Secret Agent X #01 - The Torture Trust

First published in Secret Agent X magazine in 1934, The Torture Trust introduced pulp readers to the mysterious figure known only as Secret Agent X. Conceived as a rival to The Shadow and The Spider, the series quickly carved its own niche with fast-paced plots, bizarre villains, and relentless atmosphere. Written under the house pseudonym Brant House (with the bulk of early entries by pulp veteran Paul Chadwick), the stories blended espionage, hard-boiled detective grit, and macabre menace.

The novel begins with a daring prison break setting habitual offender Jason Hertz free from confinement. His guardian angel facilitating this escape is a mysterious attorney named Gibbons who wants Hertz’s help. What would his agenda be?

Meanwhile, the police are dealing with a vexing series of torture-killings with prominent victims. The perps have been dubbed “The Torture Trust” by the news media and the cops are stumped. The killings, as described, are horrific and extreme — victims’ faces burned with acid. Stuff like that.

We then learn that Attorney Gibbons sprung Escapee Hertz from prison to have him get re-acquainted with a mobster Hertz once knew likely affiliated with The Torture Trust. You see, Gibbons is not an attorney at all, but the elusive vigilante crime fighter known only as Secret Agent X.

The reader is treated to a visit to X’s secret lair with his assortment of weapons and disguises. He’s only an “Agent” in the broadest sense that he has the unofficial sanction of the U.S. Department of Justice to fight the criminal hordes preying upon society. Officially within the government records, he is dead. His name and background? No one knows. His budget? Unlimited.

X has a sidekick/secretary named Betty Dale who handles a lot of his back office tasks - like dispersing money X steals from criminals to the poor and needy and being his date when he needs a cover. There’s also a police detective who hates X and his intrusions on police business with his unconventional interventions.

The debut novel is pretty standard - and enjoyable - pulp fare. Disguises and gaseous weapons, a kidnapped damsel in distress, a secret lair, and criminal masterminds deserving some rough justice. It’s not as unhinged as The Spider and the hero isn’t as impressive as Doc Savage, but if pulp heroes are your jam, you’ll enjoy this one plenty. Get it HERE. 

The Commandos

Elliott Arnold (1912-1980) is best known for his 1947 novel Blood Brother, a western that was adapted into a 1950 film titled Broken Arrow and a subsequent 1956 television series of the same name. The Brooklyn-born author, who was once married to actress Glynis Johns, authored 25 novels from 1934 through 1977. My first experience with Arnold is his 1942 novel Commandos, which was adapted into the 1943 Columbia Pictures film First Comes Courage. The book has been published repeatedly by different companies. My copy is the Belmont Tower paperback with artwork by Ken Barr capturing Clint Eastwood's likeness.  

In this 300-page book, Alan is an American soldier serving in World War II as a member of a British-led international team of Commandos. This team operates covertly in Norway, a country held in a vice-grip by Nazi Germany. In the novel's first half, Alan is working solo on missions to capture German leaders, destroy a fish-processing factory, and to hop in and out of long-range reconnaissance missions. In the first few chapters, Alan is teaching a middle-aged Polish man English, as well as training him on stealthy operations to stalk and kill targets. 

Alternating in and out of these chapters are two major characters, Nicole and Dichter. In these chapters, readers learn of Nicole's faithful service as a spy for the Allies. After her husband was killed in the war, she's now a vengeful widow working behind the scenes to feed the Commandos valuable intel. However, by day, she hosts extravagant parties for Nazi soldiers and affluent Norwegians that are sympathetic to Germany – a job she finds distasteful. Years ago, she met and fell in love with Alan and consistently worries about him on perilous missions. 

Dichter is a Nazi Major in charge of tormenting and terrorizing the Norwegian citizens. He has a romance with Nicole and often tells her details about German operations, details she uses to further the Commandos' resistance efforts. There are some chapters that delve into Dichter's personal life, key childhood moments, and a crescendo of violent occasions that have propelled his sadistic behavior. 

The book's second-half concerns Alan being captured behind enemy lines. These scenes aren't for the squeamish as Alan suffers an infectious bullet wound in his leg that complicates his survival efforts in the hands of Dichter and his Nazi torturers. However, his most agonizing moments center around his thoughts about Nicole lying in bed with Dichter while serving the Allies. He fears for her safety while also pining for her in his darkest hours.

Arnold's prose borders on literary, reminding me of a British author named Cecil Day Lewis. They both have a poetic nature to their work that involves difficult romances put to the sword over loyalty and allegiance. The Commandos carefully walks a balance beam of engaging romance and death-defying action-adventure. Thankfully, there's enough here to please both types of readers. Alan is a very human hero, often crying over some despicable act he's forced to endure or simply reminiscing about a better time in human history. Nicole's strong feminine leadership is a captivating part of the book and an endearing look at the sacrifices women made during the war. 

If you love a slow-burn action novel, The Commandos is a winner. Highly recommended. Get the book HERE.

Pack Animals Exclusive Cover Reveal

Prolific horror and crime-fiction author Greg F. Gifune, recently announced a thrilling four-book partnership with Crossroad Press. The deal features brand new editions of two of the author's out-of-print works, Dreams the Ragman and Samsara, plus two exclusive originals, The Standing Dead and Pack Animals.

Gifune, the recipient of multiple Bram Stoker Award and International Horror Guild Award nominations, sits down with Eric Compton of Paperback Warrior to reveal the details of his new books, including an exclusive reveal of the wrap-around cover art for Pack Animals. It was illustrated by Zach McCain, an internationally published artist who also created the striking artwork for Gifune's 2022 horror novella Savages, published by Cemetery Dance. 

“Zack, he's such a nice guy and he's a very talented guy and he's an absolute joy to work with. He's got the whole retro cover thing. When we got this deal, they asked do you have any preference? We all kind of agreed that the covers are always important, but with these kinds of books, the pulp kind of books, they're really important. They asked me if there was anyone I wanted, and I said if you can get Zach McCain. He'll nail it...and he did”, Gifune said. 

When asked to elaborate on the concept of Pack Animals, Gifune explained the atmospheric nature of the story and the impact it has on the characters.

