Fighting Crime One Dime At A Time

Fighting Crime One Dime At A Time (Hero Pulp Fiction)

By Ed Hulse

Murania Press

ISBN #978-1976273452

Price $24.95

220 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

This 8.5 x 11 inch production is a fun read, covering the hero – or single-character pulp titles that began with The Shadow in 1931 and dominated the newsstands until 1953, 22 years that saw good versus evil in literature, and good always triumphed. The heroes began after the Roaring Twenties, when readers were fed up with gangster rule, and the Depression laid low the working class in our society. Aimed at young audiences, they offered masked crime fighters who sometimes wore colorful or eclectic costumes that intrigued youthful minds. Their reign would end only after a world war, and an economy bouncing back from the abyss, and youngsters grown and looking for more mature fare. This book discusses the rise of story papers to dime novels, and eventually the pulp magazines, and finally the pulp hero. Most of it has been written before by earlier researches, but the writers involved visit the history again, in their own way, and I enjoyed every page.

Edited by Ed Hulse, who also writes the Introduction and some of the articles; we have these subjects: “The Great Transition: Story Papers and Dime Novels Yield To Pulp Magazines by Larry Latham; The Man In The Black Cloak: Did This Story Paper Character Influence The Shadow? By Joe Rainone; Reminiscences of Nick Carter: The Dime-Novel Precursor of Pulp Heroes by John Coryell; The House of Heroes: Street & Smith’s Single-Character Pulps by Ed Hulse; The Hero-Pulp Revolution Continues: Standard, Popular, Ace, and Fiction House Titles by Ed Hulse; Dithering Over Doc: Launching One of The Most Famous Hero Pulps by Will Murray; Disposable Heroes: Pulpdom’s Forgotten Crimebusters by Mark Trost; Archie Bittner and The Spider: The Case of the Missing “Master” by Will Murray; How Not To Write A Hero Pulp-Novel: Anatomy Of A Phantom Detective Outline by Mark Trost; Masked Rider of The (Pulps) Plains: A History of The Lone Ranger Magazine by Albert Tonic; The 20 Most Underrated Shadow Novels: Overlooked Entries From The Long-Running Series Chosen by Blood ‘n’ Thunder’s All-Star Panel of Judges; The Strange, Sad Story of Zarnak: The Pulp Hero Everybody Hated by Mark Trost; Three Aces In One Draw: Pulp Heroes In Comic Books by Mark Trost; Last Hurrahs: The Twilight of The Hero Pulps by Ed Hulse and Mark Trost; Appendix: Four-Color Fakery Reprinting Two Comic-Book Stories Adapted From Hero Pulps: The Mask and Major Mars.

It was nice seeing familiar names like Larry Latham and Albert Tonic in new publications once more. Their names were part of pulp fandom for many years. Will Murray and Joe Rainone have continued to be involved through the years, while Ed Hulse and Mark Trost - who began the Blood ‘n’ Thunder fan magazine in 2002 - have published ever since. Perhaps what is missing from the book are credits – there are many research books that preceded this tome that details Story Papers, Dime Novels, and the Hero Pulps, and should have been mentioned, if not credied. However, I highly recommend this book for any fan of the Pulp Heroes, be they Doc Savage fans, or Shadow fans, or any of the other heroes. It’s not only a good read, it gives insight to some of the happenings behind the scenes, and that’s always fun.

Tom Johnson

Author of THE BLACK BAT COMPANION

Early Autumn Giveaway

Early Autumn Book Giveaway: Marie Lavender is offering a huge giveaway of several authors’ books on her Blog over the next few days. I am offering one print copy of TALES OF MASKS & MAYHEM V #1, and five PDF copies of it. It is under Action & Adventure. There are many more books available. Stop by and enter for free giveaways. No one has asked for my book yet (hint, hint). http://marielavender.blogspot.com/2017/09/400th-anniversary-post-early-autumn-mega-book-giveaway.html

The Good Life

In this powerful new book from an esteemed novelist and acclaimed short story writer, Marian Thurm expertly draws a chilling portrait of a marriage and the downward spiral of a loving husband and father who has bought a handgun as the novel opens.

Stacy and Roger seem to have it all: a wonderful marriage, a luxury Upper East Side apartment with all the accoutrements of the wealthy, and two endearing young children enrolled in private schools. But what appears to be "the good life" to their family and friends is not what it seems in this fast-paced, suspenseful novel that shows the sinister effects of a destructive marriage and the pursuit of the privileged life.

Thurm, who according to the New York Times Book Review, "writes brilliantly of the battle of the sexes," has done so again in The Good Life.

The Good Life (Literary Fiction)

By Marian Thurm

The Permanent Press www.thepermanentpress.com

ISBN #978-1579624286

Price $29.00 (hardback)

278 Pages

Rating 3-Stars

“A Well Written Story”

Stacy and Roger are a family on the way up. Both are educated, she is a social worker, and Roger is a real-estate developer. With two children, they seem a happy couple, but that isn’t the case. Roger is failing, and the good life is not what it seems. This was a strange story, one that I would not normally read. We know there are dysfunctional families in all walks of life, and marriages often titter on the brink of ruin, ending sometimes in violence.

The publisher sent the book to me for an honest review. The author’s writing was what held the story together for me, but it wasn’t a book I really cared for. They say there is a genre for everyone, and I’m sure there are readers for this type of fiction. I’m sure others will find the book more impressive than I did. It wasn’t a book that should have been sent to me, however. If you are interested in reading about families living the good life – or wanting to live the good life, then I can highly recommend this book to you.

Tom Johnson

Author of COLD WAR HEROES

Nakamura Reality

To understand Japanese culture requires reading between the lines. This is

Hugh Mcpherson's challenge in Nakamura Reality, a beguiling blend of mystery, odyssey, inconsolable loss and obsession.

Absenting himself for a brief intimacy with a former girlfriend, Hugh leaves his surfing-obsessed sons on an isolated California beach. When he returns, the eleven-year-old twins have vanished. A ferocious riptide has swept Takumi and Hitoshi out to sea, their bodies unrecovered.

Devastated by the loss, Hugh and his Japanese wife Setsuko divorce. Severing all ties to America, Setsuko returns to Japan to live with her father, Kazuki Ono, a prominent author of mind-bending novels.

After grieving for ten years and longing for Setsuko, Hugh swims out to sea to drown himself. As he sinks, his sons appear to him, holding the last letter that he had sent to their mother, begging her forgiveness.

Abandoning his suicide, Hugh swims back to shore. The incident awakens memories that throw doubt on the accepted version of his sons' deaths. His doubts are intensified when he learns that Kazuki Ono has come to California to finish a novel called Fingal's Cave, the tale of a brash American who marries a Japanese woman against the wishes of her father, a powerful businessman with ties to the Yakuza.

Provoked by his memories and obliquely revealing passages found in Kazuki's books, Hugh begins a Quixotic journey across the California landscape, encountering numerous characters of ill-will and cross-purpose, but who inexorably lead him toward a film-industry firm called Nakamura Reality, and a labyrinth that challenges him to separate reality from fiction to find his way out... and perhaps back to his sons.

Nakamura Reality (Mystery)

By Alex Austin

The Permanent Press www.thepermanentpress.com

ISBN 9781579624095

$29.00

272 Pages

Rating 4-Stars

“Will Test The Reader’s Imagination”

Leaving his sons unattended on the beach, Hugh McPherson returns to find them missing, believed to have been swept away while surfing in the ocean. The loss of his sons breaks up his marriage with his Japanese wife, Setsuko. She returns to Japan, leaving Hugh to suffer his loss alone. Ten years later he decides to join his sons, swimming into the sea to die, but a vision of his two boys makes him see other possibilities. But when chance presents itself Hugh searches out Setsuko’s father who is visiting to finish his novel. Could his sons still be alive?

