THE HUNTING SHACK by Gunnard Landers

I'm reading last year's papers

Although I don't know why

Assassins, cons, and rapists

Might as well die

Man of action Gunnard Landers (1944-) delivers one mean corker of a thriller here, from the very first page as the unknown killer picks his target - the group of men have come to this wilderness for a hunting trip, and of course one of them has a different sort of prey in mind. Our killer won't remain nameless for long, and we'll come to know him and all his friends very well in Landers' easy, piercing style.

The hardcover

Protagonist Norm suspects there's something wrong with one of them; something more than the usual midcentury neuroses, I mean, something even more dangerous than the domestic problems and work struggles and homosocial minefield that the men navigate. But then, Norm's a little off himself, and maybe his buddies don't want to put too much stock in any random thing he says ...

And our author

The Paperback Warrior blog reviewed this title back in 2022 and on the strength of their recommendation I had to search out a copy for myself. I'm glad I did! The characters live, breathe, and die with shocking emotion, and Landers writes so vividly that you can easily see the story happening here and now - this could your town! The killer isn't some slasher film maniac or wannabe Hannibal Lecter, he's the same guy you've seen a million times before on the news, and how could anyone know? He was such a family man ...

And his prey? His camouflage? His hunting buddies, all jeering and jockeying to release some pressure, to escape the rat race if just for a weekend, to prove something, to do something ... with a gun. They don't know they're playing for keeps now, though.

The Hunting Shack ranks 4/4 - very recommended! This title is available to read and download at archive dot org.

Dell Publishing, 1979

BRAK: WHEN THE IDOLS WALKED by John Jakes

Once again, Brak the Barbarian finds himself far from home and further still from Golden Khurdisan, as he washes up on the damned shores of Rodar just in time for an invasion by the Gordmen and a merchant's coup backed by dark magics. Heads will roll and the walls will come tumbling down when THE IDOLS WALK!

Still alive with pleasure!

There's spoilers ahead, so beware. The biggest reveal I'll drop is the novel's greatest feat: the sublime imagery of a bronze age mech battle, as Brak takes control of a 150 foot tall goddess statue with pulleys and levers and maneuvers it against a similar gigantic idol possessed by the spirit of a mad strangler! Readers back in 1964 knew what they were in for when they read the original version of this tale in Fantastic Stories:

Over at Dark Worlds Quaterly, writer G.W. Thomas has compiled an excellent history of Brak which details some of the chronology and editing behind Jakes' series, as short stories were compiled and fixed up into "new" novels, and old works were slotted into new order. Thomas notes that in this entry there's no mention of Nestorianism or of the evil amir Septegundus, things that would become central to Brak tales written later. When this story was reworked and republished as a novel in 1978, Jakes didn't bother with any updates on that, and honestly I'm glad he didn't - it's unnecessary!

The article over at Dark Worlds Quarterly ... check it out!

The cover art is another pleasingly weird tableau by the artist "CM" with Brak attacking the idol Jaal. The stone menace has been given two eyes here when in the text he's a cyclopean monster, but we're used to that detail fuzziness now with these covers. It's still an atmospheric image and "CM" has served Brak well in the Pocket Books line. The art from Tower Books is serviceably dramatic:

Some of the plot beats are by the numbers, maybe owing to its fix-up origins, but nevertheless Jakes is a pro as always at transporting us to his weird worlds and immersing us in Brak's struggle. Our hero is pretty noble here, throwing in with the doomed Rodarians owing to their kindness in nursing him back to health earlier. Things move along at breakneck speed and Brak also tangles with an evil priest caste who rule a subterranean hell-pit, a three headed hydra bird, and more phantasmagorical sea serpents than you can shake a stick at! When the Idols Walked earns a nice 3/4 rating as superior barbarian storytelling.

Art taken from the Dark Worlds Quarterly article

Pocket Books, 1978

BRAK VS. THE SORCERESS by John Jakes

The ghastly red eyes, huge as midsummer moons, had opened again. They watched, watched from the black where the stench drifted. Out of the pit blew more than a smell. Out of the pit came some nameless, ancient evil palpable as a cloud.

Brak's face twisted as the gap between hands closed. Sharp rocks poked his belly, his thighs, little shafts of pain. His shoulders ached. Groping upwards for his hand, the girl lost her balance.

She cried out. She started to fall.

Brak is back! The blond barbarian continues his quest for far Khurdisan (typo'd as Khurdistan on the back cover) and finds himself drawn into more dark doings when he passes through a backwater kingdom that's under siege from a strange new horror. The local alchemist has disappeared, rumored murdered, and his daughter has been acting strangely since. The locals are gossiping that's she's in tune with evil forces, the very same that Brak has tangled with before - the outsider Yob-Haggoth, and where that squat devil-god appears Brak knows that his earthly minion the wizard Septegundus can't be far behind. The local king is weak and fading fast, his armies deserting, the people terrified. Can Brak's savage strength and cunning prevail?

Of course! But thanks to Jakes, we'll be on the edge of our seats the whole way through. Brak will tangle with monstrosities like the subterranean Manworm and Scarletjaw the Direwolf, as well as human treachery and greed as the Sorceress bribes followers with that ancient dream of lead into gold. Jakes has a way with monsters and black magic rites, making us feel the burning ichor, smell the rot, cringe at the obscene rituals ... but it isn't all blood and guts and hopelessness, as Brak meets another of those curious Nestorians, who worship their nameless god with a small stone cross. Ambrose the Pillarite has been asleep atop his rock spire, dreaming across the astral plane, when Brak stumbles into this cursed land. Jakes is working alongside August Derleth's recontextualisation of Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, wherein Christian or "Nestorian" practitioners can fight back against the encroaching darkness and chaos. Brak holds the Nestorians at arm's length throughout his adventures, and as often as not relies on his own godless barbarian skill. The climax features his quick thinking, his brute strength, and some Nestorian power in an assist. I'm happy to say that Brak makes for a dynamic hero and is easily a top tier Conan clone. His battle with the Manworm matches Robert E. Howard's own sublime action, albeit with a more day-glo, in-your-face genre savvy. There's more monsters I haven't spoiled, because Jakes' imagination delivers some pleasantly nasty surprises of a kind with his catfish creatures from Mark of the Demons.

