The Shape of Rage: The Films of David Cronenberg edited by Piers Handling

(pb; 1983: nonfiction/film critique/essay collection)

From the back cover

“Heads explode. Parasites fly at people’s faces. Televsion sets breathe. A woman grows a spike in her armpit and unleashes a cataclysm on the world. These are the startling images David Cronenberg uses to shock and disturb us as his films travel through a nightmare world where the grotesque and the bizarre make our flesh creep.

“Yet beneath the blood and gore, Cronenberg has carved out a reputation as one of the masters of the horror and science-fiction genres. Undaunted by the controversy which has followed him throughout his career, Canada’s own ‘Baron of Blood’ and ‘Prince of Horror’ continues to dazzle audiences with the shocking force and power of his vision.

“This book is the first to deal with the work of Cronenberg. Seven critics examine what it is that these horrific films are saying to us. They explore and analyze all of Cronenberg’s explosive creations, from the unique Stereo, though such masterpieces as The Brood, Scanners and Videodrome, to his latest film, The Dead Zone.

“Serving as a counterpoint and insight into the man and his work is a frank, searching and comprehensive interview with Cronenberg himself─a brilliant and relentlessly provocative challenger of our sensibilities and our passions.”

Review

Most of the essays in book are interesting. William Beard’s “The Visceral Mind: The Major Films of David Cronenberg” is expansive and often acute in its observations, although the essay runs way too long. “The Comedy of David Cronenberg,” by Maurice Yacowar, is spot-on, in its directness, length and points. John Harkness’s “The Word, the Flesh and David Cronenberg,” as well as William Beard’s and Piers Handling’s interview with the director (“The Interview”), are excellent, as well.

The other essays did not interest me, either because of their analytical subject matter (e.g., Tim Lucas’s “The Image as a Virus: The Filming of Videodrome”) or their pompous, stubborn and mean-spirited agendas (Robin Wood’s “Cronenberg: A Dissenting View”).

Shape is a superb read for its spot-on analyses, one worth seeking if you are a fan of early Cronenberg films, or someone who is just interested in the auteur’s work.

Endless Night by Agatha Christie

(pb; 1967)

From the back cover

“When penniless Michael Rogers discovers the beautiful house at Gypsy’s Acre and then meets the heiress Ellie, it seems all his dreams have come true at once. But he ignores the old woman’s warning of an ancient curse, and evil begins to stir in paradise. As Michael soon learns: Gypsy’s Acre is the place where fatal ‘accidents’ happen.”

Review

Endless is an excellent, no-wasted-words genre hybrid novel. It is initially a Gothic romance and later a murder story. I say murder story, because any reader paying attention will likely spot the killer, or killers, right away. This probable transparency does not lessen Endless’s impact, though, because Christie─master author that she is─does not draw out the big Reveal, but rather embraces it in bold, almost shocking fashion. This is a great read, one worth owning.

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There are quite a few film versions of this book. Check IMDb.com if you are interested in researching them.

Red Dragon by Thomas Harris

(pb; 1981: first book in the Hannibal quadrilogy)

From the back cover

“Exploring both the nature of human evil and the nerve-wracking anatomy of a forensic investigation, Harris unleashes a frightening vision of the dark side of our well-lighted world. In this. . . novel. . .Harris introduced the unforgettable character Dr. Hannibal Lecter. And in it, Will Graham─the FBI man who hunted Lecter down─risks his sanity and life to duel a killer called the Red Dragon.”

Review

Red is an excellent and intense psychological, brutal and occasionally gory thriller with distinctive, fascinating and empathy-worthy characters, as well as especially disturbing events. This is a classic read, one worth owning. Followed by the loosely linked sequel The Silence of the Lambs.

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Two film versions of Dragon resulted from the book.

The first, Manhunter, was released stateside on August 15, 1986. It was directed by Michael Mann, who also wrote the screenplay.

