Nightworld by F. Paul Wilson

 

(pb; 1992, 2012: seventh book in the Nightworld/Adversary Cycle and final book in the Repairman Jack series—note that I didn’t review all of the Repairman Jack books)

 

From the back cover

“The end of the world begins at dawn, when the sun rises later than it should. The first forms in Central Park, within sight of an apartment where Repairman Jack and a man as old as time watch with growing dread. Gaping holes, bottomless and empty. . . until sundown, when the first hungry, unearthly creatures appear.

“Nightworld brings F. Paul Wilson’s Adversary Cycle and Repairman Jack saga to an apocalyptic finale Jack and Glaeken search the Secret History to gather a ragtag army for a last stand against the Otherness and a hideously transformed Rasalom.”

 

 

Review

Nightworld wraps up his Repairman Jack stories/novels and Nightworld/Adversary Cycle novels in his usual pure-cinema, full-character-exploration and horror/neo-noirish style, again sometimes to a fault—many of his books run longer than they need to, with characters and events given big, unnecessary-reaction scenes, which obviously delights some readers (though not this one). That said, I enjoyed Nightworld. As always, there are plenty of twists and loving references to other excellent works, e.g., Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 film The Birds. Worth owning, this.

Scary Book: Insects by Kazuo Umezu

 

(pb; 2003, 2006: second volume in Umezu’s Scary Book manga series. Japanese-to-English translation by Kumar Sivasubramanian; lettering and retouch by Kathryn Renta. Followed by Scary Book: Faces.)

 

From the back cover

“Kazuo Umezu, ‘The Stephen King of manga,’ returns with the second frightening volume of Scary Book. In ‘Butterfly Grave,’ a young woman, Megumi, is paralyzed by an inexplicable, devastating fear of butterflies, a phobia brought on by the mysterious and untimely death of her mother when Megumi was still an infant. Upon visiting her mother’s grave years after her death, Megumi becomes haunted by a black butterfly that only she can see and which seemingly causes waves of destruction and misery to Megumi’s family and friends wherever it appears. But when Megumi’s father decides to remarry. Megumi begins to fear that her new mother is turning into the very thing she dreads most.”

 

Review

As with the first Scary Book (Reflections), manga/J-horror fans may easily find much to enjoy in this second volume of Umezu’s Scary Book trilogy. The artwork is mainstream manga-realistic, plausibly slipping into its characters’ visualized mindsets and realities (veering between horror, silliness and bloody violence), its writing mostly solid, entertaining, at least until its last third.

Unlike Insects, this second volume is one 227-page story (“Butterfly Grave”), a mix of The Babadook (2014; director/screenwriter: Jennifer Kent), J-horror manga and Alfred Hitchcockian psychological mystery and intrigue. It’s Babadook-esque in that Megumi is often irritating and bizarre in her loud, violent constant-panic-mode behavior (like young Samuel in Babadook). It’s Hitchcockian in that as the story progresses, it seems Megumi’s off-putting behavior might be justified by the seeming intentions of some around her, who might not wish the best for her.

As noted before, Insects has a good, entertaining, steady build storyline for the most part. Near the end Megumi’s seemingly irrational flights of nightmare and its Reveal/climax scenes run a bit long. Still, it’s a fast, worthwhile read, one worth checking out. Followed by Scary Book: Faces.

Witches' Brew edited/presented by Alfred Hitchcock

 

(pb; 1965: crime anthology)

From the back cover

“Hitchcock loves little old ladies. . . especially when they have stringy hair, warts on their noses, broomsticks at the ready, and cauldrons bubbling over.  That’s why he’s dedicated this collection of terror treats to them. Here is sufficient horror to make a hag shout hurrah and enough evil to make a bride of Satan go on a second honeymoon. For all the rest of us, it’s the macabre most in bone-chilling magic. . .”

 

Overall review

Excellent anthology with good-to-great entries, presented by Hitchcock, worth owning.

 

Review, story by story

“Premonition” – Charles Mergendahl: A woman (Martha Ricker) with “queer feelings” about impending, certain-to-happen events becomes convinced she’ll be the next victim of a killer whose M.O. involves neckties. Entertaining, highly visual story with a solid-twist finish.

