Pulp Fiction Series #1: Demon Caravan, John Eagle Expeditor: Valley of Vultures, The Destroyer: The Final Death

I'm adding a new section here where I review pul fiction novels I read. Being deployed, there are a lot of organizations who like to send us free books to enjoy in our free time. Unfortunately, most of these books are crap. Here, I get to write a small ditty about the best of them! Some of them actually turn out pretty good--pretty good as in, they are crazy as hell and too cool for irony. Here are the first books of the series.

The Demon Caravan (Georges Surdez, 1927)
Action, romance, and adventure in the Sahara--belied by the era it was from, this book is total and complete French colonial romanticism. African slaves, violent Arabs, peaceful Berbers, and the civilized French caught right in the middle, it largely toes the French colonial bent, with the distant metropole always alluded to by reminiscing French Soldiers (that is, reminiscing for civilization) or barbarians admiring examples of what it is to be civil. However, as much as cluelessly colonial the story is, there are peeks of self-doubt: many a times, Surdez's French captain hero questions what civilization and conquest has brought to the savage beauty of North Africa. It almost pushes self-examination, but the answer is simple: the great ordering effect of Western law and civility.

John Eagle Expeditor: Valley of Vultures (Paul Edwards, 1975)

A James Bond wannabe, John Eagle is a white man raised as a native american (street cred) working for an unknown boss to bring about peace and harmony by kicking ass. Many dead people, many bombed houses, and many pleasured ladies (in this story, Eagle's only untouched female conquest is the Jewish female assasin that looks like she's sixty). In Valley of the Vultures, John Eagle tracks down Nazis who transplant testicles in the middle of South America. Yeah, apparently his nemeses throughout the series are the Nazis. But of course, he kicks their asses, until a lunatic member escapes right before he kills him, cackling and promising revenge. It's actually an engaging read, still much of the 60s, dedicated to world peace, yet also entering the 70s with its obession with manly men who can kick ass and pleasure women at the same time.

The Destroyer: The Final Death (Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy, 1977)

If John Eagle is the conscientous hero, Remo is the clueless athlete who could care less--that is, until it involves killing somebody with special kung fu moves. The Final Death is full-on Nixon anti-60s revenge era, where racial gags, mysoginism, and right-wing ideology abound. In this one, Remo tries to hunt down a clan of Chinese vegetarian activists who try to punish America by killing all meat-eaters in the country. Worse still, however, is when they reveal their true identity: Chinese vegetarian vampires! And oh shit, they can kung fu too. (Un)Fortunately, Remo is the white man with a funny Korean sidekick who writes a script for a TV soap opera, and he kicks all of their asses in many varied ways. Gore, sex, kung fu, and killing Chinese vampires...this one has all of them. But it's not really entertaining, more like "who comes up with this shit!?"