FFB Review: The Lawyer: Six Guns At Sundown by Eric Beetner

 From the archive... 

Author Eric Beetner continues the excellent The Lawyer series published by Beat to a Pulp with his entry Six Guns At Sundown.  The Lawyer, who used to go by the name of J. D. Miller, is on a quest to find those responsible for the brutal murders of his entire family. He now delivers justice by way of the gun and no longer relies on the courts to provide justice to those wronged.

 

He moves from place to place on his mare, Redemption, as he follows the trail of those responsible. He is currently pursuing a man known far and wide as “Big Jim Kimbrough.” The trail seems to be leading him to the decrypt town of Sundown where every building seems to lean a different way as if the entire town was created by drunks. At least he can find a place for his horse and roof for the night. The Westward Railroad might be coming there to build not only the rail line and their headquarters, but for now the place is clearly in a bad way.

 

So is the man dragged in on a rope behind a horse early the next morning. The Lawyer had planned to move on until the unfolding spectacle put his plans on hold. According to a Mr. Buchanan who dragged the unfortunate man by way of a rope tied to his horse he is to be lynched. The black man’s crime was that was that he ate a piece of cherry pie Buchanan’s wife made right out of the pan and using Buchanan’s own silverware. Not that dragging the hogtied man on the ground behind the horse the entire way from the ranch to town wasn’t enough Buchanan intends to hang him as fast as possible.

 

The lawyer hates bullies and won’t stand for them. He also believes in the rule of law and wants to know the full details of the situation. Not only is what the man did not a hanging offense in this period after the Civil War, Buchanan’s attitude seems to be illustrative of a town attitude that needs to change. The hunt for Big Jim Kimbrough will have to wait as the lawyer is going to prevent a hanging in Six Guns At Sundown.

 

Picking up the mantle laid down by Wayne D. Dundee in The Lawyer: Stay Of Execution followed by The Lawyer: The Retributioners author Eric Beetner has crafted a very good western tale. The Lawyer: Six Guns At Sundown is a western tale of mystery and racism that resonates strongly with events of today. The read does not preach as the storyline moves over a couple days period in the Old West. The result is another excellent tale in the series and yet another very good read from Beat to a Pulp.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4dFNFxB

 

 

 

I picked this up by way of funds in my Amazon Associate Account in late February 2016.

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2016, 2026

 

Short Story Wednesday Review: THE EDUCATION OF A PULP WRITER & OTHER STORIES (2014) by David Cranmer

From the archive and reviewed by Barry Ergang... 

 

THE EDUCATION OF A PULP WRITER & OTHER STORIES (2014)

by David Cranmer

 

 

Besides editing and publishing Beat to a Pulp, David Cranmer is a skilled and versatile writer. This e-book presents five stories to give readers a very brief but entertaining sampler of his work. The stories are generally dark in tone and content, and readers who dislike explicit sexuality, street language, and raw violence should avoid them. Those who like sharp-edged noir, on the other hand, will probably find them quite appealing. 

 

The nameless young college student who prostitutes herself via the Internet to pay for her education can’t have anticipated a client who looks like an enormously obese slab of “Blubber” the way this one does. She can’t possibly anticipate the outcome of their meeting, either. 

 

A case of “Clouds in a Bunker,” Ian Spaulding suffers from dementia but is still reasonably functional. His wife is not. Spaulding has both of them locked up inside an underground fallout shelter behind their home, and plans to take both of their lives once he’s had a chance to talk to their daughter Anna, who’s outside with the police. Both the police chief and the hostage negotiator wonder why Spaulding keeps interrupting their phone conversations to deal with a whistling tea kettle in this poignant—and potent— story.

 

When his sister tells Lars that his ex-wife Danielle is eight months pregnant, “the wiring in Lars’s brain short-circuited.” Still bitter about Danielle’s decision to abort a child he conceived with her and their subsequent divorce, a “Cold Gray Dawn” descends upon him as he determines to eventually have his revenge in a particularly vicious manner. The results will likely repel some readers and relieve others—or possibly do both.    

