The Sergeant #05 - Doom River

For my money, the best WW2 men’s action-adventure series was The Sergeant by Len Levinson, writing as Gordon Davis. The series follows U.S. Army Sergeant C.J. Mahoney through Europe kicking Nazi ass along the way. Installment #5 from 1981 is called Doom River.

The novel begins following the liberation of Paris in 1944 and Mahoney is banging a French whore who charged him 10 cigarettes for the sex. After his tryst, he walks right into one of the finest, most brutally violent, action set pieces I’ve read in years with Mahoney confronting some kraut holdouts in the Paris Opera building.

Levinson uses fictionalized strategic meetings between George Patton, Dwight Eisenhower, and military brass to give the reader context about the strategic importance of the mission Mahoney and his fellow soldiers will be undertaking. In this paperback, the mission is for U.S. Army troops to fight their way across the Moselle River in France into solidly German turf.

For this assignment, the military brass agree to assign Mahoney’s long-time sidekick, Corporal Cranepool to work with our Sergeant. The pair only have eight hours to get their slacking new platoon of lazy, complacent soldiers outfitted and motivated to cross the river under heavy resistance from the Germans.

While there’s never any question about the battle’s outcome or Mahoney’s fate, Doom River remains a fantastic combat adventure by one of the greats of the genre. Levinson can always be counted on to mix violent, bloody adventure with sex and humor to deliver the goods. His paperbacks will always be a must-read. Get the book HERE.

A Short Stay in Hell

A Short Stay in Hell is a 2012 short novel of speculative science-fiction by an evolutionary biologist and philosopher named Steven L. Peck about a guy who goes to a very unusual version of Hell.

Our narrator is Soren Johansson, who lived a perfectly reasonable and ethical life but nonetheless awakens in Hell after his death. At orientation, Soren is informed by a demon that Hell is actually temporary, and he will eventually get to Heaven if he completes an unusual task.

Soren’s Hell is a vast library filled with shelved books as far as the eye can see. Soren’s task is to go through the books and find the one among them that chronicles his life on earth. There are others in the library working on the same task along with Soren.

The setup for a vast library of this nature filled with mostly nonsensical and irrelevant books was borrowed by the author from a 1941 short story from an Argentinian librarian and author Jorge Borges called “The Library of Babel,” but Peck’s version is more of a smart, humorous, and tragic science-fiction meditation on the pitfalls of living forever.

Can the residents of the library work together to use process of elimination to find their biographies? How big is this library, anyway? There’s adventure and sorrow and romance in these pages wrapped in some serious Big Ideas making this one of the finest short novels I’ve ever read. Highest recommendation. 

Get the book HERE.

The Woodkin

According to his bio, Alexander James is a Seattle-based writer that enjoys Dungeons & Dragons, Double Stuff Oreos, and hiking. But, we aren't on a dating site. Alexander James also loves to write and experienced the publication of his debut novel, The Woodkin, in 2023 via CamCat Books. This unusual horror-hike novel was nominated for an Audie Award for Thriller/Suspense and earned an Independent Publisher Award for best Mystery/Thriller for Audiobook. I enjoyed my childhood backpacking the Appalachian Trail so I was anxious to see where James would take me on the trail. 

Protagonist Josh Mallory experienced a tragic childhood due to his mother dying in a blazing housefire. The memories of that day are firmly etched in his scarred memory. Josh grew up, attended college, and now finds himself in a strained marriage with his wife Deb. After discovering she may be cheating on him, Josh decides to embark on a three-week “find myself” hike through the Cascade Mountains using the popular Pacific Coast Trail.  

Early in the hike Josh (who uses the name Switchback) discovers a rotting corpse in a rugged ravine. Hoping to notify authorities, he continues his trek and meets a couple of other hikers. The most vibrant is an old hippy-esque guy nicknamed Appletree. He seems innocent enough and the two share a fire one night and Josh learns of a nearby town called Bedal. After hiking to a secluded roadway, Josh hitches a ride into town.

Bedal is a strange place where some of the town doesn't seem to physically hear or see Josh. Others have conversations with him, but it is all misplaced ramblings that seem senseless. He discovers a bulletin board with postings of missing hikers and tries to find a semblance of law and order to report the dead body. However, this weird little place doesn't have any police, working phones, or rangers. When Josh attempts to buy supplies he is introduced to the irritating character of Coars, a drug peddler that operates the town's only store. 

Soon, Josh is back on the trail and discovers more eerie things – a dead deer with a knife embedded in the skull and a wild “forest child” that seems to possess a nefarious motive. Eventually Josh finds the book's horror and it all relates to something in a cave deemed “Woodkin”. All around him Josh hears the words “feast for the woodkin” as he spirals into a really violent and dark experience cutoff from civilization.

