Liarmouth. . . A Feel-Bad Romance by John Waters

 

(hb; 2022)

From the inside flap

“Marsha Sprinkle: Suitcase thief. Scammer. Master of disguise. Dogs and children hate her. Her own family wants her dead. She’s smart, desperate, she’s disturbed, and she’s on the run with a big chip on her shoulder. They call her Liarmouth—until one insane man makes her tell the truth.”

 

 

Review

Waters’s first novel reads like his best, darkly hilarious, shocking, odd, and deviant-sex movies. Marsha Sprinkle is iconoclastic to the bone, beloathed by her family and all those who know her. After a normal airport suitcase-theft job goes awry for her and her sex-enthralled flunkie, Daryl, she flees from Dutch Village, Baltimore, to Provincetown, Maryland, with people—including her cultic, bounce-obsessed daughter (Poppy), her mother (Adora), Daryl (with his compromised sex) in mostly hateful pursuit. Fast-moving, at times loosely descriptive (but always in a true-to-effective form Waters way), Liarmouth builds to a howlingly funny and morally/physically icky climax that could’ve easily been one of his early films. Worth owning, this, if you’re a fan of Waters, or occasional-gross-out/scalpel-to-cultural-norms, criminal humor.

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).

Children of Edomia by J.M. Kind

 

(oversized pb; 2022: second novel in the Edomia series; a.k.a. Children of Edomia: Tales from the Edomian Mythos (Book 2))

 

From the back cover

“The story unfolds through the eyes of Afina, a young woman burdened with a dangerous secret. After the ruthlessly ambitious Serpent Prince and his rapacious retainers invade the only home Afina has ever known—the ancient cloister on the isolated island of Forgotten Women—the reluctant heroine is tasked with the guardianship of the prince’s unborn daughter. Seven years later, when a fanatical order of holy inquisitors invade the island again, Afina must fight to protect the child’s true identity even as she and her companions are taken captive aboard a ship bound for the slave markets of Jorn Gthang far to the north. Stolen again during a daring raid, Afina meets beautiful, devious pirate queen, Aa-Zra and her colorful crew. But when the captain’s plans for the young woman become clear, Afina’s troubles—and her adventures—have only just begun! Will Afina become a pawn in Ava-Zra’s dangerous game of seduction and shifting alliances, or will the young woman unwittingly fall in with eh very people who would enslave her once again?”

 

Review

The second book in the Edomia series is an excellent full-of-action-and-adventure fantasy tale with a new lead character, Afina, who wasn’t in the first book, but encounters characters who were. Children, in high-spirited, entertaining and sometimes LBGT+/sexual fashion, expands on the Edomian Mythos, is more straightforward, lacking Brother Morek k’Areth’s and Edomia’s mixed-in backstory chapters (though Morek’s travelogue concerning his journey between Earth and Edomia are completed in an end-of-book story, “Marco Polo of Edomia: The Testament of Brother Morek k’Areth”). Great, streamlined and worth purchasing read—am looking forward to the third Edomia novel, Rogues of Edomia: Tales from the Edomian Mythos (Book 3).

The Couch by Robert Bloch

 

(pb; 1962, based on Bloch's screenplay)

From the back cover

“This is the story of a man with a terrible secret.

“He will not even tell it to his psychiatrist.

“He could be wandering down any street at any time.

“He does not look different from other people in the street.

“But his secret gives him a power of them.

“He knows one of them is about to die.”

 

Review

Couch is comprised of Bloch’s usual tight, terse, black-humored, and often compelling writing style, something fans of the author and such writing may enjoy. The story, basic in its plot—and based on Blake Edwards's and Owen Crump’s idea as well as Bloch’s screenplay—has a Psycho-echoic themes, not off-putting but worth noting and (perhaps) appreciating, depending on the reader or viewer. Aside from the fact that Bloch wrote this with his usual effective mastery, I don’t know that I would’ve sought this book out, but like I wrote earlier, it’s worth seeking out if you’re a die-hard Bloch/tightly written and swiftly paced thriller fan.

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Its cinematic counterpart, scripted by Bloch, was directed by co-idea source Owen Crump. It was released stateside on February 21, 1962.