 

Wanting to please editors with the kind of descriptive prose exemplified by Raymond Chandler while at the same time delivering the kind of forensic realism modern audiences seem to demand “(T)hanks to crime and medical television,” Kirby MacGregor, for the sake of “The Education of a Pulp Writer,” and contending with nosy neighbor Marta Knolls, may or may not be able to deliver, despite his studies of different types of death.

 

Edward Morash, who prefers to be known as “Kid Eddie,” is wanted for a number of particularly vicious crimes. He’s in jail in Vermillion, and Marshal Cash Laramie is assigned the task of bringing him back to Cheyenne to stand trial. When he meets the young man who looks and comports himself as anything but murderous, Laramie begins to wonder if he’s indeed as innocent as he claims to be. An incident on the trip back to Cheyenne proves revelatory. Readers old enough to recognize the references, as well as those who watch the Encore western channel on cable TV as of the time of this writing, will appreciate references to a bounty hunter named Randall who “had a sawed-off Winchester” and to a Reverend McQueen.^* Western noir, the story is one in a series Cranmer has written under the pseudonym Edward A. Grainger.

 

As mentioned at the outset, this e-book is a fast-paced, vividly-written “teaser” that should tempt fans of this kind of fiction to seek out other titles from David Cranmer/Edward A. Grainger, and is emphatically recommended.

 

*****

^*“Wanted: Dead or Alive” starring Steve McQueen as Josh Randall

 

Barry Ergang ©2015, 2025

Short Story Wednesday Review: Treasure Of Ice And Fire (Veridical Dreams Book 2) by Wayne D. Dundee

  

From the massively magnificent archive…

 

Billed as the second book in the Veridical Dreams series, it is a harsh night filled with cold and ice as Treasure Of Ice And Fire begins. By cunning and a bit of subterfuge Master Nindocai and his fellow travelers made it through the mountain guard post manned by two of the Wyvar regulators. Getting through that guard post was just one of the many hurdles the group has to overcome in their quest. The fact that the holy man has heard what might be the “Secret Hammer” mentioned in the message from goddess Arya makes it seem that they are on the right track. 

Getting to the valley of Gahm was just the first hurdle. Nindocai is a priest of the old gods and part of the religious faith frowned upon to the point of execution by the current regime. He as well as a few other people believe it is long past time to remove the godless Wyvar. The source of the hammering the priest hears is located in the ruins of a temple dedicated to Arya, the goddess of hope. Fortunately, the priest will get some help in Treasure Of Ice And Fire by Wayne D. Dundee. 

“A Crusade Powered By The Hammer Of The Gods” is a line from the cover telling readers all they need to know. This is a fantasy novel featuring a quest. A quest seeking to change the future and the world as these characters know it. Known for his mysteries and westerns, author Wayne D. Dundee proves in Treasure Of Ice And Fire that he can easily write in the fantasy genre as well. 

It is one heck of a good read.

 

 

Amazon says I picked up the eBook to read and review on March 11, 2016. Amazon does not make a distinction between books I pick up for free during an author promotion and ones that I picked up by way of funds in my Amazon Associate account. At this point in time I have no idea how I got it. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2016, 2023

Pulp Modern: David Cranmer

 Pulp Modern: David Cranmer

FFB Review: The Posthumous Man by Jake Hinkson

From the archives... 

Things often don’t go as planned. Elliot Stilling had planned out his suicide and it should have worked. As far as he is concerned as this novella from author Jake Hinkson opens, it is exceedingly unfortunate that he didn’t stay dead. He had been dead for about three minutes when the emergency room staff at a hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas screwed up everything and brought him back to life.

 

The only thing he really remembers is seeing a black star tattooed on the wrist of a nurse with beautiful blue eyes. That same nurse by the name of Felicia Vogan shows up in his room hours later. Not only did she make an impression on Stilling as he lay dying, the former reverend made quite an impression on her. They have some sort of connection that will draw them together in ways neither saw coming in this intense noir style novella.

