Saturday Morning Western Pulp: Leading Western, May 1949

LEADING WESTERN was a pulp from Trojan Publishing, the publisher of the Spicy and Speed lines, as you can probably tell from the cover. This looks like a decent issue with stories by J. Edward Leithead (one of my favorites), the ubiquitous Larry A. Harris, and Bryce Walton (better known for his science fiction), among others whose names are unfamiliar to me.

Forgotten Books: 361 - Donald E. Westlake

(This post originally appeared on October 30, 2005.)

I’ve read a lot of books by Donald E. Westlake over the years and have always preferred his more hardboiled novels to his comic capers (although those are pretty good, too). His series about the thief Parker, written under the pseudonym Richard Stark, is a high-water mark in the genre, and I like his novels about disgraced detective Mitch Tobin, written under the name Tucker Coe, almost as well.

361 is one of Westlake’s early hardboiled novels, published in 1962 and reprinted earlier this year as part of the great Hard Case Crime line. (It also happens to be the only Hard Case Crime reprint so far that I didn’t own in the original edition.) A few lines from the back cover copy sum up nicely what sort of book this is: “The men in the tan-and-cream Chrysler came with guns blazing. When Ray Kelly woke up in the hospital, it was a month later, he was missing an eye, and his father was dead. Then things started to get bad.”

That told me right away this was my kind of book, a real nose-buster of a novel, to use a line of cover copy from a different publisher. As it turns out, though, it’s more than a simple vengeance yarn, as Westlake springs a couple of decent plot twists that just make things worse for his protagonist/narrator Ray Kelly. The writing is terse throughout. Overall, an excellent book, and I’m glad the guys at Hard Case Crime brought it back into print.

UPDATE: The paperback edition of this one is still available on Amazon, as is a Kindle edition, which didn't exist back when I wrote this post.

Snatched! - Charles Boeckman

Over the past year or so I've become a big fan of the work of Charles Boeckman and even published a volume of hisWestern pulp stories (which if you're a Western fan and haven't read it yet, you should because they're really good). He's still a working novelist in his nineties and turning out top-notch work. His latest mystery novel is SNATCHED!, published by Pro Se Press, and it's the sort of suspenseful, fast-moving yarn I've come to expect from Boeckman.

Set on the Texas Gulf Coast, SNATCHED! is a classic private eye novel about detectives Kate McHaney and Craig Dawson, formerly married, now divorced, but still business partners. They're hired to find the kidnapped daughter of the mayor of the town where they live, a case that leads to multiple murders, shootouts (like many a Western hero, Craig Dawson is a two-gun man and doesn't hesitate to start blazing away, as that fine cover demonstrates), organized crime, and even an ambush by a World War I bi-plane.

This is a thoroughly entertaining novel that moves very swiftly through its complex plot. Kate and Craig are likable protagonists, and Boeckman does a fine job with the refreshingly different setting. If you're a mystery fan, this one is well worth reading.

Zombies From the Pulps!: The Empire of the Necromancers - Clark Ashton Smith

Of the Big Three authors from WEIRD TALES, Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, and Clark Ashton Smith, Howard is the only one whose work I've read extensively. So the next story in ZOMBIES FROM THE PULPS!, Smith's "The Empire of the Necromancers" (from the September 1932 issue of WEIRD TALES), was new to me. It's one of Smith's Zothique tales, set on a decadent, far future Earth where science has disappeared and magic has risen again. Two evil sorcerers are booted out of the city where they've been causing trouble, and while wandering in the desert they come upon the bones of a warrior and the man's horse. So what do they do? Raise both warrior and horse from the dead and press them into service as they travel on to a lost city that's been wiped out by plague, giving them many, many more bodies to reanimate. They set themselves up as emperors of this kingdom of the dead, but you know that sooner or later this is not going to end well.