“There's a couple of werewolf novels that are kind of fun, but I essentially just said, you know what...I'm going to write a book that I would want to read about this kind of thing. And it's essentially about a group of guys who have been friends since high school, and they're middle-aged now and have families. One of them gets divorced in a kind of really messy divorce, and he decides to leave. He moves up to this town in the mountains in New Hampshire. There's this property that's kind of a steal, and he buys it. But not long after moving there, he realizes there's something wrong. There's something moving around out there that shouldn't be. And his friends all sort of coordinate to take vacations and go up and see him because they're worried about him. So they go up, and then it kind of goes from there. There's a blizzard, and they're kind of in the middle of nowhere. There's this pack of animals that are stalking them.”

Gifune, who has a love for survival horror, explained some of the elements that influenced his take on the sub-genre. 

“It's kind of a homage to the survival horror novels of the seventies and eighties. And, you know, the drive-in movies and the exploitation movies of the seventies. It's just like “Savages”. One of the best compliments I had was when somebody said to me, when they were reading “Savages” it was like watching a drive-in movie back in the day, you know, which was just what I was going for.” 

Watch the full Paperback Warrior interview with the author HERE. 

Preorder the book HERE.

Decoy in Diamonds

Natalie Gates (1895-1980) was the daughter of John Brush, an entrepreneur that became the first owner of Major League Baseball's iconic Cincinnati Reds. Natalie attended the Baldwin School, then Columbia University before becoming active in the Junior League of Indianapolis in the 1920s. In 1967, her first novel, Hush Hush Johnson, was published by Holt. It was a spy-romance that garnered unfavorable reviews. She tried her had a second time with her only other book, Decoy in Diamonds. It was originally published in hardcover by Putnam in 1971 and then by Dell in paperback in 1972. What drew me to the book was Dell's deceitful marketing that promised this was a gothic.

The book stars Elsa White, a doctor that has spend a great deal of time caring for her sick mother. As a reward for her unwavering dedication, Elsa's sister buys her a 12-month cruise. Readers pick up the action as Elsa is aboard a cruise ship that has docked on the South African coast. On an excursion, Elsa acquires a large diamond. There's a prologue in the book of a miner smuggling operation and Elsa, in the right place at the right time, now has herself this big 'ole shiny rock as a product of this smuggling ring.

On the cruise ship, Elsa meets a New York attorney who has been hired by the African diamond mine to weed out the smugglers. Together, Elsa and the attorney lose the diamond and spend chapters attempting to retrieve it aboard the ship. That's the plot of this terrible 200-page paperback.

Decoy in Diamonds suffers from a boring protagonist, a silly plot, contrived “and then...” progressions, and flimsy character development. It isn't a gothic, Dell just dressed it that way hoping someone would buy this lousy romance novel. That's the real smuggling crime. Decoy in Diamonds is horrendous, making it an inductee into the Paperback Warrior Hall of Shame.

I talk about this book with Nick at The Book Graveyard HERE.

Conversations - Bad Taste Books

Bryan from Bad Taste Books joins to discuss 90s young adult horror paperbacks, focusing on imprints like Point Horror and Avon Flare. The chat includes mentions of Goosebumps, The Final Cruise, Christopher Pike, and reviews of two books by Nicole Davidson, along with a showcase of nostalgic book covers. View below or on YouTube HERE.

Matt Helm #27 - The Damagers

By 1993, the Matt Helm series by Donald Hamilton had lost its steam and readers after 33 years and 27 installments. The final adventure was The Damagers, and it was a commercial flop that exists today as a reprint. Did the government assassin series end with a bang or a whimper?

The book begins with Matt Helm living undercover on a luxury 38-foot yacht on Long Island Sound. He meets up with his first partner for the assignment, a beautiful Swedish-American spy named Ziggy from a different agency, who actually knows how to pilot and operate the vessel.

The mission? Well, it’s more of a mystery. The last three people responsible for sailing the boat - named The Lorelei III - died under mysterious circumstances while on the ship. The dead yacht enthusiasts were undercover operatives for a sister U.S. intel agency, and their bosses are very interested in the reasons the last three people on this yacht were clipped. Matt’s little agency is tasked with learning that motive.

So Matt is basically a decoy. He’s told to prevent his own death, capture the would-be killers, and relinquish them for interrogation until their agenda is known. For this assignment, he’s the bait for a counter-assassin operation.

Once Matt sets sail towards Florida on his ruse journey, the author (through Matt’s first-person narration) delves into way too much detail about the fixtures, equipment and operations of a large luxury yacht. Perhaps Donald Hamilton was trying to stretch the page count to 1993 levels when Tom Clancy imitators were dominating spy fiction. In any case, the voluminous maritime specificity throughout this book is a total snooze that can be safely skimmed.

But don’t skip the budding sexual tension between Matt and his sensuous co-pilot. There’s a rather sneaky early plot-twist that I should have seen coming, but didn’t. Even late in his career, Hamilton still had some tricks up his sleeve.

Once the mission and the adversary become clear, we learn that The Damagers is a sequel, of sorts, to the second Matt Helm installment, The Wrecking Crew. A Swedish assassin whose father was killed by Matt in that 1960 novel is out for revenge. There’s danger for Matt at every turn. Every sexy woman he encounters and lays is either a secret adversary or a secret ally.

The conventional wisdom is that the Matt Helm series lost its shine with the last handful of novels, but The Damagers was a lot of fun — like catching up with a dear, old (deadly) friend. Breeze past the yachting nonsense and enjoy the final adventure of a great series character. Get the book HERE.

When Michael Calls

Missouri native John Farris is an author, screenwriter, and movie director. His first novel was published when he was just 19 years of age. He has contributed to suspense, crime-fiction, and romance genres, but is mostly known for his horror and suspense novels. I read Farris' When Michael Calls, a 1967 novel that was made into a television film in 1972 starring Michael Douglas.

This is a suspense thriller, but the first half of it is steeped in the idea of a paranormal ghostly haunting. The reason is that the main character, a widow named Helen, is receiving phone calls from a little kid that claims to be her nephew Michael. The problem is that little Michael died in a blizzard years ago when he was a child. Helen, who now has a child of her own named Peggy, receives these calls and finds them disturbing because Michael frequently refers to her as Auntie Helen, an endearment that only Michael would have known. As the plaguing calls continue, they trend into more ominous warnings that people in town are going to die. 