 

Considering that this read comes from the publisher “Beat To A Pulp” one already knows before starting the book that it will be dark, twisted, and feature multiple murders as well as at least one other major crime of some type. The Posthumous Man features all of that and more as well as a consideration of theology and the state of the world and the people in it. It is also an intensely good read.

 

The Posthumous Man

Jake Hinkson

http://thenighteditor.blogspot.com/

Beat To A Pulp

http://www.beattoapulp.com/

December 20, 2012

ASIN: B00ARL5MBY

E-Book (also available in print)

190 Pages (estimated)

 

Material was picked up last month during publisher’s free read promotion. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2014, 2021

FFB Review: Wide Spot In The Road (The Drifter Detective #4) by Wayne D. Dundee

Back in September, I reminded you of The Drifter Detective. In October I reminded you of the second book in the series, Hell Up In Houston. Last month I reminded you of the third book in the series, The Girls of Bunker Pines.  Today for this final Friday before Christmas 2020, I remind you of the fourth book in the series, Wide Spot in the Road. Like the others preceding it, this one is not available in eBook format and the print version is only available via third parties at an insane price.

After you read here, make sure you head over to Patti Abbott’s blog as well as Aubrey Nye Hamilton’s blog and see what they suggest today.  Both ladies have a lot of reading recommendations, so I am sure if whatever is suggested for today will not work, something else they have talked about will. 

FFB will return in the new year as the next two Fridays are holidays and you good folks are going to be busy with family and friends.  Take care of yourselves and have a fun and safe holiday season. 

  

If the drifter detective, Jack Laramie, had blinked he might have missed the small “chili” sign in the window of Frenchy's as he passed by. After all there was only one vehicle in the parking lot and the place itself wasn't much to look at. Neither was anything around it at this wide spot in the road where an unpaved county road crossed the little used state highway. Just another wide spot in the road with this one located somewhere in the Texas panhandle. No reason to stop other than that sign for chili.

 

 

For Jack that sign was reason enough to stop. Jack loves his chili and prefers the variations one gets across the state in real places to eat as opposed to the cookie cutter chain joints he sees more and more. He has a lot of opportunity see things out on the road as, despite being based in Dallas, he is out there in his DeSoto pulling the horse trailer. The road is where he mainly earns his living as a private detective. It is early afternoon and he has been on the road quite awhile so by this point he realizes he is pretty hungry and that makes it a good idea to check out the chili served in Frenchy's of Beule’s Corner.

At first, just after Jack got out of the DeSoto and started for the door, the decision seems a bit questionable as there are some raised voices, some noise, and a man suddenly storms out of the diner and barely misses Jack. For his sake he does and with a few more fast steps jumps into his truck. He takes off at a high rate of speed headed down the isolated highway. According to the waitress, Bonnie, who also happens to be the niece of the owner, the guy who made a scene and took off is Alden Frain. Tipping furniture over and ripping the phone off the wall was not appreciated by Bonnie. He probably just ruined any chance he had with her of having a relationship. Tearing the phone off the wall was bad enough, but things are really going to go downhill when two very scared young adults arrive closely followed by a biker gang that wants payback. 

Fourth in an excellent series that began with The Drifter Detective this installment by author Wayne D. Dundee is a good one. Recently published by Beat To A Pulp Press, Wide Spot In The Road is another great action oriented tale featuring the grandson of legendary lawman Cash Laramie. At the same time, readers also find out a little bit more about Jack and what keeps him on the roads of Texas working cases during the 50s. Keeping his grandfather’s memory alive with a gun and a talisman, Jack holds up the family name while trying to make sure good people aren't harmed by the bad guys. In this case, he might be a bit outnumbered. A book and a series very much worth your time.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2014, 2020

FFB Review: Leviathan by Chuck Regan

Earlier this week, my December 2016 review of Leviathan by Chuck Regan came up as a memory deal on Facebook. Even though this great book seems to only be available in print and by third party sellers, I decided to run my review today for FFB. It was/is a heck of a good read. Also make sure to check out the reads suggested today by Patti Abbott and Audrey Nye Hamilton.  

