Review: Brute

Brute by Con Sellers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Con Sellers manages to mix action, espionage, and romance into a compelling novel that tells the story of Brad Saxon, an immense brute of a man, inclined to bursting through walls, mirrors, and doors - or just ripping them off their hinges, and frequently beating the crap out of guys. Former GI and pro football player Saxon’s unrequited love for a Japanese prostitute that he hasn’t talked to in nine years takes him back to Japan to try to marry her - a bad idea as he stumbles into a complex plot by communists and the Japanese underworld to use hookers to record private conversations of US military officers in a effort to undermine US security. Plenty of hard-boiled violence, and some surprisingly touching and elegant sex scene narrative make this an interesting and fun read.

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Review: Head West!

Head West! by Ben Bridges
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great new magazine with informative articles, interviews, and three Western short stories.

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Review: High Fury

High Fury by Harry Whittington
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another terrific Western from Harry Whittington, a prolific writer with remarkable consistency. No surprise, High Fury is a crime novel that takes place in the old West. It tells the story of a youth man on the run after being falsely accused of murder who, while tracking the one man that can prove his innocence, rescues a women who was savagely abused and left for dead by perhaps the same man. Things get more complicated when the son of the Cattle Baron who owns the town is suspected of being an accomplice. He soon must confront a town that has been turned against him, aided only by a sympathetic sheriff named Ox Slaughter and a kindly old doctor. The characters all jump off the page. This would make a fine movie.

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Review: Kim

Kim by Robert Colby
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another fine private eye novel from the golden age of paperback P.I.s featuring the first person narrative of former cop Rod Striker, more lecherous than the typical P.I. and his assistant Myra Bailey, who narrates an excellent and thrilling chapter herself, which I thought was a nice touch. The short novel is well plotted and provides a few nice surprises. Striker and Myra are interesting characters and I would like to read more about them, although I can't find any mentions of them being part of a series. It's unfortunate that non-series detective novels seem bound for obscurity. This is a good one.

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Review: Continental Contract

Continental Contract by Don Pendleton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Kind of a James Bond vibe to this one as Bolan goes international with an unexpected visit to Paris and the French Riviera, including the casino in Monte Carlo. All this doesn't lend itself well to the established Executioner premise and there are a few times that Bolan acts out of character, some credibility straining coincidences, and more than a few plot holes. I still found it to be an entertaining read although it doesn't quite match up to the previous entries in the series.

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Review: Meanwhile Back at the Morgue

Meanwhile Back at the Morgue by Michael Avallone
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A terrific entry in the Ed Noon Private Eye series with a well drawn cast of interesting characters and Avallone's knack for wise-cracking and hard-boiled prose. The book follow classic mystery/whodunit conventions with Noon tracking down clues and then calling the characters together at the end to announce his hard earned conclusion. Loved all the Old Hollywood references. Highly entertaining from start to finish.

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Review: Army of Devils

Army of Devils by G.H. Frost
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book has a reputation as one of the most over-the-top Action novels ever written so I knew what I was getting into when I started it, and although I found the blatant reactionary politics and the stupendous amount of gore distasteful, the book is in general an engaging and entertaining read. The violence and carnage are so extreme that it reaches the point of self-parody for the genre. The romance between alpha-male Lyons and his DEA agent girlfriend Flor is a strongpoint and it elevates the story above most typical Action fare. Much like sleaze and noir books it manages to be both offensive and entertaining which is a combination that I seem to be drawn to.

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Review: Battle Mask

Battle Mask by Don Pendleton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fine entry in the series as Pendleton really fleshes out his Mack Bolan character and the the plot focuses more on intrigue and espionage than on pure action, which can become a bit monotonous and predictable. My favorite of the initial Executioner trilogy.

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Book Shelf

Review: The Sleazy Reader Issue 5

The Sleazy Reader Issue 5 by Justin Marriott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Intersting articles about the sleaze offerings from Wenzell Brown and Harry Whittington, the biker mag "Easy Riders", and the Falconhurst series of plantation sleaze, and others. Loaded with pictures of paperback artwork which I have never seen before.

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