Book Review: Damon

Book Review: 'Damon' by C. Terry Cline, Jr.

1 / 5 Stars

 

'Damon' first was published in 1975 by G. P. Putnam's Sons. Fawcett Crest issued this mass-market paperback edition in 1975.

 

The premise of 'Damon' is simple: a four year-old boy is a Bad Seed. The novel documents his transgressions, along with efforts by his caretakers to determine if the boy's behaviors are of pathological, or supernatural, origin.

 

In the novel's opening passages we are introduced to Damon Daniels, the only child of high-achieving parents Melba and Edward. Damon's family lives in a nice home in a rural area outside Decatur, Georgia. We learn that Damon has a high IQ, along with some peculiar traits: he can read minds, and he can cause rose bushes to wither and die with a simple gesture. His parents, dumbfounded by their son's behavior, consult with eminent psychiatrist Kyle Burnette. 

 

Burnette subjects the rather truculent Damon to a variety of physiological and psychological tests and assays. These reveal a 'hormonal imbalance,' a condition which may explain the boy's predisposition to certain shocking behaviors. Burnette observes that Damon regularly lapses into catatonia, during which he displays the voice and mannerisms of adult male, in particular, an aggressive, sex-obsessed, and malevolent male.

 

Is this a case of demonic possession, a la 'The Exorcist' ? Author Cline surely was aware that he was treading on well-known fictional ground by proceeding in such a direction. Accordingly, the narrative in 'Damon' distances itself from 'Exorcist' territory by evading the supernatural, and instead dithering through clinical and diagnostic activities. These are related with a pedantic attitude, much in the manner of a Michael Crichton novel. 

Interspersed with the medical discourses and lengthy conversations between Damon and his psychiatrist, are episodes in which Damon Behaves Badly. Even by the relaxed, 'groovy' sensibility of the 70s, these have a disturbing quality and plainly are designed by author Cline to emulate, and even surpass the transgressive sensibilities of 'The Exorcist.' Indeed, I doubt any modern-day publisher would agree to publish 'Damon' unless some of the content is removed. As the back cover blurb, attributed to Publisher's Weekly, states: 

If The Exorcist contained its fair share of shocks, sexual and supernatural, Damon outdoes it.

   

By the final fourth of 'Damon,' even the titillation of shapely Nurse Betty Biting the Pillow starts to pall, and boredom sets in. I anticipated that author Cline would have a contrived, underwhelming denouement in store. Without disclosing spoilers, that is exactly what the novel delivers ! The denouement is dumb.

 

Is 'Damon' a must-have for collectors of Paperbacks from Hell ? Decidedly, no. Its one of those novels where its transgressive qualities only can ropel the narrative so far, for so long, before the plotting stalls and sputters. It's a One-Star novel.

 

For another review of the book (contains spoilers) from another underwhelmed reader, I direct readers to the Trash Fiction Champion blog.

Summer Magic 2000 A.D.

  

'Summer Magic: The Complete Journal of Luke Kirby'

2000 A.D., 2017

The character of Luke Kirby, boy wizard, was introduced in 'Prog' 571, April 23, 1988, of the UK comic 2000 A.D. The initial series, printed in black-and-white, was titled 'Summer Magic,' and written by Alan McKenzie, with artwork by John Ridgway.

 

The series is set in the UK in 1962. When his mother becomes ill, Luke is sent to live with his Uncle Elias for the summer. Elias lives in 'Lunstead,' in the country, and its bucolic setting seems (at first) to be placid and peaceful.

Luke soon discovers that Uncle Elias is a practitioner of magic, and Elias teaches Luke some 'alchemy' involving the transmutation of metals. Luke also learns that wild animals have been attacking the sheep at Brock's Farm. Joining the men folk on a night-time hunting trip, Luke has an alarming encounter with the 'beast' responsible for attacking the sheep:

Further confrontations with the dark forces haunting the woodlands bring a loss of life, and revelations about his family, that show Luke a path forward to being a wizard in command of strange powers and abilities. But these powers have their costs, and can corrupt the unwary.....

Other story arcs, first published in 2000 A.D. in the mid-to-late 1990s, see Luke investigating rumors of vampires ('The Night Walker'), those unfortunates who are trapped in the depths of Hell ('Sympathy for the Devil'), and strange goings-on in places of myth and magic ('Old Straight Track'). Interspersed with these adventures are several shorter, one-shot stories.

