Pulp Cover of the Week.

New Logo!!!

Like the logo? Credit goes to the talented Mr John Picha, a fellow Dieselpunk writer with his very own pulp-style Dieselpunk hero, The Pandora Driver. To check out his other work and his book just click the piccy below:

Dieselpunk Manifesto: What is 'Dieselpunk'?

Tommy Thunder and the Aether Age stories – especially the Aether Age stories – are Dieselpunk stories. So what is Dieselpunk..?

Dieselpunk is one of a few similar subcultures that use a particular historical era as inspiration for the way they dress, the way they listen to music and the way they do any number of things we all do in our day-to-day lives. The best way to explain it is to use an example (or two). At its simplest, Dieselpunk is about people who prefer to wear fedoras (old-school gangster hats) over baseball caps, or three piece suits over t-shirt and jeans. There are plenty of people out there who long for the good old days of gangsters, speakeasies and ‘proper music’ played by a real band who can sing without autotune. Those people are Dieselpunks.

A dapper Dieselpunk gent out and about.

 

But a lot of people like to take it to a much deeper level. These people use the style and culture of a previous generation as the outward signs of a much deeper philosophical belief system, a belief system they can be quite passionate about. In this much deeper philosophical aspect most of the ‘punk movements are fairly similar, from the Steampunks who enjoy dressing like Victorian era gentlemen, the Atompunks who like to dress like kick-arse 1950s-style roller derby girls and listen to rockabilly music, or the Cyberpunks who prefer to look forward to a future in which cybernetic implants are the norm. All these people are tapping the same basic desire – the desire to critique the present by asserting the past or future in a way that is ‘out of time’.

For the best illustration of this much more involved ‘punking I always look to the group that never gets any credit as ‘punks. The original ‘punking movement: the Chain-Mail ‘punks. 

You and I know them as Medieval Recreationists.

Going Medieval.

Why are they the best illustration of the ‘punking movement? Because what they do is by far the most involving, as well as most successful, critique of contemporary culture. Why? Because these people completely reject Modernity in one fell swoop. Longing for a life of simplicity where every human is still a craftsman and an artisan they recreate the pre-Modern world at Medieval recreation events. They camp out in huts, dress in completely different clothing and just go Medieval for the weekend. In doing so they assert the values of that lifestyle and point out that we’ve lost a lot along the way to our present Modern world with its temporary communities and mass manufactured goods. 

Like all of the most involved people in the various ‘punk movements these people make a statement about the world by just being. By adopting a whole lifestyle associated with a different era. Across all ‘punk subcultures, the adoption of a complete lifestyle you take with you into your everyday world is called being a ‘lifestyler’. It’s the most involved and most outwardly obvious form of being a ‘punk.

At the bar, 'punking.

But not everyone is a lifestyler. Some people are more interested in the less obvious ways of getting their ‘punk on, ways that aren’t necessarily visible but hold just as much meaning to the individual. Whether it’s listening to Neoswing music, decorating your walls at home with 30s era Hollywood pin ups, or spending your weekends watching old black and white movies and then arguing that ‘they don’t make ‘em like that anymore’ many people are just a little bit ‘punk. And if your ‘punking is exclusive to the cultural practises of the era stretching from the turn of the 20^th Century to the end of World War 2 then you’re probably more than a little bit Dieselpunk.

They don't make 'em like that anymore. Sigh...

So how are the Aether Age stories Dieselpunk? Well for that you’ll have to come back next week...

Song of the Week - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy from Company B, The Andrews Sisters.

Here's a classic for the Dieselpunk song of the week. The clip is from the Abbott and Costello film 'Buck Privates' (1941).

Enjoy.

Art Deco Poster of the week

E-pulp Review of the Week: The Adventures of Lazarus Gray by Barry Reese.

Welcome to the first of my weekly GoodReads e-pulp reviews. These are reviews I've already posted over at Goodreads.com and each week I will spotlight one here. And first cab off the rank is The Adventures of Lazarus Gray...