There's a lot to unpack here, but the most entertaining parts of the book is simply Josh's flashback chapters that visualize the things that happened in his childhood. His need for a Sony Playstation, a football injury, and the horrific fire. If it wasn't for these chapters removing the reader from the forest, the book would have been rather lifeless. Picture the television show Lost without the character flashbacks. Just jungle and mystery yawns, right? The Woodkin is like one long episode of Lost where nothing makes any sense. Things happen that appear to have just been created by the writer that very second. I'm sure there is a mythology to the madness but I was completely lost on what was happening. One minute it is Wrong Turn, the next it's The Ritual, other times it's Rambo II in a forest prison. I had flashbacks of frustrating gamer days when Silent Hill and Deadly Premonition had no rhyme or reason. Just atmosphere. 

Go read The Woodkin and tell me what the Hell the book is about. I finished it. I'm weary from the fight. But, I finished it. Maybe you can too. Get it HERE.

Hunter at Large

We've covered author Thomas B. Dewey quite extensively here on Paperback Warrior, including a Primer article and a podcast episode. The Indiana native wrote 36 novels between 1944 and 1969. Of his stand-alone novels and series books the one novel that I have been the most excited about is Hunter at Large. The book was originally published in 1961 as a Permabook paperback. Stark House Press chose to reprint the book in 2024 under their Black Gat imprint. The novel is now available in physical and digital editions. 

Mickey Phillips (almost Spillane backwards!) is a tough cop. He makes his living beating the streets as a detective. His only real peace in life is the quaint country house he shares with his beautiful wife Kathy. The two have a wonderful harmony together, evident in Dewey's charming opener. 

Like a rifle-crack in the dark this perfect tranquility is shattered. Two men arrive at Mickey's door and briefly ask if “Mickey Phillips” lives there" (this is important). Mickey obligingly says yes and the two men immediately sap him. He's then handcuffed and strung up to watch the ultimate nightmare play out in front of him – the rape and murder of his beloved Kathy. Afterwards, one of the men frees Mickey from his bondage, shoots him, and then the two walk out of his life. 

Mickey survives the intended fatal shot. He's rushed to the hospital and spends weeks in rehabilitation from broken bones and painful surgery. When he's back on his feet Mickey resigns from the police force to pursue his own justice. But where does he go with no clue to the identity of the murderers?

Surprisingly, Dewey sidesteps the invitation to turn Hunter at Large into an action-packed novel bursting with energy. Instead, this is a methodical 250-page manhunt as Mickey drifts from city to city hoping to find the killers. It reminded me a little of The Fugitive's quest for the one-armed man in the old television show. Mickey befriends a prostitute, falls in love with a Mexican hotel worker, and works as a bartender. 

As much as I wanted this novel to intensify I was still very much intrigued on the direction Dewey was taking. Mickey's hunt is entertaining and is brimming over with the core mystery – who were these men? With no apparent ties to Mickey or Kathy's past, and no remarkable clues left behind, the search leads to some interesting places. There's no big twist here. Nothing convoluted that's paramount to the identity and discovery of the killer and motive. It's a slower narrative built with a sturdy framework of investigation and resolution while still retaining an intimate attention. Compelling, rewarding, and recommended!

Get your copy HERE.

Paperback Warrior Conversations - Brian G. Berry

Today, Paperback Warrior introduces an exciting new segment to its video and podcast programming called Conversations. In this inaugural episode, Eric sits down with horror author Brian G. Berry to discuss his action-adventure, horror, and science-fiction novels, his unique writing style inspired by cult cinema and trash VHS, and the recent controversy surrounding his novel's removal from store shelves and his dismissal from Encyclopocalypse Publications. Stream the audio portion only HERE. Watch the visual version HERE or stream below:

Conan - Conan the Valorous

Author John Maddox Roberts took his first swing at Tor's Conan pastiche novels in 1985 – Conan the Valorous. Many consider Roberts contributions to the Tor line as the most enjoyable, and thus far I would agree. I enjoyed his novel Conan the Bold and wanted to try his very first experience with the character. 

Conan the Valorous is stationed between the L. Sprague de Camp/REH story “The Blood-stained God” and “The Frost Giant's Daughter”. Conan is out of money and staying at an inn in northern Koth. A messenger comes to his room and asks that he meet a Stygian woman named Hathor-Ka. In that meeting Hathor-Ka, an aspiring Stygian sorcerer, offers Conan a great deal of money to carry a magical flask to Cimmeria. The goal is for Conan to pour this flask in the cave of Ben Morgh, the ancestral home of Conan's god Crom. Conan swears he will make the journey and perform the task in exchange for up-front money.

While Conan is on a road trip through Ophir, Nemedia, and the Border Kingdom, another aspiring sorcerer is doing the same, only a shortcut by river. Conan can't take this same route due to his Cimmerian heritage feuding with the Picts. This sorcerer, Jaganath, plans to ambush Conan in Cimmeria and steal this flask for himself. 

