COCKTAIL NATION #123 ~ SOUNDS OF EXOTICA!

COCKTAIL NATION #123 ~ SOUNDS OF EXOTICA!

Another big show this week with news from Andy Nazal of Tiki Joes Ocean. Also, Koop will tell us who won the Captain Pharaoh tiki mug competition last week. And, you wouldn't believe it, but Koop has another tiki mug to give away, this time from Tiki Carver Marcus Thorn.

On the show this week, Koop talks to Randy Wong about the brand new Waitiki 7 album called New Sounds of Exotica, plus we'll take a look around the world at some gigs to check out, and the regular Ask Koop segment . . .

PLAYLIST:

DeanMartin ~ Who's Got The Action
Hugo Montenegro ~ Come Spy With Me
Waitiki 7 ~ Tiki
Jobim ~ Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars
HB Radke ~ I’ve Got You Under My Skin
Diana Krall ~ Este Seu Olhar
Julie London ~ Girl Talk
Tiki Joes ~ Ocean-Baxters Pad
Abe Lagrimas ~ Cookies And Icecream
Martini Kings ~ You Only Live Twice
Voodoo Island ~ Fever
Jack Jones ~ Fly Me To The Moon
Quincy Jones ~ Soul Bossa Nova

TO LISTEN OR DOWNLOAD CLICK HERE

PULP CENTRAL: DEADLINE ZOMBIES!

PULP CENTRAL: DEADLINE ZOMBIES!

TEEL JAMES GLENN

Chasing a headline is just a job for ace reporter Moxie Donnovan, but sometimes those headlines turn on him and bite. Moxie, along with his sexy better half, Maxi (a theater and film actor), face a tiger-sized panther, mechanical gunmen who support the master race, Irish Fae with the urge to pay Moxie back for the loot his grandfather took from them, murder and a hypnotist intent on re-filming Ben Hur.

For the month of June, "Deadline Zombies: The Adventures of Maxi and Moxie" is out from BooksforaBuck.com and for this month only you can download the pdf for only ONE DOLLAR!

Next month it goes up on Amazon/Fictionwise and elsewhere for print and e-versions.

BOOKSFORABUCK.COM

PLANETARY STORIES/PULP SPIRIT #18

PLANETARY STORIES/PULP SPIRIT #18

NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE!

There are terrific stories by John Purcell, a Blue Hawk story by Erwin K Roberts, along with stories by Gerald W Page, Kirk Straughen, Karlton Douglas, Shelby Vick, and a newcomer, Leigh Joseph, who delivers a very off-beat pirate story.

There's also a new feature named FLASHBACK, about pulps.

CONTENTS:

COVER

LOSS ADJUSTMENT ~ Ian Watson
"I've got to tell you the truth about Mr Caplin's insurance claim"

THE EYE OF YETHCHAL ~ Kirk Straughen
Tewa the thief peered cautiously into the moonlit courtyard of the night shrouded temple of Yethchal.

ETERNAL SHIPS ~ Richard Logan
The birth of a legend

THE HOUR OF EZINDONT ~ Gerald W Page
The first thing each morning Zarm the high priest scurried from his nest

CUSTOMER SERVICE ~ John A Purcell
There is more than one meaning to 'service'

THE JEWELS OF ITHLATA ~ Gerald W Page
At night Drein was a thieves' world. Therefore Larquin felt at home.

FUTURETEAM vs THE OCTOPODS ~ Shelby Vick
The FutureTeam saves the universe again!

WONDERLUST

KORMAND THE DRAGON-SLAYER ~ Karlton Douglas
He was a devil of the deepest night

WIZARD'S CROWN ~ Kirk Straughen
Kabrisamnu knew he was going to die.

PULP SPIRIT Our Sister Magazine

FEATURES

FLASHBACK A New Feature

BOOK REVIEW

THE PULSIFER SAGA ~ Wm Michael Mott

THE ZINE DUMP #25 ~ Guy Lillian III Fanzine Review

CAPT PUFFIN In Outer Space ~ Vic
Saving a Maiden In Distress

CLIPPER RETURNS ~ ShelVy

WRITE! ~ Guidelines for contributions

LINKS FOR YOU

PLANETARY STORIES/PULP SPIRIT

COMIC CORNER: THE PHANTOM DETECTIVE #1!

COMIC CORNER: THE PHANTOM DETECTIVE #1!

COMING IN OCTOBER!

WRITTEN BY AARON SHAPS

ART BY DANILO GUIDA

COVERS BY TOM GRINDBERG

A "Return of the Originals" event. He is a ghost. No lock can delay him. No walls can repel him. He is the Phantom Detective. Enter the shadows with the World's Greatest Sleuth, as he takes you on a journey beyond the flickering electric glow of our world, into a universe of psychedelic noir. Plus second feature: the first Moonstone appearance of The Green Ghost by Eric Fein, Win Eckert, and David Niehaus!

32 PAGES, $3.50.

MOONSTONE BOOKS

AGE OF ACES PRESENTS!

AGE OF ACES PRESENTS!

FREE DOWNLOADABLE PDF AIR WAR PULP STORIES!

NEW THIS WEEK:

STRING ‘EM BACK ALIVE

JOE ARCHIBALD ~ FEBRUARY 1934 ~ FLYING ACES

FEATURING PHINEAS PINKHAM

Major Garrity had an idea. It involved sending Phineas Pinkham back to training school in his stolen Fokker to teach rookies to fight. Phineas had an idea, too. It involved taking that stolen Fokker across the lines to teach the Mad Butcher not to fight. Lay your bets, gentlemen!

