint of Fawcett. Within its first few years of publication, the book was printed in six editions, including a movie tie-in version for Alfred Hitchcock's classic in 1960. The book spurred film sequels, but Bloch wrote his own sequels to the book – 1982's Psycho II and 1990's Psycho House. There was also a TV prequel show titled Bates Motel (2013-2017), a fan-favorite that visualized the origin of the book's protagonist, Norman Bates.

Unlike the film, Norman is really the protagonist of the novel. He's overweight, struggles with his childhood traumas, and talks to his mother. He runs a roadside motel in rural California that has seen its better days. His boring day-to-day changes when a new guest arrives, Marion Crane.

Readers learn about Marion's dilemma in Bloch's beautifully orchestrated setup. She met a man named Sam on a cruise, and the two of them want to get married. But, Sam, who runs a small hardware store, has looming debt and isn't in a position to take on the financial responsibility a marriage requires. Marion works for a real estate company that has just finished a large property sale. She's asked to drop $40,000 at the local bank. Instead, she takes this as a perfect invitation to take the money and run. She plans on driving across the country to Sam's place to present him with a fake story about inheriting money from a deceased relative.

Weary from the road, Marion checks in to the Bates Motel...but doesn't check out. This dinner scene and Norman's fixation on the woman develop into one of the most iconic scenes in horror history. Like the film version, this shower scene is excellent, albeit a little different – Marion is eviscerated and decapitated in Bloch's version. 

Marion's disappearance leads to an insurance investigator, Arbogast, arriving at Sam's store. By this time, Marion's sister Lila has also arrived to inquire about her sister's absence. Together, the three of them team up to learn more about Marion's trip to the motel and the outcome. 

It is hard to read a classic like this after seeing the film adaptation numerous times. I often asked myself when I would catch the twist if I had read the book first, with no prior intel on Bates and his mother. Like many readers' experiences of the time, I'm sure the novel would have blown my mind as well. This is a masterful storytelling experience that incorporates everything I love about noir fiction – a heist, criminals on the run, a suspenseful locale, a driven detective, ordinary people pushed into extraordinary circumstances, and, of course, a heinous bad guy. At about the halfway point, I began pushing Anthony Perkins' on-screen portrayal of Norman out of my mind, replaced by a different image that more closely aligned with the book – an obese, drinking man with a more aggressive nature. 

I think this book, and to a lesser extent John D. MacDonald's 1960 paperback, The End of the Night, propelled violence and human horror into new heights. These books helped define modern horror as both authors were on the cusp of revealing the psychotic tendencies that would re-appear nine years later with the Manson Family murders, although the Ed Gein murders of the 1940s and 1950s had a spectacular impact on Bloch's novel. Like what Mickey Spillane accomplished in the late 1940s – more violence, anti-heroes, a dark progression of the cookie-cutter pulp – Bloch is able to replicate this in terms of suspense and horror. Psycho is the catalyst for “stalk 'n slash”.   

Regardless of whether you've watched Hitchcock's film or not, this book deserves to be read again...and again. Highest possible recommendation. Do yourself a favor and read this book!

Get it HERE.

Baxter #12 - Hell's Haunted Acres

Lawrence Treat (1903-1998) was one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America, and served as the association's president and director. He is considered the father of the police procedural by creating a group of detectives solving crimes as opposed to the traditional detective stories that featured a single character. His seven-decade career included 17 novels, over 300 short stories, and numerous appearances in anthologies and digests dedicated to the genre and craft. 

Treat's earliest appearances in the pulps were under his birth name, Lawrence Arthur Goldstone. Later, he changed his name and began appearing in Ace-High Detective Magazine, Detective Fiction Weekly, and Black Mask. Treat had a number of pulp characters appear in his stories, like Wee Willie Apple (Short Stories) and Edward Asa Scott (Dime Detective Magazine). Two of his characters, Bill Decker and Mitch Taylor, were often found in the pages of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. 

I wanted to read Treat's pulp stories starring a Southern private-detective, Paul W. “Galahad” Baxter, or just Baxter for short. According to Jess Nevins, Baxter appeared in Ten Detective Aces from 1939 through 1942, beginning with “Murder Isn't For Sissies” (May 1939). While Baxter works for a New York City agency, later stories relocate the character to Memphis and New Orleans. 

My first experience with the character, and subject of this review, is “Hell's Haunted Acres” (Nov. 1941), a “Smashing Baxter Novelet”. 

In the opening pages of the story, Baxter is sent to Mobile, Alabama by his boss Joe Cotton, the head of the Herald Square Agency. Baxter charges into a bank building to see his client, a big-business fellow named Hartswell. When Baxter briskly introduces himself, Hartswell says, “You're the boy that Cotton says is such a world-beater. Says you turn the city of N'Orleans inside out every Tuesday and Thursday, regular.” Baxter, as Bellem as ever, quips back, “Saturday's my night. What's the case?”

