I made the mistake of re-reading Grady Hendrix’s amazing history of horror paperbacks “Paperbacks from Hell”. Using the word ‘amazing’ may conflict with the word ‘mistake’ to you, but if you were my bank account then you’d understand it all too well. I have been mainlining obscure 70s and 80s horror paperbacks, gathering them from all manner of retailers. There is nothing more rewarding than sorting through a dusty pile of books at an obscure hole-in-the-wall bookshop and uncovering gold. Today I wanted to explore some of these titles that may be of unique interest to fans of this column. Before we get into this article a warning is necessary, many of these books have elements that today are definitely problematic, when you dive into what was during the ‘80s considered trash you never know what you’re going to get.
First off, let’s briefly discuss the three books that are undeniably relevant. The Monarch book versions of the Gorgo, Reptilicus, and Konga novelizations. Of the three novelizations, the only easy one to track down is Gorgo as it has been reprinted and offered digitally. These are all from 1960 and 1961. They are mostly retellings of the films they are based on, but if the Gorgo one is any indication these are not for kids as there are some strange sex scenes added in to spice up the book. It is very odd to read excerpts like this:
“She had carried that body with her for twenty years, and she had thought she knew herself. But now she had suddenly learned that she did not know her body at all, nor what it yearned for, and she was more amazed at what it now told her, than she had ever been in her life.” Gorgo is a movie which for all intents and purposes was a children’s film. Best of luck tracking down the other two, they are quite rare.
While originally published in 1932 the King Kong novelization had some snazzy reprints in the 70s to coincide with the Dino De Laurentiis remake. My favourite of these reprints has to be the 1976 Ace Books version which has King Kong front and center. This cover is done by famed artist Frank Frazetta who is most famous for his work on fantasy properties like Conan: The Barbarian.
Gila! by Les Simons is one that is bound to thrill 50s monster aficionados. It features a horde of radioactively enlarged Giant Gila Monsters wreaking havoc in New Mexico. It is complete with the 50s origins but it has a distinctly 80s style. Be prepared for truly horrific bloodshed and just a smidge of random interspersed sex scenes.
Along the same lines as Gila! the giant mantis book Eat them Alive has that 50s monster movie aesthetic but with a lot more blood. Eat them Alive goes for insane prices online, if a good copy is ever tracked down I’ll be sure to do a full review.
The two easiest books of the bunch to track down are the ones reprinted by Valancourt Books in their ‘Paperbacks from Hell’ line. There are a multitude of old horror paperbacks being preserved and reprinted by Valancourt, they’re an amazing company. Their reprints of ‘The Spirit’ and ‘The Nest’ will be of particular interest. We’re talking about a book about Bigfoot and a book about giant killer roaches. Both are very fun reads, although of the two The Spirit is what I’d recommend reading first. It has a very unlikable protagonist but is really compelling. The Nest HAS a lot of weird sex stuff in it, but if you’re okay with that then you’ll enjoy it.
If you’re one of those folks who love getting into a long-running series then perhaps Guy N Smith’s Crab series is for you. Yes, you read that right ‘Crab series’. These books are all available digitally if you’re interested. I’ve read the first book ‘Night of the Crabs’ and it was a delight. Giant killer crabs massacre a bunch of army dudes on a beach in the book’s most memorable sequence. There are in total EIGHT of these books, however, it must be noted that books 7 and 8 were written in 2012 and 2019. The rest are all firmly in the era. Like most of these books, they don’t exactly have the most well-rounded female characters.
Author Peter Tremayne deserves a section all his own. His work seemed to touch every corner of the paperback craze. From killer insects in ‘The Ants’ to Bigfoot ‘Snowbeast’. We have big killer creatures of the sea in ‘Curse of Loch Ness’ and ‘Nicor!’. Finally, there is whatever the hell a ‘Morgow’ is in ‘The Morgow Rises!’. Haven’t read any of them but they are all on my list to track down.
Orca by Arthur Herzog, Grizzly by Will Collin, and Razorback by Peter Brennan are three books recommended for those who love the movies of the same name. Whether or not Arthur Herzog’s Orca is a novelization or was what the 1977 movie was based upon is a little unclear. The original publication date for the book is incredibly inconsistent online but the book is incredibly different whatever its origins. I don’t know if I’d recommend it as again we have a series of unnecessary sex scenes and one of the least likable protagonists of all time. If you’re a Jawsploitation scholar it’s worth a read just to experience the differences, elsewise I’d stick with the far superior movie. Razorback and Grizzly are still on my to-read list so I will get back to you on that one.
Harry Adam Knight is an author most famous for having his book Carnosaur purchased by Roger Corman to make a fast and cheap Jurassic Park mockbuster in 1993. The book was actually released in 1984 and the author’s true name is John Brosnan. Under the pseudonym of Harry Adam Knight and his second pseudonym of Simon Ian Childer, he wrote two other books to search out. Worm and Tendrils are two giant worm novels. John Halkin wrote a similarly themed book called ‘Blood Worm’ which has a truly badass cover.
Today we’ve merely scratched the surface and as such this may be a topic revisited once again. I slowly grow more obsessed by the day trying to unearth trashy books written long before I was born. If I accidentally read a book that summons a long-forgotten blood god and doom us all, take solace that I did so for your entertainment.