The novel's murders all play out like a slasher horror film. Victims will hear noises or see shadows and, when investigating, meet their demise in some heinous fashion. Along with the murders is a robust list of suspects that could be Michael. The main suspect is Michael himself either as a ghostly demonic child or existing in a plausibility that he never really died as a child. The other is Michael's older brother Craig, who works in town as a psychiatrist and still has a great relationship with Helen. Other suspects are Craig's girlfriend Amy and also the idea of an out-of-town stranger.

The phone calls are creepy. The kills are satisfying. But, my favorite part of the book is a character named Doremus. He's a hardboiled retired homicide detective that is a widow himself. He comes to Helen's aid after the sheriff is killed, offering a charismatic approach to the investigation. He rides a scooter, plays chess, and provides a captivating backstory on how he lost his wife years ago.

Overall, When Michael Calls is an enjoyable book and I felt the pace was just right to allow the murders to happen in a way that keeps the investigation plot-propuslive. It was a chain reaction that worked really well. Amy, Helen, and Doremus are all excellent characters that have plenty of time to develop in the novel. If you haven't seen the movie, definitely steer clear of it until you read the book. This is a book that probably doesn't have as much impact once the culprit is revealed.

Get When Michael Calls HERE.

Conversations - The Book Graveyard

The Paperback Warrior collides with The Book Graveyard for another "Guide to Gothics" episode. On this show, Eric and Nick discuss a 1972 Dell Gothic paperback titled, "Decoy in Diamonds". The episode includes a review of the book, discussion of the author Natalie Gates, the Cincinnati Reds, the New York Giants, and a showcase of 10 Gothic paperbacks. Stream below or download the episode HERE. Also, Nick and I did the conversation on video and you can watch that HERE.

Listen to "Conversations - The Book Graveyard" on Spreaker.

Joyride (Video Review)

Eric's love affair with the subgenre of horror slashers is on display with a video review of the 1983 Pinnacle paperback, Joyride. Check it out HERE.

Your Body Will Never Be Found

A master of blending horror with razor-sharp humor, Jeff Strand has carved out a unique niche in the genre with stories that are as unsettling as they are laugh-out-loud funny. With dozens of novels under his belt, ranging from splatterpunk chaos to darkly comedic thrillers, he’s earned a cult following among horror fans who like their scares served with a side of satire. His 2025 release, Your Body Will Never Be Found, is a fine entry-point to his “body” of work.

The 222-page paperback begins with a family of four lost in the deep woods of rural Georgia with their car’s GPS in constant recalculation mode and the fuel gauge approaching empty. They are Arden (Dad), Laurie (Mom), Nick (15) and Misty (6).

When the car finally konks out with a blown out tire and lack of gasoline, the family is at the foot of a long driveway snaking into the forbidding woods. At the base of the driveway is a sign reading, “If you’re here, you’re clearly lost. What you do next will determine if you stay that way.”

Of course the house’s resident is Finch, a giant scary redneck with a shotgun. But is he dangerous or just worried about coyotes? Would he allow little Misty to use the restroom inside his shack while they await roadside assistance? What could go wrong?

The author does a great job of ratcheting up the tension gradually playing with the tug-o-war between normal human manners and the gut feeling that something isn’t right. When violence finally breaks out, we have a nonstop, extreme horror bloodbath.

Nick and Misty will go to any length to keep their kids safe, and they have a secret history of their own that does not make them the soft targets you’d imagine. Meanwhile, the occupants of the home also have a creepy backstory that adds to the sense of danger and foreboding.

To be sure, Your Body Will Never Be Found is an extremely violent and visceral novel with some truly vile and disgusting scenes. Be warned. Strand also writes some of the best violent fight scenes in horror fiction — as evidenced throughout the novel’s second half.

Overall, this was not a masterpiece of horror fiction, but it’s probably a fine entry-point if you want to dip your toe into the extreme horror pool of blood. He’s a solid writer and the novel’s perspective changes had a cinematic, Tarantino quality. By now, you should know if this is your thing. If so, consider this a recommendation.

Get the book HERE.

Night of the Black Frost

My monthly review of an Arthur Catherall book continues. I've become quite fond of the British author and his nautical adventure fiction that was originally catered for the young adult market. I've covered his books HERE and featured the author's literary work and author on a podcast episode HERE. I continue my examination and enjoyment with the author's Night of the Black Frost. The book was published in both England (J.M. Dent) and America ((Lothrop, Lee, & Shepard Co.) in 1968. 

Norwegian young adult Leif has just graduated high school and is in that life-lull deciding how to spend his time prior to college. His friends convince him to tour Europe for months, but Leif's father has another plan. He'll support and pay Leif's way to northwest to the Barents Sea, a frigid wasteland of ice between the Arctic Ocean and Russia. He convinces Leif to spend a few weeks with his uncles, Peder and Jan, on their commercial fishing expeditions. Leif, longing for adventure and maturity, accepts.

Onboard his uncle's fishing trawler, Leif experiences a harrowing two-day adventure. His Uncle Peder is hesitant about Leif's participation in the dangerous fishing expedition. Uncle Jan is a bit more patient and understanding. For Leif, his endurance and stamina is tested when two Russian pilots plunge into the frosty ocean in an accident. When Peder and Jan attempt a rescue they become lost at sea. It is up to Leif to run the trawler, make a rescue of his uncles and the pilots, while enduring a black frost (when fog turns to ice). 

This 166-page book was a short perfect example of what Catherall does so well – nautical adventure storytelling that features ordinary young people facing life-threatening adult decisions that accelerates their maturity and personal growth. As I always preach in these reviews, throw out the stigma of young adult. The book has an intense survival element with some gritty life choices including possible amputation of a leg, frostbite, hypothermia, and a very personal conflict facing one of the Russian pilots. There's turmoil and intrigue involving the Russian government and their interaction with these Norwegian fishermen. 

Night of the Black Frost is a fantastic adventure that showcases everything I love about this captivating author. If you like books in the style of Hammond Innes (The White South comes to mind) then look no further than this must-read. Highly recommended.

