STEEGER BOOKS/ALTUS PRESS SALE - Last Call!

Yeah, it's do-or-die time the Steeger Sale. Get your orders in by midnight! Publisher Matt Moring introduced 34 new books just for this event (boy, does he have eyestrain!) and below are some I can particularly recommend. See them all - and his hundreds of other great books at https://steegerbooks.com/

Need I say more?

Been itching for this to begin for a LONG time!

Great stories, with an Intro by me.

From the creator of Hashknife Hartley & Sleepy Stevens.

Have you read his Cellini Smith series?

The Master of Men strikes again.

The adventures of a hardboiled cab driver.

From the Tros of Samothrace guy.

Flynn was one of Cap Shaw's Black Mask Boys.

From the creator of Thibaut Corday.

A cool wannabe Kimosabe, with an Intro by James Reasoner.

Forgotten Books: SHILOH by James Reasoner (1999)

The illustrious author

Book 2 of the Civil War Battle series introduces us to Coriolanus Troilus Brannon, the middle brother of the Brannon clan, and is mostly about him. Cory begins the story as a seedy, sotten, no-account wharf rat, despondent for having failed in his plans to make it big in the West. The West (to a Virginian) is New Madrid, MO, on the Mississippi River. As our story progresses, Cory becomes a riverboatman, finds self-respect, earns friends, learns to fight, finds courage and meets his lady love. And just when things are really looking up for him, the war comes rolling in and hands him a fistful of woe.

The author's illustrious ancestor, General J.M.
Reasoner, C.S.A.. Remarkable resemblance, ain't it?

On his way to an appointment with destiny at the Battle of Shiloh, Cory in involved in the engagements at Fort Henry and Fort Donaldson. One of the coolest battle scenes involves two Southern riverboats equipped with 18-pounders versus a squadron of Union gunboats, some of them ironclads.

Cory begins the fight at Shiloh as an infantryman and finishes riding with Col. Nathan Bedford Forrest's cavalry, and even manages to save Forrest's life. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch (or in this case, farm) Titus Brannon is drowning his sorrows in moonshine. He has seemingly lost the rich girl of his dreams and is sliding downhill so fast he might as well be on a skateboard. Brother Mac is chasing  a ghost horse (not really, but that's how he thinks of it), Sister Cordelia is being her sweet, moralistic self, and Mother Abigail is showing signs of regret for having banished her eldest son Will. Will is having his own troubles in the Federal army. His fellow officers look down their aristocratic noses at him, and his sergeant (a guy he routinely arrested for drunkenness in his previous life as a sheriff), can't keep his hands off the bottle.

There's plenty of great storytelling here (360 pages worth), and I'm looking forward to the next volume (of ten!), Antietam.

Forgotten Books: MANASSAS by James Reasoner (1999)

We take time out from our ongoing series BILL CRIDER goes to BOUCHERCON (see the first four instalments HERE) to look at this book by Bill’s pal James Reasoner. I’m sure Bill won’t mind. Part 5 of Bill at Bouchercon (2000-01) will appear on Sunday. Meanwhile, for those of you jonesing for more photos of Bill, we present several of he and James together (most shamelessly lifted from Bill’s blog).

My favorite James Reasoner novels are the ones with his own name on them. His name is on this one, and the following nine volumes of The Civil War Battle Series, and they’re all damn good. Though officially a “series,” it’s really one humungous meganovel, following the trials and tribulations of one Virginia farm family from the beginning to the end of the war. It would make a great 10-part miniseries for one of the cable networks. (Are you listening, HBO?)

We see a skilled novelist at work here, introducing us to a cast of strong and varied personalities, sure to provide plenty of drama as the saga rolls on.

William Shakespeare Brannon is the Culpepper County sheriff, and the oldest still at home. Macbeth Brannon is a horse whisperer. Titus Andronicus Brannon, an expert tracker and a crack rifle shot, is tragically in love with a girl out of his league. Henry Brannon, the youngest, is still trying to find himself. Their footloose brother, Coriolanus Troilus Brannon has gone West to seek his fortune, and we won’t actually meet him until Book 2. 

Seventeen-year-old Cordelia Brannon is the prettiest girl in the county, and not as empty-headed as her brothers think. Riding herd on them all is their fiercely religious mother Abigail, still bitter over the antics of their late father. And making life difficult for them all are the no-account, thieving and killing Fogarty brothers. (The books were published between 1999 and 2003. Was James listening to Credence at the time?)

There's a cool passage when the war starts:

The ticket agent shouted, "The word just came over the wire! We've captured Fort Sumter! It's war, boys, war!"
     "Cry havoc," Will muttered, quoting his namesake, "'and let slip the dogs of war . . . ,'" as people cheered and shot off guns.
     Those dogs were sure barking now.

