Launch a Battle Rattle! It's a Used Bookstore Blitz!

It's a mission to unearth vintage paperbacks from the battlefields of history! We're launching a Book Blitz to uncover the most thrilling World War I, World War II, and Vietnam War vintage paperbacks. Don't miss a moment of this high-stakes literary operation! Here comes the Paperback Warrior! Watch below or stream on YT HERE.

Fools Walk In

Bruno Fischer (1908-1992) was a top-tier author of the pulp and paperback era. Stark House has re-released two of his Fawcett Gold Medal novels - Fools Walk In (1951) and So Wicked My Love (1954) - in one trade paperback with an informative introduction by Nicholas Littlefield. 

Fools Walk In

The novel begins with our narrator Larry Knight picking up a young, stranded woman named Jeanie at a rainy Virginia gas station and giving her a ride. They’re both headed for New York and the girl is sexy, vulnerable and flirty. But what’s in that travel bag she’s carrying?

Larry is a high school English teacher and never married. He’s totally gonna get laid with this enigmatic chick, right? To complicate matters, it seems Jeanie is running from the cops following a recent payroll holdup conducted by her now-dead boyfriend. The loot was never recovered and the cops think Jeanie is running with it. What’s in that bag, again?

The unlikely pair find themselves on a road trip to New Hampshire to a mobster hideaway where Jeanie can get some help with her problems from her dead ex-boyfriend’s heist crew. For unclear reasons, Larry tags along looking for an adventure and hopefully some erotic nights with this sexy young tart.

Together they hatch a pretty stupid plan to have Larry steal the identity of a reclusive California pimp to bolster his credibility with the gangsters at the hideout. It’s dumb and gets dumber. Thereafter, most of the novel involves the love triangles and interpersonal back-and-forths among the characters at the hideout with Larry the high school teacher playing the role of legendary California mobster.

Bruno Fischer is a fantastic author - one of the best from his era - but this novel is a real stinker. It started so promisingly with the erotic meet-cute with a woman-on-the-run, but the central premise of the book requires way too much suspension of disbelief. If you buy the Stark House reprint (and you should!), you can safely skip this one and enjoy So Wicked My Love.

So Wicked My Love 

Fischer’s 1954 novel, So Wicked My Love, originally appeared in a condensed form in the November, 1953 issue of Manhunt magazine. Crime-fiction scholars will often point to the novel as among Fischer's best.

When the reader first meets Ray, he's a dejected, emotional wreck laying on Coney Island's sandy beach. His girlfriend Florence rejected his marriage proposal and ring the night before, explaining to Ray that she may still be in love with another man. As Ray ponders his life post-Florence, he spots a woman he once knew walking along the shore. Ray re-introduces himself to a beautiful vixen named Cherry and almost immediately becomes an accomplice in armed robbery and murder. Wicked love, indeed.

After reading a brief newspaper headline about an armed car robbery, a mysterious woman and a band of criminals, Ray's one night out with Cherry proves to be a cornucopia of dark discoveries. He learns that Cherry has a car trunk filled with stolen cash and three violent men on her trail. Ray gives Cherry the engagement ring he bought Florence and the two decide to flee with the money together. But after a deadly, violent encounter with two of the three men, Ray drops the money at an abandoned farm house and anonymously calls the police to pick it up. Ray then reconvenes with Florence and the two become married and live happily ever after. Considering all of these riveting events happen in the book's opening pages, readers quickly sense that Bruno Fischer has an abundance of intrigue, suspense and violence left to explore.

Ray's lusty encounters with Cherry aren't explicit, but they're an enticing invitation for readers to take the journey with these ill-fated lovers. As Ray's average life becomes more complicated, readers can foresee the impending doom in Fisher's narrative. By its very definition, the idea of this average blue-collar man being trapped in a web of murder, robbery and blinding lust is crime-noir in its most rudimentary form. It's also the same ritualistic formula utilized by a mastermind crime-fiction veteran like Fischer to mesmerize readers, fans and literature scholars. From a reader's stance, it makes for a fantastic reading experience.

