Forgotten Books: The Hungry Gun - Steve Thurman (Frank Castle)

Will Cade is a horse rancher in Arizona who’s trying to put his past as an outlaw behind him. You know how that usually turns out in Western novels, so what happens next in THE HUNGRY GUN won’t surprise many veteran Western readers. Cade’s old partner shows up, stagecoaches start getting robbed, Cade’s secrets come out and the townspeople believe he’s part of the wave of lawlessness. To complicate things even more, the saloon girl he used to love shows up, and the citizens start talking about vigilance committees. And what Cade’s old partner from the owlhoot days really wants is Will Cade dead.

THE HUNGRY GUN is a very traditional hardboiled Western published in 1967 by Paperback Library. The author, Steve Thurman, was actually the veteran pulpster, paperbacker, and tie-in writer Frank Castle. A few weeks ago, I read and posted about one of his juvenile novels written under the name Cole Fannin and featuring Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. Castle is writing for adults in THE HUNGRY GUN, so it features a lot of brutal violence, sexually charged situations, and a protagonist who spends a lot of time brooding when he’s not engaged in fistfights or shootouts.

Castle got his start in the writing business by working as assistant to and ghostwriter for Western novelist Tom W. Blackburn in the same sort of set-up that Blackburn, years earlier, had with Ed Earl Repp. With that background, it’s no surprise that he knew how to spin a yarn and keep a story moving along at a good pace. THE HUNGRY GUN may not break any new ground, but it has some excellent scenes in it and I really enjoyed reading it. It’s never been reprinted, as far as I know, but if you’re a Western fan and come across a copy, it’s worth picking up.

Levon's Trade - Chuck Dixon

FROM BEST-SELLING AUTHOR CHUCK DIXON COMES THE LEVON CADE SERIES – A CAN’T-PUT-IT-DOWN VIGILANTE JUSTICE SERIES.

Levon Cade left his profession behind to work construction. He just wants to live an anonymous life and be a good dad to his daughter. But when a local girl vanishes, he’s asked to return to the skills that made him a mythic figure in the shadowy world of counterterrorism.

Follow Levon and his daughter while they go on the run from the Feds and a growing army of enemies that Levon makes along the way.

(Chuck Dixon is one of my all-time favorite comic book writers, and over the past few years he's become one of my favorite novelists, as well. I'm a little behind on his work, but I recently read LEVON'S TRADE, the first book in his Levon Cade series, and it's great. Full of gritty action, a likable protagonist, well-developed villains and supporting characters, and quite a bit of wry, dark humor. This book read very fast and I really enjoyed it. The first six books in the series are available in one giant, inexpensive omnibus, and I'm eager to read the others. So far the Levon Cade series gets a high recommendation from me.)

Saturday Afternoon Western Pulp: Thrilling Western, September 1944

More proof, as if we needed it, that sitting down to a "friendly" game of cards was just about the most dangerous thing you could do in the Old West. This is a Sam Cherry cover and quite a dynamic one. As usual in THRILLING WESTERN during the Forties, there's a Walt Slade yarn by Bradford Scott (A. Leslie Scott) and another appearance by Syl MacDowell's Swap and Whopper, plus stories by the great W.C. Tuttle, Gunnison Steele (Bennie Gardner), Dixon Wells (author/editor Samuel Mines), and a couple of prolific but lesser-known pulpsters, Hal White and John A. Thompson. (Sorry I'm running late today.)

Forgotten Books: The Monster Men - Edgar Rice Burroughs

This is another of the Edgar Rice Burroughs novels I never got around to reading back in the days when I was a big Burroughs fan. THE MONSTER MEN is one of his earlier efforts, his sixth novel, published complete under the title “A Man Without a Soul”, in the November 1913 issue of the pulp THE ALL-STORY.

It’s a Mad Scientist yarn, as eccentric Professor Arthur Maxon seeks to discover the secret of life and create it in a laboratory. After several failures, he gives up the effort, only to find himself drawn irresistably back to it. For his new experiments, he travels to an isolated island off the coast of Borneo, along with his beautiful daughter Virginia and his sinister, ambitious assistant, Dr. von Horn. The professor is successful, but only to a certain extent. He’s able to create living, human-like creatures in his lab, but they turn out to be misshapen monsters almost incapable of human thought. After a dozen of these misbegotten failures—which, still living, he keeps penned up in a compound—he has high hopes for Number Thirteen (that being the original title of this novel when Burroughs wrote it, I believe). Number Thirteen is going to be different.

