Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout

 

(pb; 1939: sixth book in the forty-six book Nero Wolfe detective series)

 

From the front page

“THE CASE OF THE BUM STEER

“A foolproof bull

“A foolish young man

“A foolhardy blackmailer

“These were but a few of the annoyances waiting for the ponderous frame and quicksilver mind of Nero Wolfe as he ventured upstate to compete in an orchid contest at the Exposition. For a restauranteur had paid an exorbitant price for a prize bull, intending to roast him for a giant barbecue. The furor he caused quickly led to a double murder, and a side case of blackmail for good measure—with the finger of suspicion pointing straight at Wolfe’s sidekick, Archie Goodwin.”

 

Review

Caesar is an especially delightful Wolfe/Goodwin mystery outing, placing Wolfe outside of his cozy milieu (his brownstone building), with an especially fun, bold, hope-she-sticks-around-in-future-books love interest for Goodwin (stunningly beautiful and smart bad girl Lily Rowan). Of course, the sarcastic back-and-forth exchanges between Wolfe and Goodwin are verbal-spar gem-like here, and the murder set-up (poor Clyde Osgood) and Wolfe’s solving of it is impressively simple, direct yet similarly clever. At this point in the series, I’ve come to regard Wolfe and Goodwin as warm-friend-familiar characters, and this, thus far, is one of my favorite Wolfe books, largely because of that last feeling.

Followed by Over My Dead Body (1940).

Escape from New York by Mike McQuay

 

(pb; 1981: movie tie-in, based on John Carpenter and Nick Castle’s screenplay)

 

From the back cover

“1997. In an America ravaged by war and gutted by riots and social collapse, ‘Snake’ Plissken was the deadliest man alive. Ex-soldier, ex-hero, outlaw. Snake was so slippery no trap could catch him, no jail could hold him. Then he was set up, betrayed, captured. They sent him into the ultimate prison: New York City. A penal colony 12 miles long and two miles wide. An urban jungle where men had become things and only the most brutal survived. But they gave him one shot at freedom. Somewhere in that cesspool of humanity was the President of the United States. Snake had twenty-four hours to find him. The rest was easy. He just had to get out alive.”

 

Review

Above-average movie tie-in novels consistently add different, character-expanding elements to their source-film stories. Mike McQuay’s Escape does this, e.g., showing New York police commissioner Bob Hauk’s rarely displayed sensitive side while revealing why he, a Leningrad war vet like Plissken, took the job. Additionally, McQuay details Plissken’s past and why he is the way he is, making Escape a standout, vividly pulpy read. That McQuay is also an excellent character-centric action writer with an in-joke sense of humor further makes Escape, long out of print, a book worth owning, an adaptation that’s as great as its source script/film.

 

#

 

The source film, starring Kurt Russell as Snake Plisskin and Lee Van Cleef as Bob Hauk, was released stateside on July 10, 1981.

Black Evening by David Morrell

 

(pb; 1999: story/novella anthology)

 

From the back cover

“Fear of loss, fear of pain, fear of madness, fear of being trapped, fear of the inescapable, unspeakable horrors that fester deep within the soul. . . No matter who or where they are, fear is always with you, always ready to attack from behind the masks of thought and dream.”

 

Overall review

The sixteen stories in this collection are a mixed bag. Morrell, an excellent novelist, is an okay short story/novella author. His end-twists are solid but telegraphed early on in a Stephen King/Dean Koontz mainstream way. The writing is cinematically vivid, a strength in novels, but sometimes a shortcoming in shorter works, particularly works that depends on twist/shock-value elements.

Standout stories/novellas: “The Partnership,” “Black Evening,” “The Typewriter,” “But at My Back I Always Hear,” “The Storm,” “For These and All My Sins” and “Mumbo Jumbo.”

Worth checking out from the library for those seeking fresh-edge thrills. Worth owning for those looking for touchy-feely, solid if often familiar-finish works.

 

Review, story by story

“The Dripping”: A man, walking through a strangely empty house with an ever-present dripping sound, finds himself in the throes of a nightmare. Solid story, feels like an early, still-figuring-it-out work from a fledgling short-fiction writer.

 

 

“The Partnership”: Competitive business partners grow more so when one of them hires a clever, money-hungry hitman. Great, twisty pulpy tale.

 

 

“Black Evening”: A police chief, a deputy and a doctor investigate a dilapidated house with a stench about it—and discover a horrifying crime scene that’s more than it seems.

Good story, with an end-twist that doesn’t feel feels forced, underwhelming.

 

 

“The Hidden Laughter”: An empty house where children’s laughter is heard reveals deeper, possibly darker secrets. Again, good lead-up with an out-of-nowhere, unearned twist.

 

 

“The Typewriter” (novella): A struggling, broke, wanna-be author (Eric) buys an ugly, odd-shaped typewriter that seems to write publishable work almost on its own, making Eric successful. But, as with many things, there’s a catch. This tale, a blend of Ray Bradbury’s supernatural whimsy and style and an old E.C. comic book, is excellent, one of the best novellas in this collection, and one of the best overall short works I’ve read in a while.

 

 

“But at My Back I Always Hear”: Life gets turned upside-down when a college professor and his family when one of his students (Samantha Perry) becomes obsessed with him and calling him late at night. As the intensity of her stalking becomes more elevated, the professor’s family’s lives become terrifying when something that should be impossible seems all-too-possible. Excellent novella, one that feels like Stephen King’s early, better stories, theme-, tone- and edit-wise.

 

 

“The Storm” (novella): A stormfront, increasing in intensity and consistency, follows a vacationing family as they head home, causing disasters and almost repeatedly killing them—eventually they realize what is likely causing it, but can they stop it in time, without making the situation worse? Another above-average supernatural novella that Stephen King fans might like.

 

 

“For These and All My Sins” (novella): After his car breaks down, a man finds himself in a spooky town with monstrously deformed humans, who are not friendly. Lovecraftian-dread, mood-effective, solid and entertaining throughout, has a Twilight Zone feel to it.

