The Brave by Gregory McDonald

 

(hb; 1991)

 

From the inside flap:

“Rafael’s world is a place where armed guards patrol a dump to prevent poor families from foraging through the garbage. With his family, Rafael lives on the edge of the refuse heap in a forgotten corner of America’s Southwest.

“Desperately poor, he is determined to give his family some respite from their dire poverty, even if it means trading his own life to do so.

“Rafael finds a man who says he will pay many thousands of dollars in exchange for his life:  so he agrees to ‘star’ in a snuff film.”

 

Review

Brave, with its stark language, grim-flat tone and likely doomed characters is a work of horrific beauty, with Rafael (a simple, largely illiterate young man) willing to sacrifice his life to improve those of his family and his also-impoverished community. No words wasted in this fast-moving, taut-emotions-between-the-lines (and relatively short) novel, its third chapter—which comes with a foreword/warning from Mcdonald—fairly (possibly) stomach-churning for those not used to bluntly stated inhumanity and potential horror (in a weird way, Brave put in the mindset of director/co-screenwriter John McNaughton’s 1986 film Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer). This is one of the best books I’ve ever read in any genre, up there with Robert Bloch’s Psycho (1959) and Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange (1962), and highly recommended for fans of Cormac McCarthy and Richard Stark’s twenty-four-book Parker series.

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The resulting 1997 film, directed, co-scripted by and starring Johnny Depp, was not released stateside. Depp was upset by the negative reaction of U.S. film critics and refused to release it in that country. It debuted at Cannes Film Festival in May 1997 and was released in other countries throughout the remainder of that year. (Brave’s co-screenwriters also included Paul McCudden and D.P. Depp.)

Depp played Raphael (not spelled “Rafael” as it is in Mcdonald’s source novel). Marlon Brando played McCarthy, a snuff filmmaker who spells it out for Raphael. Marshall Bell played Larry, McCarthy’s shifty nephew.

Floyd “Red Crow” Westerman played Raphael’s “Papa.” Luis Guzmán played Luis, Raphael’s older brother. Pepe Serna played Alessando, Raphael’s other brother, who whines a lot and is an especially doomy do-nothing.

Frederic Forrest, Brando’s co-star in Apocalypse Now (1979), played Lou Sr. Clarence Williams III played Father Stratton. Max Perlich played Lou Jr. Iggy Pop played “Man Eating Bird Leg.”

The Keep by F. Paul Wilson

 

(pb; 1981: first book in The Nightworld Cycle, aka the Adversary Cycle)

From the back cover

“The message is received from a Nazi commander stationed in a remote castle high in the Transylvanian alps: ‘Something is murdering my men.’

“Immediately an elite SS extermination squad is sent to destroy whatever enemy dares to challenge the might of the Third Reich.

“And the battle is joined. A battle more awesomely terrifying than anything ever experienced. Between the ultimate evil created by man. . . and the unthinkable, undreamed of, undead horror it has awakened from centuries of darkness to suck the life from living souls again.”

 

Review

Keep is one of my all-time favorite reads. Its setting (World War II-era Romania), with its pulp-meets- classic-story elements, is immediately immersible, Wilson’s penwork deftly balancing horror, story- and character-organic development and turns, action, pacing, and overall writing. It takes familiar tropes and characters and adds intriguing wrinkles to them, making Keep stand out in a wow-that's-great way—worth owning, this, if the above description sounds intriguing to you.

Keep is the first of seven theme- and character-linked books, originally titled The Nightworld Cycle (later, it was supposedly officially renamed the Adversary Cycle). While the first technical sequel, publishing-wise, is The Tomb (1984), Wilson’s official site—according to Wikipedia in February 2025—suggests that the next story-chronological entry is Reborn (1990).

I’ve read that Wilson also has stories linked to the Nightworld/Adversary universe but I’ve yet to check them out.

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The studio-butchered film was released stateside on December 16, 1983. Director/screenwriter Michael Mann’s 210-minute version was trimmed to 96 minutes by the studio; because of this, Keep is said to have a jump-around-storyline feel.

The film features these actors: Jürgen Prochnow as Klaus Woermann; Gabriel Byrne as SS Commandant Erich Kaempffer; Ian McKellen as Dr. Theodor Cuza; Alberta Watson as Eva Cuza (in the book her name is Magda Cuza); Michael Carter as Radu Molasar; Scott Glenn as Glaeken; and Robert Prosky as Father Fanescu.