The book mostly works like one long road trip for the three-fourths of the narrative. The most entertaining portion of the novel is Conan's miniature adventure in a town called Cragsfell. Here, a chieftainess named Aelfrith is warring with a psychotic ruler living nearby. This part of the narrative explains the origins of the feud and how Conan can help. Initially, Conan declines his services to Aelfrith – despite her beautiful seduction – but once he learns that Aelfrith's daughter has been captured he changes his mind and leads a rescue by storming a castle and fighting off hordes of baddies. 

The book's last quarter features Conan aligning various Cimmerian clans to fight a sorcerer growing legions of followers, and a hideous creature, in the underground tunnels below Ben Morgh. 

The entertaining portions include the aforementioned rescue of Aelfrith's daughter (which could have been its own novel), Conan meeting various kinsmen from his boyhood, and the brief appearance of Conan villain-royalty in Thoth-Amon (from “The Phoenix on the Sword”). However, I feel that the last few scenes wrapped up the story too quickly with many promised fights evaporating like a silent fart. Jaganath has a killer in his ranks named Gopal and I was anticipating an epic fight with Conan. That never came to fruition. 

If you enjoy the very honorable, true good-guy boy-scout Conan character of Marvel's Conan the Barbarian comics or these pastiche novels, then this novel is certainly worth reading. I have a mindset when I read these types of Conan novels – this isn't the nihilistic gritty character created by Robert E. Howard, it's a re-imagining of Conan. If you can live with that then this book along with hundreds of other Conan works should be entertaining. Conan the Valorous is recommended. Buy it HERE. 

The Cassandra Crossing

Robert Katz (1933-2010), not to be confused with the film and television producer Robert A. Katz, was an author, screenwriter, and non-fiction writer from Brooklyn, New York. He authored numerous books and even faced criminal charges for his book Death in Rome (1967). The charge was defaming the memory of Pope Pius XII, which he was convicted and sentenced to 14 months in prison. The verdict was later overturned. 

My only experience with Katz is his 1977 novelization The Cassandra Crossing. Katz, along with three other writers, penned the screenplay for the movie in the early 1970s. The film was produced and released in 1976 with an all-star cast that included Sophia Loren, Martin Sheen, Ava Gardner, O.J. Simpson, and Richard Harris among others. Seeing that he already penned one-fourth of the screenplay, he chose to write the novelization, which was published in 1977 courtesy of Ballantine. I've never seen the movie because I'm a book guy.

The narrative begins in Europe as a Swedish duo attempt to break into a lab located at the International Health Organization (IHO). Oddly, only two U.S. Marines are there to stop any takeovers of the extremely deadly diseases housed in this facility. One of the two baddies, using a 357 Magnum with a silencer (which is mostly impossible), shoots the soldiers. But in the ruckus one of the Swedes is killed and the other manages to spill a deadly strain of the pneumonic plague (or something like that) all over himself. He then manages to escape the horde of U.S. Marines that are chasing him and boards a passenger train.

Katz then quickly introduces a ton of characters to readers in short paragraphs. As the narrative continues, the short paragraphs rotate around to present each of the characters' personal stories and situations. For example, the main character (if there really is one) is an acclaimed doctor named Chamberlain. His ex-wife (he divorced her twice) is on board as well and the two have a romantic fling while bickering about their prior marriages. It was an enjoyable and cute little shindig. Other characters include a hitman disguised as a priest, a small group of musicians and a groupie, a married couple, and the wife of a famed German businessman (or royalty). 

A group of doctors back at the IHO begin preparing for ways to re-route the train to a former Nazi concentration camp in Janov, Poland. To get there, they need to re-route the train through the Carpathian Mountains across a damaged and poorly constructed bridge – The Cassandra Crossing. As the passengers begin to get sick, the train is rerouted and the inevitable “ride or die” scenario comes to fruition as the train rolls on. 

There were four people writing this mess of a movie - keep that in mind. The film  earned the description “profoundly, offensively stupid” from the NY Times and “an unintentional parody of a disaster film” from Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune. While I enjoyed the overall plot design, I could never quite place what was happening on board the train with so many characters. Katz, anticipating the confusion, placed a checklist of characters at the beginning of the book with short descriptions – which kinda helped. But, there were so many aspects that just seemed pointless. 

Why even go to this former Nazi concentration camp in the first place? What's the point of possibly spilling a train and its diseased passengers into a ravine if the bridge may collapse? Why chance it? There were so many questions screaming in my brain as I was reading what should have been a high-octane thriller that burned up the pages on hot rails to Hell. 

The Cassandra Crossing isn't a terrible reading experience. As much as I was confused, I still found enjoyment in the overall concept. If you find the paperback affordable, it might be worth reading when you've had enough technically dense dives into Geoffrey Household's work to just need something less attentive. Lukewarm recommendation at best. Get it HERE.