Book Review: Rough Trade

Celebrating Black History Month 2023

Book Review: 'Rough Trade' by Cole Riley

2 / 5 Stars

“That’s youth talking.” Benny Seven snatched the pipe from the woman. “Well, I’ll say this. Enjoy your youth now, girlie. It goes so fast. Soon there’ll come a time when you see a few wrinkles in your face and the gray hairs'll start creeping in. Your market value goes down if you know what I mean. Old age eases up on you little by little. Yes, sir, the clock is always running.”

Here at the PorPor Books Blog, we celebrate Black History Month by reading and reviewing nonfiction and fiction books that illuminate the black experience. We try to focus on books that are less well-known, and have lapsed into undeserved obscurity.

For Black History Month 2023, we're reviewing 'Rough Trade' (192 pp.), a 1987 mass-market paperback published by the pioneering black fiction publisher Holloway House. The cover artist is uncredited.

‘Rough Trade’ (320 pp.) in set in New York City in the late 1980s. As the novel opens, we are introduced to Velma and Claudia, two of the foxiest young chicks in East Harlem. 

Both women are enjoying the allure of the Street Life, but in the opening pages of ‘Rough Trade’, a meetup with a hustler leads to a confrontation with a group of ruthless thugs. Only an act of suicidal courage on Claudia’s part persuades the thugs to let Velma go free. 

Traumatized psychologically and physically by her treatment at the hands of the thugs and the death of her best friend, Velma finds herself drifting from place to place, and man to man, in a desperate search for well-being. The lure of drugs, with which she can self-medicate, leads Velma even further into decline. Even the well-meaning interventions of her sister Vandella, and her boyfriend Nick, fail to deter Velma from her wayward path.  

Just as Velma’s life reaches its lowest ebb, a troubling rumor comes to her ear, a rumor circulating around Harlem that a woman resembling the deceased Claudia is alive and well in the baddest part of town. 

Velma must make a deal with the odious pimp Benny Seven to learn the whereabouts of the Claudia lookalike………..Benny of course wants something in return, and he has tastes that shock even the street-hardened Velma. But as Velma will learn, nothing in her life has prepared her for the revelations that come with her search for Claudia…………

According to the Simon and Schuster ‘Author’ directory, ‘Cole Riley’ is the pseudonym used by:

‘……an innovative voice in urban literature, produced several early street classics: ‘Hot Snake Nights’, ‘Rough Trade’, ‘The Devil To Pay’, ‘The Killing Kind’, ‘Dark Blood Moon’, and more……. He lives and writes in New York City.’

‘Rough Trade’ isn’t a successful novel. It's an uneven, at times awkward, mix of hardcore ghetto mayhem with considerable exposition on personality crises and conflicts. 

While the opening and closing chapters are suitably harrowing, even displaying a Splatterpunk sensibility, the bulk of the narrative relies on melodrama, with Velma having emotionally laden conversations with her sister, with her boyfriend Nick, her mother, and her psychiatrist. Indeed, at times, ‘Rough Trade’ comes across as a ‘ghetto’ analogue to Judith Rossner’s 1983 psychiatric drama ‘August’.

Having to wade through so much angst, it was gratifying to arrive at the novel’s denouement and find it devoid of contrivance, but the final chapter comes across as a little too pat to be effective.

Summing up, if you are a devotee of the Holloway House catalog (entries in which are increasingly rarer, and more expensive, to acquire) and what could be called proto- Urban Fiction, then picking up a copy of 'Rough Trade' may be worth your while if you can find the book for a reasonable price.

Book Review: Fires of Azeroth

Book Review: 'Fires of Azeroth' by C. J. Cherryh

3 / 5 Stars

'Fires of Azeroth' (236 pp.) is DAW Book No. 341, and was published in June, 1979. It features cover art by Michael Whelan. 

This is the final volume in the so-called ‘Morgaine’ trilogy from C. J. Cherryh. The first volume in the trilogy is ‘Gate of Ivrel’ (1976), and the second, ‘Well of Shiuan’ (1978). 