William Petersen played Will Graham. Kim Greist played Molly Graham. Dennis Farina played Jack Crawford.

Brian Cox played Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Tom Noonan played Francis Dolarhyde. Joan Allen played Reba McClane. Stephen Lang played Freddy Lounds.Benjamin Hendricks played Dr. Frederick Chilton.

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The remake, titled Red Dragon, was released stateside on October 4, 2002. Brett Ratner directed the film, from a screenplay by Ted Tally.

Anthony Hopkins played Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Edward Norton played Will Graham. Mary-Louise Parker played Molly Graham. Harvey Keitel played Jack Crawford.

Ralph Fiennes played Francis Dolarhyde. Emma Watson played Reba McClane. Philip Seymour Hoffman played Freddy Lounds. Anthony Heald played Dr. Jack Chilton.

Vic Valentine: Space Cadet by Will Viharo

(pb; 2018: ninth book in the Vic Valentine series)

From the back cover

“Vic Valentine is lost inside the space between his ears. His lifelong slow-burning mental meltdown, sexual obsessiveness, fatal self-absorption, and epic existential angst have resulted in a complete break from conventional reality. Now convinced this entire life is a movie, he finds himself trapped on Planet Thrillville, encountering voluptuous alien femme fatales, mutated monsters, intergalactic gangsters, his own unleashed demons, and his arch nemesis, ‘Will the Thrill,’ the evil overlord of Vic’s own alternative internal universe.”

Review

Space is my favorite entry in Viharo’s self-described “Mental Case Files,” a sub-cycle trilogy within his Vic Valentine series. While it shares the most of the same elements of its previous books (Vic Valentine: International Man of Mystery and Vic Valentine: Lounge Lizard for Hire), it is the most focused and barebones tale within this sub-cycle. The aforementioned elements of the earlier novels include: hypersexuality, brazen pop culture mentions (when Valentine speaks of films he almost always includes their release year and background information about them), over-the-top humor and violence, genre-hopping situation (which make that leap in the blink of an eye).

Space, for this reader, is the hallucinogenic-swirl-and-transition apotheosis of the “Mental Case Files,” masterful in its distillation of its previous works, especially its last two books. Like all the Vic Valentine tales, this is worth owning. 

Behind the Bookcase by Mark Steensland

(hb; 2012. Illustrated by Kelly Murphy.)

From the inside flap

“Spending the summer at her grandmother’s house is the last hign Sarah wants to do─especially now that Grandma Winnie has died─but she has no choice. Her parents have to fix the place up before they can sell it, and Sarah and her brother, Billy, have to help. But the tediuous work turns into a thrilling mystery when Sarah discovers an unfinished letter her grandmother wrote: Strange things are happening behind the bookcase. . .

“Sarah’s mother dismisses the letter as one of Grandma Winnie’s crazy stories, but Sarah does some investigating and makes a remarkable discovery: behind the bookcase is a doorway into Scotopia, the land where shadows come from. With a talking cat named Balthazat as her guide, Sarah begins an unforgettable adventure into a world filled with countless dangers. Who can she trust? And can she face her fears, not only in Scotopia, but also back at Grandma Winnie’s house, where more secrets and strange goings-on await her?”

Review

Bookcase is a fun, fast-paced and character-interesting read, with well-placed twists, great descriptive writing. In spirit and execution, it reminded me of some of the books I regularly re-read as a boy─it is an excellent children’s read, with its children-appropriate mix of fantasy, horror and whimsy, one that I, as a boy, would have re-read several times in a short period of time. Worth owning, this.

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

(pb; 1929, 1930)

From the back cover

“A treasure worth killing for. Sam Spade, a slightly shopworn private eye with his own solitary code of ethics. A perfumed grafter named Joel Cairo, a fat man named Gutman, and Brigid O’Shaughnessy, a beautiful and treacherous woman whose loyalties shift at the drop of a dime. These are the ingredients of Dashiell Hammet’s colly glittering gem of detective fiction, a novel that has haunted generations of readers.”

