Gregory Shepard's Stark House, which has mostly specialized in bringing vintage novels and collections of hardboiled/noir and other crime-fiction classics and "forgotten" (including previously unpublished) work back or first into print, mostly in two (or more) novels-in-one-volume trade paperback editions, for the last 26 years, and Charles Ardai's Hard Case Crime line, which has mostly focused on new (and previously unpublished from decades past) work in a similar vein in mass-market and trade paperback editions for 21 years, both serving (clearly and justly) sustained and appreciative audiences, offered in 2024 anniversary compilations: an anthology of selections from Stark House authors (including a newly-published Peter Rabe short story and a Jada Davis short novel), and a collection of twenty of Ardai's short stories (offered in the stead of another novel, such as Fifty-to-One, which he wrote to celebrate the publication of Hard Case's first fifty titles, with chapter titles taken from each of those releases). Both have had notable sidelines: Stark House (as Shepard notes in his preface) having begun with a hardcover edition of a (Ms.) Storm Constantine fantasy collection, The Oracle Lips (a title that might've worked for a Fawcett Gold Medal crime novel, as well), and has offered some further horror and fantasy titles since, as well as a few sf and western items and other fiction, mass-market paperbacks in the Black Gat imprint, and the Staccato Crime and Film Noir Classics lines. Ardai's most visible other offering at first was his series of Gabriel Hunt adventure novels, each written by a different notable adventure/crime fiction writer, beginning with James Reasoner's Hunt for the Well of Eternity, though before he founded Hard Case he worked with the Davis Publications fiction magazine group (later bought by Dell, and currently published by Penny Press) and primarily on their anthology projects--and Hard Case itself has offered a line of graphic novels to go with the purely prose items.
Ninja, our elder, gray tabby cat, will scratch her face against the heavier paper of the Stark House publication's corners more readily. If this is a consideration, be aware of this.
Contents:
The Stark House Anthology edited by Rick Ollerman and Gregory Shepard7 * Stark House Press: The First 25 Years * Gregory Shepard * in
10 * Introduction * Rick Ollerman * in
13 * Hangover * Charles Runyon, (ss) Manhunt December 1960
24 * A Matter of Balance * Peter Rabe (ss) 2024 (first publication)
35 * Invitation to an Accident * "Wade Miller" (ss) Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine July 1955
48 * The Tormented * James McKimmey (nv) The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Magazine August 1967
64 * Murderer #2 * Jean Potts (ss) Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine January 1961
75 * To Kill a Wife * Lionel White (nv) Murder September 1956
89 * So Curse the Day * Jada M. Davis (na) 2024 (first publication)
198 * Art for Money’s Sake * Dan J. Marlowe (ss) The Elks Magazine February 1970
204 * Chester Drum Takes Over * Stephen Marlowe (ss) Ellery Queen’s Anthology #25, Spring/Summer 1973
216 * Sleep Without Dreams * Frank Kane (ss) [Johnny Liddell series] Manhunt February 1956
228 * The Memory Guy * Henry Kane (nv) [Peter Chambers series] Come Seven/Come Death ed. Henry Morrison, Pocket Books, 1965
241 * Nothing in My Way * Orrie Hitt (ss) Smashing Detective Stories July 1955
250 * Preventive Medicine * Harry Whittington (ss) Trapped Detective Story Magazine August 1956
256 * Die, Darling, Die * Gil Brewer (nv) Justice January 1956
275 * The Geek-Girl * "Day Keene" (nv) Adam October 1953
297 * Woman Missing * Helen Nielsen (nv) Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine May 1960
318 * Backbite * Lorenz Heller (as "Fredrick Lorenz") (ss) Justice January 1956
323 * Angie * Ed Gorman (ss) 999 ed. Al Sarrantonio, Avon Books, 1999
336 * Night Games * Bill Pronzini (ss) Bullets and Other Hurting Things: A Tribute to Bill Crider ed. Rick Ollerman, Down & Out Books, 2021
343 * The Silent One * Fletcher Flora (ss) Hunted Detective Story Magazine #7, December 1955