These three volumes are available in the Nelson Doubleday / Science Fiction Book Club omnibus 'The Book of Morgaine' (1979) and the DAW omnibus ‘The Morgaine Saga’ (2001).

My review of 'Gate of Ivrel' is here.

 

My review of 'Well of Shiuan' is here.

 

As 'Fires' opens, our heroes Morgaine, and her long-suffering man-at-arms Vanye, have traveled through yet another star gate, this time, from the wretched world of Shiuan to the idyllic forested world of Azeroth.  

Of course, the series' villain Roh, along with one hundred thousand Shiuan soldiers intent on committing violence and mayhem, also passed through the gate before Morgaine could deactivate it. Thus Morgaine and Vanye have but little time to admire the bucolic landscape of Azeroth; they must find the country's rulers, a race of elvish people known as the arrhendim, and convince them to mobilize against the menace of the horde. Only the defeat of the horde will allow Morgaine to access, and close down, the master star gate on Azeroth. 

But the leaders of the arrhendim have known nothing but peace for well over a thousand years, and they are mistrustful when a female version of Elric of Melnibone appears before them, warning of the destruction of Azeroth unless fell magic, long since abandoned, is revived and used as a weapon.

Even as Morgaine and Vanye embark on their desperate quest to deter the Shiuan invaders long enough to mount a defense, the cause may be lost........for Roh knows as much, if not more, than Morgaine about the powers of the gate. And Roh has no scruples about using any and all means necessary to fulfill his sordid ambitions...........

I gave 'Fires' a three-star rating. The initial third of the novel, much like 'Well of Shuian', suffers from indolent pacing, as the author focuses rather laboriously on world-building and documenting the interactions between Morgaine, Vanye, and various new supporting characters. A plot device used throughout the trilogy, in which a dim-witted Vanye is captured by adversaires and must rely on guile and stratagems (related using long-winded dialogue passages) to gain freedom, evoked some exasperation in me. Indeed, much of the book revolves around verbal fencing matches, in which the participants vie to use the most elliptical and oblique verbiage available to them.

The final chapters of the novel, which finally advance the confrontation with the Shiuan horde and the desperate struggle to gain the master gate on Azeroth, bring some much-needed momentum back to the narrative and with it, justification for the reader's patience. I won't give out any spoilers, save to say that the ending of 'Fires' signals that Cherryh had ambitions - which were realized with her 1988 book 'Exile's Gate' - to write at least one more entry in the 'Morgaine' saga.

Summing up, those with a willingness to read a deliberately paced science fantasy, where character interactions are given primacy over plot development, may find 'Fires of Azeroth' rewarding and by extension, the 'Morgaine' trilogy.

International Dateline from National Lampoon

International Dateline
from National Lampoon, March 1976

Well, it's Valentine's Day, and thus, a good a time as any for some snide humor about looking for love. This is the 'International Dateline' column from the March, 1976 issue of National Lampoon. 

The Editorial page doesn't provide attribution for the column, so I don't know who wrote it, but whoever did, intended to offend.......

Playboy magazine February 1972

Playboy magazine February 1972

Let's take a trip back in time, 51 years, in fact, to February 1972. The latest issue of Playboy magazine is on the stands.

This 232-page issue is of course thick with advertising. We have ads for liquor (I've never had a 'vampire gimlet' ?), cologne (endorsed by Joe Namath !), an automobile by Datsun, a flared suit set from Lee, and Brylcreem's 'soft hair' spray.

A pictorial features the lissome blonde Angel Tompkins, who agrees to pose in a clear, running stream (that must have been freezing cold !).

Another blonde is the February Playmate, P. J. Lansing:

There is a short story by R. A. Lafferty, titled 'Rangle Dang Kaloof '.

There are the usual cartoons:

The 70s were known as the decade of self-absorption, and a feature in the February issue, titled 'Who Are We ?', certainly fits that paradigm........ a 'sensory awakening' to the accompaniment of bad, blank verse poetry.

We'll close with an ad for 8 track tapes from RCA. Surely there are some worthy selections in the mix........

And there you have it, magazine memories from long ago.........!

