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Monday, April 5, 2010
Robert Leslie Bellem Sleaze
Since there's so much good stuff to talk about, I don't often dwell on the bad. But just to break the pattern, here are a couple of pretty stinky books. I read them (or most of them) long ago, in the throes of Turnermania, and was thoroughly underwhelmed. As I recall, the smut was tame, the prose pedestrian and the humor nonexistent - so why bother? These days, when just about everything Bellem wrote is coming back into print, these are once more available. My advice: Stick to the Dan Turner reprints.
I haven't read these, but I know what you mean about the quality of some of the recent Bellem reprints. He was so prolific and nothing everything is as high quality as "Blue Murder" or the "Dan Turner" stuff. Still, when he was at his best, he was one heck of an entertaining writer.
ReplyDeleteI've read THE SEX LADDER and was so thoroughly unimpressed I've never bothered to pick up the reprint of the other Anthony Gordon book. I think these are for Bellem completists only.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear Blue Murder is good. I've had the hardcover for a coon's age, but don't remember ever reading it. Maybe it's about time.
ReplyDeleteNaturally, I'll take your advice.
ReplyDeleteI've been championing RLB's work since the 1970s, have a massive collection of his work, and must with those credentials say that Cullen and James are quite right. The Turner "voice" we know and love evolves into full glory in the late thirties. My favorites are the longer 1940s Turners which are hands down brilliant. But that said, except for the very occasional gem, the majority of RLB's other stuff, from the Spicy lines to Doctor of Lesbos, aren't really worth reading. Uninspired formula hack work. That said, a most notable exception are the superb Little Jack Horner stories (written as Jerome Severs Perry), which were patiche of RLB's friend, Cleve F. Adams. These stories have just been collected by Pulp Tales Press and no this isn't promotion. I paid for my copy. But if you're a fan of either RLB or Adams, the Horner tales are essential. --Stephen Mertz
ReplyDeleteNice to see you stopping by, Steve. Ain't heard from you in many a moon. While digging pulps out of storage a while back I came across my copy of Some Die Hard.
ReplyDeleteI have a lot of those Horner stories, and have been planning to post one here.
How are his western stories???
ReplyDeleteThough I have a few others, I think the only Bellem western I've read is "Lust of the Lawless". It's here:
ReplyDeletehttp://davycrockettsalmanack.blogspot.com/2009/11/lust-of-lawless-complete-spicy-western_07.html