Starting with 'The Night Walker' in 1992, the series was printed in full color, using a 'retro' palette designed to evoke the color schemes used in the British boy's papers of the 1950s and 1960s.

 

With 'Sympathy for the Devil' (1993) and following stories, Ridgway was replaced as artist by Steve Parkhouse, whose art decidedly is more 'cartoony.' In my opinion, Parkhouse's art (below) is less effective than Ridgway's carefully rendered line work.

Blurbs about Harry Potter aside, in the Luke Kirby episodes, Alan McKenzie's scripting is much darker than the Rowling franchise. British media in the horror and suspense genres, intended for what is nowadays called the 'young adult' (YA) readership, historically tends to be grimmer and more sophisticated than its American counterparts (i.e., R. L. Stine's 'Goosebumps' franchise).

The 'Night Walker' storyline, in particular, aims, and succeeds, in communicating an atmosphere of grim and disturbing things taking place in suburban neighborhoods.

Aside from ardent 2000 A.D. fans, who will want a copy of 'Summer Magic' ? The series' deliberate pacing, and its carefully tended evocation of the UK of 60 years ago, likely will be underappreciated by modern-day YA readers. However, adults who appreciate a 'classic' approach to horror and the supernatural will find the book rewarding.

Penthouse and Omni October 1978

Penthouse and the Launch of Omni

October, 1978

October, 1978, and atop the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart we find the band Exile with their unusual amalgamation of country and disco, 'Kiss You All Over.'  Also in the top Five are A Taste of Honey, with their disco hit 'Boogie Oogie Oogie.' Album oriented rock is represented by Boston and their single 'Don't Look Back.'

The October issue of Penthouse magazine is on the stands, and publisher Bob Guccione has dedicated much of this issue to promoting the release of a new magazine, Omni, this same month. Formerly titled Nova (it was dropped to avoid confusion with the PBS television show), Omni was to provide 'science fiction and science fact' to the discerning reader.

 

 

While Guccione didn't explicitly mention it, Omni was to be run by his girlfriend, Kathy Keeton. Keeton was of course still in charge of Viva, Guccione's attempt to mimic Playgirl. While Viva would be cancelled in 1980, Keeton was much more successful in helming Omni, which was published until 1996.

 

This October issue of Penthouse had a lengthy article, 'Science Fiction Fever,' by journalist Tom Nolan. The article covers the science fiction boom then sweeping the popular culture. It's a good overview of a transformed genre, and illuminates the impact the success of Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind had on science fiction and its foremost practitioners. 

Nolan presents some interesting observations on the genre as it was in 1978:

 

• Star Wars merchandising sales are expected to reach the $200 million mark by the end of 1978.

• Starlog magazine has a circulation of 500,000 (for comparison, in October 1972 Good Housekeeping had a circulation of 5,601,207, and True Confessions, 442,111).

• Robert Silverberg is "....mulling over a six-figure offer to return to the typewriter" (presumably this was the impetus for his 1980 novel 'Lord Valentine's Castle').  

• Bantam Books has sold a total of around 17 million Ray Bradbury paperbacks.

• Frederik Pohl estimates there are about 2 million dedicated readers of sci-fi in the USA.

• Nancy Neiman with Avon Books estimates that the average print run for a science fiction paperback is 60,000 to 75,000 copies, as compared to 40,000 "a few years ago."

•  Some 2,000 science fiction courses are being taught at approximately 60,000 high schools and colleges nationwide.

• Joe R. Haldeman's 1977 novel 'Mindbridge' set a record when its paperback rights were sold for $100,000.

 

The October issue of Penthouse features an excerpt from the forthcoming Anthony ('Clockwork Orange') Burgess novelette, '1985.'

According to Burgess, '1985' was intended to be a sort of sequel to George Orwell's novel '1984.' In Burgess's novelette, the UK is in sad shape. Mass migration by third worlders means the London streets are ruled by 'cocoa-colored youth' who rob, rape, and kill with impunity. Arab ownership of the British government means that the call to prayer sounds throughout the city and the bars serve only soft drinks, and no bacon.

There are perpetual strikes, one of which - by the firemen's union - has caused the death of the wife of the protagonist, a 40 year-old man named Bev Jones. As the excerpt ends, Jones has lost his job due to going to work despite his union's implementation of a strike. Jones finds refuge in an abandoned factory off Hammersmith Broadway, with a cohort of men in similar straits, who are hoping that British society will collapse and allow them to regain some measure of power.

