Strip for Murder by Richard S. Prather

Richard S. Prather wrote over three dozen Shell Scott novels as well as numerous short stories published in the likes of 'Manhunt' and 'Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine'. There was even a 'Shell Scott Mystery Magazine' that was published for a while in the 1960s. This novel was fairly early in the series, first published in 1956. The early books were a little inconsistent and one gets the idea that Prather was wrestling with just how he wanted his main character to be. Some were more hard-boiled like Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer and others tended toward the outlandish and comedic. But by the time this book was written, I would have thought the character had settled into a more or less consistent style. But now I’m not so sure.

Many readers regard this one as among the best of the Shell Scott novels. Here, Shell finds himself hired by a wealthy mother to investigate the background of a man who her daughter has married rather impulsively. Is it genuine love or is the guy a gold digger? To add to the intrigue, Shell discovers his predecessor on the case, another private eye, was found murdered. 

Shell’s investigation takes him to a nudist (‘naturist’) colony where he goes “undercover” so to speak as a health and fitness instructor. Of course, in the world of Shell Scott, the women (or ‘tomatoes” as he often refers to them) are almost always gorgeous and willing. The plot is still hardboiled but is interrupted plenty of times with screwball situations, such as his leading the entire nudist colony in calisthenics. His own corny sense of humor is on full display as well. (Sorry, couldn’t resist the double entendre).

The investigation takes him to other locales as well, some very hard boiled while others more of the outlandish type such as a scene where Shell dresses as a knight and uses a lance to fight off some toughs. The mystery is actually fairly complex with a number of red herrings and Shell is adept at following the clues in a logical manner. I felt a little thrown back and forth, going from one serious life-threatening scenario into a wacky situation almost immediately. But for all that, Shell Scott is a fun character to follow and I will keep doing so.

H.M.S. Ulysses by Alistair MacLean

From the year 1941 until the end of World War II, Alistair Maclean served in the Royal Navy with the ranks of Ordinary Seaman, Able Seaman, and Leading Torpedo Operator. This experience served him well when he launched his writing career with his debut novel, “H.M.S. Ulysses” in 1955, considered by many to be his best. Of course, he went on to great acclaim and a distinguished bestseller career despite the fact that he claimed never to have enjoyed writing but did it merely as a source of income.

This novel features the HMS Ulysses, a light cruiser that is among the best armed and fastest ships in the British Navy. The story begins in the aftermath of a mutiny born of an overworked and exhausted crew. Senior Navy officers have decided to let her prove herself by sending her out on yet another mission: to escort a critical convoy of 32 ships through the treacherous Arctic Sea to Russian allies in Murmansk. Along the way, they face extreme challenges in the form of unusually harsh Arctic storms, German ships, packs of U-boats, as well as repeated air attacks. 

A number of interesting characters populate HMS Ulysses, not the least of which is her Captain, a man suffering the advanced stages of TB but who nevertheless symbolizes the good luck of the ship’s past missions and any hope to survive this one. Few crew members are motivated by concepts such as honor, courage, etc. but rather it is their resilience that pushes them to hero status. There is a fair amount of technical jargon, but MacLean’s prose is filled with vivid descriptions of the harsh environment, the raw feeling of utter loneliness, and the crew’s growing exhaustion and desperation. This is a marvelous depiction of wartime naval operations, and a stunning portrayal of how men can push past the bounds of endurance.

Borden Chantry by Louis L'Amour

Besides the Sacketts, Louis L’Amour also wrote other family sagas with multiple books associated with them, most prominently, books featuring either the Chantry or Talon families.  In fact, all three families tie-in together through events, marriage, etc., making these books even more interesting.

Here, Borden Chantry has had some bad luck with ranching so has been working as town marshal to earn a little money to provide for his wife and son, Tom (who features in "North to the Rails"). Serving as marshal is not Borden’s heart’s desire but like most L’Amour heroes, he strives to do a good job and earn the money he is paid. So, when the body of a dead man is found shot to death, he is not content to merely chalk it up to a drunken brawl or a bad card game and simply have the man buried. He needs to find the killer. More murders occur and it becomes increasingly evident that Borden is also targeted.

The story turns into much more of a whodunnit detective novel than the typical L’Amour western novel although plenty of western action remains. When Borden eventually identifies the dead man, it turns out to be none other than Joe Sackett, younger brother of Orrin, Tell, and Tyrel. Later on, Tyrel makes a nice cameo appearance, developing a relationship with Borden. They would work together again in "Son of a Wanted Man". I love it when characters from other L’Amour books show up when I least expect it. Additionally, the character of Kim Baca is first introduced here.

