Assignment to Disaster (Sam Durell series) by Edward S. Aarons

A couple of weeks ago I came across a bunch of vintage paperbacks by Edward S. Aarons, all with the word “Assignment” in their title.  I had never heard of these books or the author, but they looked to be spy thrillers from the 1950s and 60s and since they would cost me all of 25 cents each, I took a small chance and bought a boatload of them.

And so it was that I picked up this first novel in the “Assignment” series.  This novel came out just after Ian Fleming’s first Bond novel 'Casino Royale' was published and so many people today seem to regard this series as a Bond rip-off.  But since this novel was published before 'Casino Royale' had a chance to make much of an impact yet, I would disagree.  The main character in this series is CIA agent Sam Durell and yes, he is sort of like an American version of Bond. But in its day, the books in the Sam Durell series were very popular.  There are 48 novels in the series; the first 42 were written by Edward S. Aarons and the final 6 were reportedly written by his brother although there is speculation that the name Will B. Aarons was just a house name for Fawcett. All were published over a span of 28 years.  That’s quite a successful run by any standards.

The novel itself is a hoot.  Of course, the reader must keep in mind the age in which it was written and so, like the Bond books, you’ll see some cultural references and attitudes that may seem odd today.  What we would call male chauvinism today was treated more like chivalry in the 1950s.  World War II is over and the world’s concerns tend to revolve around rockets and the power that can be unleashed at the whim of a mad scientist.  Durell is on the lookout for a missing American scientist, one of the brains behind the world's first man-made satellite, named Cyclops, a bomb of dramatic proportions. With just a few hours to go before launch, it is vital that Durell find the man and put an end to the sabotage.

Another nice thing about the series is that they really don't have to be read in order.  There are no overarching story lines that I am aware of that reach across individual novels but I understand Durell's relationship with Dierdre does run through the books.  The publisher usually lists the books in alphabetical order rather than by published date.  I am a stickler about reading series in order if at all possible but with so many in a series it would be a shame to hold up reading them just because you can’t locate book #2 in your local used book store.

Largely, because of the Bond movies, series like this Sam Durell set have fallen by the way side.  I’ll definitely be reading more and doing my best to spread the word about their existence. If you’ve enjoyed Bond or other spy novel series of that era, I recommend you give these a try.

Stinger by Robert R. McCammon

An alien spaceship crashes near a small Texas border town, its occupant a bounty hunter on the trail of another alien of a different species who has recently escaped from a prison planet.  That certainly sounds more like science fiction than horror but the way Robert McCammon unfolds this plot is pure horror.  Trust me.  The nature of the bounty-hunter alien (nicknamed “Stinger”) is a scorpion-like, mucus producing, monster with the ability to rapidly replicate allies using spare machine parts and captured human bodies.  In effect it can build its own army in its effort to capture its quarry.  Awesome!

Most of the novel is devoted to developing the many characters of the small town of Inferno.  It’s a town that is on its last legs due to the local copper mine being played out so all of the citizens are being forced to close up shop, finish their last few days of the school year, and prepare to move elsewhere.   There is a wide variety of characters in this town, from all walks of life.  The town also suffers from a racial divide due to its proximity to Mexico and a perception that illegals are taking local jobs.  But a common enemy can bring even the most viral enemies to work together and begin to understand one another a little better.  My only quibble with this novel is that there may have been too many characters.  That served to lengthen the novel a bit and slow down the build-up to the action sequences.

A UFO/alien/horror story can be pretty standard fare but in the hands of this author, it truly shines.  I first discovered Robert McCammon through his historical mystery novel, "Speaks the Nightbird", a novel that was so impressive that it made my all-time favorite list.  Subsequent novels in that series did not disappoint.  But I also knew his roots lay in the horror genre so I sampled his masterpiece, "Swan Song" and was, once again blown away by the quality of his writing.  So now he is on my list of must-read-everything-he-has-ever-written-including-his-grocery-list authors.

Monstrosity by Edward Lee

My first Edward Lee horror novel and based on this one, likely not my last.  Nice plot, good pacing and nicely done horror mixed with a lot of over-the-top craziness. Sort of like watching a car crash...repulsive in many ways but I can't look away. Reminds me a lot of Richard Laymon and since I've read most of his books, Lee might serve well as a replacement.

