Forgotten Books: Not Too Narrow... Not Too Deep by Richard Sale

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Don’t be fooled by the heaving breasts. This book is not about sex. Nor is it about “Love, Violence and Hate on the High Seas”. There’s a good helping of hate, I’ll admit, but there’s no love and precious little violence. And while it may be about “Fugitives from Horror”, you’d never know it, because that horror is never portrayed, described or discussed.

What this book is about, ultimately, is Faith.

I’m a huge fan of Richard Sale. I’ve read all his novels that have been published in book form (11), and one or two that have not. I’ve read a whole bunch of pulp stories that have never been reprinted. And I’ve enjoyed every word. This book is no exception. In fact, the first half is some of the most compelling fiction I’ve ever read.

Not Too Narrow, Not Too Deep was Sale’s first novel, published in 1936, and is an amazing work for a guy only 25 years old. It starts on a French penal colony, where ten prisoners (rapists, murderers, psychos, etc) band together to buy a small boat and escape. The weird thing is, they’re joined by an eleventh man, a mysterious figure named Jean Cambreau. No one has ever seen Cambreau on the island, but he knows things about each of the ten men - in some cases things they do not yet know about themselves. He knows who will survive the journey and who won’t, and what will happen to them afterwards. Over the course of the book, all ten men are changed by the experience. Some just a little, some beyond their wildest dreams.

In the first half, which forms Book 1, Cambreau is a magical figure. Some characters are drawn to him, wondering if he might be an angel. Others are terrified, certain he’s a devil. As long as that mystery held, I found this novel almost impossible to put down. Book 2 was less compelling. Instead of deepening the mystery, Sale started telling me more than I wanted to know. Guess that proves he was human after all.

Still, for Book 1 alone, I’d say this is well worth reading. You might call it literary fiction for people who don't like literary fiction.

Not Too Narrow, Not Too Deep was the basis of the 1940 film Strange Cargo. I haven’t seen the flick, but descriptions I’ve read bear little resemblance to the book. The character played by Clark Gable, presumably the hero, is a jerk who’s washed overboard before the end of Book 1. And the book has absolutely no role for Joan Crawford. There’s only one woman in the story, and only for about three pages. She ain’t good looking and (as noted) her breasts don’t heave.

COMING TOMORROW: A COMPLETE RICHARD SALE STORY.
Richard Sale wrote hundreds of stories for the pulps, but is most fondly remembered for Daffy Dill, a smart-mouthed reporter who was one of the most popular characters in Detective Fiction Weekly. I don’t know how many Daffy stories appeared, but I have over two dozen, and there are a lot I don’t have. The shocking thing is, only three seem to have been reprinted. “A Nose for News” is in The Hardboiled Dicks, “Double Trouble” in Hardboiled Dames and “Three Wise Men of Babylon in The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps.

That’s a shame, because Daffy tells a story like no one else. He’s witty, wacky and literate. What more can I say? You just have to experience him for yourself. Well, you’ll get your chance tomorrow - right here - as the Almanack presents, for the first time in 70 years, “A Dirge for Pagliaccio” by Richard Sale.

Find links to more of today's Forgotten Books on Patti Abbott's pattinase.

A Tribute to Norman Saunders

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Richard Robinson posted info yesterday on The Broken Bullhorn about a very cool book devoted to the art of Norman Saunders. He even provided a link to the book's official site, where you can see thumbnails of all 368 pages.

Well! This naturally put me in a Norman Saunders frame of mind, so I pulled out a few pulps and slapped them on the scanner. Here's the result:

 

  

 

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LEGEND 3: Lonigan Must Die! by Ben Bridges

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I’m working my way ever-so-slowly through A Fistful of Legends (savoring it, you might say) and just read “Lonigan Must Die!”

It begins like this . . .

Given that he’d once been the most dangerous man in the territory, Jesse Rayne proved to be a model prisoner. He kept to himself, said yes sir and no sir and never, ever made trouble - which was odd, because Rayne had spent practically his entire life making trouble.

