Adventure #08 - Safari Adventure

Willard DeMille Price (1887-1983) was born in Ontario, Canada. He traveled the globe writing for newspapers, magazines, and museums, in particular National Geographic Society and American Museum of Natural History. He visited 148 countries in his career and even hinted in his autobiography, My Own Life of Adventure, that he was an American spy. He wrote 21 travel books, mostly about Asia, and a successful, 14-book series titled Adventure. These books were catered to young readers and published between 1949 and 1980. Many of the books have been issued in digital editions.

I joined as a guest for Jeff's Cave of Cool Books, a nifty YouTube channel that features all of the great things you might love about Paperback Warrior (watch HERE). We discussed the Adventure series, Willard Price, and did a buddy read of the eighth installment, Safari Adventure. It was published in 1966.

The series features two main characters, 19-year-old Hal and his 13-year-old brother Roger. They work for their father John Hunt, a successful animal trapper who stocks zoos and preserves with global treasures. But, in most cases, the two are called in for help in ecological disasters, animal cruelty, and international affairs affecting tourism and its revenue. 

In Safari Adventure, the duo journeys to Tsavo, a large wilderness in Kenya. There, a game warden named Crosby explains that this 8,000 square mile territory is ravaged by animal poachers. Crosby had 20 rangers to patrol this entire area, 12 of which have been killed by the hunters' poison arrows and animal traps. Crosby wants help tracking down one of the more notorious poachers, a shadowy criminal named Blackbeard. Keep in mind that the two main characters are Hal and Roger, but they lead a large organization of personnel that can assist, in this case bringing an entourage of 30+ men.

Price does a wonderful job packing this novel with miniature adventures that include a pit confrontation with a cheetah, a couple of epic fights with the poachers, a plane crash, and even a bit of courtroom drama. Every chapter is maximized and contributes to the through story without sacrificing any momentum or pacing. 

While this is a young-adult read, it definitely will appeal to all ages. Additionally, Price uses this book to sort of do a public service announcement on the horrors of poaching. No details are spared as Price puts the boys into an investigative mode that reveals some of the most disturbing atrocities I've personally read. We're talking men's action-adventure details that would make Nick Carter nauseous. Keep in mind this isn't like a horror novel where the author positions the villain into some vile level with despicable animal cruelty. This is done as a sobering, teachable moment. 

Overall, Safari Adventure was fantastic. Again, check out my video discussion with Jeff's Cave of Cool Books about this novel HERE. You can also obtain a copy of the book HERE.

Night Howl

Andrew Neiderman is probably best known for his 19th career novel, The Devil's Advocate, which was adapted into a film in 1997 starring Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves. He authored over 100 novels, mostly of the horror and suspense genre. We've reviewed a couple of them, Someone's Watching (1983) and Pin (1981), so I was anxious to get back to his vintage horror work. I decided to try the killer-dog formula and tracked down Night Howl, published by Pocket in 1986.

The book is set in upstate New York. A German Shepherd has escaped a secret government laboratory that specializes in biological and chemical weapons and genetic engineering. It's a catch-all for a special project providing super-intelligence to dogs. While this portion of the book is a bit cloudy, apparently, part of the genes injected into this dog came from the prison system. So, the pooch – named Phantom – is a criminal mastermind trapped in a dog's body. It's like the killer trapped in the plastic shell of the Chucky doll in those Child's Play films and shows. 

Phantom has a run-in with the Kaufmans, an ordinary family of peaceful suburbanites, while also being hunted by the government operatives. Neiderman uses varying perspectives to present the story; this includes all of the doggy thoughts of Phantom himself – food, mating, kill!

As you can tell from the tone, I really hated this book. Night Howl is nearly 300-pages of absolute nothingness. Perhaps it was a quick concept pitched to Neiderman by a Cujo-hungry agent or editor, or simply an unenthusiastic “when animals attack” idea that the author wanted his claws in. There are some interesting kills, a few effective pages of a home-invasion, and a complete location swerve as the action moves to New York City faster than you can say “Jason Takes Manhattan”. 

Oddly, Dean Koontz would use a similar idea with his 1987 novel Watchers. In that book, a Golden Retriever named Einstein gains super-intelligence and escapes from a secret government lab. The dog and its new owner are tracked by shadowy assassins and a genetically engineered monster. I'm sure there are dozens of super-pooch books, some good, some not so much. As for Night Howl...it's a snoozefest. 

If you have to own it, get it HERE.

M.I.A. Hunter #13 - L.A. Gang War

About a year before his death, author Stephen Mertz mailed me the paperback of M.I.A. Hunter #13 – L.A. Gang War. He wrote the book for Jove in 1990 as Jack Buchanan. Mertz, aware of my love for the series, inscribed the book to me and wrote that this installment was his favorite. The series was originally published between 1985 and 1991, consisting of sixteen books. In 2019, Mertz contributed one additional book to the series. Historically, these books were authored by Mertz, Mike Newton, Joe R. Lansdale, William Fieldhouse, Arthur Moore, and Bill Crider. Wolfpack Publishing issued the series in digital editions in 2018. 

L.A. Gang War is one of only three volumes that features the heroic trio – Stone, Loughlin, Wiley – in domestic affairs (#10 in Miami, #17 in Texas). Traditionally, this team of mercenaries operates in Asia and Europe, rescuing prisoners-of-war and hostages either independently or, in later books, as a secret squad for the U.S. military. 

The book begins with a flashback to Stone's first days in Vietnam as an Army Green Beret. During a mission, Stone's team is attacked by a shadowy guerrilla team led by a former U.S. Army official named Conte. During the firefight, Stone is injured along with two of his fellow soldiers, Chavez and Brown. What these four characters experienced thrust them into a conflict that would escalate years later.

In the present, the M.I.A. Hunter trio is contacted by Brown, now a deputy chief of L.A.'s Tactical Gang Squad. He wants Stone to penetrate a gang fortress that's holding Chavez, now a successful, leading journalist on gang activities and street crimes in the city. Brown feels that Chavez has stumbled on a robust drug exchange between Columbia and two notorious gangs – Bloods and Crips. During the obligatory crash 'n dash firefight, Stone gets a glimpse of a face that has haunted him for years – Conte. 

