When I first found out (from Wikipedia, of course) that Barry Malzberg had written "Men's Adventure" stories of The Lone Wolf under the pen name of Mike Barry, I immediately started looking for books in that 14 volume series. Alas, the only copies I could find were pricey. Fortunately I thought to check Internet Archive, and there I found Book #1: Night Raider.
It was stupid. It was littered with typos and plot holes (not to mention dead bodies). The protagonist was more psychopath than hero.
I loved it. I wanted more. But Internet Archive had no more to give, so I just put it in a jar on a shelf by the door and bided my time. I kept checking back on Internet Archive, though, and lo and behold, I found The Lone Wolf #5: Havana Hit. But alas, it was only for show: the cover and a few pages before the text began, then BORROW UNAVAILABLE. Back in the jar I went.
And then one day when I was perusing the spinner rack at Half-Price Books, I found a copy of Night Raider. It was only $8, but since I'd already read it and didn't think I'd ever re-read it...and since I didn't think I'd ever see any of the other volumes...I left it for somebody else. Jar time.
But then, on another trip to the spinner rack of HPB, I found this bit of loveliness:
Three bucks. Of course I bought it. And despite the fact that I usually let bought books age before I pick them up...and the fact that I was knee deep in several other books...I finished it off very quickly. In this one, The Lone Wolf goes to Las Vegas, storms the hotel of a drug cartel, and...well, you'll just have to read it for yourself, I suppose. It was quite the thrill ride, though...and I mean that literally vis-a-vis the last confrontation with the drug lords. The writing is not elegant. In times it is even offensive, as "Barry's" repeated use of metaphors relating female anatomy to various situations. But it still had power. Enough of it that my first thought upon finishing it was, "I need to get hold of more of these books."
Well...here's what I found on Amazon:
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How's THAT for service? Two books for $5.99. But wait...it gets better:
I don't know what Amazon has against putting these books in order, but what the hell...they're all there...at a cost of $3 per book, or a grand total of $41.93 (plus tax). I'm kind of afraid to buy the first one, though, because (1) then I'll undoubtedly end up buying all of them within a week or two and (2) I'll devote so much of my time to reading these things that I'll end up neglecting lots of other important things.
But I'm thinking about it.
BTW, the story is that Malzberg was given the option to write these books...but only if he could guarantee to produce the first ten in 8 months. And so he did. Which probably accounts for the typos and plot holes.
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