Brak vs. the Sorceress must have been another crowd pleaser, because once again there's plenty of editions out.

The Tower Books edition is interesting in that it portrays the dread Manworm with some accurate details from the text, but has shrunk the poor creature down so small he's hardly a menace at all, and looks more like some kind of devilish frog! The real Manworm is a titan of terror, and the Star Books cover next to the Tower version at least gets the size and ferocity of the beast across. The Pocket Books edition that tops this entry is another fanciful cover, with a giant horned guy who isn't in the story at all. Jakes has a prefatory note where he remarks on the cover art for his Brak stories, but it doesn't cover this 1977 version. Meanwhile, the Paperback Library original from 1968 features a gorgeous Frazetta piece titled "Apparition." Here it is in full:

Brak's battle against the Sorceress and Septegundus earns him a solid 3/4 rating. Once again, get yourself Brak'd!

Pocket Books, 1977 (original pub. 1968)

BRAK VS. THE MARK OF THE DEMONS by John Jakes

Pain dazzled behind his eyes. Once more he retreated, seeking firm ground. The shale betrayed him again. He broke his fall with one elbow at the last instant. The bird-thing swiped at him with its talon. Brak hitched out of the way. The talon tore a hole in the earth where he'd been. 

Lying on his side, Brak struck the bird-thing's leg, struck again. Gristle parted. Ichor glistened between stringy fibers. The monster's weight collapsed its leg. 

Brak scrambled up, panting. The beak probed for his eyes. He jumped in the air. The beak shot between his legs. He came down astride it, the gray world tilting, whirling -

Conan, Kyrik, Tark, and now ... Brak the barbarian, a rangy blond warrior down from the north, locked in an endless trek for far Khurdisan. The foul wizard Septegundus has cursed him that he'll never reach his destination, and at the moment it seems the curse may prevail, for Brak is trapped in the trackless Logol wastes, an endless realm of shifting sands and the skin scouring Skulwind. Things get even worse when he rescues the weird twins Ky and Kya from a skeletal bird beast. They claim to be exiled nobility, but something about them puts Brak on edge. Soon enough they've joined with a ragged caravan ran by the trader Hadrios and his daughter Helane, and it should be smooth sailing to the city of Samarind, and then on to Khurdisan ...

And then the killing starts.

Alive with pleasure ... and terror!

Author John Jakes was a prolific writer, active in SF and fantasy while also finding mainstream success with his historical epic series The Kent Family Chronicles. 

This entry in Brak's ongoing adventures shows Jakes as a sure hand, ably mixing elements of horror with a solid swords and sorcery foundation. Brak is a tough customer, a tall blond fighter who wears a lion skin and a ponytail. He brooks no guff, but he's also polite enough when not tussling with assassins and brigands, and doesn't seem interested in courtly intrigue or lost treasures. He and Helane hit it off fast, and Brak proves a gentleman in his conduct with her. The supporting cast are well crafted, a good example being the "Nestorian" priest Pol who struggles with his faith even as he searches for answers to the demonic threat. Nestorianism is of course Jakes' fantasy interpretation of Christianity, just as the raiders of Quran belong to some kind of pre-Islamic Arabic city-state. Those fearsome Quran fighters all wear a red jewel in place of their left eyes, and Jakes excels at fantasy details like these. He gives us some creepy river critters too, some kind of catfish with little bug legs that take chunks out of our cast. I love this kind of swords and sorcery writing, with a fairly grounded world that is nevertheless beset by dark forces and filled with weird corners. The demon blood-eaters are a great portrayal of vampiric evil in a dark fantasy setting, and meanwhile our barbarian hero's nemesis Septegundus worships the dark entity Yob-Haggoth in an easy but effective Lovecraft pastiche that adds a cosmic dimension to Brak's struggle. When the unknown strikes, you can feel Brak and co's fear.

Jakes keeps the story moving fast, and before we know it Brak's battling the blood-eaters in the Red City of Quran, and things are looking grim indeed. The climax comes as a blend of classic peplum disaster and the apocalyptic butchery of the sci-fi/horror flick Lifeforce, as the city falls down around us and the blood-eaters are revealed in their truest horrific form. It's a nail biter down to the final page, and even then Jakes leaves us on a melancholy note.

Brak must have conquered the market, because this title has quite a few reprints with varying cover art. The Paperback Library original from 1969 (just above) is a pretty straightforward representation of elements from the story, while the 1977 edition from Pocket Books that tops this entry is in a strange, delicate style that adds generic fantasy imagery such as the alien beast that Brak's astride - in the story, everyone rides regular camels through the desert! The Sphere edition is pretty generic, while the Tower Books version at least gives us the killer bird beast (with friends!). The Sphere says this is Brak's third adventure, while the OG Paperback Library calls it number two. Oh those wacky Brits ...

Brak earns a full 4/4 in his high tension struggle against the demon blood-eaters! Get Brak'd!

Pocket Books, 1977 (original pub. 1969)