Mon 17 May 2010
Review: LIONEL DERRICK – The Penetrator #10: The Hellbomb Project.
Posted by Steve under Reviews[16] Comments
LIONEL DERRICK – The Penetrator #10: The Hellbomb Project.
Pinnacle, paperback original; 1st printing, August 1975.
I haven’t double-checked this, but according to one source on the Internet, there were 53 books in this hard-as-nails men’s action-adventure series. While all of them were credited to Lionel Derrick, Mark K. Roberts wrote the odd-numbered entries while Chet Cunningham wrote the even-numbered ones.
Men’s adventure series were extremely popular in the 1970s and on through the 80s. Only the long-running Destroyer and the Executioner are still going today, but I suspect their sales have plummeted badly. I don’t think publishers think men buy men’s action-adventure fiction any more, and they’re probably right. There aren’t any to buy.
In any case, I’ve accumulated several hundred books in this particular genre over years, very few of them new, mostly at library sales or from eBay sellers, if I found them in nice enough condition, and it occurred to me last week that maybe I might try reading one or two of them.
My mistake. I’m sure that The Hellbomb Flight has everything in it that was expected of it, to the person who bought it originally, but the 182 pages of very large print had nothing of interest to me, either major or minor, except possibly very minor, perhaps.
Mark Hardin is the Penetrator, an ex-Vietnam War veteran who’s come home to fight crime and corruption, and working surreptitiously for a bigwig in the Justice Department, it’s usually on a big scale, given Hellbomb Flight as an example. It seems that a former NASA scientist has cracked up big time and intends to take over a Russian communications satellite he suspects of being secretly armed with a payload of hydrogen bombs.
Funny thing is, Dr. Orlando Fitzmuller’s right, but the payload is even more deadly, if that’s possible. What he doesn’t know is that his low budget undercover operation has been infiltrated with Mafia types who intend to use his technical expertise to their own ends.
And that’s it. The whole story right there. There’s a lot of blood that’s shed along the way, but in comparison, Mark Hardin’s love life is rather tame and mild. Lots of arteries blasted away by bullets, skulls split open with the thonk of ripe melons, and rifles and guns and firearms of every shape, make, model and caliber, all lovingly described and I assume correctly, too.
I’ll sell my copy on Amazon. Or at least I’ll offer it for sale there, but I’m afraid there’s going to be a lot of competition.
PostScript. I was wrong. There were only 13 copies offered for sale on Amazon when I went to look, with prices ranging from a penny to ten bucks. The discouraging thing, though, is that the book has no sales ranking, indicating that Amazon has never sold a copy through third party sellers such as myself. Mine’s in Near Fine condition, with remainder lines (I think) across the top edge but otherwise looking unread, even though I’ve obviously read it, but carefully.
I’m offering my copy at $3.45. If and when it sells, I’ll come back with an Update and let you know.
[UPDATE] 05-18-10. I’ve changed my mind. Thanks to everyone who left comments who helped persuade me, and to Bill Crider and Bill Pronzini, whose reviews from 1001 Midnights of three other men’s action-adventure novels I’ve just posted.
What I’ve been convinced of is that there may be some small semi-precious gems stored away in these boxes of paperbacks I have, and if you look at them in just the right way, perhaps even a diamond or two. If Bill Crider can say that the Executioner books marked the beginning of a “real American phenomenon,” then I cannot disagree with him.
Bill Pronzini says there is humor to be found in the Death Merchant books, and from the lengthy quote he provides, I cannot quarrel with that statement either.
And if the Lone Wolf series was written by “‘Mike Barry’ […] a pseudonym of Barry N. Malzberg, a writer of no small talent,” as Bill Pronzini also points out, and that the entire series is “quite remarkable,” and that there is more to the 14 books “than meets the casual eye,” I cannot doubt him at all — all the more so when the very same sentiment has been shared by several of you who have left comments.
So I’m keeping all of the men’s action-adventure books I’ve accumulated over the years, as I say several hundred of them. Alas, I was planning on using that space for something else, or I was hoping to. I’ll reclaim the Penetrator book from Amazon’s listings, and admit defeat. I know when I’m licked. Once I own a book, it is difficult to let go of it, no matter how hard I try!
May 17th, 2010 at 9:41 pm
I never read any of this series, but the genre overall is very uneven, everything from the sometimes surreally funny Destroyer books to the dark but interesting Lone Wolf series by Barry Malzberg.
I wasn’t a big fan of the genre, but accumulated quite a few of them second and third hand, and once in a while there is a half interesting read among the dreck.
As I understand it the Bolan series is still going strong, though I doubt sales were where they once were, and I see at Borders the Destroyer is back. Most of them were worse than disposable — not even that readable, but there were always exceptions, and in some cases some damn good writers made a little extra money penning them (particularly the Nick Carter series which might be called the Cadillac of the genre).
Most of them though are probably more collectible for their cover art than the interiors.
