The Fifth Profession by David Morrell

 

(pb; 1990)

 

From the back cover

“Two masters of protection.

“Savage, a former Navy SEAL and American state-of-the-art security specialist. Akira, Japan’s most brilliant executive protector and a master of the samurai arts.

“Their mission: the retrieval of Rachel Stone, a beautiful American woman whose ruthless millionaire husband is out to destroy her. But quickly Savage and Akira realize they are trapped in a mission more far-reaching than the protection of one person.

“For they are bound together in a common nightmare, a set of horrifying memories, a terrifying past that never happened., but is somehow inextricably real. Only together can they confront the mystery. Yet when they do, an even more chilling scenario awaits them—one with the power to shatter not only their world but ours as well.”

 

 

Review

 

Fifth is one of my favorite Morrell novels, as excellent and gripping as his Abelard trilogy (1984-1987:The Brotherhood of the Rose; The Fraternity of the Stone; and The League of Night and Fog). Like them, Fifth is a top-notch action/conspiracy thriller, with interesting, deeply realized characters (I especially liked Akira, whose Japanese background was fascinating). Morrell’s use of and respect for Japan’s history is also evident, with Akira and his home country adding new and exotic layers to Morrell’s oeuvre. This is a stunning read, the work of a culture-expansive author, a standalone novel worth owning, and one of my favorite reads of the year.

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 League of Night and Fog by David Morrell

 

(pb; 1987: third book in the Abelard Sanction quadrilogy)

From the back cover

“They were once master assassins. Saul and Drew—lethal weapons who dealt death with icy efficiency.

“Today they are silent warriors. Sick of the bloodshed. Penitent. But still potent.

“Now, for the first time, their paths will cross. Comrades in killing, they must join forces against a treacherous power from the past.

“This will be their most crucial assignment. It could also be their last.”

Review

League brings together the assassin protagonists from the first two Abelard Sanction books: Saul Grisman, from The Brotherhood of the Rose; and Drew MacLane, from The Fraternity of the Stone. In League, Grisman and MacLane, who are drawn out of their respective exiles (Grisman, in Israel; MacLane, the Nitrian Desert in Egypt) when they’re attacked by killers who might be linked. They, along with their equally deadly spouses, separately and (later) together, plot and fight their way through labyrinthine loyalties, multiple international agencies, and sometimes noble, sometimes loathsome killers who may or may not have the two couples in their sights.

As he does in the first two Abelard novels, Morrell deftly melds fully realized characters, streamlined and believable action, and wild-but-also-believable conspiracies with his taut, fast-paced, and all-around entertaining writing.  This is a top-notch political/action thriller, another Abelard book worth owning.

Series completists might want to note that Morrell revisited and end-capped this four-work series in his story “The Abelard Sanction,” included in the 2006 James Patterson-edited anthology Thriller: Stories to Keep You Up All Night.

The Fraternity of the Stone by David Morrell

 

(pb; 1985: second book in the Abelard Sanction quadrilogy)

From the back cover

“Scalpel. A clandestine, government-sanctioned operation named for its purpose: precise surgical removal. Assassination.

“Drew Maclane was a star agent—until the day had to stop. He withdrew and for six years lived the life of a hermit in a monastery.

“But someone has tracked him down, leaving a trail of corpses. Someone who knows all about him—who will stop at nothing to kill him.”

 

Review

A superb, gripping and tautly spun follow-up to The Brotherhood of the Rose, Fraternity features a different protagonist (Drew MacLane), a government assassin who’s retreated into a Carthusian monastery after a botched double-target hit traumatizes him. MacLane, like Saul Grisman in Brotherhood, is a relatable (though distinctive from Grisman) character—that is, one worth rooting for as he tries to figure out who’s trying to kill and frame him and those close to him (his ex-lover, Arlene; his best friend and fellow Scalpel assassin, Jake).

