They Couldn’t Kill Sullivan (Formerly “From Crime to Christ”) A True Story by J.C. Sullivan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The title change was a good move, though the emphasis shouldn’t have been the name. The gist of the cover language is a bit deceptive. More so the illustration. Though Sullivan was a bad guy, he wasn’t a team mate of Bonnie and Clyde. They did travel in the same areas with many of the same people. As he write, his association with Pretty Boy Floyd was more significant. Along with a slew of others.

This could’ve been a heck of a book. Sullivan writes the elements needed. He just doesn’t know how to write…or edit. Due to that there is too much mess and the typical glaring problems of self-publishing prior to computers. The cut and paste is obvious and repetition of stories and documents presented.

If Sullivan could’ve found a solid writer, this book would’ve been a best seller…even a so-so seller.
The most important thing is that the story and history exists at all and provides a first person narrative to the criminal world in the ’20s through the ’40s. A rarity as most didn’t live long enough to record their story…or wouldn’t anyway.

As Sullivan was most intent to establish his life of Christian faith, it does appear he down played a lost of his life prior. For instance, I wish he’d been more clear how his wife stuck with him and produced children for over ten years, when he wasn’t around a good deal of the time, according to him.

His writing about the drug issue is territory evaded these days and should be amplified. Here he dives a bit deeper and relates the dark hole most fall into. People, today, have some backward idea drug use is just fun and ignore the piles of dead bodies in Chicago. I’m sure, if her were still around, Sullivan would be producing more books of that subject alone.

His shift to Christianity is explained, but I found that shallow. There’s a clear distinction of before and after, but the actual mind-shift is covered in a couple of sentences.

Though it’s poorly written and edited, this is an invaluable story of a Depression-era bad guy worth reading.

Bottom line: i recommend this book: 6 out of 10 points.

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Perry Mason: The Case of the Stepdaughter’s Secret by Erle Stanley Gardner
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Just before this read a Gardner ‘Cool and Lam’ entry. That was light stuff in plotting compared to #70. Yet, #70 is very light where the Cool and Lam book was meatier. Gardner handles Mason, Street as assumed cardboard cut-outs and the rest of the cast are mere tissue. Whereas the Cool and Lam book (#27) illustrates the strong characters of the duo.

Somehow I’ve managed to read a series of books with blackmail in them. The last few get into the mechanics of the blackmail. This one is mostly about playing against the scheme and around it. A lot of shell games. That would be neat if not for, to me, the obvious conclusion.

Too bad Gardner didn’t invest more time into something else left fallow, the settings. a critical part of how Gardner writes the tale. It’s so loosey goosey, the settings could’ve been anywhere. Especially Mason’s office.

I’ve usually been left guessing who-dun-it. This one was too easy and poorly written.

Bottom line: i don’t recommend this book. 4 out of ten points.

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Shadows in Zamboula by Robert E. Howard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a tale I read in the ‘Savage Sword of Conan’ a good 4 decades ago. It was illustrated by Neal Adams (and his Crusty Bunkers) and inked by Tony Dezuniga. I had an opportunity, a couple years after reading the magazine to buy an original page of the illustrated story. I did so for a tiny price, later selling it after a divorce.

Now I’ve read the actual story by Howard. The comic adaption is very faithful and very well written. This is better written, but a bit muddled in palaces that the comics adaption cleans up. Howard kinda over ran his headlights with this one and I guess that was due to his incredible speed, deadlines and need of cash. Still far better crafted than most written today.

The use of Conan is more as a pawn to handle the MaGuffin involved, though that is not revealed until later. Howard’s use of other characters is so very good. I’m filing through this collection of his stories and look forward to his writing of detective and westerns stories.

I have to add a note of other reviewers mentioning “racial stereotypes”. What on earth are they writing of? This story is note of this earth or earthlings. Howard conjured all involved. Skin color is only for adjectives, not of some imagined connection to earthly beings. The imagining itself is seeking boogy men where they don’t exist, except for want of them to exist.

Again, this is my fascination with Howard. I’m not much for the genre, but am stirred by this fantasy world he has made up. He went nearly no where, relied on books to know more of the ideas of geography and the world. Then used his own backyard as the setting of this other setting for Conan. Quite something!

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 8 out of ten points.

