Book Review: Mike Hammer – Complex 90
Max Allan Collins is the bestselling, award-winning author of Road to Perdition, the graphic novel that inspired the Oscar-winning movie starring Paul Newman and Tom Hanks. Titan Books has been so kind as to send us a copy of his latest release in the Mike Hammer series, Complex 90. Before his death, Mickey Spillane chose friend Max Allan Collins to complete the unfinished work.
Hammer accompanies a politician to Moscow, where he is arrested by the KGB and imprisoned. He quickly escapes, but back in the States, the government is none too happy. Russia demands his return to stand charges, and various government agencies are following him. Why does Russia want him back, and why was sent to Russia with the senator in the first place?
This is Collins’ seventh collaboration with Spillane (check out our 2012 review of Lady, Go Die!), set in 1964 is once again hits hard with the violence and body count talk. Mike Hammer has killed 45 Russians he admits to the U.S. government – like James Bond we really can just shrug it off; Russians just make for great baddies. So there’s the sex and violence here if you’re still wondering. The plot is easy to follow; the dialogue is strong but cliched sometimes. Again, like Bond, women just tend to lay down for this guy at any moment.
If you want a solid detective story, you have it here. Complex 90 is not your typical Mike Hammer story; he’s taking on some serious KGB thugs here. The cold war isn’t a light setting for a book, so I’m glad to see they handled it with care. At times it’s very over-the-top Rambo style; killing 45 Russians single-handedly? You jest. The important thing is, Mike gets his answers. An obscene amount of bullets were fired for them, but hey, it’s great fiction.
ORDER NOW: Amazon.com
More CoF Book Reviews:
- Tales From Development Hell
- Mike Hammer: Lady, Go Die!
- Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion
- The True Adventures of the World’s Greatest Stuntman
- Hollywood Movie Stills
- The Book of Alien and Aliens: Colonial Marines Technical Manual
- The Twenty-Year Death
- The Dark Knight Rises – The Official Novelization
- Spartacus: Morituri
- The Cocktail Waitress
- Anno Dracula – Dracula Cha Cha Cha
- Olly Moss’ Silhouettes From Popular Culture
- The Great Showdowns
- Tarzan – The Centennial Celebration
- Dark Shadows – The Visual Companion
- Flash Gordon
- The Art of The Croods
- Peter Cushing – A Life In Film
- Plague Nation
- Supernatural – Carved in Flesh
- The Art of Epic
Trailer for LAST VEGAS Starring Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, and Kevin Kline
Here is the first trailer for the upcoming comedy Last Vegas. The film stars Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, and Kevin Kline as four old friends who decide to throw a bachelor party for Douglas’ character, the only one of them who has remained single.
We all said it was The Hangover for our dads, it looks like the studio isn’t afraid to admit it. That being said, it looks better than The Hangover. I like the lead actors, especially Douglas, so having them all together is just going to be fun.
The film also stars Mary Steenburgen, Jerry Ferrara, Romany Malco, and Roger Bart. Last Vegas opens on November 1st.
Fall TV Trailers: Michael J. Fox, Robin Williams and James Spader Return
Over the past week the networks have been sharing some TV trailers and first looks for the fall season, I noticed three for different reasons and figured I would share them. What are you looking forward to? Also, is it just me or is TV getting better these days?
My Top Ten Favourite Episodes of STAR TREK: VOYAGER
It’s day four of Star Trek Week! I see Graham and Ryan checking the clock and looking annoyed. Don’t worry guys, it’s almost over!
Star Trek: Voyager (VOY) came around during a period of maximum Star Trek saturation. Voyager premiered only a year after TNG ended and only two years after DS9 premiered. This is most likely the point in which “Star Trek fatigue” took root, but more on that tomorrow. Star Trek: Voyager debuted on January 16, 1995 with the episode “Caretaker” and, like its sister shows, would last seven seasons for a total of 172 episodes before closing with “Endgame” on May 23, 2001.
Hit the jump for my favourite episodes!
Talking Game of Thrones with David Benioff and D.B. Weiss
Hey you know that super popular HBO series with the swords, the wars, and the dragons – Game of Thrones? Well series creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss sat down with KCRW’s “UpClose’ series and talked all things Westeros.
In it they cover how this amazing series came to fruition, why some things differed from book to television show, some quirky comments about author George R. R. Martin and so on. The audio clocks in at approximately an hour and is a must listen for fans of the Game of Thrones TV and book series. Use the audio player below to give it a whirl!
Finally, The RIDDICK Trailer – You’re Not Afraid of The Dark Are You?
If you know me, you know that I love the Riddick films and have been eagerly awaiting the third film for quite some time now. It’s not like I have a crush on Vin Diesel or anything…what!? I don’t! Well, maybe a small one…just a smidgen.
Universal Pictures finally released a new trailer for Riddick via Machinima and I was very excited to see new footage from the film. The previous teaser was only twenty seconds long so this gives us a much better look at the film.
So check out the trailer, as well as the brand new poster, below!
My Top Ten Favourite Episodes of STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE
Welcome to day three of Star Trek Week! Today we’ll focus on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9) which was the last series Gene Roddenberry had knowledge of. He sadly passed away in 1991, two years before the premiere, but he was aware that series creators Rick Berman and Michael Piller were moving ahead with it.
DS9 brought a big change to the pre-existing Star Trek shows, instead of taking place on a starship as the others had, DS9 took place on a space station near the planet Bajor. Also a large number of the main and recurring characters were not members of Starfleet so the overall tone ended up being a lot darker compared to its predecessors. The series premiered on January 3, 1993 with “Emmisary” and would go on for seven seasons with a total of 176 episodes before concluding on June 2, 1999 with “What You Leave Behind”.
So if you’re curious which episodes I’ve chosen as my favourites…click onward!