Grant Williams played Charles Campbell. Shirley Knight played Terry Ames. Onslow Stevens played William L. Janz, Campbell’s psychiatrist. William Leslie played Dr. David Lindsay. Simon Scott played Lt. Kritzman. Michael Bachus played Police Sgt. Bonner.

Blaxploitation Cinema: The Essential Reference Guide by Josiah Howard

(hb; 2008, 2021: cinema/nonfiction)

From the back cover

“Josiah Howard’s Blaxploitation Cinema: The Essential Reference Guide contains everything you need to know about the most colourful film movement of the 1970s. Dazzling and highly stylized, blaxploitation enjoyed a brief but memorable period in motion picture history.

“•A comprehensive introduction to the genre.

“•Q&A interviews with ten blaxploitation movie directors: Matt Cimber (The Candy Tangerine Man), Larry Cohen (Hell Up in Harlem), Paul Bogart (Halls of Anger), Cirio H. Santiago (TNT Jackson), Robert A. Endelson (Fight for Your Life), Don Schain (A Place Called Today), Jack Hill (Coffy), Arthur Marks (Detroit 9000), Jonathan Kaplan (Truck Turner) and Jamaa Fanaka (Penitentary).

“•A complete ten year filmography (1970-1980) featuring more than 270 movie listings, which include director, producer, screenwriter and actor credits along with a full sypnosis.

“•Vintage and contemporary film reviews and commentary, plus movie tag-lines, ratings, and extensive cross-referencing.

“From the blockbuster hits Shaft and Super Fly to the little-known The Guy from Harlem and Velvet Smooth, Blaxploitation Cinema. . . is your one-stop source of information on a decade of intriguing, controversial and thoroughly entertaining black-cast films.”

 

Review

Blaxploitation is an excellent, interesting and straightforward resource book for anyone, whether they’re new to the subgenre, or familiar with it. I’ve little doubt that there are other worthwhile books published on the subject, but if you’re looking to own one book on the subject—something casual readers like myself might do—this is worth your money and your time.

Double Indemnity by James M. Cain

 

(pb; 1936: loosely linked prequel to Jealous Woman)

From the back cover

“Walter Huff is an insurance investigator like any other—until the day he meets the beautiful and dangerous Phyllis Nirdlinger and falls under her spell. Together they plot the perfect murder. . . Double Indemnity is the classic tale of an evil woman motivated by greed, who corrupts a weak man motivated by lust.”

 

Review

Double Indemnity is one of my all-time favorite pulp novels, with its quotable (often edgy and ripe-with-innuendo) dialogue, action and lead characters, barebones writing and sharp editing, fast pace, effective Master Class twists and haunting, hair-raising/eerie finish. Excellent, timeless novel for those readers willing to walk on the oh-so-dark and unsettling side. Only a few writers I’ve read match the stripped-down (yet effective and disturbing) tone, delivery and editing of Double.

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Double Indemnity has been filmed twice.

The first theatrical version (there’s the inevitable theatrical remake) with the same title was released stateside on July 6, 1944. Billy Wilder directed and co-scripted it. Raymond Chandler Jr. is listed as a co-screenwriter.

Fred MacMurray played Walter Neff. Barbara Stanwyck played Phyllis Dietrichson (cinematic counterpart to Phyllis Nirdlinger). Edward G. Robinson played Barton Keyes.

Tom Powers played Mr. Dietrichson (cinematic counterpart to Mr. Nirdlinger). Jean Heather played Lola Dietrichson (counterpart to Lola Nirdlinger). Byron Barr played Nino Zarchetti (Beniamino “Nino” Sachetti in the book). Richard Gaines played Mr. Norton.

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The second adaptation, a telepic, aired as an ABC Movie of the Week on October 13, 1973. Directed by Jack Smight from Steven Bochco’s based-on-the-1944-screenplay teleplay, it starred Richard Crenna as Walter Neff. Samantha Eggar played Phyllis Dietrichson. Arch Johnson played Mr. Dietrichson. Lee J. Cobb played Barton Keyes.

Sands of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

 

(hb; 2022: story/novella anthology. Twenty-second book in the Dune series.)

