STEVE CARROLL WRITES

False Dawn  (1978)   by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro I first read False Dawn as a 16-year old thanks to my Science Fiction Book Club edition. Its grim nihilistic depiction of a post-apocalyptic America disturbed me greatly at the time; I was excited to revisit it as an adult to determine the cause. The answer came rushing back to me in the very first chapter as I was reintroduced to a brutal world of intense violence, rape, murder, mutants, and giant predatory water spiders. And all described in as muscular a style as possible.  Later in her career Yarbro would become synonymous with the ongoing Count Saint-Germain vampire series that drifts toward gothic romance. But that is far from what we have here as we follow our main characters, crossbow-wielding mutant Thea and former pirate-leader Evan, on a perilous journey through what’s left of America after wars, pollution, famine, and disease have poisoned everything and left both mutated wildlife and humanity in its wake.  They encounter bloodth

A Trap for Sam Dodge   (1961) by Harry Whittington Harry Whittington, sometimes referred to as “King of the   Pulps,” was an incredibly prolific writer, publishing over 200 novels,  mostly in the  crime ,  suspense ,   hardboiled , and  noir fiction  genres. Even   though  A Trap for Sam Dodge  is a   western, it still clearly adheres to the format of a classic  whodunit  mystery with an   everyman wrongfully   accused of a murder who must work alone to clear his name.  In this case, the   everyman is Sam Dodge who has returned to the town of   Bent River to attend the   funeral of its fast-gun sheriff, Miles Ringo, who was gunned down late at night   in the streets. Sam had a contentious relationship with   Ringo, having been his   prior deputy before a falling out over a woman sends Sam on to a hardscrabble   life as a rancher barely making ends meet. Upon his   arrival back to town, everyone   questions his motives.  But Sam Dodge has come to flush out the murderer of his   former f

Close Combat  (1969)   by Jack Ehrlich I recently discovered and developed a deep appreciation for author Jack Ehrlich through his remarkable western,  The Laramie River Crossing . Ehrlich writes hard-edged, gritty books with painfully realistic characters navigating tricky plots while fighting their own base desires for violence and moral decay.  Such is the case with  Close Combat, a Vietnam-set tale that starts off deceptively resembling a straight-up “men on a mission” war adventure. Our main character, J.J. Hogan, is hand-picked to lead a force into the jungles of Cambodia to destroy The Monster, a top-secret radar installation that is decimating US air power in the region. The task is likely a suicide mission, but critical to the US war machine. The catch is that every aspect of the mission has to remain deniable for the US government, whether successful or not.  This geopolitical hot-button issue fuels the second half of the book which veers significantly into unexpected territ

The First Blood  (1971)   by Lou Cameron Prolific author Lou Cameron wrote books in almost every niche of the men’s adventure spectrum. His lean, uncluttered style, coupled with casual profanity and violence is easily recognizable. Cameron served in Europe in the Army’s 2nd Armored Division during World War II and that experience infuses some sense of reality to  The First Blood , which is set during the African campaign of that war.  The “men on a mission” plot features a ragtag group of soldiers under the command of a suicidal lieutenant who are sent to take control of an ancient desert fortress currently under the control of French legionnaire forces in Algiers. They have 24 hours to accomplish this goal ahead of a Panzer tank column that must be delayed or stopped if at all possible.  The entire setup occurs within the first few pages and the mission is immediately underway. Things go badly right from the very beginning with our group dropping literally on top of the tank command a

Green River Rising (1994)   by Tim Willocks What if the warden of a huge Texas penitentiary were to go insane and not only incite a riot, but keep its existence hidden from governing authorities in an attempt to allow it to escalate and run its course in order to cleanse itself?  And what if an unjustly convicted man, who is set to be released the next day after the riot begins, suddenly finds himself trapped inside?  And what if that innocent man’s love interest is in the prison’s infirmary and no one knows she’s there as the worst criminal elements in that prison population do everything possible to break into that infirmary to kill its dying patients and have their way with her?  Green River Rising  is a genuine epic in every sense of the word. Despite a single setting and a palpable sense of claustrophobia, the intertwining stories of the inmates and how they each factor into the plot as it spins fatalistically toward its conclusion is a white-knuckle ride like no other. This is un

