recent reads; two from Airship 27

Bulldog Drummond: Disaster Zones by I.A. Watson

I.A. Watson has done a great job bringing Bulldog Drummond into the 21st century. This time around we get three novellas, where Bulldog battles neo-Nazis, faces off against an African warlord, and fights his way through baddies and a hurricane in the Caribbean. The action never lets up. Pure pulp action! I look forward to more new tales of Bulldog Drummond! 

 

All-American Sports Stories, Volume 2

Derrick Ferguson's "Brooklyn Beatdown" leads off this anthology of three sports novellas.  A story of boxing, and crime. The tale is a perfect mix of bare-knuckle brawling and lively characters.

The second tale is a baseball story. I wasn't very vested in that one, sorry to say. Not because of the baseball subject matter. The story didn't have enough action for me. It felt more like reading a newspaper's season-long-run sports story than a fiction tale.

Ron Fortier closes out the volume with a poignant football tale about a returning disabled Vietnam veteran who must figure out where his life will lead.

"Brooklyn Beatdown" was resurrected from a stand-alone edition (under the FIGHT CARD series) and is worth the price of admission. Highly recommended for that story alone.

recent read; DC Jones (and Adventure Command International,) Volume 1

DC Jones, Volume 1 by Jim Beard

There was a time, when toys were toys, action figures were not dolls, and the spirit of fun play came before cartoon tie-ins. (also, the toys were larger and offered many accessories.)

Jim Beard offers up three stories of heady nostalgia, wherein the names have been changed to appease the copyright gods. But, you'll know Jones from Joe soon enough, especially if you grew up during the 1970s.

Jones's Adventure Command are a crack team of action experts who live for adventure. They utilize state of the art (for the 1970s) equipment to accomplish their many missions around the world. In the first novella alone, they must deal with sharks, anomalous Egyptian ruins off the coast of California, cultists, and an incoming hurricane. It's the Perils of Pauline meets Doc Savage.

Jones will have you remembering similar toys you played with, and the adventures which would spring forth from imagination ... and the television commercials, and the Sears catalogs.

A fun, quick read down nostalgia lane.

recent read; Bulldog Drummond: On Poisoned Ground

Bulldog Drummond: On Poison Ground by I.A. Watson

Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond is ex-SAS with a problem--he's easily bored. Civilian life holds nothing interesting for him. He places ads for excitement. Once he's sifted through the dross, he finds himself pulled into an international plot set on destroying Great Britain as a world power. Only Bulldog and his team of former comrades-in-arms can save the day, weaving between the law and the villains.

I.A. Watson brings us a modern Drummond. This novel is as high-octane as any action movie out there today. The novel is wall-to-wall action, does not let up, and leaves you breathless. There is also intrigue, and a plot that twists around like a motorcycle chase on a switchback.

Watson captures the core of "Bulldog" - his tenacity, more than anything, drives him to see a job finished until the bitter end.

If you like pulp, new pulp, action thrillers, James Bond, etc., you'll be right at home with Bulldog. After all, he inspired of many of those action hero creations. Bulldog Drummond was there first, and now he is back!

This revamp impressed me enough that I went back and started to read the first original Bulldog Drummond novel. I'm even more impressed, now. Not that the novel (so far) is terrible, but the overarching plot--financial destruction and destitution of Great Britain--and some of the villainous characters are the same. Watson truly delivered a reboot, not only using Drummond and team, but tapping the first novel to bring into the 21st century action milieu.

Hats off the I.A. Watson and the team at Airship 27! If you want to understand why they chose Drummond, and why they chose to update him for the 21st century, give this bit of podcast a listen/watch. I'm starting the link at 16:55. The Drummond discussion goes until 22:25.

 Airship 27 #59: 2019 in Review

recent read; GREEN LAMA UNBOUND by Adam Lance Garcia

THE GREEN LAMA: UNBOUND by Adam Lance Garcia

Another entry from Derrick Ferguson's 75 New Pulp Book To Get You Started list. (which, you should keep handy.)

I've not read any original Green Lama tales, nor have I read Garcia's Green Lama tales leading into this story. (It's the third in a series.) But that did not matter. I got hooked into the story. I had no problems locking in and going for the ride.