Stephen Mertz elevates this installment of the M.I.A. Hunter series into a mesmerizing crime-fiction novel that blends a riveting police-procedural narrative with this team-based combat formula. Deep in the trenches, the story spirals into these effective twists and turns that reveal Conte's criminal history, Chavez's relationship with Brown's daughter, and the drug trade that is ensnaring all of these eccentric characters. Mertz injects plenty of action – gunfire, stealth, fisticuffs, fiery liberation – which is the series formula, but he creates interlocking storylines from different perspectives that are wholly different than the prior installments. In many ways, this could have been a standalone novel with a different character name for Stone. 

There is a reason that Mertz deemed this novel as his favorite of the series – it's the best one I've read thus far. If you want something a little more than the typical Middle East and Southeast Asia adventures, then this is the one series installment you can't miss. I'd also venture to say that if you love Mertz's treatment of the Mack Bolan material, then you will love what he has accomplished here. Highest possible recommendation.

Get a vintage copy of the book HERE or a digital edition HERE.

The Tarot Spell

Willo Davis Roberts (1928-2004) was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Originally a paramedic, she transitioned into a career as a full-time novelist. Her first book, Murder at Grand Bay, was published in 1955. She authored 100 books in her lifetime, many of which were gothics and children's novels. She won Edgar awards in 1989, 1995, and 1997, and was awarded the Governor's Award for children's literature in Washington State. My first experience with Roberts is the 1970 Lancer gothic The Tarot Spell. 

Catherine is a young woman who just inherited two-million (obviously) from the uncle she cared for. Ironically, the fortune also brings her a new husband, a guy named Jason Ruart. Catherine and Jason are old acquaintances who struck up a relationship recently. Catherine's friends and sisters feel as though Jason is just cashing in on Catherine, marrying her for her money. But Jason's family is old money. They own the town's mill, and he's in charge of modernizing the facility. 

Jason moves Catherine into his family's robust mansion (obviously) where she nearly dies in “accidents” in and around the house (obviously). The “tarot” idea springs from Jason's mother, an eccentric drunk who plays with the cards and advises Catherine repeatedly that she's in danger. Is Jason planning to knock Catherine off? Does Jason's sister have an agenda? What's the story on Jason's prior wife? These are the threads that weave together The Tarot Spell. 

When it comes to gothics the effectiveness of the story is based on atmosphere and the protagonist – both have to be strongly detailed and positioned in a way that adds some depth and emotional charge. Catherine, while admirable as a devout caregiver, isn't particularly smart or engaging. She lacks independence and is consistently crying over her disenchanting relationship with Jason. Roberts doesn't add any real atmosphere to the novel, unwisely keeping the details of the sprawling mansion's interior in the reader's imagination. The family dynamic was mildly interesting and provided a small amount of mystery. Ultimately, I figured out the book's plot and ending by page 10. This made my reading experience less than enjoyable. The Tarot Spell didn't mesmerize me. Whether I'll read another Roberts book is debatable. 

Get The Tarot Spell HERE.

Doomsday Warrior #03 - The Last American

The third installment of Doomsday Warrior, The Last American, was authored by Ryder Syvertsen and Jan Stacy. It was published by Zebra in December 1984. 

The book begins with the series protagonist, Ted Rockson, leading a search-and-rescue mission for scientists. This inevitably leads to the pre-established formula of a mini adventure to open the novel. Only this time, Rockson is attacked by a L. Sprague de Camp monstrosity: a giant spider. He's injected with venom and descends into unconsciousness. After a series of medical procedures, Rockson is up and ready for the novel's two adventures, which is another staple of the series – a double matinee in each book.

In the first segment, Rockson chooses team member Chen to lead an annoying political activist and an older professor to an important meeting. There's an election happening to choose a new president. Each of these rebel cities must send a representative to vote and adopt a constitution. Of course, anytime a non-team character is introduced...it's to add to the body count. In this case, the older professor falls into a ravine and is munched to death by some mutant creatures. Eventually, the meeting happens, but it's ravaged by a Soviet attack. 

The book's second adventure finds Rockson, Kim (Rockson's girlfriend), and Kim's father injured after the attack. Rockson is rescued by a mountain man and nursed to health. Kim and her father are taken by mutants called Glowers. They have more in common with aliens than any mutant abomination. In fact, these Glowers are a kind race and use telepathy to communicate and heal. They are attempting to heal Kim, but need Rockson as her “true love” to immerse himself in her soul – literally. Rockson and the Glowers all unite in a telepathy orgie – no, seriously. It's metaphysical nonsense that seems way...like way...out of place here. But sometimes these 80s post-apocalyptic books take some sharp turns along the way. Doomsday Warrior is evolving into a weird title that blends a lot of ideas.

The Last American is a wacky trip laced with the typical G.I. Joe stuff that I've mentioned in my past reviews. Readers get a martial arts lesson from Chen, tepid sex, and a boring backstory as the two Soviet leaders spar. Overall, this seemed like a placeholder installment. Your mileage may vary.

Get The Last American HERE.

Don't Walk Home Alone

Author Beverly Hastings was a joint pseudonym used by Carol Barkin and Elizabeth James. These writers contributed to the Point Horror brand of young adult thriller and suspense novels. In the 1980s and early 1990s. However, the two also wrote a handful of horror paperbacks for both Jove and Pocket Books. I chose Don't Walk Home Alone, originally published by Jove in 1985 in paperback. The reading experience was a bit disturbing.

Kate is working on her post-grad thesis paper for Columbia University. She's involved in a crumbling relationship with her boyfriend and searching for quiet afternoons where she can write. She reads an advertisement in a newspaper asking for home help to care for a young girl. Intrigued, Kate drives out to Edgar's Landing, a cozy, fictitious small town along the Hudson River.

Meeting with Adam, Kate learns that the job would involve caring for his niece Jessica, a seven-year old second-grader. Kate must be at Adam's large Victorian house every weekday afternoon to see that Jessica is home safely, prepare dinner, help with homework, and generally be the adult-on-duty until Adam returns home from work. Simple, right? No. The problem is that Jessica has a stalker. Thus, the disturbing events.

First, reports circulate that one of Jessica's schoolmates was abducted on his walk home. He was dragged into the forest and left tied to a tree. The police are inept at finding the culprit, so life goes on. But, in one of the most heinous things I've read in a book, the perspective switches to the stalker, only this time he's driving his car. He targets what he thinks is Jessica in the street and runs her over. Only it wasn't Jessica. The little girl dies, yet the police still seem clueless about who is attacking these students.