'1985' reads very presciently, here and now in 2025...........

 

Elsewhere in the issue we have an advertisement for the film Midnight Express, starring Brad Davis. One of the more impressive films released that year.

There is an interview with Leonard Nimoy. No real revelations or provocations here, Nimoy stays in character, so to speak, as he has been involved in filming the Star Trek feature film (a film whose production was so troubled it would be another year, until December 1979, before it would be released). Nimoy coyly avoids mentioning that he only agreed to do Star Trek: The Motion Picture because Paramount gave him a pot of money to settle Nimoy's dispute over residuals from the TV series. Nimoy also insisted on having script approval over the feature film.

 

We've got a risque cartoon in this October issue...........

 

And, of course, a Penthouse Pet portfolio ! Our Pet for October 1978 is the lissome, Paris-born Veronique de Valdene. I can't say that the inclusion of clothes, boots, blankets, and other accoutrements brings all that much to the portfolio, but that's how Bob Guccione wanted things.

 

 

 

 

And thus we say goodbye to Penthouse, Omni, and that October of 1978, 47 years ago............

Book Review: Alfred Hitchcock Presents Stories to Be Read With the Door Locked

Book Review: 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories to Be read With the Door Locked'

4 / 5 stars

 

'Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories to Be Read With the Door Locked' (368 pp.) was published by Random House in 1975. A two-volume, mass-market paperback edition was issued by Dell in 1977.

As is sometimes the case with these Alfred Hitchcock properties, it's unclear who actually edited this anthology (needless to say, it wasn't Hitchcock). Harold Q. Masur is acknowledged as assisting with the preparation of the book.

 

I was expecting good things from 'Door Locked,' which compiles stories first printed in various magazines and digests from the early 1940s to the early 1970s. There are some big names published here, including Harlan Ellison, Roald Dahl, John D. MacDonald, Joseph Payne Brennan, and Joe Gores, among others. The collection is a mix of the crime, suspense, and horror genres.

 

My capsule summaries of the contents:

 

Hijack, by Robert L. Fish: crime at 25,000 feet. First published in Playboy in August, 1972, this is a brilliant little tale, and one of the best in the anthology.

 

Tomorrow and ... Tomorrow, by Adobe James: 'Adobe James' was the pseudonym of the American writer James Moss Cardwell (1926 – 1990), who had his short stories published in a variety of magazines and anthologies during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. James's 1965 story 'The Road to Mictlantecutli' is one of my top horror stories. 'Tomorrow' is brief, just 2 1/2 pages long, but it's a well-composed thriller set on the city's meaner streets.

 

Funeral in Another Town, by Jerry Jacobson: arrogant and privileged mystery writer Amis Bannerman is given an invitation for a funeral......of a failed horror magazine. This story is too overdone to be very effective.

 

A Case for Quiet, by William Jeffrey: nestled among the moors of Yorkshire, the Kings Head Hotel is a very placid hostelry. And they intend to keep it that way. This is the quintessential Alfred Hitchcock tale: well-written, well-plotted, and urbane. With a note of mayhem that is concealed, until emerging at the proper moment.

 

A Good Head for Murder, by Charles W. Runyon: American couple Gordon and Ann Phelps are driving an unreliable car, late at night, through a remote area of Mexico. This is not a good idea......

The Invisible Cat, by Betty Ren Wright: a well-plotted tale about a psychopathic killer menacing a small town.

 

Royal Jelly, by Roald Dahl: Albert Taylor's wife, Mabel, is distraught over the failure of the couple's infant to thrive. What is a beekeeper to do ? A classic Dahl tale, where a careful reading reveals brilliant little bits of subversion......

Light Verse by Isaac Asimov: a 'robot' story, about a dowager who makes intriguing 'light sculptures.'

 

The Distributor, by Richard Matheson: when the seemingly benign Theodore Gordon moves into your 'hood, bad things start to happen. This story, first published in 1958 in Playboy, is based on the premise that white, middle-class suburbanites inherently are violent racists......

How Henry J. Littlefinger Licked the Hippies' Scheme to Take Over the Country by Tossing Pot in Postage Stamp Glue, by John Keefauver: first published in the National Review, a magazine of conservative ideology, this is a slight fable about dirty, longhaired, unwashed, dope-smoking hippies trying to take over the USA. It has not aged well.

