Novel takes us through the last, desperate era of Ed Wood's life

 

The Valley Obscured By Smog, Bearmanor Media, 2026. 

Alan Starkwell is a young college graduate, transplanted to Los Angeles in the latter mid-70s, with dreams of working in the movie industry. Alan doesn't have too many prospects. He has a degree in English. He thought he had a job as a script reader lined up, but his friend took the job from him. And he's crashing the same friend's pad with several others, including an ex-girlfriend who definitely is not interested in him anymore but sometimes hangs around the pad barely dressed.

Ah, the life of the educated young poor two generations ago ...

Alan, needing cash as soon as possible, has a potential job tossed to him, It's a publishing house. He hurries to the job and is hired on the spot by the owner Bernie Bloom, who says he needs a magazine editor. The business office has locks just about everywhere. Alan is assigned a windowless area to churn out copy all day long. The pay's low but there are bonuses if you write a book once a month.

Fans of the cult auteur Edward D. Wood Jr. will recognize the setting. It's a pornography publisher called Pendulum. Ed Wood spent much of his last several years there writing stories, novels, film captions, essays, screenplays, even directing. For $200 a week, Alan is expected to write fiction and non-fiction for the magazines. In these magazines the highest priority are photos, not text. 

Alan can make an extra $800 to $1,000 a month if he can pen a porn book, preferably non-fiction sourced with a "doctor" of some sorts to lend legitimacy on topics such as sex between a husband and wife, or homosexuality, etc. There's even a library in the office with source material that Bloom has purchased. Dr. T.K. Peters, anyone? ...

Most of the staff is young, like Alan. Most are unmotivated, except an older writer, who keeps to himself. This guy, Ed Wood, likes to also occasionally work in women's clothes. He's dismissed and often chided by the staff. They shrug off his disapproval of their laziness, thinking him a tired, old drunk.

There's some truth to the "tired old drunk" moniker, but Alan -- not cynical, just skeptical -- finds the old man interesting. Over the course of a couple of weeks, Alan and Ed form a kind of team. Ed's been assigned to direct a movie, to be called "Necromania: A Tale of Weird Love." He has $7,000 to do it. He wants Alan as his assistant. Alan knows he's unqualified for the job but wants to be a part of any movie. 

Alan becomes more of an assistant. He becomes a kind of minder for Ed, once a movie director but now an unreliable alcoholic hanging on to his job. Ed needs someone to care about him; make sure he gets out of bed, his apartment, and finishes the porn film. Ed's job depends on it.

W. Paul Apel has crafted a novel that provides readers a glimpse of what Wood's life was probably like in his final years. In my opinion, it's another addition to the surge of Ed-Wood related books the past decade-plus that -- read together -- provide a sort of biography of Wood's life, before and after, what occurs in the Tim Burton film, "Ed Wood." 

I'll stop with mostly plot narrative. Writer Apel has created an accurate portrayal of Los Angeles/Hollywood of the '70s. He's placed the release of "Star Wars" in his time frame. Alan thinks Ed would be excited about this new blockbuster. Ed isn't but he does perk up a bit when Alan mentions Peter Cushing is in Star Wars. 

Ed's dreams live in the past; but he exists in a hard, tough present where Imperial whiskey is most real to him

Apel's research is a plus for the reader. Scenes in the narrative derive from Rudolph Grey's classic oral biography of Wood, Nightmare of Ecstasy. (A quick note: I wrote my NOE review when many of the myths of Ed Wood were still believed.) And Apel has clearly seen the many documentaries and read the growing list of books on Ed Wood, the Ed Wood Wednesdays blog from Joe Blevins, and Bob Blackburn's Ed Wood Jr. Facebook page. 

Shannon Dolder, a young woman neighbor of Wood's in the infamous Yucca Street apartment complex in Hollywood Wood and wife Kathy endured, becomes in the novel a sort of pal to Alan. The late Dolder, who was part of the '70s and '80s LA punk scene, accompanies our protagonist Alan to a reading from poet/novelist Charles Bukowski, and meets rocker Keith Moon; both are fun interludes.