Kate begins receiving bizarre phone calls where an anonymous caller sings nursery rhymes to her about little girls falling into wells. During one exchange, the caller suggests that little girls are made of “nothing”. Eventually, the suspense is ratcheted up notch after notch as this stalker finds Jessica's house. 

As creepy as these sequences were, the authors counter the terror with a plodding romance thread that slowly develops between Kate and Adam. His backstory on raising Jessica, the death of her parents, and a divorce sort of muddle up the bulk of the book. I was never bored, but in my experience, I was hoping for an iron-fisted detective to enter the book to make the nab on the stalker. While that doesn't happen, the book does have a great cat-and-mouse chase as Kate and Jessica attempt to escape the clutches of the madman. 

Don't Walk Home Alone is an easy recommendation. The writing tandem reminded me of Dolores Hitchens and other mid 20th-century female writers who rely heavily on dialogue to tell the story. In fact, this novel reminded me of a recent reading of Hitchens's The Abductor, a 1962 novel recently reprinted by Stark House Press.

You can obtain a copy of Don't Walk Home Alone HERE.

The House of Ravensbourne

The first thing you need to realize is that I read this melodrama paperback by accident. In researching a gothic paperback to joint-read with Nick at The Book Graveyard, I inadvertently picked the wrong book – The House of Ravensbourne. Granted, this 1965 Pyramid Books edition (R1205, cvr Mort Engel) is dressed up as a gothic, as well as the publisher's reprint in 1973 (N31927), it's still a melodrama. It's not a gothic. Unfortunately, this sort of thing happened often in the publishing world. Plenty of early 20th-century mystery novels and pulp stories were introduced to an unsuspecting public as gothic paperbacks in the 1960s and 1970s. 

The House of Ravensbourne began its literary life as The Amateur Governess, a hardcover published in 1964 by Hurst & Blackett's Valentine Romance Club. It was reprinted under that title in 1977 by Coronet. The author is Mary Ann Gibbs, a romance novelist who authored nearly 40 works over her thirty-year career. 

Catherine Whittingham and her sister Isabelle are the daughters of a successful British General. They live in Grey Ladies, a robust mansion located in a rural portion of the English countryside. After a decorative ball, Catherine is notified that her father has died from a sudden illness. During the will reading, the siblings learn that they are penniless as their father squandered away the family's fortune at the roulette table. Catherine is set to marry a wealthy young man named Anthony, but turns down any wedding preparation to concentrate on finding a new temporary home for her and Isabelle. They relocate to Brighton, where Isabelle will live with a rich widow, a sort of substitute daughter who can enjoy a splendid upbringing of dance and piano recitals, balls, and exquisite travel. But Catherine isn't offered the same deal.

Catherine becomes employed by Mrs. Ravensbourne, a wealthy widow living in a large estate next door to Isabelle's new residence. Her charge is a young woman named Amy, Mrs. Ravenbourne's neglected niece, who lives in an attic bedroom, eating table scraps and wearing rags. In the novel's backstory, we learn that Mrs. Ravensbourne's daughter Edith is her primary concern, a sick woman with a serious heart condition. When Amy's mother passed away, her father asked Mrs. Ravensbourne to take care of the child. Only she doesn't provide any care for the child other than shelter. This is where Catherine's journey begins. 

Through the first few weeks, Catherine must adjust to her new living conditions, the bitter rivalry between Amy and Mrs. Ravensbourne, and the harsh treatment heaped on her by the Ravensbourne staff. These scenes were just so moving, conveying the horrors of child abuse and neglect and how these things curb the ability to grow and mature. Catherine, through selfless sacrifice, becomes Amy's friend and mentor, encouraging her to make the most of her living conditions and situation. It was this portion of the narrative that reminded me of The Count of Monte Cristo and The Flowers in the Attic, as dismal as they may be. 

Catherine's self-discovery is a large portion of Gibbs's story, complete with the fallout of Anthony's marital vow, her eroding relationship with her sister, the adjustment to living as a commoner, and a light romantic spark for Amy's father, William. There are a couple of other interesting threads woven into Gibbs's effective prose that include Edith's growing relationship with Catherine, William's strife in building a local employment union, and a mesmerizing mystery on just who Amy's real mother is.

What started as an accident suddenly became one of the best reading experiences I've had. The House of Ravensbourne was a roller-coaster of emotions that left me glued to every page. Maybe I'm just becoming sensitive to this sort of thing in my older years, but the book was like the finest episodes of Downton Abbey – family turmoil, riches, romance, and political upheaval – all thrust into the pages of this simple little paperback.

So why did Pyramid pick this book to market as a gothic? The only real evidence is a short-lived plot in which Catherine occasionally hears footsteps outside of her bedroom door at night. There is also a disturbing scene where an attacker breaks into Amy's room and attempts to kill her. Perhaps someone at Pyramid found these elements prevalent enough to warrant a gothic treatment? If that's what brought you to the book, then you may be pleasantly surprised that this novel is so much more than that. Highest recommendation.

Burma Rifles

I've been on a Frank Bonham kick of late and wanted to continue reading his westerns, crime fiction, and juvenile fiction. I stumbled upon a striking cover for Burma Rifles (artist unknown) while surfing for more information about the author. This book was originally published in hardcover in 1960 by Thomas Y. Crowell Company. It was reprinted as a Berkley Highland paperback in August 1965. It went through at least four printings through April 1969. 

In Bonham's 1963 novel Deepwater Challenge, the author showcased a deep passion for Japanese-Americans relocated during WWII. In that novel, the character of Aki is revealed to be a Japanese-American farmer forced to abandon his home and business. As a diver, he volunteered to assist the U.S. Military during the war. Burma Rifles exhibits that same spirit and admiration for the Japanese-American history and culture. On the copyright page, it states:

This book is dedicated to those Americans of Japanese ancestry who served with the armed forces of the United States in World War II. In particular, it is the author's wish to commemorate the heroism of the fourteen Nisei volunteers with the 5307th Composite Unit – popularly known as “Merrill's Marauders” - whose very presence behind the enemy lines in Burma involved courage beyond the call of duty.

The author also includes a two-page Foreword about the history of Niseis, their achievements during WWII, and the bitter treatment of the Japanese and Japanese-Americans who spent the war in relocation centers. He applauds their willingness to forget past unhappiness and their resounding ability to live in the present. Bonham lists several resources he used for the book, including Charlton Ogburn's The Marauders and interviews with several military leaders. 