Morrell’s strengths as an author are at the fore here: fully fleshed characters, memorable action scenes and their set-ups, and solid explanations, conspiracies and backstories that make up a read that lives up to the phrase thriller and all that it implies. Worth owning, this—followed by The League of Night and Fog.

The Brotherhood of the Rose by David Morrell

 

(pb; 1984: first book in the Abelard Sanction quadrilogy)

From the back cover

“They were orphans, Chris and Saul—raised in a Philadelphia school for boys, bonded by friendship, and devoted to a mysterious man called Eliot.

“He visited them and brought them candy.

“He treated them like sons.

“He trained them to be assassins.

“Now he is trying desperately to have them killed.”

 

Review

Brotherhood is an excellent, hard-to-set-down thriller with characters worth rooting for (from the get-go), character-based action (with explanations of how characters set traps and why they fight the way they fight), and an all-around tautly penned storyline—what makes Brotherhood stand out from its typical-genre set-up is Morrell’s detailed-but-not-yawnable explanations of fighting styles, strategies and mindsets as well as how characters set traps. This is a great read, one of the best conspiracy/violence novels I’ve read in a long while, a promising start to a quadrilogy (two novels and a short story). Followed by The Fraternity of the Stone.

Fun fact: according to the Internet, David Morrell said Eliot is “based a real CIA counter-espionage master, James Jesus Angleton”.

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The resulting two-part television/NBC miniseries, Brotherhood of the Rose, aired on January 22-23, 1989. Gy Waldron wrote its screenplay; Marvin J. Chomsky directed it.

Peter Strauss played Saul Grisman, aka Romulus. David Morse played Chris Killmoonie, aka Remus. Robert Mitchum played John Eliot. Connie Selleca played Erika Bernstein, Saul’s ex-lover and Mossad agent. M. Emmet Walsh played the alcoholic former agent Hardy.

The Successful Novelist by David Morrell

 

(pb; 2008: nonfiction)

From the back cover

“David Morrell, bestselling author of First Blood, The Brotherhood of the Rose and The Fifth Profession, distlls four decades of writing experience and publishing experience into this single masterwork of advice and instruction for fiction writers looking to make it big in the publishing world.

“With advice proven to create successful novels, Morrell teaches you everything you need to know about: Plot, Character, Research, Structure, Viewpoint, Description, Dialogue, The business of publishing, and much more.”

 

Review

Successful is one of the best books I’ve read on novel writing, branding one’s work,  juggling life and work, and the financial end of one’s work after it’s reached a multimedia platform-level. Whether or not your writing habits and notions gel with Morrell’s, Successful is a worthwhile (and excellent) read for the author’s hard-won common sense/dealing-with-rights-and-finances. Great writer’s resource book, one of my all-time favorites in the business-of-writing genre.

Testament by David Morrell

 

(pb; 1975, 1991)

From the back cover

“Reporter Reuben Bourne has broken a promise─to cast a paramilitary white supremacy group in a favorable light. Now, one basically peaceful man, one with a paradoxical attraction for violence, must confront a force of unrelenting hate. Somehow, he must survive─as he leads his family on a desperate flight into a wilderness as unforgiving as the fanatical humans who pursue him.”

Review

Testament is a near-impossible-to-set-down, grim survival thriller. Morrell’s writing balances nuanced understanding about his characters’ emotional states and blunt nature-survival and action writing, as Bourne and his family (wife Claire and eight-year-old daughter Sarah) flee into the wilderness to escape the patient, relentless killers who’ve come to get their revenge on the writer with a secret sin. There are some truly disturbing events in this entertaining, intense novel, and the ending─which could go nasty or otherwise─is character true. Testament is not recommended for those who cannot stand to see children or women menaced, possibly harmed and killed.

The Horror Hall of Fame: The Stoker Winners edited by Joe R. Lansdale

(hb; 2012: horror story anthology)

Overall review:

Good collection of thirteen classic horror-style stories, worth owning for its standout works.  I disliked a few of the stories in this book, but that's due to personal writing preferences on my part, not crappy writing on the part of the authors.  Check it out.