THEY HAD WHAT IT TAKES – PART 6: JIMMY DOOLITTLE

ALDEN MCWILLIAMS ~ JULY 1937 ~ FLYING ACES

This weeks installment tells the story of the man who, between WWI and WWII, was considered to be America's greatest flyer.

TO DOWNLOAD CLICK HERE

PULP CENTRAL: THE BLACK DEATH!

PULP CENTRAL: THE BLACK DEATH!

MARION POLK ANGELLOTTI / BLACK DOG BOOKS

For the first time in one volume is Marion Polk Angellotti's complete swashbuckling saga of the real life English mercenary, Sir John Hawkwood, who at the head of the legendary White Company campaigned throughout Italy during the late 14th Century.

Collected are the novel, "Sir John Hawkwood: A Tale of the White Company in Italy" (ADVENTURE April-July 1911) and eight subsequent short stories that appeared in ADVENTURE between December 1911 and July 1915: "An Intrigue in Padua", "The Poisoned Peril", "The Plot of Signor Salvi", "The Day of All-Fools", "Orders Gray", "The Treason at Castel Guardia", "The Cardinal's Sack" and "The Black Death."

A contemporary of Hawkwood once remarked, "He managed his affairs so well that there was little peace in Italy in his times," and these tales bear that out!

BLACK DOG BOOKS

JAZZ CENTRAL: CHET BAKER & CREW (1956)!

JAZZ CENTRAL: CHET BAKER & CREW (1956)!

HERE’S A VERY COOL DOWNLOAD VIA JENSENBRAZIL . . .

TRACK LISTING:

01. To Mickey's Memory
02. Slightly Above Moderate
03. Halema
04. Revelation
05. Something For Liza
06. Lucius Lu
07. Worryin' The Life Out Of Me
08. Medium Rock
09. To Mickey's Memory (alternate take)
10. Jumpin' Off A Clef
11. Chippyin'
12. Pawnee Junction
13. Music To Dance By
14. Line For Lyons

TO DOWNLOAD CLICK HERE AND GO TO THE COMMENTS

BRITISH COMICS ~ TOUGH GUY!

BRITISH COMICS ~ TOUGH GUY!

Publisher Mohawk Media has today released a teaser image following its acquisition of the license to produce original adventures of Tough Guy.

Tough Guy, the British publisher’s first title since the top-selling official Mr. T graphic novels, is written by Chris Bunting (Mr. T; Action Man) and illustrated by Steve Beckett (Beano Annual; General Jumbo).

Bunting describes Tough Guy as a “real throwback action hero, a punch in the eye of two major opponents: terrorism and rampant political correctness. He’s A-Team meets James Bond and Indiana Jones, with the hard edge of Dirty Harry.”

Bunting continues: “Boys, both young and middle-aged, are bound to identity with Tough Guy, as he’s anything but yet another bland, demasculinised hero.”

Further details are due to be announced by Mohawk Media soon.

FOR MORE INFO CLICK HERE

ROY OF THE ROVERS WORLD CUP SPECIAL!

ROY OF THE ROVERS WORLD CUP SPECIAL!

PER BRITISH COMICS BLOG DOWN THE TUBES . . .

Titan Books also have an ace Roy of the Rovers: World Cup Special out now - which includes work by the great artist Joe Coloqhoun, who's perhaps better known these days for his stunning art on strips such as Charley's War and the early Johnny Red strips. This lovingly put together title - hats off to series editor David Leach for another gem! - includes stories from four different decades as Roy Race strives to help England to relive the past glories of the 1966 World Cup.

Whether it's leading the British B team, or taking part in qualifiers, Roy was always at the forefront. The story of Roy's trials and tribulations in Australia, pitted against increasingly violent opponents both on and off the field, is simply priceless!

FOR MORE CLICK HERE

SOCCER CAT!

HARRY PALMER’S SECRET FILES GALLERY!

HARRY PALMER’S SECRET FILES GALLERY!

STEVE HOLLAND IS FEATURING A COOL POST ON HIS BEAR ALLEY BLOG SHOWING OFF THE MANY DIFFERENT COVERS OF LEN DEIGHTON’S SPY NOVELS, OFTEN FEATURING EVERYMAN AGENT HARRY PALMER . . .

TO CHECK IT OUT CLICK HERE

HARD CASE CRIME NEWSLETTER!

HARD CASE CRIME NEWSLETTER!

We're just two weeks away from your being able to get your hands on the next Gabriel Hunt adventure, HUNT AMONG THE KILLERS OF MEN, co-authored by acclaimed horror novelist and Hollywood screenwriter David J. Schow. It's a very different type of Hunt book, both stylistically and in terms of content, and I think you'll really enjoy it. In this one, Gabriel voyages to the dark and sinister underworld of Shanghai, where a would-be warlord is searching for the remains of a notorious figure out of Chinese history from whom he claims to be descended. By legend, the ancestor's bones were buried in a statue, which in turn was buried along with thousands of other statues in a hidden cavern...but where? Needless to say, Gabriel finds himself in the middle of the search, and it's not long before bullets are flying...

I checked earlier today and the book's available for pre-order online at sites like Amazon.com and BN.com; you can also order a copy by phone by calling 1-800-481-9191. But before you do either of those things, I hope you'll consider the alternative of visiting your favorite local bookseller and ordering it through him or her. The support of local booksellers is a big part of what makes it possible for interesting new projects like the Gabriel Hunt series to get off the ground, and I want to encourage you to patronize them whenever you can. Without your support, someday soon there might not be any local booksellers -- and where would we be then?