Bottom Line: So Wicked My Love is so wickedly good. Get this twofer from Stark House HERE.

Deer Hunt

Peter Lefcourt, a novelist, producer, and screen-writer, contributed to television shows like Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Cagney & Lacey, and Desperate Housewives. He has authored a number of books, but I was mostly interested in his 1976 Pyramid paperback Deer Hunt. It neatly slides into the “Deer Hunter Horror” niche. 

Deer Hunt stars two brothers, Sid and Dave, that live in a small northern Vermont town. Years ago two events transpired that drastically altered their relationship. The first was when Cora dumped her boyfriend Dave right after high school and chose Sid, who she married and has been with (kinda happily) ever since. The second event is that the two inherited their father's pharmacy.

Sid is the responsible small business operator that runs the store and the books. Dave mostly labors at the pharmacy and does just enough to warrant his role in the business. Sid is a fair man and still provides 50% of the profits to his bitter brother.  Sid has often asked his brother to sell his half, but Dave refuses and the relationship just gets worse every year. 

In a strange scenario Dave accuses Sid of stealing money from the pharmacy cash register, which is nuts. Sid has much easier ways of stealing money from under Dave's nose. Dave accuses Sid of being a thief and begins to treat Cora poorly. It is just a really bad situation.

Dave and Sid used to go on deer hunting trips together, but years ago Dave stopped going and now remains as an elusive weirdo that spends his time reading gun magazines. So, this new hunting trip that Sid is about to embark on this year runs afoul when Dave volunteers to go. Sid gets the feeling that Dave is wanting to go deer hunting with him so he can shoot and kill Sid in a revenge plot to get the pharmacy to himself and to somehow get Cora back. However, things get really wild when Dave outlines a hunting map with one side labeled Dave and one side labeled Sid. Dave explains that this hunting trip will be different because Dave and Sid will hunt and kill each other. Whoever wins and kills the other will explain to the police that it occurred by mistake while shooting at a deer. 

Of course Sid thinks this is all crazy. But, Dave warns him that if he doesn't participate in this hunt that he will come to Sid's house and just kill him in his sleep or at a time when he least expects it. Sid can't live with the fear and paranoia that his brother is going to murder him so he agrees to this macabre deer hunt so he can at least have a fighting chance and can finally clear his mind from the stress. 

Deer Hunt is a terrific book if you enjoy the slow burn. Three-fourths of the narrative is just leading up to the hunt. The relationship wrinkles, Cora and Sid's relationship, and how the small town perceives the brothers. The hunt itself is only about 25 pages, but I was perfectly satisfied with the development and finale.

 However, the author didn't understand firearms when he wrote the novel. He has Sid carrying a .22 rifle to go deer hunting and to participate in the hunt for Dave. He then describes how the .22 “slug” would punch through one of the hunter's vests and completely turn him around. In reality, I've seen people dig a .22 bullet out with a pocket knife. You typically don't kill deer or people with a .22 rifle. It is ridiculous. But, other than that this was an entertaining novel. 

Paperback Warrior Podcast - Episode 111

On this episode Eric presents a feature on George Harmon Coxe, a prolific pulpster that wrote a number of series titles in the early 20th century before authoring full-length novels in both paperback and hardback. Additionally, a second feature is presented on vintage book publisher Hillman. Eric also reads a pulp story by legendary crime-noir writer John D. MacDonald. You can stream the episode below, download HERE, or on YouTube HERE. 

Listen to "Episode 111: George Harmon Coxe" on Spreaker.

Conan - Savage Sword of Conan #3 (Curtis)

The Savage Sword of Conan #3 was first published in December of 1974. The cover, inspired by Bjorn Nyberg's short story “The People of the Summit” (more on that in a bit), was painted by Mike Kaluta. The first pinup, which again is probably inspired by Nyberg's story, is penciled by Alfredo Alcala. 