One problem with this novel, however, which struck me a lot more than it will most readers. The author's biography tells of some time served in the US Army. However, his characters in this book are almost all ex-Air Force security forces people. Unfortunately, the author made quite a few assumptions that the AF is the same as the Army. It's not. For example, his AF characters refer  to shopping at the PX ("Post Exchange" in Army terms) instead of the "BX ("Base Exchange for AF). He references security platoons (sorry, no platoons in the AF). I could list more examples but you get the idea. Minor points to be sure but it represents lazy writing. These are all easily researched items, even way back in 2003 when this was published.

I intend to sample more of Lee's work from time to time.

South of Sulu by George F. Worts

This collection of five short stories revolves around the character of Samuel Larkin Shay, otherwise known as “Singapore Sammy”.  Sammy is an American who has spent the last six years (1920’s) roaming around the Asiatic tropics, (the South Seas), trying to catch up to his no-good scoundrel of a father.  See, Sammy’s grandfather has left him a fortune in his will, but his father has absconded with the document, preventing the estate from passing on to Sammy.

Each of these five stories was a wonderful adventure yarn, packed full of exciting pulpy shenanigans.  An adventure in every port, you might say. Sammy isn’t afraid to let his fists do the talking when he spots an injustice.  Interestingly, each story is subtly different from one another.  For example, one is a heist story while one is a revenge story, and another is more of a mystery with supernatural elements.  But they all tie together in Sammy’s unending quest to catch his father and gain the upper hand.

George F. Worts was a prolific pulp writer, probably most famous for his character, Peter the Brazen. During the first World War, Worts was a wireless operator throughout the Pacific and later worked for Collier’s, visiting and writing articles on China, India, the Philippines, and Malaya.  The vivid landscapes he describes in these stories are evidence of his knowledge of the locations, the people and their culture.

These Singapore Sammy stories first appeared in "Short Stories" but the character eventually made his way into "Argosy" with another handful of stories, all of which were highly regarded at the time according to the Letters to the Editor.  I need to track those down now too, both for the sheer fun of reading them but also to find out if Sammy can ever wrestle away that only copy of the will from his father.

Deliver Us From Evil by Allen Lee Harris

Fourteen years ago, in the small rural town of Lucerne, Georgia, a horrible even occurred: the rape of a young insane girl by a mentally defective man.  The offspring was abandoned, orphaned, and spends his childhood bouncing through the foster care system.  His name is Jamey.  And now, 14 years later, there’s something about Jamey that makes people believe he just might be the anti-Christ.

Thanks to the good folks at Capricorn Literary, this horror novel from 1988 has been resurrected, as it were.  The author, Allen Lee Harris, attended Harvard Divinity school as well as studied for a PhD in Philosophy so it’s hardly surprising that this is a smartly written novel with deep philosophical themes.  The plot surrounds several key players in Lucerne who act as POV characters, including the sheriff, his 14-year-old son, his wife, and several members of the local church.  It is through their eyes that we meet Jamey and slowly work out what is transpiring.  The author’s background in divinity studies serves him well as a means to write about an alternate view of the Book of Revelations.

The writing is excellent and exudes atmosphere of small-town southern America.  It was interesting to see the way the writing style changed here and there depending on which POV character was active at the moment.  Not just in dialog but in the actual style of the prose.  It was subtle, but very effective.  As for the horror element, it built slowly through the entire book, creepy at times, scary at others, and downright horrific during the climactic scenes.

Overall, I do wish that the prose had been tightened up a bit.  Some scenes dragged out too long and some of the dialog was repetitive in what seemed to be an attempt to build up the suspense over a longer span.  I’m not a big fan of the religious fervor that some characters demonstrated so perhaps that made me wish it had moved along a little quicker. But overall, this is a quality read.

Nightmare in Pink (Travis McGee) by John D. MacDonald

The second Travis McGee novel finds our self-described boat-bum doing a favor for an old army buddy who has been confined to a VA hospital and, sadly, is unlikely to live much longer.  The man’s young sister, Nina, needs help as it seems her fiancé has just been murdered in an apparent mugging gone bad.  Travis’s investigation takes him to New York and leads him from one contact to another, the trail eventually leading to a high-priced call girl and an incredible scheme to steel millions from wealthy businessmen.  Along the way, despite trying not to, Travis falls for young Nina, and she for him, although they both know it won't be a lasting thing.

