Vampire$ by John Steakley

I really didn’t know what to expect of this novel when I first began reading it and now that I’ve finished…I’m not sure how I feel about it. It’s the story of a group of present-day mercenary vampire hunters who will clean out a nest in return for dollars. They don’t really seem to do it for the pay though so much as the idea of “somebody has to do it”. The team is led by Jack Crow and we discover during the course of the novel that he has been doing this for three years which is longer than anybody else he’s heard of. But he also knows he won’t ever win the war; there will always be more nests and he and his team can’t live forever.

These vampires are tough creatures to kill. This is not Buffy’s universe where you can simply go out on patrol, stake a few vamps here and there and call it a good night. These are horrendous monsters and it takes all of their ingenuity and teamwork just to kill the “normal” ones. When it comes to the masters, it’s a whole ‘nother level. Practically like fighting a deity. 

Parts of the novel were excellent, especially some of the fight scenes. My eyes were glued to the page to see how it would turn out. It’s like reading a hard-boiled men’s adventure story…with vampires. But other parts, unfortunately, were drawn out introspectives or flashback descriptions of a character’s past which I simply needed to plow through to hopefully get back to the good stuff again. The team members know their chances of living past the next battle are not good, so their down time is predictably crude and filled with hard drinking. Not especially fun to read about. Some of the characters are already broken, even at the beginning of the novel. I think I know what the author was trying to do with this "character building" but it didn't really work for me. 

Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L. Sayers

I realized I hadn’t read a Dorothy L. Sayers novel in over 10 years and thought it high time I revisited this author and her gentleman sleuth creation, Lord Peter Wimsey. I’ve only read one previously and have been working on establishing a good baseline of golden age mysteries so of course I can’t get by with a single Lord Peter novel.

This one, first published in 1931, is the sixth in the series (although I have seen references to it being #7), and Lord Peter has been firmly established by this point. Here, while on a fishing holiday in Scotland, Wimsey takes part in the investigation of the murder of an artist. As the title suggests, there are six solid suspects, only one of which is the actual murderer, leaving five red herrings. By far, most of the book is devoted to Wimsey, and several members of the local constabulary questioning the suspects and constructing possible scenarios for how the murder was accomplished. 

Interestingly, the end of the book details a number of the official inspectors and police personnel offering very plausible scenarios for whodunnit but, of course, Lord Peter Wimsey points out the flaws in their logic and offers the correct solution. 

I found the novel to be a little tedious in places; just so many detailed clues and potentially misleading information offered by the suspects that I lost track of it all early on. Had I been a proper literary sleuth myself, I would have prepared a complex spreadsheet to record all the clues offered, who was where when, and who saw them there, and who was providing alibies for whom. Everything right down to the timetables of the trains which would prove valuable evidence indeed. But I am too lazy to do that, of course, so I let Wimsey handle that for me. 

But the conclusion was most satisfactory. I will not let another ten years pass before picking up my next Lord Peter novel.

Sheba by Jack Higgins

Henry Patterson first published ‘The Seven Pillars of Hell’ in 1963 under his Hugh Marlowe pseudonym. It was then revised and re-released in 1994 as ‘Sheba’ under his much more familiar pseudonym of Jack Higgins. It was written fairly early in his career (the 9th novel published out of over 75).

The story revolves around an early Nazi plot to blow up the Suez Canal at about the same time as the invasion of Poland. The plan would greatly hinder much of the logistical support that their foes would likely count on should they form a coalition against Nazi aggression.  That’s the big picture going on behind the scenes. However most of the story itself is centered around an American archeologist named Gavin Kane who finds himself helping a woman try to locate her missing husband in the desert of Southern Arabia. During their adventures, they locate a lost Temple of Sheba as well as encounter the group of Nazis who are planning the bombing of the Canal.

This sounds like a good pulpy Indiana Jones adventure style plot, and it is. Lost treasures, nefarious Nazi plots, tie-ins to an ancient Roman general, a touch of romance, and plenty of action-oriented fights and daring escapes combine to make this a fun ride. This is a stand-alone novel, unlike so much of Jack Higgins’ work so if you’re thinking about trying him out, this is a pretty good place to start.

The Bloody Crown of Conan by Robert E. Howard

This book compiles three of Robert E. Howard's longer Conan works, including the only full length Conan novel that he ever wrote, "The Hour of the Dragon."  It also contains "The People of the Black Circle" as well as "A Witch Shall Be Born" which contains probably the most famous scene in all of Conan literature: the one where he gets nailed to a tree, crucified really, and left to the mercy of the hungry vultures and the elements.  As the title implies, all three stories are from Conan's later days, when he is king.  

As in all of these Del Rey editions of Howard's work, the book also contains several untitled synopsis (synopses? synopsizes?), fragments, etc. as well as a thought-provoking essay on Howard and his life and times as it pertains to the included stories.

I think the noble nature of Conan really comes out in these stories, particularly in "The Hour of the Dragon".  When Conan has the opportunity to conquer a neighboring kingdom he says, "Let others dream imperial dreams. I but wish to hold what is mine.  I have no desire to rule an empire welded together by blood and fire.  It's one thing to seize a throne with the aid of its subjects and rule them with their consent.  It's another to subjugate a foreign realm and rule it by fear."  As Patrice Louinet says in the essay, "Whoever had the idea of retitling Howard's novel, 'Conan the Conqueror' had evidently not understood its theme: Conan is anything but a conqueror by nature."

Enjoyable reading and, of course, absolutely required reading for Conan enthusiasts.