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Post by dem on Jun 11, 2008 21:34:29 GMT
It's livened up some since our man finally developed his stinky mantis repellent, made a nice little lead for Slayer and started taking him for walks. No need to tell you what happened to Keko and his entire tribe when Dyke offered to take them on a boat trip to the island as a special treat. Put it this way: Bush wasn't exaggerating about there being lots of boob-munching unpleasantness.
Can't believe I'm only now approaching p. 100. I seem to have been reading this for nearly a year ....
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Post by carolinec on Jun 11, 2008 22:13:45 GMT
Who's it by? Does it have a kind of bat-like image on the front cover as that rings a bell too? >> You got it Caroline! It's written by Derek Hyde-Chambers - came out in '74 . Funny stuffed cat on the cover that looks like a bat. Chambers worked as a story editor for ATV on shows like DEPARTMENT S ( I recall).Don't know of any other books he wrote - if I can dig out my copy I'll post a scan. Great that somebody else recognizes this one! KC Yes, that's the one! Thanks for the scan too Dem - that brought back some memories. Well, it hasn't actually as I can't remember a thing about the book other than the cover. Maybe we should start a new thread for this one so that you could remind me about it? I've no idea where my copy might be or if it still exists. Then, you folks could get back to talking about your bug things on this thread ...  |
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Post by jkdunham on Jun 12, 2008 1:25:22 GMT
It's most likely an American author - Manor books first published it according to the preface. I too doubt it was Scott Gronmark but we'd need an expert in Manor's publications to see if anyone wrote in a similar style - if EAT THEM ALIVE! has a style! There was a American author called Evelyn Pierce Nace who wrote true life detective stories and pulp stuff - but she was productive in the 1940's/50's ( maybe later too) and seems unlikely considering the subject and frankly I think a man is responsible! This is about as far as I got in attempting to identify the author too. Evelyn Pierce Nace intrigues me, even if she may seem like an unlikely candidate. Here's what I dug up; Born 1908(?) In 1937, Evelyn Pierce marries Delmar Otis Nace, chartered life underwriter and member of the Mystic Masonic Lodge, in Minneapolis. They later move to Pampa, Texas. In the forties, Evelyn joins writing group, the Panhandle Professional Writers. Their website has this to say; "a most prolific member..., published more than 50 novels and more than 300 fact-crime articles, love-pulp stories, detective fiction, and confession stories. She also wrote a column, 'Mending Mature Marriages', for the Amarillo Daily News." The FictionMags Index lists only 5 of her short stories; "Knock-Out Lady", Romantic Love, 1939 "Star-Dust", Ideal Love, 1942 "Taxi Fare - One Heart", Gay Love Stories, 1943 "Gobs of Glamour", Golden Love Tales, 1946 "Big Steal", Famous Detective Stories, 1956 ("Gobs of Glamour"?) Died 23rd January 1983. Not a bad life by the sound of it but, apart from the 'true crime' and the detective stories, there doesn't seem to be much to suggest that she was the writer of Eat Them Alive. Personally though, I'd like to think she did. It just seems even better somehow if this "new peak in horror" was the work of a woman approaching her seventieth birthday, who'd previously contributed to Gay Love Stories and Golden Love Tales. But let's assume, for now, that she wasn't responsible. As Ade says, we're probably looking for an American pulp hack, possibly one who was producing other stuff for Manor Books around the same time. Manor Books published some great stuff, as you might expect from the people who brought us Eat Them Alive, and when I've got more time I'll post some scans and blurbs here at Vault (if you haven't seen any other Manor titles, trust me... they belong here). No shortage of names - known (Gary Brandner for one), unknown and pseudonymous - but was there anyone churning out anything similar in the mid '70s? Anything, say, with bugs eating people alive..? Well, oddly enough;  Manor Books, 1974(I'm not saying long-time Vault favourite, Donald F. Glut is the man behind the mantis but I thought it was interesting he should turn up) |
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Post by killercrab on Jun 12, 2008 3:07:25 GMT
A vintage Steve bit of investigation. Excellent. Donald Glut as PRIME SUSPECT too. I'd find it very funny if a 70 year old pulp mistress wrote it - but I doub't it - but then it's an unusual name - wonder if the mystery writer knew her and used her name as a private joke?
I take it Glut is still around? Sounds like an email is in order.
