Search Results for: "discovering robert e. howard"

A (Black) Gat in the Hand: REH’s Swords of Shahrazar

“You’re the second guy I’ve met within hours who seems to think a gat in the hand means a world by the tail.” – Phillip Marlowe in Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep (Gat — Prohibition Era term for a gun. Shortened version of Gatling Gun) Back in 2022, I covered three different Pulp genres of Robert E. Howard. The third looked at one of my REH favorites – the Adventure Pulps. I talked about Kirby O’Donnell’s “Gold from Tartary.” You…

Read More Read More

What I’ve Been Listening To: August (II) 2024

I posted last week about several audiobooks I’ve been listening to. Audiobooks totally fit in with my lifestyle (to the extent I have one). I can listen to them while working, driving, writing, falling asleep, walking outside, and even watching soccer which I’m not too invested in. I wouldn’t get to a lot of the stuff I listen to, if I had to read it. I mean, you have never heard such caterwauling as the folks in the carpool when…

Read More Read More

What I’ve Been Listening To: August, 2024

A (Black) Gat in the Hand takes another week off, as I’ve continued listening to audiobooks daily. Last month I talked about some of my Audible choices. Whether I’m working, writing, driving, or trying to fall asleep, I am often listening to an audiobook. Often it’s a repeat, so my attention doesn’t have to be focused. But also, new things I wouldn’t get to otherwise. EGIL & NIX – Paul S. Kemp My Dungeons & Dragons-playing middle-school self devoured Elric,…

Read More Read More

A (Black) Gat in the Hand: Richard Deming’s Manville Moon

“You’re the second guy I’ve met within hours who seems to think a gat in the hand means a world by the tail.” – Phillip Marlowe in Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep (Gat — Prohibition Era term for a gun. Shortened version of Gatling Gun)   Richard Deming’s career flourished during the end of the Pulps and the birth of the digests. He published short stories in five different decades. After serving in World War II, he was working for…

Read More Read More

A (Black) Gat in the Hand: Hammett & ‘The Girl with the Silver Eyes’ (My intro)

“You’re the second guy I’ve met within hours who seems to think a gat in the hand means a world by the tail.” – Phillip Marlowe in Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep (Gat — Prohibition Era term for a gun. Shortened version of Gatling Gun)   Pulp Fest took place last week in Pittsburgh. It’s a really cool event, and the Hilton Doubletree is a nice site. Steeger Books rolls out its summer line at this event. And for the…

Read More Read More

A (Black) Gat in the Hand: Paul Cain’s ‘Fast One’ (My intro)

“You’re the second guy I’ve met within hours who seems to think a gat in the hand means a world by the tail.” – Phillip Marlowe in Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep (Gat — Prohibition Era term for a gun. Shortened version of Gatling Gun) Last year, Steeger Books put out its first deluxe edition hardback, containing all of Paul Cain’s short stories, as well as his lone novel, Fast One. I wrote the intro for Fast One, which is…

Read More Read More

What I’ve Been Listening To: July, 2024

It’s a week off from A (Black) Gat in the Hand, as I am currently reading Pulp, but except for the constant revisiting of Norbert Davis’ Max Latin, I’m not listening to it (though The Continental Op is on tap). I am constantly listening to audiobooks. I’m fortunate that my mind can multi-task, and I listen to them while driving, working, writing, when I go to sleep at night. It lets me get to things I wouldn’t have time to…

Read More Read More

A (Black) Gat in the Hand: 7 Upcoming Attractions

“You’re the second guy I’ve met within hours who seems to think a gat in the hand means a world by the tail.” – Phillip Marlowe in Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep (Gat — Prohibition Era term for a gun. Shortened version of Gatling Gun) My life gets crazy busy in July, and stays busy to Christmas, when I get a break. It’s a task to get my planned weekly column done. Which can shift the ‘current one’ into ‘in…

Read More Read More

A (Black) Gat in the Hand: Hardboiled Manila – Jo Gar

“You’re the second guy I’ve met within hours who seems to think a gat in the hand means a world by the tail.” – Phillip Marlowe in Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep (Gat — Prohibition Era term for a gun. Shortened version of Gatling Gun) Several hardboiled books were not actually novels at the start. They were multi-part serials in the Pulp magazines of the day. Perhaps the most famous of these is Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon, which ran…

Read More Read More

A (Black) Gat in the Hand: John D. MacDonald’s ‘Ring Around the Redhead’

“You’re the second guy I’ve met within hours who seems to think a gat in the hand means a world by the tail.” – Phillip Marlowe in Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep (Gat — Prohibition Era term for a gun. Shortened version of Gatling Gun) I’m putting the finishing touches on my long-delayed Jo Gar essay. But I realized I’ve not talked about my all-time favorite author yet here in A (Black) Gat in the Hand. I have written about…

Read More Read More