 

 

“Black and Red All Over”: A newspaper delivery boy in a small town tells how the town was stalked by a murderer who targeted newspaper delivery boys. Chatty, overlong, okay work.

 

 

“Mumbo Jumbo” (novella): Two friends join their high school football team and experience their coach’s secret pre-game ritual with his players, a ritual that may or may not change all their lives.

Excellent and engaging coming-of-age read, with a touch of the possibly supernatural and more than a touch of religion-based superstition in it. Somehow this has the feel of a Bruce Springsteen song as well.

 

 

“Dead Image” (novella): Good, hint-of-the-darkly-mystical and intriguing story about a Hollywood, CA screenwriter who discovers a bit actor (Wes Crane) who may be the reincarnation of an iconic, died-young actor (James Deacon, a—you guessed it—a fictionalized version of James Dean) makes a huge career gamble and works with him. . . only to possibly see history repeat itself. Can he stop the (perceived) curse before it strikes again?

 

 

“Orange is for Anguish, Blue for Insanity” (novella): Modern day academic researchers follow the creative and physical trail of a nineteenth century, gone-mad painter (Van Dorn) in hopes of understanding the “secret” draw of his work. Any reader familiar with creepy mystery tales like these can easily figure out where the story’s going, but this well-written EC Comics-esque cautionary tale is entertaining throughout.

 

“The Beautiful Uncut Hair of Graves” (novella): A lawyer, grieving for his recently deceased parents, finds a document in their attic-stored papers that turns his world upside down. Following the trail available to him to their—possibly his—past, the mourning son risks everything to discover truths which may kill him. Solid, if overlong story (even for a grief-paced read), not Morrell’s best work.

 

“The Shrine” (novella): Another story about grief, this time a man mourning his recently killed wife and son, a process complicated by his inheritance of two friends’ property. Like “Beautiful,” it’s overlong but it’s a better piece than “Beautiful.” Liked the familiar but warm, character-true finish, the natural melding of darkness and hope.

The Nested Man by Mark Steensland

 

(pb; 2024)

From the back cover

“Frank Hastane is an anthropology professor attempting to decode a notorious grimoire known as the Atrum Res. Frank’s uprooted this family and responsibilities at Rawlson University, an institution with a checkered past. Soon he begins to discover the terrifying truth about the grimoire, his supervisor at Rawlson, and his own identity and past connection with the book.”

 

Review

The tone and details of Steensland’s latest book, Nested, brings to mind the steady-build paranoia of a 1970s/80s conspiracy thriller crossed with a 1980s/90s supernatural mystery, with a suburban/collegiate cypher of a protagonist whose hazy past comes into nightmarish relief when he gets an enigmatic phone call from a mysterious woman. This ringing of Hastane leads him down a dark, possibly fatal path of self-discovery, one that threatens his family and the world as well.

Nested is an excellent read, one worth owning—it’s tight prose, attention to details (which usually matter in a larger way later in the book), and waste-no-words, steady-build pacing is one of the better conspiracy-fiction books I’ve read in a long while, given to us by the co-screenwriter of Jakob’s Wife (2021; director/co-screenwriter: Travis Stevens) and other worthwhile works.

The Long Kiss Goodnight by Randall Boyll

 

(pb; 1996: movie tie-in novel, based on Shane Black’s screenplay)

From the back cover

“Eight years ago, Samantha Caine, woke up on a beach—two months pregnant—with amnesia. Now it’s eight years later, and the tranquil life she’s built with her new husband Hal and daughter Caitlin is about to shatter.

“Samantha doesn’t remember that she was once the United States government’s most lethal assassin. But Pentecost—a vicious and cunning terrorist leader who was her last assignment—recalls her vividly. After believing she was dead, he has just discovered she’s alive—and he’s sending his people after her.

“When Caitlin was kidnapped by Pentecost’s terrorist group, Samantha has to remember her deadly skills before her family becomes just a memory.”

 

Review

Boyll’s adaptation of filmmaker Shane Black’s whip-smart script crackles with the underlying humor of its source-material script/film, maintaining the fun sense of Black’s over-the-top, memorable action set pieces, character development (and resulting concern this viewer-later-reader felt for key characters) and swift pacing. Not only that, Boyll ups the enjoyment level of Goodnight by including a not-in-the-film chapter about Samantha/Charly’s childhood, how she came by her emotional damage and came to be a government assassin. Goodnight is a great, blast-of-a-read movie tie-in novel, one that answers the question some may ask: why read the book when you can just watch the movie? Worth owning, this, especially for that glimpse into Charly’s memory/psyche and a playful reference to another film actor Samuel L. Jackson (who plays Mitch Henessy in Goodnight) co-starred in.

The Big Brain #1: The Aardvark Affair by Gary Brandner

 

(pb; 1975: first book in The Big Brain trilogy)

From the back cover

“Before his birth, even before his conception, everything about Colin Garrett’s life was planned with a single goal in mind: to produce a genius child. The plan was so successful that the standard tests for intelligence did not measure high enough to rate Colin on their scales.

“But one thing the brain wasn’t smart enough to do was keep his mind power hidden from the Army.

“When serious trouble erupts at Aardvark, Colonel Jefferson (J.J.) Juddd makes it his business to start the brain working again for the highest-level espionage operation ever conceived—Agency Zero.

 

“Judd tells Garrett that Aardvark is a soil reclamation project, testing ultrasonics and laser light to change the molecular structure of barren soil. And there people have become mental vegetables in the course of that testing.

“But you can’t keep a secret from a man with X-ray intelligence. Garrett knows one of those three is faking.”

