recent read; The Cunning Man

THE CUNNING MAN by D.J. Butler & Aaron Michael Ritchey

If you are a fan of occult detective/dark fantasy/folk magic stories along the lines of Manly Wade Wellman’s John the Balladeer, David Drake’s Old Nathan, and Brian Keene’s Levi Stoltzfus, there is a new novel you need to read; Dave Butler & Aaron Michael Ritchey’s THE CUNNING MAN.

Hiram Woolley easily joins the ranks of such heroes.

Let's look at the tease;

It’s the depths of the Depression, and a mining town in Utah is shut down. Something has awakened underground, and now a monster roams the tunnels. Along comes Hiram Woolley ... a man with mystical abilities derived from the commonsense application of Scot-Irish folk wisdom and German Braucher magic. ... Behind the played-out farms and failed businesses are demons, curses, sorcerers, and unatoned wrongs. Bags of groceries and carpentry won’t be enough this time.The job will take a man who has known sorrow. A man who has known war. A man of wisdom. A man of magic. The job will take a Cunning Man.

This is a fantastic premise which Butler & Ritchey deliver on. The characters are three-dimensional. The setting pops off the page. Hiram's inner conflicts are as well-drawn as his outer conflicts. There are tense, thrilling scenes as good as any horror suspense you'll read. 

THE CUNNING MAN should be on your reading list—near the top.

recent read; The Papers of Solar Pons

THE PAPERS OF SOLAR PONS by David Marcum

I'll come right out and say I wanted to enjoy this book more than I did but that is not to say it is bad. I brought a lot of expectations to the Kickstarter-funded book. As such, this review is probably longer than it needs to be.

I am new to the Arthur Conan Doyle Holmes original stories and also new to Pons. I was fortunate enough to secure the first Derleth Pinnacle paperback collection, so I had some familiarity with Pons before starting.

Pons has a long history. In a nutshell - August Derleth was a Sherlock Holmes fan. When no more Holmes stories were coming, he created a pastiche character, Pons, who is essentially Holmes. All the bells and whistles of Holmes are in Pons - a London address, a doctor confidant, a untouchable enemy, a gang of helpful street urchins. Later, Basil Copper took over the character. But, Pons has been dormant a long time until now.

THE PAPERS OF SOLAR PONS, authorized by the Derleth estate, are new tales that harken back more to Derleth's style, though Marcum has his own style, certainly.

The book opens with many essays from various writers about Pons and their joy at seeing his return. I did enjoy their excitement.

The stories are all well written and I enjoyed them to an extent. Some went where I wasn't expecting. One story even turned out to be of the "weird menace" category, which was pleasant surprise. Marcum certainly knows the ins-&-outs of Pons canon.

Now, on to some of the negatives.

First, there was constant cross-referencing to other cases - both Holmes's and Pons's. Being new to both canons, I never knew when Marcum was referencing previous tales or creating "lost tales." It's an old tradition to drop hints of cases we've never read but it just felt overboard in this collection.

The final story is a long one. It is a Holmes story, concerning the origins of Solar Pons. It isn't a bad story and it written well enough. But this novelette-length story just didn't jibe with me.

If you know me by now you know I'm a big Robert E. Howard fan. I have mixed feelings on continuations and pastiches, anyway. When it comes to origin stories, I am of the mind, mostly, that any origin story from the original author is fine. But I really have a hard time with origin stories coming from follow-on pastiche writers.

There is that old quote about whether a nude picture is art or pornography, and the answer is "I know it when I see it." I feel the same way about amateur fan fiction vs. a professional tie-in or authorized by an estate story. Don't get me wrong, sometimes (as with anything) you can find better fan fiction than authorized canon and sometimes fan fiction vibes creep into authorized canon.

I felt the story - as regards to Pons's origins - was fan fiction and far too obvious. The constant Easter egg cross-referencing of stories also felt like fan fiction - if only because it was done so often. But it is authorized canon, so that's fine.