 

In an alternative world where Germany won the war and used a V-2 rocket or missile to destroy New York City with a nuclear weapon, Leviathan tells the tale of a few individuals in occupied America. In April of 1945, Norm Cromwell was in the sixth grade and on a field trip a little ways outside NYC when it was destroyed. He did not realize that he was seeing the rocket trail as the weapon came over the horizon and hit the city. His parents were back home in Pittsburg so they were not on the bus with him or the others in his group.

 

By October of 1962, Norm is an adult working and living in Philadelphia. One of the many adults crammed into a row house they live and work in an environment totally under German control. They are classified as “citizen workers” and have every second of their lives monitored. The Bundespolizei (BP) are the Gestapo of the Occupied America Branch of the Third Reich and they use informants and technology to control everyone and everything. Drone minizeps, shaped like small pigs and carrying cameras and other surveillance gear, monitor from the air while ground troops everywhere monitor things. Then there are the informants who may be friends and might be capable of lying just to get socks, extra rations, and other benefits.

 

There are resistance groups far beyond Philadelphia, according to rumor, but Norm has no plans to be a part of that. He tries to not think about his parents back home in Pittsburgh and has no idea if they are alive or dead. In a world where a smile can get you gunned down by the BP, Norm keeps his head down and does what he is told.

 

That is until at the end of the workday on this one particular day when all heck breaks loose. In the resulting melee Norm, Alan, and Floyd do something that is unforgivable. Forced to flee, they have no choice, but to go on the run to survive.

 

Author Chuck Ragan has created a very atmospheric and intense alternative history tale with Leviathan. As Mr. Regan makes clear in the introduction, the tale is designed off of several key changes to events during what we know as WW2. It isn’t meant to be a scholarly treatise on might have been. Instead, Leviathan is simply a pulp read of dystopian fiction set in an alternative history timeline. It is also very good.

 

Material supplied by the publisher in exchange for my objective review. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2016, 2020

FFB Review: Scorched Noir: A Collection Of Southwestern Crime Tales by Garnet Elliott

We kick off the month of December here with my July 2015 review of Scorched Noir: A Collection Of Southwestern Crime Tales by Garnet Elliott. Like my dead Kindle which I cannot use these days, the book seems to be out of print and is not available in eBook format. So, if you have it in your TBR pile, you might want to shuffle the stacks. Also make sure you head over to Patti Abbot’s blog as well as Aubrey Hamilton’s blog to see their reading suggestions.

 

Scorched Noir: A Collection Of Southwestern Crime Tales features eight previously published tales by Yuma, Arizona native Garnett Elliott. That harsh desert landscape with limited opportunities is the setting for these tales. These short stories are set in Yuma, Arizona or towns like it contain a couple of consistent themes that become clear as one reads through the book.

 

It opens with “Trailer de Fuegeo.” Corrections Officers need somewhere to go to blow off some steam after work. They tend to go out to a certain spot in the nearby desert to drink, smoke, and trade stories. One guard stands out in the battle to keep the inmates in line. His name is Tench and he has done fifteen years of guard duty in a lot of bad places from Texas to Arizona. He has always done what needed to be done and tonight will be no exception.

 

“Somerton Sangre” features a man named Jesus Vega. Known to do some questionable things when necessary, Mrs. Sandoval wants him to find out who killed her brother. Her brother was killed and dismembered just after he illegally crossed the border. While the way he was killed would indicate drug runners, his sister is sure he was not into that.  She has the money to pay for Vega to look into things and find out who killed him. To do that Vega is going to have to cross into Mexico and try to find the people who transported her brother across.