 

Review

This 189-page “men’s adventure” book, the first in Brandner’s The Big Brain trilogy, is a fun, tightly penned, action-punctuated and oh-so-masculine spy-ish thriller where the titular, ultra-smart character (Colin Garrett) and his muscular partner-in-espionage, Beverley “Beano” Rocker, set out to discover who’s responsible for the sabotage of a top-secret government program (Aardvark). Their spiraling investigation takes them to (for them) unexpected places, with inevitable and well-placed, effective twists, and a solemn finish. While there are few surprises for genre-familiar readers in Aardvark, it’s an above-average thriller from the author of The Howling trilogy. Fans of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Ian Fleming’s James Bond series might especially enjoy Aardvark.

Aardvark is followed by The Big Brain #2: The Beezlebub Business.

Tomie by Junji Ito

 

(hb; 1987-2001 manga series, collected into the above-shown 2016 omnibus edition)

 

From the back cover

“Tomie is the girl you wish you could forget. She’s the one you shouldn’t have touched, shouldn’t have smiled at, shouldn’t have made mad. She’s oh so lovely—but you just might love her to death.”

 

Review

Ito’s first mega-successful manga series about a seemingly immortal and invincible girl you can’t kill is an unsettling, bold and often horrific work, about a bedazzling girl who seems nice for two seconds before her selfish demon side begins ruining her victims—usually anybody within her gaze and memory. While the structure of these episodic, expanding tales are essentially the same, it’s fun and interesting to see Ito’s early, emerging style and structuring (which lent itself to later, greater works) as well as the playful creativity of the myriad of ways that Tomie gets at her victims, often through initially innocuous ways. And of course the artwork is great.

Tomie has inspired nine live-action films (starting with Tomie, 1998), at least one Japanese series and scores of other directly linked multimedia/crossover works. Worth checking out, this.

The Magician's Wife by James M. Cain

 

The Magician’s Wife by James M. Cain

(pb;1965)

From the back cover

“CLAY LOCKWOOD.

“He was a powerful business executive with a brilliant career ahead of him—until he met Sally.

 

“SALLY ALEXIS.

“She was a magician’s beautiful wife, but it was her own sensuous magic that drew Clay to what he knew would mean trouble.

 

“GRACE SIMONE.

“Clay was her idea of everything a man should be—and she didn’t intend to share Clay with Sally.”

 

Review

Fans of Cain’s heady brew of firebrand men and women, lust, suspense and murder are likely to enjoy wholesale-meat salesman (and manly man) Clay Lockwood’s dizzying, quick-twists journey down a rabbit hole of character-based success, desire and death (in this case the latter is likely to be Alec Gorsuch, aka the Great Alexis, husband of Sally, one of Lockwood’s lovers). Like much of Cain’s other headlong-into-trouble works, this one is chatty at times (though it doesn’t feel like filler), with a variety of engaging characters—some of them honest, like Edith “Buster” Conlon, a feisty, friendly stripper, and her lawyer (and Lockwood’s friend), Nat Pender! For me, though, the standout character is the savvy, patient Grace Simone, Sally’s mother, who isn’t out to get her daughter, but won’t let Sally get in the way of what she wants. The ending has its own stark brand of honesty and personal responsibility, admirable in a weird and dangerous way. Entertaining, good read by a great genre author, one worth seeking out and settling into for an afternoon or two.

Flowers from the Moon and Other Lunacies by Robert Bloch

 

(hb; 1998: story anthology)

From the inside flap

“This volume of Robert Bloch’s macabre stories is an unexpected treasure for several reasons. It is the first posthumous collection since the author’s death in 1994, and it brings together many of his early stories from the legendary pages of Weird Tales and Strange Stories, which have never been anthologized before.

“The stories display Bloch’s easy narrative command, his sparkling humor and imagination—and his unerring sense of the horrifying!

“In them you will discover the dark secrets of voodoo and vampirism, pagan altars and the alter egos, shades of meaning and devouring shadows, including four stories of the Cthulhu Mythos created by H.P. Lovecraft.

“From horror to heroic fantasy to science fiction, these long lost classics from Bloch’s early pulp fiction writing days are guaranteed to thrill and chill you at every turn of the page.”

 

Overall review

The twenty stories in this collection, many of them born of Bloch’s missive-exchanges (and resulting friendship) with H.P. Lovecraft, show the darkly clever Bloch’s publishing roots as well as Lovecraft’s huge early influence on him. Bloch’s familiar, black wit is ever-present, as is the (usually) compact writing, making Flowers an anthology worth owning—even Bloch’s solid-but-not-great tales (e.g., “The Druidic Doom,” “Fangs of Vengeance”) entertain, are works worth checking out. It’s like watching a great artist produce something that’s not their best work, but it’s still interesting, worth checking out.

Readers sensitive to racial epithets should be warned that one of the stories (“Wine of the Sabbat”) has an obvious-from-the-get-go racist villain who has a hate-on for black people and, at least once, utilizes what some people call “the n-word.” Also: those concerned with Bloch’s association with Lovecraft, a well-known racist, needn’t work themselves up about Bloch, who doesn’t show racism to be a good thing.

One of the many things I like about the works in Flowers is that there are no doom-for-doom’s-sake elements or endings (a corporatized staple of many today’s multi-genre media works). And not all of the stories are Lovecraftian dread-ponderings; a good number of the works, especially the later ones show the evolution of the creative force that later penned one of my all-time favorite books, Psycho (1959). Worth owning, this, especially if you’re fan of Bloch.

Review, story by story

[* = published under the name of Nathan Hindin]

[** = published under the name Tarleton Fisk]

“The Druidic Doom” (originally published in Weird Tales magazine, 1936): An arrogant baronet (Sir Charles Hovoco) moves onto an estate which includes a strange, darkly storied altar on an isolated hill. Hovoco, further ignoring the nearby villagers’ advice, tries to dismantle a shunned altar—an act which results in eerie tragedy.

This Lovecraftian tale is at once economic and spookily atmospheric in description and tone, with a relatively, for a Lovecraft-adjacent work, storyline and denouement.