All in all, I really enjoyed this one. The mystery elements are well handled as are the expected western gunfights. Borden is a likable character, a little less perfect and more like us than most of this author’s protagonists. Despite his skill with a gun, he doesn’t really think he’s cut out to be marshal, much less a detective, but he perseveres anyway.

Paperbacks at War by Justin Marriott

Once again, the Justin Marriott team has produced an in-depth look at a specific sub-genre of men’s adventure fiction, this time with an edition devoted entirely to wartime book reviews. There is a wide-range of reviews here including classic war novels, poignant we-were-there books, testosterone-fueled paperbacks, pulp yarns, and even comics. This is another must-have companion volume for those readers who dig this stuff. 

There are over 170 reviews here by knowledgeable readers. Some are authors themselves but every single one is a fan. The vast majority of this volume is devoted to the reviews, however there are a couple of extra gems including an essay by Justin Marriott focusing on the “cynical and brutal school of paperbacks in the 1970s and 80s typified by Sven Hassel and Leo Kessler” as well as a nice B&W cover gallery. The reviews are not just about the stories themselves but often include interesting information about the authors, publishers and, in the case of comics, the pencilers, colorists, etc.

Fans will want to snatch this up but I think one of the major benefits of these kind of publications are the way they can entice those readers who are unfamiliar with the sub-genre or perhaps have been flirting with diving in but are not sure where to start. There are plenty of opinions offered within these pages by knowledgeable reviewers, and of course opinions may differ. But just to read through them provides a nice education in the subject matter.

Full disclosure: I have a few reviews included in this volume but a tiny percentage of the overall content.

Highly Recommended.

Flash Gordon: Massacre in the 22nd Century by David Hagberg

Having read all six of the Flash Gordon novels written by Ron Goulart under the “Alex Raymond” name it’s time to turn my attention to another 6-book set in the Flash Gordon universe.  David Hagberg is the author this time, a fairly prolific author under a variety of pseudonyms, but almost always producing action-oriented thrillers or military fiction.  Those influences are very evident here in this first book.

I’ve done quite a bit of immersion in Flash Gordon-related media over the past six months, from books, to films, to the original 1930’s serials, and a fair number of comics.  So it is with some confidence that I can say this really is not a traditional Flash Gordon story.  It takes place in the year 2376 AD.  Flash Gordon is a Colonel in Earth’s military, and a widower for the past eight years.  Dr. Zarkov is an old man in his 80s and Dale Arden is his niece.  Not exactly “canon” if such a thing exists for these characters. One could substitute different character names for all three main characters and still have the same story.  No planet Mongo.  No Ming the Merciless, or anything else familiar to traditional Flash Gordon stories.

But despite that, I found this to be an enjoyable read.  The author brings the plot and the story aspects up to date (1980s) using technological jargon that is much more sophisticated than the older versions.  It has a sort of Star Trek feel to it.  The humans on Earth have built a “Federation” of planets for example. The term “prime directive” is used when interacting with alien civilizations. There is even a giant spaceship in the shape of a cube, 3 kilometers long on each side.  No, it’s not the Borg.  This novel predates that concept by almost a decade.

The plot involves our three characters encountering a derelict spaceship (the aforementioned cube) that had been launched from Earth 200 years previously and not expected to return.  But when they board it, they discover all crew members aboard have been murdered while in cryogenic sleep.  All but one who is missing.  But it seems the ship is being controlled by somebody or something and indeed, they are sucked into an FTL journey to a distant planet where they crash land.  Eventually they find a huge futuristic city but that also appears to be devoid of any life.  

The book does end with some answers to their questions but it is clear that this set of books will all be connected.  An actual series instead of a group of stand-alone books like the Ron Goulart ones were.

Bottom line: while clearly a new approach to the Flash Gordon saga, this was still a fun read.  The characters are one-dimensional, but I expected that.  Dale did show some feistiness at first, but this proved to be short-lived unfortunately.  She still serves as somebody to get in trouble and have to be rescued.  Flash is still the brawn of the group and Dr. Zarkov the brains.  So…maybe it’s more like the originals than I thought.  I am looking forward to book two to see where this goes and that is always a good sign.