 

“A Shot from a Dark Night” – Avram Davidson: A popular businessman and politician (James Calvin “Jaysey” William) is jarred out of his comfortable life when an oddly familiar stranger (James “Jemmy” Buxton) shows up in Williams’s small town. Excellent story about secrets, guilt and small town life, one of my favorite entries in this story collection.

 

“I Had a Hunch. . .” – Talmage Powell: A murdered woman’s spirit (Janet) haunts a cop (Joe) investigating her death, trying to influence him to her end for what it was, and arrest the culprit. Effective twists in this emotionally involving story.

 

“A Killing in the Market” – Robert Bloch: An employee (Albert Kessler) of a Wall Street firm seeks out a highly successful investor for investment tips and finds himself in a world of deception and trouble. Intriguing story that plays with familiar tropes.

 

“Gone, as by Magic” – Richard Hardwick: A year after a man (Frank Pilcher) disappears in a small, can’t-stop-talking-about-it town (Garrison), his best friend (Burt Webb) recounts, to the reader, the events leading up to Pilcher’s disappearance and its aftermath. Good, fun story.

 

“The Big Bajoor” – Borden Deal: Clever, waste-no-words piece about a gypsy (Vanya) whose swindles of an old woman goes darkly, humorously awry.

 

“The Gentle Miss Bluebeard” – Nedra Tyre: Miss Mary Anne Beard, sixty-five, begins killing people to help them in her peculiar way. Solid, “gentle” (as the title says) story.

 

“The Guy That Laughs Last” – Philip Tremont: A gangster (Big Freddy), fond of practical jokes and paranoid that he’s being set up by his underlings, prepares for a supposed rendezvous with a pretty, young woman (Margo). The ending to this is blunter than I’d hoped, but it’s still a solid piece with good foreshadowing.

 

“Diet and Die” – Wenzell Brown: Told in the first person to a police psychiatrist, a fine-food connoisseur admits to homicide, and his reasons for doing so are less than common. Fun, smart story.

 

“Just for Kicks” – Richard Marsten: Charlie Frank, a successful advertising executive who gets no thrills out of life, tries murder for sport. The ending, not surprising, is striking and effective.

 

“Please Forgive Me” – Henry Kane: A cop (Paul Matthew) becomes concerned that his eighteen-year-old son (Billy) has become a criminal lifestyle. Good story and emotional content, character focused.

 

“A Crime Worthy of Me” – Hal Dresner: An employee sets out to rob his employer (Mr. Cumberly of Bainesville Home Finance and Loan Company), using a fictional detective story as his modus operandi.

 

“When Buying a Fine Murder” – Jack Ritchie: A hitman is hired for a job by Walter Brandt, a man who’s never met him. The hitman’s target: himself. In trying to find out why Brandt wants him dead, the killer discovers things about those around him (including his “gorgeous” wife, Helen). Entertaining, sharply written, and clever—almost to the point of being disingenuous— tale (it barely works as short story, but in reality, a pro might not go to such lengths to correct certain issues).

The Diver's Clothes Lie Empty by Vendela Vida

(hb; 2015)

From the inside flap:

". . . a woman travels to Casablanca, Morocco, on mysterious business. Almost immediately, while checking into her hotel, she is robbed, her passport and all identification stolen. The crime is investigated by the police, but the woman feels there is a strange complicity between the hotel staff and the authorities—she knows she’ll never see her possessions again.

"Stripped of her identity, she feels both burdened by the crime and liberated by her sudden freedom to be anyone at all. Then, a chance encounter with a film crew provides an intriguing opportunity: A producer sizes her up and asks, would she be willing to be the body-double for a movie star filming in the city? And so begins a strange journey in which she’ll become a stand-in—both on-set and off—for a reclusive celebrity who can no longer circulate freely in society while gradually moving further away from the person she was when she arrived in Morocco."