John D. MacDonald was still forming his character Travis McGee in this second book in the 21-book series, a decidedly different sort of protagonist than what the marketplace at the time was used to.  Travis has flaws and, generally speaking, being around him isn't always the safest place to be.  Collateral damage occurs and innocent people sometimes get caught in the crossfire (or by poisoned coffee in this case).  Most people agree that it is not until the third novel, "A Purple Place for Dying" that the general pattern and style for the rest of the books is laid down.  Regardless, this novel was an enjoyable read despite the drugged-out LSD tripping scenes at a 1960’s era lobotomizing horror factory masquerading as a mental hospital.  The title of the novel is most apropos!

Needle by Hal Clement

My brother was cleaning out his bookshelves in anticipation of his upcoming move, and so I "inherited" about 100 of his books.  A nice haul all the way around and among them, were about 30-35 science fiction books, many from the so-called classical era.  I haven't really read all that much of the older science fiction for many years now but have wanted to get back into it and thought this the perfect opportunity.

So this book was my first to read out of that whole collection from my brother.  I had read one other Hal Clement book, "Mission Of Gravity" but that was at least 25 years ago.  This one, I believe, was Mr, Clement's first published work, written in 1949.  Unfortunately it shows.  The book opened delightfully, with the nice hard science that the author is known for.  A protoplasmic alien creature has crash landed on earth while chasing another of the same species who has committed some sort of crime.  The "hunter" alien absorbs into a 15 year old boy and uses him to function and chase after the criminal alien.  Yeah I know it sounds a bit hokey but the first 1/3rd of the book was quite riveting to see how the biology of the alien species worked.  This was just the sort of hard science I was looking for.  Unfortunately, the actual "story" took off from there and turned into a detective story that seemed aimed at younger readers, reminiscent of Heinlein's juveniles only not nearly as good.

The book spawned a sequel several years later, which I may read, but I may have to get through those other 99 books from my brother first.

The Thousand Coffins Affair by Michael Avallone

THRUSH is nearing completion of a new super weapon that is capable of killing off whole cities in savage fashion.  It’s chemical warfare at its finest.  Napoleon Solo, U.N.C.L.E.’s best agent is dispatched to deal with the crisis.  

This is the very first book in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. novel series and I’ve been itching to get to it ever since I finished watching all four seasons of the TV show a couple of weeks ago. I was heartened to learn that these books are not just reincarnations of specific episodes but rather complete, stand-alone stories.  I found it to be a fun read with a lot of good background presented on the main characters, especially Solo and Mr. Waverly that you really can’t do easily in a TV show.  It also provided some good intel on the U.N.C.L.E. headquarters building that was only hinted at on TV. Illya Kuryakin, does have a small role here but is mostly confined to lab work.  This tells me that the book was conceived and written based on the TV script outlines of the first couple of episodes before the popularity of David McCallum’s character elevated the role.

“The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” TV show first aired on September 22, 1964.  It was a time of turbulence in American history, with news headlines including reports of a place called Vietnam where US Government forces had just inflicted “heavy casualties” on Communist forces invading South Vietnam.  The Warren Commission was on the verge of announcing its verdict that Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone.  In the South, the Heart of Atlanta Hotel was asking the US Supreme Court to overturn the 1965 Civil Rights Act.  This was the backdrop from which this TV show sprang and a series of paperback novels were generated as part of an aggressive and ingenious marketing plan for its time.  Cold War themes prevail throughout the novel.

Noted mystery writer, Michael Avallone was recruited to write the series but after great success with this first novel, (for which he was paid a measly $1000) his handshake deal to write the rest was undercut and other writers were signed to do the rest.  However this novel’s healthy reception and success opened doors for him and he went on to write over 200 novels, many of them TV and movie tie-ins.

So, all in all, this was an excellent first start to the series.  I think it stands well on its own even for readers who have never watched the TV show. Note that the cover of the book I read (pictured) simply bears the title "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.". I suppose it's because this was the first. Later printings changed it to "The Thousand Coffins Affair". With different authors writing the other books, I look forward to seeing how they compare.

Brak the Barbarian Versus the Sorceress by John Jakes

The second book in John Jakes’ Conan tribute series continues Brak’s journey southward toward Khurdisan only to have his path forced into a side adventure by the powers that be.  Nordica is a beautiful sorceress intent on capturing Brak’s life force to further her own evil ends but just in case that isn’t enough, there is something deeper behind her sinister plot.  Events from previous stories converge as Brak finds himself in the lair of none other than the followers of Yob-Haggoth, the big bad of the series.  Brak’s old nemesis Septegundus as well as Ariane have prominent roles to play in this adventure as well.