Paperback Warrior - Episode 124

This podcast episode features William R. Cox, a prolific author of over 1,000 pulp stories known for his crime-fiction, sports, and western novels. It also includes a review of a 1967 vintage suspense-thriller by John Farris. Listen today! Stream below or on YouTube HERE. Download the episode HERE.

Listen to "Episode 124: William R. Cox" on Spreaker.

Paperback Warrior Primer - Mack Bolan

In March of 1969, Pinnacle published a paperback titled War Against the Mafia. It was written by Don Pendleton (1927-1995), a U.S. Navy veteran who entered World War II at the age of 14. The novel became a success for Pinnacle/Pendleton, eventually earning literary prominence as a major catalyst for men's action-adventure paperbacks. Don Pendleton's 170-page vigilante yarn spawned a character universe that grew to a staggering 900 books across multiple publishers, authors, and titles.

The fifth podcast episode explored Bolan's publishing world, and numerous reviews exist here at Paperback Warrior covering the series. However, many readers new to the character may prefer a brief outline of the series. That's the point of this article, a Paperback Warrior Primer on this shifting, gritty, and violent experience known as The Executioner.

Mack Bolan's origin begins with Don Pendleton. As I alluded to earlier, he served in the U.S. Navy during WW2. Additionally, he served in the Korean War before becoming an air traffic controller for the FAA and an engineering administrator at NASA. Pendleton turned to writing at the age of 40.

In War Against the Mafia, the essential origin tale, readers are introduced to 30-yr-old Bolan. He's a U.S. Army Master Sergeant serving a second tour of duty in the Vietnam War. With 12 years of military service, he's a skilled sniper, holding an official record of killing 32 high-ranking North Vietnamese and 63 Viet Cong leaders. Bolan and his mother Elsa, communicate twice a week and she sends him care packages. Bolan's father is Sam, a steel worker he respects “as indestructible as the steel he made.” Bolan's two siblings are 17-yr-old Cindy and 14-yr-old Johnny. 

Elsa explains in a letter that Sam had a heart attack, and, due to lost wages, the family was in a financial bind. On a fateful day in August, Bolan is summoned to the base camp chaplain's office, where he's informed that his parents and sister are dead and his brother is in critical condition. On emergency leave, Bolan arrives stateside and learns about events leading to their deaths.

Sam borrowed money from a mob-run loan shark. Despite paying off the loan with interest, the mob puts the squeeze on Sam and requires him to endlessly pay them money. Under the financial stress, Sam cracks and fatally shoots his wife and daughter in a murder suicide. Johnny is critically wounded in the exchange.

There are a number of iconic and pivotal moments in the Mack Bolan universe, but in my opinion, none compare to the first sequence of events in Bolan's vigilance. The character purchases a Marlin .444 rifle, camps in front of the loan shark office, then shoots and kills five of the corrupt employees, thus setting off a violent rampage that will become his way of life for decades. He declares his mantra in War Against the Mafia:

"Life is a competition, and I am a competitor. I have the tools and the skills, and I must accept the responsibilities. I will fight the battle, spill the blood, smear myself with it, and stand at the bar of judgment to be crushed and chewed and ingested by those I serve. It is the way of the world. It is the ultimate disposition. Stand ready, Mafiosi, The Executioner is here."

By most standards, the first four installments are considered the essential building blocks of The Executioner series - #2 Death Squad, #3 Battle Mask, #4 Miami Massacre. After 15 novels, Pendleton and Pinnacle experience a dispute and the publisher releases the 16th novel, Sicilian Slaughter, without Pendleton's involvement, instead settling on William Crawford's writing (using the name Jim Peterson). Pendleton returned to the series with the 17th installment, ignoring events that transpired in Crawford's book.

37 of the first 38 The Executioner novels were all written by Don Pendleton and considered the "Mafia Wars" story arc. The covers for many of these novels were painted by Gil Cohen, who began working with Pinnacle on the title with the 11th installment, California Hit (1972). The publisher was so impressed with Cohen's paintings that they had him paint covers for reprints of the series' first ten installments. Cohen would continue painting over 100 Bolan novels and companions, making his name nearly synonymous with that of Mack Bolan. Men's Adventure Library, published by New Texture, offers an amazing collection of Cohen's Mack Bolan artwork titled One Man Army: The Action Paperback Art of Gil Cohen. Get the book HERE.

There's a 1977 stand-alone companion piece called Executioner War Book. According to Linda Pendleton, it was a collaborative effort stemming from Pinnacle Editorial featuring Stephen Mertz, Mike Newton, Don Pendleton's son Greg and daughter Melinda doing the research and putting the book together. The book has some letters written by fans to the author as well as drawings of Bolan's battle van and firearms. 

After the 38th novel, Satan's Sabbath, there is a major shake-up with Bolan and the publisher.

Pendleton, who grew complacent with the Mack Bolan character, sold the licensing rights to the Harlequin publishing group. Under Harlequin's Gold Eagle brand, the series continued as The Executioner, but utilized bold fonts stating Mack Bolan on the paperback covers. The iconic face of Bolan at the top of each book was replaced with a small circular font that stated The Executioner and the series installment number. 

The first paperback of this new enterprise was #39 The New War (1981), the second book of the series to be written by someone other than Don Pendleton. Gold Eagle's investment in the series brought a rotating assembly of writers who would utilize Pendleton's name. However, Pendleton was adamant about listing the writer of the books on the inside copyright page, a feat that isn't often used in the cutthroat paperback publishing business of that era.

With The New War, the character and premise of the series changed. After 38 novels of Bolan fighting the Mob, this new 80s decade warranted a different type of enemy. Global terrorism began making headlines in the 1970s, spurred by horrific events like the “Black September” Munich massacre, and rising organizations at the time consisting of the Japanese Red Army, the Symbionese Liberartion Army, and the Weather Underground.

In The New War, readers learn that Bolan, once a fugitive wanted by the F.B.I. and C.I.A., is now working for the U.S. government to combat global terrorism and international crime. Mack Bolan's new name is John Macklin Phoenix and his headquarters is a covert operation in Virginia called Stony Man.