 

“Fangs of Vengeance”* (Weird Tales, April 1937): Life in a traveling circus (Stellar Brothers Circus) turns darker for its performers after a beast-cruel animal trainer, Captain Zaroff, joins it with his exotic, deadly African cats, with whom he seems to speak. Readers familiar with the Lovecraftian/horror genre are likely to spot where “Fangs” is headed, but it’s a well-written, short and swiftly plotted. Solid, worth-publishing work.

 

“Death is an Elephant”* (Weird Tales, February 1939): Fall 1936. Post-“Fangs of Vengeance,” Stellar Brothers Circus has further troubles when Leelah, priestess-keeper of a sacred elephant (Ganesha, the White Elephant of Jadhore), takes an intense dislike toward members of the troupe, and they begin dying in grisly “accidents.” “Death,” like “Druidic” and “Fangs,” sports a Lovecraftian vibe (with its attendant doom-laden ending), a sharply penned work with some truly effective horrific, hair-raising moments. Standout story.

 

“A Question of Identity”** (Strange Stories, April 1939): An amnesiac wakes in a coffin and, after clawing, kicking and digging his way out of his earthen grave, tries to remember who he was and how he got in this macabre Poe-esque/Premature Burial (name-checked) situation. The twist at the end is masterful (especially for its publication period) and effective in an admirably simple/organic way, another winning read.

 

“Death Has Five Guesses” (Strange Stories, April 1939): Harry Clinton, a college student, at Western Tech, becomes the subject of The Rhine Experiments (involving psychic ability and flashcards). As the experiments intensify, so do his reactions to them. This being a Bloch tale, this isn’t a good thing. Solid story.

 

“The Bottomless Pool” (Strange Stories, April 1939 with Ralph Milne Farley, by-lined as Ralph Milne Farley): “In the swamp south of Pritchard’s Woods,” “near Mill Brook, just outside of Concord” (in “the New England countryside”), a young man, Martin Aylethorp, disappears, leading the police to suspect murder. Their only suspect: Aylethorp’s thought-insane friend, currently in a psych ward.

This unnamed friend, who narrates “Bottomless,” tells what he believes—saw—happen: that an unnatural and terrifying creature (the Fisherman) is dragging swamp-dwelling people to their doom in the titular watery pit—and that it will continue to do so, if nothing is done by the authorities about it!

 

“Bottomless” is another Lovecraftian-construct/bookend tale, with a simple, standout-in-a-good-way wrinkle in its supernatural cloth. Good read.

 

“The Dark Isle” (Weird Tales, May 1939): A Roman soldier (Vincius the Reaper) with his fellow soldiers, is sent to battle Druid priests in a forest teeming with dangers, natural and supernatural, only to discover it’s a deathtrap beyond his scariest imaginings.

Sporting a Lovecraftian and a Robert E. Howard-action influence and tone, “Dark” is an entertaining and engrossing tale, with its eerie atmosphere and creatures, hard and twisty violence, adept and bold protagonist and its optimistic finish.

 

“Flowers from the Moon”** (Strange Stories, August 1939): Blooms aboard a returning-to-Earth spaceship with a sickly astronaut (Charles DeVeaux) threaten to infect, devastate humanity at large—this “terror from space” genre-work has a standout horror element, making it a strong story, twist-wise. In other ways, it’s a an entertaining, good tale.

 

“He Who Waits Beneath the Sea”** (Strange Stories, October 1939): A marine biologist (David Ames) and girlfriend (Jean Banning) are drawn into a 2,000-year-old, ocean-floor civilization, where the dead walk and their king dreams of escaping his oceanic domain—using freshly available flesh. Good underwater-action story, again a blend of Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard and Alex Raymond (creator of the 1934 Flash Gordon comic strip).

 

“Power of the Druid” (Strange Stories, June 1940): Twisty, excellent tale about notorious Roman emperor Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar who, aging, gets renewed life via The Druid—a pagan priest whose supernatural connection with the gods (especially “Mabon, the white bull of the sun”).

Nero’s increasingly mass-murderous behavior, however, may prove to be even more horrible than recorded history later recounts. One of my favorite entries in this collection, memorable.

 

“Be Yourself” (Strange Stories, October 1940): Eddie Thompson, a successful and canny pulp author, is threatened by his now-enfleshed, literary-minded pseudonym (F. Thatcher Van Archer), who means to take everything from Thompson.

Fortunately for Thompson, he’s the matrix in this relationship, a truth borne out with what follows. Above-average writing makes “Yourself” better and more exciting than its description: a memorable, excellent take on the split-protagonist theme.

 

“A Sorcerer Runs for Sheriff” (Weird Tales, September 1941): A corrupt and relentless businessman (Allan Waldo) uses witchcraft and church-wax poppets to eliminate his political foes. Will he succeed, or will one of his potential victims (a speech writer) be able to stop Waldo’s ruthless designs?

The end-twist, while inevitable and familiar—it’s baked into “Sorcerer”’s moralistic theme/elements) has a cleverness woven into it that lesser authors might not have used. Superb, simple-solution read.

 

“Black Bargain” (Weird Tales, May 1942): In this fun, solid work, a pharmacist—tired of dealing with those who’ve little interest in buying healing medicine—meets a dealing-with-darkness occult practitioner (Fritz Gulther), and is fascinated and terrified by the mood-erratic Gulther, who draws the pharmacist into his shadowy, dangerous world.

 

“A Bottle of Gin” (Weird Tales, March 1943): In the darkly hilarious “Gin,” an alcoholic (Tom Collins, ha ha), desperate for a drink, takes what might be a fatal swig of a bottle. Thing is, he should’ve paid more attention to how the owner of that bottle (Dr. Sweet) described it. . . this is an especially inspired (especially with its wordplay) work, one that’s excellent and memorable throughout. Easily one of the best works in this collected lot.

 

“Wine of the Sabbat” (Weird Tales, November 1944): In Hollywood, on April 30^th, a writer (Bob) attends a party thrown from the eccentric and influential Mabel Fiske, where—even for one of her gatherings—three strange guests show up: the cadaverous Dr. Voidin; a menacing “giantic black,” Dubois; and the “fat little bald-headed” and “fish-eyed” Orsac. Their appearance, immediately sinister, transform Fiske’s party into a bacchanal of animality and supernatural terror. Fun, good work.

