Rocket Summer Week 2

This week, it's a "two-fer" for Week 2 of Rocket Summer, a reading event that celebrates "classic Science Fiction" (from its roots up through the 1960s).

First up, I spent a couple days being terrorized (and terrified) by the Liquid Man written by Bernard C. Gilford. Originally published in the September 1941 issue of Fantastic Adventure, this story is a variation of the Invisible Man theme with a mad scientist, having somehow discovered a way to transform himself into liquid, carrying out a series of gruesome murders.

At first, Fernando Silva focuses his attention on brutally killing his own brother, Juan and his lover out of jealous rage, but then he goes on taking others out including a child (an act that comes back to bite him on his watery backside at the end of the story).

Investigating these mysterious deaths is our hero, Lieutenant Quante of the Graytown P.D. The novel turns into a cat and mouse pursuit with a chunk of the text devoted to a situation that Quante believes will put an end to Silva's violent activities. Silva is found to be submerged in the city's reservoir and for pages and pages, various attempts at destroying him are made including fire and poison. Of course he manages to get away despite all of this, and in the end, a change in the weather leads to his demise. 

The author, under the name C.B. Gilford, would eventually revisit, dramatically rework, and publish a 222-page variant of this story in 1969, this time in the form of a Lancer paperback with its signature mauve text block. I own a copy and look forward to reading it down the line.

🧪🧪 out of 🧪🧪🧪🧪🧪.

One interesting side note is that Gilford would also later go on to write for several well-known anthology TV shows including Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Night Gallery, and Tales of the Unexpected.

Book two for Week 2 was the Ice Queen by author Don Wilcox. Originally published within the pages of the January 1943 issue of Fantastic Adventures (once again), this "lost world" story, set in the 19th century, is pretty straightforward stuff with few surprises, however I enjoyed the Arctic-bound journey quite a lot.

This tale focuses on an artist who is hired to join a northbound expedition to try and find out what happened to a man who went missing five years prior. The expedition is financed and led by a rather nasty, entitled woman who is in it more for the potential cache of rare furs her missing husband likely left for her than she is for finding out what fate might have befallen him. 

When the crew spots what appears to be a Valkyrie on a white tiger racing across the ice, the story becomes a hunt and investigation into who she is and where she has come from. This leads to the discovery of a subterranean world that has existed for thousands of years unknown to the rest of the planet's population. 

Spoiler alert, our protagonist becomes absolutely obsessed with this strange warrior woman and, in the end, weds her and becomes king of this lost civilization. 

Not great, but a pleasant summer read with a snowclad setting that kept me cool on hot days. ❄️❄️❄️ out of ❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️.

Rocket Summer Week 1 BLAST OFF!

Do you all remember that trio of men who took a round trip journey to Venus back in the early 1930s? Don’t you? I mean, it was all over the news at the time! Well, the "true," first-person memoir of that expedition can be found in the form of the Voyage of the Asteroid as told to Canadian science fiction author Laurence Manning. 

Originally published in the Summer 1932 issue of Wonder Stories Quarterly, this amusing diversion follows the adventures of two close friends, Messrs. Mason and Bigelow (our narrator) along with eccentric millionaire, Haworth, creator of the eponymous rocketship, the Asteroid. 

Originally occupying just 34 double column pages in the aforementioned issue of Wonder Stories Quarterly, the tale has been reprinted (sans the delightful illustrations by Frank R. Paul) by Armchair Fiction and can be found in D-125, one of their trade paperback size Science Fiction Doubles, backed with Revolt of the Outworlds by Milton Lesser. 

The story itself is a charmingly naive piece with loads of questionable science that would make Neil deGrasse Tyson plotz along with several described meals. These three astronauts frequently pause to drain pots of coffee, cups of lemon tea, plates of eggs and bacon, and several bottles of celebratory vino! 

Overall, it was a fun read, especially once the troupe arrives on the fog-laden surface of Venus where they come face-to-face with dinosaurs and diminutive lizard people! You will believe that a man can fly to Venus in three months time and then run screaming from a "Dinosaur tyrannus Rex!" 

A sequel to this story, the Wreck of the Asteroid, takes our heroes up to the Red Planet. It can also be found in a reprinted double from Armchair Fiction and I fully intend to get my mitts on a copy soon.

The Voyage of the Asteroid gets 🌕🌕🌗 out of 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕!

Up next, it's TWO tales for the second week of Rocket Summer beginning with the horrific sounding mad scientist story, the Liquid Man by Bernard C. Gilford, also lovingly reprinted by Armchair Fiction.

See you, Space Cowboy!

June on the Range 2025 Wrap Up

It is July 2nd, 2025 as I write this and while a tad late, I just finished my fourth and final book for this year's June on the Range reading event.

For my last novel, I chose Showdown at Sunset by Harry Sinclair Drago. This was a random pick from the stack, but one I selected based on two things: the length of the novel (a mere 150 pages) and the kickass cover by acclaimed artist, Robert K. Abbett (known by many for his Tarzan, Barsoom, and Pellucidar covers).