The Executioner would run from 1981 through 2020 with a total of 464 installments authored by a variety of writers. The most respected of the series' writers was Stephen Mertz, although Mike Newton, Dan Schmidt, Jerry VanCook, Chuck Rogers, and Mike McQuay wrote the majority of the series, collectively 181 total installments. 

The other major changes and additions that began after The New War included an expansion of The Executioner title. Because of the many allies that serve Stony Man and Bolan, Gold Eagle took the opportunity to launch companion titles.  

Collaborating with Gold Eagle, Don Pendleton created the titles Able Team and Phoenix Force and “helped” write the series debut installments. Able Team consists of allies previously seen in Death Mask and Bolan's California infiltrations. The title ran 51 installments and two Super Able Team novels, using rotating authors using the house name Dick Stivers. Phoenix Force consists of international special operatives hand-selected by Bolan. The title ran 51 installments and four Super Phoenix Force special editions. The series was written by rotating authors using the name Gar Wilson.

Both of these titles were featured in a giant crossover of Bolan and allies in the 1983 novel Stony Man Doctrine. This impressive “giant-sized” novel served a couple of purposes. 

First, it was the first of the Super Bolan paperbacks published by Gold Eagle. These were double the size of the The Executioner books and had a higher price tag of $3.95. These Super Bolan novels worked in the same fashion as the standard The Executioner title and featured a revolving door of authors. 

Second, Stony Man Doctrine also served as the first of the Stony Man books, a series that would take off in 1991 after Able Team and Phoenix Force stopped publication. Stony Man combined both of the teams with other Bolan allies for a massive 140-book run through 2015. The start of the series in the early 90s also paralleled a marketing change for men's action-adventure novels – a shift to more epic, technical thrillers that honed in on the Tom Clancy marketplace share. Covers featuring good guys with guns morphed into generic covers of satellites, military installations, and fighter jets. 

In addition to paperbacks, there are four issues of the short-lived The Executioner Mystery Magazine (Ackerman Productions), a 1993 four-issue comic adaptation of War Against the Mafia (Innovation Publishing), a 1996 black-and-white comic adaptation of Death Squad (Vivid Comics), and a 2008 five-issue comic titled Don Pendleton's The Executioner: The Devil's Tool (IDW). 

There's no denying that Marvel Comics' The Punisher is a direct descendant of the Bolan character and series. In June of 1993, Advance Comics interviewed Don Pendleton about the comparisons between The Punisher and The Executioner. In it, Pendleton says, “Let's just say The Punisher has taken a lot of liberties with my work. Anyone who knows the history of The Executioner has known that all along. I elected many years ago to just let it pass, feeling that there is room for both of us in the industry.”

Audio books exist on cassette through DH Audio and Books in Motion. Cutting Edge Audio published The Executioner and Stony Man novels between 2004-2006.

You can get most of the Mack Bolan universe using this LINK.

The Burial of the Rats

One year before Bram Stoker's penultimate work, Dracula, his short story “The Burial of the Rats” (1896) was published in Lloyd's Weekly News. The story would be collected for the first time in book format courtesy of the George Routledge and Sons 1914 hardcover Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories, complete with one of Thomas Handforth's greatest illustrations. Since that date the story has appeared in hundreds of magazines, anthologies, and audio narrations. The story was adapted into a 1995 film titled Bram Stoker's Burial of the Rats by Roger Corman's film company. 

Surprisingly, despite the morbid title, “The Burial of the Rats” isn't quite a horror story. It is more of a dark, man-on-the-run flavor that would find its readership in the pages of a men's action-adventure magazine than a horror anthology. It would be 28 more years before Richard Connell Jr. set the standard for “men hunting men” in his marvelous romp "The Most Dangerous Game", but Stoker's early effort helps shape the formula. According to oldstyletales.com, predating both Stoker and Connell Jr. was the man-on-the-run thriller “An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce, “The Suicide Club” by Robert Louis Stevenson, and Rudyard Kipling's “The Man Who Would be King”.

In Stoker's rather simple story, an unnamed British narrator wants to marry his sweetheart. However, the parents want him to spend a year apart from her, a 12-month journey that places the dejected narrator in Paris. He finds himself in a bad part of town where trash is heaped and the poverty-ridden populace squats in makeshift, unconventional housing. It is here that the narrator sees six veteran soldiers, now tattered in rags and scruffy uniforms, watching him like a hawk.

Lost, he stops to ask for directions from an old woman. She tells him of her life, and, while she talks, the narrator sees large rats swarming all over. She explains a horrible personal experience of venturing into the sewer once to retrieve a lost ring and of the rats there that would suck flesh from bones in an instant. Vaguely, the narrator then hears (or thinks?) the woman call out to the soldiers to help her kill the young traveler. In a quest to survive the night, the narrator then takes off on foot through this kingdom of rubble and trash to escape his pursuers.  

Stoker had a unique fascination with rats and used them quite often to set a type of warning that man's existence is perpetually haunted, or hunted, by a predator. Rats scurrying about is a frightening and disturbing image, but even with this appalling element, Stoker manages to eek by with a storytelling ability that is wholly steeped in an adventure. The story's second half is a furious run as the narrator attempts to escape the clutches of this maddened group of scrawny and starved ex-soldiers. The atmosphere and visual imagery of the city – this wasteland of debris and its King and Queen Squatters – is a character all to itself. For me, this is the real highlight of the book – the visual imagery of this awful place. 

You can get this story and others by Bram Stoker HERE.

The Lurking Fear

H.P. Lovecraft's serial “The Lurking Fear” was originally published between January and April 1923 in Home Brew. The stories appeared with interior illustrations by Clark Ashton Smith. The serial was reprinted as a novelette in the June 1928 issue of Weird Tales. Since that date, the story has appeared in numerous magazines and horror anthologies by publishers like Avon, Panther, Arkham House, and Del Rey. Now in the public domain, one can find numerous audio presentations of the book from free narrators like HorrorBabble, Gates of Imagination, and Voice Voyage. The story was also adapted into several film adaptations including Bleeders (1997), Dark Heritage (1989), Lurking Fear (1994), and The Lurking Fear (2023).