The book introduces readers to Jerry, a young Japanese-American living on his family's Southern California farm. Both of his parents were born in Japan and moved to the U.S. chasing the American dream. Jerry is in the drugstore when a radio broadcast announces that Pearl Harbor has been bombed. In an instant, Jerry's friends and fellow citizens turn on him, an event that escalates into a horrific attack on his family's farm. It is these scenes where Jerry is “born”, where his adversity, kindness, and strengths rise to the occasion. As a reader, I became so enamored with this character. I gained an instant respect for him and his family. 

Jerry is recruited into the Army. He is sent, along with dozens of other men of Japanese ancestry, to a special boot camp that specializes in combat and linguistics. It will be Jerry's role to translate on the field of battle, including interrogating prisoners, reading intelligence reports, and listening to Japanese conversations behind enemy lines. A good portion of the book is dedicated to Jerry's training and his experiences training for Operation Galahad, a massive fight in the China Burma India theater. 

The book's second half is an action-packed sequence of grueling battles in the jungle. Jerry's first experiences in battle are especially emotional, but Bonham doesn't pull any punches. The visceral details - harrowing sense of doom, the aura of blood-drenched foxholes, exhaustion, desperation – it's just intoxicating under Bonham's compelling prose. While there's not one main objective, the day-to-day routine is enough adventure to pack the pages. Jerry interrogates several prisoners, including a female dancer, and develops some strong connections with his Japanese ancestry. It all culminates in a blistering final fight to take a Japanese island stronghold. 

There aren't a lot of books that I would swear to read again. However, I enjoyed Burma Rifles so much that I have to read it again. There are so many little details, so much emotional dexterity, and a battle-born texture to it that just has to be relived again. I was saddened to leave Jerry's journey at the end of the novel. That's a sure-fire sign of a great book – never wanting it to end. Burma Rifles was that good.

You can read the novel for free HERE or buy a vintage copy HERE.

Ingram

Louis C.K. is one of America’s top stand-up comics, so it came as a surprise when he released Ingram, a literary historical novel inspired by the work of William Faulkner, Erskine Caldwell and John Steinbeck. 

Our narrator is Ingram, a young boy (age likely under 10) living in abject parental neglect in rural Texas during what is likely the Great Depression (the exact era is never disclosed). His parents treat him like a piece of livestock. No school. No love or care. He sleeps on a blanket in the shed of his father’s unproductive farm. His parents taught him nothing about the world and barely acknowledged his existence. 

The imminent foreclosure of the farm and the separation of Ingram’s parents find the boy cast onto the dusty road to fend for himself in a world where he knows less than nothing about being human, much less independent. Battling ignorance and starvation in the early chapters, the reader is left wondering how little Ingram will survive. 

Much of the novel is a “fish out of water” story about Ingram learning about basics (“if you don’t drink water daily, you’ll die) as if he were an alien trying to assimilate among earthlings. His travel-by-foot adventure reminded me of a tragic Huckleberry Finn, but instead of a trusty slave, Ingram is mostly alone - relying on the kindness of strangers to cobble together enough life lessons to help a young boy survive the crushing poverty of his existence. 

There are moments of joy and humor that C.K. delivers quite well, but Ingram’s adventures and the working-poor’s poverty along the way are some bleak fiction. It’s also compelling as hell. The reader grows to love our pre-pubescent, stoic narrator who has nothing going for him other than his innate innocence about…everything. 

This is one of the best books I’ve read in ages. Although it’s technically literary fiction, the pages fly by like a pulp novel because the narrator is a kid. There’s no central plot to the book other than a young man’s education among the dusty roads, tumbleweeds, and Ingram’s coming to terms with the abject neglect of his earliest years. 

I don’t get the impression that the novel has been a tremendous economic success. I suspect people didn’t know what to make of a serious historical novel by a raunchy stadium comedian. I hope that the book is rediscovered in paperback and has a second life. It’s really something special, and I want to read more Louis C.K. serious fiction. Highest recommendation.

Get the book HERE.

Hawker #08 - Terror in D.C.

I read the first six Hawker novels in quick succession and enjoyed them immensely. I took a breather and read the seventh installment a few years later. Again, after a hiatus, I have returned to the series with the eighth novel, Terror in D.C., published in 1986 by Dell using Randy Wayne White's manly pseudonym of Carl Ramm. The whole series is available in reprinted digital and print editions from Open Road Media. 

In the book's opening chapters, Hawker is involved in an active shooter situation at a school. In a rather confusing opener, Hawker is seen moving throughout the school's outer perimeters and into a local neighborhood. In pursuit of the shooter, he stumbles upon a woman who fools him into a false sense of security. Hawker is shot in the chest, and the game's over – literally. It turns out this was a simulated firefight hosted by a recruiting division of the C.I.A. The whole thing was orchestrated by Hawker's employer, Jacob Montgomery Hayes, upon request by the agency. The C.I.A. is aware of Hawker's vigilante missions, his determination to stop crime, and the success he's experienced in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and Houston. 

Unfortunately, Hawker is denied by the C.I.A., but this was all a ruse. Behind the scenes, the agency wants to utilize Hawker to perform some off-the-radar missions (isn't all of the C.I.A. Off-the-radar?!?). Hawker is advised of a serial bombing affecting suburban families in the D.C. area. Readers already know the Iranian cell behind these attacks, but Hawker gets to work on the investigation. He finds the spearpoint, a local businessman that is funding the activities. Hawker also romances a U.S. Senator, a woman who will apparently pay larger dividends in a through-story. As the book closes, it is implied that Hawker is now on the run from the C.I.A., and this Senator may be helping him avoid capture. 

Hawker novels are breezy, senseless fun that reads a lot like Dirty Harry or some of the higher-numbered Mack Bolan novels. It's a formula, but the hero's finesse is appealing to me. As always, there are a few mentions of Hawker's prior experiences with the Chicago Police Department and what led to his vigilante missions. I wish the author would delve more into Hayes and his butler Hendrikcks, a former British secret agent. This seems to be a missed opportunity.

You can get Terror in D.C. HERE.

