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Post by dem bones on Mar 22, 2018 3:47:08 GMT
" ... the greatest, most stimulating reading experience of your life." And so, long overdue, to #38. While no less visually exuberant than it's immediate predecessor, this time there is absolutely loads to read. In no particular order: Richard Toogood's history of the Odham's Man's Book Club (1958-1977) breaks new ground as the first PF article to concentrate entirely on hardbacks. Vault are fortunate in that the author shared a sneak preview of his work-in-progress over late December 2016 through to the following summer (in this reader's opinion, high among our all-time finest threads). The early volumes' full colour, three panelled dust-jackets are especially attractive. Of the later books, I particularly like the sound of #158, if only for Coming Again by Jean Francis, "in which an American researcher in London finds herself pestered by the lecherous ghost of James Boswell." Tandem published a "Randy, Raunchy, Ribald ..." paperback edition in 1975 with a soft-core cover shot designed to send everyone's best mates p**t*b*cket into meltdown, which, all things considered, can only be to their credit. One query: is this the same Odhams who published Mammoth Book Of Thrillers, Ghosts & Mysteries, The Mystery Book, various Century of ... and Fifty Masterpieces .... volumes in the 'thirties? Next up, an interview, of sorts, with Scott 'Nick Sharman' Grønmark conducted by none other than Mr. Grady 'Paperbacks From Hell' Hendrix. I say 'of sorts' because, after the briefest introduction, Grady commendably takes a back seat, allows Mr. Grønmark to share his story over sixteen pages without further interruption. It works beautifully. The author's sardonic wit (he publicises PF#38 on his blog under the heading The Paperback Fanatic interviews a cultural icon of the '70s - i.e. me) and a seemingly inexhaustible fund of anecdotes make for a riveting read as Scott recalls his fulfilling if traumatic experience working as a PR officer at NEL during the Bob Tanner years: "[By the late 'seventies] NEL was a Wild West saloon, a Damon Runyan story, a 'thirties Hollywood madcap farce and a psychedelic happening all rolled into one." And that was just when Jim Moffat rolled in drunk to pitch his latest lunatic idea for a novel. Of his own books, Mr. Grønmark seems fondest of The Surrogate. His breakthrough, The Cats, he cheerfully admits, was perhaps slightly inspired by The Rats, while Childmare, similar premise with teen hooligans replacing laboratory mutated felines, was "an angry book, distinctly authoritarian. "
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Post by andydecker on Mar 22, 2018 20:39:45 GMT
I sampled most of these writers, but I never read a Sharman. After reading this article I kind of wondered if I should add him to the pile.
Richard's article about Odham was great. I followed the topic here on the Vault, still reading it again was very interesting. They really knew what they were doing, and it must have been a great introduction to all the thriller writers.
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Post by dem bones on Mar 24, 2018 0:22:03 GMT
I sampled most of these writers, but I never read a Sharman. After reading this article I kind of wondered if I should add him to the pile. Have only read the three above but enjoyed them all. I like that he acknowledges the importance of the cover artists/ photographers involved. "[For The Scourge Hamlyn] came up with a cover that was so brilliantly horrible, it was banned in some shops. It sold almost as well as The Cats"! I have a feeling Mr. Sharman will appreciate Paperback Fanatic. It's so sad Gordon M. Williams didn't live to see the ever-reliable Jim O'Brien's career-overview/ interview in it's final glory, as it's an all-time PF classic. Fans of arguably Williams' most famous novel, The Siege Of Trenchers Farm/ Straw Dogs, are well catered for with further dirt on his non-relationship with Sam Peckinpah (whose "This book makes you want to drown in your own puke" was not intended as an endorsement after all). Shamefully, the only other GMW novel I've read is his collaboration with El Tel, They Used To Play On Grass (though, thanks to Crom who gifted me a copy, The Bornless Keeper is nearing top of 'too read' list). According to The Guardian' Obituary columnist, They Used To Play On Grass is "much-praised", and I suspect it inspired at least two enduring "football laid bare" classics, namely Eamon Dunphy's It's Only A Game (Kestrel, 1976) and the even more essential Foul fanzine (1972-6). Eventually landed a copy of .... Grass two years back (modern, Penguin, 1995 edition with obligatory sub-indifferent cover art) and, while dated, it still packs a fair kick, saving the heftiest wallop right to the end. Needless to say, Hazell Plays Solomon, where-in, Jim writes, "the streets of Bethnal Green - pre-gentrification - are treated accurately without sentimentality" - now added to personal wants list. In fact, each of the 21 novels sound interesting. Easy to forget - or, in my case, not realise until now - what an extraordinarily accomplished genre-hopper the man was.
