Tagged: Ron Fortier

Pulp Fiction Reviews Fuzzy Nation

  • Uncategorized
  • July 15, 2013

All Pulp’s Ron Fortier returns with another Pulp Fiction Review. This time out Ron takes a look at FUZZY NATION by John Scalzi.

FUZZY NATION
By John Scalzi
A Tor Book
301 pages

In 1962 the late H. Beam Piper’s well loved science fiction novel, “Little Fuzzy” was published.  This reviewer was a sophomore in high school and has fond memories of discovering that book via the recommendation of a fellow student who was also an avid reader of science fiction.  For those of you unaware of the book’s premise, humans have traveled to the starts and giant corporations mine alien worlds for their resources.  On one such planet, prospector Jack Halloway discovers a race of furry little creatures and befriends them.  When evidence indicates that the “fuzzies” might actually be sentient beings it establishes the plot’s primary conflict.  By interplanetary law, if a planet has aboriginal sentient life, then it is off limits to all who would attempt to harvest its natural resources to include the mining outfit on Zarathustra, lush alien setting for the book.

Part science fiction adventure and courtroom melodrama, “Little Fuzzy” ends when Halloway and his friends win their case convincing an Interplanetary Judge to declare the “fuzzies” sentient beings and thus the unquestionable owners of the planet.  The book was hugely successful at the time of its release and Piper went on to write sequels, several actually published after his death in 1964.  Beside these, other authors were hired to write new Fuzzy novels; these included William Tuning and John Smith.  The late Ardath Mayhar wrote “Golden Dream,” a novel telling the self-same story only from the perspective of the Fuzzies themselves.  In her book she even invented the fuzzies’ language; parts of which were used by Wolfgang Diehr who wrote two new Fuzzy novels.

We relate all this because my own connection with the series is a personal one on several levels.  After reading several of the sequels, we wrote the publishers suggesting how the original Piper book do extremely well if done as a childrens’ book.  In 1983 such a volume was produced; “The Adventures of Little Fuzzy” written by Benson Parker and beautifully illustrated by Michael Whelan.  The aforementioned Ardath Mayhar was our writing mentor at the time of her involvement with the license and we recall how happy she was with her efforts.  As most fans of the Star Wars movies know, it was the “fuzzies” that inspired George Lucas’ Ewoks and one of the TV network channels produced a made-for-TV movie loosely based on Piper’s though as I recall, no credit to that fact was ever stated.

Which brings us to “Fuzzy Nation,” John Scalzi’s rebooting (his own words) of this science fiction classic released in 2011.  Having experienced many television and movie “remakes” we have to admit to being really curious to see how such a thing would work with fiction.  How much does the new writer keep from the original and how much does he or she change?  All valid questions that filled my thoughts as we started reading page one.  What is obvious from the start is that Scalzi understands the essence of Piper’s plot, the tale he wanted to tell and yet he strips it down to suit his own style of writing; one we admire greatly.  Scalzi is one of those science fiction writers who, though knowledgeable about the science he is extrapolating, he never uses hard facts to get in the way of his story spinning.  Our protagonist is still Jack Halloway, the lone independent ore prospector, though now he’s younger and a whole lot less altruistic.  In fact he’s a lawyer who was disbarred back on Earth.  This not only adds a new element but of makes Halloway a logical champion when we get to the book’s courtroom scenes.  All the original “fuzzies” are back, pretty much as we remembered them as is the giant mega corporation gutting the planet Zarathustra.  Whereas the old supporting cast is gone and Scalzi has replaced them with his own creations, both good guys and villains.

Scalzi’s easy-to-read prose is one of his greatest assets as a writer.  Most of his books are intimate and he has an unerring way of pulling the reader into his tale; a result of truly craftsman-like pacing.  There are very few slow moments in “Fuzzy Nation” and we were unable to put the book down once we had reached the half-way point.  “Fuzzy Nation” is a wonderful book and worthy “rebooting” of a beloved sci-fi classic.  Not to overly repeat ourselves, H. Beam Piper’s cautionary tale of environmental mismanagement is at its core a David vs Goliath fable and there have never been any cuter Davids than “the fuzzies.”  Scalzi embellishes that fable for our times in a truly exciting and fun new interpretation.  This is one of those rare books we want to give to all my friends, you among them.  Go out and read it.  Now.

Moonstone’s the Spider Extreme Prejudice Drops!

Back Cover

Moonstone Books has released a new pulp anthology called The Spider: Extreme Prejudice.