So: Please visit a shop near you and ask if they carry (or could order) HUNT AMONG THE KILLERS OF MEN. You won't be sorry you did.

Oh, one other thing: While it's not directly related to Gabriel Hunt, I thought you might be interested to check out a new TV series I've been working on. It's called "Haven," and in the U.S. it will air on SyFy at 9PM on Fridays; it'll be airing in other countries, too, on different channels and at different times -- as they say, check your local listings. The series is based on THE COLORADO KID, the book Stephen King wrote for Hard Case Crime, and I've been fortunate enough to get to work on the show as a writer and producer. This means, among other things, that I've gotten to consult on all the scripts, and I can tell you there are some terrific stories coming up. The show's got a supernatural slant (more so than the original book, although...who knows, maybe there was more going on below the surface in the book than anyone realized...) and anyone who likes Hard Case Crime, Gabriel Hunt, and other examples of good, old-fashioned genre storytelling will enjoy this show. I know I'll enjoy watching it every Friday night, and I hope you'll give it a try, too...

Best regards,
Charles Ardai
Editor

ULTRA-BOILED!

ULTRA-BOILED!

GARY LOVISI

These 23 hard crime tales are replete with heroes, fools, wicked femme fatales, crooked grifters, crazy punks, vile con men, vengeful vigilantes, evil child molesters, plus the usual array of hardcore killers, thieves and worse — the broad spectrum of crime in many of its manifestations. These stories are not for the faint of heart — they’re not even “nice” stories — but they are definitely full of heart — and hard-boiled attitude!

$20 Trade Paperback

$35 Hardcover with dust jacket

FOR MORE INFO CLICK HERE

CRIMEFACTORY ~ ISSUE 3

CRIMEFACTORY ~ ISSUE 3

Featuring fiction from some the best up and coming writers today including Dennis Tafoya, Greg Bardsley, Sandra Seamans, Daniel O'Shea, and a debut an excerpt from Jedidiah Ayres first novel, Peckerwood.

OTHER FEATURES:

Interview with filmmaker Nash Edgerton, director of The Square.

Crimefactory founder David Honeybone interviews crime fiction legend Peter Temple.

South African novelist Roger Smith offers up a fantastic Under the Influence piece.

Australian novelist Leigh Redhead Returns to the Scene of her debut novel, Peepshow, and everyone's favorite blessedly foul mouthed critic, the Nerd of Noir, returns with another installment of the Crime Sleeper Double Feature.

FOR MORE CLICK HERE

Y/A CORNER: FREE e-NOVELLA ~ WINTER’S PASSAGE!

Y/A CORNER: FREE e-NOVELLA ~ WINTER’S PASSAGE!

JULIE KAGAWA

JULIE KAGAWA'S WINTER'S PASSAGE NOVELLA CAN BE DOWNLOADED IN SEVERAL FORMATS FOR FREE FROM ENTER THE FAERY WORLD.

WINTER'S PASSAGE TAKES PLACE BETWEEN THE NOVELS THE IRON KING AND THE IRON DAUGHTER:

Meghan Chase used to be an ordinary girl . . . until she discovered she is really a faery princess. After escaping from the clutches of the deadly Iron fey, Meghan must follow through on her promise to return to the equally dangerous Winter Court with her forbidden love, Prince Ash. But first, Meghan has one request: that they visit Puck-Meghan's best friend and servant of her father, King Oberon-who was gravely injured defending Meghan from the Iron Fey.

Yet Meghan and Ash's detour does not go unnoticed. They have caught the attention of an ancient, powerful hunter-a foe that even Ash may not be able to defeat . . .

TO DOWNLOAD CLICK HERE

NEW ADVENTURE FICTION YAHOO GROUP!

NEW ADVENTURE FICTION YAHOO GROUP!

This group is dedicated to the action/adventure pulps like Blue Book, Adventure, Argosy,Short Stories,Action Stories, Jungle Stories, Top Notch Stories, Complete Stories, Thrilling Adventures,Far East Adventures magazine, Danger Trails magazine etc.Other historical adventure fiction can be discussed. The list is also dedicated to Morgan Holmes . This man that got me interested in this genre. EXCELLENT publishers like BLACK DOG BOOKS and ALTUS PRESS can also be discussed here.

TO JOIN CLICK HERE

U.N.C.L.E. TIME-LINE!

U.N.C.L.E. TIME-LINE!

THE ALWAYS COOL CINEMA RETRO BLOG TIPS US TO A GREAT U.N.C.L.E. RESOURCE AND A SECRET AGENT CENTRIC BLOG OF WHICH I WAS UNAWARE . . .

Writer Craig Henderson, who contributed the extensive 8 issue Cinema Retro coverage of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. feature films has completed his amazing, in-depth time-line tracing the history of the show. The fact-filled and fascinating achievement is on Craig's site For Your Eyes Only, along with a wealth of other great spy movie lore.

TO VIEW THE U.N.C.L.E. TIME-LINE CLICK HERE

Y/A CORNER: CHRISTOPHER COOL!

Y/A CORNER: CHRISTOPHER COOL!

THANKS TO MISTER 8 FOR THE TIP ON THIS POST OVER AT THE COMIC BOOK RESOURCES BLOG ON OLDER Y/A MYSTERY SERIES INCLUDING ONE OF MY FAVORITES, CHRISTOPHER COOL T.E.E.N. AGENT . . .