Review

This is one of my all-time favorite gumshoe novels. The dialogue is snappy, the pacing is swift, the twists ring true, and the characters─particularly their facial features and personalities─are sharply defined. This is a master work of the genre, one that lives up to its hype. Even if you have appreciated the movie, read the book─certain characters, e.g. Effie Perine, Spade’s jack-of-many-trades secretary, get more time in the story, adding to the knowing and dark delight of Maltese.

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Three films resulted from this book.

The first version, which retained the book's title, was released stateside on June 13, 1931. Roy Del Ruth directed it, from a screenplay by Maude Fulton and Brown Holmes.

Bebe Daniels played Ruth Wonderly. Richardo Cortez played Sam Spade. Dudley Digges played Casper Gutman. Una Merkel played Effie Perine. 

Robert Elliott played Detective Lt. Dundy. Thelma Todd played Iva Archer. Walter Long played Miles Archer. Dwight Frye played Wilmer Cook.

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The second version, Satan Met a Lady, was released stateside on July 22, 1936. It was directed by William Dieterle, based on Brown Holmes's screenplay.

Bette Davis played Valerie Purvis. Warren William played Ted Shane. Alison Skipworth played Madame Barabbas. Arthur Treacher played Anthony Travers. Marie Wilson played Miss Murgatroyd.

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The third film version was released stateside on October 18, 1941. It was directed and scripted by John Huston.

Humphrey Bogart played Sam Spade. Mary Astor played Brigid O’Shaughnessy. Gladys George played Iva Archer. Lee Patrick played Effie Perine. Jerome Cower played Miles Archer.

Peter Lorre played Joel Cairo. Sydney Greenstreet played Casper Gutman. Elisha Cook,Jr. played Wilmer Cook.

Ward Bond played Tom Polhaus. Barton MacLane played Lt. of Detectives Dundy. An uncredited Walter Huston─father of John─played Captain Jacoby.

Night Film by Marisha Pessl

(hb; 2013)

From the inside flap

“On a damp October night, beautiful young Ashley Cordova is found dead in an abandoned warehouse in lower Manhattan. Though her death is ruled a suicide, veteran investigative journalist Scott McGrath suspects otherwise. As he probes the strange circumstances surrounding Ashley’s life and death, McGrath comes face-to-face with the legacy of her father: the legendary, reclusive cult-horror-film director Stanislas Cordova─a man who hasn’t been seen in public for more than thirty years.

“For McGrath, another death connected to this seemingly cursed family dynasty seems more than just a coincidence. Though much has been written about Cordova’s dark and unsettling films, very little is known about the man himself.

“Driven by revenge, curiosity, and a need for the truth, McGrath, with the aid of two strangers, is drawn deeper and deeper into Cordova’s eerie, hypnotic world. . .”

Review

Night Film is one of my favorite reads of 2019. It is highly recommended for fans of Dario Argento, as it is a dark, funny and twisted love letter to the writer/director’s works, with its creepy imagery, symbology, and themes that read like one of Argento’s better, more disturbing works. Night’s structure, with its deeper-into-the-terrifying-labyrinth progressions and characters, also reminded me─in a better-written way─of Arturo Pérez Reverte’s novel The Club Dumas, later the basis for the 1999 Roman Polanski film The Ninth Gate. 

Night’s ending─perhaps a comment on the enduring permutations and perceptions of mystery and legend─may prove too low-key for some readers, but I was fine with it. This book is worth owning.

Dune: The Battle of Corrin by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

(pb; 2004: third book in the Legends of Dune trilogy)

From the back cover

“It has been fifty-six hard years since the events of the Machine Crusade. Following the death of Serena Butler, Synchronized Worlds and  and Unallied Planet are liberated one by one, and at long last, the human worlds begin to hope that the end of the centuries-long conflict is finally in sight.