About The Spider: Extreme Prejudice:
New short stories of searing white-hot prose starring pulpdom’s most violent and ruthless crime fighter ever: THE SPIDER! More just than the law, more dangerous than the Underworld…hated, feared and wanted by both! One cloaked, fanged, borderline crazy denizen of the dark force-feeding hard justice with a pair of 45’s! Guest stars: The Black bat, The Green Ghost, and Operator 5!

The Spider: Extreme Prejudice features stories by Will Murray, Mel Odom, C.J. Henderson, James Chambers, Ron Fortier, Bobby Nash, Howard Hopkins, Eric Fein, Gary Phillips, Don Roff, Matthew Baugh, I.A. Watson, and Rik Hoskin.

You can learn more about The Spider: Extreme Prejudice here.

About The Spider:
More just than the law, more dangerous than the Underworld…hated, feared, wanted by both. Extreme sworn enemy of crime, The SPIDER clashes against super-criminals whom no one else can handle. He remains one step ahead of the law in his endless crusade to destroy the human vipers that nest in our society.

Visit the official Norvell W. Page blog here.

Pulp Fiction Reviews El Mosaico

  • Uncategorized
  • July 5, 2013

New Pulp Author Ron Fortier returns with another Pulp Fiction Review. This time out Ron takes a look at EL MOSAICO (Scarred Souls) by New Pulp Author Michael Panush.

EL MOSAICO
(Scarred Souls)
By Michael Panush
Curiosity Quills
201 pages

Sorry to sound like a broken record, but Michael Panush is rapidly becoming one of my favorite New Pulp writers.  Having discovered him via “Dinosaur Jazz,” a book we nominated for Best Pulp Novel of 2012, we then discovered his “Stein & Candle Detective Agency” series about two post-World War II occult detectives.  As if that isn’t enough to keep this prolific writer busy, now he’s launched as yet another series which can best be described as Frankenstein done western style.

During the Civil War, a Confederate doctor/occultist has the brilliant idea of stitching together body parts from dead soldiers and then animating them using black magic. His plan is to fill the rapidly diminishing ranks of Southern companies with these reanimated corpse soldiers.  He manages to create one such patchwork man before being killed by Union bombardment.  That one and only success is Clayton Cane.

Cane is a bounty hunter traveling the untamed west of the late 1860s and because his very nature is always encountering one fantastic monster after another in this first collection of adventures; there are eight total and each is a gem.

In “Bayou Bloodshed,” Cane is hired to find a black girl who has run off to a secluded island in the middle of the swamps.  The island is populated with two desperate clans; one of gatormen and the other of werewolves.  Needless to say, Cane’s mission is not an easy one.

Then Panush offers up “Red Blades of Whitechapel,” whereby his jigsaw hero end up in London to hunt down a serial killer with a royal pedigree.  Considering this story’s open-ended climax, the main villain could well return for a future encounter.

With “Dead Man’s Band,” Cane captures an outlaw alchemist named Black who leads a band of dead outlaws.  When these deceased desperados attack the hotel Cane is hold up in the pitched battle appears to be El Mosaico’s last stand.

“Monster Men of Malchite Falls” has the bizarre bounty hunter infiltrating a weird fortress laboratory in the middle of the dessert to rescue a little boy. What he discovers is another mad scientist much like the man who put him together.

In “Tomb of Kings” Clayton Cane is one again employed by the British Government to act as security for an archeological dig in Egypt. When the leader of the expedition unearths and revives the Nameless Pharaoh, Cane must ally himself with Arab dessert warriors to defeat an ancient army of monsters.

Back in the U.S. the man-made gunslinger is next hired by the cavalry to help down an old Indian shaman who may be unleashing an army of ghost braves to defend their land in the moving “Ghost Dances.”

In the seventh story, Cane travels south of the border hunting a gang of vicious stage coach robbers and teams up with a wily Mexican bandito named “Tarantula.”

Lastly Cane is hired by a foreign professor to help him track down the whereabouts of the Ragnorak Hammer before it can be used to destroy the world. When their hunt takes into a brutal Minnesota blizzard, they received unexpected aid from an immortal Viking legend.

“El Mosaico – Scarred Souls” is the epitome of New Pulp fun and originality.  It’s a dandy mash up of cowboys and creatures and the wise reader should saddle up and join Clayton Cane.  The ahead looks to be truly fantastic.

