The Devil With Wings

Fighter pilot Gary Forsythe is a man on fire.  He’s tough, steely-eyed, hunted by many and feared by all.  He’s British Secret Service—a striking predecessor to James Bond—with a chip on his shoulder and a .50 caliber machinegun in his flying killing machine.  He is The Devil—With Wings.

The Japanese have invaded Manchuria, and Forsythe has made it his mission to stop them.  Japanese Military Intelligence has made it their mission to knock the Devil out of the skies.  But a dogfight with the Imperial Japanese Air Force is child’s play compared to the challenge that awaits him….

Her name is Patricia Weston.  Japanese spies have falsely accused the British pilot of murdering her brother—and now she wants vengeance.  And for once in his life, Forsythe is disarmed—by his love for a woman who has vowed to kill him.

The Devil With Wings (Aviation Adventure)

By L. Ron Hubbard

Galaxy Press www.goldenagestories.con

ISBN #978-1592123094

Price $9.95

138 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“Fantastic Air Adventure.”

Gary Forsythe is Akuma-no-Hane, the Devil With Wings, and deadly flyer the invading Japanese hate and fear. They have a large price on his head. He appears to be aiding Russia and the Chinese in their fight with the Japanese, but no one knows why, except maybe Ching Tze-Chang, Forsythe’s Yale educated aide. When they learn that Forsythe has been blamed for the murder of an American engineer named Robert Weston, and that his sister, Patricia Weston is in China gunning for Akuma-no-Hane, it’s time for Forsythe to get to the bottom of things – before the girl shoots him by mistake.

This was a fun adventure. Forsythe dresses all in black, except for a silver belt buckle, and wears helmeted-goggles effectively disguising his identity from the Japanese. There is a running confrontation between Forsythe and Captain Ito Shirohari of Japanese Intelligence throughout the story. Of course, Ito wants to kill Forsythe, but never gets the upper hand. Meantime, Forsythe suspects the captain of crimes against the Japanese government, which could cause the little Japanese a lot of trouble with his own people. For adventure and aviation lovers, this is a fine example of the genre, and highly recommended for lovers of a good yarn.

Tom Johnson

Author of EXCITING PULP TALES

Veil of Reality

The greatest deceptions are never suspected. After twenty years with the Tararian Selective Service, Cris Sietinen is in the unprecedented position of being both Lead Agent and heir to a High Dynasty. Family, career, information—it would seem he has it all. But when his fourteen-year-old son, Wil, is captured by the mysterious Bakzen, Cris is forced to question all that he once took for granted in his life. Only one thing remains clear: it's imperative he rescue Wil. What Cris and Wil learn in the process will change their perception forever. Veil of Reality is the second installment in the Cadicle series, a new space opera epic with elements of "Dune" and "Ender's Game." This fast-paced adventure novel with intrigue, danger and self-discovery begins to untie the knot of secrets binding the TSS, High Dynasties and the Priesthood.

Veil of Reality (SF

“Cadicle Book Series #2”

By Amy DuBoff

BDL Press

ISBN #978-0692589137

Price $9.99

234 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“Science Fiction At Its Best.”

In this sequel to ARCHITECTS OF DESTINY, it has been two decades since we left Cris and Kate Sietinen. Their son, Wil, is 14 and shares their heightened ability of telekinetic powers, and shows signs of hidden strength that might prove beneficial to either side in the ongoing war between the TSS and the Bakzen Empire. A traitor within the TSS opens a doorway for a Bakzen team to enter the headquarters and kidnap Wil. Cris is given the ship, Vanquish, and penetrates the Bakzen defensive net to rescue Wil. In the process, Cris and Wil learn more about the ongoing war with the Bakzen Empire, and the people behind the conflict.

There are still secrets being kept from them, but the readers learn more about the reason for the war, and now the status of good and evil is not so easily defined. The more I get into this series, the more I’m reminded of the Null-A series by A.E. van Vogt, and the game players that sparked that series. Like the great science fiction of the early years, the Cadicle series has a feel of inspired prediction for our future. Whether a fan of early SF, or modern, readers will find “Veil of Reality” a great read. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Author of WORLDS OF TOMORROW

Fifty-fifth Anniversary

Fifty-five years ago today, Ginger and Tom eloped. Tom was 20, Ginger 15. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long. I keep telling everyone there was no parole (lol). It was on a Thursday, and I picked Ginger up at school. We had planned to marry on Friday, but saw that it would be a Friday 13^th, and decided to change the date to Thursday. I was in the Army, and recently back from Korea. Thinking about it I could have went to jail, I guess. We bought a 1957 Plymouth, and after we told her parents, we went to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, where we would live for the next two and a half (almost) years, before I was sent overseas again.