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Darien Venture by Frank G. Slaughter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is Slaughter novel is less sprawling and involved than other novels of his I’ve read. Likely a good one for those starting out with the author.
It’s well written, though today’s readers may find it written in a stodgy way. I don’t. i love the forthright approach of storytelling, free of the P.C. shackles that nails writers to the racks these days. Some day those shackles will fall. Independent writers find themselves freer these days.

As usual, Slaughter winds his tale through true events and keeps much of the factual history intact. His handling of the Scottish piracy area of the time period is very well done presenting the cold and, yet, stifling area. The trip at sea is far more toned down than Slaughter usually does. Once in more tropical climes, Slaughter goes to town with more excellent structural descriptions and harrowing trips through jungles.

The characters are very good, as Slaughter tends to create. Also, as usual, Slaughter’s main character is nearly identical to his other main characters, just in a different time period.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 7 out of ten points.

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Picnic Pigs by Derek Fridolfs
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This review is based upon reviewing a version of this book prior to publication via, the website, Net Gally. I kinda feel bad that I pan most I’m finding there, but gets to how poorly books are written these days than those from times past based upon the large bulk of books I read.

I guess the “wordless’ MaGuffin tossed about this series is for a purpose. What that is, is beyond me. Appears it’s just a gimmick to sell this to the illiterate and to pitch to the world market. Since the earliest sequential storytelling of over a century ago, there have been comics in pantomime. This part is nothing new. Unfortunately, the effort here is also nothing new ….and done very, very poorly.

As a long-time professional cartoonist, well trained by the likes of Joe Kubert, Dick Hodgins and so many others, I have a love and enormous respect for sequential storytelling. It’s not hard to do, IF you know what you are doing. The two tagged with this, do not.

Some would most complain that this is an over trod tale. Better done using animation and comic strips and comic books over the past decades. What’s really odd about the story is that few picnic anymore with red checkered coverings. How many can relate to this story. Especially children?

There is also a freakish effort that seems to indicate that the ants included combine themselves into various objects and beings. The blame for this goes to the writer, but the artistic implementation gets into the poorly drawn storytelling.

For instance, at one point there are 3 ants that appear to be marching towards Porky Pig. Then a panel of Porky about to bite a sandwich. Next panel is his head swinging around to look behind him. In this panel are 2 lumps from under his shirt. Lumps of what? Good story telling would show the 2 two lumps with the third ant shown in the process of going under the shirt.

The next page has a very odd panel that makes no sense involving Porky Pig pointing up out of the panel with half closed eyes and smiling. Have no idea what that is telling to move the story along. Sadly, this poor storytelling continues throughout.

An equal problem are the renderings of the characters. Porky Pig, Petunia Pig, a squirrel, the anys, etc. are inconsistently drawn. Worse are the legs of three mentioned as the length alters throughout. At one point Petunia is drawn and posed in a weird sexy model way. To accomplish this, her legs suddenly double in length to achieve the effect.Why is a sexy Petunia in a book for children is another mystery. The squirrels is all sorts of sizes through his part of the story. I got the impression the one drawing this wanted the characters to be human size and worked toward that any time possible. Also, the outdoor illustration give the impression the artist doesn’t go outside much.

As i reviewed a ‘Tom & Jerry’ version of this series about 6 months ago, I recommend not purchasing this and to do purchase collections of the far, far better comic book collections from decades ago.

Bottom line: i don’t recommend this book. 2 out of ten points.

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Fantastic Four Epic Collection Vol. 5: The Name is Doom by Stan Lee
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Note: My continuous effort to include sequential storytelling/comics in my book reading.

Took awhile to get through this. This is my first time actually reading Stan Lee and Jack Kirby stuff.
It answered two questions for me.
1) I really don’t like science fiction – especially in garish comic book form.
2) Why DC comics has always been my comics fare of choice.

I’ve always been angled to DC Comics. Even though the Claremont/Byrne years got me buying Marvel comics and Miller’s Daredevil had me follow most of those, I always ended up back in the DC world. This volume is a perfect example why. DC has always been more based in reasoned logic and Marvel has been more outrageous. This volume is a perfect example of the outrageous.

I get that Marvel was working to draw in the crowd looking for a wild time. Dear friends who indulged in these comics are a far wilder lot than I. There is certainly a contrast to DC of Kirby’s crazy metal space ship stuff everywhere and pages of explosions due to various wavering of hands. The endless stories included here of one being after another wanting world and/or universe supremacy is beyond ridiculous. The writing effort to connect all of these as one story than separate stories inflames the goofiness of it all. Much easier to swallow (and tougher to write) single issue stories. With so many battles happening in every issue, a more believable move would’ve been to have gaps in between with some illusion of rest included.