 

Jesus Vega is also very much involved in the next story titled “Jesus Contra las Brujas Plasticas” or “Jesus Versus the Plastic Witches. “ While working for a witch lady, Dona Cruz, he is assigned the task of checking out a new and nearby competitor. He needs the money and is used to doing dirty deed for her. Not because of her supposed powers, but the fact that he needs the money she is willing to spend. He does not fear the alleged power of those who claim to see the future, cast spells, and the like. Maybe he should.

 

The landscape and everything on and in it cooks under the summer sun in Arizona. That certainly is true of those storage places scattered around the area. It was brutally hot when Motorcycle Officer Ray Satoshi and Robert Opp wheeled into a storage lot run by Joe Pender. They are looking for a guy who shot and killed a bouncer at the nearby gentleman’s club before getting away with forty three grand.

 

People are going out into the desert to commit suicide at a certain rock landmark .Why they are doing that and whether they can be stopped are just two of the issues Shari faces in “Bad Night at Burning Rock.”

 

In “Snowflake” he has been waiting for the stripper to show up for food at the IHOP when she got off work down the street. Dwayne knows by the way she dances just how class Lisa is. He also figures he can do something to help her career as he is a social media specialist.

 

“The Greatest Generation” are the targets of Vonda and her partner. They pose as home health care workers and steal everything they can to fund their travel and drugs. They figure it is their right because the seniors took everything with no though to the future. With their next score in sight it is time for Vonda and her partner to to clean up as fast as they can and do what needs to be done to claim their latest prize.

 

The three women, all with the first name of Debbie, work the ER at the local hospital. “The Darkest of the Debbies” works the job to do what has to be done to keep home together. Way easier said than done.

 

The eight short stories of Scorched Noir: A Collection Of Southwestern Crime Tales feature complicated reads of multifaceted characters often doing what has to be done to survive. Nothing is right or wrong when one is doing what has to be done to survive. Drugs and crime, like the sun and the desert, are always present in these tales of people coping with what they have and what they can do each day. Scorched Noir: A Collection Of Southwestern Crime Tales by Garnett Elliott may not make you feel better about yourself, but it might make you feel more appreciative of your working air conditioning as well as some of the life choices you had to make along the way.

 

 

Material supplied by the publisher in exchange for my objective review.

  

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015, 2020

FFB Review: Dragon By The Bay by Garnett Elliott

 As we begin October 2020 and the world seems to be double downing on chaos, some pulpy goodness might be the ticket to get away from the world. After you read my 2015 review, make sure you check out the new reading suggestion on Patti Abbott’s blog as well as Aubrey Nye Hamilton’s Happiness Is A Warm Book blog. Todd Mason is collecting links so you will have even more suggestions om his Sweet Freedom blog. 

A tale by Garnet Elliott is always a good one full of pulpy goodness as Garnet Elliot never disappoints. Such is the case with Dragon By The Bay, his latest novelette set in San Francisco in 1866. The Civil War is over, the Gold Rush is very much on, and people are active above and below ground with many of them pawns in various nefarious schemes. This is not a genteel San Francisco, but a city of criminal chaos where anything goes and often does.

Carson Lowe is newly arrived in San Francisco having come over on the ferry from Oakland with very little money in his pockets. He has plans and dreams, but they suffered a nearly fatal setback recently when he was in Nevada where he nearly lost all of his money and his life. The current plan is stay low and be careful. That was the plan before he saw the men of very hard appearance roaming the streets, members of some sort of vigilance committee, clearly looking for somebody to take their frustrations out on as soon as possible. Carson determines it is a good idea to get off the streets as quickly as possible and goes into a nearby tavern.

Once inside he spots a poker game underway. That game just might be the place to run his time tested scam regarding a mine of sliver just waiting to be excavated. The problem with time tested scam is that others may be aware of the scam and not take kindly to your attempt to scam them. They may inflict heavy violence upon you before making sure you wind up in the local jail.