And so he is, not only a magnificent physical specimen but also capable of learning at a rapid rate, so that within weeks he’s almost as well educated as a normal man. But then trouble erupts due to the scheming of the evil Dr. von Horn, as well as a Malay pirate with a yen for the professor’s beautiful daughter and various ne’er-do-wells who have their eye on a mysterious chest they believe to be full of gold. Before you know it, everybody is galloping around the island fighting each other, and the pirate kidnaps Virginia and takes off for the jungles of Borneo with her. However, Number Thirteen, now calling himself Bulan, goes after them, aided by a bizarre little army of his own. Bulan, you see, has also fallen in love with Virginia . . .

THE MONSTER MEN certainly isn’t lacking for action. I’ve seen it described as “Tarzan Meets Dr. Moreau”, and while that’s not exactly accurate, it does somewhat capture the feel of this novel. One of Burroughs’ trademarks is having a lot of characters doing different things at once, in a relatively small area and period of time, and at this stage of his career, I don’t think he was as in control of the technique as he was later on. As a result, the plot is a little hard to follow at times and is overloaded with coincidences. That’s forgivable, though, because THE MONSTER MEN has such a great feeling of fun and enthusiasm about it. The big twist at the end is blatantly telegraphed early on, but again, it doesn’t really matter. The appeal of this book is that it’s an action-packed romp with some nice, eerie scenes to break up the running around and fighting.

I had a fine time reading THE MONSTER MEN. I’m glad that proved to be the case, because I found the last two Burroughs stories I read a little disappointing and had begun to wonder if he was one of those authors from my early years whose work wasn’t going to hold up for me. Now I know that’s not the case, so I’m glad I have quite a few unread ERB novels to get to. Some of them, I may not like, but I’ll bet many of them are going to be enjoyable. THE MONSTER MEN certainly was.

The Digest Enthusiast, Book Fourteen - Richard Krauss, ed.

The Digest Enthusiast continues to be a clear labor of love for editor Richard Krauss and one of the most beautifully put together publications around. What will you find in the most recent issue, you ask? How's this sound?

Reviews of Ed McBain's Mystery Book No. 3, Startling Mystery Stories No. 1, Vanguard Science Fiction (the one and only issue), The Dark City Oct. 2020, 20 Million Miles to Earth, Wonder Stories, The Haunt of Horror, Terror Detective Story Magazine No. 1-4, and Peter Infantino's continuing coverage of Manhunt. Plus industry news and cover previews from the digest world's favorite editors, publishers, and creators. New fiction from John Kuharik, Jack Seabrook, and Robert Snashall with art by Michael Neno. Nearly 100 digest magazine covers in full color, cartoons by Bob Vojtko, and more. 160 pages, published in full color by Larque Press.

There's sort of a tradition around there that when a new issue of The Digest Enthusiast comes in, it's read from cover to cover within a day or two, and that was the case here. My favorite feature this time around is the in-depth look at The Haunt of Horror, because I remember buying and reading those two issues when they came out. I had at least one issue of Ed McBain's Mystery Book, but I don't recall if it was the one reviewed here. I don't think I ever got around to reading it. Startling Mystery Stories came out when I was already avidly buying genre magazines, but I never saw a copy of it, or any of the other Health Knowledge publications, for that matter. I guess they just didn't get any distribution around here.

But I know one thing: every time I read an issue of The Digest Enthusiast, it takes me back to a fondly remembered era and provides a great deal of entertainment and information. I highly recommend Book Fourteen and all the earlier issues, too.

Homicide: Saigon - Stephen Mertz

SAIGON, 1970.

Meet Cord McGavin, lone wolf investigator assigned to a special operations unit of the US Army’s Criminal Investigation Division. McGavin’s beat: the mean streets of this sprawling, violent metropolis ravaged by war. From its wealthy bastions of power, paid for by corruption and profiteering, to the alleys and waterfront shadows where human souls are bartered, deception is the name of the game. The threat of death is never more than a heartbeat away.

