Saturday, November 27, 2021

Easy Company and the Suicide Boys by John Wesley Howard

On the high plains of Wyoming Territory in the 1870’s sits Outpost Number Nine. It’s home to the fictional “Easy Company”, a unit of mounted infantry (don’t call them cavalry) in the days after Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer lost at the Battle of Little Bighorn. Easy Company is charged with maintaining the fragile peace with the Indian tribes in the area but also stand ready to fight, should that action be called for.

This is the first novel in the Easy Company series of 31 westerns written by a number of authors using the John Wesley Howard pseudonym. This time (and apparently the only time), the author is Lou Cameron, the author who brought us 'Longarm' as well as the 'Renegade' series and the 'Stringer' series among many others. The “suicide boys” of the book’s title refer to a group of young, untested, would-be Indian warriors out to prove their bravery, and their actions in the novel lead to conflicts with the outpost.

I thoroughly enjoyed this first book in the series.  The main characters of Easy Company, including the commander, his officers, 1st Sergeant, and a handful of enlisted men are all introduced as the story unfolds, as are the various leaders of the Indian tribes. An additional source of conflict arrives in the form of an IG inspector, a by-the-book man who struggles to understand why Easy Company finds it necessary to interpret the regulations creatively from time to time in order to preserve the peace.

If this first book is an indication of the quality of the entire series…well, I only have 30 more to read and I’ll enjoy each one of them.

Saturday, November 20, 2021

Fancy Anders Goes to War by Max Allan Collins

In 1942 Los Angeles, a young socialite named Fancy Anders finds herself in charge of her father’s famous detective agency when he is called back to active duty. She is only supposed to be a caretaker of the agency, routing incoming cases to other agencies. But when a young female worker named Rose at Amalgamated Aircraft, who had been chosen to pose as a model for a new line of patriotic posters is found dead, Fancy’s suspicions are aroused. Was it an accidental death or was she murdered? Fancy goes undercover at the factory, working as a riveter alongside a diverse group of other women, to get to the bottom of it. But as the story moves along, Fancy (and we readers) soon come to realize there is far more going on here than a simple murder mystery, likely with massive consequences.

Fancy Anders is a great new character and building her into this novella form is a real treat. It’s a tight, lean story and serves well to not only set up Fancy as a well-rounded character but also provides an interesting detective yarn in a cool historical setting. As always, Collins’ proves adept at interweaving a good plot with historical figures including, in this case, no less than FDR. 

This is the first novella of three (so far) to feature the adventurous tomboy. She has classical Hollywood beauty mixed with a keen intelligence and over-the-top confidence. Sort of a combination of Phryne Fisher and Nancy Drew. Comparisons to Brenda Starr and Max Allan Collins’ own Ms. Tree would not be out of line. But she is also smart enough to know she doesn’t have the street savvy to go it alone so makes good use of friends and confidants, including LA homicide cop, Rick Hinder. She’s no wallflower to be sure, having lived an adventurous life already. 

The novella reads like a prose version of a graphic novel and indeed, there is a wonderful illustration at the beginning of each chapter by artist/illustrator Fay Dalton, known for her James Bond folio work and Titan’s Hard Case Crime graphic novels. The entire package is a wonderful combination of retro noir art in all its forms.

Can’t wait to read more of Fancy Anders!

Saturday, November 13, 2021

70,000 to 1 by Quentin Reynolds

On May 21, 1943, Gordon Manuel was serving  as bombardier aboard a B-17E and was shot down by a Japanese night fighter. He bailed out over the island of New Briton, the only survivor. His leg was broken, and he had few supplies. He did have a .45 but only five bullets. He would be stranded there for almost nine months, evading the hordes of Japanese forces on the island. This book is a fictionalized account of his true story, told from his first-person perspective.

The author, Quentin Reynolds, was an American journalist and World War II war correspondent. The book was first published in 1946, using the same sort of language the GI’s used, meaning a bit coarse for that era but pretty mild by today's standards. The first few chapters read much like a Robinson Crusoe story, with Manuel figuring out how to find food, water, and shelter and to care for his broken leg. Eventually he befriends an island native who speaks a sort of pidgin English and ultimately takes him back to his home village where he is well cared for. The natives dislike the Japanese presence on their island so are happy to protect Manuel and even scout out Japanese locations. By the end they are even finding other downed airmen and bringing them back to Manuel so they can organize a rescue.