Standout stories:

1.)   "The Secret of Vinegar" - Robert Bloch:  Intriguing, exotic and mostly excellent tale about an infamous old-time Los Angeles cathouse.  I write "mostly excellent" because a Plot Convenient Stupid Moment [PCSM] and a predictable finish mar the work.  Still a standout story, though.


2.)  "Chatting with Anubis" - Harlan Ellison:  Entertaining, smart, sometimes funny piece about two paleoseismologists (Wang Zicai, Amy Guiterman) who, in the course of studying a possible archeological find along a fault line, experience a life-altering events.  One of my favorite pieces in this anthology.


3.)   "The Night They Missed the Horror Show" - Joe R. Lansdale:  Pitch bleak-humored, frak-PC-minded-readers story about two "bored" redneck racists who eschew a zombie movie, only to find themselves in increasingly nightmarish situations.  One of my favorite stories in this collection.


4.)   "The Box" - Jack Ketchum:  Clever concept, darkly humorous work.  Memorable read.


5.)   "Orange is for Anguish, Blue is for Insanity" - David Morrell:  One of my favorite stories in this collection.  A Postimpressionist artist's work and horrific life inspires madness in those whose research delves too deeply into them.  Effective-build, entertaining read, this, with an ending that's not surprising but not disappointing.

First Blood by David Morrell

(pb; 1972)

From the back cover

“Nobody in the small Kentucky town knew his name was Rambo. All they knew was that he was a stranger. . . and that he looked like trouble. The army had trained him in the art of killing, and now he did not know how to stop.”

 

Review

First is a character-driven actioner about two war veterans─Will Teasle, from the Korean War, and John Rambo, from the Vietnam War─who are too stubborn for their own good. When Teasle, a small-town sheriff, tries to drive Rambo out of his county, he sets off a conflict that neither he nor Rambo expected, one that echoes the fights they abandoned in foreign countries.

Morrell’s writing is vivid and balanced, his characters relatable and sympathetic, and the pacing battle intensive. First’s body count and brutality never dominate the character-centric human elements of the novel, which are, of course, the heart of the work. This is a good, blaze-through read.

Morrell wrote a book sequel, Rambo: First Blood Part II, but don’t be fooled by that. Rambo is a movie tie-in novel, not a sequel to the source novel. (Read First Blood and you’ll understand.)

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First Blood was released stateside on October 22, 1982. Ted Kotcheff directed it, from a screenplay by Michael Kozoll, William Sackheim and Sylvester Stallone.

Sylvester Stallone played John Rambo. Brian Dennehy played Sheriff Will Teasle. Richard Crenna played Col. Samuel Trautman.

Bill McKinney played State Police Capt. Dave Kern. Jack Starrett played Galt. Chris Mulkey played Ward. David Caruso played Deputy Mitch. John McLiam played Orval the Dog man. Bruce Greenwood played Guardsman #5.

The Shimmer by David Morrell

(hb; 2009)

From the inside flap:

"When police officer Dan Page's wife disappears, her trail leads to Rostov, a remote Texas town where unexplained phenomena attract hundreds of spectators each night. Not merely curious, these onlookers are compelled to reach this tiny community and gaze at the mysterious Rostov Lights.

"But more than the faithful are drawn there. A gunman begins shooting at the lights, screaming 'Go back to hell where you came from!' then turns his rifle on the innocent bystanders. As more and more people are drawn to the scene of the massacre, the stage is set for even greater bloodshed.

"To save his wife, Page must solve the mystery of the Rostov Lights. In the process, he uncovers a deadly government secret dating back to the First World War. The lights are more dangerous than anyone ever imagined, but more deadly are those who try to exploit forces beyond their control."

Review:

Fun, blaze-through read, this. It possesses Morrell's trademark elements: slightly-left-of-center quirkiness, solid enthralling action sequences and plot, and believable/relatable characters.

