You might say… The writing’s on the wall.

Authors Mickey Spillane & Max Allan Collins

Things You Might Like

• Tight plot
• Crisp dialogue
• A book that knows what it is and excels at it

Things You Might Not Like

• The dialogue is pretty cliched at parts
• Women just seem to throw themselves at this guy at an unnatural rate

Conclusion

If you want pulp detective/spy fiction, this is it. Spillane’s book is cut-and-dry throughout and a blast to read.

5 out of 5 Steel Teeth

Aaron Simon

*

The Cold War may have been a time of unparalleled anxiety based upon the nearly constant, imminent threat of nuclear annihilation, but if anything good came out of it, it was definitely the superb amount of spy fiction.

I’ve previously taken a look at The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, and Luke – way back when – discussed Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, as well as Bullet Reviews’s Blog-along-Bond series, and today’s entry continues in that proud Bullet Reviews tradition of “This looks interesting; I’ll write about it.”

Originally written by Mickey Spillane, and finished by his friend, Max Allan Collins, Complex 90 follows Spillane’s most famous character – Mike Hammer, whom the author portrayed in the film The Girl Hunter – after he escapes from the Soviet Union following a kidnapping attempt by the KGB. After returning to the States, Hammer must figure out the connection between the KGB, the kidnapping, a Senator, and him.

Picture this guy whenever you’re reading the book.

Now, the thing about Complex 90 is that it’s nearly the polar opposite of John Le Carre’s novels, but also happens to be pretty damn similar. In other words, it’s action-packed, cinematic in its prose, and full of sex and violence.

(Yeah, yeah, I know. “That sounds a lot like the Bond novels and movies, Aaron.” Very astute, reader.)

Of course, hypothetical parenthetical arguments with readers aside, the difference between Spillane and Fleming’s work is that Spillane is pretty out-and-out pulp material. Fleming has a veneer of Britishness over his work – there’s an element of class, respect, and even dignified violence draped over his books. Spillane’s is thorough guts and grit.

And that approach garnered significant, damning reviews from the review press, as well as praise from the detestable-as-an-author Ayn Rand. The latter praised him because “there is not a single emotional word or adjective in Spillane’s description,” which is odd because it implies that anger and lust are not emotions. Which, then, asks the question of whether or not Ayn Rand knew what emotions actually were. Which, then, makes one think about whether or not Rand was a robot. Further–

Right. Sorry.

Ahem.

So.

Spillane’s writing was enjoyed by a huge range of people – why? Because he tells a damn good story. There’s not much in the way of classical art in this – you won’t see any Dostoevskian treatises upon the nature of man, nor will you find any Camus-like pondering upon attachments between people.

However, I am reminded of a Zen story. Because it illustrates this so well, I’ll do my best to retell it:

The Zen master Banzan walked through a village.

As he passed by a butcher’s shop, he overheard a villager say, “Give me the finest cut of meat you have.” The butcher put down his knife, gestured at his stock, and said, “Do you see any cut of meat that is not the finest?”

Hearing this, Banzan became enlightened.

Now, how does this relate to Spillane? Well, like Banzan before he heard the butcher’s words, reviewers and critics were judging his work based on their assumptions about writing. Namely, that in order to be art, writing had to conform to a rubrict that did not fit the piece.

That is to say, they were looking at pulp through the lens of high literature. Of course it’s not going to be art! There’s no question of existentialism in these novels because, well, it doesn’t belong there. It’s pulp. It’s entertainment. If Rand had something right it was that she saw the book for the art it was. (Now, whether she was looking at it as art because it meshed with her politics is one thing.)

So, is Spillane’s book art? You’re damn right it is. It’s the art of the popular writer. It’s keeping a plot going at a breakneck pace without losing characters, without losing snippets of dialogue, without the subtle strokes of flavor that keep readers from all walks of life entertained.

For example, there is a scene in which this subtlety plays out brilliantly. After Hammer does his whole kill-all-the-Reds thing, he’s being “debriefed” by a few Company types. Hammer is caught up in his own ego, so much so that he believes he’s playing them, keeping them in awe of his utter macho wiles and drive, while the body language of the Company men obviously shows that they’re thinking, “How the hell do we keep getting caught up with this maniac?”

It’s a really ingenious bit in the otherwise cut-and-dry scene and is more than enough to show that Spillane is a master in his own genre.

You can probably guess what I’m thinking by now. Sheer, unadulterated praise. (Hey, that’s kinda the name of our podcast…) I mean, it seems like a moot point, because Spillane is A Name to Know, but damn. Complex 90 is a hell of a book.

Also worth noting – and pretty obvious from the get-go – is that Spillane was a huge influence on Frank Miller. It’s funny, I don’t generally like Frank Miller’s stuff, but I liked this. Huh. Maybe it’s Miller’s hat.

Buy, Rent, or Pirate? Buy this book from Amazon now! (NOTE: Bullet Reviews does not condone piracy. If you pirate books, you’re a dirty Red.)

Thanks for reading Complex 90 (2013) from Bullet Reviews.

We got a treat for ya. We play Monaco! It’s a disaster! Watch it!

