New Story at Beat to a Pulp

Tom Roberts is not only a fine artist and the publisher of one of the best pulp reprint lines out there, Black Dog Books, he's also an excellent writer. Check out his story "Hard Time" on BEAT TO A PULP this week.

Beat to a Pulp: A Rip Through Time - Chris F. Holm, Charles A. Gramlich, Garnett Elliott, Chad Eagleton

BEAT TO A PULP: A RIP THROUGH TIME is further proof, as if we needed it, that David Cranmer is an inexhaustible source of ideas these days. He came up with the characters and basic plot for this series of short stories, then turned them over to authors Chris F. Holm, Charles Gramlich, Garnett Elliott, and Chad Eagleton to write. The result is this highly entertaining compilation that actually works quite well as a novel.

The story finds Temporal Security agent Simon Rip and the beautiful and brilliant scientist Dr. Serena Ludwig chasing Dr. Robert Berlin through time. Berlin, it seems has stolen his new invention from The Company, the 23^rd Century international cartel that Rip, Ludwig, and Berlin all work for. From prehistoric times to Arthurian England to the Havana of Ernest Hemingway in the late 1940s, the chase proceeds in an action-packed adventure very reminiscent of those fondly remembered AGENT OF T.E.R.R.A. novels by "Larry Maddock" that many of us read back in the Sixties.

Ah, but then things begin to take some unexpected turns. All is not as it seems. The stakes are ramped up until A RIP THROUGH TIME becomes a rather mind-boggling cosmic epic that reaches to the very ends of space and time. After all that, it seems odd at first that the book concludes with what appears to be a Victorian-era horror story, but again, things take an unexpected twist and this story cleverly serves as both prequel and coda to the rest of the novel. Then Ron Scheer provides an excellent afterword that looks at time travel in books and movies and speculates on the science involved in traveling through time.

One thing that seems to be missing in a lot of current science fiction is a sense of fun.  A RIP THROUGH TIME has that sense of fun, in spades, and manages to be thought provoking as well. I'm sure there's more to come from the crew that put this together, and I'm looking forward to it. Highly recommended.

Beat to a Pulp: Hardboiled - David Cranmer and Scott D. Parker, eds.

A few days ago I mentioned that I'd bought the new anthology BEAT TO A PULP: HARDBOILED and was eager to read it. Well, now I have, and the verdict is that editors David Cranmer and Scott D. Parker have put together a really fine collection of stories that is well worth your time and money.

The book begins with a good introduction by Ron Scheer about the origins of the hardboiled genre and proceeds to thirteen stories of various sorts of crime, mayhem, and suspense. Some stand-outs for me:

"Obstruction" by Glenn Gray is a suitably graphic story about crime in an autopsy room that manages to be funny, gross, and violent at the same time. Gray's writing has a unique voice, always a good thing.

"Ric with No K" by Patricia Abbott is another story with an excellent voice. If there's a better short story writer around these days than Patti Abbott, I haven't run across him or her.

"Black-Eyed Susan" by Thomas Pluck is short and mean and well-written. I don't think I've read anything by this author before, but I'll be on the lookout for his name now.

And my favorite story in the anthology, "Bull's-Eye View" by Wayne D. Dundee, a novelette featuring Joe Hannibal, one of the most enduring and appealing PI characters of the past 25 years. This is the sort of story for which the word "hardboiled" was invented: fast, gritty, with good characters and a fully-realized setting, the spiritual descendant of Hammett's Continental Op stories.

There's 'way too much good short fiction being published these days for me to keep up with all of it, but BEAT TO A PULP: HARDBOILED provides a great sampling of some of the best authors. Highly recommended.

Beat to a Pulp: Hardboiled

This one's already on my Kindle, and I'm eager to read it. Looks like a great line-up.

Beat to a Pulp, Round One

First it was THE GREEN HORNET CHRONICLES, and now I have my copy of BEAT TO A PULP, ROUND ONE.  My. Oh. My.  What a beautiful book, and what a line-up of stories and authors.  I can't wait to dive into this one.  If you haven't ordered it yet, now's the perfect time.

Beat to a Pulp Round One Cover

I know most of you have seen this already, but it's so cool I wanted it on my blog, too.  Can't wait to see the actual book -- and read it, of course!

Also on the subject of BTAP, this week's story is by my buddy Matt Mayo, and it's a dandy.  Check it out, if you haven't already.

Beat to a Pulp Anthology

David Cranmer has posted a short excerpt from my story "Heliotrope" on his blog today.  This story will appear in the anthology BEAT TO A PULP: ROUND ONE, which looks like it's going to be a fantastic collection of stories.  "Heliotrope" is a little different from the sort of yarn I usually write, and I'm grateful to David and Elaine Ash for wanting to publish it.

Whiskey, Guns, and Sin - Charles Gramlich

If you haven't already done so, head on over to David Cranmer's excellent BEAT TO A PULP and read Charles Gramlich's story "Whiskey, Guns, and Sin". It has some of the best action you'll ever read, and I love that title.

Beat to a Pulp

If you haven't done so yet, head on over to David Cranmer's new Beat to a Pulp webzine and read Patti Abbott's story "The Instrument of Their Desire". It's an excellent story with one of the best opening paragraphs I've read in a long time, as well as some very nice twists in the plot. A great beginning to what promises to be a fine webzine.