Baxter is sent by Hartswell to fictional Dog River, Alabama to protect a guy named Edward. Hartswell explains that Edward is his son, a big and powerful man with very little intelligence. Hartswell explains that years ago, Edward killed a man, forcing Hartswell to pay thousands of dollars to the man's widow to smooth things over so Edward wouldn't be prosecuted. The same thing has happened again. Edward killed Madie Allen's husband, one of the caretakers of the property that Edward lives on. Hartswell provides Baxter $10K to take care of Madie and pay off the rest of the people who supervise Edward.

It's a rather convoluted story, but one in which Baxter wisecracks, swings his fist, chases after Edward's gorgeous female friend, and ultimately solves the case. Treat's use of locale elevates the story, which incorporates snakes, an ominous swamp, and enough Southern stereotypes to top even Foghorn Leghorn. The mystery lies in whether or not Edward is really even alive, and the caretakers who are paid monthly to look after him. This includes the usual cast of suspects, which includes a herpetologist (who is fond of pythons), and a loud-mouthed bullhead named Scotty.

Baxter is the star of the show and proves it in the way he dispatches justice in unique and clever ways. The murder weapon is certainly a first for me, and the storytelling aspect of Baxter primarily chasing women was humorous for the small page count. I don't believe Baxter ever appeared in Treat's novels. That may be because he's so crass and obnoxious, yet, on a temporary basis enjoyable.  As a short pulp story character, Baxter is a fun waste of time. Read the story below or download HERE.

Flight from Nome

Frank Richardson Pierce (1887-1966) wrote over 1,500 stories for pulps and glossy magazines in his 50-year career. While using his own name, and that of Erle Stanly Pierce and Seth Ranger, Pierce worked as a photojournalist for Motorcycling and Bicycling Illustrated while traveling remote Alaskan villages in the early 20th century. His experience in the area had an impact on his writing, both as an adventure and western storyteller. I discovered an aviation story from the author, “Flight from Nome”, in the August 1947 issue of Adventure, featuring the frosty Alaskan climate.

The story provides a brief history lesson on the early-day travel in Alaska, both by ship and plane, while introducing the two main characters, Danny and Joe. They work for the fictional Alaska-Asiatic Airlines. Joe is the instrument pilot, a war veteran who is forced to co-pilot with a busher named Dan. Years ago, the duo formed a solid friendship and work partnership, a melding that led to Joe dating Danny's sister. But the years have taken their toll on the friendship and work environment, leading to Joe's animosity for Dan and his disgruntlement with being a co-pilot.

Danny is dating a woman named Maureen, but lately Joe has been flirting with her. Danny is upset with Joe, not only with his advancement on Maureen, but also with his dismissal of Joe's sister and their relationship. This tight tension has spread to the cockpit, leading to some uncomfortable chatter between the two. But the ultimate test of their loyalty to the profession is at hand. The two are flying a plane full of passengers, through the frigid night, to three destinations. It's an icy adventure that pushes the boundaries of their friendship, work ethic, and dedication to their trade. 

This story, really a novella, is a character study, not only of the two main stars but also of the passengers themselves. Each of them shares their life and lessons, living in such a barren place. My favorite is Old Man Kent, a former gold prospector who is suffering the early stages of Alzheimer's. He consistently talks for hours about his life, knowing friends like Jack London, Rex Beach, Soapy Smith, and Swiftwater Bill. Whether he actually met and had relationships with these legendary men is a mystery. The Kent character is like the living embodiment of a good pulp story, which I think was the point. There's also a Priest, a pregnant woman, and a nurse, among others, to share their experiences. Pierce also builds in some riveting flashback scenes of Joe earning his nickname “Lucky” in harrowing missions throughout the war. 

I haven't read much of Frank Richardson Pierce, but that all changes now that I've read this great aviation story. “Flight from Nome” is a fantastic literary telling of a majestic time and place in American history. Highly recommended.

Read or download the story HERE or read it below:

Dark Agnes #01 - Sword Woman

Agnes de Chastillon (aka Dark Agnes) only appeared in two stories completed by Robert E. Howard, “Sword Woman” and “Blades for France”. A third fragment story, “Mistress of Death”, was completed by Gerald W. Page. Roy Thomas used the character as an influence on the creation of his popular Marvel comics character, Red Sonja. My first introduction to the character is her origin story, “Sword Woman”. This was originally published in REH: Lone Star Fictioneer #2 (cover by Stephen Fabian) in Summer 1975. It was reprinted for the first time in Zebra's 1976 paperback The Second Book of Robert E. Howard. The most popular appearances of the story are probably Zebra's 1977 The Sword Woman (cover by Fabian) and Ace's 1986 Sword Woman (cover by Ken Kelly).

Despite being written by Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan and the Hyborian Age, “Sword Woman” is set in 16th century France. In the opening pages, Agnes is being forced into marriage by her father. After brief consideration and the spurring of her disgruntled sister, Agnes runs away from her home after stabbing her bridegroom with a dagger. Her father chases after her while shooting arrows in her direction. Needless to say, that's a wild wedding day.