Full disclosure: this isn't really about comics. But it brushes up against them, and also animated cartoons, in a couple of places.

I've mentioned this a time or two here before, but in addition to comics and pulp fiction, I'm also very fond of what used to be called "young adult" series adventure novels.

These three series, in particular, I was a big fan of when I was eleven or twelve... and I still dig the Three Investigators, even today.

Today they've largely disappeared from the bookstores, though revamped versions of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew are hanging in there. (And there's an argument to be made that perhaps the Harry Potter or Twilight series of books are the newest incarnation of the genre.)

But the ones I'm talking about had a very specific look and format. They were hardcovers, seven inches tall by five-and-a-half inches wide, no dust jacket, roughly two hundred and forty pages or so... and always with a pulpy cover illustration that promised excitement with a touch of weirdness.

FOR THE FULL POST CLICK HERE

PULP CENTRAL: BLACK BAT MYSTERY!

PULP CENTRAL: BLACK BAT MYSTERY!

HE OWNS THE NIGHT!

Airship 27 Productions & Cornerstone Book Publishers are excited to announce the release of their latest pulp anthology, BLACK BAT MYSTERY!

One of the most original heroes in all of pulpdom returns in four brand new gun-blazing adventures crammed packed with action and adventure. The mysterious Black Bat once again patrols the urban jungle, his targets, those who would prey on the weak the helpless. Crusading District Attorney, Anthony Quinn, was scarred and blinded by gangland hoods. When an experimental transplant operation restores his sight, it also grants him the ability to see in the dark! Allowing the public to continue believing he is a harmless, blind attorney, Quinn invents a new identity, that of the crime fighting avenger known as the Black Bat! With a trio of loyal aids, Carol Baldwin, Silk Kerby and Butch O’Leary, he launches his campaign against the forces of evil.

The Black Bat first appeared in the pages of his own magazine, Black Book Detective. The author was G.Wayman Jones ( a house name for -- mostly -- Norman Daniels). It would run for 62 issues from July 1939 to Winter 1953 and become one of the most popular pulp heroes ever created.

From a giant Nazis bred monster to a gun-slinging Commie assassin, here are four original tales by today’s finest pulp writers; Andrew Salmon, Aaron Smith, Mark Justice and Frank Schildiner starring the Master of the Night. Once again the Black Bat is thrilling pulp fans with his daring exploits. Long considered the template from which dozen of comic book heroes were inspired, to include Marvel’s Daredevil and DC’s Batman, the Black Bat is truly one of the most unique characters ever born of the pulps. Featuring a cover by Mark Maddox, with designs and interior illustrations by Rob Davis, BLACK BAT MYSTERY is a must for all action-loving pulp fans.

Airship 27 Productions; Pulp fiction for a new generation!

FOR MORE INFO CLICK HERE

MISTER 8: MAY MADNESS CHAMPS!

MISTER 8: MAY MADNESS CHAMPS!

THE SPY TOURNAMENT HAS BEEN FOUGHT TO THE END AND MY BOYS HAVE PREVAILED . . . HERE'S THE WORD FROM THE MISTER 8 BLOGMEISTER HIMSELF . . .

Going into the elite eight, I could already see that the probable championship match-up, based on momentum, would be Tara Chace v. Napoleon Solo & Illya Kuryakin. It turns out that, after she cruised past James Bond and the Avengers, Tara finally met someone who could make her say UNCLE.

FOR THE FULL POST CLICK HERE

PULP CENTRAL: GUNS OF THE BLACK GHOST!

PULP CENTRAL: GUNS OF THE BLACK GHOST!

TOM JOHNSON

Trained by a retired secret agent of the government, Jimmy Malone dons a black hood and cape sending fear into the hearts of evildoers, as he battles the underworld in the tradition of a modern day Shadow or Spider. Burning eyes, a whispered voice, a mocking laugh, and blazing automatics announce his entrance into an affray. Gangsters cringe when they come up against the guns of the Black Ghost!

The vast chamber was filled with a mocking laugh as the Black Ghost issued his challenge to gangdom. The weird mirth rose to a crescendo, reverberating throughout the building, echoing in the silent void of space.

Gang members looked about the shop like hunted animals on opening season in the woods. A chorus of shouts rang out as they spotted the intrepid fighter in black. "The Black Ghost!" burst from a dozen lips at once, and murderous hands dug for guns beneath their tunics.

Gunfire suddenly blazed as those weapons came up, but the Black Ghost had drawn two heavy automatics of his own, and the machine shop was thundering with the clash of guns as a battle began between gangland and the fighter in black. A wild volley of bullets sang like angry hornets disturbed by a farmer’s deadly spray of insecticide.

FOR MORE INFO CLICK HERE

AN EVENING AT THE BUDDIES LOUNGE #101!

AN EVENING AT THE BUDDIES LOUNGE #101!

Join the BIG W every Friday evening as he continues to explore, with drink in hand, the Space-Age Pop Hi-Fi musical sounds of the 1950’s and the 1960’s in LIVING STEREO!

