I’m interrupting the usual review schedule to let you all know that Tocsin Press is up and running – those two awesome novels The Undertaker #1 and The Undertaker #2 are now available for purchase.
A quick background note…the books are slightly different than the versions I reviewed. Not in content, but the actual paperbacks themselves. John Doe wanted to follow the same “handcrafted” aesthetic of the copies he sent me – printed on actual pulp paper like an oldschool men’s adventure paperback – but it proved to be impossible. For one, the pulp paper he originally used is no longer available. And secondly, it would’ve been unfeasible for John Doe to handcraft every single copy he sells…printing and assembling each book, gluing the binding, shipping the books out, etc. A pretty serious time commitment for someone who already has a fulltime job!
So in the end, Mr. Doe has decided the Amazon route makes the most sense, and the Buy Now buttons on the Tocsin Press site will take you to the individual Amazon pages for each title, where you can preview contents and order a copy. He’s gotten the books as close to the look of the original handcrafted editions as possible: glossy covers, the same physical dimensions as a ‘70s men’s adventure paperback, and typesetting that looks very close to the print in those ‘70s paperbacks.
I’m only providing this behind-the-scenes info because I raved about the pulp paper of the handcrafted editions John Doe sent me a few months ago, and I didn’t want anyone to be disappointed that the versions they’ll receive from Amazon are a little different. The important thing is that the text has not been changed…and folks Death Transition and Black Lives Murder were two of the best novels I’ve read in years. I give them my highest recommendation.
Currently there’s one other title available at Tocsin, by a different author: John Falcon Infiltrator: The Hollow Earth. Here’s the cover:
You could think of this one as a “lost” installment of John Eagle Expeditor – perhaps even the novel that The Ice Goddess should have been…
So currently there are three titles at Tocsin Press, and I am certain you all will enjoy each of them! But like the old Pinnacle house ads said, there’s “more to come,” so when more titles are listed I’ll do another post here on the blog.
And if you read any of the books, please leave a review on Amazon or drop a note here to let us know what you think!
This is great news! This guy sounds truly dedicated to the genre. Real men don't read Kindle!
ReplyDeleteI would prefer ebooks. After an unfortunate cerebrovascular incident a few years ago this real man finds print much harder to read than before. I'm hoping for Doc Savage, Avenger, and other favorite pulp originals to make it to the Kindle eventually.
DeleteMany thanks for the heads-up. My order will be placed this weekend :)
ReplyDeleteI'm asking this a few weeks late, but is there any way to get spoilers for these stories, especially "The Hollow Earth"?
ReplyDeleteAs usual, I'm wondering what the story does and doesn't do with the villainess.
("Nazi chicks" can be too much of a cliche for me, but the one on that cover makes it impossible not to wonder.)
Thanks for the comments, everyone -- I thought I'd already responded to you all, but it looks like I didn't! Charles, I'm sorry to hear about your injury. And Grant, I can 100% guarantee that The Hollow Earth is right up your alley. There are none of the typical copouts with the female villains: the Nazi She-Devils kill, get killed, have sex with the hero (while trying to kill him), etc. Also plenty of parts where the protagonist is fighting various Nazi She-Devils to the death. And since you like depraved female villains as much as I do, I thought I'd mention that there's also one in the other Tocsin book I recently posted about, Super Cop Joe Blitz: The Psycho Killers.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
ReplyDelete