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Post by Guest on Jun 4, 2006 0:14:47 GMT -5
Anybody get into The Penetrator series written by "Lionel Derrick" (aka Chet Cunninhgam and Mark K. Rogers)? My used bookstore has a ton of 'em, so I thought I might give one a try, despite (or perhaps because of) the groovy 1970s covers.
What do you guys think of this series? How does it stack up against its peers?
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Post by baronvoncool on Jun 19, 2006 21:32:53 GMT -5
I just finished #24 Cryogenic Nightmare and it was awesome up until the Penetrator gets captured by Preacher Mann. The villain's dialogue was stilted and totally inconsistent with the way he talked at the beginning of the novel and the whole ending seemed rushed. It's like the author (ghostwriter Chet Cunningham) either forgot what he'd written earlier for the Mann character or else just needed to finish the book fast without bothering to put the same level of care into it that he obviously had the rest of his story. It left a sour taste in my mouth and I'm not in hurry to buy more Penetrator books after that; which is a shame, as I thought it was way better than The Executioner up to that point... Certainly it was a million times better than the Death Merchant, if not quite as good as The Destroyer.
Has anybody else had a similar experience with Penetrator books seeming rushed or copping out on the endings?
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Django The Bastard
Junior Member
"They called him Django...he was a friend to me..."
Posts: 85
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Post by Django The Bastard on Jun 26, 2006 16:49:57 GMT -5
The Penetrator series was without question one of the most consistent and top notch of all the PMP series to raise from the post WATM glut of the early seventies...don't sell the series short from one novel...it really is one of the most original and best written of the early series! Veteran authors Cunningham and Roberts...who incidentally can't technically be called "ghosts" as the originated and wrote the entire series...were able to create menaces and plot lines that were quite different from the near endless string of Mafia dons as antagonists from other worthy contemporary Bolan pastiches such as The Marksman, The Sharpshooter or The Revenger...quite an accomplishment for the time... N' remember the series of the times had very strict guidelines to follow as far as word count...so it is indeed possible ol' Chet was on a complete tear and had to wrap things up neatly within his alloted pages...one of the downfalls of the format, sadly... One of the true classic PMP series...try a few more...some may seem dated and ripe with 70's style cliches...but if read in context, they are really at the top of the heap! Not to mention GREAT cover art!
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Post by baronvoncool on Jun 27, 2006 3:41:54 GMT -5
Thanks, Django--you know, I had a suspicion Chet got ****ed by the word count issue and had to sell the book short.
So which are the best Penetrator books?
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Django The Bastard
Junior Member
"They called him Django...he was a friend to me..."
Posts: 85
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Post by Django The Bastard on Jun 27, 2006 13:32:03 GMT -5
My favorite has always been Hell's Hostages, which gathers a bunch of Mark Hardin's allies from previous adventures to rescue hostages held in the American embassy of a middle eastern country in a thinly veiled analog for the then current hostage situation in Iran...good stuff!
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