The Sky-Crasher

They don’t call him Caution Jones for nothing. An ace pilot, ever since his barnstorming father was killed in an air stunt, Jones has stuck strictly to business—as the no-nonsense general manager of Trans-Continental Airlines. But, like Robert Redford in The Great Waldo Pepper, he’s about to find that, sometimes, if you want to get anywhere, you have to throw caution to the wind.

The race is on for a monster contract: the U.S. Postal Service. But to get it, Trans-Continental will have to circle the globe and beat its top competitor to the prize. And there’s only one pilot with the skill to do it: Caution Jones. He’ll have to dust off his wings and soar to heights even his father never dreamed of.

The wild blue yonder has never been wilder as Jones discovers that the competition will go to any length to bring his plane down. But an even greater challenge sits in his own cockpit—his co-pilot. She’s blonde, she’s brazen, and she just might get Caution Jones to take the biggest risk of all. . .

The Sky-Crasher (Aviation Adventure)

By L. Ron Hubbard

Galaxy Press www.goldenagestories.com

ISBN #978-1592123308

Price $9.95

136 Pages

“Great Adventure In The Clouds.”

Caution Jones is just that, cautious. His dad was killed doing stunts in airplanes, and Caution Jones wants nothing to do with them. Besides, stunts do nothing for aviation. Even though the girl he’s crazy about, Pam Craig, loves stunt flying. Then comes a government offer for the best airlines to take over a job delivering mail around the world. Being the manager of Trans-Continental Airlines, he knows their company could use the million-dollar contact. He also knows that United States Airlines will sabotage their efforts, and won’t take the chance. But the owner gets in a heated argument with Mercer, the boss of United States Airlines, and accepts the deal. Now it’s up to Caution and Pam to make good.

This story was originally published in the January 1936 issue of FIVE-NOVELS Monthly. A second story, Boomerang Bomber is also included in the book, and features Clint Regen, an ex American Army pilot trying to get a bomber to China. The ship is stopped in Japan, and the crates containing the aircraft is unloaded, and confiscated by Japan, and Clint thrown in jail for smuggling arms to Japan’s enemy. A professor named Alan Simpson tells the Japanese that the only way they will ever assemble the plane is to bring their prisoner to the airfield, and let him assemble it for them. Of course, Simpson is more than he appears, and the two escape in the assembled airplane. Both stories are a lot of fun, and an easy read. Highly recommended to aviation fans, and lovers of good story telling.

Tom Johnson

Author of CARNIVAL OF DEATH

The Purple Eye

This wildly melodramatic thriller, originally published in the August 1933 issue of DIME MYSTERY MAGAZINE, provided the template for countless pulp-hero novels published during the Thirties. Depression-era readers craved outlandish menaces to take their minds off their troubles, and The Purple Eye was at the top of the list. The Eye, maniacal criminal mastermind and leader of the ancient death cult known as the Brotherhood of Baktuun, terrorizes New York City with a series of high-profile murders accomplished by mysterious means. Seven million souls are at his mercy as his outrages mount in dizzying succession. The police, constrained by legal niceties and endless red tape, seem powerless to thwart his mad schemes. Enter Wayne Saxon, millionaire sportsman and world traveler, who devotes his life to running the Eye to earth. He works within the law when possible, but without it when necessary. Will he succeed? There's a thrill on every page of this baffling mystery.

The Purple Eye (Pulp Thrills)

By William Corcoran

Murania Press www.muraniapress.com

ISBN #978-151764098

Price $17.95

188 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“Pulpy Action, With Great Villain And Hero.”

Millionaire Wayne Saxon has been away from New York for some time, on a mysterious trip overseas. Upon his return he finds a visitor wishing to see him before he can unpack. Young David Storm, the son of an old enemy, seeks his help. A new menace has risen in Saxon’s absence, known as The Purple Eye. And David’s girlfriend, Dolores has been threatened.

Saxon entertains the couple, and promises protection while he investigates The Purple Eye. With his manservant, the huge black man named Christophe, Saxon is quickly thrown against the minions of The Purple Eye. There is also the mysterious Secret Hundred, a group of cab drivers, who may also be fighting The Purple Eye, and interferes with Saxon. This group is led by Martha Considine, the widow of Big Mike Considine, a murder victim of The Purple Eye. But Saxon and The Secret Hundred don’t immediately see eye-to-eye, and are at cross-purposes.

Typical of early pulp stories, the villain isn’t difficult to unmask by the reader very early on, but it’s all about the hero working his way to the end of the story and finding all the answers. Although a topnotch story, I thought Saxon was a little weak as a hero, and was more impressed with Martha Considine and The Secret Hundred. Imagine a team of taxi drivers fighting crime, led by a fascinating beautiful woman? We also see a black man as the hero’s aide, though there is a bit of racial stereotyping in the story, which is also typical of the time period. Still, for a quick, fun read, I highly recommend this book for readers who like a good yarn in the old style of pulp thrills.

Tom Johnson

Author of CARNIVAL OF DEATH