As I wrote earlier, those sensitive to racial stereotypes—those who lack understanding of the mindset of the author and the context of the time—might take issue with this story, due to its boiled-down descriptions of certain characters. If you’re one of those readers/immediate-reaction types, bear in mind that the sinister trio in this story are based on cinematic, iconic characters (which, while based on certain stereotypes, don’t reflect Bloch’s outlook. . . or what you imagine it to be). Case in point: based on Bloch’s character-sketching, I’m guessing Orsac, described unfavorably, is a mix of actor/filmmaker Peter Lorre and the fictional vampire Nosferatu.

 

“Soul Proprietor” (Weird Tales, November 1945): A “soul for sale” want advertisement leads an “investigator in occultism” (Pete Ryan) into the seemingly fortuitous meeting with a pretty woman (Lucille Cabot). Fun story, with a solid twist.

 

“Satan’s Phonograph” (Weird Tales, January 1946): After a concert pianist’s mentor (Gustav Frye) reappears in his former pupil’s life, a strange phonograph-recorder in hand, the pupil-pianist (Roger) finds his rosy life turned awry. Solid, fun.

 

“The Man Who Told the Truth” (Weird Tales, July 1946, by-lined as Jim Kjelgaard): A low-level employee (Hartwood) at a firm suddenly gets everything he wants—if he speaks his desires aloud—but therein lies danger. Excellent read, laugh-out-loud funny ending.

 

“The Night They Crashed the Party” (Weird Tales, November 1951): During a drunken, brawling party filled with military big-wigs, war merchants and their people, a strange thunder storm and alarming television broadcast draw the attention of the debauched celebrants. Is it the end of humankind? Fun, solid story.

 

“Philtre Tip” (Rogue, March 1961): A regent of a university (Mark Thornwald), obsessed with the wife of a colleague, tries to trick his way into her bed. This being a Bloch story, things don’t work out the way he expects.

The end-twist is simple, not as clever as other Blochian corkscrews (which may disappoint some readers), but it’s still an effective twist in this entertaining and curiously gripping tale.

Eat the Rich by Sarah Gailey, Pius Bak, etc.

 

(pb; 2022: graphic novel. Publisher: Boom! Studios.)

 

From the back cover

“Welcome to Crestfall Bluffs.

“With law school and her whole life ahead of her, Joey plans to spend the summer with her boyfriend Astor at his seemingly perfect family home. But beneath all the affluent perfection lies a dark, deadly rot.

“As summer lingers, Joey uncovers the macabre history of Crestfall Bluffs, and the ruthlessness and secrecy lying in wait behind the idyllic lives of the one percent. Who can Joey save? Who wants to be saved? And can she even survive to tell the tale?”

 

Review

This cannibalistic Ready or Not (2019)-meets-Get Out (2017) graphic novel, is a fun, LGBTQ+ read, with computer-graphics artwork (often annoying, but not in this case), spare and effective writing, and solid characters and an equally solid finish, is a short, worthwhile and occasionally bloody suspense-work.

Angel Fire East by Terry Brooks

 

(hb; 1999: third book in Brooks’s Word & Void trilogy)

 

From the inside flap

“As a Knight of the Word, John Ross has struggled against the tireless dark forces of the Void for twenty-five years. A rootless wanderer scarred as deeply by the magic he wields as by the unspeakable horrors he has witnessed in its service. Ross is driven by dreams that show the world reduced to blood and ashes by the Void and its minions. The grim futures he dreams each night will come true unless he can stop them now, in the present. But for all his power, John ross is only one man, while the demons he he hunts—and which hunt him in turn—are legion.

“Then Ross learns of the birth of a gypsy morph, a rare and dangerous creature formed of wild magics spontaneously knit together. If he can discover its secret, the morph will be an invaluable weapon against the Void. But the Void, too, knows the value of the morph, and will not rest until the creature has been corrupted—or destroyed.

“Desperate, Ross returns to the town of Hopewell, Illinois, home of Nest Freemark, a young woman with magical abilities of her own. Twice before, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance, the lives of Ross and Nest have intersected. Together, they have prevailed. But now they face an ancient evil beyond anything they have ever encountered, for a demon of ruthless intelligence and feral cunning awaits them in Hopewell. As a firestorm of good and evil erupts, threatening to consume lives and shatter dreams, Ross and Nest have but a single chance go solve the mystery of the gypsy morph—and of their own profound connection.”

 

Review

John Ross’s and Nest Freemark’s supernatural conflict with Void/demon forces reunites them in Nest’s hometown (Hopewell, Illinois) where they, along with their friends, battle the most powerful evil force they’ve confronted: the leather book-bearing Findo Gask, as well his demonic, sabotage-minded hit team (the ink-flow ur’droch, the “giant albino” Twitch, and the impatient, anarchic and sly Penny). All the qualities and characters that endeared readers to the first two Word & Void novels are likely to charm and deliciously vex them again, another worth-purchasing book from Brooks.

Too Many Cooks by Rex Stout

 

(pb; 1938: fifth book in the forty-six book Nero Wolfe detective series. Originally serialized in six issues of The American Magazine, March—August 1938)

 

From the back cover

“As the great detective prepares to speak at a gathering of the world’s great chefs, one is found indelicately murdered. When the target for killing shifts to himself, Wolfe must close this case quickly or his next meal may be his last.”

 

Review

In Cooks, the distinguished detective and his worldly, ready-for-action associate and bodyguard Archie Goodwin deal with another murder, this time Philip Laszio’s. Laszio was a chef who’d magpied other chefs’ popular and distinctive dishes to further himself in the chef hustle—not only that, he stole a rival’s wife, a rival who’s also at the great-chef gathering, and a gathering that includes a few of Laszio’s high-profile victims.

