The Falcon Killer

August 1, 2011
Hubbard was a popular writer of the pulp fiction era, and this short novel, first published in the January 1935 issue of Five Novels magazine, shows why: it features nonstop action and a hero to root for. Coast Guard skipper Johnny Trescott, who's hot on the trail of drug-runner Georges Coquelin, changes course to answer an SOS from wealthy James Ferguson, whose plane has ditched in the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately, Georges arrives at the scene in time to kidnap Ferguson and shanghai Johnny, his crew, and his boat. Johnny eventually escapes, only to find that piracies Georges committed with Johnny's Coast Guard scow are being blamed on him. Though much of the writing is generic, the story moves briskly and maximizes the scenes of gunplay and hand-to-hand combat. Hubbard knew how to fulfill reader expectations for this sort of tale.

August 15, 2011
At the start of this “golden age” pulp novella, Hubbard (Dead Men Kill) describes the effect of a Japanese attack on the fictional Chinese port city of Nencheng: “First there had been a city; then there had been bright and hungry flame; now there was nothing but a corpse-gutted ruin where men moved with dazed determination to refuse the shambles all about them.” Unfortunately, the rest of this dated action yarn doesn’t live up to the power of the opening. Bill Gaylord, a typical two-fisted and resourceful Hubbard hero who’s known as the Falcon Killer for his success in shooting down Japanese aircraft, makes a dramatic entrance by parachuting to earth near Nencheng after his plane is hit. Gaylord takes refuge with the household of American Henry Thompson, complete with impending love interest in the form of Thompson’s daughter, Marion. Gaylord’s efforts to evade capture aren’t particularly exciting, and even newcomers to the genre will anticipate every major plot development.

December 1, 2011

This full-cast production (with most of the actors pulling double or triple duty) of Hubbard's pulp thriller follows the briny exploits of Johnny Trescott, a fearless, nail-tough U.S Coast Guard CPO and skipper of Patrol Boat 1004. While in pursuit of notorious drug smuggler Georges Coquelin, Johnny receives an SOS when the plane containing money-bags businessman James Ferguson and his knockout assistant, Alicia Reynolds, ditches at sea. Johnny forgoes the chase knowing that Ferguson would fetch a steep ransom and that the smugglers will surely try to reach the plane first. Johnny makes the rescue, but Georges and his baddies get the drop on him and take Johnny, his crew, and the rescued flyers hostage. Having the 1004 and Coast Guard uniforms at his disposal, Georges begins raiding and looting ships, leaving the captive Johnny and his sailors to take the blame and face hanging. But Johnny, his mate Heinie Swartz, and the alluring Alicia decide to escape--even if it means death! This is a rip-roaring, old-fashioned adventure like the kind they don't make any more. A blast for Hubbard fans and pulp fiction lovers.--Mike Rogers, Library Journal

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.