The book's first story is “At the Mountain of the Moon-God”, a sequel to Robert E. Howard's “Black Colossus” story that first appeared in Weird Tales in 1933. That story was adapted to comic form in the second issue of The Savage Sword of Conan by Roy Thomas, who takes the writing reigns to pen this sequel to Howard's original story. The art was created by both John Buscema and Pablo Marcos. 

After the events of “Black Colossus”, Conan and a Khoraja princess named Yasmela are enjoying each other's company. However, a messenger climbs through the window carrying a warning that Yasmela's brother, King Khossus, is being held prisoner in Ophir. The messenger dies but passes a scrawled map of Khossus' whereabouts – the Mountain of the Moon-God. Conan makes the decision to journey to Ophir to liberate Khossus despite the qualms of a Prince of Stygia now serving Yasmela. Unfortunately, Yasmela's servant steals the map and delivers it to the King of Koth. The King of Koth wants to capture Khossus as well so he leads a badass named Sergius to the Mountain of the Moon God. Thankfully, Conan arrives and there's a three-way tussle to free Khossus. 

This was an entertaining story perfectly penned by Thomas to incorporate so many elements and layers to this otherwise standard search-and-rescue tale. The artists create two formidable foes in Captain Geballus and Sergius, both possessing facial expressions that would stop a clock. The story's ending puts to rest this chapter of Conan's life. 

“The First Barbarian: Chronicles of the Sword Part II” follows next. It is a continuation of the essay written by Lin Carter dating the sword-and-sorcery origins and Howard's acknowledgment of Clark Ashton Smith. He cites Smith's Atlantis stories as an inspiration on King Kull. 

The next story continues Gil Kane's Blackmark novel with “The Testing of Blackmark”. The first two issues of Savage Sword of Conan introduced this post-apocalyptic hero. In this story, Blackmark is hurled into savage gladiator games by King Kargon. The main event is a highly touted match between Blackmark and the Flame Lizard. I enjoyed the story and liked the connection to a character from Blackmark's childhood. Kane's art is always delightful as he introduces another element to Blackmark mythos with a silver rocket. That will be the highlight of the next Blackmark adventure.

Next is “Kull of Atlantis”. The editors explain that in the early days of the Conan comic-magazine (I assume they are referencing Conan the Barbarian), Barry Smith and Roy Thomas toyed briefly with the idea of a Kull of Atlantis comic book. What follows is seven pages of Smith's artwork with quotes taken from Robert E. Howard's “Exile of Atlantis”. It is interesting to see that Smith draws Kull just like the early issues of Conan the Barbarian, complete with the same face and horned helmet. I'm fairly certain some of the character's poses and positioning were repurposed for Conan the Barbarian or vice-versa. Conan the Barbarian's first issue was in 1970 and this magazine was published in 1974. It would depend on what the editors are referring to as “the early days of the Conan comic-magazine”. My guess is that these drawings of Kull came after Conan the Barbarian's debut. 

The last story is an adaptation of Bjorn Nyberg's “The People of the Summit”, originally published in The Mighty Swordsmen in 1970 by Lancer. Roy Thomas changed the title to “Demons of the Summit” and the artist is Tony deZuniga. 

"Demons of the Summit” features a twenty-something Conan taking a job as a mercenary to serve King Yildiz of Turan. Conan is provided the role of makeshift sergeant and ordered to lead a small army of Turanians into the Khozgari Hills in hopes to bribe and threaten the restless tribesmen from raiding Turan's lowlands. 

The Khozgari are brutal barbarians and they ambush the Turanian force leaving only Conan and a fellow soldier named Jamal alive to escape. The two are spotted by the daughter of a Khozgari chief, Shanya, and Conan takes her hostage to secure a safe pass back to a Turanian city. But, to avoid any unnecessary engagement, Conan decides to take the trio across the Misty Mountains. The chief's daughter begins screaming at Conan's decision and swears they will all be killed by the mysterious people there. 

I read and reviewed Nyberg's short story recently and found this adaptation by Thomas a much better narrative. The inclusion of a ghastly leader named Shangara vying for control of Shanya really enhanced the story. Conan's fights with the hideous creatures is worth the price of this whole issue. de Zuniga's use of pitch black pencil shading cleverly leaves a little for the imagination. This was an excellent adaptation to what is otherwise an average Nyberg story.