Foodies may revel in the copious, detailed chatter about fancy dishes, while murder mystery buffs may enjoy Wolfe and Goodwin’s often dialogue-funny solving of the case. Part of the mystery, for many weathered readers, should prove easily figured out, but the second part of it—a possible second who— might keep some readers on edge.

Cooks, like other Nero Wolfe entries up till now, is an often-entertaining read (the foodie talk was lengthy), one worth seeking out. Followed by Some Buried Caesar (1939).

A Knight of the Word by Terry Brooks

 

(hb; 1998: second book in Brooks’s Word & Void trilogy)

 

From the inside flap

“In the eleventh century the Welsh hero Owain Glyndwr was chosen to combat the demonic evil of the Void and disappeared from history to fulfill that mission. Armed with powerful magic, Glyndwr became a Knight of the Word—a draining and demanding legacy passed on eight centuries later to John Ross, a professor of English literature on tour in Wales.

“In accepting the black runestaff that channeled the magic of the Word, John Ross accepted a solemn trust—and an awful burden. Each night he dreams of hellish futures wrought upon the world by the Void. And each dream is of a future that will come to pass unless Ross prevents it in the present. Crippled in body and soul by the searing magic he wields and the horrors he dreams, sustained only by his faith in the goodness of the Word. Ross drifts across America, a modern-day knight errant in search of the agents of the Void.

“Then an unspeakable act of violence shatters his weary beliefs. Haunted by guilt, Ross turns his back on the Word. With the help of beautiful Stefanie Winslow, Ross slowly builds a new life—a life whose only magic lies in Stefanie’s healing love.

“But a fallen knight makes a tempting prize for the Void, and merciless demons soon stalk Ross and those close to him. His only hope is young Nest Freemark, who wields powerful magic all her own. Five years earlier, Ross had aided Nest when the future of humanity rested upon the choice she would make between Word and Void. Now Nest must return the favor. She must restore Ross’s faith, or his life—and her own—will be forfeit.”

 

Review

Five years after the events of Running with the Demon, a reluctant, emotionally ruptured John Ross and Nest Freemark (now nineteen years old) confront an elusive demon whose presence threaten not only Ross’s fragile sense of peace but the world at large—in short, same fight, life-altered characters, different demon and locale. Seattle, Washington—author Brooks’s real-life home city—is lovingly (to a fault) described so much it should be labeled more character than location.

That said, Knight has all the qualities and reader-gripping flow of Running: a grab-you-from-the-get-go tone and fast-and-vividly-described flow that effectively matures its struggling protagonists (Ross, Freemark) while expanding—a little bit—their world,  now in urban surroundings, further setting Knight apart from Running’s rural events. Anyone who’s read this sort of book might easily spot who the demon is, but it doesn’t ruin the nightmare-driven and heartfelt ride.

Another great read, this, from Brooks, one worth purchasing. Followed by the final book in the trilogy, Angel Fire East.

Make Trouble by John Waters

 

(miniature hb; 2017: humor/inspiration/nonfiction. Illustrated by Eric Hanson.)

 

From the inside flap

“When John Waters delivered his gleefully subversive advice to the graduates of the Rhode Island School of Design, the speech went viral, in part because it was so brilliantly on point about making a living as a creative person. Now we can all enjoy his sly wisdom in a manifesto that reminds us, no matter what field we choose, to embrace chaos, be nosy, and outrage our critics.

“Anyone embarking on a creative path, he tells us, would do well to realize that pragmatism and discipline are as important as talent and that rejection is nothing to fear. Waters advises young people to eavesdrop, listen to their enemies, and horrify us with new ideas. In other words, MAKE TROUBLE!”

 

Review

Trouble is everything you’d hope for from the iconic “Prince of Puke” (one of the many titles the media has bestowed upon him, and of which he’s proud)—a life- and media-pragmatic outlook, flavored with his clever, subversive and sometimes raunchy/icky wit, as well as a strong sense of acceptance (of himself and others) and warmth, all in equal measure. This is a great book, one most (not everyone is open-minded) creative types should read, and one that transcends its art-focus and functions as life-advice work (e.g., “Remember, a ‘no’ is free.”) as well.

Uzumaki by Junji Ito

 

(hb; 1998-1999, 2013: manga omnibus)

 

From the back cover

“Kurouzu-cho, a small fogbound town on the coast of Japan, is cursed. According to Suichi Saito, the withdrawn boyfriend of teenager Kirie Goshima, their town is haunted not by a person or being but a pattern: Uzumaki, the spiral—a hypnotic secret shape of the world. This bizarre masterpiece of horror manga is now available in a single volume. Fall into a whirlpool of terror!”

 

Review

Narrated by Kirie Goshima, a schoolgirl who witnesses the escalating, increasingly grotesque spiral-centric horrors encapsulating her village (Kurouzu-cho), Uzumaki begins with her boyfriend Suichi Saito’s father becoming obsessed with circular patterns. After Saito’s father dies under seemingly near-impossible circumstances, the strangeness begins warping the emotional, psychic and physical fabric of reality for the people in the village bordering the mysterious Dragonfly Pond—and threatening to spread its cataclysmic ends to the world beyond it.

Each book-chapter of this omnibus is truly original in its tone, artistic and visual aspects, with a finish that, despite its holy-frak-that’s-wild elements and terrors, is masterfully personal.

Uzumaki is one of my favorite all-time manga, with its Lovecraftian though distinctive blend of crazy imagery, weirdness, ickiness, horror, romance, rural life and humor, a work that’s not for the faint of heart. Worth owning, this.

Running with the Demon by Terry Brooks

 

(hb; 1997: first novel in Brooks’s Word & Void trilogy, which, according to Wikipedia,  “precedes the action in [Brooks’s] Genesis of Shannara trilogy and serves as the start of Shannara saga”)

 

From the inside flap

“On the hottest Fourth of July weekend in decades, two men have come to Hopewell, Illinois, site of a lengthy, bitter steel strike. One is a demon, dark servant of the Void, who will use the anger and frustration of the community to attain a terrible secret goal. The other is John Ross, a Knight of the Word, a man who, while he sleeps, lives in the hell the world will become if he fails to change its course on waking. Ross has been given the ability to see the future. But does he have the power to change it?