“The Lurking Fear” is a stand-alone story that doesn't fit Lovecraft's vast Cthulhu mythos. It begins with an unnamed narrator exploring Tempest Mountain, a supposedly cursed region in New York's Catskills. This narrator, a monster-hunter of sorts, and his two male companions, are responding to reports of creatures attacking people in the nearby area. Central to the narrator's investigation is a derelict mansion void of any residents. It is here that the trio take refuge to wait out the night. But, in the deep recesses of the dark, the narrator is awakened to see a large shadow on the chimney wall and the disappearance of his two companions. 

The narrator leaves the mansion and, after several days, returns to the mansion again with a journalist named Munroe. This time, the duo take shelter from a rainstorm in a nearby shack near the mansion's grounds. It  is here that Munroe is killed by a terrible mauling and the narrator searches for answers in a discarded diary the two had previously located.

In the story's second half, the narrator reveals the history of the mansion and a reclusive family known as the Martenses that turned to inbreeding in their rural isolation. Thinking he has found the answers to the creatures, and their mysterious attacks, the narrator returns to the property again and begins to dig up the grave of Jan Martense. Under the casket he locates a labyrinth of underground tunnels used by the creatures. But, like any good horror story, the clash between man and beast brings resolution.

“The Lurking Fear” has a disjointed presentation which Lovecraft himself was disappointed with. The  reason may have been the serial nature of the story and the need to expand it into several issues. Regardless, I enjoyed the aura of isolation, the unbridled tragedy affecting this early American family, and the narrator's gusto to confront the monstrosities despite the prior casualties that closely affected him. There's an atmosphere of foreboding that permeates the abandoned mansion and grounds. There's also this idea that death itself can reveal answers, apparent in the very physical need to look beneath the casket for answers. 

In terms of legacy, I can see shades of this story in film franchises like Hills Have Eyes and Wrong Turn, the classic 1981 film Hell Night, as well as stories by Stephen King like “Graveyard Shift”. Lovecraft, who remained an “unknown” in his lifetime, touched so many generations of horror fans. His influence on the genre is seemingly endless.

Wraiths of the Broken Land

S. Craig Zahler (born January 23, 1973, in Miami, Florida) is a multi-talented artist: a screenwriter, film director, composer, cinematographer, novelist, illustrator and heavy metal musician. After studying film at NYU, he built a career behind the camera and on the page. Zahler gained acclaim for hard‑bitten, violent dialogue‑driven films such as Bone Tomahawk (2015), Brawl in Cell Block 99 (2017), and Dragged Across Concrete (2018), all of which he wrote, directed, and scored. Alongside his cinematic work, he’s penned several novels and graphic stories—his debut western, A Congregation of Jackals (2010), earned Spur and Peacemaker award nominations

2013’s Wraiths of the Broken Land stands as Zahler’s second western novel. It’s a relentless, genre-blending journey: half-pulp western and half-extreme horror. Beyond its popularity with readers, the novel drew Hollywood attention—20th Century Fox acquired film rights in 2016 for a film adaptation that has yet to happen.

It is 1902 and the book begins rather shockingly with an opium-addicted young woman named Yvette being held against her will as a forced prostitute in Mexico. The living conditions are grotesque, but resistance is futile due to her debilitating addiction. Soon thereafter, the reader meets her sister, Dolores, also an enslaved prostitute being held in a separate room by the same psycho Mexicans.

We then meet Nathaniel Stromler, age 26. He’s an erudite dandy of a gentleman in serious financial dire straits who has taken a job to ride along with the men of the Plugford family on a mission: recover the family daughters, Yvette and Dolores.

Nathanial is needed because he is bilingual and can pass for a gentleman john. He’s their ticket inside the kidnappers’ lair as a prospective client seeking to defile some captive white girls. The search for the sisters takes Nathanial and Team Plugford into the depths of Mexico from one promising lead to another in search of the brothel from Hell.

The scenes leading up to the rescue attempt are rather satisfying but the getaway’s immediate aftermath is less compelling. Pages upon pages of bickering among the Plugfords became tiresome as the novel’s secondary mystery of how the girls wound up as human sexual chattel is explored.

Things pick back up again with the backstory of the girls’ enslavement and a climactic confrontation between the opposing parties, but there was too much time on the road and scenes with characters waiting for something to happen.

To be clear, there’s plenty to enjoy about Wraiths of the Broken Land and Zahler is one of the great storytellers of our time. The problem is that this novel vastly pales in comparison to his other western, A Congregation of Jackals and his masterpiece crime novel, The Slanted Gutter. Those paperbacks spoiled me with their greatness while Wraiths was just good. If you’re trying to read them all (and I am), prioritize the other two first.

Get S. Craig Zahler books HERE.

The Shadow Guest

Hillary Waugh was a successful author that wrote numerous novels including a police procedural series starring a Connecticut Police Chief named Fred Fellows. His stories were published in mystery magazines like Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen and the slicks like Cosmopolitan. Like so many accomplished authors like Gil Brewer, Jon Messmann , and Dean Koontz, Waugh delved into the gothic-romance and suspense marketplace in the 1970s. His novel The Shadow Guest was originally published in 1971 by Victor Gollancz in the U.K. and Doubleday in the U.S. However, Dell capitalized on the book by marketing it as a gothic paperback in 1972.

Waugh introduces readers to a prosperous 34 year-old New York architect named Howard. He meets a 20 year-old actress, Angela, and the two develop a relationship and eventually marry. However, Angela develops a mental condition that spirals into paranoia and depression. After working through the debilitating condition, Angela begins to get well and Howard moves the couple to London to work on a large building contract. But, it is Howard's turn to become ill after suffering a heart attack.

Angela finds a seaside cottage on the western shore of England and convinces Howard, who's now in a rest and recovery mode, that the two should move there. Hesitantly, Howard agrees and the couple move in to a previously abandoned home titled Heather Cottage. But, the house has a haunting history.

According to various townsfolk, Heather Cottage is haunted by an “angry man”. Three years prior a young couple had died in a horrendous car wreck on the winding road leading to the house. Howard is quick to dismiss the claims, but the two have a housekeeper named Beverly that is a rumored psychic. She has an incident upon first entering the home. But, the bulk of Waugh's narrative concerns sinister events that haunt the couple.