PLAYLIST:

• A Whole Lotta Woman - Lou Rawls
• Because Of You - Si Zentner
• A Lot Of Livin’ To Do - Jean Turner
• Frenesi - Buddy Cole
• They All Laugh - Dakota Staton
• Buck Dance Kirby Stone Four
• The Glory Of Love - Peggy Lee
• The Happy Organ - Marty Cooper Clan
• Silver Dollar - Bobby Darin
• Careless Love - Nat King Cole
• Bandstand Twist - Les Elgart
• One Lonely Boy - Dean Martin
• Standing On The Corner - Frankie Avalon
• George Girl - Morton Gould
• C'est Si Bon - Ann-Margret
• How High The Moon Cha Cha - Enoch Light
• You Rascal You - Louis Prima
• Lord Love A Duck - Neal Hefti
• Got My Love To Keep Me Warm - Della Reese
• I Get Around - The Hollyridge Strings
• I Believe In You - George Chakiris
• Guys And Dolls - Billy May
• Once In A Lifetime - Steve Lawrence

TO LISTEN OR DOWNLOAD CLICK HERE

COME ON, ENGLAND!

THE CAT'S MEOW!

THRILLER CORNER: LOCKDOWN / DEADLOCK!

THRILLER CORNER: LOCKDOWN / DEADLOCK!

SEAN BLACK

LOCKDOWN

New York. It may be Christmas in New York, but for ex-soldier turned elite bodyguard Ryan Lock, it's business as usual: his mission is to protect one of America's most ruthless businessmen. A Bloody Shoot-Out. Suddenly gunshots ring out. People run for cover. Innocent people are mown down. Amid the chaos, Lock's hunt for the killers turns into an explosive game of cat and mouse. A Deadly Secret. Lock's search for the truth takes him from the rooftops of a New York skyscraper to a heavily fortified warehouse on the Hudson where he confronts one of the world's most dangerous women. As the clock ticks towards midnight on New Year's Eve, all routes into and out of Manhattan are sealed, and Lock realises that not only is his own life in terrible danger but so are the lives of millions of others...

Hardcover, Bantam/Transworld, July 2009
Paperback, Bantam, June 2010

DEADLOCK

One Prisoner
One Bodyguard
One Week To Stay Alive

The California State Prison at Pelican Bay houses three and a half thousand of America's most dangerous prisoners. Three thousand, four hundred and ninety nine of them want the remaining inmate dead. Your job is to keep him alive until he testifies...

Elite bodyguard Ryan Lock and his trusted friend, Ty Johnson, have just become convicted felons, sentenced to twenty years in Pelican Bay, California's notorious supermax prison. Or at least that's what the FBI and the United States Justice Department want everyone to believe.

Their mission should be straightforward: to keep one man alive for one week. But the inmate, Frank 'Reaper' Hays, is a founding member of the white supremacist Aryan Brotherhood prison gang, who's about to give evidence against members of his own gang for the brutal slaying of an undercover ATF agent and his family. And just to make an already trying job next to impossible, Hays point blank refuses to go into protective custody. In a world dominated by violent gangs where alliances are constantly shifting and no one can be trusted, Lock knows that he faces the toughest assignment of his career—just to stay alive...

Hardcover, Bantam/Transworld, July 2010

FORGOTTEN BOOKS: THE WORLD CUP MURDER!

FORGOTTEN BOOKS: THE WORLD CUP MURDER!

PELE / HERBERT RESNICOW

I’m sure there aren’t too many readers of this blog who are gearing up for the start of the 2010 World Cup as I am, but to each his own. I’ve been playing the game since I was a young lad in England, through my teens with club teams in California, and finally back in England again for two seasons – when I was much faster and had a lot more hair.

Soccer is in my blood and I’ll be up early watching games and highlights for the next month. My own fourth novel, Chapel Of The Ravens, was set in the world of American indoor soccer, at a time when America didn’t have a national outdoor league. The book’s publication led to me speaking at the American National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, NY, when the American women’s national team had just taken the women’s world cup for the first time. Even today, I’m convinced the American women play a better brand of soccer than the men’s national team, but that’s a subject for another post.

Over the years there have been a handful of soccer novels, very few of them readable – even fewer realistic. 1988’s The World Cup Murder is readable, but very, very far from realistic. Ostensibly, the novel is credited to soccer’s elder statesman, and arguably the beautiful game’s greatest player of all time, Pele, with a little help from mystery journeyman Herbert Resnicow. However, if Pele had anything to do with writing the novel it would never have dropped as many clangers as are apparent to even a casual fan. Still, the late Resnicow, a gentleman if there ever was one, manages to turn out a readable puzzle novel as was his trademark.

THE WORLD CUP MURDER

It’s World Cup time – the final competition for the hardest-fought title in sports. In the stands soccer fans from around the world have come to cheer on their teams. Emotions will run high; in an atmosphere electrified by national pride and politics, riots may erupt over a disputed or prejudicial call by a referee.

There are intense feelings on the field as well, for the American club, the Booters, have defied the laws of chance and logic and will play the East German team in New York for the title [HUGE CLANGER HERE – NATIONAL TEAMS, NOT INDIVIDUAL TEAMS PLAY EACH OTHER IN THE WORLD CUP. A CLUB TEAM WOULDN’T BE PLAYING AGAINST A NATIONAL TEAM – IT’S ALL BOLLOCKS]. A winning U.S. soccer team was as unlikely as the choice of an American stadium for the final game [SECOND CLANGER – IF THE WORLD CUP WAS BEING PLAYED IN THE U.S. ALL THE GAMES INCLUDING THE FINAL WOULD OBVIOUSLY BE IN THE U.S.], but sparked by the fading yet still peerless Brazilian star, Grilho the ‘grasshopper’ known around the world – the Booters have made it to the World Cup [CLANGER NUMBER THREE – WHY ISN’T THE BRAZILIAN STAR PLAYING FOR THE BRAZILIAN NATIONAL TEAM].