KC
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Post by killercrab on Jun 12, 2008 3:09:46 GMT
Can't believe I'm only now approaching p. 100. I seem to have been reading this for nearly a year .... >. He'll flounder soon , you watch ... KC |
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Post by dem on Jun 12, 2008 5:29:59 GMT
From old bored ... demonikDon's got his own webpage! www.donaldfglut.com/index.htmlCheck out his writing credits and you'll find there's a lot more to his genius than devising new degradations for Boring Burt Winslow and - I don't know what she sees in him - Lingerie Lynn. Grief - he's even big on dinosaurs! www.donaldfglut.com/credits.html***** Franklin MarshIncredible! Have you read his credits? Conspiracy theorists It's All Linked er..link - he was "Dinosaur Consultant" on Carnosaur (my Harry Adams Knight book!) And you can contact him! Following my failure to contact Maisie Mosco through her agent I'm tempted to give Don a go - see how much he remembers about The New Adventures Of Frankenstein and whether Burt Winslow was based on him. The FM Interview No 1 - I asked Don 1) Were you commissioned to write the series or was it your own idea? 2) Do you remember anything about writing these books - what gave you the ideas for the stories etc. 3) Were they successful? He replied!!!!! "Thanks for you interest. No, I was not commissioned to write these novels. They were originally written entirely "on spec"...in a great burst of energy, enthusiasm and optimism back in the middle 1960s through early 1970s (they've been substantially revised and updated since then). The full story can be found in my McFarland book THE FRANKENSTEIN ARCHIVE. My inspirations were mostly from a lot of "series" novels I'd been reading at that time, especially those with "continuity" between them -- The Shadow pulps, Edgar Rice Burroughs, etc., and of course the movies (mostly the Universal and Hammer Frankensteins, and also the Republic serials). I loved the Frankenstein theme and characters and thought that, since no one had done it yet (at least in the USA), that the Monster might make a good character for a series of printed stories, all of them connected. Unfortunately, the series has -- to date, at least -- made very little money. They're more a labor of love than an instant road to riches" What a great bloke!(Even if he had to plug one of his other works - I feel guilty about dissing his book now. But wait! There's more! "It's probably not difficult to guess that the stories were intentionally campy and not to be taken too seriously, and that I had a great time writing them." Blimey! I feel even more guilty now! And there's a third offering - "Be aware that my four Frankenstein novels published years ago in the UK are very different from the current USA versions." Crikey! Did you know he'd revamped them D? PS Maisie Mosco's agent has consented to look at my questions regarding her magnum opus Gang Girls - could be FM Interview 2 coming up! Don't hold your breath! |
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Post by redbrain on Jun 12, 2008 12:12:36 GMT
"White man see big bugs?"
"Certainly I see them ... Don't be afraid, Keko. We'll have a fine day on the island. I think you'll have such a good time that you'll never go back to the mainland."
Keko smiled his trust in Dyke and ran to tell the others that no danger awaited them.Oh dear ..... And usually you can trust a dyke to keep you out of trouble!  |
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Post by justin on Jun 12, 2008 16:32:30 GMT
I'd be surprised if Glut did write Eat Them Alive. 'Bugged' is pretty daft and includes plenty of in-jokes such as naming characters after Carl Barks the Donald Duck cartoonist. None of that kind of stuff in ETA and Nace is so spiteful in his writing that I can't believe they are the same.
I think I mentioned in PF 5 that Pierce Nace was also cedited for various sleaze pulps in the 1960s, such as Sex for the Over 50s. So definitely not the original Miss Nace! I'm sure it was a pseudonym for some hack, but I'm positive it's neither of the nominated suspects!