Howard typically is awakened each night by the sounds of macabre laughter downstairs. There's also a mystery surrounding the home's attic with a light that consistently turns itself on. Angela is haunted by nightmares and visions of a bloody man wearing an Army coat. Howard eventually sees the same man on the couple's front lawn. What is happening at Heather Cottage?

It is debatable on whether The Shadow Guest is a genuine gothic. It has the familiar tropes – vulnerable people moving into a rural dwelling and experiencing supernatural or mysterious events that are difficult to explain to side characters that aren't eye witnesses to these events. That's the mainframe of gothic-suspense paperbacks. However, Waugh mixes it up by having two main characters instead of one. There's also the structure with Heather Cottage being a much smaller house than the typical vast estate or mansion. Additionally, instead of just having one character experiencing strange events, there are two. These make the book a little bit different and unique compared to the standard gothic fluff. 

Whether it is gothic or not doesn't influence the quality – The Shadow Guest is a wonderful reading experience with a prevalent mystery that left me guessing until the very end. The book's finale and afterthought left me fully satisfied. The narrative breezes by with Waugh's easily readable prose and each detail in the novel ultimately pays dividends in the book's finale. 

You can watch a video of me and Nick Anderson of The Book Graveyard reviewing the book in great detail HERE. Also, you can purchase the book HERE. 

Con & Ginty #01 - Coral Reef Castaway

British writer Arthur Catherall used his own name and a variety of pseudonyms to write adventure novels and stories marketed for young adults. One of those was Peter Hallard, a name Catherall used to write Coral Reef Castaway. The book was published in England by Phoenix House Ltd. in 1958 and in the U.S. by Criterion Books. The American edition, in hardcover, contains illustrations by Terence Greer.

As I've alluded to in my reviews, and discussed on a podcast feature, Catherall's writing was certainly marketed to teen boys, but in reality there's nothing that floats it too far from the adventure buoy established by the likes of Ace, Bantam, or Fawcett Gold Medal paperbacks. Often a younger character is featured as the protagonist which aligns with a teen consumer. That connection is prominent in Coral Reef Castaway.

The book begins with a young man named Con Murray aboard a pleasure schooner in the Pacific. With trade winds blowing from the Queensland Coast, the voyage is sailing peacefully northwards inside the Great Barrier Reef. Due to a whaling accident, Con is accidentally thrown overboard and left behind. When a search of the waters fails to discover Con the ship's crew assumes he is dead. But, little do they know that the ravaged and weary young man has found a cay for sanctuary.

On this small little island Con is saved by another castaway, an old man named Ginty. After nourishment and rest, Con learns that Ginty experienced a ship wreck 21 years ago and he's been on this island since. But, now that Con is there he has a plan to escape the island with hundreds of thousands of dollars in valuable pearls. Shortly before his shipwreck, Giny had invested his time in pearl culturing – deliberately placing a small pebble inside of an oyster so they grow the pearl. Pear farming is explained masterfully by Catherall through his character. I found it nothing short of fascinating and now I want pearls. 

Con and Ginty can now work together to dive to the ocean depths to harvest the pearls. One man to crank the air pump and another to dive. Also, the two can successfully paddle boat the 30+ miles to civilization. But, like any good rags to riches tale, the endeavor introduces a criminal element that shakes the narrative and spins the moral compass of key characters.

Coral Reef Castaway is an enjoyable diving adventure that includes some tense moments in deep water. There's the obligatory ordeal with sharks and razor-sharp coral, but Catherall's leading duo experience the most trouble on land fighting the two-legged predator. There's diving rivalries, gunfire, survival elements, and the aforementioned underseas adventure to keep readers engaged for 200 pages. The central highlight is the old man of the sea mentoring the next generation. Catherall is an experienced journeyman and lived an exciting life of adventure. His resume of fishing, diving, and surviving in exotic locales inserts itself intentionally into the makeup of these characters and how they behave in harsh conditions.

If you love Catherall's writing as much as I do then you'll find plenty to like here. Don't let the cover and young adult stigma fool you. This is a recommended read. If you like both of these characters, Catherall wrote at least one more book starring the duo, Barrier Reef Bandits, published in 1960. I can't locate enough information to determine if Guardian of the Reef from 1961 includes these same characters. You can get these books HERE.

Paperback Warrior Podcast - Episode 123

In this episode, Eric explores the transition of vintage pulp stories and heroes from magazine format to mass market paperbacks in the 1960s and 1970s. He also celebrates GarbAugust by highlighting three of the worst books he’s ever read. Stream below, download HERE, or watch on YouTube HERE.

Listen to "Episode 123: Pulps in Paperback" on Spreaker.

Conan - Conan of Cimmeria

The tenth of the Lancer Conan paperbacks, Conan of Cimmeria, was published in 1969. The publisher reprinted it in 1970 through 1973. Ace took over the publication in 1977, after Lancer's bankruptcy. The paperback was also published by Sphere Books in England in 1974. The book's contents is disappointing considering that Robert E. Howard's sole work, “The Frost Giant's Daughter”, “Queen of the Black Coast”, and “The Vale of Lost Women” only make up three of the eight selections. The rest are written by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter either together, solely, or with the aid of Howard's prior unpublished work. However, Frank Frazetta's cover painting is one of the most iconic of Conan culture.

The book begins with the obligatory map of the world of Conan in the Hyborian Age followed by an introduction authored by de Camp regarding Howard's short-lived life, the pseudo-history of Conan's world, and the fictional biography of the titular hero.

The highlight of the paperback is “The Frost-Giant's Daughter”. This was originally published with different characters as “The Gods of the North” (The Fantasy Fan #7, March 1934) after being rejected as a Conan story by Weird Tales. “The Frost-Giant's Daughter” version was first published in The Coming of Conan (Gnome Press, 1953). 