Review:

Diver's Clothes is a love-or-hate novel. Vida not only tells the story through a second-person point-of-view (told in the present tense, with lots of "you"s), but her protagonist -- a flighty, irrational woman -- often makes bizarre, ill-advised decisions that may be off-putting to some readers. (The reasons for the protagonist's irrationality are eventually, somewhat revealed.)

Normally, a book like this would not appeal to me. What compelled me to read Diver's Clothes was that I am a fan of Vida's work, which consistently has an exotic surreality, a dangerous dreaminess to it, as well as her swift-paced, turn-on-a-dime storytelling. Also, this book has the feel of Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley, where the protagonists plunge headlong into unpredictable situations whilst panicking -- and trying not to think too long on the consequences of their wild, criminal decisions. (I am not the first person to note this; the same person who made the Vida-Highsmith connection also suggested an Alfred Hitchcock link, which makes sense: Hitchcock filmed a loosely adapted version of Highsmith's Strangers on a Train.)

If you can get past the second-person POV and the protagonist's bad decisions (which threaten to bury her even as their repercussions amass), this is a hard-to-put down read. The tale's finish is open-ended, keeping with the tone of what precedes it, with Vida providing sufficient foreshadowing to suggest that this, too, while a bad choice, is also an exhilarating (and character-true) one.

Borrow it or check this out from a library before you buy it, if you are iffy about Diver's Clothes: better to spend money on something where you are fairly certain you will like it.

Alfred Hitchcock's A Hangman's Dozen, by various authors

 

(pb; 1962, 1966: crime anthology)

Overall review:

Excellent murder and crime anthology, worth owning.


Standout stories:

1.)  "The Children of Noah" - Richard Matheson:  A cross-country, speeding motorist (Mr. Ketchum) gets pulled over in Zachry, Maine and finds that leaving this strange town may be more difficult than he first thought.  Fun story, with a Twilight Zone-esque feel.



2.)  "Fair Game" - John Cortez:  Plot-twisty, excellent story about a hunting guide (Sam Ludlow) whose attraction to his client's wife leads to some dark revelations.  I especially love the ending to this one.



3.)  "The Curious Facts Preceding My Execution" - Richard Stark:  A man (Freddie) and his mistress (Karen) plot the demise of his materialistic wife (Janice) and encounter unforeseen complications.  Darkly humorous and increasingly intense tale.



4.)  "Your Witness" - Helen Nielsen:  Fun, well-written story about a woman (Naomi Shawn) whose husband's vicious lawyerly tactics inspire her own revenge on him.



5.)  "Blackout" - Richard Deming:  A drunk man's murder confession turns out to be more complicated than it initially seems.  The ending isn't a surprise, but the story is well-written.



6.)  "The October Game" - Ray Bradbury:  Memorable, nasty (in a dark notions way) and Halloween-atmospheric tale about a man and his family who host a horrifying holiday party.  This is one of my favorite stories in this collection.  The ending is especially effective.



7.)  "The Last Escape" - Jay Street:  An escape artist (Joe Ferlini) has more tricks up his sleeve than anyone - including his wife (Wanda) - suspects.  Great finish to this one.



8.)  "Most Agreeably Poisoned" - Fletcher Flora:  Urbane and "civilized" work about a cuckolded husband who suggests to his wife and her lover a unique port-wine-and-poison solution to resolve their sudden-change situation.



9.)  "The Best-Friend Murder" - Donald E. Westlake:  Police procedural tale about a polite poisoner's immediate confession to the cops, and how his confession rings odd to one of the investigating officers (Abraham Levine).  Great, reader-hooking writing in this work, with palpable, effective themes of youth and mortality.  Love the ending to this one.

Psycho by Robert Bloch

(pb; 1959: first book in the original Psycho trilogy)

From the back cover

"When the Bates Motel loomed up out of the storm, Mary Craine thought it was her salvation. The rooms were musty but clean, and the manager, Norman Bates, seemed like a nice enough fellow, if a little strange. . .

"Then Mary met Norman's mother. And the butcher knife.

"The nightmare had just begun. . ."


Review

Pulp-style writing, crisp prose, succinct characterizations, macabre puns and shocking violence form this familiar landmark work. This, easily, is one of the best pulp novels I've ever read.