Thanks for reading Unadulterated Hyperbole: Let’s Play – Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine from Bullet Reviews.

It’s a good’n! I SHOUT in the beginning, guys!

It’s

• Strategic
• Historical
• Handheld
• World-building
• Heroic
• Newsworthy

Man. It was a big one.

- Aaron out

Thanks for reading Unadulterated Hyperbole: Josh Has Been Keelhauled Edition from Bullet Reviews.

Editor

Things You Might Like

• Wide variety of material
• That glowing, “dawwww” feeling from a few of the stories
• “The True Spirit of Christmas” and “The Machines Are Talking”

Things You Might Not Like

• When the stories miss, they miss
• Often weak writing

Conclusion

Like any anthology, the DFTBA anthology has its hits and misses, but is worth checking out in case you ever need to feel good about humanity.

4 out of 5 Green Dots

Aaron Simon

*

Howdy, readers. Today’s review is of an anthology.

Full disclosure right at the onset, a buddy of mine edited it, and pitched the idea for me – and Josh Robinson and ESPF of Bullet Reviews fame – to judge it. So keep that in mind that I know the dude who edited the thing.

I mean, that’s not saying this is going to be glowing praise, but I’m sure there’s going to be some nutjob out there screaming, “SHILL! SHILL!” so I figured I’d get it out of the way.

The DFTBA anthology. “DFTBA,” I’m told, stands for Don’t Forget To Be Awesome. Nice enough sentiment. It’s run by John and Hank Green, the founders of the Nerdfighter movement. I’ve never heard of that, and I try to stay away from online movements – as a general rule – so let’s just mosey on to the book.

The theme of the anthology is “An Act of Charity,” which is apt, because it all goes to a crowd-voted charity. (More information on that can be found in the Kindle anthology.) The stories in the Kindle edition range from fairly common acts of kindness, to last-minute organ transfers, to sci-fi missions of mercy.

As with all anthologies, the overall quality of the work depends on the individual pieces found inside, and the DFTBA anthology is no different. The quality widely varies, just as much as the topics, and the real stars are Michael Trimmer’s “The True Spirit of Christmas,” and Jerry Patton’s “The Machines Are Talking.”

Trimmer’s story follows a freighter taking supplies through the void to a colony. The ship gets waylaid by a mass of aliens that are unlike humans in every possible way. As the beings stop the freighter mid-journey, the pilot must tell the aliens why he is no threat, and this means describing both individuality and the concept of charity (or, in this case, “not letting a massive amount of people die”).

It’s done in a way that balances humor with an irregularly optimistic view of humanity. (That, of course, is in reference to the whole of science fiction, which is pretty pessimistic. Yes, even Vonnegut was pretty down about mankind’s future prospects.) Check it out.

Patton’s story is almost the polar opposite. It involves a mother of an autistic child, the child’s nanny, and the mother’s father – an ex-college professor who has a whole lot in common with the child.

The story often gets bogged down in conversation between the two central women in the plot, but it excels in both the payoff of the story and the snippets of the ex-professor’s life. (Anyone who’s ever had a favorite crotchety English teacher will love it.)

So, those are the best. The rest is hit or miss, with a bunch of really large misses that get caught up in really driving home their themes, thin characters, or wholly forgettable plots (I’m looking at “Your Story,” “The Body,” and “It Goes On”) particularly. But, by and large, the misses are balanced out by the better stories in the book – “To Live Forever,” which deals with a very crotchety patriarch, and “Still Reading” among them.

So, consider that you’re dealing with a pretty open topic, and consider the audience of the Nerdfighter movement. Now, I hadn’t heard of it before reading the anthology, and after looking at the movement, it has certain elements of manic pixieness that, frankly, terrify me, so hey! Considering all the good stories in here, I think this is a winner!

Buy, Rent, or Pirate? Buy this book from Amazon now! (NOTE: Dude. This is a charity book. Don’t pirate this shit.)

Howdy, readers. Today’s review is of an anthology.

Full disclosure right at the onset, a buddy of mine edited it, and pitched the idea for me – and Josh Robinson and ESPF of Bullet Reviews fame – to judge it. So keep that in mind that, you know, I know the dude who edited the thing.

I mean, that’s not saying this is going to be glowing praise, but I’m sure there’s going to be some nutjob out there screaming, “SHILL! SHILL!” so I figured I’d get it out of the way.

The DFTBA anthology. “DFTBA,” I’m told, stands for Don’t Forget To Be Awesome. Nice enough sentiment. It’s run by John and Hank Green, the founders of the Nerdfighter movement. I’ve never heard of that, and I try to stay away from online movements – as a general rule – so let’s just mosey on to the book.

The theme of the anthology is “An Act of Charity,” which is apt, because it all goes to a crowd-voted charity. (More information on that can be found in the Kindle anthology.) The stories in the Kindle edition range from fairly common acts of kindness, to last-minute organ transfers, to sci-fi missions of mercy.

As with all anthologies, the overall quality of the work depends on the individual pieces found inside, and the DFTBA anthology is no different. The quality widely varies, just as much as the topics, and the real stars are Michael Trimmer’s “The True Spirit of Christmas,” and Jerry Patton’s “The Machines Are Talking.”