In the story, the hero has returned to his homeland in Cimmeria, but grows a hunger for battle. He decides to participate in a raid into Vanaheim with his old barbaric friends the Aesirs. As the narrative begins, Conan is the last remaining combatant of the Aesirs and an enemy named Heimdul is the sole member left of Vanaheim's fighting forces. They both lock into battle and Conan kills Heimdul, but collapses from exhaustion on the hard frozen ground. Conan awakens to feminine laughter and then sees a beautiful ivory-skinned woman in front of him. She's naked and barefoot, yet dancing on the snow. Lusting for this cold-weather maiden, Conan trails the woman for miles through the frozen wastelands. Growing tired, he suddenly realizes that the woman has led him to her two brothers, savage frost giants. 

“The Frost-Giant's Daughter” has a special kind of frosty ambiance and a dreamlike presentation that is unique for a Conan story. I'm surprised it wasn't picked up by one of the publishers of that era in its original form, yet I can foresee how they may have perceived Conan in this odd sort of icy trance. In the end, it all worked out for readers and fans as this story is one of Howard's finest stories. 

The other iconic Howard story in this paperback edition is “Queen of the Black Coast”. It was originally published in Weird Tales (May 1934) and then reprinted in Avon Fantasy Reader (#8, Nov. 1948). It's ranked in the higher echelons of Howard's Conan offerings for a reason. 

The story begins with Conan fleeing the law in Argos. Conan, in an effort to avoid his pursuers, demands passage on the Argus, a trading barge. When the Argus crew refuses to allow Conan to board, he threatens to kill the captain and his crew. Conan then befriends the ship's captain, a guy named Tito. 

The story's title comes to fruition when Belit arrives, a gorgeous female pirate commanding the Tigress. Her clashing with Conan's crew in Kush is a violent, epic struggle as the Argos crew is annihilated by Belit's black pirates. However, she finds Conan's fighting skills to be superb, peaking her interest in the adventurer. Belit is sexually attracted to Conan and soon the two become lovers as they ravage Stygian coastlines.

On the river Zarkheba, Conan and Belit discover an ancient tower in the jungle. After rotating the tower, they find a wealth of treasures, including a cursed necklace for Belit. Soon, subhuman creatures (hyena men?) and a winged demon appear to slaughter the Tigress's crew. The necklace creates madness for Belit and after Conan's lone departure to kill a monster, he returns to find her corpse hanging from the ship. 

“Queen of the Black Coast” presents something unusual for Conan – a true love. While readers don't partake in the relationship itself, they are there for the beginning. Belit's attraction to Conan is nearly hypnotic, submitting to the hero despite the number of crewmen she commands and the overall superiority of her ship. Conan instantly feels the attraction and is magnetized by this “She-Devil” as are readers.

The other sole Howard offering here is “The Vale of Lost Women”, estimated to have been written in 1933. It was never published in Howard's lifetime, only seeing a release much later in Magazine of Horror (Spring 1967). There was never any indication that the story was submitted to the pulps.

“The Vale of Lost Women” takes place after the events of “Queen of the Black Coast” and Belit's death. Conan has joined the Bamula tribe in the jungles of Kush, becoming their new tribal king. In an effort to propose a possible truce, Conan visits a rival tribe called The Bakalah. It is here that he meets a white female prisoner named Livia. He learns that both Livia, and her brother, are scientists from Ophir that were captured by Bakalah warriors. Livia's brother was tortured to death, and she's certainly next to die. 

Livia suggests to Conan that she is a virgin, and after he refuses to free her, she offers him her body. Conan then agrees to help her escape. Later that day, she sees Conan walking towards her carrying the bloody severed head of the Bakalah's tribal chief. In fear that Conan, now drenched in crimson, is coming for her, she escapes on horseback into the jungle. 

Livia falls from her horse and discovers she's in a beautiful valley that is home to a tribe of black lesbians! But, the lesbians are using poisonous orchids to create a hallucinogenic effect, placing Livia in a trance. She finds that these lesbians are sacrificing her on an alter to a giant black bat! Thankfully, Conan has trailed Livia and fights off the giant bat thing. Livia, fearing that Conan will attempt to claim her, becomes frightened. However, Conan simply advises her that he made a mistake in accepting her proposal to give herself to him. Arguably, he is suggesting there is no honor in that. Instead, he agrees to guide her to the Stygian border where she can eventually find passage to Ophir. 

There isn't much to Howard's story, which probably contributes to the possibility that it was never submitted for publication during the author's lifetime. The imagery of Conan slowly walking through carnage holding a severed head is memorable, but aside from that there isn't a whole lot to highlight. But, the story does present a rarely seen moment of the hero's life as the Bamula leader.

The best of the de Camp and Carter stories featured in the paperback is “Lair of the Ice Worm”, an original story published for the first time here. 

The story picks up after the events of "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" as a twenty-something Conan is trudging through the snowfall in Aesir. A short distance away, Conan sees a young woman being attacked by savage men resembling Neanderthals. Soon, Conan is slicing his way to the woman's rescue, but his horse is killed in the battle. In an eerie premonition, the girl warns Conan of something ominous called a Yakhmar, but Conan (and readers) isn't sure what that is.

Finding shelter in a cave, Conan makes love to the girl by the firelight. He awakens to discover the girl is no longer in the cave. With the icy conditions outside, Conan fears something may have happened to her. Outside, he follows a trail that leads to two skeletons, one of the girl and another of his horse. Both have been picked clean of all flesh and oddly enveloped in ice. Conan begins to think that this Yakhmar thing is actually a Remora, a giant vampire-like worm. Feeling responsible for the girl's death, Conan tracks the worm's trail to an icy cave. Will he escape this fiendish assault of Remora?

An eerie atmosphere and ambiance prevails throughout this short fantasy story. There's the obvious elements of horror, complete with a worm-like creature squirming under the icy tundra. The early battle with the savages was written well and contained the sweeping adventure that REH's Conan stories frequently possessed. As an aside, the brawny hero had no resistance in bedding down the beauty of the story, another obvious trope of Conan storytelling. 

Other stories in the paperback:

“The Curse of the Monolith” - an original de Camp & Carter story
“The Bloodstained God” - originally an unpublished Kirby O' Donnell story, reworked by Carter & de Camp
“The Castle of Terror” - originally an unfinished Howard manuscript, completed by Carter
“The Snout in the Dark” - originally an untitled fragment not finished or published, completed by Carter & de Camp.