Deepwater Challenge

Based on a small sample size, what I've read by Frank Bonham has been exceptional. He authored for the pulps in the 1940s and 1950s, then moved into writing full-length novels and television scripts. He's mostly known for his western writing, but he was a consistent juvenile and YA writer. I found a copy of his YA novel Deepwater Challenge. It was published in 1963 by Thomas Y. Crowell Company with cover art designed by Albert Burkhardt. 

Cam Walker has graduated from high school and is prowling the docks searching for the right boat. His father is down and out with debilitating arthritis, so it's up to Cam to bring home the bacon – but in this case, it's fish. His parents have saved $7K for a boat, hoping that Cam can start up a successful fishing and salvage business. But Cam quickly realizes it's not enough money to purchase a decent floating tub. This is when he runs into his fiercest rival, an elderly fisherman named Graber. 

Cam wants to buy Graber's overpriced boat, but his father insists that he seek consultation from a family friend, a former Japanese salvage diver named Aki. After Aki reveals that Graber's boat is significantly damaged, Cam purchases another boat using financing. This infuriates Graber, and he becomes one of the primary plot devices – this maniacal lunatic prowling the sea, hoping to wreck and sink Cam. 

With Aki, Cam begins diving in deep waters to harvest abalone, a meaty shellfish that grabs onto the ocean's rocky settlements. But Aki is too old now to successfully make the dives, and Cam is inexperienced. Cam's older brother Steve, a former U.S. Navy diver, joins the trio. But, he has a secret that he withholds from Cam and Aki – he isn't healthy enough to make the dives, yet wants to contribute to the family's new fishing business. 

First off, Bonham can write his grocery list and make it interesting. I was so invested in the education portions of this novel, the intricacies of diving, the technology (as antiquated as it might be now), and the art of abalone harvesting. However, Bonham introduces another interesting plot device with salvaging boat wrecks. There's a thread here of the trio discovering some rare 1800s coins that will hopefully fund their enterprise. Getting the coins to the surface is one of the most exciting portions of the book. Additionally, I was fascinated by the character of Aki and his history as a Japanese-American. He was forced to relocate with his family after WWII, causing him to lose his family's business.

In the “About the Author” section, Frank Bonham explains that he spent a great deal of time researching for this book. He frequently performed skin diving with a friend from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, interviewing professional abalone divers, and cross-checking facts with the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries. He presents these fishing facts in a pleasurable way. Deepwater Challenge is a fascinating book for any reader, young or old.  

You can read this book at Archive.org HERE. 

Black Berets #02 - Cold Vengeance

I enjoyed The Deadly Reunion, the debut in the team-commando series Black Berets. This was a Dell paperback title that was published between 1984 and 1987. The house name was Mike McCray, but in reality, these books were authored by John Preston and Michael McDowell. As much as I loved the first installment, it has taken me six years to return to the series. I'm rolling my sleeves up for Cold Vengeance, the sophomore effort from the duo, originally published in 1984.

In the debut, Beeker, Rosie, Cowboy, Harry, and Marty are introduced. This is an old CIA special forces squad that made a name for itself during the Vietnam War. Their old warhorse officer, Parker, put the band back together to liberate one of their own from a Laotian prison camp. As that book ended, the team realized that Parker was a criminal drug lord and was just using the team to gain more fortune for himself. Realizing they were double-crossed, the team took the fortunes of war for themselves in an effort to create a mercenary enterprise.

In Cold Vengeance, the novel begins with Parker's cohorts invading the team's headquarters in the Pacific Northwest. The team is away on a mission, leaving only Beeker's “son”, a mute boy, behind. In a riveting, action-packed sequence of events, the young boy hunts and kills Parker's trio of goons, fatally eliminating each one with a bow-and-arrow. These scenes were some of the best I've read in ages. It reminded me of David Morrell's equally amazing archery scenes from Rambo II. But, despite the boy's best efforts, the trio burns the headquarters.

The team returns, finds the place in ruins, and uses their newly acquired fortune to rebuild a better headquarters. I enjoyed this portion of the storytelling, with all the nuances and caveats of gun placement, barrier resistance, ammo stores, and the team's living conditions. In many ways, this team operates similarly to The Hard Corps, another outstanding team-commando paperback series. The Black Berets and The Hard Corps run a profitable, professional business – they aren't weekend warriors.

The plot of Cold Vengeance is the team's efforts to infiltrate and destroy a terrorist cell that may be operated by Parker. This is a good plot device as it serves two purposes: a storyline that works as a stand-alone novel, but also a way to wrap up the events about Parker from the debut.

Cold Vengeance was another fantastic entry, complete with an emphasis on furthering these characters and their personal histories. Readers learned a bit more about Cowboy's past as well as some intricate details concerning Marty's hobby of blowing things up – he's really into things that go boom. While there's plenty of action with chattering gunfire, bloody fisticuffs, and some graphic torture, both authors understand proper setup and delivery. There's a story here, and its told efficiently. The Black Berets continues to outshine much of the 1980s competition.

Get the book in reprint HERE or original paperback HERE.

The Secret Origin of Michael Myers? | Halloween Paperback Deep Dive

Halloween comes early on Paperback Warrior! In today’s video, I take a deep dive into the collectible 1979 Bantam paperback adaptation of Halloween by Richard Curtis and uncover the surprising mythology hidden inside its pages. While most fans know John Carpenter’s legendary film, this novelization adds an entirely new layer to Michael Myers’ story — including a six-page backstory that quietly influenced nearly every sequel in the franchise for the next four decades.

Join me as I compare the novel to the original film, explore the evolution of Michael Myers as a character, and examine how this overlooked paperback became one of the most fascinating pieces of Halloween history.

If you love vintage paperbacks, horror history, slasher films, and collectible movie tie-ins, this is an episode you won’t want to miss. Watch the video below or directly on YT HERE.

The Long Vendetta

Clifton Adams (1919-1971) only wrote a handful of crime novels in his career that weren’t also western novels. One of his contemporary crime novels was The Long Vendetta, published in hardcover in 1963 under the pseudonym of Jonathan Gant and re-released in 2026 by Stark House Press as a double with an introduction by someone named Eric Compton.

The Long Vendetta is a hardboiled suspense novel centered on Buck Coyle, a garage owner and former WWII sergeant who becomes the target of a psychologically-driven revenge campaign somehow tied to his time in the war. The novel begins with Buck, our narrator, awakening battered and bruised in a hospital room after a targeted attack by a vehicle swerving to hit pedestrian Buck.

