Fri 12 Jun 2009
JOHN JAKES – A Night for Treason. Charter; reprint paperback, circa 1980. Hardcover edition, Mystery House (Bouregy & Curl), 1956. Other paperback editions: Ace Double D-209, 1957; Tor/Pinnacle, 1981.
In the mid-70s, around the time of the American Bicentennial, John Jakes struck a pan of gold and became famous (perhaps even wealthy) for his Kent Family Chronicles and other works of early colonial and frontier America.
Before then he was only a journeyman author, writing science fiction and fantasy (Brak the Barbarian, among others), mysteries (the Johnny Havoc series, among still more others) and generally speaking, whatever would sell.
This is clearly one of his early efforts, and the only way it was reprinted some 25 years later is that someone was convinced that his name on a book would sell the book. In theory at least. It doesn’t turn up in used book stores all that often, and I don’t think it’s because it’s being held onto by scores of discriminating collectors.
Quoting from the front cover: “G-Man Max Ryan’s assignment is to infiltrate the sinister European Combine in this vintage espionage thriller,” and from the first page on you know it’s the purest sort of pulp fiction writing at its finest. By which I definitely do not mean Bad, but on the other hand, it’s not necessarily a compliment, either:
“Max Ryan drained the last of his coffee and placed the cup on the counter. His palms had started to sweat. He would have to do it soon, now… Max followed Gib out of the small roadside diner. The semi-trailer hulked like a giant animal on the shoulder of the turnpike. The sky was dark and cold with a pre-dawn chill. Few automobiles moved on the long stretch of highway, far apart.”
Even though the events are intended to be earth-shattering, the scope is strictly small scale, constricted in budget in the same way the old black-and-white second features at the movies were, back in the 50s.
A lot of the early action takes place in and around the Coco Club, for example, with a secret mastermind known only by his voice over the telephone orchestrating the nefarious criminal activities of the two or three henchmen he has under his control.
There is a surprise in store for Max on page 163, and it stunned me as well, at least at first. Given a chance to sit back down and think about it, my second reaction was probably closer to disbelief. You might respond the same way, but on the other hand, now that I’ve read the book and told you about it, think of it this way: you might not need to.
[UPDATE] 06-12-09. Up until getting this review ready to be posted, I was blissfully unaware of the other two paperback editions of this book. I should have remembered that it once was half an Ace Double, since I’ve been collecting them for over 40 years, but for some reason I can’t explain, I didn’t. Shame on me.
June 12th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
You have to wonder at anyone who names a character Brak. Still Jakes had his moments. I have fond memories of the Star Kings sf novels he did (not to be confused with Edmond Hamilton) and Johnny Havoc was fun in a goofy way.
I don’t know if the Lyle Kenyon Engle packaged Bicentennial series made Jakes rich, though it certainly made him comfortable, but his own North and South likely put him over the top salary wise. Like Harold Robbins, V.C. Andrews, Gary Jennings, and Robert Ludlum he’s as active after death as before thanks to his publishers.
Back in the day he did a few nice historical novels before the Bicentennial thing, and some entertaining short stories in many of the more obscure digests right before he broke out of the ghetto with the Engle series. His best book is probably a hilarious Conan the Barbarian spoof called Mention My Name in Atlantis.
But Brak? Sounds like he’s clearing his throat. Still it beats Lin Carter’s Thongor — who always sounded to me like a brand name for a line of athletic supporters. And I don’t mean sports fans.
June 12th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Isn’t Jakes still alive?
June 12th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
James, I’m sure you’re right. He was born in 1932, so he’s getting up in years, but nothing on the Internet suggests he’s no longer with us.
David, could you have been thinking of someone else?
— Steve
June 13th, 2009 at 6:49 am
Guess I’ve done a Mark Twain, but I thought Jakes was gone. Mea culpa. Still, it can be hard to tell with some writers today whose output after death is greater than when they were alive. Not that that is anything new.
But glad to hear Jakes is still around. Must have been two other guys.
June 13th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
“Mention my name in Atlantis” is a book I loved as a kid. Read it a bunch of times. My local used bookstore has a copy for 1.50 or so. I just might buy it tomorrow.
June 13th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
At a dollar fifty, you can’t go wrong. Nor if you can find A NIGHT FOR TREASON at that price, for that matter, in spite of my less than overly enthusiastic comments about it.
As for Brak, I have two thoughts about his name. First of all, I never thought Jakes was all that serious about the character, but if he was, then maybe Brak is closer to a Barbarian’s name, vocabulary-wise, than Conan.
— Steve
June 13th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
I want to remind once more that his GIVE ME THIS WOMAN under William Ard’s byline is an excellent sleazy PI novel, which should merit a reprint. Very nasty.
June 13th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Almost any vintage Jakes at $1.50 is a good bargain. I’m not a huge fan, but certainly a fan, and as I said before the Johnny Havoc books are a riot — and best of all intentionally so. You can’t say that of all the private eye fiction of that era. For those who may not know Johnny Havoc is a short guy (think Mickey Rooney) with a tall blond complex.
I’ll have to look for Give Me This Woman,
sounds like Jakes at his best. A Night For Treason too. The least I can do is buy a couple of books after dissing Brak and killing the poor guy off.
And granted, though minor, the Brak stories and books are better than the name, and Conan is a bit sophisticated considering, but Jakes must have had tongue in cheek when he came up with the name. All of the yeoman writers of Jakes era should have fallen into something as successful as the Bicentennial series, but Jakes deserved his success, and whatever anyone might say about literary merit the man could tell a story, as his continuing success shows. I think what made me think he had died was that I saw some books he had fronted for — the Jakes byline introing other writers work (as Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler, and others have also done) and took a left turn at logic. As I said, it’s hard to tell these days. Some writers are doing better dead than they did when they were alive.
Of course how the same guy can write both the Harold Robbins and the Gary Jennings books is a bit of a mystery, but these days anyone who manages to get into print based on their writing and not their infamy deserves a little praise.
June 13th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
Didn’t Brak ride a pony instead of a horse? Just another indication that Jakes was having fun with the series. The Brak stories were some of my favorites from the old Fantastic magazine.
Jakes also did a series of spoof spy stories for the Saint Mystery Library. Contrived and over-the-top, I just couldn’t get into this series, though I kind of liked the Johnny Havoc books.
June 29th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
[…] into the details of the plot, at least not yet, what I discovered was what the book by John Jakes I recently reviewed was missing. Often times you can describe what you see. It’s what’s not there […]