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Vendetta
Mass Market Paperback
First published April 1, 1973
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 14, 2024
Jumping directly off from McCurtin's Assassin series, Vendetta spends no time establishing 'Philip Magellan' as his own man. The backstory is resigned to the backcover, with little to nothing actually inside the book to showcase what drives Magellan or what he hopes to accomplish.
At some points, he seems to be trying to blackmail the Kingpin of the Week for a payday (why any Mafioso would buy this, when Magellan self-evidently only lives to destroy the Mafia, is up in the air). At other points, he just seems to be screwing with the guy. Once, he decapitates a dead bad guy and leaves the head in a hotel lobby fountain!
Aside from that, not much about this book sticks to the ribs. The Kingpin of the Week has a Japanese manservant as bodyguard (he's armed with a bolo) and employs hippie Hell's Angels as henchmen, but neither of them make much of an impression. All I really recall (having just finished the book) is how often Magellan will knock an enemy out and then execute them with a Colt Python. Talk about overkill! Amazingly, no one ever overhears this.
A surprising amount of the story is spent on Magellan commuting between the bad guys' two turfs in Santa Cruz and San Francisco, avoiding their attempted intercepts and perimeters. There isn't even the usual sex appeal subplot or characterization of the villains as especially nasty--when they get theirs, there's little catharsis. They seem just like average mobsters who Magellan is taking out because it's their turn under the gun.
I feel a bit petty, complaining about Magellan just blowing away criminals and burning down drug dens--like, what, I expect a 150-page paperback to win a Pulitzer? But I feel like there should be some twist on the formula to show me the writer is having fun, really trying to hit the high notes, not just packaging the same ol' Big Whopper as always.
At some points, he seems to be trying to blackmail the Kingpin of the Week for a payday (why any Mafioso would buy this, when Magellan self-evidently only lives to destroy the Mafia, is up in the air). At other points, he just seems to be screwing with the guy. Once, he decapitates a dead bad guy and leaves the head in a hotel lobby fountain!
Aside from that, not much about this book sticks to the ribs. The Kingpin of the Week has a Japanese manservant as bodyguard (he's armed with a bolo) and employs hippie Hell's Angels as henchmen, but neither of them make much of an impression. All I really recall (having just finished the book) is how often Magellan will knock an enemy out and then execute them with a Colt Python. Talk about overkill! Amazingly, no one ever overhears this.
A surprising amount of the story is spent on Magellan commuting between the bad guys' two turfs in Santa Cruz and San Francisco, avoiding their attempted intercepts and perimeters. There isn't even the usual sex appeal subplot or characterization of the villains as especially nasty--when they get theirs, there's little catharsis. They seem just like average mobsters who Magellan is taking out because it's their turn under the gun.
I feel a bit petty, complaining about Magellan just blowing away criminals and burning down drug dens--like, what, I expect a 150-page paperback to win a Pulitzer? But I feel like there should be some twist on the formula to show me the writer is having fun, really trying to hit the high notes, not just packaging the same ol' Big Whopper as always.
April 25, 2018
The Marksman #1: “Vendetta” by Peter McCurtin. The story starts out with Philip Magellan on a vendetta to kill Mafioso boss, Dino Flavel. The story gives no reason, but the information on the back of the book states that the Mafia tried to hire Magellan to run their armory for them. You see, since he was a young boy he has known every weapon there is and how to handle them. Since he refuses, they kill his wife and son, so he’s after them now. There is no plot to this first story, just a lot of running around and killing. When he finally gets to Flavel, he leaves him alive so he’ll continue worrying what Magellan will do next; that is, if he doesn’t die in the hotel fire Magellan has started. Like a lot of men’s action novels there was no need for plot, just massive killing and sex. Strangely, there was no sex in this one, though.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews