WHO PROTECTS YOUR CITY IN THE
HOUR OF DARKNESS? In the days of Prohibition, mobster and racketeer Nicholas
Diamond—aka Nicky Dynamite—held Union City in an iron grip of fear. But in a
heroic moment on a summer night in 1922, one good cop stood his ground and
sacrificed his life to stop Diamond’s relentless advance and protect his city.
More than a decade later, Diamond is back and determined to reestablish power
by building an organization even more widespread and nefarious than his alcohol
empire of old. Leaving an explosive calling card wherever he strikes, his exact
whereabouts remain a mystery to the police. Enter Jack Hunter, Union City’s
up-and-coming assistant district attorney. He’s fiercely committed to taking
Diamond down by any means necessary, even if he has to bend the rules to do it.
When Hunter acquires advanced technology that pushes his natural abilities to a
level that’s more than human, he dives headlong into the gray area between law
and justice and becomes a defender of a different kind. Will Hunter be strong
enough and fast enough to stop a madman so obsessed with controlling the city
that he’s willing to destroy it? The answer lies somewhere in the Hour of
Darkness. Join author John C. Bruening for New Pulp thrills and adventure in
his debut novel, a work Jim Beard (SGT. JANUS, CAPTAIN ACTION) calls “pulp
world-building at is high-octane finest!”
The Midnight Guardian: Hour of Darkness (New Pulp)
By John C. Bruening
Flinch Books
ISBN #978-0997790306
Price $16.99 (Paperback)
416 Pages
Rating 4-Stars
It’s
1936, and after more than a decade, Nicky Diamond is out of prison and back in
Union City. He had tried to take over the town during Prohibition, but a police
officer had stopped his men before they killed him. Now that police officer’s son,
Jack Hunter, is the Assistant D.A., and he wants to put a stop to the crime
lord for good. The police have proven ineffective against the mob boss, and the
D.A.’s office needs proof to put Diamond back behind bars. Jack and his cousin,
Buzz Hunter have always been good at making things and working with equipment,
and Buzz has invented a battery operated mask with goggles that gives the
wearer heightened abilities, such as seeing in the dark, able to anticipate
movements, and the ability to move faster than normal, and react with lightning
reflexes. Jack tries them on one night and is impressed. Now maybe he can do
something the police can’t do, like get evidence.
This
well written novel is plot driven, and the characters seem secondary, but they
are interesting. The first 150 pages give us a close look at Nicky Diamond and
his psychotic behavior. He is hooked on Benzedrine, better known to truck
drivers and entertainers today as Bennies. His actions are a mixed bag, even
among his own men. Even after the first 150 pages we still follow Diamond more
than the hero. It is the villain running the show. We do see the hero in
action, but the author uses descriptive narrative extensively, and the action
is slowed down while rooms and areas are described during the action. Don’t get
me wrong, I love good descriptive narrative, but in this instance, the pace of
the action bogs down, and the story fails to flow, making this 400-page
thriller hard to read. The reader is
tempted to put the book down and do something else, which is not what an author
wants to happen. There are more than a few editing errors, but they don’t harm
the story line. They could have used a few proofreaders to eliminate the
problem, however.
I
enjoy seeing a good villain in these new pulp hero novels, but I would like to
see more of the hero. We see everything that this villain does, and are privy
to most of his plans, so there is little mystery for the reader. Our hero pulls
a real boner that no good hero should ever do. He is captured and unmasked by
the enemy. However, no one recognizes him, so he reveals his identity to them! Heroes
don’t reveal their identity if they want to fight crime behind a mask. Regardless,
this is an excellent story, the author is a master of words, and I highly recommend
it to new pulp readers.
Tom Johnson
Author of THE MAN IN THE BLACK FEDORA
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