Runner  (1975) by Milar  Larsen (Lance Jensen) Lance Jensen (aka Milar Larsen) was a decorated World War II paratrooper (11th Airborne) who had four published books—two under the pen name of Milar Larsen and two more under his real name. His experience as a paratrooper in Europe comes through in every detail of  Runner . This book does an amazing job of placing the reader in the frozen forests of France and Belgium during Nazi occupation.  Our main character is 18-year old Jefferson Wainwright, a green recruit just arrived in the European battle theater prior to the Battle of the Bulge. It is through his eyes that we experience what separates this book and makes it unique: Sergeant Jay Runner, a full blood Dakota Sioux who doesn’t suffer fools, even when they are in command.  Runner is larger than life, bigoted, and seems to have stepped right out of the 19th century. He still lives according to Native American traditions and when his Army outfit is decimated in an attack and he is ord

Blood  Justice  (1964) by Gordon Shirreffs Gordon D. Shirreffs was a prolific writer, publishing 5 novels and 2 children’s books in 1964 alone.  Blood Justice  represents a more adult, less pulpy approach from other Shirreffs books I’ve read.  Jim Murdock was almost lynched in the town of Ute Crossing for a crime he didn’t commit and is returning to the town for the first time in years. As fate would have it, he arrives just as another lynching is underway and is forced to be a witness to the hanging of the 3 accused to ensure his silence. Everyone, including the town sheriff, is convinced of the trio’s guilt. There has even been a failed attempt to achieve a change of venue for the pending court trial to avoid just this very outcome due to the toxic atmosphere within the town toward the accused men.  The bulk of the book consists of Murdock on a self-imposed journey throughout the Southwest and into Mexico to notify the families of the lynched men of their fates. However, it quickly b

Spectros   #2: Hunt the Beast Down  (1981) by Logan Winters (Paul Lederer) Hunt the   Beast Down   is the second book in the Spectros series, focusing on a master   magician in the old west. Over the course of the series, the aged   Spectros is   continually chasing down the evil Blackshuster, a rival wizard who has kept our   main character’s lifelong love, Kristin, in suspended animation in a   crystal   coffin for decades.  In this addition to the series, Spectros has tracked   Blackshuster to the Oregon coast. Here the evil magician plans to loot a   shipwreck, hoping to obtain the   silver he needs to maintain Kristin’s comatose state. Spectros arrives with his   cohorts—dashingly handsome gunslinger Ray   Featherskill, the ageless Moor,   Inkada, and Montak, a mute hulking giant. Mixed into all of this is a female   ranch owner being forced off her land in order for   our villain and his   entourage to have unfettered access to the shipwreck.   Our heroes decide to help this love

The Bravos (1966) by Brian Wynne (Brian Garfield) Under the pen name of Brian Wynne, veteran author Brian Garfield (best known for Death Wish ) wrote a total of 8 westerns featuring Jeremy Six, marshal of the town of Spanish Flat. Lean and mean, The Bravos sketches in the basics of Jeremy Six in its opening pages as he tracks down and captures a killer wanted for murdering a woman back in Spanish Flat. We quickly learn that Marshal Six is methodical, calculating, and deadly with any form of gun.  He succeeds in subduing his man, but upon arrival back in town, Six is overpowered by a mob who lynch his prisoner. Six is so disgusted by this complete lack of respect for the law that he abandons his badge and Spanish Flat, embarking on a journey that ultimately is one of self-discovery and redemption as he tries to sort out his place in a world where the law has no value or respect.  He soon finds himself traveling toward the town of Rifle Gap with 2 unwanted companions, Rafferty, a newsp

Steve Carroll started reading very age-inappropriate books in elementary school and by the time he was 12 could be found with a men’s adventure paperback in his possession at all times and in every circumstance, usually reading 2-3 per week. Years have passed but these habits have remained. Steve now pastors a church, works in marketing and graphic design, and is deep into writing his first novel, a supernatural western titled "Redemption." Steve is the father of 2 girls and lives with his wife, 2 cats, and a hyperactive dog in a small town outside of Atlanta, GA where he enjoys being a grandfather even more than reading. He also apparently writes about himself in third person. At least for this short bio...