Zone 4 Targets the Green Hornet

The Zone 4 podcast crew returns in full to celebrate the holiday and catch up with each other’s recent goings on. After congratulating a buddy, the guys dive into some headlines. A couple of sidetracks later, Brant Fowler, John Wilson, Ron Fortier, and Gordon Dymowski look at the latest issue of Mark Waid’s Green Hornet, which doesn’t illicit as much fervor and excitement as previous issues for most of the crew. Plus, Facebook Shout-Outs, plugs and more!

Listen to Zone 4 – Episode #224: Mark Waid is… Incorrect? at http://www.zone4podcast.com/zone-4-episode-224-mark-waid-is-incorrect/

This Week’s Links and Topics:
The Mighty Enlil – Pedro Cruz
J.J. Abrams to Develop Rod Serling Script

Lazarus #1 Sells Out
Article about Lazarus #1
Titan Comics Launches, Rolls Out New Line at SDCC
The Sandman: Overture
ComiXwriter
Mark Waid’s Green Hornet #3
Pulpfest 2013
Redbud Studio Facebook Page
Mike Luoma’s Red Hot #1
John’s Steampunk Originals Interview
HeroesCon 2013 Hub
Derby City Comic Con 2013 Hub

Dark Avenger INC

Look for new episodes of Zone 4 on Fridays.

Pulp Fiction Reviews and Junkyard Dogs

New Pulp Author Ron Fortier returns with another Pulp Fiction Review. This time out Ron takes a look at Junkyard Dogs, a Walt Longmire Mystery by Craig Johnson.

JUNKYARD DOGS
(A Walt Longmire Mystery)
By Craig Johnson
Penguin Books
306 pages

Happily one doesn’t have to read the Walt Longmire series in order to enjoy their levity, fast paced action and classic mystery formulas.  We should also point out that the highly popular television series, which is also a great deal of fun, is decidedly different from the books to make both unique and worthy of your attention for various reasons.

When the owner-manager of the local junkyard and landfill dies under mysterious reasons, Sheriff Longmire naturally suspects the big time land developer making noises to move the refuse facility.  But when that individual, upon escaping from custody, is shot to death in a small park in the middle of a snow blizzard, Longmire finds himself back to square one.

As anyone who has been following this series knows by now, the rugged high plains of Wyoming are as much a part of these tales as are the convoluted plots themselves.  Whereas with this particular case, poor old Longmire is really put through the physical ringer as he gets sprayed in the face with a heavy dose of Pepper Spray, bitten on the butt by a mean German Shepherd and in the end has a stack of scrapped automobiles dumped on him.  He somehow manages to survive all these challenges and bring the murderer to justice making him the quintessential western hero.

Of course this book has references to past exploits and although they don’t impede the enjoyment, they will make you want to go out and pick them up.  This is one series you won’t want to miss a single installment.

Puip Fiction Reviews Black Pulp

  • Uncategorized
  • June 28, 2013

Ron Fortier turns over the reins of Pulp Fiction Review to Guest Reviewer Lucas Garrett, who takes a look at Pro Se Productions’ Black Pulp.

BLACK PULP
Edited by Tommy Hancock, Gary Philips & Morgan Minor
Pro Se Productions
288 pages
Guest Reviewer – Lucas Garrett

Every once in a while a book comes along that changes the playing field, that opens up new horizons where there once were none to be found. BLACK PULP is such a book.
Published by Pro Se Productions, under the careful and diligent leadership of Tommy Hancock, BLACK PULP brings together some of today’s best writers to tell stories of the extraordinary, the uncanny, the arcane, but never the mundane.

My fascination with BLACK PULP comes from a deep-seated need to right an unfortunate wrong in literary history.

I am a man of color, and as a man of color, I have read countless tales of adventure and intrigue where the main protagonist was primarily of Caucasian descent. Especially, in the Pulp literature of the 1930’s, 1940’s, and 1950’s. People of color were either non-existent, servants, savages, or villains to be defeated and subdued. Very few characters of color were treated with the dignity and respect that they deserved. Times were different in those days. Racial politics and culture were the policy of the day, especially in the Deep South, and parts of the North such as New York, Chicago, and Boston. It was a time when people of color were supposed to know their place. It was a dark time in our nation’s, and to a larger extent, our world’s history. And despite the fact that I now live in a time when many are trying to sugar-coat or forget that period in our history, I refuse to do so. It is a battle scar my country, and our world, must live with, and embrace, in order to go forward, which brings me back to BLACK PULP and its true importance.