That is exactly what happens to Carson Lowe in short order. Once in the local jail he is witness to the rescue of a fellow prisoner by the name of Nine Serpens Hsien. A legendary figure in San Francisco and a man that is said to be immortal with inconceivable powers.

What follows is a kung fu adventure style story that is a fast moving tale of deceit, alliances, and martial arts in a time tested tale of the battle between evil and those who oppose evil. Frequently the flying fists are as fast as lightning, as are the feet and a few other things as the action moves around and below the city of San Francisco. Paying homage to the movie Big Trouble in Little China, author Garnett Elliott has penned a complex novelette that is a sheer blast to read. No matter how you label it if you call it a western, a kung fu adventure, or something else, Dragon By The Bay, is packed top to bottom in pulpy goodness and delivers an excellent read.

Dragon By The Bay

Garnett Elliott

Beat To A Pulp

http://www.beattoapulp.com

September 2015

ISBN# 978-1943035113

Paperback (also available as an e-book)

122 Pages

Paperback was supplied by the publisher in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015,2020

Uncle B. Publications: Upcoming Publications and Submission Opportunities...

Uncle B. Publications: Upcoming Publications and Submission Opportunities...: Beginning in 2020, Uncle B. Publications, the publisher responsible for  Pulp Modern , will begin publishing other books, including charity ...

Beat To A Pulp: GENNY BOW by Chris La Tray

Beat To A Pulp: GENNY BOW by Chris La Tray

In Reference To Murder: Mystery Melange for 7/11/18

In Reference To Murder: Mystery Melange for 7/11/18

Q&A with Court Merrigan, Author of The Broken Country

Q&A with Court Merrigan, Author of The Broken Country

2 Revolvers, 1 Rifle: Best Guns for Writing a Western Novel by Court Merrigan

2 Revolvers, 1 Rifle: Best Guns for Writing a Western Novel by Court Merrigan

In Reference To Murder: Mystery Melange (12/14/16)

In Reference To Murder: Mystery Melange (12/14/16)

FFB Double Take Review: The Drifter Detective by Garnett Elliot

Back in March and April of 2013, Barry and I in separate reviews gave our thoughts on The Drifter Detective. It seemed fitting more than three years later and with seven books more in the series at this point that for FFB today I run those reviews again. Therefore, as an FFB Double Take Review, Barry and then I offer thoughts on the first book of the series. Please note that when we reviewed the earlier edition of the book it did not contain the additional short story “Fighting Chance.” It also had a far different cover design that I very much liked and briefly referred to in my review.

For other reading suggestions today, head over to Patti Abbott’s blog. And, yes, you should read her books too. I have told you that before as well.

"The Drifter Detective" (2013) by Garnett Elliott

Reviewed by Barry Ergang

In Texas just after World War II, investigative jobs in cities like Dallas and Houston are hard to come by for one-man operations because big firms like the Pinkertons and others tend to get them, so ex-G.I.-turned-P.I. Jack Laramie tools around rural areas in search of business, hoping to eventually amass enough money to open an office in San Antonio or Austin. Towing a horse trailer, which he sleeps in, behind his DeSoto coupe, he's on his way to Abilene where there is a "hint of a job" when the car begins to act up. He manages to get it to the small town of Clyde and to a service garage. The proprietor assures him that because it's late afternoon, the car's problem won't be diagnosed until the next day at the earliest.

The man gives Laramie directions to the local saloon, and tells him the widow Talbot runs a boarding house where he might get a room for the night. (Laramie figures it wouldn't be a good idea to sneak back to the garage to sleep in the horse trailer.) Soon after he meets Sheriff Gideon Hawes, who says he can throw some work Laramie's way. The job, he learns the next morning, entails keeping an eye on the estate of a prominent local citizen, Thomas McFaull, who might be engaged in some illicit activities. Laramie agrees to do it, and quickly finds himself entangled with McFaull's promiscuous wife, a surly sheriff's deputy, a railroad worker, and the flirtatious widow Talbot. It isn't long before matters turn dangerous, and Laramie finds himself wondering if things are really as they seem and whether he'll survive so he can get back on the road to Abilene again. 