A flashback to his squadron during WW2 details a war atrocity/mistake in which Buck and his men mistakenly opened fire on a house containing civilians, a woman and a child cut down by bullets from Buck’s men. Could this be related to the attempt on Buck’s life? Count on it.

Out of the hospital, a police detective discloses to Buck that several of the other surviving men in his squadron have all been mowed down by hit-and-run drivers in the past two weeks. Buck has no realistic choice other than to accept police protection.

The attempts on Buck’s life and his sanity escalate while the policemen pressure Buck to explore his recollections of wartime events in search of a motive. The author wrote an honest-to-goodness mystery here, shrouded in some serious commentary about the enduring impacts of wartime trauma complete with a climactic showdown revealing the truth behind the terror campaign.

The Long Vendetta is another winner from Clifton Adams, and we have Stark House Press to thank for rescuing this novel from out-of-print hardcover obscurity. Recommended. 

Get the book HERE.

The Caretaker

Marcus Kliewer is a stop-motion animator who made a name for himself in 2024. His debut novel, We Used to Live Here, began as a serialized short horror story on Reddit before being compiled into a full-length book. Now, Kliewer returns with his much-anticipated novel, The Caretaker. It is available in both digital and physical editions through Simon & Schuster.

The Caretaker has an initial setup that reminds me of the gothic-suspense paperbacks of the 1960s and 1970s. A young woman is employed by a mysterious family to temporarily live in their robust house. Of course, there's an air of mystery that surrounds the dwelling, from odd instructions about the various duties involved to a prevalent threat that looms over the house's property lines. Although void of some key gothic staples, like romance, an inheritance, and closed off sections of the home, it does possess some of the components - a vulnerable woman in the clutches of a supernatural threat while in the confines of a large house in a remote area. 

 

Kliewer does an excellent job making the reader care about Macy Mullins. She and her sister were both raised by their single father. He died years ago in a car accident, and since then, Macy has played the part of responsible parent for her sister. But broke, jobless, and on the verge of eviction, Macy accepts a rather unusual job interview to temporarily house sit for a weekend. 

During the interview, which takes place at the house, the owner explains some rather odd duties involved. She also provides a VHS tape for Macy to watch on her own that provides further instructions. Initially, these orders are very odd, but completely doable. Macy leaves the interview to ponder why this simple chore pays a whopping $9K. Despite her sister's best efforts to throw up the cautionary red flags, Macy accepts the job. She doesn't realize that in doing so, she is teetering at the gates of world collapse.

The Caretaker's first half is one of the most effective things I've read in years. As various rooms are discovered, intricate details of this family are exposed, and mistakes are made, the novel comes alive with a dense, stirring tension that's unrivaled. Kliewer drapes the house and the surrounding forest with a menacing supernatural threat. But, at the same time, Macy also has this innate ability to second-guess herself, fueled by voices she hears in her head from her sister – things she knows her sister would yell and scream about in precarious situations. These conversations make it seem as though Macy AND her sister are in the house, when in reality, these are just conversations Macy is having with herself. It makes the scenes come alive in what would normally be a dull one-person narration or perspective.  

As good as The Caretaker is, the second half wasn't quite as effective. As things continued happening in the house, and these bizarre little patterns snowballed, I felt that the ending left something to be desired. The novel has tremendous support from readers and fans, but much of the criticism is pointing at the ending, which some people refer to as a “nothingburger”. I'm okay with the ending simply because I couldn't come up with anything any different. It had to end that way, and I haven't lost any sleep over it.

If you enjoy these atmospheric, tight mysteries, then The Caretaker is highly recommended. It will probably be in my Top 10 reads of 2026. 

Get the book HERE.

Dirty Harry #03 - The Long Death

I had failed to find any enjoyment with the first two Dirty Harry installments, Duel for Cannons and Death on the Docks. However, I read the fourth and fifth installments, The Mexico Kill and Family Skeletons, and found the series had started to come into its own, a separate entity from the film franchise that inspired it. I had missed The Long Death, the third entry, in my early reading, but was happy when I located a copy. Was it the novel that converted this series from mediocre to great? 

The Long Death, authored by Ric Meyers (Ninja Master) as Dane Hartman, is a fun novel that soaks in all of the action-film formulas that were thriving at the box office at the time of publication. In fact, Meyers even delves into one of the other hot commodities of 1980s Hollywood, the beloved slasher genre. Meyers references films like Halloween and Mother's Day, as well as the Italian Giallo scene led by the likes of Dario Argento. In the book's first chapter, the author zeroes in on some really disturbing shock tactics to setup Dirty Harry's opponent, a child sex-trafficking ring.

A film student named Barbara is captured by a couple of masked men and taken to a secluded shed. Here she is tied with hundreds of restraints (seriously) and drugged. Somehow, she ends up escaping but is later recaptured and dragged to a macabre sex show where she is brutally raped to death. Some of these scenes made me very uncomfortable. At the same time, I was begging – pleading – for Dirty Harry to blow these monsters to smithereens. It was one of the most effective first chapters of recent memory.

Meyers uses low-hanging fruit for this novel, a crazy “race war” plot device that has been used by so many of these paperback action titles like The Enforcer and Narc. In this one, the traffickers are setting up a local black militant group as the mastermind behind their operation. The militants, fearing the feds will prosecute them for crimes they didn't commit, immediately go into defense mode, a sequence that lights up the city with violence and police action. None of it really matters that much. We all bought the book to read about Harry putting bullets in brains. By the book's end, the body count is a bloody tower.

The book is highlighted by Harry fighting an active shooter on a college campus. Another long scene has him shooting it out with criminals in an aquarium. As an enjoyable bonus, one of the baddies gets eaten by a shark. The book's finale has Harry in a gunfight with the traffickers in a film studio before the action transitions to an island fortress. I found this final fight interesting, as Meyers will do the same thing again in the next book, The Mexico Kill, as Harry penetrates an island fortress. Weird. 

Some cool references are made to the Dirty Harry film The Enforcer, and the character's famous quote of “do you feel lucky” from the original. Also, Meyers mentions “Any Which Way but Loose” when describing one character, an obvious reference to the 1978 Clint Eastwood film. Also, the author has some book fun by throwing in a character's name as Roy Henkel, probably homage to the great Roy Krenkel, an American illustrator who painted several paperback covers. He also includes a doctor named Steve Rogers (Captain America).  