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Post by dem bones on Mar 25, 2018 12:38:47 GMT
One of three of this issues 'would be unlikely to ever read one, but enjoyed reading about them [and checking out the gorgeous galleries]' entries is Andy Decker's history of Pabel-Moewig's Seewölfe series (1975-1990), set during the reign of Elizabeth I, in which, over the course of 760 weekly issues and several novels, Cornish freebooter Hasard Killigrew and crew cut short their globe-trotting adventures to defeat the Spanish Armada several times over. Covers shown here are different to those in PF so am not 100% certain if all four are the work of Firuz Askin (?). They're certainly very attractive. Titles like The Death Ship and Arkana, The Snake-Priestess suggest the series was not bereft of morbid or fantastical content, though Andy assures us that, in keeping with the day's strict censorship laws, the violence was none too graphic, even when sharks and squid got in on the act. I'm guessing the lady adrift on the raft is the Red Corsair, "the Eurasian pirate queen, Siri-Tong, who became Killigrew's some time love interest and domineered the Caribbean with her black four-master and crew of latter-day Vikings. Her weapons of choice were Chinese rockets."
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Post by andydecker on Mar 25, 2018 18:18:49 GMT
You got me here. These are the original Askin covers but in the Ebook reprint release. Somehow they tinkered with the pictures. The colors are a bit off, compared to the original print novels back then the edges are somehow fuzzy. I can't explain it better I will see if I can find the one of the novels in question and post it. The whole thing is a bit baffling.
No. If my memory is correct, this was a tale about a chinese peasant girl who was put on a raft as a sacrifice for a better harvest or somesuch. But there were no doubt fantastical elements in the narrative. The whole modern day vikings (i.e. modern in elisabethean times) was a nice idea, same goes for the snake-priestess. This was a tribe of caribean indians living on an secret island worshipping a snake-god. Said island became the base of our heroes for a few years.
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Post by dem bones on Mar 31, 2018 18:16:49 GMT
These are the original Askin covers but in the Ebook reprint release. Somehow they tinkered with the pictures. The colors are a bit off, compared to the original print novels back then the edges are somehow fuzzy. I can't explain it better I will see if I can find the one of the novels in question and post it. The whole thing is a bit baffling. Thanks, Andy. Had my suspicions after comparing the 'The Red Corsairs' original as reproduced in PF with the ebook version. Something didn't look right, hence "I'm not sure these are all by Fazul ...." The Snake Priestess and the human sacrifice novels sound interesting. Was wondering if there were any ghost stories? Also, is The Death Ship about the plague? Shame there were no English translations.
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Post by andydecker on Apr 1, 2018 16:31:50 GMT
Was wondering if there were any ghost stories? Also, is The Death Ship about the plague? Shame there were no English translations. Kind of. As far as I remember the writers flirted with the topic. One character called Old O'Flynn, an old guy with a wooden leg, was superstitious and saw ghosts behind every wave. It was a running gag,just like his "second sight". But there never was a real ghost, just spooky wrecks sometime. I have to check about Death Ship. But over the course of the series there were some stories about the plague or some illness on board.
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Post by andydecker on Apr 2, 2018 12:50:16 GMT
Well, I was wrong. The story is not about the plague. It is a plotdriven and rather busy continuity-novel. After the battle of the last issue, our hero Hasard and Siri-Tong, the "Red Corsair" are trapped underground on the carebean island Little Cayman, while the rest of the crew are searching for them. In the cave Hasard and Siri-Tong finally become a couple, after all are reunited, they are a ship short. Years ago a mysterious black ship has stranded on Little Cayman, which belonged to the evil pirate El Diabolo, who with his crew died under mysterious circumstances. Their skeletons still are there. The now gone indians made the ship a taboo. Supposedly it is cursed. As later is discovered, the indians killed El Diablo with poison. The ship is build of a strange wood. The crew discover some treasures hidden on board, also a large chest. Siri-Tong is elusive about the discoveries, she can open the chest (which is like a puzzle-box) which is protected by hidden poisoned daggers. As it happens, all the stuff is from China (just like Siri-Tong), including some maps. The Seawolves give the ship with its treasures to Siri-Tong and her vikings, while Hasard declares that he will travel to China in the near future. Now they just need to steal a Spaniard for sails and riggings for the black ship. As it happens, just then the rest of their friends on the galeon "Le Vengeur", captained by the French Jean Ribault, arrives, hunted by some spanish ships. The combined forces of the seawolves overpower the Spaniards and leave them on Little Cayman behind, then they sail back to the Snake Isle. The black ship later gets the name "Fast dragon on the water". In the old print series this was issue 88, the Ebook is missing some early numbers. The trip to China is finally realized after issue 120, but the writers kept it rather short, 15 novels.
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Post by andydecker on Apr 2, 2018 13:02:26 GMT
Here is the cover of the original, which I forgot. The scan may not be the best as I had to re-size this and are forced to work with a windows scan program. My original scan program, a Canon, won't work after the upgrade to Win10.
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