349 * Beware of the Dog * Fredric Brown (ss) Ten Detective Aces February 1943, as "Hound of Hell"
354 * Hit Me * Rick Ollerman (ss) Down & Out: The Magazine v1 #1, 2017
370 * Axe * Gregory Shepard (ss) 2024 (first publication)
378 * Last Night at Skipper’s Lounge * Timothy J. Lockhart (ss) Down & Out: The Magazine v1 #2, 2017
390 * Barbarians (Chapters 1-3) * Robert W. Chambers (novel excerpt, 1917)
402 * Politics Pays Best * E. Phillips Oppenheim (ss) [Major Radford series] The Country Gentleman February 1930
24 * A Matter of Balance * Peter Rabe (ss) 2024 (first publication)
35 * Invitation to an Accident * "Wade Miller" (ss) Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine July 1955
48 * The Tormented * James McKimmey (nv) The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Magazine August 1967
64 * Murderer #2 * Jean Potts (ss) Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine January 1961
75 * To Kill a Wife * Lionel White (nv) Murder September 1956
89 * So Curse the Day * Jada M. Davis (na) 2024 (first publication)
198 * Art for Money’s Sake * Dan J. Marlowe (ss) The Elks Magazine February 1970
204 * Chester Drum Takes Over * Stephen Marlowe (ss) Ellery Queen’s Anthology #25, Spring/Summer 1973
216 * Sleep Without Dreams * Frank Kane (ss) [Johnny Liddell series] Manhunt February 1956
228 * The Memory Guy * Henry Kane (nv) [Peter Chambers series] Come Seven/Come Death ed. Henry Morrison, Pocket Books, 1965
241 * Nothing in My Way * Orrie Hitt (ss) Smashing Detective Stories July 1955
250 * Preventive Medicine * Harry Whittington (ss) Trapped Detective Story Magazine August 1956
256 * Die, Darling, Die * Gil Brewer (nv) Justice January 1956
275 * The Geek-Girl * "Day Keene" (nv) Adam October 1953
297 * Woman Missing * Helen Nielsen (nv) Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine May 1960
318 * Backbite * Lorenz Heller (as "Fredrick Lorenz") (ss) Justice January 1956
323 * Angie * Ed Gorman (ss) 999 ed. Al Sarrantonio, Avon Books, 1999
336 * Night Games * Bill Pronzini (ss) Bullets and Other Hurting Things: A Tribute to Bill Crider ed. Rick Ollerman, Down & Out Books, 2021
343 * The Silent One * Fletcher Flora (ss) Hunted Detective Story Magazine #7, December 1955
349 * Beware of the Dog * Fredric Brown (ss) Ten Detective Aces February 1943, as "Hound of Hell"
354 * Hit Me * Rick Ollerman (ss) Down & Out: The Magazine v1 #1, 2017
370 * Axe * Gregory Shepard (ss) 2024 (first publication)
378 * Last Night at Skipper’s Lounge * Timothy J. Lockhart (ss) Down & Out: The Magazine v1 #2, 2017
390 * Barbarians (Chapters 1-3) * Robert W. Chambers (novel excerpt, 1917)
402 * Politics Pays Best * E. Phillips Oppenheim (ss) [Major Radford series] The Country Gentleman February 1930
415 * Secretaries Make Such Nice Wives * A. S. Fleischman; also here (ss) Toronto Star Weekly (a 1941 issue; formerly the weekly magazine supplement to the Toronto Star and can be referred to as Star Weekly)
418 * The Dead Man’s Eyes * Robert Silverberg (ss) Playboy August 1988
432 * Disorderly * Barry N. Malzberg (ss) The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Magazine January 1968
436 * Instruction for Murder * Bruno Fischer (ss) A Mate for Murder and Other Stories from the Pulps ed. Gary Lovisi, Gryphon Books 1992 (the magazine[s] the stories were sold to folded before scheduled publication in the 1940s, and Lovisi published a slim original-publication collection of them)
418 * The Dead Man’s Eyes * Robert Silverberg (ss) Playboy August 1988
432 * Disorderly * Barry N. Malzberg (ss) The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Magazine January 1968
436 * Instruction for Murder * Bruno Fischer (ss) A Mate for Murder and Other Stories from the Pulps ed. Gary Lovisi, Gryphon Books 1992 (the magazine[s] the stories were sold to folded before scheduled publication in the 1940s, and Lovisi published a slim original-publication collection of them)
Contents:
Death Comes Too Late (20 Stories) by Charles Ardai
