Book Review - THE WOLF'S HOUR - Part 1

Original Pocketbooks paperback cover - 1989

In the late 1980's I discovered Robert McCammon's work through the excellent horror-sci/fi novel STINGER.  It didn't take me long to devour THEY THIRST, THE NIGHT BOAT, BLUE WORLD and practically everything he wrote.  Reading the works of Robert McCammon is like seeing a Saturday matinee cliff-hanger. THE WOLF'S HOUR (first published in 1989) was the 6th book by McCammon that I had read at the time.  Initially I chose to pass it by because the plot seemed a little too bizarre for me. How cool can a werewolf book set in World War II be?  But, I gave it a chance and discovered the answer...VERY VERY COOL! Since my first reading of this awesome novel, I have gone back to it numerous times for the sheer level of character depth and ambitious action sequences.

McCammon tells the story of Michael Gallatin in two parts. Part one deals with the early years of werewolf life and addresses the myth/fact areas of the legend that will be necessary for the novel. Part two is sheer action as Gallatin goes on a mission deep into Nazi Germany. The stories are told concurrently and intertwine throughout the novel. The book is a study in duality - good vs. evil, man vs. wolf, action vs. horror...and through it all we are left to ponder the question, "What is the werewolf in the eyes of God?"

As with his other excellent works  McCammon provides a strong protagonist and more importantly an equal antagonist. The Wolf's Hour gives us three villains that the hero must deal with: Colonel Jerek Blok, his muscular henchman "Boots", and big-game hunter Harry Sandler. Waiting for these characters to meet and battle really made the read thrilling. McCammon starts the ride in motion on Page 1 and takes us through more suspense and action than we could get at any theme park. The book is sheer kinetic energy. And, just like the cliff-hangers of yesteryear, McCammon puts our hero into numerous perils in every single chapter. Whether it is battling a Berzerker wolf in the forest, fighting off Nazi's on the roof of the Paris opera house, struggling for survival in a Nazi death camp, or battling a vicious hunter on board a literal locomotive death-trap, we are continually asking ourselves "How will the hero get out of this one?"

A few years ago when he was promoting his new book MISTER SLAUGHTER, I had the opportunity to meet Robert McCammon at a book signing in Ann Arbor (see earlier posts).  During the Q&A I asked him if he would ever consider writing a sequel to THE WOLF'S HOUR.  His reponse was the tease of, "A sequel...no.  However, I do think the character has several shorter stories worth telling."  Well, that got me pumped up and the wait began.

Luckily the wait is partially over...see you tomorrow for Part 2 on this topic.

804-JAN Part 2

Sorry Part 2 took a couple of days. Nusbaum and I had to check the legal ramifications of our adventure (which for any law enforcement officers reading from here on out shall be filed under "fiction"). Turns out the statute of limitations for being an asshole teenager ran out a long while ago for us.

So, the chase was on.

We tore down Pennsylvania Avenue in hot pursuit of 804-JAN.

It stands to note that if my adrenaline hadn't been going a million miles a minute several questions would have probably crossed my mind...
*Why were we chasing someone we didn't know?
*Why was he running from us?
*What would happen if we caused an accident?
*What would happen if we caught 804-JAN?

Nope didn't care.  Since I'm writing this in 2011 and Charlie Sheen is foremost on everyone's minds.  WINNING!  That was the only thought I truly had.  Nusbaum as my wingman didn't seem to mind as he worked to keep the faster vehicle perpetually in our sites.

We shot across Fort Street and were working our way into Wyandotte.  804-JAN had a lead and was capitalizing on it because the Mustang was more than a match for the Buick.  So, I decided to push an insane situation to the next level.  I needed to gain ground so I did the only thing I could.

I pretty much threw all the rules of legal driving out the window.   I zipped across the double-yellow to pass a semi (narrowly dodging an oncoming car).  I ran a light, and then a STOP sign...or three.  I made hairpin turns at top speed sending some of the loudest SCREECHES you could imagine through the neighborhoods.