Stan Lee is the sole name as writer and I don’t like a bit of it. I know people love his work. It’s over done and frankly boring of repetitious nonsense. Lee was no Bob Haney or Len Wein. Again, i understand the effort to draw a crowd, but I’m reviewing this of my view and decades involved with comics. The heavy hand of action and romance is peculiar in itself. To mix the super hero stuff is too much.

The artwork does fit the writing. Kirby was as outrageous as Lee. The style is OK for the tales. Though, I don’t care for his style.

Overall the characters are excellent in construction. The settings are mostly, too. The otherworldly settings were typical science fiction nonsense. The approach make-it-up-since-it-doesn’t-exist-anyway style.

I am well aware this collection is considered legendary in comics. It’s just not my kind of legendary and I know all of it could have been done so much better.

Bottom line: I don’t recommend this book. 4 out of ten points.

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Think Fast, Mr. Peters by Stuart M. Kaminsky
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A number of other reviews also recognized this Toby Peters entry as more hilarious than the other hilarious books in the series. I know a lot of writers would write massive content. Heck I’ve been reading the “William Johnstone” series that consists of many hundreds of books. The array of Kaminsky series and quality is astounding. I noted in the Peters series, he drinks Pepsi. In his Lieberman series, the main character drinks Coca-Cola. How he kept track of all this and, again, kept the quality of the stories in very different locations with different characters is really something.

In this Peter Lorre and Peters story a pretty simple murder turns into a search through a crowd of Lorre imitators and the usual very fun trip through the labyrinth of Peters’s pals and family. Kaminsky structures a tight story, steeped in funny scenes and satisfying conclusion. A book I can write that is a joy to read.

Further stars for accomplishing the story in 198 pages in my hard cover copy.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 10 out of ten points.

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Outlaw Country by William W. Johnstone
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Don’t read this book. Instead, gather the original novels, with more actual involvement by William Johnstone. Buy those first Mountain Man books and be prepared to the great enjoyment of reading.
‘Outlaw Country’ (An odd title) gathers a number of those books into one volume. Just rewritten. Those earlier books are well written and exciting. Less the endless droning on of excessive dialogue, watered down action and poorly rewriting of the earlier books. Why on earth this was even attempted is beyond me.

There is an excuse given a number of times throughout the book as to how this book is inconsistent with the original novels: Poor research and memories created earlier tellings of Jensen. That’s too bad, because those original books are worth reading. This one is not.
Also, the reference basically kicks William Johnstone to the curb for these unknown ghost writers to cement the back story of Jensen.

The story is told in a massive flashback that makes no sense as the story is written that Smoke Jensen is remembering the story, yet written in the third person, with much written from outside the ability of Smoke Jensen to know what happened. Especially in that so much over-done dialogue is included.

Again talk, talk, talk is the bulk of the entire book. Instead of focused, concise storytelling, needless talk is throughout that doesn’t move the story along.
Most of the characters are underdeveloped or assumed to be known. I’m still surprised how a Johnstone book could under-write who Louis Longmont is(!!!!). This does appear to be another Johnstone Clan novel with multiple authors writing parts and then still another assembling and attempting to link it all together.

Something that really angered me was the misspelling of Ernest Hemingway’s name. Was that intentional? Why on earth do that? The ghost writer’s got Hemingway’s wife’s name, Hadley, correct. I’d understand if the name was a quick reference. But Hemingway appears throughout as Hemingford, as are references to Hadley, his trip to Paris, his writing plans. Moreover, is the silly fiction of Smoke’s wife tagging Hemingford with the “Papa” moniker. I’m scrapping an entire star off for this.

Now for the problems of the meat and potatoes of the book: For whatever reason this book was constructed, the construction starts off poorly for reasons mentioned above and the tales are oddly truncated. The Preacher & Smoke interaction in the original books shine. This one there is a bunch of banter and little of the teaching and effort to know the ways of a Mountain Men. It’s almost all yapping about this and that. A big who-cares. The heart is lost in this poorly written part.