While stopping to rest, Agnes is met by a man named Etienne Villiers. He lures her into a false sense of security with promises that he will escort her to a faraway town where she can become employed as a servant. Agnes hesitantly agrees, but later regrets the decision when she overhears Villiers discussing a transaction. Agnes realizes that Villiers is actually a wanted man, a fugitive from the He planned on selling her to a brothel. After she kills her planned purchaser, Agnes nearly beats Villiers to death. She debates turning him in to the law, then has second thoughts and escorts him to safety, where he can regain his health. In the meantime, she meets a mercenary named de Clisson who trains her to be a swordswoman.

I loved this story and found the Agnes character to be rather dynamic. The story is told in the first-person narration by Agnes, which is rather unusual in the pulpy tradition. Her hot temper, fiery red hair, and the description of “devil in britches” made for mesmerizing imagery throughout the storytelling. There are a number of great quotes from Agnes where she defies stereotypes, masculinity, and the norms of the era in a quest for personal liberation. The action scenes are as good as expected from Howard, with key moments being a riverbed fight where Agnes is thrusting her sword while shooting faces off with a pistol. 

Like every Howard fan, I wish there were more of these Agnes stories. I look forward to reading “Blades for France” next. I may also seek out this story's inspiration, which was probably C.L. Moore's Jirel of Joiry character, of which Howard had read.

Get books featuring this story HERE.

The Brotherhood of Blood

“The Brotherhood of Blood”, authored by Hugh B. Cave, was first published by Weird Tales in the May 1932 issue, alongside other notable frightening wordslingers like Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, and Seabury Quinn. It was collected in Cave's first hardcover collection, Murgunstrumm and Others, in 1977. I reviewed the book's title story back in 2023 HERE.

Like “Murgunstrumm”, this story also features vampires and children of the night, only more situated in the throngs of love and rejection. It's a unique story, marked by jealousy and murder, that features Paul Munn, a narrator who tells us in the opening pages he is an aged vampire - if vampires ever really age. He stalks Cambridge, Mass., in an effort to find and drain the life's blood, from his nemesis, a medical student named Rojer Threng. 

Like the typical early 20th-century shorts and novels, the story begins in the present day while the narrator gets situated to tell us his personal experiences from the past. Munn takes the reader back to his college years, where he often shared his apartment with Threng. It was during this time that Threng was dating a woman named Margot, who eventually rejected him. One night, Margot goes to Munn's apartment for aid and is taken aback to see Threng there. 

Threng explains to Munn that there is something not quite right about Margot and her family lineage. Hundreds of years ago, a French village burned one of Margot's ancestors to death, accusing and condemning him for sorcery. That ancestor rose from his grave on his 28th birthday as a vampire. He then attacked and drained the lifeblood from another family member. Then that family member rises on the 28th birthday to kill another family member. This is a cycle. Margot has come to Munn's to warn him that she is on the cusp of her 28th birthday and fears that her mother will rise from the grave and kill her. 

Munn has fallen in love with Margot, but can't save her. Eventually, Margot succumbs to her mother's vampiric bite and dies. Yet, since Margot has no other family members, she warns Munn in her dying breath that when he turns 28, she will rise and attack him. After this statement, the story takes an unusual twist. When Munn turns 28, he does see Margot, but Threng has another plan fueled by his jealousy and rage. 

Obviously, “The Brotherhood of Blood” has an uneven sort of feel to the plot, mainly due to the vague nature of the family curse. The significance of the family killing each other may have been lost on me, but I did enjoy the Munn character and genuinely felt an emotional bond with him. His loss of Margot and the eventual reappearance were developed well. For a short story, Cave fully developed these characters, despite the page limitations. His ability to lift this ordinary college love triangle into a series of life and afterlife occurrences was remarkable. Maybe I just don't read Cave enough to fully appreciate his storytelling strengths. Based on “Murgunstrumm” and this delightful story, I need to pursue more of the author's work. Recommended!

The Dwellers Under the Tombs

There's three characters that appear occasionally in Robert E. Howard's horror stories: Conrad, Kirowan, and O'Donnel. Sometimes all three of these men are in the same stories, while others fragment the three. I covered one of these stories, “Dig Me No Grave” (Weird Tales, Feb. 1937), which featured both Kirowan and Conrad. I found another, “The Dwellers Under the Tombs”, that features both Conrad and O'Donnel. The story was originally titled “His Brother's Shoes”, and submitted to Weird Tales. It was rejected in 1932. It was later published for the first time in the fourth issue of Weinberg's Lost Fantasies in 1976 (alongside Warren Munn's “Tale of the Werewolf”).

In the story, O'Donnel is staying at his friend Conrad's house when a neighbor, Job Kiles, arrives screaming that he just saw his dead brother. It is revealed that Job's brother Jonas lived in an old house in the Dagoth Hills (unknown location). He recently died and is buried in the family's tomb, yet somehow is now alive as a vampire visiting Job. Obviously, the mystery is too inviting, and all three men journey to the tomb to see if Jonas is still lying at rest. What they find is surprising.