We had 804-JAN in our sites and we were right on top of him.  Then he pulled his own special manuver and made a surprise left turn...I overshot him.  I then made the next left and continued my 65+ mph speed through a 25mph community.  Luckily it was late so the kids, and most adults, were in bed.

We raced at top speed through the area of 15th and 17th streets.  Afew times we could actually see the 'stang between houses on the next street over.  He was slowing down since he foolishly thought he had lost us.

The Beast shot ahead and I cut over, "intercepting" our quarry!  804-JAN was shocked to say the least.  He made a fast turn and did a 180 racing back towards Pennsylvania Avenue.  My energy once more got the better of me and I had to pull into a driveway to turn around...killing our momentum.  But, I made up for it with "pedal to the metal" time (I'm sure the tire marks are still burned into that concrete).

Once more 804-JAN was in our site, but another fast turn and he got the better of us.  We were somewhere between Electric Avenue and Biddle.  There was a series of warehouses and storage areas, and in one moment the White Mustang was visible...and in the next he had vanished (just like Keyser Soze).

The trick was doubly amazing since we ended up at a deadend...staring at a brick wall.  I stopped the car and we got out and looked around.  Listening.  NOTHING.

"Now how did he do that?"  I asked.

"No clue," Nusbaum replied.  This was doubly shocking since Nusbaum rarely was left without an answer to a pondering situation.

"What do we do now?"

"Let's go back to his apartment and look for him."

Like Batman and Robin we jumped back into the car, set the "Turbines to Speed" and returned to where the chase began...

TO BE CONTINUED...

804-JAN - Part 1

When I was 17 my best friend Nusbaum and I used to enjoy playing the occasional game with other cars. It seemed like simple mindless fun, but in looking back on our high speed chases, of which there were many…we’re lucky to be alive.


Our routine was simple. We’d usually go out and see a movie, stop at the 7-11 and grab some snacks and then spend the time between 9pm and midnight cruising around some neighboring towns…following people. I’d be driving my 1978 Buick Regal (which I fondly called "The Beast").  Nusbaum was the “spotter”. That’s all we would do - follow. We’d just pick a car and say, “Ok. Follow them.” Every turn a chosen driver made…we’d make the same turn. We’d keep a close distance too. Amazing how many drivers never noticed, even when we were the only other car on the road with them. We’d tag along with cars as they took a complicated route home for miles and miles. Heck, occasionally we’d pull up into the person’s driveway and then back up and leave. Not so much as a startled look.

That was until we met 804-JAN.

804-JAN (or the closest pic I could find)

If memory serves we had just come from a screening of the Billy Crystal – Gregory Hines movie Running Scared at the Southgate 4 cinema. We stopped off got some Big Gulps and candy and picked a white 1986 Ford Mustang to follow. Hey, the guy just picked the wrong time to pass us by.

Our following began. For us there was just something so amusing about a car chase that only one party was in on. The Mustang drove on and the following continued.

As we drove behind license plate 804-JAN, we chuckled to ourselves at how funny it would be if the driver noticed us. Again…stupid fun and just oh so lame.

804-JAN made a turn into a nearby apartment complex. My Buick followed at a casual speed. We passed through several parking bays, turned near some buildings, and worked our way to the back of the complex. As we drove the Mustang seemed to be inching away from us. It was noticeable at each turn as we started to see less and less of it. Eventually we had to guess at the direction the car went. At the final left available to us, we turned into a parking lot that was a dead end.


The real "Beast" ended up under a semi...best I could find.

Our target was nowhere to be seen.

I looked over at Nusbaum with a “what the hell?” expression.
We scanned the parking lot which was fairly crowded with cars but couldn’t see the Mustang. By this time it was easily 10pm so the darkness was not our ally. After a few seconds I opened my door, the light came on, and I stood outside of the car. Nusbaum did the same on his side. We kept looking and looking. Finally beyond the row of cars at the opposite side of the parking lot I saw 804-JAN. The driver was sitting in the car, lights off, engine running. He had managed to drift around the dead end parking lot and get back to the entrance.