From the inside flap

“. . . The stories: A young firebrand Fremen woman, a guerilla fighter against the ruthless Harkonnens, who will one day become Shadout mapes; inside the ranks of the Sardaukar is the child of a betrayed nobleman who becomes one of the Emperor’s most ruthless fighters; the lost years of Gurney Halleck as he works with smugglers on Arrakis in a deadly gambit for revenge; and an early tale of the blood feud of Atreides and Harkonnen ancestors, whose vendetta will rock the Imperial court.”

 

Review

The four stories that comprise this short story anthology—“The Edge of the Crysknife,” “Blood of the Sardaukar,” “The Waters of Kanly” and “Imperial Court”—fill in some of the character-focused and mentioned-in-passing gaps in the epic Dune stories and novels. All, like Herbert and Anderson’s usual work, are well-written, entertaining and further the overall excellence of the series, and serve as warm-up for the upcoming third entry in The Caladan Trilogy, Dune: The Heir of Dune, scheduled for November 22, 2022 publication. Sands is worth reading for new-to-the-series readers and ongoing Dune fans (who’ll likely get more out of the stories), with good endings that hint at what follows each of the four tales.

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.

Edomia: A Fantasy Adventure--Tales from the Edonmian Mythos (Book 1) by J.M. Kind

(oversized pb; 2020: first book in the Edomia series)

From the back cover

“At the dawn of a new Dark Age, the world of Edomia reels amid the clash of warring species, and the rise of a militant new religion from beyond the stars. Heir to the ancient Goddess-worshipping matriarchy of Taugwadeth, Princess Ashna N’rene is sent on a dangerous journey to form an alliance with her people’s most obstinate foe, the fanatical, misogynist Curions, adherents of an alien faith only recently carried to Edomia from fourth-century Earth. But success in this endeavor may be no more desirable than all-out war with the ravenous race of arachno-sapiens known as the Sc’dorim. Faced with two equally dire prospects—to become concubines for the Curions or livestock for the Sc’dorim—Ashna and her companions must fight for their own enlightened way of life, their faith, their freedom, and all they have ever loved, before their once-proud world of women passes forever into the hands of men.”

 

Review

Kind’s ambitious, engaging first Edomia novel mixes science fiction, horror, fantasy, high adventure, feminism, LGBT+ friendly, sexuality and R-rated elements, with situationally loquacious and fierce characters who mostly walk their talk. Its initially thick-with-universe-creating mythos is intense in the way that J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1977 encyclopedic Silmarillion is, so readers looking for an easy beach read might not immediately take to this first volume of Edomia; however, devoted readers of George R.R. Martin’s vivid Game of Thrones series and others of its complex ilk may easily fall in love with this series set-up novel (which becomes a more straightforward, still-high-toned adventure a quarter way through Edomia). Worth reading and owning, this, followed by Children of Edomia – Tales from the Edomian Mythos (Book 2).

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.

A Prayer for the Dying by Jack Higgins

 

(pb; 1973)

From the back cover

“Fallon was the best you could get with a gun in his hand. His track record went back a long and shady way.

“This time the bidding came from Dandy Jack Meehan, an underworld baron with a thin varnish of respectability. Not exactly the type you’d want to meet in a dark alley.

“The job Dandy Jack wanted doing was up North, but when Fallon got there he soon found himself changing sides—which put him in opposition to Meehan, a place where life expectancy suddenly gets very short indeed.”

 

Review

Prayer is an excellent, grip-you-from-the-get-go thriller with great, unique and memorable characters, character- and morality-based gravitas and action, as well a potent blend of omnipresent themes, e.g., regret, religion, imperialism, overall morality, etc., that—along with Higgins’s superbly sketched characters, clever-twists, and cut-to-it writing, lift this above the usual thriller. It might not go anywhere you don’t expect at times, but it’s so well-written and character-true that a certain inevitability is a virtue here. Worth owning, this.

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The resulting film was released in released in the UK on May 13, 1987. Its stateside release happened on September 11, 1987. Prayer director Mike Hodges, along with one of its co-stars, Mickey Rourke, forswore the studio’s theatrical cut of the film. Screenwriters: Edmund Ward and Martin Lynch. (Studio: The Samuel Goldwyn Company, which trimmed Prayer so it would play less like a drama with occasional violence, and more like an action movie for American audiences. Mike Hodges’s director's cut is said to exist, but it has not been released.)