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.

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.

The Elementals by Michael McDowell

 

(pb; 1981)

From the back cover

“After a bizarre and disturbing incident at the funeral of matriarch Marian Savage, the McCray and Savage families look forward to a restful and relaxing summer at Beldame, on Alabama’s Gulf Coast, where three Victorian houses rise above the shimmering beach. Two of the houses are habitable, while the third is slowly and mysteriously being buried beneath an enormous dune of blindingly white sand. But though long uninhabited, the third house is not empty. Inside, something deadly lies in wait. Something that has terrified Dauphin Savage and Luker McCray since they were boys, and which still haunts their nightmares. Something horrific that may be responsible for several and unexplained deaths earlier—and now is ready to kill again.”

 

Review

 Elementals is a masterful, immediately immersive novel, one whose pacing, thick-with-thematic-atmosphere and striking, sometimes fun characters makes it stand out in the best way possible in a genre glutted with less-than-stellar/standard spookhouse works. (It’s a thin line between lag-time writing in serious need of editing and well-foreshadowed/low-key events and chills, and McDowell’s best work falls on the side of the latter approach).

If it ends in a non-surprising, quiet way—it has character-based twists, so I wouldn’t call it predictable—it’s because I got to know the characters and locations well enough to get a sense of their personalities. This is one of my all-time favorite spookhouse reads, one worth owning and keeping beyond its initial reading.

Down to the Bone by Ralf König

 

(pb; 1990: sequel to König’s The Killer Condom. Translated from the German by Jeff Krell.)

Review

Set a few years after the events of The Killer Condom, a new spate of murders—which leave gay-bar patrons literally stripped to skeletons—Inspector Luigi Macaroni must re-enter a heart of bizarre-creature night to find out not only who is behind these flesh-corroded killings, but how, a journey that has key elements eerily reminiscent of an earlier case.

Down is a great read, with all the elements that made Killer stand out: it’s slapstick (its gay sex scenes are Mad-magazine hilarious) and double-entendre funny, has memorable characters (some of whom were seen in Killer), an overt, genre-true pulp-movie structure, and sharp, often quotable dialogue that you’d seen in the best pulp novels or noir films. Worth reading and owning, this for-mature-readers comic, like Killer.

Additional note: Fans of the 1996 film Killer Condom will likely notice that it incorporated character-linked and select plot elements from Down, just something to be aware of if you want to read the comics before seeing the excellent-for-its-budget movie.

Hammer: The Haunted House of Horror by Denis Meikle

 

(oversized pb; November 2017: nonfiction)

From the back cover

“Hammer and Horror, they go together like horse and carriage. The legendary British studio ruled the genre in the 1950s through the 1970s, with its gloriously Gothic takes on classic monster stories that made stars out of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Now you can read the full story of Hammer’s rise and fall, and rise again in the modern age. . .

“Businessman and variety artist William Hinds (who adopted the stage name Will Hammer) first registered his company, Hammer Film Productions, in 1934. After scoring a hit in 1955 with a movie version of the BBC serial The Quatermass Experiment (1953, a.k.a. The Quatermass Xperiment), Hammer made history with its first full colour creature feature, The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), a massive success that set the company on course for a profitable future in screen horror.

“This milestone book paints a colourful picture of a bygone era of filmmaking as it traces the history of Hammer in fascinating detail, revealing the full story behind its hits and misses, with contributions from many of Hammer’s key players, including Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Oliver Reed, producers Anthony Hinds and Kenneth Hyman and latterday studio head Michael Carreras.

“Profusely illustrated in full colour throughout, with never-before-published stills, posters, lobby cards, flyers, candid photographs and unused artwork, this lavish book is the definitive history of Hammer, and essential reading for every horror fan.”

 

Review

Published by the company that also puts out The Dark Side magazine, Meikle’s excellent and detailed charting of Hammer Film Productions’ successes, failures, and the events and personalities behind them is one of the best books I’ve read about the iconic British studio that breathed new life into the Frankenstein/Dracula/monster genres, a company that began in December 1934 under another name, Exclusive Films, before it—years later—was renamed with the Hammer moniker. If you’re a reader and a fan of Hammer’s Gothic movies, Meikle’s interesting, entertaining and fact-filled entry in the cinematic nonfiction genre is a worthwhile read and purchase, its charms further buoyed by its popping-with-vivid-color pictures, posters and other artwork. One of my favorite reads this year, and an all-time favorite read. If you're interested in purchasing it, go here.