If you’re going into this one expecting a Rambo-style plot with one man fighting his way through groups of Japanese soldiers with cool tactics and edge-of-your-seat suspense, then you will need to look elsewhere. I remember just two times when Manuel was even close to the enemy and both turned out to be anti-climactic. This despite several mentions that he has been living just 100 yards from an enemy encampment for much of the time. It is, however, an interesting read, partly because it is based on an actual event. Anytime a man can get shot down and survive for nine months on an enemy-controlled island is bound to be of interest. Additionally, Manuel’s first-person perspective of his adventures is told in a plain-language style that endears him to the reader and you can’t help but want him to succeed.

Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Men's Adventure Quarterly, Vol 1 by Bob Deis & Bill Cunningham

Color me impressed!

This is the first volume of what I sure hope is a continuing quarterly publication of stories and essays from the golden age of what are known as “MAMs” or Men’s Adventure Magazines. These were magazines mostly from the 1950s-60s that were geared toward men, often violent and with pulpy adventure style yarns. More often than not, the stories were accompanied by colorful art that featured scantily clad women. The publishers, after all, knew their target audience.

Now, Robert Deis and Bill Cunningham have put their considerable knowledge of the MAMs to work for our enjoyment. Each volume will focus on a single theme. This first one focuses on westerns and the second revolves around the world of espionage while the third devotes itself to the world of vigilantes. I own them all will be posting reviews of them as well, shortly.

This is a large, slick, high-quality product.  The cover alone makes my mouth water. But it is the contents that really blow me away. It’s chock full of reprinted stories and articles from the original MAMs as well as wonderful introductions by Bob Deis, Bill Cunningham, and guest editor, Paul Bishop. There are nine stories presented from the likes of “MALE”, “Man’s Life”, and “All Man” magazines complimented by impressive original full color and B&W artwork. It’s absolutely gorgeous. Additionally, there are a couple of in-depth articles as well as a full color art gallery of classic covers.

All of that would have added up to a sure-fire winner. But, for me, what really drives it over the top are the introductions to each story and article. Often when I read anthologies, I feel lucky when a story is introduced with a paragraph or two providing some background. But here, we get two and three pages of intro, describing each story’s origins, the author’s life, the artists involved and even the publishing background. The folks behind this publication really know their subject and their passion for all of it shines through in spades.

This will have a permanent place on my shelves, right alongside every issue that is published in the future. Highest recommendation!

Saturday, November 6, 2021

Doc Savage: Spook Hole by Kenneth Robeson (Lester Dent)

Originally published in August 1935, this was the 30th Doc Savage story to be let loose upon the world. (Bantam has it as number 70 while the Sanctum reprints list it as number 43). Relatively speaking this falls much nearer the beginning of the series than the end and was written by the series’ creator, Lester Dent. 

Overall, this is more of a straight mystery adventure without as many potentially supernatural occurrences (or even the perception of such), as most Doc novels. The real mystery throughout most of the book is, “What exactly is Spook Hole?” What is it? Where is it? Why are so many people interested enough to kill for it? 

All but one of Doc’s crew makes an appearance in this one (another indicator of it falling in the first half of the series).  Even Doc’s cousin Pat Savage gets in on the action, as if you could keep her out of the fray once she’s gotten a whiff of an adventure to be had. One of Doc’s aides spends most of the novel undercover, but I won’t spoil that by naming names. 

The novel spends a bit too much time spinning its wheels in the first half, with various individuals or groups chasing after one another and trying to avoid Doc and friends. This is still fun reading because a lot of “Docisms” are on display such as various disguises, infiltrations, 86th floor lab break-ins, Monk/Ham insults, the upstate criminal college, and gadgets galore. However, it fails to advance the plot much. When we finally get around to Spook Hole, the plot develops nicely, and the guest character build-ups pay off. The final McGuffin reveal was a little under par but that’s OK. These books aren’t really about that anyway. The story does feature one of my favorite character names in the entire Doc Savage series: Hezemiah Law. Whether or not he is a good guy or a bad guy…well, you’ll have to read the book to find out.