Howard is one of my favorite writers of all time (maybe the best), and even when he wasn't at his best, he's still better than the majority of his early 20th century contemporaries. This story may have been rejected for being a little too on the nose, leaving very little to the imagination. It may also have had too much “The Lurking Fear”, a Lovecraft classic first published by Weird Tales in 1928. 

Regardless of the original rejection, this ghoul story is ripe with atmosphere and incoming doom as the two men find themselves alone with the dead body of Job and a coffin that's empty. As they spiral deeper into the spiderweb of underground tunnels, they discover an ancient race that's inhabited the mountain. There is a tight tension as the duo read a diary entry from Jonas that explains his position and the concept of fooling his brother into thinking he was really dead (the reason for the story's original title). But is Jonas dead now? What are the yellow eyes that are peering from the hideous depths? Can O'Donnel, and Conrad, shoot themselves to freedom? 

Roy Thomas adapted this story as a Conan adventure in Savage Sword of Conan #224 (Aug. 1994). Howard loved his subterranean horror stories, evident in “The Children of the Night” and “Worms of the Earth”. This one is really a lot of fun and is highly recommended. 

Get the Del Rey omnibus of Howard's horror stories HERE. Get the 1978 paperback Black Canaan, which features this story and others, HERE. HorrorBabble also presents an excellent audio version of this for free HERE.

Deathlands #09 - Red Equinox

The ninth Deathlands paperback, Red Equinox, was published by Gold Eagle in June 1989. It was authored by Laurence James under the house pseudonym of James Axler. Like the series' fifth installment, Homeward Bound, Red Equinox recounts prior events to add a little sequel variation. This book serves as a companion to the second Deathlands entry, Red Holocaust, published in 1986, thus the similar title.

In Red Holocaust, Ryan and the group emerged from a redoubt in Alaska. It was there that they ran into the Russian military unit, the Narodniki, and a Russian leader named Major Zimyanin. That book ended in a wild finale featuring the Russian military, an earthquake, and a nuclear bomb. Ryan's group escaped back into the redoubt to Louisiana. After reading the book, I could sense we hadn't seen the last of Major Zimyanin. After reading Red Equinox I still have that same feeling.

In Red Equinox, we have a series first – travel outside of the U.S. Ryan and his friends arrive in a redoubt that is damaged. It's like a metaphor for the group itself, mainly two of the members, Doc and Rick. In the last novel, Ice andFire, Doc's lover Lori, is killed. He is now pining for her and remembering things from his past. Rick has a terminal illness and is living out his last hours in pain and mental confusion. It's a tough time for the gang, made even tougher when they discover the redoubt is in the middle of a nuked-out Moscow.

Laurence James constructs this Deathlands entry in such a unique way. Ultimately, the premise is so simple – scavenge for tools to fix the redoubt door so they can jump to another place on the map. Only Rick has the know-how to fix it, but he's living his last hours. There's a sense of urgency to get into the city, get the tools, and fix the door. James cleverly leaves various characters in the redoubt to isolate Ryan, Kristy, and Rick. This is mainly Rick's story, and the trio has an emotional bond that elevates the novel into some touching moments. Rick's death, his inability to ever revisit his own time (he's from the 1980s), and his relay of information to Kristy about the “old days”. This is such a wonderful farewell to a lovable character.

The group is spotted in town, and Major Zimyanin, who is in an entertaining spat with his new wife, attempts to corral Ryan's group. He remembers the “one-eyed man” and wants a semblance of revenge. There are other elements at play as well, including Rick's insistence that the American flag be rescued from a pro-Soviet museum and Kristy's use of the Mother Earth mutant power.

Red Equinox is a dynamic Deathlands novel and one that serves as a way to continue events from Red Holocaust while also killing off another character (a second consecutive book to feature a character death). This is one of my favorite series, and I can't wait to find out where the group ends up next. Highly recommended if you are a Deathlands fan.

Get the book HERE.

The Black Angel

Beginning with the 1940's The Bride Wore Black (aka Beware the Lady), Cornell Woolrich launched into a two-decade output of celebrated mystery novels. Books like Phantom Lady, Deadline at Dawn, and I Married a Dead Man are acclaimed golden age suspense yarns featuring shadowy characters, ambiguous prose, and murky plots. Woolrich was as good as his peers, like Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, but could be scolded at times for recycling the same formula. That's my biggest criticism of The Black Angel, his 1943 novel first published in hardcover by Doubleday and now available in multiple formats, including audio and digital. 

The Black Angel is a reworking of plots in Woolrich's two short stories, "Murder in Wax" (Dime Detective March 1935) and "Face Work" (Black Mask October 1937). But my criticism isn't with that, instead it is the concept Woolrich used throughout this era of his writing – a series of four or five chapters where the main character interacts with someone in an effort to free a condemned person, gain revenge, or discover the answer to some sort of preposterous question. Sure, this could apply to just about any crime-fiction, noir novel, or story of the mid 20th century, but Woolrich doesn't even attempt to gain an off-ramp. He just rinses and repeats, albeit his motions are fluid, well-executed, and entertaining.