Off the field, there are even stronger currents of turbulence [this at least is true], and the eddy around the upholstered offices [ARE THE WALLS PADDED?] of Gregor Ragusic, the Yugoslavian-born owner of the Booters. A brilliant entrepreneur [IF HE WAS, HE WOULD NEVER HAVE INVESTED IN AN AMERICAN SOCCER TEAM IN 1988], Ragusic took a third-rate soccer franchise and built it into a championship team. But his views on soccer are well known and as controversial as his business tactics. Ragusic always wants more – he sees soccer as a money cow [HUH?]. If that means changing the rules, diluting the game to accommodate TV networks and corporate sponsors, so be it [BIGGER, HUH?].

But that wasn’t it. Someone killed Gregor Ragusic on the eve of the World Cup competition. Dozens of people had reason to loath Gregor Ragusic; one of them hated him enough to commit murder.

The World Cup murder is as tightly drawn as an evenly matched soccer game. Pele brings his years of playing knowledge and skill [NO HE DIDN’T] to a story line deftly crafted by Herbert Resnicow. Pele’s depiction of the poetry and mathematical precision of the game gives an insight and appreciation of soccer comparable to Dick Francis’ books on racing [NO IT DOESN’T]. The World Cup Murder is a treat for mystery buffs [IT IS FOR THOSE WHO DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT SOCCER] and an exciting introduction to the champion soccer player of the world, the incomparable Pele.

Apparently, after all my snide comments, I can see I didn’t think much of this novel as a soccer book. Resnicow’s mystery is fine, the soccer part, however, is perhaps best forgotten. I guess I’m going to have to root around and come up with a better soccer title for next week.

COME ON ENGLAND!

BURN NOTICE NEWSLETTER!

BURN NOTICE NEWSLETTER!

Michael meets Jesse, a recently burned counterintelligence agent looking for Michael's help. Michael agrees to help Jesse clear his name, but first must get him out of the crosshairs of a ruthless drug trafficker seeking revenge

Coby Bell joins the team in "Fast Friends", premiering tonight at 9/8C. Missed last week's season premiere? Watch it online!

JETSKI GETAWAY - Outsmart the opposition and make a clean getaway in this new all-new game! Your two-part mission is to elude the enemy speedboats while on your JetSki, using any means at your disposal to make it to safety.

MICHAEL'S LOFT - Take an interactive tour of a place that few get to see up close – Michael's Loft! Last leek we learned what a spy kept in his kitchen; this week we find out what things Michael and Sam have laying around on the second level.

ASK A SPY - See how Michael's vast knowledge and experience as a spy can be applied to everyday life! This week, Michael explains how life for a field agent is different from that of a burned spy.

SEE IT LIKE A SPY - Michael Westen has a knack for improvising gadgets, but how does your own spy savvy compare? We'll name a different gadget, and you'll have to decide which items will get the job done. This week: building a Sub-Zero Lock Cracker.

WATCH-TO-WIN SWEEPSTAKES - Want to win weekly prizes just by watching Burn Notice? Pay close attention during each new episode, then answer our weekly trivia question. You'll automatically be entered to win a prize pack that includes the Season 3 DVD, branded beach ball, beach towel, water gun and more!

WORLD CUP ~ ROY OF THE ROVERS REPRINT!

WORLD CUP ~ ROY OF THE ROVERS REPRINT!

HERE’S THE WORD FROM BLIMEY, IT’S ANOTHER BLOG ABOUT COMICS . . .

Next Wednesday Egmont release the 52 page full colour comic All About Roy of the Rovers. The publication is part of Egmont's regular All About series which focuses on a different topic every issue. All About only features magazine material so it's good to see an issue containing comic strips.

There are five comic strips in all, selecting material from the late 1970s to the 1990s. The issue kicks off with eight consecutive parts of a 1978 Roy of the Rovers story concerning Roy Race forming an England squad that includes real-life 70s footballer Trevor Francis and, in a rare UK comics crossover, Nipper Lawrence (from Tiger's long running Nipper strip). Artwork by David Sque, now the artist on the Daily Mirror's Scorer strip.

Two other Roy of the Rovers stories are included (drawn by Mike White) which, at eight pages in length each, I presume are from old annuals or specials. There's also a four part Goalmouth story by Tom Tully and John Cooper which I think is from the 1990s, and a four page Andy Steel Playmaker story by H.Manning and G. Marchetti.

. . . This is a very nice collection of strips. The format is glossier than the Egmont Classic Comics of last year and the strips are more complete rather than the open-ended choices of those Classic specials. Another big difference is that the 2009 specials were each on sale for three months, but All About Roy of the Rovers will only be on sale for one month, after which the next All About edition will replace it.

All About Roy of the Rovers is £3.99 and will be on sale from 16th June to 13th July.

CAPTURE THE SAINT ON YOUR KINDLE!

CAPTURE THE SAINT ON YOUR KINDLE!

Burl Barer's wonderful addition to the Saint saga, Capture The Saint, is now available in e-book format for Amazon's Kindle.

Capture The Saint, is the first all new Saint novel approved by the Estate of Leslie Charteris, and finds the famous Simon Templar encountering beautiful women and dangerous criminals in the Emerald City of Seattle, Washington. Written by Burl Barer, Edgar Award winning author of The Saint: A Complete History, and The Saint: A Novel; Capture The Saint has been described as "Fast, Funny and blissfully faithful" by Dick Lochte of the Los Angeles Times and "Wonderful entertainment" by the Washington Post.