The Long Death is absolutely ridiculous, but effective. This is cartoon Dirty Harry performing somersaults and leaps through the air, firing on the run and rarely missing. It's pointless and trashy, but damn, it is just so enjoyable. I want to read every Dirty Harry book now. Sign me up for more senseless fun!

Get The Long Death HERE.

Solomon Kane - The Hills of the Dead

The August 1930 issue of Weird Tales featured a Robert E. Howard story titled “The Hills of the Dead”. It starred Howard's Puritan hero Solomon Kane. The story was later reprinted in Arkham House's Skull-Face and Others (1946), Donald M. Grant's Red Shadows (1968), and the Bantam paperback The Hills of the Dead (1979). The story is also included in Del Rey's The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane (2004). 

This story is an important one in the overall lore of Kane. It is this story where the character receives the juju staff (aka The Staff of Solomon), an iconic weapon used to fight the supernatural. Often, artists create artwork with Kane holding this mysterious staff. In later stories, the staff is described as having been used by Moses and King Solomon, two historical and biblical figures. This story also marks the return of N'Longa, the African shaman who appeared two years earlier in Howard's “Red Shadows”. 

As the story begins, Kane is in Africa talking with N'Longa. The shaman explains to Kane that the jungle is deadly, filled with nefarious creatures that will more than likely kill him. While it isn't named, N'Longa provides Kane a sharpened stave, which is ultimately the Staff of Solomon. As readers learned in “Red Shadows”, N'Longa can astral project his body. He advises Kane that this stave can summon N'Longa from far distances.

Kane travels deep into the jungle, rescues a girl from a lion, and then builds a shelter for the two of them in a cave. It is there that Kane and the girl are attacked by two vampires. After stabbing one into dust, Kane learns that the entire region is populated by vampires. Later, Kane summons N'Longa (in a rather contrived way), and the two use magic to summon vultures and bats to kill countless vampires. 

This story is rich with atmosphere, a frenzied second-half pace, and a satisfying, action-packed finale. This may be one of my favorites of Howard's Kane stories as it follows a horror formula built for the vampire saga – these undead creatures, bats, gloomy isolation, a storied history, and of course, an explanation on how humans can kill vampires. As I alluded to earlier, the inclusion of the gifted staff makes this an important chapter in the character's mythos, but also helps build the unique bond between N'Longa and Kane. 

“The Hills of the Dead” was adapted into comics by Marvel in Kull and the Barbarians #2-3 (Jul, Sept 1975) and The Sword of Solomon Kane #5 (May 1986). Dark Horse published an adaptation in The Saga of Solomon Kane (July 2009). 

Get The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane HERE.

Horror House

Paul Fairman (1909-1977) became the founding editor of If in 1952. He later became the editor of Amazing Stories, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, and Fantastic. He authored several novels under his own name, as well as the pseudonyms of Ivar Jorgensen and F.W. Paul. Using the name Paulette Warren, Fairman wrote at least nine gothic paperbacks, with two of those consisting of the series titles Bitter Hill Saga and Ravenkill. I stumbled on the author's 1972 gothic titled Horror House. It was originally published by Lancer.

Terry Lawrence, a young writer living in New York, hits it big when she writes a critically-acclaimed biography. Her agent, clamoring for more exposure and work for his client, shares some good news with her over an unexpected phone call. One of America's wealthiest men, Jonah Garth, wants to employ her talents to pen his biography. He signs a contract to pay Terry $10,000. The catch is that Terry must journey to Garth House, the man's home, and interview him and his family of sons and daughters-in-law. Terry reluctantly agrees.

Garth House is in a sleepy upstate New York town that harbors the family's robust mansion and the family business – a myriad of labs and manufacturers producing various items for the federal government. Terry settles into a local hotel in town, awaiting a train that will take her to Garth House's front door. In town, she meets Deputy Bob and the two instantly fall in love. Bob shares the town's disdain for Jonah Garth, referring to him as a slave-driving monster that terrorizes his workers and competition.

Once Terry arrives at Garth House, she begins meeting the various family members, including a flamboyant beauty named Lisa, who is married to Garth's oldest son. There are two other sons, their wives, and the obligatory mansion helpers like the maids and servants. Jonah has prepared for Terry's arrival by recording several reels of tape for her to transcribe. While she's busy with dating Bob, transcribing the reels, she is approached by two mysterious men – each with their own plan to frame Jonah for his dubious misdeeds. Terry declines participation, but learns something detrimental to her safety at Garth House. Apparently, Jonah has murdered at least one man who meddled in his business affairs. Terry uses a great deal of caution when Jonah is around. But the tension and stress increase to the breaking point when Terry discovers the family's dark secret. 

Is Horror House a gothic? Yes. But does it have all of the trimmings to make it a full-fledged gothic? That's debatable. Fairman employs the same concept he used in his 1965 novel Ravenkill – placing the vulnerable beauty as a guest in a mansion as opposed to inheriting one. That's a change of pace that he apparently used frequently. 1972's Hazard House and 1967's The Nurse of Brooding Mansion are his other examples of “guest ventures”. Additionally, there's not much gaslighting, which is typically paramount to the gothic plots. It does feature other gothic mandatory elements like romance, hints of the supernatural and, of course, the “one-lighted window” cover art. I'd also add that Fairman injects one of the most overused tropes of gothic storytelling: an abandoned wing of the mansion. This is a huge part of the story.

Terry hears snarls and footsteps at night, a combination that is explained by the family as sounds made by the dog. Yet rumors abound that Jonah had a fourth son, a “monster” that lives deep inside the house's guarded walls. Fairman's intriguing narrative blends a corporate mystery, a racy love affair, the aforementioned “monster”, and eventually, murder. The book's finale includes the 'ole “daddy's dying but who's got the will” bit to add an element of surprise. I really enjoyed the characters of both Terry and Bob, and genuinely found the book to be a bit eerie in parts. 

If you love these old gothic paperbacks, then Horror House is an easy recommendation. Good luck finding a copy!

Ken Holt #01 - The Secret of Skeleton Island

In the U.S., Grosset and Dunlap published the Ken Holt series between 1949 and 1963. There were 18 total installments, with the first 17 issued in hardcover with a dust jacket. The last installment was issued in a picture cover only. The series was published in the U.K. by World Distributors in hardcover with dust jackets. The series was authored by the married couple Sam and Beryl Epstein using the pseudonym of Bruce Campbell. Series Books for Girls has an excellent page about the series, including reviews.