The Black Angel is a woman named Alberta, but nicknamed “Angel Face” by her husband, Kirk. She discovers that Kirk is having an affair with a mistress, a fluent entertainer named Mia. When Alberta arrives to confront Mia at the woman's apartment, she discovers her dead body. At the same time, Kirk calls Mia from work, and Alberta answers the phone. She disconnects before saying anything. A few hours later, the police locate and arrest Kirk for Mia's murder. However, Alberta knows Kirk didn't kill the woman and sets out to prove his innocence despite learning of his extramarital affair. 

In The Bride Wore Black, an unnamed woman hunts and kills five men on a quest to avenge the murder of her husband. The book used certainty – a predetermined sentencing for each character – to build suspense. It was divided into five parts, each dedicated to one of the five men the woman was interacting with in an effort to kill. 

The Black Angel uses the same setup, only this book has four parts, each of them dealing with a man that Alberta is investigating. She uses Mia's telephone book to trace these men, all having first names that begin with “M”, a pattern that corresponds with a matchbook clue left in Mia's doorway. As the time is racing towards Kirk's execution, Alberta must infiltrate each man's life – either by employment or seduction – and learn if they killed Mia. 

This same idea comes to fruition in the author's 1941 novel, The Black Curtain, where an amnesiac is hunting down people who were involved in his life over the last three years to prove his innocence in a murder. The author's 1942 novel Phantom Lady features a man scheduled for execution after being convicted of murdering his wife. His friends and a detective interview the people in his life to prove who the actual murderer is. In Deadline at Dawn, his 1944 mystery, a woman teams with a man to hunt down a killer before one of them is arrested for the crime. 

While reading the novel, I was consistently comparing the plot to other works by Woolrich and his contemporaries. But that didn't necessarily dampen my enjoyment. This is a terrific slow-burn combining a headstrong protagonist with some seedy characters to develop an interesting fish-out-of-water dynamic. Each of these four parts can be read like a standalone crime story. My favorite of them is the Dr. Mourdaunt portion, an effective dive into drug trafficking concerning a doctor leading Alberta on a type of scavenger hunt. 

Woolrich was a great storyteller, and The Black Angel is worth pursuing if you enjoy a calculated, slow pace as characters are fleshed out and the story weaves to a conclusion. The author purposefully keeps things hazy for a reason – nothing is terribly clear, which elevates the tension and mystery. Recommended, but just know what you get with a Woolrich novel. 

Get the book HERE

Secrets of Sinister House #5

As I alluded to in my reviews of The Sinister House of Secret Love, this DC title began its initial run under that mischievous title. The comic ran four issues before giving way to a sort of reboot for issue five, the new title of Secrets of Sinister House. It ran another 14 issues through July 1974. Although the first four issues were prominent displays of 1970s gothic lore, the series expanded into more traditional horror concepts similar to the EC brand and other mid-20th century fright mags. 

Despite the title switch to Secrets of Sinister House, the production team still had one more gothic story to tell, that being the fifth issue's "Death at Castle Dunbar!" This was written by Lynn Marron, who also wrote stories for Vampirella, Creepy, and Eerie. The artwork was created by Mike Sekowsky (Green Lantern, House of Mystery) and Dick Giordano (Batman, The Flash). 

A woman named Mike Hardy (yes, her first name is Mike!) arrives at the gloomy Castle Dunbar in Scotland under the guise of being an author chronicling the Dunbar family throughout military history. She's actually the sister of a recently deceased woman named Valerie, the former bride of the Castle's Laird, Alec Dunbar. Valerie fell from a seaside cliff to her death and Mike thinks she may have been murdered.

The story follows Mike's exploration into the family history, which introduces several suspects. Like any tight gothic romance tale, the house itself becomes a character. Common tropes like abandoned wings and floors, intruders stalking the hallways at midnight, and the obligatory proposal that someone may be locked up in an upstairs bedroom all become key components to the story and atmosphere. 

I enjoyed the first four issues of The Sinister House of Secret Love and was surprised to find this fantastic gothic story tucked away in the pages of Secrets of Sinister House. This sort of storytelling departs with the next issue's “When is Tomorrow Yesterday”, written by Sheldon Mayer, although Alfredo Alcala's artwork is simply amazing.

Fair Blows the Wind

The origin of Louis L'Amour's Chantry family appears in the 1978 novel Fair Blows the Wind. At the time of publication, the author had become complacent with his books concerning good guys fighting ruthless land barons and aiding heroic widows. While those books made L'Amour a multi-millionaire, the writer wanted to stray from his normal fare to offer different ideas and concepts before his career ended (he died in 1988).