If I gave it stars - as someone new to Holmes and Pons - I would give it three out of five, I'd say. It's not a bad addition to the canon. But as a starting point for someone new to Pons, I would have preferred something a bit more accessible and in the vein of a restart than something with deep tendrils into the canon world of Pons (and Holmes.)

Your mileage will almost certainly vary.

recent read; Jake Istenhegyi: The Accidental Detective, Vol. 1

Jake Istenhegyi: The Accidental Detective, Vol. 1 by Nikki Nelson-Hicks

This book collects three tales featuring Jake Istenhegyi, a post-Prohibition, Hungarian immigrant to New Orleans who finds himself pulled into the world of pulp occult detective work (hence, the "accidental.")

"A Chick, A Dick, and a Witch Walk Into a Barn..." starts of the volume with a pulp occult detective bang. When Jake's private detective roommate goes missing, Jake picks up the investigation and finds himself knee-deep in vicious chickens, a loa possessed rooster monster, and a voodoo queen.

In "Golems, Goons, and Stone Cold Bitches," Jake gets caught between two sisters and the artifact they most desire. Along the way, Jake finds a ghost and learns disturbing family history concerning his uncle, from whom Jake inherited his bookstore. An uncle whose large illegal debt Jake is now expected to carry. By the end of the tale, Jake experiences magic that forever changes his life.

The volume closes with "Boo Daddies, Bogs, and A Dead Man's Body." This is the longest story and the most ambitious, with a large cast of characters, sub-plots, intriguing mysteries, and good twists. Laugh-out-loud moments, too.

Each story, while readable stand-alone, builds on the previous entries adding new elements to the world-building as well as revelations. They all flow naturally, nothing felt forced.

Bottom line; these stories are pulp fun. If you want some rollicking pulp occult detective tales, look up Jake Istenhegyi!

recent read; Occult Detective Quarterly, Issue #1

OCCULT DETECTIVE QUARTERLY #1 delivers on its premise and promise of .. well .. occult detectives. If you don't know what classifies an "occult detective" - they're those heroes of fiction who investigate, expose and battle the occult - whether that be ghosts or monsters, other strange happenings, strange people, stranger creatures and things beyond the ken of men. Think Carnacki, Kolchak, and a host of others.

This debut issue has a wonderful mix of haunts and fun and whimsy. How about a tough guy PI who is a talking gorilla? A vengeful ghost? Men who walk in other dimensions and faerie realms? (And, don't think we're talking about cute faeries - we mean the dark fey of old times.) Voodoo and black dogs. You will find all that and more in these pages.

Plus reviews, a history of comic occult detective Dr. Spektor, and an interview with Spektor's creator, Donald Glut.

I enjoyed all the material and strongly recommend grabbing a copy if you enjoy the wide range of the occult detective milieu.

recent read; Virgin Zombie

Virgin Zombie by Charles R. Rutledge

Armand Brule, aka 'Houngan', is a meth cook on the run from a murder charge in Chicago. When he turns up in the small town of Wellman Georgia, Chicago homicide Lieutenant Jacqueline 'Jack' Daniels is dispatched to apprehend him.

Jack ends up teamed with Wade Griffin, a mercenary turned private investigator. Their search will bring them into conflict with a biker gang and something far more sinister. For Houngan is another name for a voodoo priest and Brule may be cooking up something worse than crystal meth. And then there's the dead guy with a hatchet.

This story is a fast-paced crime/mystery with plenty of action. I enjoyed it. I have read previous Griffin & Price novels, but I have not read Jack Daniels stories. That in no way limited my enjoyment. Reading Griffin in action – and bumping into some other characters of Wellman, GA – was like a quick, satisfying visit with old friends.

If you're a fan of either Jack Daniels or Griffin & Price, I would give it a read. Or try it anyway, even if you aren't familiar with either series. It is a solid story that stands on its own. Charles writes good, fun stuff!

(also read Charles blog post about the story)