Jesse Rayne, you see, is a man with a plan. He’s doing whatever it takes to earn his parole, get out of prison and kill the man he blames for sending him there. And it works. Everyone is fooled and Rayne is released. First thing he does is hop a train, whisking him straight for Lonigan. He buys a gun. He finds Lonigan and beats hell out of him, all just a warm-up for the revenge he’s waited eight long years to enjoy.

What happens next? Surprising stuff! That’s all I’m saying. You’ll have to find out for yourself, but you won’t be disappointed. This tale is packed with action, wisdom and a healthy dose of heart.

Ben Bridges is the author of more than twenty Black Horse Westerns.  But that’s only the beginning of his story. “Ben Bridges” is actually David Whitehead, who’s sort of the James Reasoner of the Black Horse gang.  He’s written another six as Matt Logan. At least three as Carter West. Three more as Glenn Lockwood. A couple as Leonard Meares. And at least another ten as David Whitehead. For more on this man of many names, visit his website HERE.

A Fistful of Legends is available from Amazon and other online booksellers. Among the 20 other new tales of the Old West are the three we’ve already reviewed:

Legend 1: Dead Man Talking by Derek Rutherford
Legend 2: Billy by Lance Howard (Howard Hopkins)
Legend 19: Cash Laramie and the Masked Devil by Edward A. Grainger (David Cranmer)

Bald-Faced Lies Exposed!

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On Sunday I did my part in the "Creative Writer" challenge by telling either six lies and one truth or six truths and one lie. Here's the real poop:

1. My dog ate my contact lenses three years before I stopped wearing them. LIE! Though my mother closely observed our beagle Herbie's "activities" and retrieved the contacts, I wore them only two more years.

2. I played guitar in a three-man band called The Strychnine Five. LIE! It was a two-man band. See video below.

3. I once received a fan letter from Philip Jose Farmer. TRUE. In response to my 1975 epic mimeo chapbook novella, Doc Simple, The Man of Aluminum.

4. I once (and only once) voted for a Democrat for President. LIE! I once voted Republican, and ain't saying when. Of course, I also voted for one Independent, one comedian and one duck.

5. I’ve seen Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid at least nine times. LIE! It's only eight (so far).

6. The comic book Metal Men was my idea. LIE! It was Teen Titans. Back in 1963, the editors of one of DC's try-out books, The Brave and the Bold, asked readers to suggest new series. I wrote saying I'd always wanted to see a junior Justice League. Some months later, in July 1964, Kid Flash, Aqualad and Robin appeared in a team-up. A year later they were joined by Wonder Girl and adopted the name Teen Titans. (OK, it's possible it was someone else's idea too, but I know for sure it was mine.) 

7. Neil Young once rode in my car. LIE! It was Neil Diamond. I was on the concert committee in college, and (being possessed of a very classy 1955 Buick Special) was assigned to ferry Mr. Diamond from his hotel to the show (a distance of about a mile). He was righteously stoned.

The No-Prize goes to Paul Brazill, who said they were all lies except #5, so he got 5 of 7 right. Congrats, Paul! The prize will be rushing your way via No-Mail.

The Strychnine Five was me and Mr. Drew Bentley, who used to bang our guitars around after high school in Spokane, WA (Drew is still in show biz, now playing bass for Omaha's Birks-Bentley Jazz Explosion). We never actually had any gigs, but we did have business cards, so we were a real band, right? We made our recording debut in the YouTube vid below. That's Drew singing and me thrashing the guitar. Among the many costars appearing in this video are Cap'n Bob Napier and his #2 daughter Kristine, Brian Trainer of Rock Residue, Paul Revere, The Kingsmen and The Fabulous Wailers.

