Ticket To Hollywood

Ticket To Hollywood (Literary Fiction)

By Gary Reilly

Running Meter Press publisher@runningmeterpress.com

SBN #978-0984786015

Price $13.01

216 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“A Wonderful Read”

Brendan Murphy, a taxi driver in Denver has a set of rules he lives by while driving a cab, one of which is never get involved with his passengers. Unfortunately, that’s usually the first rule he breaks. And it always leads to trouble. Picking up a fare, the young girl is attending the Mile Hi Film Festival, and dressed like a flapper from the 1920s. She looks 18, and tipsy on vodka. It’s none of his business until she leaves her purse in the back seat containing a roll of hundred dollar bills. It’s time for Murph’s shift to end, but he wants to find the girl and return the purse. Circumstances intervene, and before the case is over, the girl comes up missing, is found, and then disappears again – to Hollywood.

The character of Murph is a fascinating individual who can’t seem to help himself in getting involved when someone is in trouble. After struggling through seven years of college, he feels his true calling is driving a taxi, though he has a dream of becoming a novelist some day – and has the rejected and uncompleted manuscripts to prove it. Each story is told in a literary style, with a simple plot and interesting character. Murph eats hamburgers three times a day, his breakfast entails Twinkies and a Coke, and he lives on the top floor of an apartment building he called his crow’s nest, because he can see across the rooftops of Denver. Instead of gun battles and fistfights, Murph throws philosophical advice to all of his passengers. A wonderful read.

The cover art for the Asphalt Warrior series is also quite interested. Done in a retro style, they feature the taxi as the commanding figure within the central scene. “Ticket To Hollywood” has my favorite cover so far, but they are all good. The art is by John Sherffius, and the cover design is by Rebecca Finkel.

Tom Johnson

Echoes Magazine

Gideon Cain

Gideon Cain (Adventure)

Various Authors

Airship27 Cornerstone Books www.airship27.com  

ISBN #978-193435743

Price $21.95

182 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

Gideon Cain is modeled after Robert E. Howard’s Solomon Kane. He is a 1600s Puritan, attempting to find and destroy the demon, Azazel. This volume contains seven stories by varied authors: The Girl In The Glass Coffin by Ian Watson; The Scrolls of Destiny by K.G. McAbee; The Shadow of The Valley of Death by David Wright; The Cave of Ssesaterus by Scott Harris; The House of The Witch by James Palmer; The Work of The Devil by Brian Zavitz; and The Red Flame of Death by Van Allen Plexico; plus a poem, Gideon Cain, by David Wright.

This was a nice production, well edited, and all the stories were highly enjoyable. In picking a favorite I was tied between The Scrolls of Destiny by K.G. McAbee and The Work of The Devil by Brian Zavitz. Actually, both had Krakens, a plus for any story. The winner was The Scrolls of Destiny by K.G. McAbee. But great stories all. The interior art by Rod Davis was also fantastic. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Echoes Magazine

Acurate Comics Online

Louis Shosty has launched Acurate Comics Online, and it looks pretty interesting. Some great talent is involved in both writing and illustration. But instead of me explaining all this, why not visit their Youtube and listen to Louis describe the project. One of my favorite writers is involved with this project. What a concept, huh? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IL1T_PEIn3I
Tom

Chicks In Capes

Chicks In Capes (Comics In Prose)

Various Authors

Moonstone Books www.moonstonebooks.con

ISBN #978-1933076713

Price $14.99

217 Pages

Rating 4-Stars

Super women written by women. There are 17 tales of comic book heroines included, by professional writers: Inanna: Witchwoman by Trina Robbins; Beneath The Cape: A Domino Lady Story by Nancy Holder; The Survivor: Coming of Age by Gillian Horvath; Corpe Noctum by Cathy Clamp; Kirby Girls by Barbara Randall Kesel; Mischief by Elaine Lee; Lady Action by Kathe Cato; Nightingale by Valerie D’Orozio; The Birth of Lady Sekhmet by K.G. McAbee; Diary of A Superchick by Jennifer Fallon; A Touch of Glamour by Debbie Viguie; Silver Slut – And So It begins by Elizabeth Massie.

This is a neat concept, and is a mixed bag of super heroines, but most stories were pretty good. The best was The Birth of Lady Sekhmet by K.G. McAbee - who wouldn’t love a lady archeologist turned into a super chick by ancient Egyptian gods? Plus, the interior art was fantastic. I believe the interior art was by Nicola Scott.  Kirby Girls by Barbara Randall Kesel was a minor entry. The girls are sitting around a table talking – it’s their coffee day out. They are named after Jack Kirby, of course, who drew women well proportioned and since they are big breasted and sexy like his comic book women, they take his name. The Domino Lady also seems out of place, as she was really a pulp character, and hasn’t been very well treated by Moonstone. Even though it’s a good story, she really isn’t a super comic book heroine. But the real problem is the sloppy editing of the book. There is more than a normal editing problem with this book, sometimes as many as five problems on each page. Words repeated back-to-back or the same word before and after another word.  Some misspellings. A shame, as the book had better potential with the quality of writers and artwork.

Tom Johnson

Echoes Magazine

Asphalt Warrior

Asphalt Warrior (Literary Fiction)

By Gary Reilly

ISBN #978-0984786008

Running Meter Press publisher@runningmeterpress.com

Price $14.95

168 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“An Artist With Words”

Brandon Murphy struggled through seven years of college, and ended up driving a taxi in Denver. With a BA in English, he dreams of writing a great American novel, but so far has nothing to show for it but unpublished manuscripts. Cab drivers have certain rules they follow, one of which is never get involved with passengers. Murph had a tendency to break that rule sometimes, which can lead to disastrous results. One such gentleman is Tony Bombalini, a barber in Denver. Fearing that his wife is having an affair, Tony offers to pay Murph three hundred dollars just to trail her in the taxi for one day. That’s more than he can make on a normal shift, so Murph falls into the scheme. The plot thickens from this point on.

This is a literary story with very little mystery, however we get plenty of philosophical views from Murph as he tells the story in first person narrative. He eats hamburgers three times a day, and watches reruns of Gilligan’s Island on TV. Single, he lives in the Crow’s Nest apartment, which he reaches from the metal fire escape. A simple man, he knows he will never be rich, and all he wants is to make his daily requirement to pay for the lease on the taxi, and enough to pay rent and eat. It’s an easy life, and should be uncomplicated – except for his inclination to break that one rule now and then.

The author shows us that a writer with imagination and a grasp of the English language can tell a yarn without sex and four-letter gutter language. What language is used is very mild, and the reader doesn’t want to put the book down until the last page. Story telling is an art, and Gary Reilly is an artist with words.

Tom Johnson

Detective Mystery Stories

The Spider's Web Now In Hardback

The Spider’s Web by Tom Johnson is now available in hardback from Lulu at $22.78. Still available in paperback for $13.95, and eBook for $4.99. http://www.lulu.com/shop/tom-johnson/the-spiders-web/hardcover/product-21013434.html

In 1980, a treacherous Chinaman created a web of events that culminated thirty years later in a reign of terror and death. As the streets of his city run red with blood, The Black Ghost searches for the mysterious killer, who is motivated by revenge, and this time the city’s paladin may be faced by his greatest foe, the Spider! An evil mastermind, trained in the deadly mysteries of the Ninja, with a desire to kill!