65 * The Day After Tomorrow * Charles Ardai (vi) Kwik Krimes ed. Otto Penzler, Thomas & Mercer, 2013, as by Richard Aleas87 * Goin’ West * Charles Ardai (nv) Show Business Is Murder ed. Stuart M. Kaminsky, Berkley Prime Crime, 2004117 * The Shadow Line * Charles Ardai (ss) Beat to a Pulp, Round 2 ed. David Cranmer & Matthew P. Mayo, Beat to a Pulp, 2012131 * Nobody Wins * Charles Ardai (nv) Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine mid December 1993179 * The Deadly Embrace * Charles Ardai (ss) Truth, Justice and..., edited by Thomas Deja, 2004 ebook203 * Don't Be Cruel * Charles Ardai (ss) Down These Dark Streets, edited by Thomas Deja, 2003 ebook243 * The Fall of Man * Charles Ardai (ss) Gone, edited by Stephen J. Golds, Red Dog Press (UK) 2022251 * Fathers and Sons * Charles Ardai (ss) Damn Near Dead: An Anthology of Geezer Noir ed. Duane Swierczynski, Busted Flush Press, 2006259 * Sleep! Sleep! Beauty Bright * Charles Ardai (ss) Black Is the Night ed. Maxim Jakubowski, Titan, 2022285 * Masks * Charles Ardai (ss) Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine October 1993319 * Secret Service * Charles Ardai (ss) Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine September/ October 2002327 * A Bar Called Charley’s * Charles Ardai (ss) Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine November 1990345 * A Free Man * Charles Ardai (ss) BEAT to a PULP, Round 1 edited by David Cranmer and Elaine Ash (BEAT to a PULP, 2010)363 * The Investigation of Things * Charles Ardai (nv) Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine February 1991
Fiction reviews, long delayed, to follow. Thanks to Charles Ardai, Gregory Shepard and Patricia Abbott for help with bibliographic information. TM
And, to add to the indices here, here's the trade paperback version of BEAT to a PULP, Round 1, the 2010 anthology drawn mostly, apparently, from stories first published by the BEAT to a PULP online magazine.
BEAT to a PULP, Round 1 edited by David Cranmer and Elaine Ash (BEAT to a PULP, 2010), xiv+396pp, ISBN-13: 978-0615388243, cover illustration by James O'Barr (BtaP 20XX indicates the year the story was featured on the webzine)
vii * Foreword * Bill Crider * fw BtaP 2010
xi * Introduction * David Cranmer * in
xi * Introduction * David Cranmer * in
xiii * Acknowledgements * Elaine Ash * ak
1 * Maker's and Coke * Jake Hinkson * ss BtaP 20o9
7 * A Free Man * Charles Ardai * ss BtaP 2010
23 * Fangataufa * Sophie Littlefield * ss BtaP 2010
37 * You Don't Get Three Mistakes * Scott D. Parker * ss BtaP 20o9
45 * Insatiable * Hilary Davidson * ss BtaP 20o9
53 * Boots on the Ground * Matthew Quinn Martin * vi BtaP 2010
55 * Studio Dick * Garnett Elliott * ss BtaP 2010
67 * Killing Kate * Ed Gorman * ss BtaP 2010
74 * The Ghost Ship * Evan Lewis * ss BtaP 2010
86 * The Strange Death of Ambrose Bierce * Paul Powers * ss BtaP 2010
96 * Heliotrope * James Reasoner * ss BtaP 2010
110 * The Wind Scorpion * Edwin A. Grainger * ss BtaP 2010
122 * Hard Bite * Anonymous-9 * ss BtaP 20o8
132 * Crap is King * Robert J. Randisi * ss BtaP 2010
151 * The All-Weather Phantom * Mike Sheeter * ss (first published as "Swing High, Sweet Chariot" in the online magazine Hardluck Stories, 2008, edited by Dave Zeltserman and Ed Gorman)
164 * Pripet March * Stephen D, Rogers * ss BtaP 2010
169 * Ghostscapes * Patricia Abbott * ss BtaP 2010
183 * Off Rock * Kieran Shea * ss BtaP 2010
195 * At Long Last * Nolan Knight * ss BtaP 2010
203 * A Native Problem * Chris F. Holm * ss BtaP 2010
219 * Spend It Now, Pay Later * Nik Morton * ss BtaP 20o9
225 * Spot Marks the X * I. J. Parnham * ss BtaP 2010
236 * Hoosier Daddy * Jedidiah Ayres * ss BtaP 2010
251 * Anarchy Among Friends: A Love Story * Andy Henion * ss BtaP 2010
265 * Cannulation * Glenn Gray * ss BtaP 2010
280 * The Unreal Jesse James * Chap O'Keefe * ss BtaP 20o9
292 * Acting Out * Frank Bill * na BtaP 2010
357 * A History of Pulp * Cullen Gallegher * es BtaP 2010
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2 comments:
Ardai’s two novels were so good that I may have to read his short story collection!
You could easily do worse, Jack. (And maybe you need his "Gabriel Hunt" novel?)
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