Adrian Cole - Tough Guys

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Adrian Cole - Tough Guys (Parallel Universe, July 2016)

Jim Pitts

David A. Sutton - Introduction. Adrian Cole: From Nightmares To Voidal To Nightmares

Waiting For The Ricochet
If You Don't Eat Your Meat
A Smell Of Burning
Not If You Want To Live

About The Author

Blurb:
"So here you hold in your shivering hands Adrian's latest collection, Tough Guys. Based on the title theme, these four works are completely different in subject matter and tone. There is, of course, A Nick Nightmare story herein, ‘Wait for the Ricochet’, in which the gumshoe is entrusted to convey a message about “The Malleus Tenebrarum”, a book that names the properties and powers of dark and light, to the Mechanic, one Oil-Gun Eddy... His adversary is the sinister Lucien de Sangreville, plus assorted non-human denizens of the murky lower levels, and his sidekick the sword-wielding business-woman Ariadne Carnadine. In contrast, in ‘If You Don’t Eat Your Meat’ the reader enters a post-apocalyptic world where the very unsavoury Ryan relates his story of rival families and cannibalism. It is gruesome and unflinching horror. In ‘A Smell of Burning’ a hospital patient finds he is having out-of-the-body experiences. On his astral journeys he visits a man recalling his abused childhood and this leads to a shocking revelation... Finally, ‘Not If You Want to Live’ explores the fate of Razorjack, who is a Redeemer, a dead man used by a shady organisation to bring back others from death. An intriguing and engrossing story of love between Razorjack (aka Jack Krane) and mobster’s moll Rebecca Fellini, with science fictional and satanic elements. And all four stories are an engrossing read." - David A. Sutton

After reading David A Sutton's typically excellent introduction, I couldn't not start with this grisly novella. No question it lived up to expectation.

If You Don't Eat Your Meat: Britain in the near future. "The virus" has decimated the population, but that's of no consequence to two Devonshire farming families who continue their bitter feud as though nothing has happened. The Tregathicks are not-particularly-Christian "Jesus people" while the Drenners remain staunchly loyal to their Pagan roots. Ryan Drenner, fifteen, confides how the latest, most appalling chapter in their battle was triggered when the Tregathicks stole one of his father's cows, after which everything happened so fast and none of it good. Murder, cannibalism, bloody retribution, flight to London and new false hope for all the world's failures are among the consequences. As the terrifying Alan Denner would have it, "I don't want a fucking riot unless I'm at the centre of it."

All-action storyline further enhanced by memorable cameo performances from, among others, a Russian Mr Fixit, a proper tramp, and Father O'Mara, the very hands-on philanthropic priest.

Have since completed the opening novella - more about which to follow - and its another pulp - yes pulp - stormer. Tough Guys already shaping up! Very pleased to see cover artist Jim Pitts back in the game, too.

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Waiting For The Ricochet: "So, let me get this straight - you were on this subway train when this guy jumps you and another bunch of guys, who you didn't see, hijacked the train using a branch line that appears to a cabal of black magicians, and took you to some kind of voodoo chamber -"

Put like that, it does sound a little implausible, but fortunately for Nick Nightmare, Police Chief Rizzie Carter knows him of old, and accepts his loose version of tonight's inexplicable events which have left several traumatised commuters raving about demons loose on the New York Subway. How did it come to this?

Nick served three years in Sing-Sing on a trumped up murder charge. While he was banged up, a scary old-timer took him under his wing and pushed him to learn, learn, and learn more about matters arcane. Now that same kindly con, Zeff Radwawski, is nearing death's door, and requests a visit from his star pupil. Zeff has terrible information to divulge concerning a cabal of evil bent on bringing down the End of Days. The cabal, led by evil Lucien de Sangreville, horribly accomplished Black Magician and big in women's fashion, need only get their hands on infamous Grimoire,The Malleus Tenebrarum, to achieve their goal. Zeff entrusts Nick to pass on a message to their mutual friend, Oil-Gun Eddy, a greasy biker and fearless demon-slayer who fronts Vengeance Unlimited (he's also the proprietor of Eddies Auto Emporium).

Nick's mission sounds straightforward but de Sangreville's agents are already onto him and the wannabe Anti-Christ will do everything in his considerable power to stop him. There is only one person he can turn to. His loyal friend Ariadne Carnadine, power-dressed business woman, fearless Ninja warrior and (under her ropey alias, 'FiFi Cherie') acclaimed nightclub chanteuse. As ever, Ariadne is up for anything just so long as it's disgustingly dangerous and exciting.

A novella so action-packed it makes Natural Born Killers seem like Last Year At Marienbad. The main players are wonderfully drawn while each successive fabulous monster introduced to the story seems bent on upstaging the last. If anything, think I prefer this to the supremely unpleasant If You Don't Eat Your Meat!

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A Smell Of Burning: On regaining consciousness, Mr. Andrews slowly recognises his surroundings - a hospital room. He's yet to learn the full extent of his injuries, but loss of memory, chronically impaired eyesight and an inability to move a muscle bode ill for speedy discharge. On the bright side, Andrews finds that he can leave behind his shattered body, float about the wards and tune into the thoughts of fellow patients as easily as he once could switch channels on TV. But there's one guy it doesn't pay to get close to - an unsuspected serial arsonist. Despite himself, Andrews gets a twisted kick from entering the mind of this dangerous individual and ransacking his ugly memories of childhood abuse and adult misery. Bad as his own situation is, there's someone he wouldn't change places with for the world.

Damn. One more story, and I'm out of book.

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Not If You Want To Live: We finish on an epic. As you'd expect, David A Sutton has made such a brilliant job of nailing this novella in the cover blurb (via his introduction), that there's little else to say, but sadly for us all, I never shut up.

Just because you're dead and consigned to Limbo it doesn't have to be the end. Should they require your services, a nameless, very shady organisation may summon you to 'the base,' erase your memories, and offer you a stark choice. Either take your chances in the afterlife - or come work for them as a Redeemer, venturing beyond death to reclaim other lost souls as and when required. The job also requires eternal vigilance versus agents of rival shady outfit, 'The Adversaries.' 'Razorjack' chooses option B.

When Silvio Fellini, an ageing, obscenely wealthy and thoroughly corrupt business mogul, learns that his trophy wife Rebecca is having an affair with Jack Krane, the new security officer, he reacts in kind. Krane is hunted down and brutally done away with, Rebecca dragged home to serve out her days in misery. What Fellini doesn't reckon with is his wife's loathing for him and all he stands for. She kills herself.

Fellini wants her back, and Razorjack, who has impressed on previous missions, is assigned the case. With no time to lose he descends into the terrifying abyss. Can he locate Rebecca in time to rescue her from all manner of Hellish elemental creatures? Worse awaits him should he succeed ...

Pure PULP gold. Parallel Universe Publications are on a roll.