Alamo Bookshelf 6: With Santa Anna in Texas, How Did Davy Die? & Defense of a Legend

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WITH SANTA ANNA IN TEXAS by Jose Enrique de la Pena (1975, 1997)
In 1955, at the height of the Davy Crockett Craze, this tattered manuscript conveniently surfaced in a Mexico City flea market. The document was purported to be a diary kept by one of Santa Anna’s officers on his campaign into Texas. The manuscript made only one reference to David Crockett, on paper remarkably different from the rest, and in remarkably different handwriting. Still, when the first English translation was published in 1975, that single page ignited a battle that still rages. That Crockett passage, you see, claims that Davy, along with several other defenders, was captured and executed at the order of Santa Anna. 

HOW DID DAVY DIE? by Dan Kilgore (1978)
This slim volume, published when the debunking of American heroes was becoming all the rage, fired the flames of the controversy by rehashing the de la Pena tale and presenting as corroborative “evidence” several other questionable Mexican accounts. Some say that a few defenders surrendered to Mexican troops, and at least one contains a hearsay tale that a man named “Cwockey” may have been among them. Taken alone these other accounts were worthless, but those choosing to believe the de la Pena story elevated them to the level of gospels.  In response to this book, Kilgore, along with Carmen Perry (translator of the “diary”), received death threats.

DEFENSE OF A LEGEND by Bill Groneman (1994)
The voice of reason fought back in this, one of my all-time favorite Alamo books. Bill Groneman demonstrated that the de la Pena manuscript, far from being a “diary” was at best a researched memoir. The page concerning Crockett, if not an outright forgery, was clearly added later, the result not of de la Pena’s first hand knowledge, but gleaned from newspaper accounts surfacing after the Battle of San Jacinto (in which Texas won independence) and intended to inflame American public opinion against Mexico. Groneman points out that several first hand accounts, by witnesses who actually knew Crockett, support the notion that he died fighting.

Much has since been written on this issue, and intelligent people have argued eloquently on both sides, but nothing has been proven. Historians who acknowledge the question is in dispute have my respect, while those who flat-out claim that Davy was captured or surrendered - without addressing evidence to the contrary - get my spiritual-Texan dander up.

Bald-Faced Liar Award!

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Even though my profile photo clearly proves otherwise, Mr. Paul D. Brazill has honored me with a Bald-Faced Liar Award (I'm not fooled by that "Creative Writer" sugarcoating). Thanks, Paul!
The rules, he says, are these:
1. Thank the person who gave this to you. Check.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog. Check.
3. Link to the person who nominated you. Check.
4. Tell up to six outrageous lies about yourself, and at least one outrageous truth - or - switch it around and tell six outrageous truths and one outrageous lie. See below.
5. Nominate seven "Creative Writers" who might have fun coming up with outrageous lies. Hm.
6. Post links to the seven blogs you nominate.  Seven, really?
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know you nominated them. Seven? I don't have that many fingers.

Truth or Lies?
1. My dog ate my contact lenses three years before I stopped wearing them.
2. I played guitar in a three-man band called The Strychnine Five.
3. I once received a fan letter from Philip Jose Farmer.
4. I once (and only once) voted for a Democrat for President.
5. I’ve seen Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid at least nine times.
6. The comic book Metal Men was my idea.
7. Neal Young once rode in my car. 

Deserving Recipients of this Award:
Craig Clarke
Laurie Powers
David Cranmer
Richard Robinson
Patti Abbott
Richard Prosch
Cap'n Bob Napier

My Truth(s) or Lie(s) will be revealed in a day or two. Best guesser wins a No-Prize.

Chinaman's Chance: A Lost Story by Paul Cain

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"Chinaman's Chance" appeared in the Sept. 1935 issue of Black Mask. As far as I know, it is one of only five Paul Cain stories that have never been reprinted. Three of the others were also in Black Mask, while the fourth, "555" (mentioned in yesterday's review of Fast One), was in the December 14, 1935 issue of Detective Fiction Weekly.