L'Amour authored several different types of novels, including The Walking Drum, Last of the Breed, and The Haunted Mesa. Along the same lines as his westerns, L'Amour wanted to showcase America's founding through the eyes of several fictitious families he had created: Talon, Sackett, and Chantry. After several novels featuring Chantry characters, L'Amour went back in time to tell the family's beginnings in America, notably the story of Tatton Chantry, the first to arrive. 

The book is unusual as over 200 pages are one long flashback to Chantry's childhood and coming-of-age in rowdy places in England, Ireland, and Spain. In the novel's beginning, a 28-year old Chantry is stranded somewhere in what would later be North or South Carolina. He meets a group of Spaniards accompanying a Peruvian woman, but soon realizes they have an unscrupulous plan to steal from the woman.

The flashback begins with young Chantry seeing his father murdered on their family farm in Ireland. He warns Chantry to run from the British invaders and head into the wild. Chantry does this and begins surviving in the forests and inner cities, begging for food and hoping to one day avenge his father. Through a series of adventures, similar to Tom Sawyer, Chantry meets eccentric characters on one long road trip through England and Spain. 

Much of the novel concerns Chantry learning swordplay, beginning with an English swordsman named Kory and ending with a Scottish weaponmaster named MacAskill. By the age of 14, Chantry is a well-skilled and feuding with the British and Spanish. He becomes a wordsmith, a prisoner, an adventurer, and an investor. But, each of these adventures is one step closer to disclosing how Chantry became stranded in the Carolinas and his goal of freeing the young Peruvian woman.

I discussed this novel with Jeff on his channel Jeff's Cave of Cool Books. You can watch that discussion HERE. Overall, this was an enjoyable book at nearly 300-pages. I felt it would have been better served as maybe two or three novels, with L'Amour possibly fleshing out some of the storylines he introduces. Unfortunately, L'Amour passed away before he could revisit this book. Later editions feature bonus material that suggests a sequel would surely have appeared if the author had lived longer. Regardless, as a stand-alone adventure, this one is hard to beat. Highly recommended.

Get Fair Blows the Wind HERE 

Comes the Dark Stranger

Comes the Dark Stranger was only Harry Patterson's (aka Jack Higgins) fourth published novel, seeing release in 1962 in hardcover by John Long. It has since been reprinted numerous times under the Higgins pseudonym, including a Brilliance Audio book narrated by Michael Page. 

Like many of Patterson's first few novels, Comes the Dark Stranger is a rich, carefully crafted crime-fiction novel void of any high-adventure tendencies the writer would eventually be synonymous with. The book utilizes several pulpy crime-noir elements that had already saturated the market by the 1960s. The most dominant is the “dying man” attempting to solve his own murder before he succumbs to some fatal element in his body. This trope was used successfully in the 1950 American film D.O.A., written by Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene. That movie was remade in 1969, 1988, 2017, and 2022. Additionally, the concept was used as a radio episode of The Adventures of Sam Spade in 1951. 

Patterson uses this D.O.A. formula for his character Martin Shane, a Korean War veteran who has shrapnel lodged in his brain. He has a few hours to live before surgeons hope to remove it before it shifts and destroys him. However, the surgery has previously killed most patients, so Shane feels he has just a few hours left to live. He spends those hours hunting the man who sold out his men during the war.

The novel begins with a disoriented Shane stumbling around the village of Burnham. He's been beaten and is handcuffed. After freeing himself with the use of some tools in an old factory, Shane is found by a priest and relays how he arrived in this strange predicament. 

In 1952, Shane and five other men are captured behind enemy lines in Korea during the country's ongoing Civil War. The men were preparing the way for an assault in the coming days from a large British infantry. The men are tortured by a Chinese officer and ordered to be executed individually until someone confesses the British plans for the infantry. Shane's good friend, Simon, is the first to be executed. However, after interrogation, the officer announces that one of the men provided the necessary intel. A few moments later, a bomb reduces most of the facility to rubble. But the Chinese were able to use the confessed info to ambush the infantry, killing over 200 soldiers.

Shane is admitted into a hospital, where he lies in a type of amnesiac state for nearly 10 years. Miraculously, something shifts, and he regains his memory. But, as I explained earlier, he may be dying. He wants to locate the man responsible for giving up the intel to the Chinese and costing the lives of not only Simon, but also the 200 infantrymen. 

As Shane arrives in Burnham, Patterson shifts into an amateur sleuth presentation as the hero interrogates the four men he shared quarters with as a prisoner. These men now consist of a club owner, a bartender, a wealthy investor, and a college lecturer. All of them could have confessed, but the clues led to one man in particular. It is a standard mystery as the pages flip to the reveal. 

Not only did Patterson use the dying man trope, he also incorporates other overused elements like amnesia and plastic surgery. There's also the man-on-the-run plot device that threads the investigation together, leading to one action scene after another as Shane beats up various characters searching for answers. Mixed into the story are two romantic leads, one of whom meets a horrible fate that took me aback.