I enjoyed this novel quite a bit more than the first book, probably because this was a single novel-length adventure (even though originally published in serial form) instead of a series of connected short stories. It allowed for much better character development and that “getting-to-know” Brak serves the series well.  I almost always enjoy these sorts of sword and planet adventure stories and am willing to overlook the occasional over-the-top writing or plot hole.  Jakes does a better job than most however and it was clear even back in 1963 that he would have a nice writing career ahead of him.

Robert E. Howard - The Complete Action Stories

“I weren’t to blame for what happened. Breaking Joel Gordon’s laig was a mistake, and Erath Elkins is a liar when he says I caved in them five ribs of his’n plumb on purpose. And I don’t take no blame for Jim Gordon’s ear which Jack Grimes shot off, neither.  I figger everybody was more to blame than I was, and I stand ready to wipe up the earth with anybody which disagrees with me.”  -- Brekinridge Elkins

Robert E. Howard is, of course, well known for creating the epic characters of Conan the Barbarian, Bran Mak Morn, Solomon Kane, El Borak, and many more.  His fantasy worlds are legendary.  But far fewer people are aware of his other creations and perhaps may not appreciate his versatility as a writer.  

This volume reprints all 23 of Robert E. Howard’s stories ever printed in “Action Stories” pulp magazine.  They are presented in order of publication from the original dates of 1931 to 1937, including the original accompanying artwork.  Five stories feature his boxing hero Sailor Steve Costigan while the remaining 18 are about western mountain man, Brekinridge Elkins.  These yarns are filled with humorous situations and packed with glorious fights that tend toward tickling the funny bone rather than brutal violence.  

Howard should get credit for inventing a whole new type of story, especially with the Brekinridge Elkins stories. They can probably best be described as “Tall Tales”, with  characters displaying extremely over-the-top abilities (like Brekinridge getting shot directly in the chest with a shotgun blast but with skin so tough it serves only to make him think the gun-wielder must have been sore at him).  Both Brekinridge and Steve Costigan are far from the brightest bulbs but their lack of intellect is more than balanced with skill with their fists.  Best of all, these tales are pure fun to read.  More than once I laughed out loud and I had to stop and read aloud so my wife could be in on what was so funny.

Robert E. Howard certainly knew how to tell a tale and these are no exception.  Fans of his more famous works will want to be sure to give these a go as well.

The Living Shadow by Maxwell Grant (Walter B. Gibson)

I’ve read a number of pulp adventures with a wide variety of main characters but have never sampled one of the greatest of all time.  The Shadow. High time I corrected that. 

First published in 1931, “The Living Shadow” is the very first pulp novel in The Shadow series. It was written by Walter B. Gibson, the creator and main writer of the series under the name "Maxwell Grant." The character would evolve considerably over the years, branching out into all forms of media entertainment but many of the character’s traits are already found in this first story, including the red-lined black cloak and slouch hat, and of course his uncanny ability to hide by blending into shadows.

Throughout the book The Shadow remains an extremely nebulous character.  We tend to learn about him through other characters and their reactions to what they encounter but never The Shadow himself.  Certainly not his name or who he actually is.  Instead, the story’s main character is Harry Vincent, a man down on his luck who has decided to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge in New York.  A mysterious man prevents this and extracts a loyal promise that Harry will work for him from now on. The Shadow, of course.

Harry becomes the foil for the reader, accepting circumstances as they are no matter how strange.  We follow along in his shoes as he assists his mysterious benefactor in solving a case involving a Chinatown mastermind, a murdered millionaire, and missing jewels.  Harry knows no more about The Shadow than we do.

There are a number of “firsts” in this book; characteristics that would become hallmarks of the series.  These include The Shadow as a master of disguise, messages written in disappearing blue ink, verbal messages with emphasized words, and The Shadow’s Fritz the janitor identity.  Harry is the first of an entire network of recruited agents that work for The Shadow and we also meet Claude Fellows who is more of an administrative desk man.

All in all, I was fairly well impressed with the quality of the writing and the complexity of the mystery tale that unfolded. I’ll be reading many more of these books to be sure.