“Unfortunately, Omnius have one last, deadly card to play. Virulent plagues are let loose throughout the galaxy, decimating the populations of whole planets. . .and once again, the tide of the titanic struggle shifts against the human race. At last, the war that has lasted many lifetimes will be decided in the apocalyptic Battle of Corrin.”

Review

Battle is an okay-occasionally-intriguing-and-excellent conclusion to the Legends trilogy. While it is not terrible─there are meaningful moments where seemingly small decisions are made by certain characters, decisions will have huge impacts on future generations within the Dune universe. Not only that, there is Herbert and Anderson’s sometimes engaging, action-oriented writing that makes this almost worth reading. That could be said about all the books in the unnecessary Legends trilogy. If you must read this series, borrow them from the library or pay as little as possible for them.

Story- and timeline-wise, Corrin is followed by Sisterhood of Dune, the first book in the Great Schools of Dune trilogy.

One of my stories, Three days after the heist, was published on the ERWA site

One of my mainstream and pulp-brutal microstories, Three days after the heist, was published on the Erotica Readers & Writers Association website. (This following link goes directly to my 200-word tale, so you won’t encounter smut.)

This story is an homage to one of my all-time favorite writers, Richard Stark (a.k.a. Donald E. Westlake)--particularly his twenty-four-book “Parker” series.

Three will be up on the site until the end of March 2019. If you’re so inclined, check it out!

Pop. 1280 by Jim Thompson

(pb; 1964)

From the back cover

“Nick Corey is a terrible sheriff. He doesn’t solve problems, enforce rules, or arrest criminals. He knows that nobody in Potts County actually wants to follow the law, and he is perfectly content lazing about, eating five meals a day, and sleeping with all the eligible women.

“Still, Nick has some very complex situations to deal with. Two local pimps have been sassing him, ruining his already tattered reputation. His girlfriend, Rose, is being terrorized by her husband. And then there’s his wife and her brother Lennie, who won’t stop troubling Nick’s already stressed mind. Are they a little too close for a brother and sister?

“With an election coming up, Nick needs to fix his problems and fast. Because the one thing Nick does know is that he will do anything to stay sheriff. And, as it turns out, Sheriff Nick Corey is not nearly as dumb as he seems.”

Review

Pop. 1280 is one of my favorite Thompson novels─it is sly, darkly hilarious and reworks the Southern, moralistic crime and punishment set-up by smashing it and putting it back together again in a twisted patchwork fashion. This is a masterful book, one of my favorite reads of 2019.

Dune: The Machine Crusade by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

(hb; 2003: second book in the Legends of Dune series)

From the back cover

“More than two decades have passed since the events chronicled in Dune: The Butlerian Jihad. The crusade against thinking robots has ground on for years; the human worlds have grown weary of war, of the bloody inconclusive swing from victory to defeat.

“The fearsome cymeks, led by Agamemnon, hatch new plots to regain their lost power from Omnius. Aurelius Venport and Norma Cenva are on the verge of the most important discovery in human history─a way to ‘fold’ space and travel instantaneously to any place in the galaxy.

“And on the faraway, nearby worthless planet of Arrakis, Selim Wormrider and his band of outlaws take the first steps toward making themselves the feared fighters who will change the course of mankind: the Fremen.”

Review

Crusade, like its prequel Butlerian, is a good, action-packed read by sometimes-excellent authors, a solid─if unnecessary and overlong─addition to the extended Dune series. Set twenty years after the events of Butlerian, this is a more reader-involving work, largely because Machine is not a set-up novel. Rather, it is a deepening-of-characters work. The authors sometimes overwrite, especially when they repeatedly and unnecessarily recap characters’ histories. That said, it is worth reading, though not a vital-to-the-Dune-storyline offering. Pick up an inexpensive copy or borrow it from the library before committing serious cash to it.

Followed by Dune: The Battle of Corrin.