Comes the Dark Stranger isn't perfect, but it is a fun novel that kept me on my toes for most of the novel. I had figured out the identity of the traitor at the very beginning of the book, but there was a twist thrown in that surprised me. I haven't read a Higgins/Patterson novel I didn't like, and Comes the Dark Stranger is just more evidence that the man just couldn't write a complete clunker.

Get the book HERE

Doc Savage #32 - Dust of Death

Dust of Death was the lead story in the October 1935 issue of Doc Savage. It was authored by Harold A. Davis, filling in for the title's most prominent author, Lester Dent. The house name is Kenneth Robeson, the original magazine cover artist was Walter M. Baumhofer, and the Bantam paperback, published in 1969, features a James Bama cover. I'm reviewing the paperback, which I also supplemented with the Audible audio version narrated by Os Guinness.

The story begins with Long Tom being captured in the midst of a raging geopolitical war between the fictional countries of Santa Amaoza and Delezon. However, the real villain is the cloaked Inca in Gray, an instigator who is simply keeping both parties embroiled in the feud for personal gain. When one country begins an upheaval destined to end the conflict, the Inca in Gray arrives to boost the opponent's ranks. The villain's chief dispatcher is a mysterious “dust of death”, a fatal toxin sprinkled on victims and targets. 

Doc Savage, Ham, and Monk become engaged in the fight after learning of Long Tom's capture. Their participation involves the team's stratospheric dirigible, a type of aircraft that can reach the edge of space. It is aboard the craft that Doc fights a fierce opponent, the vehicle is destroyed, and both Ham and Monk parachute into captivity. Their proposed demise of being munched to death by army ants was very disturbing. 

Dust of Death was just an average Doc Savage adventure – nothing more, nothing less. The book is mostly known for providing the introduction of Ham's ape Chemistry, a series regular. Also, series enthusiast and contributor Will Murray stated this was the first Doc Savage story he had read. I enjoyed the warring sides, the introduction of nefarious arms dealers, demented dictators, and the mystery of the Inca in Gray. I had some suspicions about who the character really was, but I was ultimately surprised with the grand reveal.

Get Dust of Death HERE

Little Red Mittens

I've covered a great deal of author Jack Karney's literary work here on the blog, including his short stories, recent reprints through Stark House Press, and an informative podcast episode. The New York native wrote a number of stand-alone crime-fiction novels, and a plethora of shorts mostly found in the pages of Argosy and Short Stories in the mid 20th century. I tend to gravitate towards his boxing stories and found another scanned one in the archives, “Little Red Mittens”. The story was originally published in the July 10, 1946 issue of Short Stories.

Like Karney's short boxing story “The Bells Are Ringing” (reviewed HERE), this narrative features a current in-ring bout between two fighters, but pauses during the various rounds for flashback sequences explaining how each fighter arrived at this anticipated moment in their careers. To get perspective, Karney teases the introduction of both fighters before taking readers back five years to December 1941.

It was the Friday before Pearl Harbor was bombed. Two up-and-coming amateur boxers are having a bout, Mickey – the narrator's brother – and a bullish fighter named Goff. After some dirty boxing and a few questionable in-ring antics, Goff wins the fight. This loss not only physically hurts Mickey, but he is also propelled into a ravenous need for a rematch. After immediately begging for a rematch, the injured Mickey goes to the bars and tracks down Goff and his trainers. He's then nearly beaten to death and left. The story then flashes to the present, where Mickey is in the corner of his brother Joe, who is now fighting Goff. 

The story then drifts back in time to 1942 as both Joe and Mickey are embroiled in WWII as well as a love triangle. Mickey's hometown sweetheart is Helen, but he refuses to write her letters. Instead, Joe picks up the pen and begins an intimate correspondence with the girl. Through the military, Joe begins boxing under the tutelage of Mickey. Eventually, he's in prime shape to hit the professional ranks when the war is over. These flashback scenes are preempted by the present bout as Joe and Goff extend into the later rounds in their merciless fight.

Karney can write a great boxing story, and I found “Little Red Mittens” to be a wonderful coming-of-age story with an emotional charm. The story features a number of storylines that connect and weave through the bout. Ultimately, the story is about Mickey's inability to love and provide companionship, his struggles with intimacy with Helen, and his submission to Joe as the superior fighter. Typically, these fighting stories allow for revenge and redemption, and one would think Mickey's rise to a rematch with Goff would have been center stage. Instead, it's a different element as Joe is fighting for his brother's honor.

You can read this story online HERE or below. 

Drag Strip Danger

Ross R. Olney (b. 1929), who also writes as E. Price Olney, wrote nearly 200 novels of young adult fiction, science-fiction, and non-fiction. He began as a columnist, contributing to both Vida Newspaper and The Reporter. He edited a 1969 anthology titled Time and Space, a collection of juvenile science-fiction stories by the likes of Fredric Brown, Robert Silverberg, and Arthur C. Clarke. My first experience with the writer is one of his many racing YA books, Drag Strip Danger. It was published by Whitman in 1972. 