In short, this is a good book by a great writer.

Be sure to read the post-novel "Afterword: Specters in the Dark," where Morrell writes about the real-life inspiration(s) for this novel -- namely, the mysterious lights at Marfa, Texas, and similiar lights that appear at the "Hessdalen valley in Norway, a remote part of the Mekong River in Thailand, and a rugged area in northeastern Australia." An additional inspiration for the novel: the story behind the 1956 film Giant, which was filmed near Marfa, Texas.

Check this out.

Shotgun by William Wingate

(hb; 1980)

From the inside flap:

"Baptist's Fire was a stormy little town all along, wtih gunfire from bitter Tennessee feuds spilling down Main Street since the 1890s. It was no place for a city slicker to visit, let alone start buying up, and that's what Mr. Cam seemed to be doing. And by the time some of the townspeople realized what was happening, they were too involved -- or too scared -- to do anything about it.

"Lou's pa didn't like it. Didn't like gassing up Mr. Cam's big black Cadillac and being polite to his bodyguards, and didn't mind saying so to the stranger whose broken-down car had to be pushed into the gas station. His name was Hardacre and that was about the only thing they found out about him, even though he stayed with them while the parts for his car were on order.

"Having Hardacre around made Lou nervous. But the strange thing was that it seemed to make the tough Mr. Cam nervous too, especially when he found out that Hardacre didn't scare. Whether provoked or moving swiftly on his own, the stranger was equally capable with his fists or his gun.

"Who was he? And to whom did he owe alleigance? Perhaps Baptist's Fire would never know, but when the dust had settled -- and Lou's shameful secret was bared -- the town and its inhabitants were changed and shaken."


Review:

Wingate employs a structure Jack Schaefer used in his classic -- in the truest sense of the word -- 1949 novel, Shane (which later became a 1953 film), except this time it's a fifteen-year old girl (Elsa Lou Colson), not a young boy (Robert "Bob" Starrett), who narrates the story. The daughter of an ornery gas station owner (Jedemiah "Jed" Colson), "Lou" tells how a stranded, quiet stranger (John Hardacre) refuses to be pushed around by a bullying land baron, who's also an exiled East Coast mafioso (Sam Camazza, aka "Mr. Cam").

The local police, led by a quirky Sheriff, Barton Haskins, aren't any help to Hardacre: they're on Camazza's payroll. So, of course, it's up to Hardacre to make things right -- as much as he can, given the situation.

More than a modern-day knock-off of Schaefer's lean, mean Western, Wingate infuses his characters with complex, relatable personalities, especially "Lou" (who, in comparison to Bob Starrett, is a runaway chatterbox), and the action is vivid and riveting -- especially in the last twenty pages, when I couldn't put the book down, even though I had writing of my own to do.

Solid, singular read, this. Shotgun reads like the bastard mating of Schaefer's Shane and David Morrell's novel First Blood.

Check it out.

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Shotgun, retitled Malone, became a loosely-linked theatrical release on May 1, 1987.

Burt Reynolds played Richard Malone (a cinematic stand-in for John Hardacre). Cliff Robertson played Charles Delaney. Kenneth McMillan played Hawkins. Cynthia Gibb played Jo Barlow (a cinematic stand-in for Elsa Lou Colson). Scott Wilson played Paul Barlow (a cinematic stand-in for Jedemiah "Jed" Colson). Lauren Hutton (who also starred in the films Gator and Paternity with Reynolds) played Jamie. Tracey Walter played Calvin Bollard.

Harley Cokeliss directed, from a script by Christopher Frank.

Scavenger by David Morrell

(hb; 2007)

From the inside flap:

"Scavenger, Morrell's latest novel, takes us in a harrowing new direction -- a desperate high-tech scavenger hunt for a 100-year time capsule. Frank Balenger, the resolute but damaged hero of Creepers, now finds himself trapped in a nightmarish game of fear and death. To save himself and the woman he loves, he must play by the rules of a god-like Game Master with an obsession for unearthing the past. But sometimes the past is buried for a reason."