Those opening shots of the war take place offstage, but we then ride to  Manassas—the first great battle—with Will Brannon, a newly minted captain of the Culpepper Catamounts in Brigarier General Thomas Jackson’s Thirty-third Virginia. And it’s a good thing Will is there, because without him Jackson may not have been in position to be standing "like a stone wall” and earn his catchy nickname. We’re also introduced to the intriguing notion that the famous “stone wall” comment, uttered by the soon-to-be-deceased Confederate General Bee, may not have intended as a compliment. I don’t recall encountering that before.

The battle scene is nicely handled, and leaves me looking forward to many more. I’ll be finding them in the rest of the saga: Shiloh, Antietam, Chancellorsville, Vicksburg, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, Shenandoah, Savannah and Appomattox.

James and Bill, Western Writers of America conference, 1992

Brownsville, Texas, 1980, with Angela and Allen Crider

and the Howard family

Armadillocon 2017: Dave Hardy, Dwight Simms, Joe Lansdale, Lawrence Pearson, James, Bill, Scott Cupp

Bouchercon 2002: James, Joe Lansdale, Bill, Steve Mertz 

(photo by Art Scott)

Stephen Mertz strikes again! Blaze! #6: ZOMBIES OVER YONDER!

When Steve Mertz pitched this entry in the Blaze series to Rough Edges Press publisher James Reasoner, James told him: If you're going over the top, go WAY over. And that's what he did!

Zombies Over Yonder takes the husband and wife gunfighting team of J.D. and Kate Blaze to the dying town of Yonder, Arizona Territory. The new owner of The Starlight Mine - a creepy dude who wears an opera cloak and calls himself Count Vlad - has the place going full steam, despite having fired all the miners. How's he do it? With a workforce of the Living Dead, natch.

Sounds like an employers dream, doesn't it? Zombies don't need wages, or coffee breaks, or even sleep. But they do need plenty of living - or recently living - flesh to feed their never-ending appetites. Will Mr. and Mrs, Blaze find themselves on the menu? Read Zombies Over Yonder and find out.

Along the way, you'll meet a black-clad albino gunman named Lucien Grubmire, a vengeful Apache named Iron Heart, a sleazeball cavarly commander named Hitchcock, a lissome lass named Blue Feather, and a baker's dozen of evil-eyed gummen slated to meet the undertaker.

Where else can you have this much fun for a measley $2.99?

Get it here: Blaze! Zombies Over Yonder (Blaze! Western Series Book 6)

Devil Wings Over France: An Air War Thriller by James Reasoner

Back in the 1930s, Air War pulps were hugely popular. Writers like Frederick Nebel, Raoul Whitfield, Lester Dent and David Goodis, among many others, churned out millions of words detailing the thrilling battles between American aces and German pilots in the skies over Europe.

Several air fighters even got their own magazines, including The Lone Eagle, Dusty Ayres, and the most popular air war hero of them all, G-8. The magazine G-8 and his Battle Aces ran for 110 issues, and the secret of its longevity was that he wasn't fighting just Germans. Like other great Hero Pulp heroes, G-8 went up against threats that crossed the line into the worlds of fantasy, science fiction and the supernatural.

Well. Fast-forward eighty years, and we find James Reasoner, who's written tales in just about every other pulp genre, introducing his own air war hero, American ace Dave "Dead-Stick" Malloy, in Devil Wings Over France. I can't say much about the plot of this adventure without giving too much away, but suffice it to say that Malloy is a worthy successor to G-8, and I'm hoping more tales of his WWI heroics will be coming soon.

RANCHO DIABLO 1: Shooter's Cross by Colby Jackson (Mel Odom)

Bottom Line first: I enjoyed the hell out of this book.

I guess I’m not really surprised, it’s just that I didn’t know what to expect. And whatever those nebulous expectations were, Shooter’s Cross exceeded them by a country mile.

I knew James Reasoner and Bill Crider were involved in this project, and knew they’d written books 2 and 3 in the series, respectively. I’ve read a good number of books by both those gents, and they’ve always delivered the goods. But the author of this inaugural entry, Mel Odom, was a mystery to me.

No more! Mel delivers, too, introducing the Rancho Diablo saga in grand fashion. Shooter’s Cross is sort of an origin story, in which nail-tough Army scout Sam Blaylock lays eyes on Rancho Diablo and never looks back. The locals, residents of the nearby town of Shooter’s Cross, think the place is haunted, but Sam thinks it’s the perfect place to make a home for his friends and family.