Lately, I've been on a young adult kick, and I've sampled various series titles like Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators, Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, and Fighting Four. The Ken Holt series is discussed in collector circles as being very tight with descriptive detail, gripping investigations, and lots of action. I decided to try the book's debut, The Secret of Skeleton Island. (Note that this title was also used for the sixth novel in the Three Investigators books)

As the novel begins, it's explained that Ken is away at school when he receives a letter from his father, Richard. In the letter, Richard has invited Ken to join him on a fishing trip. While working as an investigative journalist for Global News, Richard has stumbled on a mystery in New York concerning two shipping vessels that seemingly come and go without any freight, events that he describes for Ken in the letter. As Ken is set to meet his father, he is intercepted by two strangers, one of whom is pointing a gun at him.

Ken's capture and then escape from the two baddies kicks off an exciting action sequence as Ken, paired with another boy named Sandy Allen, attempts to locate his father. Of course, Richard is being held by criminals because he's close to revealing their smuggling operation. Ken and Sandy dig into the investigation, prowling New York City stops like a large harbor, a hotel, and Richard's apartment. Eventually, they sneak on board one of the ships to learn more about the operation and ways to bring the empire to its knees. 

This novel introduces both Ken and Sandy, the two characters who will be the series' stars. Sandy's father is a journalist serving the family's small-town newspaper, the Brentwood Advance. Since Richard will be on assignment quite often, Ken goes to live with the Allens and, in turn, becomes an investigator for the newspaper. Ken's investigative techniques combine with Sandy's photography skills to allow the duo to tackle all of these tough mysteries. It's a solid setup that kicks off the series.

The Secret of Skeleton Island is written well, but in my opinion is way too descriptive for my tastes. Something as simple as boarding a ship is met with pages and pages of overly described steps, play-by-play action, and an abundance of tension that doesn't always mesh well with the scenario. It didn't ruin the reading experience, but it definitely had me impatient as I waited for the pace to quicken. There's 100-pages of running around pursuing criminals and clues, so the descriptions became tiring. 

I also found some of the details of the plot a bit confusing at times. The series has very little criticism from fans other than some of the more convoluted plots involving multiple characters. I've become accustomed to that after reading countless paperback whodunits over the years. I've written out a Game of Thrones-esque org chart just to keep up with who's who in those old stuffy mansions. 

Overall, I enjoyed this series debut and will continue reading more installments. This novel ends with a brief mention that the boys won't have long to settle in with their new roles, as a new mystery is at hand in Colorado with The Riddle of the Stone Elephant. 

Get The Secret of Skeleton Island HERE.

The Abductor

Stark House Press has reprinted eight of Dolores Hitchens novels, including two short stories and analysis from literary scholars like Nicholas Litchfield and Curtis Evans. Admittedly, I've been behind on reading the Hitchens novels (her real name was Julia Clara Catherine Dolores Robbins) and needed to catch up. I read and enjoyed her 1958 novella Strip for Murder and decided to try her 1962 novel The Abductor, originally published in hardcover by Simon and Schuster. The book is now available in a SHP twofer that includes the author's 1965 novel The Bank with the Bamboo Door. 

The Abductor takes place in a quiet California beach town. In the eerie opening, a substitute teacher is standing on an elementary school playground when she hears a man whispering “Marion” from the bushes. He quickly takes off, but his message is puzzling. The teacher's own name is Marion, and one of her students is also named Marion. She reports the incident to the principal, and he dismisses it (different era).

Hitchens then welcomes the reader into three households, very distinctive from each other. The first is the Trent family, who have a daughter named Marilyn. This family has some weird security quirks, appearing overprotective of their daughter. They consistently ask about her whereabouts, if she has spoken to any strangers, and if she has anything odd happening at school. It is immediately clear that the Trents are running from someone. This is reinforced when a man calls their home and declares he has dialed the wrong number. This sets off panic alarms for the family as they contemplate where to move next. 

The second unusual household is that of the substitute teacher, Marion Kennick. After her minor investigation into the puzzling school whispering, she dresses up and hits the town's jukejoints despite having a man in her bed at home. Is she married? Living with a boyfriend? What's his story?

The third home is that of Mrs. Charles, an alcoholic widow who spends her day at the nearby bar. Her motherhood is the opposite of the Trent family – often, she has no idea where her daughter Marion is. Further, she tends to write off her own daughter in an effort to please her wealthy boyfriend. He sees Marion as an obstacle. 

All of these households and family members spiral into oblivion when an abductor captures both Marions – little Marion Charles and her substitute teacher Marion Kennick. He takes them both to an abandoned hotel. This scene was very disturbing as the tormentor questions whether to murder them both or use them as fodder in his grand scheme of torturing the Trents. In one of the most clever setups, the abductor actually meant to capture Marilyn Trent in a revenge plot against the Trent family. However, a misprint in a newspaper article had Marilyn Trent's name listed incorrectly as “Marion”. So this strange kidnapping takes place – the abductor captures the wrong kid and torments parents who know their child is perfectly safe. But they have to play along to rescue the kid. Brilliant!

The Abductor is an absolute masterpiece. The setup, characters, locale, and eerie nature of this kidnapping gone wrong were perfectly penned by Hitchens. I can't imagine how difficult it must have been for this novel to come to fruition. I became confused at times with the character names being similar, but I completely understood that this was necessary. The name snafu is such a pertinent portion of the plot and surely required a great deal of patience on the author's part to keep this plot tight and suspenseful.  Additionally, this was a bold undertaking for Hitchens, writing a disturbing novel about child abduction. I'm sure even as late as the 1960s, the subject was a bit taboo. 

There are some unsettling scenes with the phone calls that reminded me of John Farris's excellent 1967 novel When Michael Calls. As I mentioned, the abandoned hotel locale was fitting as well as the author's description of thick fog that permeates the air, draping the entire town in a bleak blanket of “unknown”. There's no doubt that writers like Hitchens helped propel the 1970s and 1980s suspense market, that hotbed of bestseller lists ruled by the likes of Mary Higgins Clark.

For all of the above reasons, you should be reading The Abductor next. Highest recommendation. You can get the book HERE.