This story shares several of the things that bother me about much of Lovecraft's work: long-windedness, a slow pace, and very little dialogue, which leads to a lot of telling and not much showing. But man, it's creepy and full of vividly grotesque imagery like one of the sorcerers riding that skeleton horse while the skeleton warrior shuffles along behind. Not to mention lurid plot elements such as necrophilia and murder. I'm a pretty tough sell when it comes to stories like this, but "The Empire of the Necromancers" won me over and I wound up liking it quite a bit, enough so that I'll probably read more of Smith's work one of these days.

Tuesday's Overlooked Movie Serials: Ace Drummond

(This post appeared in somewhat different form on October 13, 2005.)

ACE DRUMMOND was based on the comic strip of the same name that was "created" by Captain Eddie Rickenbacker. My guess would be that Rickenbacker didn't contribute much to the strip other than his name, but I could be wrong about that. Ace Drummond is known as the "flying G-man of the air", and in this serial he's sent to China to investigate sabotage plaguing International Airways' efforts to build an airport in Mongolia. It seems that a mysterious masked villain who calls himself The Dragon is trying to prevent the airport from being built because it's near the location of a secret mountain of jade.

There were a couple of things I liked about this serial. The recap at the beginning of every chapter is done in the form of a comic strip, which is an interesting, refreshing change from the usual serial recaps. Also, a very young Noah Beery Jr. plays Ace's sidekick Jerry and does a good job, already showing signs of the fine character actor he would become.

However, that doesn't make up for the glacial pace of the plot, the poorly done action scenes (you can sure tell this wasn't a Republic Pictures production), and the weakness of the lead actor, John King. As Ace Drummond, the skinny, narrow-shouldered King is about the frailest-looking serial hero I've ever seen. He also has the annoying habit of breaking into song in just about every chapter, and if that wasn't bad enough, it's always the same dumb song.

This isn't a terrible, unwatchable serial, but compared to good ones like ZORRO'S FIGHTING LEGION and S.O.S. COAST GUARD, it's pretty mediocre stuff.

UPDATE: It's been more than eight and a half years since I watched ACE DRUMMOND and wrote that post, and despite the negative things I had to say about it, here's what's odd: I still remember the serial pretty well, and my overall impression of it is more favorable than these comments make it sound. It's like the annoying parts have faded while the things that work remain clear in my mind. Maybe there's a lesson in that. Or maybe not.

Now Available from Rough Edges Press: Klaw #2 Town of Blood - W.L. Fieldhouse

When Klaw interrupted a lynching, he got more than he bargained for, finding himself involved in a deadly hunt for a fortune in buried gold, saddled with protecting a town where the citizens can't be trusted, and battling a gang of vicious outlaws led by Klaw's former commander in the Civil War who wants not only the gold but also the one-handed gunfighter's head! 

What John Klawson went through would have killed most men: beaten, shot, maimed by the loss of his gun hand. But this atrocity tempers Klawson's inner steel and turns him into one of the deadliest fighting machines the West has ever seen...the man known only as Klaw!

"Fieldhouse writes a gritty, violent, realistic action-western for those who are tired of the sanitized yarns of Louis L'Amour and who love stories about the Davids of the world taking on Goliath. A very entertaining and satisfying read!"--Peter Brandvold, author of STILLMAN'S WAR. 

“Western fiction has seen plenty of avenging protagonists over the years, hardened by savagery and betrayal, hell-bent on a course to settle the score with human scum undeserving of taking another breath. But few have ever been more embittered or relentless than Klaw … Replacing tortured flesh and bone with cold steel and determination, he turns the bloody remains of a body left for dead into a killing machine who can't be stopped … Bill Fieldhouse has created a memorable, uncompromising character with the grit, savvy, and willingness to go up against the toughest odds. Told in a no-frills, unflinching style, KLAW is an exciting Western adventure that will leave you clamoring for more.” – Wayne Dundee 

"All hail the long overdue return of a master of the action novel...No one does it like Fieldhouse”--Stephen Mertz

Available in e-book editions from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. The trade paperback edition should be available soon from Amazon.