“THERE HE IS!” I said as I pointed.

I’m not really sure what 804-JAN was expecting from us, but at my gesture he floored his car with a squeal of the tires and tore out of the parking lot at a dangerous rate of speed.
Nusbaum and I jumped into “The Beast” and gave chase.

We took the same way out of the parking lot that we had taken in…but at an incredibly dangerous rate of speed. Each turn came at a blazing rate and it was clear the Buick could turn and accelerate anywhere close to the Mustang.

When 804-JAN came to the apartment’s entrance and the major intersection, he didn’t stop, nor slow down, but made the turn with a tremendous screech of his tires.

To this day I’m not sure what I was thinking…but I followed. The brake wasn’t even touched. For some reason my brain was telling my body that it was just like being in a car chase in a movie and we’d be “perfectly fine”. Had Nusbaum leaned over and told me to slow down I’m sure it would have snapped me back to reality and the endeavour that we were now a part of. But, the adrenaline was pumping and stopping was no longer an option.

At about 70 miles per hours the Mustang and Buick raced down Pennsylvania Avenue…this chase was just starting…

TO BE CONTINUED…

BOOK!

My friend and I have been working on a novel.  It's a science fiction novel and we're pretty pleased with the early stages.

The one thing I can promise you, this will NOT be the opening line of the novel.


In the year 2323, the Space-Pope was rocketing through the galaxy in his jet-car.

Thank God for editing and level minds!  :)

Space-Pope

Best Movies of 2010!

Ah 2010, for me what a completely forgettable year at the movies this was. Don't get me wrong, I did see some good movies...but it was so hard for me to remember 10 of them that I needed to go online and refresh my memory about what was released over the course of the year.

Sorry this reflection is coming late, but HEY at least you can now go Netflix the choices I recommend if you haven't seen them.

In 2010 I saw 23 new release movies (two twice) and 4 “retro” movies at various special screenings. I have to say I had a lot more fun at the “retro” movies. In looking over my list 2010 wasn’t a bad year for movies, no ‘E’ or ‘D’ grades, but as I said it wasn’t a stellar year either. Keep in mind this list only includes films I saw at the theatre ON THE BIG SCREEN (home rentals do not count).

Grade: “Retro”…releases that had me smiling every second I was watching them… The Warriors (A-), John Carpenter’s THE THING (A), Indiana Jones & The Temple of Doom (A+), and Back to the Future (A+).

Grade: “MEH”…just seemed to miss the mark…Clash of the Titans, The A-Team, and Tron Legacy. I had high hopes for all and just expected a lot more.

Grade: “W” …The wife made me see it…Twilight Saga: Eclipse and Black Swan. The guys in Twilight took their clothes off too much, the girls in Black Swan didn’t. Bummer!

Grade: “C”…Averageville…Iron-Man 2…next to Tron this turned out to be a let down.

Grade: “B+”…WAY BETTER than I could have expected…The Crazies, The Wolfman, Hot Tub Time Machine, The Other Guys, The Expendables, and Buried. Went in with little expectation…came out thoroughly entertained.

Grade: “Awesome…Totally Awesome”…Piranha 3D and Machete…these movies seemed to come straight from a 1970’s drive-in to 2010 and I loved every second of them! Nudity and violence and CHEESE = ME BEING HAPPY.

Grade: “A-“…just missed the top category…Predators, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. All good and original movies just not quite top-tier for the year.

Grade: “TOP TIER”…in my mind the best that 2010 had to offer (based on what I paid to see in the theatre)…KICK ASS, TOY STORY 3, DESPICABLE ME, INCEPTION, THE TOWN, and TRUE GRIT. All stellar movies, very original, superbly executed, and worth a viewing (and for me future DVD ownership).

