The Midnight Guardian

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

No Victory Without Scars

A crusading reporter out to prove her worth. A burgeoning hero in denial about his.

When a Mob Boss is gunned down by police, Daily Crusader reporter Vicky Rose is the only one who suspects he was unarmed. Desperate to justify her promotion to the crime beat, her search for the truth leads her into a cesspool of corruption deeper than she ever imagined.

Brent Gregor, his existence as The Black Spectre still a deeply-held secret, only wants to use his newfound powers to win back what he has lost. And to take revenge on those who took it from him.

Both face unexpected consequences that could cost them their lives. And both have to decide if what they wanted was actually worth the price.

No Victory Without Scars is the second book in the Black Spectre Origins series, detailing the rise of the masked pulp hero The Black Spectre. If you like Agent Carter, the Rocketeer, and The Dark Knight, then you’ll love Roger Alford’s gritty noir mystery that effortlessly combines new pulp with a classic 1930s style.

No Victory Without Scars (Pulp Action)

By Roger Alford

Black Hood Press www.blackhoodpress.com

ISBN # 978-1949352016

177 Pages

Price $9.99 (Paperback)

Price $3.99 (Kindle)

Rating 5-Stars

All of the regular players we met in the first novel are back. Brent Gregor goes to California to welcome Abigail’s return from a world event flight only to discover to his sadness that she is now married. Meanwhile, back in Terminal City the mob still rules the city and the police. Upon his return, Brent decides it’s time to stop mob boss, Big Jack Torrisimo, and donning the cloak and hat of The Black Spectre he invades the new nightclub where the mob has gathered. Unfortunately, his automatics are no match for the mob’s machine-guns, and Brent is almost killed in the gun battle. He’s hidden in Chinatown at the end of the story where he remains between life and death. Redheaded reporter, Vicky Rose is forced to work the society page while she recovers from the ordeal at the Asylum, and misses out on the big battle.

This is a fun series, character driven, with lots of mob activity. Our hero, The Black Spectre is still trying to understand his new powers, and how to successfully battle the mob with all their firepower. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Author of THE COBRA

Ghost In The Asylum

An ambitious reporter looking for her big break. A millionaire recluse looking for a cure. Can they survive a violent, corrupt city?

Vicky Rose is a reporter stuck in the City Hall beat, but she knows she’s destined to cover crime. She sees her chance at a big break when the mayor is murdered in his office.

Reclusive millionaire Brent Gregor has been trapped in a wheelchair since the night a home intruder killed his father. Now, the only thing he cares about is being able to walk again.

The mayor’s murder reeks of mob violence, but all the evidence points to someone else. Vicky knows the only hope of finding the truth rests in Gregor’s hands, but he’s unwilling to help until the one person who might be able to cure him changes his mind…

Ghosts in the Asylum is the first book in the Black Spectre Origins series, detailing the rise of the masked pulp hero The Black Spectre. If you like Agent Carter, the Rocketeer, and The Dark Knight, then you’ll love Roger Alford’s gritty noir mystery that effortlessly combines new pulp with a classic 1930s style.

Ghost In The Asylum (Pulp Hero)

By Roger Alford

Black Hood Press

ISBN # 978-1949352009

Price $9.99 (Paperback)

Price $0.00 (Kindle)

210 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

This is the origin story for The Black Spectre. In 1921 Three-finger Ned Vogal broke into the DA’s home killing the DA and shooting his son. The boy becomes an invalid, no longer able to walk, and his mother is admitted to the local asylum for the insane. Fifteen years later young Brent Gregor is still confined to the wheelchair, and has broken up with the woman he loves, Abigail Wentworth, an aviatrix. Victoria Rose a reporter for the Daily Crusader is struggling to make the newspaper’s crime beat, and constantly sticks her neck out to get a story. A new crime is similar to the one that killed Brent’s father, and Vicky visits him to obtain information, but is run off. Then a gypsy woman, Madame Ouspenskaya brings a magic salvation to Brent in the form of a ring that gives him strength in the legs to walk, as well as mental powers like telekinetic ability and turning invisible. He has his butler call Vicky for another interview and gives her a report he received from a private detective three years before. Vicky reads the report written by the murdered private detective and discovers the truth. Now she must enter the asylum to prove that the killer is being protected. When she fails to show up for a dinner date, her boyfriend calls Brent to see if he knows where she’s at. Now Dennis Morris and The Black Spectre must rescue the girl before something horrible is done to her.

This was a darn good story, featuring an exciting new pulp hero, even if The Black Spectre doesn’t appear until towards the end of the story. The city is controlled by the mob, and mobsters are at war with each other. But police and city officials are in the pockets of the mob bosses. It’s going to take a fighting reporter like Vicky and The Black Spectre to bring the hoods to justice and return their city from corrupt politicians to a crime-free town of descent government and law-abiding citizens. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Author of CARNIVAL OF DEATH