UPDATE: The trade paperback edition is now available, too.

Sunday Morning Bonus Pulp: Complete Stories, February 1936

That "They Pack a Punch!" line ran on all the covers of this pulp for several months in 1936, and this particular cover seems to be trying to exemplify that. Inside are stories by Donald Barr Chidsey, Allan Vaughn Elston, Richard Howells Watkins, and C.S. Montanye, among others. I'm not familiar with James Clarke, the author of the lead novel, but I love the title: "Boozehead".

Saturday Morning Western Pulp: Western Supernovel Magazine, May 1933

This pulp lasted only one issue under this name before it was retitled COMPLETE WESTERN BOOK MAGAZINE. The lead novel is by Dane Coolidge, one of the big names of the Western pulps. I have several of Coolidge's novels that were reprinted by Leisure and e-book editions of some of his earlier novels, but I haven't gotten around to reading any of them yet. Backup stories in this issue are by Stephen Payne and Clee Woods, both prolific contributors to the Western pulps.

Forgotten Books: The Colonel's Lady - Clifton Adams

Many of the Gold Medal Westerns during the Fifties displayed some of the same noir and hardboiled characteristics as the crime and suspense novels from that iconic publisher. Clifton Adams' THE COLONEL'S LADY certainly falls into that category, despite its title and cover that make it look almost like a Western romance.

Narrator Matt Reardon has been carrying around the memory of a beautiful blonde named Caroline for five years since the Civil War ended. His feelings for her are a mixture of love and hate, the result of a betrayal on her part during the war. When he finds out that she's married to the colonel in command of a remote cavalry outpost in Arizona Territory, Reardon enlists in the army so he can be stationed at the same fort and finally have a chance to resolve things with her. The problem is that a charismatic Apache war chief is putting together an army of his own and has a cunning plan to wipe out the cavalry.

Adams does a great job with the gritty details of cavalry life and in creating a protagonist who's obsessed with the woman who loved him and then betrayed him. The occasional outbursts of violence are very effective. This is the usual tough, terse sort of yarn I've come to expect from Adams. I don't think it was ever reprinted after the Gold Medal edition in 1952, which is a little surprising considering Adams' popularity. This one is well worth picking up and reading if you ever come across a copy.

Troll Mountain - Matthew Reilly

Matthew Reilly is best known as an author of big, action-packed thrillers, but in TROLL MOUNTAIN he ventures into YA heroic fantasy fiction with interesting results. Raf, the plucky young protagonist of this stand-alone novel, is a member of a tribe of humans that exists in a state of constant fear of the savage, brutal trolls who live on Troll Mountain just to the north of their valley. As if that wasn't bad enough, a mysterious illness strikes Raf's tribe, killing everyone who falls prey to it. The trolls have a cure for the disease, but they demand a high price for it: a lifetime of slavery. When Raf's young sister becomes ill, he decides on a daring plan of action. He's going to Troll Mountain to steal the cure.

This sets up a traditional fantasy novel quest, and Reilly handles it in a traditional manner for the most part. Raf meets an enigmatic older man who becomes a mentor to him, winds up with some other allies, has assorted adventures, and finally penetrates to the depths of Troll Mountain where he'll risk his life trying to get his hands on the cure for his sister's illness.

That disease and its cure are where Reilly throws in some interesting, unexpected angles, and that helps bring the novel to a satisfying conclusion. There's plenty of action along the way, which you'd expect from one of Reilly's novels. I've read only one other book by him, HELL ISLAND, which I thought was okay but maybe a little too action-packed (and regular readers of this blog can imagine how difficult it must be to provoke that reaction from me). TROLL MOUNTAIN is a little more leisurely, but in a good way. Overall I thought it was an entertaining book, and fans of YA heroic fantasy ought to enjoy it.