“At stake is the soul of a fourteen-year-old girl mysteriously linked to both men. And the lives of the people of Hopewell. And the future of the country. This Fourth of July, while friends and families picnic in Sinnissippi Park and fireworks explode in celebration of freedom and independence, the fate of Humanity will be decided.”

 

Review

Demon is an immediately immersive, deft and character-intriguing rural/real-world fantasy with horror-ish and Americana elements thrown into its heady, swift-paced and cinematic-vivid mix, a read that fans of Clive Barker, Stephen King (albeit King with better editing) and other writers of that ilk may well thrill to—worth owning, this, and a prequel to Brooks’s second Word & Void trilogy, A Knight of the Word.

“Moon Knight” Omnibus Vol. 2 by various artists and writers (Part 1 of 2)

 

(oversized hb; 2021: graphic novel. Collects Moon Knight #21-38; Iron Man #161; Power Man and Iron Fist #87; Marvel Team-UP #144; Moon Knight #1-6 [second run, 1985]; Marvel Fanfare #30, 38 and 39; Solo Avengers #3; and Marvel Superheroes #1.)

From the inside flap

“Moon Knight’s first solo series comes to a close, including the climax of Doug Moench and Bill Sienkiewicz’s artwork continues to evolve before your eyes, he and Moench put their tortured hero through a series of trials—including the return of the waking nightmare that is Morpheus and the vigilante Stained Glass Scarlet, now wielding a crossbow as her weapon of choice. But while encounters with these and other deadly adversaries take their toll, they have nothing on the task of juggling the identities of mercenary Marc Spector, millionaire playboy Steven Grant and cabbie Jake Lockley—not least the strain that puts on his love life. And just as Marlene Alraune starts to doubt their romantic future, her brother gets caught up in the madness—and things go from bad to worse. When a mystery man is inspired to seek power by becoming Moon Knight’s dark nemesis, will the schemes of the Black Spectre drive a final wedge between Marc and Marlene—or perhaps destroy the silver-and-ebon-clad marauder once and for all? Though that task may fall to Moon Knight’s very first foe, the Werewolf By Night—back and more ferocious than ever, as only Sienkiewicz could draw him.

“Other creators take Moon Knight in new directions as he fights killers, super villains and zuvembies—and shares adventures with Brother Voodoo, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, Power Man and Iron Fist, the X-men, the Fantastic Four, and more. But as he falls further under the influence of a certain Egyptian god, he emerges stronger than ever—as the Fist of Khonshu! It’s the dawn of a new era for Marc Spector, but where does that leave Marlene?”

 

Overall review

Caveat: (possible) minor spoilers in this review. Part 2 of the review is here. Vol. 1 starts here.

Vol. 2 continues in the dark, pulpy, socially relevant and unsettling dissociative-lead vein of its previous omnibus, with its mostly gritty New York City settings, morally gray characters (some of them returning from earlier issues), making for another t(w)een-friendly read, with its experimental tones, storylines, and other elements. Moon Knight is one of Marvel’s more iconoclastic characters and comic book runs. This is an excellent collection, one worth reading if you’re a lover of pulp, 1980s vibes and artwork, and a seriously disturbed protagonist.

Moon Knight’s original run went from 1975 to 1984; his second run went from 1985 to 1990.

 

Review, issue by issue

Moon Knight: “The Master of Night Earth” (#21): Mirebalais, Haiti. Moon Knight [henceforth to be called MK] and Jericho Drum (aka Brother Voodoo) track the revolutionary soldiers in service of coup leader “Grand Bois, leader of the Unholy Trinity, Lord of the Crossroads and Demons. . . the Master of Earth and Night Forests.” While tracking the speedboating soldiers, with help from Daniel (spirit brother of Drum) they encounter violent zuvembies (zombies) and other spooky horrors.

Entertaining, good issue, atmospheric. Always a pleasure to see Jericho and Daniel—they also appeared in Werewolf By Night (issue 39).

Also included in this issue: another “Tales of Khonshu” story, titled “Murder By Moonlight.” In “Murder,” a cop-killer (Herb Russell) flees a crime scene and takes desperate refuge in the Brooklyn Museum, where Khonshu’s statue, along with mummies, is on display. Fun, EC Horror-esque morality work.

 

Moon Knight: “The Dream Demon” (#22): Morpheus—last seen in Moon Knight issue 12—terrorizes his former dream-study doctor (Peter Alraune) through nightmares, whose repercussions spill into waking life. Morpheus has been sedated and treated with a new drug to siphon off his mind-blast “ebon energy” (which allows him to create waking-life nightmares), it seems he’s getting more powerful, his black energy infecting others (MK included).

Meanwhile, MK, Frenchie and Marlene Alraune (Peter’s sister, MK’s girlfriend) must also fend off Morpheus’s attacks, psychic and corporeal. Cliffhanger finish.

Also included in this issue: “Khonshu Tales: Moon Over Alamein”: October 1942. Alamein, Egypt. Two American soldiers (Ezzie O’Gourke and Davie Wadler) accidentally discover Khonshu’s alabaster statue in a cave. They leave everything as they find it, and the next day—no suprise—Khonshu’s influence is felt (anew) by O’Gourke, Wadler, and others. Another enjoyable Khonshu-in-another-place-and-time mini-story.

 

Moon Knight: “Perchance to Scream” (#23): Morpheus (aka Robert Markham), escaped from his energized dream-sleep and his asylum-prison, follows MK, Marlene Alraune and her brother (Peter) and Frenchie to Steven Grant’s (aka MK) country cottage with violent and tragic results. Good, intense issue.