Trimmer’s story follows a freighter taking supplies through the void to a colony. The ship gets waylaid by a mass of aliens that are unlike humans in every possible way. As the beings stop the freighter mid-journey, the pilot must tell the aliens why he is no threat, and this means describing both individuality and the concept of charity (or, in this case, “not letting a massive amount of people die”).

It’s done in a way that balances humor with an irregularly optimistic view of humanity. (That, of course, is in reference to the whole of science fiction, which is pretty pessimistic. Yes, even Vonnegut was pretty down about mankind’s future prospects.) Check it out.

Patton’s story is almost the polar opposite. It involves a mother of an autistic child, the child’s nanny, and the mother’s father – an ex-college professor who has a whole lot in common with the child.

The story often gets bogged down in conversation between the two central women in the plot, but it excels in both the payoff of the story and the snippets of the ex-professor’s life. (Anyone who’s ever had a favorite crotchety English teacher will love it.)

So, those are the best. The rest is hit or miss, with a bunch of really large misses that get caught up in really driving home their themes, thin characters, or wholly forgettable plots (I’m looking at “Your Story,” “The Body,” and “It Goes On”) particularly. But, by and large, the misses are balanced out by the better stories in the book – “To Live Forever,” which deals with a very crotchety patriarch, and “Still Reading” among them.

So, consider that you’re dealing with a pretty open topic, and consider the audience of the Nerdfighter movement. Now, I hadn’t heard of it before reading the anthology, and after looking at the movement, it has certain elements of manic pixieness that, frankly, terrify me, so hey! Considering all the good stories in here, I think this is a winner!

Buy, Rent, or Pirate? Buy this book from Amazon now! (NOTE: Dude. This is a charity book. Don’t pirate this shit.)

Thanks for reading DFTBA 2012 anthology (2012) from Bullet Reviews.

Man, that fish is gonna eat it SO HARD.

Author Matthew Kagle

Things You Might Like

• Pretty cool premise
• Opening chapters – the ones that deal with time travelers – are really well-written
• Lots of promise with the Blues, Oranges, Reds, and all that

Things You Might Not Like

•  After opening, the narrative falls flat
• Characters aren’t so much characters as sketches
• Narrative follows the wrong plotlines

Conclusion

Matthew Kagle’s Pinhole has a whole hell of a lot of promise, and then ends up shooting itself in the foot. Alas, poor novel, I wanted to know it well.

2 out of 5 Grammatically-Inept Time Travelers

Aaron Simon

I’m not mad, Matthew Kagle. I’m just disappointed.

I thought I’d get that out of the way before going into the book, because, really, it’s the only way to set up this review.

Kagle’s Pinhole is a novel about a group of scientists who find a way to travel through time via wormholes. It opens up with a few time travelers going to the prehistoric era, where our ancestor’s ancestors were fish that were learning how to breathe on land to escape ocean predators; or one man who travels back to classical Greece and suddenly decides to write a massive tome detailing all of the knowledge he brought back to him; or another guy who just pops up in Elizabethan England.

So, that may sound disjointed, but it’s interesting. At least, that’s what I thought. I read the first few opening chapters and prepared myself for finding out just how these three things coincided – besides the obvious of the three of them being involved in the experiments.

Well, I was 64% of the way through it – according to my Kindle – before I called it quits, and I still don’t know.

I mean, we’ve been introduced to two of the three characters at this point, and we kinda sorta know something about them, but it’s all vaguely wishy-washy. We’ve also been introduced to a few different plotlines at this point, and, while they all have something going for them, the way we’re introduced to them is–well, it’s a bit like a Tourette’s sufferer was writing it.

Now, mechanically, I get why this is the way it is. The whole premise of the novel is that wormhole travel is a real thing, and people are able to utilize it to zip in and out of different times (or dimensions, I guess). So, it follows that the book reads the same kind of way.

However, that doesn’t mean that it makes sense when you’re reading it. Instead, what you get is a bunch of short stories that are related – but not really closely related – and then slammed together by a particle accelerator.

The result is something that keeps you yearning for continuity. Disjointedness is all well and good, but the lesson to be learned from this book is that an author must be cautious about it. Case in point: While we see many of the same characters at many different points in the novel, there’s not much in the way of characterization or development of themes.

So, final verdict? Not so good. The book has plenty of material that would make for a really interesting sci-fi thriller novel – elements of some of the more popularized Philip K Dick novels and stories, such as the Spielberg Minority Report or the Schwarzenegger Total Recall are there, and make up the more interesting portions of the book. However, in being caught up with tying the narration into the plot, the novel loses a central thread, leading to something that will, most likely, have readers scratching their heads and going, “Am I supposed to care about this character?”

Buy, Rent, or Pirate? Well, it’s only £.77 at the Kindle store, so buy? I’d rent it, though. (NOTE: Bullet Reviews does not condone piracy. If you pirate books, that’s totally not cool, and you’ll eat it from time-traveling agents.)

Thanks for reading Pinhole (2013) from Bullet Reviews.