BLACK PULP is a wonderful anthology of short stories that expands the world of Tarzan, Doc Savage, The Avenger, The Shadow, The Spider, The Phantom Detective, The Green Lama, Ki-Gor, G-8, Secret Agent X, Secret Service Operator #5, and their contemporaries. And BLACK PULP populates this world with hitmen, boxers-turned-vigilantes, female aviators, wildmen, mercenaries-for-hire, private detectives, femme fatales, naval aviators, freedom-fighting pirates, paranormal investigators, real life lawmen, adventurers, and many more. It is a world where men and women of color are put in dire circumstances, and readers see how they deal with these situations. And these situations are made more perilous due to the times in which these heroic figures live such as Ngola, the African pirate who fights to free all slaves, and to severely punish all slavers from slave trading nations in the early 19th century. Or the real life legendary lawman, Bass Reeves, who blazed a trail throughout the Old West in the latter 19th century. BLACK PULP shows the reader that heroes of all colors and backgrounds can arise in oppressive times when needed.

BLACK PULP is a true no holds barred, adult, and realistic take on the world of the Pulps. BLACK PULP is not for the timid at heart.

When I read the stories, I feel as if I am being transported to the times and places in which these adventures are being told. There is a lived in quality to the stories of this book. I can smell the cigars and perfumes in offices and bar rooms; I can hear tires screeching as robbers or kidnappers try to get away, with the hero in pursuit, as gunshots are heard in the night; I see and hear the clanking of cutlasses and the firing of pistols onboard slave ships, and I hear the rattling of chains being unlocked as slaves of several generations are finally freed. I experience all of this, and more.

More importantly, I can relate with the main protagonists, and their supporting cast, and see the world through their eyes. And I want to see more stories about these characters.

In fact, I wouldn’t mind seeing a crossover story starring Charles Saunder’s Mtimu and Damballa.Or maybe having Gary Phillips’s Decimator Smith and Alan Lewis’s Black Wolfe teaming up with Derrick Ferguson’s Fortune McCall for a case, or two. Or perhaps having Ron Fortier’s Bass Reeves and Derrick Ferguson’s Sebastian Red hunt down outlaws. That is how much I love the characters of BLACK PULP. And I see so much potential for more stories with these characters, and new ones as well, who will be as alive and vibrant as Doc Savage, The Shadow, and The Avenger. There is a depth to the characters of BLACK PULP that will pull you in, and have you wanting more. And I can see a world where all of these characters can co-exist with the great legends of golden age of Pulp. I can see Decimator Smith and the Green Lama meeting, fighting each other, and then teaming up to fight the villain of that adventure. Or Black Wolfe working with Secret Agent X on a case that brings the mystery man to Port Victoria, South Carolina. The possibilities are endless. I love thinking about it. And I love that BLACK PULP allows me to think about it.

Therefore, I would like to congratulate Walter Mosley, Joe R. Lansdale, Gary Phillips, Charles Saunders, Derrick Ferguson, Alan Lewis, Christopher Chambers, Mel Odom, Kimberly Richardson, Ron Fortier, Michael Gonzales, Gar Anthony Haywood, Tommy Hancock, Adam Shaw, Sean E. Ali, and Russ Anderson on a job well done. Thank you all for creating this fine piece of work that I hold in my hands, read on my Android phone, and my laptop computer. Thank you.

So should you pick up a copy of BLACK PULP? I think that you know my answer.
What are you waiting for? Go pick up a copy, or two! You will not be disappointed.
I’m know I’m not. I’m reading it again right now.

Pulp Fiction Review and the Big Clear

  • Uncategorized
  • June 24, 2013

New Pulp Author Ron Fortier returns with another Pulp Fiction Review. This time out Ron takes a look at The Big Clear by Christopher Harris.

THE BIG CLEAR
By Christopher Harris
Short Cypher Press
275 pages

Mason “Dub” Storm was a Special Forces sniper in the first Gulf War and then worked in East African locales such a Somalia with an elite secret platoon.  In the end Storm began to question his own justifications for his assignments and just who his puppet masters really were.  Ultimately he left the service and returned to his home base of Austin, Texas to pick up the pieces of whatever remained of his soul.

As the book opens, Dub, is a two bit stoner working, whenever he can get a customer, as a private investigator.  Because of his drug connections, he comes in contact with Angela Easley, the strung out youngest daughter of one of the richest men in Texas.  Her three year old son, Hunter Parsons, has been kidnapped and she begs Dub to find him for her.  Well aware he is venturing into a world as alien to him as the foreign battlefields of his past, the weary private eye agrees to help out until the police take over.  It all seems easy enough.