The last pages of the issue advertises “Iron Shadows in the Moon” is included in the next issue. There is also a great advertisement for the seventh issue of Savage Tales featuring Ka-Zar. 

Sherlock Holmes - A Study in Scarlet

The canon of Sherlock Holmes includes 56 short stories and four novels authored by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The character first appeared in the 1887 novel A Study in Scarlet, first published in Beeton's Christmas Annual and then in book format a year later. Thanks to my friend and Sherlockian expert Paul Bishop, an author/blogger/podcaster, I've taken my first plunge into the literary escapism of the Victorian detective era.

A Study in Scarlet begins by way of an introduction between Dr. John Watson, who narrates in first-person, and the enigma himself, Sherlock Holmes. Readers learn of Watson's experience in the Anglo-Afghan War, his service as a surgeon with the Army Medical Department, and his education at University of London, St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and Edinburgh University. As the book begins Watson is searching for room and board and is urged to meet with Holmes, an eccentric in need of a roommate to offset rent.

Holmes is described as having a profound knowledge of chemistry, sensational literature, and British law. He has a feeble knowledge of politics, an accurate understanding of anatomy, and variable degrees of knowledge in botany. Holmes is an expert boxer and swordsman, plays the violin, and, most importantly, is a consulting detective.

A telegram arrives requesting assistance in a murder case. A body has been discovered in an abandoned house on Brixton Road. Watson joins Holmes in the investigation. At the crime scene Holmes shows up Scotland Yard by deducing that the murderer used poison. The German word for “revenge” is scrawled on the wall and a ring is discovered that may lead to the murderer's identity. Eventually, Holmes locates the killer and the mystery is solved. All of this takes place in Part I, titled “The Reminiscences of Watson”. 

Reading the murder investigation as closed, I was surprised that half of the book remained unread. Part II is “The Country of the Saints”, a detailed explanation of what kickstarted the victim pursuit, motive, and the murderer's ultimate goal. Surprisingly, Holmes and Watson have no participation in this part of the book. Instead, this portion of the narrative takes place in the Salt Lake Valley of Utah years before the Brixton Road murder. In this account, a man named John Ferrier and a young girl named Lucy are rescued from the desert by Brigham Young's Latter-day Saints (the Mormons). Ferrier is forced into a Mormon faith and becomes a prisoner to the religion. Despite his reluctance, Ferrier becomes wealthy and gains a great swath of land. However two of the Mormon leaders vow to make Lucy their bride. Ferrier is provided a deadline to turn Lucy over to one of them for adoption into their harem. Lucy is adamant in her intentions to never marry either of them and Ferrier is left between a rock and a very hard place – both being killed or giving up Lucy.

I found both parts of Doyle's novel riveting in different ways. The first adventure of the famed Watson/Holmes crime-solving duo was just so enjoyable. There's a touch of dry humor and an ebb and flow between the two as they pounced on the details of the case and the list of suspects and motives. It was easy to follow the investigation (a lesson some writers today should adhere to) and see the case through to the conclusion. Thankfully, Doyle spends an equal amount of time instilling in the reader the reasons and motive for the murder. I found this portion of the book to be slightly more superior. This was an exceptional western-style novella complete with a “long-rifle hero” attempting to save a homesteader and his daughter from land barons. It is the classic western tale that ascends into a crescendo of violence, death, and revenge.

I thoroughly enjoyed this Sherlock Holmes book and I'm looking forward to devouring the remaining novels and short-story collections. A Study in Scarlet is my highest possible recommendation. Get it HERE.

Ranking December Reads

In this video Eric counts down his December reads from worst to first. It's a cover extravaganza of frightening pulp magazine covers from Weird Tales and Strange Stories as well as glorious artwork from Savage Sword of Conan. In addition, paperback covers from Signet, Baen, Lancer, and Ace. Stream the episode below or by visiting the channel HERE.