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Post by dem on Jun 12, 2008 19:55:44 GMT
He'll flounder soon , you watch ... KC Oh ye of little faith! It was a bloody struggle, though. The last fifty pages or so in particular were like wading neck deep through a stream of treacle and intestine. I'm with Justin on this in that I'd be very surprised if Donald Glut was responsible as anything I've read of his has been very cheerful and camp and Pierce Nace's genius comes from an entirely different planet. Sheer, unrelenting sadism! "No, Dyke, not the kids too! Don't let those things eat my kids! I couldn't stand that. I'd lose .... lose .... my mind ...." Can't help but love the idea of a guy driving around with a truck load of giant killer preying mantises with his favourite big bug sat in the front seat next to him, and his training methods are meticulous: "You and the others will eat a village or two for practice as we make our trip, friend". he tells Slayer. "It will be practice for the torture and devouring and killing of the men I hate." What a fucking experience! |
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Post by killercrab on Jun 12, 2008 23:36:39 GMT
Oh ye of little faith! It was a bloody struggle, though. >> Yahoooooo - you did it!! You took the trip into the heart of Dykeness ( which doesn't sound quite right) and survived intact. sort of ... Well done buddy ! - I knew a guy who could handle DRACULA AND THE VIRGINS OF THE UNDEAD could handle the most notorious Nel in existence! The question is who is next ...  KC |
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Post by jkdunham on Jun 13, 2008 0:22:28 GMT
I don't really see Don Glut's dabs all over this one either. I was just following the "American paperback hack who wrote about people being eaten alive by bugs for Manor Books" line of enquiry. I suspect it leads us right back where we started. I think I mentioned in PF 5 that Pierce Nace was also cedited for various sleaze pulps in the 1960s, such as Sex for the Over 50s. So definitely not the original Miss Nace! On the contrary, Justin! It just strengthens my feeling that Miss Nace is our man! After all, who better placed to write about 'Sex for the Over 50s' in the 1960s than someone who was herself an over 50 at the time? And let's not forget that she wrote a regular newspaper column about aspects of 'mature marriage'. Evelyn Pierce Nace was a professional writer. In other words she wrote what she could sell. She may have started out with Romantic Love but when there was no longer a market for her "Gobs of Glamour", she turned her hand to True Crime and detective stories. So, when the thrills of "Big Steal" were eclipsed by The Joy of Sex, what's a professional writer to do? And what was selling in 1977? Well, books about people being eaten alive by giant bugs for a start. She wouldn't be the first veteran of the pulps who ended her career churning out trashy paperback sleaze. But surely Eat Them Alive isn't the work of a little old lady... I mean look at the writing. Most reviewers seem to come away from this book firmly convinced that 'Pierce Nace' was some kind of deranged sadist not unlike Dyke Mellis himself. To me, the excesses of Eat Them Alive seem more like someone trying too hard. The writing is far from convincing and often seems anachronistic, old-fashioned even. Consider this; "With one sweep of his gigantic claw he had the clothes off her beautiful body, and he was upon it with both his great feet. Quickly he slashed off a breast and held it high, letting the blood drip from the rounded heap before he popped it into his mouth and began to chew it with glorious satisfaction..." On the face of it, this is fairly typically 'nasty' - a naked woman has a breast ripped off - but look at the language... and what sort of a verb is 'popped' to use in this context? Eyeballs may well pop, but what self-respecting horror hack would have a monster 'popping' body parts into his gaping maw? And look at how the victim reacts; alongside the stock, "Let me go! Jesus, don't kill me!" we get; "Don't eat me any more!" Do you see what I mean? There's almost a, dare I say it, sweet & innocent quality underlying the wholesale slaughter. I think what makes Eat Them Alive unique is that it's a 'nasty' by someone with no real connection to their material but who's seen a few old B-movies and feels they need to make everything as gratuitous as possible because that's what sells. It's a world away from, say, Shaun Hutson or the 'Splatterpunks', who had a whole slew of shared sub-cultural references to draw on. |
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Post by killercrab on Jun 13, 2008 1:50:43 GMT
I'm following your reasoning here about old lady Pierce. It occured to me that nasties invariably required a male name on the cover to sell - I can't for the life of me see EAT THEM ALIVE! with the name Evelyn on it - sorry ladies! Dropping her first name makes practical sense with Pierce Nace suddenly sounding full of testosterone. Frankly how many Pierce Nace's would there be and why adopt such a name? You're convincing me plus I take great delight in Dem having fought through a book written by an old dear!
KC
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Post by dem on Jun 13, 2008 6:42:23 GMT
It wouldn't be the first time, ade. Many of my favourite Victorian horrors were written by "old dears" and if Pierce Nace was of a certain age then more power to her. I'd rather she write me Eat Them Alive than knit me a jumper. I think what makes Eat Them Alive unique is that it's a 'nasty' by someone with no real connection to their material but who's seen a few old B-movies and feels they need to make everything as gratuitous as possible because that's what sells. It's a world away from, say, Shaun Hutson or the 'Splatterpunks', who had a whole slew of shared sub-cultural references to draw on. Great post, s! It's at least possible that Pierce's influence may have been a vague remembrance of reading DeSade behind the bogshed in his or her youth and deciding that this must be where all this 'nasty' stuff is coming from. He or she sure doesn't seem familiar with Herbert's The Rats template at all. |
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Post by killercrab on Jun 13, 2008 8:14:33 GMT
I'd rather she write me Eat Them Alive than knit me a jumper. >> Her intestine cross stitch isn't to be sneezed at though ... This has been a terrific thread ( hee) folks! KC |
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Post by carolinec on Jun 13, 2008 9:30:11 GMT
But surely Eat Them Alive isn't the work of a little old lady... Hey, you young chaps! What's all this about calling over 50s females "little old ladies"? Don't forget, you've got one here watching you! |
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