Right. Until Dub recalls Angela’s older sister, and her Daddy’s chief business assistant, is none other than the high school sexpot from his youth, Heather Easley.  One look at her in her expensive mannish business suit over her hour glass, trim body and Dub finds himself floating in ancient dreams that were never ever going to come true.  Then, a friend named Kid, who had been helping him with surveillance, is brutally murdered and Dub’s hands are once again covered in other people’s blood.  Gunfights, steamy sex and a mystery with enough twists to give us a queasy stomach abound in these pages.

Harris’s style is a mix of traditional noir and punk giving the narrative a smooth jolt throughout and becomes quickly addictive.  He deftly mixes Dub’s confused present with his hellish past and when the two collide viciously towards the finale, it is a satisfying resolution though still an ambiguous one.  Dub Storm is one of the most complicated heroes I’ve encountered in a long, long time and one I’m hoping to see in action again soon.  This is a well-executed thriller by a writer worth keeping an eye out.  Go pick up “The Big Clear” and prove my point.

MARS McCOY TO THE RESCUE

  • Uncategorized
  • June 23, 2013
Cover Art: Michael Youngblood
PRESS RELEASE:
Airship 27 Productions is proud to present the second in our exciting space opera series featuring Captain Mars McCoy, Space Ranger.
When the universe is imperiled, the call goes out to the brave men, women and robots of the Space Rangers; a group of highly skilled pilot/warriors dedicated to the preservation of law and order throughout the known worlds.  Headquartered in the hidden free-floating asteroid station known as the Black Hole, the Space Rangers are ready to respond to any threat traveling the space lanes in their ultra-fast and powerful Black Bird patrol ships.
In this second volume, Captain Mars McCoy, and his gorgeous co-pilot, android Lt. Betty-12 of Black Bird 5 confront two unique and malevolent threats.  In “The Curse of the Star Lance,” by James Palmer, they discover a lost Imperial Space Cruiser and the hidden horror that still dwells within it. 
Next up is Van Allen Plexico novella length adventure, “Mars McCoy and the Chaos Horde.”   A mysterious army of monsters begins materializing at random throughout the Fringe worlds wreaking chaos in their path.  What is their secret origin and how can Mars and Betty-12 put an end to their lethal rampage?
This second volume features a stunning painted cover by Michael Youngblood with interiors by Shannon Hall, designs by Art Directory Rob Davis and edited by Ron Fortier.

Cast in the mold of classic pulp sci-fi heroes ala Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, Mars McCoy Space Ranger blasts off once more for brand new outer space adventures jammed packed with galaxy spanning suspense and thrills.
AIRSHIP 27 PRODUCITONS – Pulp Fiction for a New Generation!
Available now at Amazon
—

Alan Quatermain Rides Again at Airship 27

  • Uncategorized
  • June 16, 2013

New Pulp Publisher Airship 27 has released their latest New Pulp anthology with Quatermain: The New Adventures.

PRESS RELEASE:

Airship 27 Productions is extremely thrilled to announce the release of our newest pulp collection starring a classic adventure hero loved by millions.

British adventure writer, H. Rider Haggard’s most popular fictional character was Alan Quatermain, the irascible African big game hunter. As the hero of the classic KING SOLOMON’S MINES, Quatermain immediately fired the imagination of readers across the world and created an instant demand for more of his adventures.

Now Airship 27 Productions answers that on-going demand by presenting two brand new Alan Quatermain novellas each filled with plenty of suspense, action and exotic African locales. When a French river boat pilot discovers elephant ivory suffused with gold, it sends the expert guide on a quest find a fable elephant’s graveyard to learn answer to the “GOLDEN IVORY” by Alan J. Porter.

Next a naïve American lad follows Quatermain deep into the jungle to find eight missing white women only to uncover an ancient evil capable of possessing the bodies of its victim’s in Aaron Smith’s chilling “TEMPLE OF LOST SOULS.”

“We couldn’t ask for more fast paced, exciting yarns these two these,” beams Airship 27 Productions’ Managing Editor, Ron Fortier. “The affection our writers hold for this character was obvious throughout their stories and we fully expect Quatermain fans to agree. This is really old fashion pulp fun.”

Here two are complete tales that will thrill veteran fans and introduce a whole new generation to one of the most famous adventure heroes of all time; H. Rider Haggard’s Alan Quatermain.

Illustrations by Clayton Hinkle.

AIRSHIP 27 PRODUCTIONS – Pulps for a New Generation!

Now available from Amazon as a hard copy and on Kindle.

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