Stoner books, 1979

 Stoner books, 1979

'Yeah, man......that's a cool roach clip......thanks......<pffffttt>.........those are some trippy books, y'know ? I mean, how do you <pfffftttt> even pronounce, like, a word like, 'Mytho-', or whatever, I mean, man, how do you even pronounce it ? <pfffftttt>'

'I think 'Eschatus' is pronounced 'Ess-cat-USS', that's <pffftttt> what I think'.

'I think you're sp'osed to say <pffftttt> MYTH-O-PO-EE-KONN........yeah, that's how you say it'.

Book Review: Sos the Rope

Book Review: 'Sos the Rope' by Piers Anthony

5 / 5 Stars

'Sos the Rope' first appeared as a serial in the Summer of 1968 in the digest The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. This Pyramid Books paperback edition (157 pp.) was published in October, 1968, and features cover art by Jack Gaughan.

'Sos' is the first volume in the so-called 'Battle Circle' trilogy. The next volume in the series, 'Var the Stick', was published in 1972. My review is here. The third volume, 'Neq the Sword', was published in 1975. 

The first omnibus edition of Battle Circle was published by Avon Books in 1978, and features cover art of Sos by the UK artist Patrick Woodroffe:

'Sos' is set one thousand years after World War Three (referred to as 'the Blast') has devastated civilization. Nomadic tribes, enjoying a Bronze Age level of technology, wander what was the United States. A network of  technocrats, known as Crazies, maintain small settlements where nomads can, if they so desire, receive schooling, and take positions in maintaining the automated hostels that provide food, shelter, and clothing to the nomads.

The eponymous character is a sturdy young man who seeks status, and access to females, by engaging in combat in the battle circles that are scattered around the landscape. These have been established by the Crazies as a means of settling disputes through ritualized combat.

While he is dedicated to life as a nomad, Sos is considerably brighter than most of his peers, who are content to devote their earthly days to wandering, fighting, eating, copulating, and relieving themselves. Sos perceives that all is not quite what it seems, in terms of the maintenance of the post-apocalyptic society in which he is a participant. 

When Sos meets a talented warrior named Sol, the two form an alliance, one that seeks to fashion the nomad tribes into a nascent 'empire'. However, the alliance is complicated by the clandestine romance between Sos and Sol's wife, an alluring woman named Sola. 

When emotions come to a head, Sos find himself set upon a different path, one that will reveal to him the machinations underlying the world of the nomads and the Crazies.........and leave him as the deciding factor in whether that arrangement continues.........

By the standards of its time, 'Sos' was a five-star novel and it holds up very well today, more than 50 years after publication. The book's short length means the narrative has little room for digressions, the plot stays focused, characterizations are concise, and the portrayal of the postapocalyptic society of the battle circle provided in an economical, but adequate, manner.

It's interesting to compare 'Sos' with another of Piers Anthony's novels from 1968, 'Omnivore'. I found Omnivore to be an utter dud: turgid, self-indulgent, boring. It's hard to believe one author could produce two such different novels. My recommendation ? Skip Anthony's 'Of Man and Manta' novels, of which Omnivore is the first installment, and stick with the Battle Circle trilogy.

More paperbacks from the UK

More Paperbacks from the UK
February 2023

Here in Central Virginia, when a cold front moves through in the Winter, we tend to get temperatures in the mid - to - upper 30s F, and rain instead of snow. It makes for a dreary day best spent indoors, which means I have too much time on my hands to go online and order paperbacks from the UK. 

I recently got a set of Corgi and Sphere Books sci-fi ('Neq the Sword', 'Death Sport', 'The Himalayan Concerto'), some suspense / crime ('Harry's Game', 'The Glory Boys', 'The Marksman', and 'Target: Amin'), and even some vintage NEL Sleaze ('The First Victorian') on this go-round. 

And Spring still is a couple months away...............ahhhgggggg............

Book Review: Gentleman of Leisure: A Year in the Life of A Pimp

Celebrating Black History Month 2023

Book Review: 'Gentleman of Leisure' 

by Susan Hall and Bob Adelman

New American Library, 1972

Here at the PorPor Books Blog, we celebrate Black History Month by reading and reviewing nonfiction and fiction books that illuminate the black experience. We try to focus on books that are less well-known, and have lapsed into undeserved obscurity.