The Killer Condom by Ralf König

 

(pb; 1988. Translated from the German by Jim Steakley.)

 

From the back cover

“It looks like a condom.

“It feels like a condom.

“It fits like a condom.

“But it’s no ordinary condom—it’s a killer!”

 

Review

In New York City, at the sleazy Hotel Quickie—where police detective (Macaroni, no first name given) has sexual encounters with his rent boys—twelve men, during trysts, had their penes bitten off by a creature (or creatures) that look like safe-sex rubbers. Macaroni doesn’t believe this until his right testicle is chomped off, and his investigation becomes personal. Macaroni is aided by his latest lust-struck size-king rent boy (whose name is not given) who’s gone sweet on the gruff inspector.

König’s milestone work is presented as “A Ralf König Film. . . presented by Twentieth Century Fux,” its writing and tone dead-on hard-boiled and double-entendre hilarious, its framing and art appropriately cinematic, a veritable stick-to-it blueprint for any film that might result from it (one did). A sly skewering of human relations, mostly sexual, underlines the fast-moving, crisply edited proceedings, and König’s artwork, while sexually explicit at times (with plenty of male and female frontal nudity), is often Mad magazine hyperbolic, general (e.g., no extreme closeup “money shots”) and frenetic, an imaginative, topline masterwork that rises well above the level of mere porn.

Killer is one of my all-time favorite graphic novel reads, one that mixes unapologetic smut with pun-intended, often risible cleverness and a genuine, well-executed love of tough-guy pulp. Worth owning, this, if you enjoy Mad magazine-style artwork, and are good with its aforementioned qualities and aren’t heterophobic or homophobic.

Followed by another graphic novel, Ralf König’s Down to the Bone.

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The resulting film, which includes select plot elements from Down to the Bone, was released in Germany on August 29, 1996, and made its stateside debut at the San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival in 1997. Martin Walz directed and co-scripted it with Mario Kramp.

 

The Thing by Alan Dean Foster

 

(pb; 1982: movie tie-in novel)

 

From the back cover

“TWELVE MEN

Trapped in the Antarctic.

 

“ELEVEN

Discover the intruder.

 

“TEN

Battle the alien force.

 

“NINE

Agonize for the answer.

 

“EIGHT

Desperate to be spared.

 

“SEVEN

Consumed one by one.

 

“SIX. . . FIVE. . . FOUR. . . THREE. . .

 

“They will all die.

Unless something stops THE THING.”

 

Review

Foster’s movie novelization, based on Bill Lancaster’s original screenplay, like its filmic counterpart, is compelling, paranoid, brutal, horrific, and freezing (in its implications, stakes, and setting). In Foster’s book, though, the characters’ backstories and inclinations are more explicit (e.g., Macready’s acknowledgment of his Vietnam experiences) than the movie. Also, the characters’ relationships are shown more—in the book, Childs and Macready are friends; its theatrical counterpart reveals a terser (prior to their current harrowing circumstances) relationship between them. Not only that, the fates of certain characters (no spoilers) are considerably different than the movie version.

The Thing is one of my favorite remakes (check out the fun, also-great source, 1951’s The Thing from Another World), and Foster’s fast-paced, immediately immersive, and character- and backstory-delving expansion of it makes it one of my all-time favorite flick tie-in novelizations. Out of print, and possibly pricy, it’s worth getting, not only for its relative rarity, but Foster’s consistently worthwhile writing—Foster, for a while, seemed to be one of the busiest book-adaptation authors in the genre, and for good reason.

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The excellent counterpart film was released stateside on June 25, 1982. John Carpenter directed it from a screenplay by Bill Lancaster.

Kurt Russell played Macready. Wilford Brimley, billed as A. Wilford Brimley, played Dr. Blair. Keith David played Childs. Donald Moffat played Garry. Richard Masur played Clark. T.K. Carter played Nauls. David Clennon played Palmer. Richard Dysart played Dr. Copper. Charles Hallahan played Vance Norris. An uncredited Adrienne Barbeau lent her voice to the “Computer”. 

Jaws by Peter Benchley

 

(pb; 1974)

Review

This is one of my all-time favorite pulp-thriller novels, a hard-to-set-down, entertaining mix of pulpy corruption, class warfare, a killer monster, character development and cinematic-vivid (without becoming verbose) writing. Obviously, given its setting, this is a great beach read, one worth owning (I’ve re-read it three times in four decades, and been wowed anew every time).