Strangely, despite its 150 pages, this one took me longer to get through than the others I read last month and at one point, I even considered "DNRing" it in favor of something else, but I stubbornly stuck with it to the end and I'm not too upset with myself for doing that.

It's not that it's a bad book, it's just that it took a long while to figure out exactly who the main character was(!) and where the story was actually going. Heck, the villains (plural) are mostly faceless and completely devoid of character. We really only know of their villainy through their actions, not through their interactions.

The back cover blurb of this November, 1958 Permabooks edition states: 

"When Clay Roberts put on the sheriff's badge, he swore to wipe out lawlessness. If that meant kidnapping Yancey Krebs from the neighboring county it was all right with him... if he could get away with it."

Roberts doesn't actually become sheriff until at least halfway through the book and his plan to kidnap a character from a neighboring county isn't even suggested until page 121 of this slim, 150-page novel!

Prior to this, we spend a lot of the time meandering around the area, introducing lots of new characters and seemingly random plot complications, and upping the stakes as we suddenly find ourselves racing toward the big finish which includes the eponymous sunset showdown of the book's title.

Harry Drago wrote several western novels, non-fiction books, and a number of silent serials and feature films. In many ways, there are structural elements of this book that read like a screenplay with quick asides presented without any noticeable break in the text and events resolved within a single sentence!

Ultimately, while the pacing is fast, somehow the entire thing drags. I don't have any additional books by Drago in my collection, but I am intrigued enough to want to check out some of his other work, especially some of his non-fiction like the Steamboaters: From the Early Side-Wheelers to the Big Packets published in 1967.

Showdown at Sunset gets two sheriff badges out of five from me. ★★

Next up, it's time for Rocket Summer 2025! Strap yourselves down and prepare for blast off! 🚀 

Hunting Haunts in Ghost Town

Recently, I wrapped up Ghost Town on my Quest 2, the latest release from Fireproof Games, creators of the terrific series, the Room.

I love good "escape room" style games and Ghost Town did not in any way disappoint, blending several challenging puzzles with some astonishingly well-rendered environments and a talented cast of voice actors.

The Room series and now Ghost Town aren't about jump scares or actions that can unalive your character. You might get temporarily stuck on a tricky puzzle or two (and in-game hints are available), but the only thing that really pushes you on is your own desire to see how things play out in the end.

These games are ideal for seated, relaxing play and though I completed Ghost Town, the cliffhanger at the very end that promises a sequel and the desire to do more exploration (I know I walked right past some things and there are also "magazines" you can find and collect and I did not get them all) are motivating me to return to the game soon!

If you've never tried a game like this, I highly recommend picking up Ghost Town or the Room VR: A Dark Matter. You will not be disappointed! 

👻👻👻👻👻 out of 👻👻👻👻👻!

June on the Range Week 3 Update

Have you heard of "the Dakota Kid?" No??? Well, since we didn't even learn of his existence until chapter 25 (of 27), I'm not at all surprised!

My third western novel for this year's June on the Range reading event was West of the Law by prolific author, Al Cody (Archie Joscelyn). Originally published in 1947, I read the Pocket Book edition from 1949. 

The hero of our story is one Tom Chisolm, a smart as a whip gunslinging lawyer who finds himself in the middle of a wild scandal in a town under the control of Symes Gallister and his loyal band, a few of whom are unwilling partners due to threats of extortion.

Chisolm soon meets Gallister's "wife," Molly who insists that she is married against her will and is seeking an annulment. We later learn that she was drugged and wed while out of her mind. We also eventually learn that Gallister married Molly in order to wrest control of her ranch and sell the property to the railroad for an extraordinary amount of cash!

A brutal and fatal encounter with one of Gallister's thugs results in Chisolm being arrested and sentenced to hang for murder, but he manages to escape from his cell via a rather ridiculous twist of fate whereby he discovers a pistol in a rat's nest under his cot. Seriously.

Eventually, Chisolm partners with Molly to do whatever he can to ensure she escapes from her marriage and gains control of her ranch once again, and this takes place over several days, involves driving a herd of cattle to a purchaser, and eventually gunning down Gallister in a pretty wild, close-range battle.

There's a lot of cool stuff in this book (having the protagonist be a lawyer is pretty unique), but the prison cell shenanigans, the arrival of a terrible storm that coincides with a significant part of Chisolm's plan, and the introduction of a nearby ranch manned by a band of eager allies, makes for some fairly unrealistic stuff as well as a few crazy examples of deus ex machina.

Of the two Cody books I've read, I much preferred Bitter Creek, but West of the Law was certainly entertaining despite my issues. I give it two slightly tarnished sheriff badges out of five. ★★

Up next, and for my final book for June on the Range, it's Showdown at Sunset by Harry Sinclair Drago. A slim volume, but a nice way to ease out of this month's reading event.