Priced $2.43, including free wireless delivery, you can be reading Capture The Saint on your Kindle within a minute of placing your order.

Capture the Saint is written by Burl Barer, Edgar Award winning author of The Saint: A Complete History, and The Saint: A Novel

FOR MORE INFO CLICK HERE

ALTHENA VOLTAIR @ COMIC TWART!

ALTHENA VOLTAIR @ COMIC TWART!

ONE OF MY CURRENT COMIC FAVORITES, ADVENTURESS ALTHENA VOLTAIR IS THIS WEEKS FOCUS OVER AT COMIC TWART.

ALTHENA VOLTAIR FOLLOWS THE ADVENTURES OF A PULP HEROINE AS SHE BATTLES NAZIS AND OCCULT FORCES AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF THE MID-1930s.

TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HER CLICK HERE

TO CHECK OUT THE COMIC TWART TAKES CLICK HERE

THE GLADES!

THE GLADES!

Get a behind-the-scenes look inside an A&E original scripted drama series like never before.

Read the screenplay before it premieres on national television and experience The Glades . . . where it's sunny with a chance of homicide.

A free copy of the book will also be shipped with BN.com orders through July. You can also download a copy of the book (in PDF format) for free to read on your PC or Mac. (Other electronic versions are also available from both the A&E.com and BN.com sites.)

The Glades, a character driven police procedural set in the sleepy, middle-of-nowhere town of Palm Glade, Florida, stars Matt Passmore as Jim Longworth, an attractive and brilliant Chicago homicide detective with a reputation for being difficult. When his captain wrongfully accuses him of sleeping with his wife and shoots him, he is exiled and forced to relocate.

He lands in the town of Palm Glade, outside of Florida's Everglades, where sunshine and golf are plentiful and crime is seemingly at a minimum. But Longworth soon finds out this town isn't quite as idyllic as he originally thought, as he finds people keep turning up murdered.

Each case pulls Longworth off the golf course and reluctantly into his element as one of the sharpest homicide detectives to wear a badge . . . the book is only the beginning.

TO DOWNLOAD CLICK HERE

RETURN OF THE SAINT?

RETURN OF THE SAINT?

I JUST SPOTTED THE ABOVE LOGO IN MOONSTONE BOOKS’ NEWS SECTION DATED 05/30/2010. DIGGING FURTHER INTO THE SITE I UNCOVERED THE BELOW INFO POSTED IN THE SECOTION DEDICATED TO MOONSTONE'S MYSTERY THEMED COMICS . . .

The Saint is an adventurer, but a gentleman above all else. He reads the paper, eager to find a cause exciting to involve himself in. His moral code is strong, and is motives are also good: he would never hurt, steal from, or kill anyone who doesn't completely deserve it. The Saint is the Robin Hood of modern crime: he robs from the evil and heartless rich, and gives to the wronged and deserving poor--in the process, keeping a percentage for his own expenses. He doesn't work for the law, the government, or anyone else. He is a lone wolf, but he doesn't hesitate to team up or collaborate with anyone, including official agencies, when the need arises. He is also a romantic who believes in the excitement of living.

Very little is known about Simon Templar's background, or how he became the Saint. If his origin and circumstances of his youth seem to be shrouded in mystery, it is because he chooses not to reveal it. He has a great sense of humor as well as a great zest for life. He is well-to-do, well dressed, drives fast cars, goes to the best places with the most attractive girls, all without any visible means of support.

The police, particularly Chief Inspector Claud Eustace Teal, have their own ideas about the sources of his apparent wealth and for years have been unsuccessfully trying to prove it.

But behind the Saint's sophisticated facade there is a very different man.
Had he lived in the Middle Ages you would see him as a knight in shining amour--a Sir Lancelot, a Robin Hood, a Don Juan, or in the great western tradition, a one man vigilante.

His enemy is not so much crime, but injustice. His impetus, the plight of the innocent soul in need of a patron Saint.

In achieving his objectives he can be cold, hard and always independent. Behind the casual banter there is always the aura of a coiled spring. Hating violence, he will not only turn the other cheek he will turn it so fast that all you are going to hit is the wall you thought he was up against.

Simon Templar faces doom with a cavalier disdain. Yet this is not to say he isn't in constant jeopardy. For if he moves in dangerous places and is himself, the most dangerous of men, he is nonetheless only a man. Mortal.
His adventures have been documented in books, films, radio shows, comic strips and television series.

COOL, BUT WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN? IS MOONSTONE BRINGING OUT A NEW SAINT COMIC OR, AS THEY’VE DONE WITH OTHER HEROES OF THE SAME ILK, A NEW COMIC AND A COLLECTION OF PROSE SHORT STORIES? IF SO, WHO IS WRITING THEM? WHO IS THE ARTIST FOR THE COMIC? WHAT IS THE RELEASE SCHEDULE?

SAINT FANS WANT TO KNOW!

CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT CHRONICLES!

CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT CHRONICLES!

NOW AVAILABLE!

MOONSTONE BOOKS' LONG AWAITED SHORT STORY COLLECTION THE CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT CHRONICLES IS AVAILABLE FOR ORDER RIGHT NOW FROM MOONSTONE (BOTH THE SOFTCOVER AND HARDCOVER VERSIONS), AND BASED ON PAST EXPERIENCE IT SHOULD BE LISTED ON AMAZON SHORTLY.

BLOGSTERS WIN SCOTT ECKERT AND CHRIS MILLS BOTH HAV E STORIES IN THE COLLECTION . . .