Followed by Hank Searls’s notably-different-from-the-film Jaws 2.

Note: The novel is considerably different than its streamlined 1975 film version, by having Martin Brody as a native of Amity, Long Island (in the film he’s “not an islander. . . [he's] from New York”). The book, which may upset those sensitive to bad things happening to cute land animals, also has equal-to-shark-time focus on corrupt mayor/real estate agent Larrry Vaughan (it’s Vaughn in the movie) and his likely criminal “silent partners.” A subplot about a key character’s infidelity and Amity’s history is also highlighted, as well as how the Brodys have three sons (not two, like the film version) with different fates for one of the main characters.

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The resulting film was released stateside on June 20, 1975. Steven Spielberg directed the film from Carl Gottlieb’s screenplay (Gottlieb also played Harry Meadows in the film).

Roy Scheider played Brody. Robert Shaw played Quint. Richard Dreyfuss played Matt Hooper.

Lorraine Gary played Ellen Brody. Chris Rebello played Michael Brody. Jay Mello played Sean Brody.

Murray Hamilton played Larry Vaughn. Peter Benchley played an “Interviewer.”

The Sandman: The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman and various artists

(pb; 1989, 1990: graphic novel, collects issues 8-16 of the comic book series The Sandman. Third book in the thirteen-book Sandman graphic novel series.) 

Overall review

Doll’s House continues to mine the rich vein of genre fiction-fused-with-literary gold of the second Sandman volume, Preludes and Nocturnes. This time out, it’s Gaiman, Mike Dringenberg, Malcolm Jones III, Robbie Busch, Chris Bachalo, Michael Zulli, Steve Parkhouse and Dave Kean delivering the heady, less-melancholy-than-Preludes goods, with a storyline about missing entities, nightmare-led “Cereal Growers” and an unwitting, good-natured vortex.

Worth owning, this. Followed by The Sandman: Dream Country.

 

Review, issue by issue

Caveat: possible, vaguely stated spoilers for those who haven’t read Preludes and Nocturnes (Vol. 2).

“The Sound of Her Wings” (issue 8): Death, a petite, Goth-pale woman, visits her fellow godling brother (Morpheus) who’s sitting in a Parisian park, feeding pigeons. (This issue is also included in the previous Sandman graphic novel, Preludes and Nocturnes.)

 

“Tales in the Sand” (issue 9): During a male coming-of-age ritual, an elder tribesman tells a younger one about a long-ago queen (Nada) who becomes the lover of the Dream Lord, Kai’Ckul─also called Morpheus─and the tragic results of that forbidden love.

 

“The Doll’s House” (issue 10): Desire and Despair─younger siblings of Dream, Death and Destiny─speak about Nada and Morpheus. Elsewhere, Miranda Walker and her twenty-one-year-old daughter (Rose) arrive in England after a mysterious benefactor (Unity Kinkaid, an impregnated coma victim in Preludes and Nocturnes) pays for them to be flown over from the US. Lucien, in the Dreamworld, tells Dream (a.k.a. Morpheus) of four missing Major Arcana entities, among them the deeply unsettling Corinthian, a nightmare who births serial killers.

 

“Moving In” (issue 11): Rose Walker flies to Florida to find her missing twelve-year-old brother (Jed), whom she hasn’t seen in seven years. What she doesn’t know is he’s chained to a pipe in a wet, dark basement. Meanwhile, Matthew─a deceased mortal-turned-blackbird in Morpheus’s direct service─watches Rose for the Dream King: it seems Rose is a “vortex,” bound to trouble the dreams of those around her, and to draw the attentions of the four missing Major Arcana entities, particularly Glob, Brute, and Fiddler’s Green. The Corinthian continues his sleazy motel killings.

 

“Playing House” (issue 12): Hippolyta Hall, pregnant and sharing dream-space with her husband (Harold) and his strange associates, Glob and Brute, faces a harsh reality. Rose Walker and her quirky, middle-aged housemate (Gilbert) head to the state of Georgia to retrieve Jed, who’s escaped his abusive legal guardians (Clarice and her husband, Barnaby). Unfortunately for Jed, he’s just made the acquaintance of someone more sadistic.

 

“Men of Good Fortune” (issue 13): 1389, England. Morpheus befriends a man (Hob Gadling) whose pub opinion leads him to being granted eternal life─for as long as he wants it.