I have both "Chinaman's Chance" and "555" and would be pleased to share them with readers of the Almanack. For one reason or another I won't be posting the stories on the blog, but if you'd like copies of the scans via email, just shoot me a message at delewis1@hotmail.com

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Forgotten Books: Fast One by Paul Cain

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When I first read Fast One, sometime around 1980, it probably qualified as a forgotten book. Heck, I was even able to afford a first edition. These days it’s more of a legendary book. It's been reprinted several times, lionized, and even adapted as a graphic novel. A guy on Abe wants $2250 for a first in a crappy dust jacket, and another guy is asking $750 for a copy without. Yikes.

Fast One  is not a whodunnit. It’s a  who’s gonna get it next, and from whom. The biggest mystery may be who (if anyone) will still be alive at the end.

Fast One has been acclaimed for its razor-sharp prose and bullet-like speed. I can’t argue with that. It’s tough, fast and to the point, probably more than any book that had come before.

I was talking to a friend about this recently and he said he didn’t particularly enjoy it. The book was all plot, he said, and almost no character development. Well, I see his point. The story appeared in Black Mask in 1932 as five separate novelettes (a sample of the last segment, called "The Dark", is featured below) . Since each piece had to stand on its own, the book has five plots, each with its own rising conflict and semi-resolution. Each story builds on those before, so things get pretty complicated. Everytime you turn a page, someone new is walking in with a gun.

As for the characters --- it’s hard to imagine a more venal bunch of amoral backstabbers assembled in a single novel. Almost without exception, they are out solely for themselves, willing to betray allies and switch allegiances at the drop of a plot point.  Imagine throwing a bunch of dirty cops, dirty politicians and just naturally dirty mobsters into a barrel and clamping on a lid. Then tumble the barrel down a hill before prying off the lid to see who claws their way out. 

Our anti-hero Gerry Kells arrives in L.A. from the East, where the cops considered him the “it” guy everytiime there was a shooting. Now out West, he just wants to be left alone to gamble and enjoy himself. Trouble is, everyone wants him on their side - and if they can’t have him they want him dead. He’s too dangerous a guy to be walking around loose.

As for character development, there actually is some, but you have to look real close. Though Kells would never admit it, his actions show he develops feelings for a couple of his more steadfast allies. In the end, he places loyalty and - perhaps - love, above his own self interest. The question is, will these uncharacteristically human qualities redeem him or destroy him?  Read it and see.

Researchers have peeled back the layers of Paul Cain to find he was actually George Sims, who also wrote screenplays as Peter Ruric. One of his first screen credits (for story, not screenplay) was for Gambling Ship, a film very loosely based on Fast One. I’m told his screenplay for the Karloff film The Black Cat is especially good. I’ll be checking it out.

In addition to Fast One, Cain had a dozen stories in Black Mask and two in other detective mags. Seven of those appear in the collection Seven Slayers and a couple have been reprinted elsewhere. The first tale in that book, about a freelance hood called Black, has been adapted for radio is playing this week only on the BBC’s “This Is Pulp Fiction” program. Pop over to Gary Dobbs’ TAINTED ARCHIVE for a link to the show. It’s somewhat abridged, but true to Cain and nicely done. 

As always, you'll find links to more Forgotten Books at Patti Abbott's pattinase.

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P.S. One of the few never-reprinted Paul Cain stories is "555" from Detective Fiction Weekly of December 14, 1935. I was planning on scanning it and putting it up tomorrow - until I read it. Unfortunately, the lead character's dialogue is of the Amos 'n' Andy variety, and may be deemed offensive. So I won't be posting it. It isn't much of a story anyway - more of an extended joke - and only four pages long. Still, it is a Paul Cain tale, and there are precious few of those around. Anyone interested is invited to email me, delewis1@hotmail.com, and I'll be happy to fire back copies of the scans.

Breaking News: It's come to my attention, via The Rap Sheet, that Vince Keenan reviewed Fast One a couple of days ago. His take on it is HERE.