Alternate Endings – I’ve enjoyed John Ostrander’s work on the Spectre and Suicide Squad for many years. Watching him tackle Carl was an equal pleasure. The entire story basically turned on one page and Carl’s skill as a reporter. No monsters (except for Roger), no disbelieving cops, just Carl. I guess this is the story that took the Silver.
AND – I love a good werewolf story and was disappointed to see the furry antagonist disappear so quickly although using a silver-plated dessert tray is genius! It turned out that Dave Ulanski had something much stranger in store for us. A hulking monster that kills on the off-beat. This has got to be the strangest killer I think Carl has ever faced, sort of. Thanks Dave!
Brief Encounter – Pierce Askegren sends Carl for a walk into The Twilight Zone. It was a nice little jaunt though and I believe this is the only tale in the book that left me with a warm, rather than grim, smile as I finished. If Carl ever does make it back, I hope he runs into a former flame from Las Vegas.
I told y'all it wasn't going to take 350 days.
Ticktock
Pirate’s Blood – A beautiful wench, a 200 year-old curse and a shanghaied Carl. Pierce Askegren laid out a nice tale for us and I thought it was rather smart to have Carl try to explain away how he got so brave all of a sudden. I have to wonder if he (Carl) believes that if he ever does accept his role in all of this madness, he will just simply be consumed by it; giving up that last, thin tie to even the hope of a normal life someday.
Until Tomorrow – Again, a story with no monsters, just personal demons. Very nice peek into Carl’s past without upsetting anything we already know, believe or hope. Thanks also to Joe for alluding to just how long Tony has been a part of Carl’s life; both personal and professional.
Ticktock
Call Me Sam – Carl and the ghost of Dashiell Hammett. I thought at first this was going to be a story about Bogie and then the author just ups the smooth quotient and makes the story twice as cool. The Night Stalker has pretty much been his own genre, but Mr. Randisi wrote a really nice noir tale here for Carl. For anyone who hasn’t read it yet, I suggest sitting down with a single malt whiskey, neat.
Cancellation – If any man (other than Jeff Rice) should be able to poke fun at Carl or the Night Stalker mythology and get away it, that guy is Mark Dawidziak. There were a few good shots at the X-Files of course and any appearance by Professor Kirsten Helms is always welcome. As with many episodes and comic books, defeating the monster comes down to Carl’s chutzpah, not his martial skills. Comparing Falmont to Skorzeny and Malcolm was a nice touch.
My very belated compliments to Moonstone. The list of authors has some of the most amazing talents from the last 30 years in the science fiction, horror, fantasy and detective genres. I’m not sure how you found so many folks who love the Night Stalker, but bring them back again if you can. Oh, and my apologies to P.N. Elrod. After reading my short review, I realized that I had used He rather than She in describing the author.
Ticktock
Wow Ticktock, what a nice write up / review! Have you reviewed this book or other Kolchak books on Amazon? It blows me away how many niche books like this on there don't have any reader reviews at all! This book has 5 or so but I think you definitely should contribute. Maybe a little less in depth than this though
Wow Ticktock, what a nice write up / review! Have you reviewed this book or other Kolchak books on Amazon? It blows me away how many niche books like this on there don't have any reader reviews at all! This book has 5 or so but I think you definitely should contribute. Maybe a little less in depth than this though
idkidd,
Thank you for the kind words. I haven't considered it before, but I do enjoy seeing write-ups for Night Stalker and other Moonstone books. Maybe I ought to give it a try. Thanks again!
Ticktock