 

“Collectors” (issue 14): After their car breaks down, Rose Walker and Gilbert─who shows that he’s more than seems─find themselves holed up in a sleazy motel where a “Cereal Growers” (serial killers) convention is taking place. The unexpected guest of honor? The Corninthian, who may’ve brought Jed along with him.

 

“Into the Night” (issue 15): Rose Walker, still a vortex, returns to the Florida boarding house, further troubling the dreams of her housemates (Hal, “Spider Women” Chantal and Zelda, and Ken and Barbie─Gilbert disappeared after the dissolution of the Cereal Growers convention). Morpheus pulls Rose into the Dreamworld, saving her housemates. Gilbert and Matthew the blackbird talk.

“Lost Hearts” (issue 16): Morpheus reveals to Rose her anomalous nature and unintended effect as well as her fate. Gilbert, one of the missing entities, returns to Morpheus. In England, Unity Kinkaid dies of old age, altering what is to happen.

Six months pass. Rose writes in her journal, mentions her friend, Judy, who died a year prior─Judy was one of the diner customers shown in “24 Hours” (issue 6, collected in Preludes and Nocturnes). Morpheus visits Desire, confronts her/him/they about the impetuous godling’s previously secret act of treachery, connected to Unity Kinkaid’s coma pregnancy (in Preludes and Nocturnes).

The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman and various artists

 

(pb; 1988, 1989: graphic novel, collects issues 1-8 of the comic book series The Sandman. Second book in the thirteen-book Sandman graphic novel series.)

Overall review

The Sandman series is one of the comic book series that elevated illustrated, often spandex-dominated action and funny books to serious literature. Gaiman and Mike Dringenberg’s characters and writing fuse ancient and modern mythology, history, DC Comics characters (e.g., Jonathan Crane, a.k.a. the Scarecrow), human nature and its results. Sandman’s distinctive artwork─courtesy of Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg and Malcolm Jones III─is a perfect accompaniment to Gaiman and Dringenberg’s writing, mixing appropriate, beyond-the-words loopiness, gravitas, and humor with the haunting sense of melancholy and horror that hangs heavy over these opening storylines. The artwork is made more effective by the efforts of colorist Daniel Vozzo, letterer Todd Klein, and Dave McKean’s unique covers.

This series is considered one of the all-time best comic book series for good reason. Worth owning, this. Followed by The Sandman: The Doll’s House.

 

Review, issue by issue

“Sleep of the Just” (issue 1): June 16, 1916─Wych Cross, England. A cult, led by the arrogant Roderick Burgess, try to summon Death─they don’t get her, but what they get proves to be just as dangerous, their actions bringing strange maladies to the waking world.

 

“Imperfect Hosts” (issue 2): Morpheus, still weakened by his decades-long imprisonment by the Burgesses, is taken in by Abel and Cain in their House of Mystery, where he begins healing in earnest.

 

“Dream a Little Dream of Me” (issue 3): John Constantine, supernatural detective from Hellblazer, and Morpheus try to locate one of the oneiromancer’s many stolen items, namely Morpheus’s magical bag of sand─their investigation leads them to a nightmare-transformed house.

 

“A Hope in Hell” (issue 4): To retrieve his helmet, Morpheus heads to Dis, a city in Hell, where─surrounded by demonic enemies and opportunists─he engages in ritual combat for it.

 

“Passengers” (issue 5): Dr. Destiny, a murderous madman held in a dark basement in Arkham Asylum, escapes. Morpheus, with the help of the Martian Manhunter, locates “Dorilar, the Stone of Binding,” a supranatural power-infused ruby he once owned─later held by Destiny, who also seeks it.

 

“24 Hours” (issue 6): Dr. Destiny drives a diner’s customers into full-blown craziness even as worldwide depravity and nightmares run rampant.

 

“Sound and Fury” (issue 7): Morpheus and Dr. Destiny battle for Dorilar, which Destiny appears to have mastered─for the moment.

 

“The Sound of Her Wings” (issue 8): Death, a petite, Goth-pale woman, visits her fellow godling brother (Morpheus) who’s sitting in a Parisian park, feeding pigeons.

The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain

 

(hb; 1934)

Review

Postman is an excellent, no-words-wasted, twisted tale of raw sexuality, adultery and murder, with two main characters who, in spite of the seeming amorality, are relatable (at least for this reader), who aren’t evil just unhappy, and willing to do what they need to do to achieve it. Simple (but not simple-minded), entertaining and darkly clever, this is one of the best pulp novels I’ve read. Worth owning, this.