 

The Leak, by Jacques Futrelle: this story first saw publication in 1907. It's about financier J. Morgan Grayson, who consults with the amazing detective Professor Augustus S. F. X Van Dusen, aka 'the Thinking Machine.' The premise relies on technologies from over a century ago and, inevitably, is dated...........Futrelle is famous for giving up his seat on a Titanic lifeboat to his wife; he died when the ship went under.

 

All the Sounds of Fear, by Harlan Ellison: Method Actor Richard Becker wins praise for his roles, but this comes with a cost. A 1962 story from Ellison that is too overwritten and melodramatic to be effective.

 

Little Foxes Sleep Warm, by Waldo Carlton Wright: it's a hard and hungry winter in 1806 Vermont, and Ezra Durham believes he's found a way to survive until spring. A subtle, but impactful, little story.

 

The Graft Is Green, by Harold Q. Masur: a venerable judge is dead; were crooked union members involved ? A competent, but not particularly remarkable, whodunit.

View by Moonlight, by Patricia McGerr: a mild tale about a spy and the need for clandestine action. There is a female protagonist.

 

There Hangs Death !, by John D. MacDonald: Dr. Hilber is dead, and under most suspicious circumstances. MacDonald was better off doing private eye tales, than this variant on the locked-room mystery.

 

Lincoln's Doctor's Son's Dog, by Warner Law: this story first saw print in the March, 1970 issue of Playboy. It's a 'shaggy dog' (do people still use that term ?!) story set in 1865 Springfield, Illinois.

Coyote Street, by Gary Brandner: Brandner is perhaps best known for his Paperbacks from Hell, but he also was a successful crime writer. 'Coyote' is set in early 70s Los Angeles, where a private eye is hired by an attractive Latina who has some 'family issues.'

 

Zombique, by Joseph Payne Brennan: Tyler Marinson acquires an artifact of Haitian design. Like all such trinkets, it has its sinister side.........

 

The Pattern, by Bill Pronzini: A mild mannered man claims to have committed murder. The surprise ending works reasonably well.

 

Pipe Dream, by Alan Dean Foster: from the mid-50s to the early 1970s, Playboy magazine pushed the idea that older men who smoked pipes were irresistable to younger women. Shapely young actress Emma meets such a man. A good story from Foster, better known for his sci-fi prose.

Shottle Bop, by Theodore Sturgeon: the first-person narrator is a first-class loser, barely making his way through the world. But on a chilly, late Autumn day, stopping in at a strange little store in New York City provides him with a new path. Nowadays, this 1941 novelette would be labeled an 'urban fantasy.'

 

The Magnum, by Jack Ritchie: an elderly man needs assistance with a bottle of champagne. Another little gem of a 'surprise ending' story.

 

Voices in the Dust, by Gerald Kersh: the first-person narrator insists on visiting the ruined city, far off in the desert, that the locals shun as a Bad Place. Is their fear justified ? An atmospheric horror tale from author Kersh.

 

The Odor of Melting by Edward D. Hoch: a rescue at sea has profound implications for mankind. A neat little tale from veteran crime fiction writer Hoch.

 

The Sound of Murder, by William P. McGivern: murder on the Orient Express. The mechanisms of why and wherefore overwhelm the story.

 

 

The Income Tax Mystery by Michael Gilbert: a very British, very proper mystery about a solicitor whose income likely comes from illicit sources.

 

Watch for It by Joseph N. Gores: the San Francisco Bay area, the early 1970s, and a cell of Marxist revolutionaries are intent on rescuing a colleague captured by the 'pigs.' A well-plotted story from Gores, with a sharp little denouement.

 

The Affair of the Twisted Scarf by Rex Stout: a drawing-room mystery featuring Nero Wolfe. I never have been at all interested in these types of stories, and the trite, cutesy prose that dominates this novelette (at one point Wolfe's right-hand man Archie Goodwin uses the phrase, 'I yooped') left me with little desire to explore the genre further.

 

Summing things up, this particular Hitchcock anthology emphasizes crime and suspense over sci-fi and horror. It does have its share of duds - the Rex Stout piece being the most prominent of these - but in the balance, the good stories outweigh the bad ones, so I'm going to settle on a Rating of Four Stars.