There was a half interesting series called Killinger that tried to split the difference between Men’s Action and Travis McGee — not that good a read, but interesting to see the writer struggle with the elements.
May 17th, 2010 at 10:15 pm
In terms of keepers, I’ll hold on to the Destroyer books I own, which is about 80% of a complete set. The Nick Carter books, which I didn’t mention in my review, are as you say, a step above the rest. As I go through these boxes I’m unpacking, I’ll keep those too.
I have a set of Malzberg’s Lone Wolf series, which I’m sure are worth having, but I’ll probably never read them.
I’m not interested in the Executioner series, or any of its various spinoffs. Those are going up for sale on Amazon too, as I come across them, but only if they’re in top notch condition. Otherwise they’re not worth much, and I’ll donate them to the local library. Way too common.
P. K. Palmer, died in 1973, a year before his two Killinger books came out in 1974 from Pinnacle:
The Rainbow/Seagreen Case
The Turquoise/Yellow Case
I _think_ these are two double novels. If they are, I have all four in one omnibus edition that came out in 1980, which I held onto because the contents looked more inviting than the standard men’s adventure novel.
If this is the Killinger you’re referring to (Jedidiah Killinger III), then I’m glad I did.
On the other hand, this review suggests otherwise:
http://blogs.pitch.com/plog/2009/02/studies_in_crap_presents_apolo.php
Or maybe the reviewer just didn’t get it. Or maybe he did.
May 17th, 2010 at 11:05 pm
Killinger certainly isn’t good by any standard, but I enjoyed watching Palmer struggle with the attempt to do something different within the Men’s Action format by trying to marry it to some elements of Travis McGee. He is almost closer to the a pulp character than a Mens Action series.
The best I can describe them is an attempt to cross Doc Savage, Travis McGee, James Bond, and a typical Mens Action series (wealthy private adventurer/avenger Killinger lives on a privately owned Chinese junk …).
They may even have been a bit better written than the general level of the genre — or at least better than ‘Lionel Derreck’ or Joseph Rosenberger’s awful Death Merchant books.
At least the idea was ambitious, however lacking the result was.
Re the Lone Wolf, while I would never suggest anyone read them all, if you have them, read the first one, one of the middle ones, and the last one. I won’t give it away, but Malzberg manages something unique within that genre by simply following the logic that other writers ignore. I warn you they can be unpleasant, but I think when you read the final one you’ll agree you didn’t see ‘that’ coming. Only Malzberg would have dared to go there.
As for the Nick Carter books half the fun is going to Hubin to find out who wrote them — everyone from W.T. Ballard and Mike Avallone to Martin Cruz Smith and mainstream novelist Craig Nova.
But in general I never indulged much in the Men’s Action genre. I kept hoping they would be like the pulps or some of the Gold Medal series, and they never were. I know they did what their readers wanted, but the ones I could get into were few and far between. I did much better with sixties soft porn like the Man From O.R.G.Y., Coxeman, or 0008 — at least those were supposed to be funny.
May 18th, 2010 at 3:28 am
Steve
There are only two Killinger books despite the titles. RAINBOW/SEAGREEN and TURQUOISE/YELLOW CASE are the titles. I guess he overdosed on Travis McGee titles.
The review you linked is pretty much Killinger all over, if anything TURQUOISE/YELLOW, the one I read, is even worse. But I give the guy credit it wasn’t another Mafia bashing Mack Bolan wanna-be, and the bad writing can be fun in the right mood.
Palmer was way more ambitious than talented, and the elements he tried to mix didn’t go together all that well, but the attempt to mix a hero pulp style character with James Bond and Travis McGee and throw in the Men’s Action sensibility make for an interesting train wreck to watch.
There is a type of bad book that is fun to read, and I would put these narrowly into that category. You just keep turning the page to see if he is going to go where you expect him to — and half hope he will somehow manage not to — go.
But I will disagree with the article in regard to the character name. Compared to the endless Penetrators, Expediters, Eliminators and such (I give Martin Cruz Smith’s Inquisitor a pass for being interesting) Killinger is no worse than the title of the average television action series of the period. And truthfully with a little more talent Palmer might have even brought it off, but then it wouldn’t have been half as loopy and fun.
There is something about a book that gets you to turn the page even if only to see how much worse it is going to get.
And we can’t knock the genre in entirety. Among those who managed to do something in the genre were Martin Cruz Smith, Mike Avallone, George Chesbro, Barry Malzberg, Marvin Albert, and many others on the way up, down, or just treading water as pros. And you have to imagine — or hope — that along the way some guy picking up the latest Executioner or Death Merchant might have picked up some better books by better writers on the stands next to them deceptively packaged to look like kindred spirits.
May 18th, 2010 at 8:18 am
I’ve never read any of the books ya’ll are talking about here. I’ve been aware of them, as it is hard to visit a used bookstore and not see row after row of these things. What strikes me about the series names — like Penetrators, Expediters, Eliminators — is that they sound like they were ripped from the titles of the great Matt Helm series.