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Two film versions of Postman resulted.

The first version was released stateside on May 2, 1946. Tay Garnett directed it, from a screenplay by Harry Ruskin and Niven Busch.

John Garfield played Frank Chambers. Lana Turner played Cora Smith (in the book her married surname was Papadakis). Cecil Kellaway played Nick Smith.

Hume Cronyn played Arthur Keats. Leon Ames played Kyle Sackett. Audrey Totter played Madge Gorland. Alan Reed (who later voiced an animated Fred Flintstone) played Ezra Liam Kennedy. Jeff York played Blair.

The second version, directed by Bob Rafelson from a script by David Mamet, was released stateside on March 20, 1981.

Jack Nicholson played Frank Chambers. Jessica Lange played Cora Papadakis. John Colicos played Nick Papadakis.

Michael Lerner played Mr. Katz. John P. Ryan played Kennedy. William Traylor played Sackett. Anjelica Huston played Madge. Thomas Hill, billed as Tom Hill, played Barlow.

The Glass Key by Dashiell Hammett

 

(pb; 1931)

From the back cover

“Paul Madvig was a cheerfully corrupt ward-heeler who aspired to something better; the daughter of Senator Ralph Bancroft Henry, the heiress to a dynasty of political purebreds. Did he want her badly enough to commit murder? And if Madvig was innocent, which of his dozens of enemies was doing an awfully good job of framing him?”

 

Review

Glass is an excellent, twisty, fast-moving, and character-interesting read─no shock, considering its author. This is one of Hammett’s easier-to-follow novels (some of the sharp plot turns in his Continental Detective Agency works and The Maltese Falcon can be hard to follow). Not only that, Glass is perhaps my work of his thus far, with characters who are corrupt but relatable, even the more cruel ones (e.g., Shad O’Rory─called Nick Varna in the superb 1942 film─and Jeff Gardner, an apish thug). Worth reading and owning, this.

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Two film versions have been made.

The first version was released stateside on June 15, 1935. Frank Tuttle directed the film from a screenplay by Kathryn Scola, Kubec Glasmon, with additional dialogue provided by Harry Ruskin.

George Raft played Ed Beaumont. Edward Arnold played Paul Madvig. Claire Dodd played Janet Henry. Rosalind Keith, billed as Rosalind Culli, played Opal Madvig. Emma Dunn played “Mom” Madvig.

Robert Gleckler played Shad O’Rory. Guinn ‘Big Boy’ Williams, billed as Guinn Williams, played Jeff Gardner.

Charles Richman played Senator John T. Henry. Ray Milland played Taylor Henry. Tammany Young played Clarkie. Ann Sheridan played “Nurse.”

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The second version was released stateside on October 23, 1942. Stuart Heisler directed the film from Jonathan Latimer’s screenplay.

Alan Ladd played Ed Beaumont. Brian Donlevy played Paul Madvig. Veronica Lake played Janet Henry. Bonita Granville played Opal Madvig.

Richard Denning played Taylor Henry. William Bendix played Jeff Gardner. Francis Gifford played “Nurse.” Joseph Calleia played Nick Varna.

The Tribe by Bari Wood

 

(pb; 1981)

From the back cover

“The Tribe follows a group of Jewish people who not only survive the concentration camps but thrive. Their secret follows them to modern-day Brooklyn, where they continue their relationship and keep their deadly cabal until one day a new threat arrives.

“Drawing on Jewish mythology and folklore, the novel also combines well-drawn characters and police procedurals to create a memorable and humane horror novel.”

Review

 Tribe is an excellent, character-centric, unexpectedly sensitive (in a good way) novel that is as much cultural drama as it is horror and police procedural. It’s sensitive in that it digs deep, in a respectful way, into the Judaism and its within-the-faith cabal, as well its characters, few of which could be called truly, wholly evil or wholly good. It is also restrained for a horror novel, in that Wood masterfully keeps the “monster” of the work in the shadows, not only adding to the psychological truths of the its collective self, but making it truly scary when its is fully shown (and not just described by characters) in the briefly gory climax.

 Tribe is not only one of the best horror novels I’ve revisited this year (I read it decades ago), but one of my all-time favorite horror reads as well, one worth owning, for its themes of dark-hearted humanity, well-written characters and overall excellent writing.