Stop reading this and go see a movie! 

GO ROBO!

In 1987 when I saw Robocop…it blew my mind. This was the same summer that I paid my own hard-earned money for movies like Jaws IV: The Revenge and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace and was introduced to the concept of EPIC FAIL. Then along came Robocop. The poster looked lame. The title sounded cheesy. The previews were lacking. Still, one evening my friend Mike and I had little else to do so we climbed into my ’78 Buick Regal and headed over to the Southgate 4…for what turned out to be one of the best movies I saw that summer (maybe of the 1980’s).

I’m not giving a summary, I mean if you’ve never seen Robocop then stop reading this immediately and go rectify this situation. But the key points we need to know for this blog are: the movie takes place in Detroit (or rather “Old Detroit”), it focuses on a crime ridden city and an over-whelmed police force that both end up getting a shot from the new technology that melds dead officer Alex Murphy with Omni Consumer Products super cyborg. The sheer level of action and violence that follows is incredible.

Robocop had three prime directives:
1) Serve the public trust
2) Protect the innocent
3) Uphold the law
How great is that!

So here we are in 2011 and I’m writing about Robocop. Why? Well it turns out some jokey tweets lead to a movement for some sci-fi fans to erect a statue of Robocop near the police station in downtown Detroit. The idea was immediately turned down by Detroit Mayor Dave Bing. However, the fans got an online petition going, found some private property and managed to collect $50,000…that’s all they needed and now ROBOCOP will stand tall in Detroit.

I love this idea. I don’t think it’s the “joke” that some naysayers do. Robocop is a great movie. Robocop is a police officer protecting the city of Detroit. Doesn’t he represent three excellent traits? If Rocky stands for the “never give up” quality that Philadelphia fans love so much (and he got his statue in Rocky III that is still standing today), then why not Robo?

Here’s the article from the Detroit News about the topic…
RoboCop statue reaches funding goal detnews.com The Detroit News

If the statue does get built, I hope the trend continues. How cool would it be to see a huge Snake Plissken statue standing up in New York City...and then in L.A...and for the purists...Cleveland!

TRAPPED! (an "I Read It" Review)

One of the most useful devices I've gotten in the past decade has to be the Kindle from Amazon. I could write a book about how much I use and love it! Obviously over the past year I've spent more time reading than writing...so be prepared for lots of reviews in the next weeks about some terrific books (ebooks) I've been treated to.

I'll start with the most recent book I've read (finished less than 10 hours ago) - TRAPPED by J.A. Konrath. Hearing some great online buzz about the book, I downloaded it via my Kindle and dove right in. To say TRAPPED is a great horror/action novel would be an understatement. It's an exciting read that paints visuals in your mind so powerfully that you can immediately picture it as a movie. The pace is unrelenting. The characters are placed into unique and frightening situations. And, the villains/monsters...are scary.

The quick lowdown is that TRAPPED focuses on a small group of teens and their counselors who spend a weekend on a small island in Lake Huron. It's supposed to be a fun camping/team-building outing...it isn't. Turns out the island is home to an evil scientist, his "monster", a sociopath, and a pack of rabid cannibals. Trust me, "fun vacation" isn't going to happen. Smart money is on, dismemberment, brutal deaths, and running for your life 24/7.

Like his previous novel AFRAID (which I am a huge fan of, and last I heard was being made into a movie), Konrath is a master of giving you reason to keep turning the page. Each character's section ends with some form of cliffhanger that makes the reader need to keep going. His visuals reminded me of scenes from horror movies and the entire novel plays out like a Friday the 13th movie mixed with a bit of Frankenstein...then add tons more torture and gore...truthfully, the word "tons" probably won't do it justice so just don't read while you're eating anything.