 

The Invincible Iron Man: “If the Moonman Should Fail!” (#161): Members of a subversive technologist group (A.I.M., Advanced Idea Mechanics) trap Tony Stark (aka Iron Man), Steven Grant (aka MK, etc.) and several other people in an ocean-submerged “experimental power generating facility” (Project Neptune), to hold them for ransom. Fortunately, Iron Man and MK are there to deal with the situation. Fun read.

 

Power Man and Iron Fist: “Heatwave” (#87): MK is trapped in an empty water tank during a heatwave while Power Man and Iron Fist track and battle thugs of Commodore Planet, a weapons smuggler, to rescue the missing-for-days MK. Solid, good issue.

 

Moon Knight: “Scarlet in Moonlight” (#24): Scarlet Fasinera’s crossbow crusade against the mobsters responsible for her son’s death continues. This time she’s targeting upper echelon mafioso. MK is torn between helping and stopping her. (Scarlet was last seen in Moon Knight issue 14). Excellent, moody and emotionally relatable issue, with superb artwork by Bill Sienkiewicz and Christie Scheele.

 

Moon Knight: “Black Spectre” (#25, double-sized issue): A Vietnam vet with PTSD (Carson Knowles) sets out to become MK’s opposite-number villain—namely Black Spectre, a medieval-armor-wearing and grudge-bearing agent of sudden violence, wielding a pike and political influence. Another anything-could-happen, exciting issue.

 

Moon Knight: “Hit It!”/”The Cabbie Killer” (#26) –

“Hit It”: A jazz-beat sets the citywide tone and narrative percussion, in which MK must stop a grief-crazed man (Joe) from assaulting everyone around him.

“The Cabbie Killer”: Someone has hired a behemoth of a man in military garb (Commodore Donny Planet) to blow up New York cabbies, and MK means to find out who, one fist fight at a time. Fun story.

Commodore Donny Planet and MK previously crossed paths in Power Man and Iron Fist, issue 87, also in this omnibus edition).

 

Moon Knight: “Cop Killer” (#27): MK investigates a spate of murders where the victims were cops, leading him down some unexpectedly character-twisted avenues. Good issue, featuring an appearance by the Kingpin (aka Wilson Fisk). Good issue.

 

Moon Knight: “Spirits in the Sand” (#28): In this especially atmospheric, often spooky and possibly supernatural issue, MK—traveling as Steven Grant—and Marlene Alraune return to the desert tomb where Khonshu (might’ve) resurrected Marc Spector/MK/etc., and where they must survive grave robbers intent on finding Khonshu’s rumored hidden treasure. Excellent, return-to-MK’s-roots work, one of my all-time favorite MK issues, between its stellar writing and art.

 

Moon Knight: “Morning Star”/”Colloquy” (#29)—“Morning Star”: Desperate to hang onto power, a high priest (Schuyler Belial, aka Morning Star) of a comic-book diabolical satanic cult has his followers hunt Jack Russell (aka Werewolf By Night), so Belial can use Russell as a sacrifice to raise a devil. When one of one of MK’s cop buddies (Detective Flint) and MK get involved, things become more complicated. First part of a two-part tale, good story. (Jack Russell’s last appearance in MK was issue 4.)

“Colloquy”: Steven Grant is revisited by a ghost of his mercenary self (Marc Spector). Solid reiteration of one of MK’s themes.

 

Moon Knight: “The Moon-Wraith, Three Sixes, and a Beast” (#30): Schuyler Belial’s satanic cult members—first seen in MK issue 29 (“Morning Star”)—continue to hunt Jack Russell, aka Werewolf By Night. Meanwhile, MK and Detective Flint try to forcibly surcease the black-robed, pointy-head-hooded cult’s pursuit of Russell, also MK’s friend.  Above-average, especially pulpy issue, even for the clad-in-white MK.

 

Moon Knight: “A Box of Music for Savage Studs”/”Fly the Friendly Skies” (#31)—“Fly the Friendly Skies”: On Dough Row—a stretch of an especially impoverished New York tenements—a youthful gang of toughs (Studs), led by the merchant-predatory and loathsome Shank, run violent and wild.

Meanwhile, one of the Studs (Lenny) struggles with his conscience after two of their crimes directly impact his home life, and MK steps in to end the Studs’ reign of intimidation.

 

“Fly the Friendly Skies”: Eco-terrorists seek to hijack an airship—their leader (Douglas Brenner) means to end mankind’s pollution of the Earth by ending mankind! Of course, MK can’t allow this, so he does his vigilante thing, even after Brenner has him temporarily blinded. Fun, James Bond-ish issue, with its group-of-female-terrorists storyline.

This issue marks Kevin Nowland’s debut as a MK penciller, taking over for the consistently excellent Bill Sienkiewicz.

 

Moon Knight: “When the Music Stops”/“Cancer” (#32)—“When the Music Stops”: Conclusion of the two-part story that began with “A Box of Music for Savage Studs” (MK, issue 31). Lenny, “war chief” for vicious gang leader Shank, sees his personal struggle intensify after one of the strongarmed and potentially vigilante shop owners (Lewis) fights back against the Studs (led by Shank). This story ends on a note of momentary hope, grace, making its two-part arc especially impressive for a comic book.

“Cancer”: The jaded attitude of a brilliant-but-cold doctor (Dr. Steele) prompts the brother of a dying cancer victim (Joseph Fixler) to take drastic actions, actions that draw the attention of Steven Grant/MK. Sad, grim (it almost feels MK-writer reactionary) tone throughout this issue.

 

Moon Knight: “Exploding Myths” (#33): The social-ills/moralistic (and still timely) tone of “Cancer” (MK, issue 32) carries over into this issue, with an overly ambitious reporter (Joy Mercado) pushing a small-time criminal (Druid Walsh, a Vietnam vet) to a big-scale extreme, forcing MK and the fanged skull-inked behemoth (Walsh) into a fiery conflict atop the Twin Towers. Good story, eerie end-image.