Making Good from Bad
I don’t tag books as “entertaining.” I prefer “illuminating.” Maybe that simply reflects the ones I choose to read. I’m usually disappointed by mysteries and thrillers, although I’ve read a few that rise above the standard genre level because of the light they shine on the human condition. Charlie Huston’s Six Bad Things contains only a bit of existential angst, but it is highly entertaining. It is the second novel of a trilogy. The protagonist, Hank Thompson, is living in the Yucatan peninsula, sitting on 4.5 million bucks he stole from the Russian mob. He has been profiled on America’s Most Wanted after killing six men who massacred friends in NYC. He has a tattoo mark on one of his arms for each of his victims. He is tracked down by a young maverick of Russian descent out only for himself. This prompts a violent odyssey that takes him back to his hometown near Oakland, and eventually to Vegas. His goal is to protect his parents, buy their safety by returning the money. It’s a first person account chock full of pop references and jargon, most of which I understood. I was rivetted despite reservations. He has been on the lam three years — why haven’t his parents been used as pawns much earlier? Maybe the fact that he has not been located, that there is nowhere to send a message to, resolves that. The second point involves the young man who has found him. Obviously intelligent, knowing Thompson’s past, why would he allow himself to be alone with him, unarmed? The third factor is a car crash never explained. Maybe I missed something. This is another work that eschews quotations marks to denote dialogue, instead using an dash at the beginning of a sentence, to which I immediately adjusted. But I wished he’d used an ellipsis to denote spoken hesitancy. It often seems a word is missing, as if the editor was negligent. Despite all that, I loved the book. Huston, 53, is in the midst of a great run. He prefers to be considered a writer of “pulp” rather than “noir,” which doesn’t really matter, as his talent is obvious. Here’s the last few sentences of a long paragraph of dialogue spoken by a young man who has experienced his first kill: “…We’re just animals. So why shouldn’t some of us be killers? Why can’t that be just what makes some of us who we are? So I really think you may not be right, and killing people isn’t “wrong.” It’s just a thing some people do.” Huston has written nine other novels and done extensive work for Marvel comics and its imprints. He worked as a producer on the Gotham TV series and wrote three episodes. He also has contributed 20 scripts to a show titled Powers, with which I’m unfamiliar. While scanning his credits at IMDb, I was pleased to note that the first book of the trilogy, Caught Stealing, may be headed to the big screen. 104 users at Amazon have rated Six Bad Things, forging to a consensus of 4.4 on a scale of five. I’ll go with 3.5. Although I would not characterize it as an easy read, the 305 pages of the large paperback edition read like a lot less. (Facts also from Wiki) Here’s the author:
I’m not sure I’d ever seen a movie listed at IMDb rated as low as 3.5. That is the case with Time Walker (1982), which ran last night on Movies!, channel 5–2 on ota in NYC. It’s the story of a mummy unearthed from King Tut’s tomb. As expected, it soon comes to life and wreaks havoc. Although the dialogue is often faulty, I like that the plot veers from films of the genre. Ben Murphy stars as the archaeologist. He, of course, is best known for the TV series Alias Smith and Jones, which lasted two seasons, ‘71-’73. A couple of other members of the cast were vaguely familiar. I was surprised that just about all the major principals had at least a decent career. The director and writers did not. As the movie ends a message pops up on the screen: “To Be Continued.” It wasn’t. Here’s a still:
An unsurprising headline from newsmax.com: “FBI: Record Gun Buying Hits 16th Straight Month.” With cops hamstrung throughout America, it seems people are opting for self defense.
Got the first Phizer shot today. So far no side effects.
It was a beautiful day for selling stuff curbside. My thanks to the ladies who bought seven books in Russian between them, and to actor-singer JVS, who purchased the novella I wrote during my three-month lockdown, Class of ’67. We had a little fun making a couple of brief videos about his quirky penchant for sneakers, high sweat socks, and being knocked out. It was great seeing him in the flesh again.
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