One of the things I enjoyed most about my Kindle download of TRAPPED was the extras (see there's a reason I love the Kindle so much). This was my first time getting anything additional with my download and I've downloaded plenty. Mr. Konrath includes the published version of TRAPPED, along with his original version which was turned down by his editors (I won't tell you which version is presented first when you read). In between the two novels Konrath gives us a letter of explanation about what happened during the editorial process and why changes were deemed necessary. This is much like watching a commentary track on a DVD. To delve into the creator's process, is something I truly enjoy. There are also some excerpts from other Konrath novels. This is a lot of material (easily 500+ pages) for a $2.99 download. Just too much material that you would miss if you merely bought a book at the store (and you're paying alot less for the Kindle version).

Still, there is a flaw and it's one that J.A. Konrath does need to focus on. Two words, spelling and grammar. I'm not sure if TRAPPED has spelling mistakes due to the conversion to a Kindle file or merely slopping editing. But each of the spelling mistakes has the look of a computer doing the spell-check. There are around 20 word goofs similar to this..."hatched" instead of "hatchet"...and each one unfortunately took this reader out of a very exciting novel. I hope for future Kindle releases a few more editorial spell checks are made (trust me, I’m a fan…I’d be glad to assist).

And, if you're a fan of horror and action...TRAPPED will keep you turning the page. In the end isn't that what a good novel and a good author should do? YES! And for $2.99 Mr. Konrath succeeds perfectly.

KICK ASS (an "I Saw It" Review)

GRADE: A

“Kick Ass? More like…Ass Kicked…heh-heh…” – Big Daddy
“Fucking Cunts!” – Hit Girl (11 years old)

If that didn’t get your attention then what would? The new comic book hero for this decade has to be Kick Ass. It’s the first superhero book to be brutally realistic, funny, and portray teens like they really are in 2010. If anyone at Marvel thinks their newly “re-teened” Peter Parker is anything like today’s youth…they’ve been eating too many wheat cakes…and while I’m at it Amazing Spider-Man has sucked ever since that Brand New Day garbage began.

Now, that said, Kick Ass isn’t going to be for everyone (the movie or the comic). The children heroes of the story swear, fight, kill, have sex, and occasionally have parents who shoot them in the chest with bullets just to teach them a lesson. The general premise presented by the story is: What if someone really wore a costume and went out into the world to fight crime as a superhero? The question gets answered…viciously…and not how you would expect. None of the heroes in Kick Ass have any superpowers…or anything that really makes them special, except perhaps their ability to take a beating and not give up. Kick Ass begins by mocking and having fun with the typical superhero genre elements…and then eventually embraces these same elements to unfold like a more traditional story of heroism (with 11-year old sword-brandishing girls who swear like sailors). Besides our heroic Kick Ass, fans will also be introduced to Red Mist, Big Daddy, and Hit-Girl. Each of these supporting heroes plays an important role in the unfolding of the story…and it is with these three characters that the comic book and the movies differ (familiarize yourself with Big Daddy’s origin in both mediums to see how he is a true hero in one and a self-centered dreamer in the other). Nicolas Cage does a terrific job as Big Daddy in the movie and while in costume does a solid Adam West impersonation.

I’m a superhero fan and I loved the comic book and I loved the movie. One of the nice pleasures to unfold is that they are not 100% copies of each other. I’d guess that they’re about 65% similar which still leaves plenty of room for surprises and enjoyment in both venues. Surprisingly, I believe the comic book ends up being more realistic while the movie’s third act seems like it belongs more in a comic book. The character of Hit-Girl is certainly a breath of fresh air to the genre and a helluva lot of fun to watch fight. Hit-Girl’s showdown with the gangsters felt a lot like when The Bride visited the House of Blue Leaves…neither confrontation leaves the fan disappointed.

So, if you’ve seen and enjoyed the movie then it’s time to checkout the comic book or TPB (let’s be honest the comic industry could use the business). If you’ve read the comic book then you need to see the movie as it solidly delivers on all levels. If you’re under 18…then this shit is not for you!