McGavin has his hands full. The brass thinks he’s too damn cowboy. Viet Cong assassin teams are operating openly across the city. He’s taken on a deadly coalition about to flood the streets of America with heroin. And oh yeah, there’s McGavin’s beautiful wife Kelly, a Pulitzer-class photo journalist newly arrived under an assumed name to document her husband’s war…

“Stephen Mertz writes a hard edged, fast paced thriller for those who like their tales straight and sharp!” – Joe R. Lansdale

(I've known Stephen Mertz and been reading his books for more years than I like to think about. This is his most recent novel, and it belongs in the top rank of his books. Mertz really knows how to spin a yarn, and HOMICIDE: SAIGON moves incredibly quickly, with a tough, smart protagonist in Cord McGavin. Plenty of action, some well-done romantic scenes between McGavin and his wife Kelly, and the occasional touch of dry humor all make this a really enjoyable novel. A couple of very good short stories featuring the same characters round out this volume. Steve Mertz is one of the legends of men's adventure fiction, and for good reason. I give HOMICIDE: SAIGON a high recommendation.)

Sunday Morning Bonus Pulp: Argosy, July 4, 1931

Yesterday's pulp was dated July 4, 1931, and so is today's. This is an All-Star Number of ARGOSY, according to the cover, and I can't argue with that claim. The cover is by Paul Stahr, who painted many great ones for ARGOSY, and inside are stories by H. Bedford-Jones, Theodore Roscoe, George F. Worts, Robert Carse, Ray Cummings, J.E. Grinstead, William Merriam Rouse, and Lt. John Hopper. You won't find a lineup of pulp authors much better than that one.

Happy Fourth of July

 

Saturday Morning Bonus Pulp: Wild West Weekly, July 4, 1931

This issue of WILD WEST WEEKLY may not have a patriotic cover, but it is dated July 4, 1931. The art is by H.W. Reusswig, and I think it's a pretty good cover. As usual for WILD WEST WEEKLY, the contents lean heavily toward series stories and house names. Lee Bond, William F. Bragg, Clee Woods, and Samuel H. Nickels have stories under the own names. There's a Circle J story by Norman Hay writing as Cleve Endicott, a Whistlin' Kid story by Guy L. Maynard writing as Emery Jackson, and entries in other series I'm not familiar with by Galen C. Colin, Reginald C. Barker, and Houston Irvine. (I'm not familiar with Barker and Irvine, either.) But overall, it looks like an entertaining issue and a good way to pass the time in the summer of 1931, if you had an extra dime and nickel in your pocket. Which a lot of people didn't in those days. But I'm glad the pulps were able to survive.

Forgotten Books: Sex Dancer - Clayton Matthews

You can’t get much more blatant about the title of a book than SEX DANCER, a novel by Clayton Matthews published by Beacon Books in 1961. The protagonist, Jean Winters, is a beautiful young blonde who dances in the girlie show at a traveling carnival. A year earlier, she left her hometown in New Mexico to go to Hollywood and become a big star. Well, we all know how that works out, so now to survive Jean travels with the carnival from one town to another and carries on a desultory affair with the sleazy concessionaire who runs the girlie show. But then she meets Mace, a motorcycle rider who used to be the star attraction of the motordrome show (where guys race motorcycles around the inside of a cylinder, held up by centrifugal force) until he cracked up in an accident and lost his nerve. Jean and Mace fall for each other, but there are all kinds of obstacles in the way, of course. Will their love survive?

I tend to like carny novels, and this one is okay. Like Fredric Brown’s MADBALL, it’s full of carny lingo and lore and colorful characters, but it lacks any real mystery or noir plot and is more of a soap opera than anything else. But it’s a pretty fast-moving and well-written soap opera, so I enjoyed it. It’s not the sweaty, desperate, naturalistic art of Orrie Hitt, and it doesn’t have the narrative drive of Ben Haas, but it’s still worth reading because Clayton Matthews was a good storyteller.

Matthews is an interesting author. He wrote quite a few of these soft-core sleaze novels for various publishers under his real name, and later he did a number of big, family saga type novels, also under his name, as well as a lot of books under other names. Rumor has it that in the Eighties he actually wrote dozens of bestselling historical romances published under another name. I never met him, but we had some mutual friends and he was also the cousin of my good friend, pulp fan and publisher Tom Johnson. I have some of his other novels published by Beacon and will be getting around to them in due course, I suspect.