The Adventures of Lazarus Gray by Barry Reese
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

*Pulp Warning* All my e-reading, and therefore my reviews, are e-pulp skewed. Reader beware :) *Pulp Warning*

Overall: 5 stars (Highly Recommend)

The Adventures of Lazarus Gray is a series of well crafted pulp stories that illustrate exactly what's available for potential e-pulp afficiandos looking to see what the whole e-pulp thing is about. The supernatural, Dark Avenger concept is well served with great world building, interesting characters and a dark, sinister mood punctuated by crazy supernatural villains. This is modern Dark Avenger e-pulp at its best and if you're looking for a gateway into the field then this is where you should start.

For those who are already pulp zombies - you should have read this already.

Pacing and Action: 5 stars.

In using a collection of shorter stories the old school pulp pacing is perfect. Each story is consistently good, filled with two fisted action and bizarre and dark supernatural bad guys. The action isn't as fast or frenetic as your typical adventure pulp but the more consistent pacing is more suited to the sense of menace and darkness provided by the stories. It works really well.

Pulp Concept: 5 stars.

Using its Dark Avenger hero the book develops both its setting and supernatural themes really well. The book is actually set in Sovereign City, the same Sovereign City of a book I've reviewed previously, Adventures of Fortune McCall, The which was a nice surprise. Lazarus Gray, however, swims in the much darker, supernatural parts of town and the combination of corrupt, decaying 30s city and the outrageous supernatural bad guys is done really well. Much credit to the author.

Character Development: 5 stars.

The characters are not only interesting but they also develop over the course of each story, providing three dimensional people you care about. In a field in which this aspect often gets lost in the flying bullets, Reese has done a good job not only making the reader care but then promising that there's more in store and you will want to read further to find out what happens next. And that's good series writing.
The protagonist Lazarus Gray is also well developed with complicated motivations and back story that is slowly revealed and then examined over the course of each story so that, by the end of the book, we have a very good idea of who he is and what possible drama he will end up in during future stories. It's very very well done.

Production: 5 stars.

Great cover that makes me wonder why they don't use comic art for more pulp covers. Both styles are from the same fiction genetic pool, after all. The editting is also professional with great setting out etc which is important when you have multiple stories. A very professional product and well worth the price.

Series Potential: 5 stars.

No 'potential' about it, over the space of this first book we're already knee deep in the series. Reese has shown that he can write a series like the best of them so now it's only a matter of more more more. The vast conspiracy has been established, various reoccuring characters are on the board, and there's still plenty to learn about our intrepid team of supernatural murder solvers.

More please.


Wrap Up.

Seriously, if you want to know if this Dark Avenger e-pulp thing is your kind of thing then start here. If this doesn't take then maybe the genre isn't for you. If it does - welcome aboard.

And, again, if you DO like modern renditions of Dark Avenger stories then you should have read this already.

View all my reviews

Tales of the Aether Age

The world in which Tommy Thunder exists is called 'The Aether Age'. I've given it a name because the world existed long before Tommy came along and, although Tommy will be the main focus of my initial stories, I will want to explore and flesh out the rest of the world as I go. In this way I can illustrate parts of the world that Tommy could never see. To that end I've developed The Tales of the Aether Age, a catch-all title for any story set in the same universe as Tommy but not related to Tommy himself.

For the most part The Tales of the Aether Age will be short stories in the same vein as Tommy Thunder adventures, each ranging from 25 to 50 thousand words and grouped together in volumes as necessary. They will also lean more towards the Dieselpunk end of the spectrum which is a genre I like to dabble in whenever I can. I'll talk more about Dieselpunk at a later date but essentially Tommy tends to scare off Dieselpunk stories because of his one track mind and residence in the sunny Caribbean, a place not optimised for most Dieselpunk stories.

Not really Tommy's scene. But not by choice, just by geography.

 So Tales is probably where you'll find me scratching out stories set in Chicago or New York or even Los Angeles. Stories that revolve around gangsters and their molls, lone lawmen trying to keep the peace on the New West frontier with the help of their trusty Thompson submachine gun, or wild recounts of the dastardly deeds of the continent's new breed of mad scientist who have taken it upon themselves to rule the world with the aid of science. All these stories and more will pop up from time to time under the banner of Tales of the Aether Age.

In fact I should be releasing a short story very very soon...