In this one, we meet two of Sam’s old friends: Duane Beatty, a stalwart Cajun with a knack for engineering, and Michael Tucker, a wizard with a six-gun. And two new ones: An aptly-named old coot called Gabby (think Hayes) and a young whippersnapper from the town named Randy. These four appear slated to be regulars in the series, and offer many directions for future storylines.

Meanwhile, back in Shooter’s Cross, there’s stern-but-fair Marshal Tolliver, who seems destined to be strong ally, and newspaperman/gambler Mitch McCarthy, a capable adversary. With these members of the cast in place, we’re ready for the arrival of Sam’s wife and kids in the next installment.

The story is compelling, the prose smooth and the dialogue tight. It all adds up to a great read, and has me eager to see what Misters Reasoner and Crider have for us in the next two books. And thankfully, I won’t have to wait. All three books are available for Kindle RIGHT NOW, and for us old-fashioned paper book collectors, Shooter’s Cross is also offered in paperback.

More info at the Rancho Diablo Blog, including the very good news that this intrepid trio already has a spin-off series in the works!

The Complete Crocadilettante -or- It's a Croc(k) by Bill Crider

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With the kind permission of Mr. Bill and The Not So Private Eye editor Andy Jaysnovitch, we present this time-lost study in Crocodilology. It appeared in NSPE 10 in 1982. The final page featured the beginning of another article (not by Bill), so I plugged in a couple of book reviews from elsewhere in the issue. The first, I assume, is by Andy himself. The other is by that young whippersnapper author of Texas Wind.

(click to SUPERSIZE)

Skullduggery: Three "Lost" stories by James Reasoner

cc

While excavating a few old boxes from storage the other day, I unearthed these artifacts of Reasoner history.  As soon as I’ve finished reading them, they’ll be winging their way to Texas to join the Reasoner post-fire library.

SKULLDUGGERY 5 (Winter 1981) was the first of two issues edited by Will Murray, who took over from Mike Cook. With this issue, the mag shifted from crime fiction to “fiction noir”, which explains why I bought it. The Reasoner tale, “Dreams Before Breakfast” stars a guy who suffers a recurring nightmare until he begins cheating on his wife. Believing she was the cause of his dreams, he resolves to end the marriage by any means necessary - with surprising results. Also in this issue: “Mellow Drama” by Richard Sale, a cockeyed tale from 1935, set in the office of a hero pulp publisher (it has since been reprinted in Blood ’N' Thunder 3).

SKULLDUGGERY 6 leads off with his story “Play by the Rules”. This one’s about a guy paid a visit by an old not-friend and his deadly associates. This tale is far less “lost” than it used to be, because James reprinted it last Fall on his blog. You can read the whole thing right HERE. You’ll be pleased to know the cover illo with the folks in the klannish hoods is for a different story.

SKULLDUGGERY 7 finds Karen Shapiro and Bill Desmond (publishers of issues 5 and 6) now editing as well. According to them, “The Double Edge” is Reasoner’s fifth story featuring Markham, a Chandleresque private eye. Markham doesn’t mind serving his clients, but hates being used, as his current client learns to his peril. “At he moment,” the editors tell us, James “is working on both a mystery novel and a fantasy novel. And a historical romance, The Emerald Land, which he wrote with his wife, L.J. Washburn, will be published soon by Fawcett.” (Hey James! What fantasy novel was that?) Skullduggery lasted one more issue (without a Reasoner tale, I believe), then was reborn for a four-issue run as Spiderweb, where at least one more of his stories appeared. If I have any Spiderwebs, they’re still buried in storage.

Buck Jones Rides Again

Now that James Reasoner has made Buck Jones cool again (in his outstanding Beat to a Pulp story "One Night Near Hangtown"), I figured it was time to pay tribute to Buck, who was featured on some of the finest western movie posters of all time. Here are three of my favorites.

1936

1936

1937

Book Buys Pt. 4: Tales from Deadwood

I've been in withdrawal since Deadwood disappeared from HBO. Will we ever again see its like? Thankfully, Deadwood lives on, if only for two more episodes, in these books by "Mike Jameson". Who is Mike Jameson? Try this: Scratch out "Mike" and "on," then add the letters R-E-A-S-O-N-E-R at the end. By gad, I think you've got it.

As a bonus, Berkley Books snagged another famous dude (Charles M. Russell) to paint the cover for the first book. Quite a coup. Sadly, like the TV show, the book series seems to be at an end. But on the plus side, Mr. "Jameson" goes marching on.

Almost Bat Masterson.