A neatly-paced, action-packed long short story, "The Drifter Detective" is written in a colorful but not overwrought style and populated with characters the author imparts life to. For fans of hardboiled fiction with pulpy flavor and texture, this one is well worth Amazon's 99¢ asking price. 

Barry Ergang ©2013, 2016

Former Managing Editor of Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine and First Senior Editor of Mysterical-E, Derringer winner Barry Ergang's work has appeared in numerous publications, print and electronic. His website is http://writetrack.yolasite.com/.

For my take on the book…

The Drifter Detective: A Jack Laramie Beat by Garnett Elliott is the latest release from Beat To A Pulp and is a very good one. The striking and well done cover only hints at the powerful tale inside as the read takes readers to West Texas and the world of private investigator Jack Laramie. After a clash with a local ranch hand as he closes a case, Jack is happy to get back in his Desoto and head out of Cross Plains, Texas. He doesn’t make it very far down the road before mechanical issues cause him to have to find a garage. His quest for a place to drink and a bed for the night in Clyde, Texas will create new problems in unexpected ways.

Grandson of the legendary US Marshall, Cash Laramie, Jack is a tough WWII vet who has seen the worst the world has to offer. These days he lives out of an empty horse trailer attached to his old Desoto and does the best he can to survive. This novelette of approximately 9k words is a hard hitting read that is excellent and very much well worth your time.

The Drifter Detective

Garnett Elliott

Beat To A Pulp

http://www.beattoapulp.com

March 2013

ASIN: B00BVRQWMQ

Kindle E-Book

106 Pages

$0.99

Material supplied by David Cranmer in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R Tipple ©2013, 2016

Review: Leviathan by Chuck Regan

In an alternative world where Germany won the war and used a V-2 rocket or missile to destroy New York City with a nuclear weapon, Leviathan tells the tale of a few individuals in occupied America. In April of 1945, Norm Cromwell was in the sixth grade and on a field trip a little ways outside NYC when it was destroyed. He did not realize that he was seeing the rocket trail as the weapon came over the horizon and hit the city. His parents were back home in Pittsburg so they were not on the bus with him or the others in his group.

By October of 1962, Norm is an adult working and living in Philadelphia. One of the many adults crammed into a row house they live and work in an environment totally under German control. They are classified as “citizen workers” and have every second of their lives monitored. The Bundespolizei (BP) are the Gestapo of the Occupied America Branch of the Third Reich and they use informants and technology to control everyone and everything. Drone minizeps, shaped like small pigs and carrying cameras and other surveillance gear, monitor from the air while ground troops everywhere monitor things. Then there are the informants who may be friends and might be capable of lying just to get socks, extra rations, and other benefits.

There are resistance groups far beyond Philadelphia, according to rumor, but Norm has no plans to be a part of that. He tries to not think about his parents back home in Pittsburgh and has no idea if they are alive or dead. In a world where a smile can get you gunned down by the BP, Norm keeps his head down and does what he is told.

That is until at the end of the workday on this one particular day when all heck breaks loose. In the resulting melee Norm, Alan, and Floyd do something that is unforgivable. Forced to flee, they have no choice, but to go on the run to survive.

Author Chuck Ragan has created a very atmospheric and intense alternative history tale with Leviathan. As Mr. Regan makes clear in the introduction, the tale is designed off of several key changes to events during what we know as WW2. It isn’t meant to be a scholarly treatise on might have been. Instead, Leviathan is simply a pulp read of dystopian fiction set in an alternative history timeline. It is also very good.

Leviathan

Chuck Regan

http://www.cdregan.com/

Beat To A Pulp

http://www.beattoapulp.com

August 2016

ASIN: B01KYS01JM

eBook (Paperback available)

208 Pages

$2.99

Material supplied by the publisher in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2016