For Black History Month 2023, we're reviewing 'Gentleman of Leisure: A Year in the Life of A Pimp' (192 pp.), published by the New American Library in 1972. It's a hardbound book, printed on thick paper stock.

Robert Melvin Adelman (1930 – 2016) was a photojournalist who was best known for documenting the civil rights movement of the 1960s. He later expanded his coverage to professional sports and urban living, publishing photoessays on those subjects.

Coauthor Susan Hall, a filmmaker and author, is alive and well. Her books include 'On and Off the Street' (1970), 'Ladies of the Night' (1973) (which also deals with the urban demimonde) and 'Down Home, Camden, Alabama' (1974).

A 2017 interview with Bob Adelman, conducted shortly before his death, is available at the Rialto Report. The interview revealed that 'Silky', the star of the book, was still alive and hustling at that time.

'Gentleman' is a photoessay that deals with the day-to-day life of Silky, and some of the girls in his stable: Sandy, Kitty, Linda, Tracey, and Lois. The book intersperses its sections of photographs with text interviews with Silky, his fellow pimps, and the girls. 

We learn that Silky prefers to have white women in his stable because black women have too much drama, and are less pliable.

Silky is of course delighted to be the subject of attention and the book presents his philosophies regarding hustling, pimping, and life in general. 

Playing a major role in the pursuit of The Game are its physical accoutrements: the latest and flyest clothing, and the finest of rides. A pimp who does not Represent in style is on the downward curve.

Contrary to the usual trope of pimps keeping order in their stable through the direct application of force, Silky relies on financial rewards, and displays of affection, to persuade his girls to work for him. It seems that there is no shortage of women willing to take up prostitution; indeed, Silky is constantly cycling girls into and out of his stable and bemoans the effort required to tend to so many 'employees'.

The girls are enigmatic. It's not clear how much of what they tell Susan Hall is honest and forthright, but at least superficially, they have no regrets about their choice of profession and their reliance on Silky. It's the girls that offer observations on events carefully withheld by Silky; for example, we learn from them that he was serious injured in a fight with a rival pimp, to the extent of needing plastic surgery. 

'Gentlemen' closes with a Glossary, a vital source of information for anyone contemplating writing a novel or screenplay dealing with the street scene in New York City in the early 1970s:

'Gentleman' is an interesting look at an urban subculture in its heyday in the 1970s, a subculture mythologized in the novels of Iceberg Slim and referenced by modern-day rappers like Snoop Dogg. Understandably, because they wanted access to Silky and his stable, Hall and Adelman carefully avoid passing judgment on the pimping enterprise, and covering its more unsavory aspects. And no doubt, Silky and the girls presented themselves in the best possible light to Hall and Adelman. These aspects of the interaction between chroniclers and subject will of course need to be held in mind while perusing the pages of 'Gentleman'.

Copies of the book, in good condition, can be had for under $20. But if you are interested in obtaining a copy, I would act sooner, rather than later, as the price for even a marginal copy inevitably is going to rise.

Mickey Rat

Mickey Rat

by Robert Armstrong

from Mickey Rat, No. 3 (1980)

The horror of coming home from vacation to find that, in your absence, you've had a most unwanted visitor..........

Alternative Comics in 1970s New York City

'A Personal Journey Through the World of Alternative Comics in 1970s New York City'

by Michael Gonzalez

A very entertaining article at the 'CrimeReads' website. 

Michael Gonzalez was 13 years old when, in 1977, he bought his very first issue of Heavy Metal magazine, an action that, over the ensuing two years, inspired him to try and publish his own sci-fi comic magazine. Gonzalez touched base with many of the comic world's illuminaries in his journey (he even telephoned and talked with Leonard Mogel !).

A great reminiscence of an important era in American comics and graphic art. Even though some of the art stars Gonzalez dealt with were pricks...........!

(link to CrimeReads courtesy of the 'We Are the Mutants' Twitter feed)