When I wasn't busy being Davy Crockett, sometimes I was Roy Rogers and sometimes Bat Masterson. Here are the various pieces of my Bat outfit. The hat (not quite derbyish but not quite cowboy), the cane (sorry, no hidden knife or sword), and the gentlemanly pistol (a Hubley Remington .36). Thus equipped, all I had to do was hum the theme song and I was a 1/2 scale neighborhood version of Gene Barry. If only I'd had the vest. James Reasoner models both hat and vest over at Rough Edges.

At the Bijou with Gobe: Fort Massacre.

A WORD FROM THE EDITOR: For the past several years Mr. Dale Goble and I have been contributors to the Old West APA (amateur press association) Owlhoot. (Other Owlhoot members who’ve popped onto the Almanack recently include Mr. James Reasoner, Mr. Bill Crider, Mr. Steve Kaye (aka Clay Burnham) and the head Owlhoot himself, Cap’n Bob Napier.) Anyway, I’ve long admired Dale’s movie reviews, and he’s kindly agreed to let me share a few with you. Thanks Gobe! Here’s the first:

It can't just be my bad memory. I have always assumed that I saw every movie made between 1955 and 1962. Lately, evidence is gathering that this might not be correct, because I sure don't remember seeing FORT MASSACRE. And I can't remember Joel McCrea ever being old--until RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY--or being anything but the white hat hero until TALES OF THE TEXAS RANGERS. Sorry, that last part just slipped out. I was joking. Erase, erase. Here we have Joel McCrea in a cavalry movie. He's older, and the luster seems to be a bit tarnished.

Here's what the tagline was:
THE WEST'S MOST SAVAGE STORY OF HATE, PRIDE AND CUNNING! (original print ad - all caps)
The poster reads "The West has never known a "Hero" like the killer who commanded "Fort Massacre." In 1958, the quotation marks around Hero wouldn't have raised any flags for me. Cavalry good, Injun bad. Here's the synopsis:
During the Indian Wars in the Southwest, a sergeant assumes command of a cavalry detachment after it is mauled in an Apache ambush that killed its captain and seriously wounded its lieutenant. The surviving troopers must reach either a larger cavalry column or a wagon train the column is to escort. But first they need water and the nearest water hole is in Apache hands....

Joel McCrea is the sergeant, Sgt. Vinson, a three striper who is both driven and unsure of himself, and who takes a lot more guff from his troopers that any sergeant since Joey Bishop. Vinson has, predictably, a rag-tag bunch of troopers, each with their own past and peculiarities. This is standard "Lost Patrol" stuff, but the individual histories are somewhat unique. Well, not all of the characters are totally clichéd. McCrea is supported by Forrest Tucker as Pvt. McGurney, John Russell as Pvt. Robert Travis, Denver Pyle as Pvt. Collins, and the usual cavalry ensemble. Anthony Caruso plays the faithful Paiute scout. The bad guys are the Apache. The campaign Sgt. Vinson is engaged in is pure fiction, there was never a large confrontation with the Apache. Susan Cabot gets third billing but doesn't appear much or do much. Russell gets fourth billing, but is actually the co-star. If you're a thirteen year-old or me, the ending is a little unexpected.

See, there's this here problem. Sgt. Vinson/Joel McCrea is the hero. Every kid born in the Forties knows that Joel McCrae is a cowboy hero. But some of the stuff he does here seems a little hard to understand, since he's the white hat and all, and it confuses a young teenager to try to figure it out. Remember, also, that these were the days that the Injuns were the bad guys, all bad, savages, they can't even speak'um good. So probably Sgt. Vinson is justified, I mean, he's got to be justified, he's trying to save his men and the wagon train and the column and the fort. The dumb Privates just don't understand the ways of the Injuns. Joel McCrea knows better, right?

The movie is more than I expected from a 1958 cavalry film, and required more attention than the usual boots-and-
saddles second feature. I would suggest that it's worth a watch if you run across it. I give it three guidons.

Jumpin' catfish! It's James Reasoner!

See that little cowpoke in the Wyatt Earp vest on the Followers roster? Yep, that's James Reasoner. Davy is in awe of this guy. And why not? James is one of the true Fictioneers of the modern age. He’s written so many books, under so many names, that if I started listing them now I’d still be typing next week. In any given year, he writes more books than most humans even read. There's a list on his web site to prove it. I’m particularly fond of his 10-volume Civil War saga. Start with Manassas and you’ll see why. Somehow he also finds time to blog, at Rough Edges. His latest books under his own name, as far as I know, are Dust Devils (a mystery) and Death Head Crossing (a western). His latest under other names, are (I think) Longarm and the Valley of Skulls and The Trailsman 325: Seminole Showdown. Of course, he probably has a couple more coming out next week. Plus, as this unretouched photo illustrates, he’s a snappy dresser. I'm with Davy. I’m in awe of this guy, too.