Own it!

Followed by Psycho II.

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Psycho resulted in two film versions.

The first version was released stateside on August 25, 1960. Helmed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock and scripted by Joseph Stefano, it starred Anthony Perkins in his career-defining role of Norman Bates.

Janet Leigh played Marion Crane (cinematic stand-in for Mary Craine). Vera Miles played Lila Craine. John Gavin played Sam Loomis. Martin Balsam played Milton Arbogast. Simon Oakland played Dr. Fred Richmond. Patricia "Pat" Hitchcock (daughter of Alfred Hitchcock and Alma Reville) played Caroline.

An uncredited Virginia Gregg played the voice-role of Norma Bates, Norman's mother.

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The second version, directed and produced by Gus Van Sant, was released stateside on December 4, 1998. Joseph Stefano's screenplay for the original version was used for this almost shot-for-shot remake.

Vince Vaughn played Norman Bates. Anne Heche played Marion Crane. Julianne Moore played Lila Crane. Viggo Mortensen played Samuel "Sam" Loomis. William H. Macy played Milton Arbogast. Robert Forster played Dr. Fred Richmond. Phillip Baker Hall played Sheriff Al Chambers. James Remar played "Patrolman". Rita Wilson played Caroline. James LeGros played "Charlie the Car Dealer".

Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith

(pb; 1950)

From the back cover:

“Here we encounter Guy Haines and Charles Anthony Bruno, passengers on the same train. But while Guy is a successful architect in the midst of a divorce, Bruno turns out to be a sadistic psychopath who manipulates Guy into swapping murders with him. ‘Some people are better off dead,’ Bruno remarks, ‘like your wife and my father, for instance.’ As Bruno carries out his twisted plan, Guy is trapped in Highsmith’s perilous world, where, under the right circumstances, anybody is capable of murder...”


Review:

Strangers is a promising and flawed novel from a master noir author who would later give the world the excellent Ripley series.

It is flawed because the characters are too flawed. Charles Anthony Bruno, a “loathsome” sycophantic rich Mama’s boy, gets too much time to ruminate about his murderous obsession. Guy Haines is a spineless lying protagonist who waffles about moral issues when he should be putting Bruno in jail – again, like Bruno’s morbid ruminations, Haines’s waffling goes on for far too long to read realistically. The economic prose that would later make up Highsmith’s finer novels is seen here and there in Strangers, but much of the novel is unnecessary, rambling.

Despite these major flaws, it is easy to see why readers were taken by Highsmith’s debut novel. Highsmith’s coolly analytical tone, a trademark of her writing, and the alternating killer(s)-panic-then-gloat structure that framed The Talented Mr. Ripley is evidenced here, wedged between the lengthier passages. Also, her clever wordplay and dark humor regularly spice up the action.

Ultimately, it’s worth reading, if you can get past Highsmith’s chattering tone and largely unlikeable characters.

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Three films resulted from this novel.

The first film version was released stateside on June 30, 1951. Alfred Hitchcock directed it, from a screenplay by Raymond Chandler, Czenzi Ormonde and an uncredited Ben Hecht. (Whitfield Cook provided the adaptation for the film.)

Farley Granger played Guy Haines. Robert Walker played Bruno Anthony. Ruth Roman played Anne Morton. Leo G. Caroll played Sen. Morton. Patricia Hitchcock, daughter of Alfred and Alma Reville, played Barbara Morton.

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The second version, titled Once You Kiss A Stranger, was released stateside on November 12, 1969. Highsmith's novel is the uncredited source, but is widely -- unofficially -- acknowledged as such.

It was directed by Robert Sparr, from a screenplay by Norman Katkov and Frank Tarloff.

Paul Burke played Frank. Carol Lynley played Diana. Martha Hyer played Lee. Whit Bissell played Dr. Haggis

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The third version, Once You Meet A Stranger, is a television film. It aired stateside on September 25, 1996. Tommy Lee Wallace directed it, from the screenplay of the original film.

Jacqueline Bisset played Sheila Gaines. Nick Mancusco played Aaron. Theresa Russell played Margo Anthony.