Review:

Scavenger is notably different than its prequel, Creepers. While it has all the template elements of its prequel -- a madman with illusions of grandeur, worthy adversaries and challenging traps/obstacles, and a hero (Balenger) trying to rescue his lady (this time its Amanda Evert, another survivor from Creepers), and unexpected plot corkscrews -- it's a weirdly altered beast. For one, the playing field isn't limited to a booby-trapped hotel, it's a mountainous valley; also, Balenger, an American veteran of both Iraq wars, is less traumatized by his PTSD (Post Tramatic Stress Disorder) this time out. Additionally, another, larger element dominates the tale: online gaming, specifically the type called "first-person shooter". Initially an odd element, it rapidly becomes integral to the storyline, as Balenger (and the other characters) fight and intuit their way through the Game Master's life-threatening "levels".

Not your average thriller, this is an excellent follow-up to Creepers. Make sure you check your expectations in at the door; you're not likely to be disappointed if you do.

Creepers by David Morrell

(pb; 2005)

From the back cover

"On a cold October night, five people gather in a run-down motel on the Jersey shore and prepare to break into the Paragon Hotel. The once-magnificent structure is now boarded up and marked for demolition.

"They are 'creepers': urban explorers with a passion for investigating abandoned buildings and their dying secrets. Reporter Frank Balenger joins them to profile this highly illegal activity for the New York Times. But he isn't looking for just another story, and soon after they enter the rat-infested tunnel leading to the hotel, he gets more than he bargained for. Danger, fear, and death await the creepers in a place ravaged by time and redolent of evil."


Review

Morrell is one of the best working action writers around. Creepers is further proof of that thrilling truth: it's got all the elements an action novel needs, and more -- an unpredictable plot (I initially thought this was going to be a spookhouse work... it briefly, effectively read as one); fully-realized characters worth caring about or hissing at; non-stop, twist-punctuated action and motives; and an ending that lives up to its adrenalized lead-up. Worth owning, this.

Followed by Scavenger.

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2/28/26: Directed by Marc Klasfeld, the resulting film is scheduled for stateside release on March 20, 2026. Dikega Hadnot and Spencer Mandel wrote the screenplay.

The Totem by David Morrell

(pb; 1979)

From the back cover:

"Potters Field, Wyoming.

"A small Western town like hundreds of others. Even the incidents that started that midsummer's night seemed routine.

"The dead hitchhiker, victim of a hit-and-run. The coroner's heart attack. The drunk, dead in the culvert, his face destroyed. Slowly the routine began to twist into unexplainable horror. And slowly, under the searchlight rays of the too full moon it walked..."

Review:

All horror novels should be this extraordinary. It's terse, bloodcurdling and lean (nary a wasted word in this work), with characters that you actually root for (or curse).

The story's predictable -- up to a point -- but most of the characters, especially Nathan Slaughter (sheriff of Potter's Field), Gordon Dunlap (a once-great reporter who's fallen on hard times, and Slaughter's friend), and Accum (an emotionally detached coroner) make the novel's semi-predictability a moot point. As does the graceful denouement, which, tone-wise, matches the interactions between the aforementioned characters.

As a horror novel, The Totem puts a new spin on certain elements, which could've been cliches -- a haunted mansion, creepy mountains, a long-gone hippie cult that met a grisly end (or did it?), a virulent madness that's threatening to literally rend the townspeople. Morrell's breakneck-paced, spot-on writing kept it fresh; I knew Morrell was an excellent action writer, but I wasn't sure about his horror stuff, prior to reading this.

Now I am -- I can't wait to read his other horror outings.

Meaningful (without being annoyingly so), effective terror work, this: highly recommended for even the pickiest of horror fans.