But when Alan and Ed frantically attempt to complete Necromania in a couple of days, contemporaries of Wood surface. There's Ed's wife, Kathy Wood. There's a phone call to Vampira who turns down a part in "Necromania." There's a lot of Criswell in the novel. They visit him and his eccentric wife. Criswell loans Wood a coffin and visits the movie set, which of course includes Hal Guthu, cinematographer and agent to adult actresses. Porn starlet Rene Bond, and her husband Rick Lutze, both in "Necromania," are in the novel. And there's a hilarious passage of Alan and Ed, after egocentric porn star John Holmes turns them down, sneaking out of the iconic Tail O' the Cock restaurant, stiffing Holmes with the cost of a steak dinner.

Ed Wood fans know, of course, that "Necromania" was filmed several years before 1977, the novel's time. But including the film in the narrative makes sense. It provides a central theme; Wood's economic survival, perhaps his life, depends on him finishing that film. Alan becomes a participant in that drama stress. The film also provides a more interesting center than the locked-up colorless Pendulum offices. There is one fun scene where cops raid Pendulum, which was a normal occurrence back then. (Much of the Pendulum offices scenes are recollections of the late Leo Eaton, who worked with Wood there, and Robert Cremer, biographer of Bela Lugosi who interviewed Wood in the 1970s.)

Apel has written a fast-moving, entertaining novel Wood fans will devour like a fine dinner with great dessert. But even those not aware of Wood's career can enjoy the novel if they come across it. It's an interesting tale of a young, penniless writer living essentially by his wits, grabbing the only job he can snag. And this writer finds a kind of mentor, old and weak, but with a backstory that turns out to be so interesting.

--- Doug Gibson

Apel's Amazon page is here. He's written a non-fiction book -- I Watched Football Early the Day I Died: The Lost Ed Wood Frank Leahy Screenplay -- based on an unproduced screenplay Wood wrote on the life of the legendary Notre Dame football coach. Apel is currently writing a book called Necromania: A Tale of Weird Lit -- The Pulp Fiction of Ed Wood. ... The endurance of Wood's 50 years-plus appeal and cult status is fascinating. It first peaked in the mid to late 90s, after Grey's Nightmare of Ecstasy, Burton's film Ed Wood, various documentaries, and now-defunct genre magazines such as Cult Movies and Psychotronic Video. But the cult never went away. The past 12 years or so it's grown, along with a renewed interest in Wood's career post 1965. As mentioned, lots of valuable books, websites and Wood Facebook pages exist.

Watch a Plan9Crunch YouTube interview with author Paul Apel discussing The Valley Obscured by Smog.

Bearmanor Media link to novel is here.

Author Patrick provides compelling anti-hero in superb Mister Boogie

Mister Boogie is a prequel to author Dean Patrick's Terra Drake dark horror trilogy. Hence, it's the first book of the series. It's a compelling tale that fully introduces a character, Rex Brody, from an earlier novel. Brody evolved into an alter ego, Mister Boogie, a superbly fit killing machine.

Dean Patrick is a superb writer, who slowly builds tension through the chapters. His tale is gory, but never exploitative. There are no wasted narrative passages.

Our protagonist, Rex Brody, is a survivor of extreme child abuse. Through discipline and an adult journey to the mixed martial arts pits in Asia, he has turned himself into an incredibly fit, sophisticated killing machine. He is also Mister Boogie, an anti-hero, a mass murderer who kills freely, but often as revenge on ordinary people who commit despicable acts, or against darker opponents of comparable strength.

As Mister Boogie kills, two police detectives try hard to stop him but they're generally one step behind and outmatched.

Mister Boogie crosses paths with dangerous adversaries that lead him on a quest to save his sister, Emma. Early in the book Patrick creates a thrilling battle to the death between our protagonist and two adversaries, one a prolific serial killer.