• MOONSTONE

• AMAZON

Y/A CORNER: COUNTDOWN!

Y/A CORNER: COUNTDOWN!

DEBORAH WILES

Countdown is the first in a new trilogy of “documentary novels” set in the 1960s- a fascinating historical documentary in a unique style and format. Filled with photos, news clippings, and songs of the era, this novel tells the story of Franny Chapman, an eleven-year-old girl living in Washington, DC, set against the backdrop of one of the most politically and culturally defining periods in history.

It’s 1962, in the days surrounding the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the world seems to be on the terrifying brink of nuclear war. But for Franny Chapman, everyday life goes on. While doing “Duck and Cover” drills at school,Franny must face tensions with her younger brother, and worry about her older sister- is she a secret spy?- while learning to look beyond outward appearances.

R.I.P. ~ AQUAMAN!

MOVIE POSTER MASH-UPS!

MOVIE POSTER MASH-UPS!

VIA THE HUFFINGTON POST . . . SOME OF THESE ARE HILARIOUS . . . SOME SOUND BETTER THAN EITHER OF THE COMBINED MOVIES . . .

TO VIEW THEM ALL CLICK HERE

AN AMUSED TIP OF THE FEDORA TO CINEMA RETRO

SPY GIVEAWAY!

SPY GIVEAWAY!

AS THE MAY MADNESS SPY TOURNAMENT COMES TO IT’S THRILLING CONCLUSION, HOST BLOG MISTER 8 IS SPONSORING A COOL SPY PACKAGE GIVEAWAY RELATED TO THE TWO FINALISTS – THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.’ S SOLO AND KURYIAKIN VS. QUEEN AND COUNTRY’S TARA CHANCE . . . (AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, TARA DOESN'T STAND A CHANCE) . . .

TO ENTER OR GET IN ON THE FUN CLICK HERE

MORE GIRLS WITH GUNS!

SAS ~ GIRLS WITH GUNS!

SAS ~ GIRLS WITH GUNS!

YOU HAVE TO LOVE THIS SERIES OF COVERS FOR GERARD DE VILLIERS' SAS SERIES PUBLISHED IN FRANCE (I THINK) . . .

PER WIKIPEDIA

(De Villiers) is the author of the spy novel series SAS, from 1965 which tells the adventures of the Austrian prince and CIA agent Malko Linge. SAS is a play on initials: Son Altesse Sérénissime (SAS) is the French version of "His Royal Highness" (HRH); and the British Special Air Service (SAS); the principal special forces unit of the British Army.

As of 2007 171 novels of the franchise have been penned, with usually the locale of the story featuring in the title (like Les amazones de Pyongyang' or Putsch à Ouagadougou). Miles O'Keefe played Malko in the 1983 film S.A.S. à San Salvador with Richard Young in the role in Eye of the Widow (1989) directed by Andrew V. McLaglen.

TO CHECK OUT THE FULL LINE UP AT THE PULP-BOT EFFECT BLOG CLICK HERE

A GAME FOR HEROES!

A GAME FOR HEROES!

AUGUST WEST GIVES US THE RUNDOWN ON ONE OF MY FAVORITE JACK HIGGIN’S NOVELS (AS BY JAMES GRAHAM) OVER AT HIS VINTAGE HARDBOILED READS BLOG . . .

Nowadays, when I pick up a Harry Patterson novel, I feel like I'm going home again. Be it under the name of Patterson, Jack Higgins, Hugh Marlowe, or James Graham, the author continually delivers exciting plots with risk venturing characters. In my youth I've read so many of his early thrillers that reading one now I get a bittersweet longing for those days. The excellent "A Game for Heroes" is one of those and it's aptly titled because heroes and heroics fill the novel. But the tale really revolves around one and his name is Owen Morgan. And how can you not love this British Ops Specialist, with his scarred face, wearing a patch to cover his lost eye, the deadly tricks he does with his spring-loaded knife, and the numerous dangerous missions found in his dossier . . .

FOR THE FULL POST CLICK HERE

MODERN PULP: FIVE SHOTS AND A FUNERAL!

MODERN PULP: FIVE SHOTS AND A FUNERAL!

TOM FASSBENDER AND JIM PASCOE

ILLUSTRATIONS BY PAUL POPE

THE SHORT FICTION OF DASHIELL LOVELESS

Follow cigar-smoking, bourbon-drinking detective Ben Drake as he returns for the first time in this collection of five murder-packed mystery capers, including "The Silent Ventriloquest," "Death Plays a Foul Game," "A Cold-Blooded Kidnapping," "Midnight Train to Nowhere," and the highly anticipated case of "Raspberry Jack."

My gun held five shots. I only had one left. I'd often remarked that if I didn't hit may target with five shots, the sixth wouldn't do me any good. Until now I'd always meant that as a joke.

WHO IS DASHIELL LOVELESS?

Dashiell Loveless is an author. Dashiell Loveless is not a pseudonym, at least in the truest sense of the word. He exists solely in fiction time, crafted as the centerpiece of a forthcoming UglyTown novel. He is the true creator and innovator of the pulp artifact – a novel out of place in time – such as Five Shots and a Funeral and its predecessor By The Balls.

These pulp artifacts, like Loveless himself, exist within a larger narrative. Dashiell Loveless is a construct of paper and ideas who in turn constructs ideas on paper. Dashiell Loveless is a man. Dashiell Loveless remains a mystery.

FOR MORE INFO CLICK HERE