Speaking of Helm, anyone know why the last book Hamilton wrote before he died was never published? I know I’m asking you to speculate, but do you think it was poorly written or no one thought the sales would be there?
May 18th, 2010 at 8:22 am
I’ve read a few different series – not the one you mentioned, but the Destroyer and the Malzberg to name two. Another one you might want to check out is Stone: MIA Hunter from Jove. Bill Crider and Joe Lansdale wrote three books each in this one.
May 18th, 2010 at 8:22 am
Oh, sorry, I forgot to mention the ‘author’ is “Jack Buchanan.”
May 18th, 2010 at 1:05 pm
I disagree with David somewhat one the Lone Wolf series. I would recommend reading the whole series in order. If fact, I look at the series as a 14-volume novel in which Malzberg slowly deconstructs the entire genre. He not only takes on the Men’s Action genre, but also the readers of the genre. Violence and vengeance is reiterated as expected until the reader reaches several WTF moments well into the series. The twists that Malzberg uses to cap the saga have long been foreshadowed as they reach the ultimate and logical conclusion.
The Inquisitor has always been a favorite. Who wouldn’t want to read a series about the hitman for the Vatican?
I agree with Jeff about the MIA Hunter books, and would add the very short-lived Tunnel Rats series by the wonderfully named “Cliff Banks”. (For some reason I picture the author in a blue suit.)
May 18th, 2010 at 2:39 pm
Dr. Crider wrote TUNNEL RATS too.
May 18th, 2010 at 2:39 pm
I really liked the Inquisitor series too.
May 18th, 2010 at 4:28 pm
Thanks all. You meant well, of course, but what all of your comments have ended doing has been to convince me that I needn’t, and in fact shouldn’t, give up my accumulation of men’s action-adventure series, and I’m not going to. See the latest update to the original post.
— Steve
PS. You needn’t worry. I’m certainly not sore about this or anything, even though I could have used the space. I think all I needed was some encouragement to keep them. Thanks again!
May 18th, 2010 at 4:30 pm
Frank, re the last Matt Helm novel.
I’ll repeat my post from 02 April 2007, which was right after the news of Donald Hamilton’s death had been revealed.
https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=148
I haven’t followed up on this in the meantime, but it’s been two years, so maybe this is a case of no news is bad news.
In any case, here’s the previous post:
In the course of our conversations via email about Donald Hamilton’s death today, Charles Ardai, publisher of the Hard Case line of hardboiled paperbacks, confirmed that “a final, unpublished Matt Helm book exists but that Don’s son isn’t ready to publish it yet.”
There was more that was said about the book, but at the moment this is all I’m at liberty to pass along. Personally, this is good news, but it certainly would be better, if not great news if there were any indications that it would be published soon. Which, on the other hand, you should not take as implying that it won’t be.
May 18th, 2010 at 4:50 pm
Hey guys:
Great thread. And as the creator of the Tunnel Rats and The M.I.A. Hunter, I just wanted to weigh in on how it was in those days.
I broke into pro writing in the early 80s and there was more work in the men’s action field than most writers could handle. I mean, if you were a guy who wanted to break in and you’d grown up reading Spillane and Norvell Page, there was no way you couldn’t find work. Recognizing the field for what it was—which, for me, was a source of cash to subsidize more ambitious work—I used a pen name. And being by nature a slow (or lazy) writer, I often called on friends in to help, becoming as much a book packager for a few years there as writer. Those three M.I.A. Hunters that Joe R. His Own Self helped me with are 50/50 collaborations, though by the time I called Bill Crider for help, I was so swamped all I could do was provide him with a plot synopsis. I have to read those books some day!
I’m glad those are “the good old days,” as Bill, Joe R. and I were lucky to get out alive. It’s a treadmill that has burned out others who showed promise but were never heard from again. And the comparison to the pulp magazines is appropriate. Some of the guys who read my action work a quarter of a century ago are writing the Bolan series today. The spirit of Lester Dent and Norvell Page is alive and well. I’m just glad that I was able to move on. But thanks for the memories.
And, uh, as long as I have the mic, anyone interested in what I’m up to these days is invited to try my latest novel, DRAGON GAMES, published just last month by Five Star.
May 18th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
Thanks for that info, Steve, on Donald Hamilton’s final Matt Helm adventure. Be nice to see it published. I would think the longer the wait, the less likely it will seen print. But what do i know?
May 18th, 2010 at 6:42 pm
From these to Donald Hamilton — from the ridiculous (with the exceptions mentioned above) to the sublime.
Still, you can’t knock anything that provided work for a lot of writers along the way, and if in general I wasn’t a fan I recognize that the genre serviced an audience that knew what it want and in most cases got it. There were a good many genres of pulp fiction I didn’t read either, but their audiences bought them and enjoyed them, which may be the thing to remember.
May 18th, 2010 at 7:53 pm
Good points, David.