High school student Scott Hunter is the book's protagonist. He and his best friend, Peter Reynolds, are both chosen to serve on drag racing pit crews. The invitation occurred in the boys' shop class in Reseda, California. Pete was assigned to one of the best-known dragsters, the Polynesian, with driver Snapper Bowers. Scott was selected for the rival Bombardier, driven by “Big Bob” Banning. This is a friendly rivalry with a sportsman's attitude...until it isn't. Scott and Pete begin to clash when several accidents begin plaguing the racing series.

The first indication of racing sabotage occurs when Snapper's car skids across the pavement and nearly explodes in a fiery crash. When Snapper is pulled from the wreckage, he mumbles to Scott that there was oil everywhere. When Scott mentions Snapper's comments, it is met with criticism. The drivers and crews think Scott is hinting that someone spread oil on the track in an effort to crash Snapper. When these same incidents begin occurring regularly, Scott and Pete accuse each other of knowing about the sabotage. Eventually, the two work out their differences and begin an investigation. Someone in the racing industry is attempting to commandeer the finishes in a sadistic way...even if it means death!

The book is presented in 216 pages of larger font. There's an illustration in nearly every chapter that enhances the narrative. I've enjoyed the juvenile racing books, including William Campbell Gault's popular novels, and found that same energy and need for speed throughout Drag Strip Danger. In comparison to Gault, particularly 1959's Drag Strip, Olney's book possesses a mystery flavor and amateur sleuth element. While the racing, technical nuances of engine builds, and the drag racing industry are all educational and prominent, the emphasis of Olney's prose is the investigation and exposure of criminality within the sport, fictional as it may be. If you enjoy The Hardy Boys and Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators, then you are sure to like this rambunctious novel. 

Get Drag Strip Danger HERE. 

Dusty Shelves & Bookstore Cats

In this latest Paperback Warrior adventure, the hunt for vintage reads continues through the heart of Central Florida. Stops include the eclectic shelves of Needful Things and the cozy, nostalgia-filled The Family Book Shop. Join me for the book shopping! Watch below or on my YT page HERE.

Phantom Wedding

W.E.D. Ross, who wrote many gothic-romance and suspense paperbacks, wrote Phantom Wedding in 1976. It was published by Popular Library under the author's pseudonym of Marilyn Ross. Matching the book's ghostly title (and Charles Copeland cover) is the front page invitation, “Was she in love with a man or a ghost?”

The book starts with a three-paragraph opener that sort of dooms this book from the start. Ross and an inattentive editor gives away the book's main plot and the identity of its most mysterious characters. I'll spare you a spoiler here and urge you to not only skim over this opener, just also skip this entire book. 

Iris is a 23-year old blonde and attractive woman on vacation in Sarasota, Florida. She has an insurance job in New York, but recently inherited money from a relative that spurred her into vacation mode. The two most important aspects of the gothic paperback trope work here – an inheritance and the “stranger in a strange land” aspect, albeit Florida really isn't as strange as some fog-swept moor. But Ross does add a bit of atmosphere in the opening chapter as Iris befriends a mysterious gentleman in a bar one rainy night. The two hit it off and meet for lunch the next day. It is here that the man of mystery, Nick, proposes to Iris. She says yes, and the two are off to a Phantom Wedding.

Nick takes Iris to an old church that he remembers from his childhood. When Iris arrives, she finds the church badly in need of repair. Further, the only attendants at the wedding are two of Nick's friends, an equally strange duo that are disfigured and somber. Is everyone in this wedding really dead? That's the illusion the author creates, and it works really well early on.

After this freakish wedding, Nick takes Iris to his friend's large seaside house (another trope) where he simply disappears. Iris wanders around the house and island searching for her dearly departed husband. When she hitches a ride to town, she discovers that Nick is dead (supposedly) and the two guests at the wedding died in a plane crash. What is going on here?

Unfortunately, Ross absolutely makes a mess with the rest of the novel. It is a senseless plot with so many convoluted twists and turns that it is nearly illegible. Iris, who has a job, acquires a job as a model for a rambunctious advertising guy, who, of course, falls in love with her. She also gains employment at a local resort as a server. This makes total sense, right? Who doesn't want to inherit money and then embark on a vacation from one job to work two more? There's an absolute mess of Nick's possible criminality involving his dead wife, a murderous half-brother, and the idea that he's really alive after stumbling around for months with amnesia. 

If you love ridiculous soap opera plots of lookalikes, red herrings, sham weddings, affairs, and really stupid characters behaving in preposterous ways, then Phantom Wedding is your paperback Shangri-la. Otherwise, stay away from this steaming turd of a book. W.E.D. Ross is a bit of a hack, but he typically isn't this bad. So far, Phantom Wedding is the dusty basement of his literary work. Avoid this place at all costs. It's the Hall of Shame.

Note - You can watch my video review of this book with Nick Anderson at the Book Graveyard HERE.