I don't want to give away too much. The plot, in a nutshell; Nazis ally themselves with cultists of the Old Ones. They are preparing to awaken Cthulhu when the stars align and R'lyeh rises from the sea bottom. The Green Lama and his companions, of course, are the ones who must stop the cataclysm.

I don't know how much of the original tales told of the Green Lama's origin. Garcia threads an in-depth origin story via flashbacks as the plot unfolds. He does a good job of tying the Green Lama's power and fate to the fate of Cthulhu and the Old Ones.

There are even a couple of pulp Easter eggs, with certain heroes being described but not named, who have crossed the Green Lama's path. And a few Lovecraft story title nods along the way, too.

I enjoyed this novel, a lot. It is done well.

In fact, I enjoyed THE GREEN LAMA: UNBOUND so much, I will be reading Garcia's two previous volumes. And I will need to try some of the original Green Lama pulp stories, too.

STORYHACK Issue Three, now available!

STORYHACK, Issue Three, is available now!

I've posted about this earlier. I am honored and excited to have the featured story with cover art!

I'd read an article on rubber tree poaching and those who stand against it. I noted it at the time because I thought it would be a great setting for a modern western. Later, when I wanted to try my hand at a jungle hero story, I decided to use it.

So, a touch of "torn from today's headlines!", a dash of a western, and a helping of jungle lore, plus me equals - "Claws of the Puma."

The interior illustration by Gian Luca is stunning, too.

Thanks for reading, and buying, and supporting 'zines and small press!

recent read; SCAVENGERS

 SCAVENGERS by David J. West

David J. West continues to challenge his story writing abilities and we're all the better for it. After walking, running, and haranguing Porter Rockwell through various adventures of the Weird West, West now brings us a novel length work which - for the most part - is a straight-up Western featuring the stalwart hero.

Rockwell finds himself caught up in the hunt for lost treasure. He makes a few friends along the way but mostly he is beset by enemies - hostile Natives, criminal gangs, a bandito army, a U.S. cavalry unit lead by an unscrupulous officer, and a manic German reverend with brainwashed followers.

Rockwell needs his guns, wits, strength and fortitude to blaze his way through adventure, enemies and traps. There are some great mental images I had while reading. West provides terrain descriptions that come to life, too. Porter is often out of the frying pan and into the fire as the cliffhanger action keeps the story moving along at a brisk pace.

The only touch of 'weird' here is the Reverend's mushroom-tainted communion drink and lost Spanish treasure. The rest is a Western, with a healthy dose of spaghetti-Western, at that.

If you like action-driven Westerns, you should give SCAVENGERS a read!

recent read; Jungle Stories #56, Spring 1953

Jungle Stories #56, Spring 1953

I wanted to read some pulp outside the usual zone. I went for jungle stories. Ki-Gor is a Tarzan pastiche written under a house name. I checked with Charles Rutledge who advised me of some of the better stories. "The Silver Witch" was the only recommendation  available in ebook (at present.)

"The Silver Witch" surprised me. Not only is it a good tale, but the juju sorcery is real in the story. I would have expected a Scooby-Doo unveiling. An immortal sorceress, her silver ghostly army, a lost city in the swamp. An atmosphere of horror, too. "The Silver Witch" isn't far removed from a decent Conan pastiche. As such, it could be cross-classified as sword-&-sorcery (spear-&-sorcery) as well as a jungle story.

Four other tales round out this issue.

"Ndembo!" relates a somewhat humorous tale of a 'dead' tribesman who must endure 'death' to gain fortune among his tribe. Trickery meets trickery.

"Gorilla! Gorilla!" is a story of the leader of a troop of gorillas, under challenge from a young bull, and trying to protect his group from men. It is told from the point-of-view of the gorilla.

"Angel in the Jungle" isn't the best title for the tale it relates. The story involves the usual conflict of two colonials infighting as they deal with closing a pass with dynamite while dealing with a local tribe of elephant hunters.

"Spears of Fire" rounds out the issue. Again the setup is two white men in conflict against the backdrop of wild Africa. This story involves harvesting mahogany wood and floating it down river before the flood season leaves the wood high and dry. A few good twists in this one. I think it could use a better title, too, though. Not really many "spears." I thought this was the best story besides "The Silver Witch."

For $4 on Kindle, this issue contains a surprisingly enjoyable set of stories. Worth the read if you're interested in this sort of thing.