Then there is a robbery leaving one half-dead that is left hanging.
There is a massive battle that the book heads towards and written in an original novel some 35 years ago. In this, the story’s direction ends in a one sentence line that there was a massive battle with many dead. That battle was significant to so much that happened later, but basically left out here.

Something similar happens in the re-writing of the ending battle of the city of Fontana. This version is winnowed to a simple gun exchange. The original version jarred me when i read it a few years ago. I’d not read before a book where so many that seemed central to a story were wiped out. Daring and original for a writer to take such chances. This version is a safe version.

That does seem to be the actual overall alteration of the original novels: To make the Smoke story safe. If I had started out reading this and not the first Mountain Man novel (Which was entirely by chance), I would not have continued on the past 6 years and now have more than 300 of Johnstone novels.

I know there are good writers in the Johnstone clan. ‘Firestick’ is an example of that. The Preacher series is still well done. But, more and more, the books are losing a sense of plotting and character development. Seems to me the problem there is the incessant starting of new Johnstone Clan series and not concentrating on the original series.

I could write more, but this should cover the bulk of my problems with this book. Since I’m writing this of a yet-to-be-published novel, via Net Galley, I hope the Clan can reapproach this book and work to fix it.

Bottom line: I don’t recommend this book (the early version i read). 2 out of ten points.

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High Stakes: 8 Sure-Bet Stories Of Gambling And Crime by Robert J. Randisi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This collection of stories is worth reading. A few are loosely based in gambling. a couple are a bit grittier, like the extremely short entry by Westlake.

Each are written well enough with quickly and well developed characters. The plots are good. Just about all of the endings left me wanting a better conclusion or confused. Still the lot is worth going through.

About the Florida story by Jonathan King:
This is a very interesting combination of two well known groups in Florida history – The binder boys of the 1920s and the young folks through the past century that would capture snakes for money. King has done an excellent job of the transition he writes. His settings of the snake capturing are not on a MacDonald or White level.
I really like how King covers so much territory in so few pages. The ending could be much better, but the concept written is well worth reading.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 6 out of ten points.

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Fairies and Folk of Ireland by William Henry Frost
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A series of Irish legends tied into an encompassing tale that would’ve been better separated as a tale itself. Because of the incongruity of the whole, reading this can be clunky. This is much like latter day musicals where the story is moving along and then a song comes in to clutter the story. In this case the clutter are fine tales, for the most part. There are many from start to finish. Much known of the “Good People”, or leprechauns, stem from the tales inserted.

The over-all tale stems from legends too involving kidnapping, life styles of the Good People and a sense of time. This part is OK, but is stretched a bit thin to fit in all of the other tales inserted.

The writing is fine and the characters very good. The settings are very well done as the story is in Ireland and then entirely falls apart when all move to America. The American background descriptions are basically the same as Ireland had been.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 6 out ten points.

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The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything by John D. MacDonald
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

First note: I’ve held off reading this book for about 40 years. I now have a few different editions of it, along with all of MacDonald’s books. This one I held off because of my dislike of science fiction.

Review: This is as close as MacDonald ever got to writing like Hiassen and Tim Dorsey would later write like. It’s a really silly story, written as lightly as any of MacDonald’s books or short stories.

This is also the issue I have with this book. It’s really light. With the word ‘watch’ in the title, you’d think it would have a more significant spot than appearing half-way through the book and then used to mostly play with than adding anything to the plot.

There is reference that all are looking for some all-powerful Maguffin, which is the watch. Yet there is never a tug-of-war for it. It mostly sits in a box or a pocket. Pulled out to be silly with.

So much could be done with the concept and MacDonald let it slip through his fingers. The films did a better job. Referencing his science fiction books, he could have started and ended with the watch as the nucleus all else stems from. Fascinating idea.

The characters are also an odd lot for JDM. The main character is not consistent. He alters one way and then another. It’s clear he falters at ladies most of the time. Then he doesn’t.
The women are all mostly the same and are written to set men in their place. Don’t know why MacDonald did this with the vocal ladies.
The bad guys are more typical JDM bad guys. Though, in this case, a woman is the most violent.

The Florida part: JDM demonstrates his knowledge of Florida with locations in Dade and Broward Counties. It’s certainly less than most all of his other books. The Dave Dresser ‘Mike Shayne’ series does a better job of description and use of locations in the same counties.

Bottom line: i don’t recommend this book. 4 out of ten points.

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