This was a strange mystery novel, leaving the reader questioning reality as truth or fiction. What we see as real may not be the truth. The author delves into the Japanese thought process, as well as reading between the lines for deeper meanings. A good read, but there were times I wasn’t sure I was following the story line, and that posed a problem for me. It all works in the end, but expect some odd roads to the final destination. Recommended to test the reader’s imagination.

Tom Johnson

Author of THE MAN IN THE BLACK FEDORA

The Third Hell

With a bullet lodged too close to his heart, LAPD Detective Nino Angelo is no longer able to do the job he loves. He believes being forced to retire after a 25-year career might be the worst thing that could happen, until his twelve-year-old son goes missing.  

Mathew vanishes in the middle of the night from the Hollywood Hills condo of Nino’s ex-wife, but Nino blames himself for the boy’s disappearance, knowing his addiction to police work cost him his marriage and ruined any chance he had to be a real father. 

School friends tell the police Mathew ran away, but none of his son’s clothes or other belongings are missing. Nino’s ex-wife is frantic but even his rusty police instincts are warning him both she and Mathew’s friends are not being completely truthful.

After months of searching, he’s unable to find a trace of his son. He looks in every Hollywood shelter and follows leads from homeless encampments along the LA River to the mansions north of the city in Canyon country, his son’s Catholic School, and finally to a children’s home in Texas. The police department isn’t helpful except for Charley Harper, a female detective at the Hollywood station, and Detective Reggie Madison, his ex-wife’s current boyfriend. Reggie is a hard-charging cop and although Nino doesn’t approve of the man’s “end justifies the means” approach to police work, he knows his help is crucial.

Nino’s life is about to change. He goes through a personal hell and battles evil in unlikely places to find out what kind of man he really is.

The Third Hell (Detective Mystery)

By Connie Dial

The Permanent Press  www.thepermanentpress.com

ISBN #978-1679624941

Price $29.00 (Hardback)

276 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“Connie Dial Does It Again”

Retired police detective, Nino Angelo feels that he failed as a family man due to his dedication to police work. When he learns that his son, Matthew, has disappears in the night, he blames himself. The police department doesn’t help. Following the trail, he leaves no stone unturned in his search, and with the help of his ex-wife’s recent boyfriend and Hollywood Detective Charlie Harper, they stick to the scent.

Visually real, we see the sordid lifestyles of unscrupulous and dangerous people in the world around us. People in power that can’t be touched, yet do despicable things to those we cherish the most. Will Nino find his son in time? The reality is sometimes unfair. This was a real page-turner, and the characters memorable. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Author of BEHIND THE MASK

Alien Species Intervention

Alien Species Intervention (SF)

By J. K. Accinni

Books 1-3

ASIN # B00GS2W6T2

J. K. Publishing

Price – Free On Kindle

517 Pages

Rating 1-Star

“Could Not Finish The Book”

I loved the premise and the cover of this book, and I always take a chance on Free SF books, but sadly this one didn’t prove to be a good read. As much of the book I read was 90% tell, and 10% show, which turned me off from the very beginning, then add to that it read like a 1950s True Confession magazine, not a good science fiction novel. Basically, Netty escapes from her abusive husband and returns to her farmhouse where she hopes to salvage her life and rebuild the old house she grew up in. On her trips into the forest, she loses a special coin down a crevice, and digs down for it. Inside is a huge cave and she finds a strange animal that looks dead. Picking it up she cuddles it, and suddenly it is alive, and they soon bond. At first she believes it’s a forest animal resembling a squirrel, but it isn’t. It has horns and its head rotates completely around on its shoulders. Taking it home, after awhile she begins to change, becoming healthier and her complexion improves, plus the creature she now calls Baby communicates through telepathy. The alien doesn’t remember what its mission was, but whatever Netty needs, it provides, giving life to dead seed, trees, and other dead animals. A shame the story line wasn’t more interesting, as the concept was good. I wasn’t able to finish the first story, but I hope it improved with the second and third stories. I can’t recommend this book in good faith, but some might find it enjoyable.

Tom Johnson

Author of THESE ALIEN SKIES