Patrick's anti-hero also matches his wits and strengths in interaction with demons, including Patrick's character Terra Drake. In his early life, Rex Brody, the eventual Mister Boogie, encountered Terra Drake, who then was assessing his future potential.

Author Dean Patrick has a real talent with writing action/horror and blends his prose with a strong knowledge of music, culture, police work, religion, history and the supernatural. Here is a YouTube promo for the book from publisher TWB Press. Author Dean Patrick's website is here.

-- Doug Gibson 

For reviews of Patrick's books and an interview, go here, here, here and here

House of Ygor novel keeps that Universal horrors feel within its pages

 

Review by Doug Gibson

The actor Bela Lugosi created the iconic character, Ygor, in the Universal horror film "Son of Frankenstein." Lugosi's creation -- who hadn't even been in the two previous Frankenstein films -- upstaged Boris Karloff's monster in the 1939 film. The devious, grotesquely-bent-at-the-neck survivor of a hanging produced dread, fear and pathos for audiences. Ygor was in "The Ghost of Frankenstein" and then his brain was in the monster's body in "Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman." In that film Lugosi portrayed the monster.

But if Ygor fails to appear in the Frankenstein saga until film number three, it's fair to wonder where this deviously charismatic fiend came from. Author Brad Braddock, who penned an entertaining prequel to another iconic Lugosi film, "White Zombie," has provided genre readers, as well as fans of gothic horror, an explanation as to what exactly Ygor was doing prior to his activities in "Son of Frankenstein." 

In "House of Ygor,"' Arcane Shadows Press, 2022, Ygor is a shepherd, living a hermit-like life outside the village of Frankenstein, trying to live down his past adventures with Doctor Frankenstein. Unfortunately, someone is stealing bodies, and the one-armed Inspector Krogh, who retains some sympathy for Ygor, warns him he is considered a suspect.

Ygor is discovered hiding by two villagers. They try to kill him and he kills one to escape. He heads to the ruined castle where monsters were created and makes a surprising discovery. He is then captured and eventually tried and hanged. Just before slipping into unconsciousness, Ygor sees his beloved sheep slaughtered by the village elders. Inspector Krogh is sickened and disgusted with the savagery of his fellow townsman.

I will not mention more of the plot because I don't want to deprive readers of enjoying the overall tale. This is a thoroughly first-rate Universal horror "variation" (to use the new preferred term for sequels and prequels of classic works). Braddock is a talented storyteller. He possesses a scholar's knowledge of the Universal horrors, the characters, the monsters, the locations, the lands, the traditions. He comprehends the overwhelming guilt, despair, malice, cruelty, fear, terror and injustice that creates such horrors.

"House of Ygor" may be a deliberate title because like those two lean Universal films, "House of Frankenstein" and "House of Dracula," there are multiple monsters, and -- like "House of Frankenstein" -- divergent plot lines, though in "House of Ygor" both occur at the same time. There is another iconic Universal monster who appears in the book, and his search for relief is related. And even more genre characters greet readers.

Braddock's novel is fast-paced, with 36 generally short chapters spread over almost 200 pages. This is a plus as it keeps the narrative moving quickly, which is essential to maintain suspense. Often the chapters move from the Ygor narrative to the other tale. Besides the village of Frankenstein and the desolate castle, passages take readers through deep caves, gypsy camps, a boat on the sea, dark streets in London, and the decayed Castle Carew in England, which really exists.

The terror of the village elders who are picked off one by one for death delight the hardened, unfeeling Ygor, who is obsessed with revenge. Braddock also conveys well his friendship with the Frankenstein monster, which often is displayed more through eye contact and hand signals than spoken word.

An appropriate quick summary of "House of Ygor" is that besides being a good read, it keeps that familiar vintage Universal horrors feel within its pages. There is one more additional treat: an introduction by genre writer Frank Dello Stritto, which is filled with indispensible observations on the Universal films.