Thuglit Issue 1

by Todd Robinson (Editor), Johnny Shaw, Jason Duke

The worlds greatest multi-award winning crime fiction magazine is BACK after a two-year hiatus with eight hardcore short stories to rock your literary world.

IN THIS ISSUE OF THUGLIT:

LUCY IN THE PIT by Jordan Harper
BASTARDS OF APATHY by Jason Duke
THE GLEANER'S UNION by Court Merrigan
MAGPIE by Hilary Davidson
LADY MADELINE'S DIVE by Terrence P. McCauley
SPILL SITE by Matthew C. Funk
A CLEAN WHITE SUN by Mike Wilkerson
LUCK by Johnny Shaw

PLUS: an exclusive first look at Tyrus Books upcoming novel from Todd Robinson, THE HARD BOUNCE

Genres: Short Stories, Crime, Anthologies

132 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2012

Reviews

[Karl]

Contents:
002- Welcome (Back) –Todd Robinson (Introduction)
004 - Jordan Harper – “LUCY IN THE PIT “
015 - Jason Duke - “BASTARDS OF APATHY”
030 - Court Merrigan - “THE GLEANER'S UNION”
039 - Hilary Davidson - “MAGPIE”
055 - Terrence P. McCauley - “LADY MADELINE'S DIVE”
072 - Matthew C. Funk - “SPILL SITE”
083 -Mike Wilkerson - “A CLEAN WHITE SUN”
100 - Johnny Shaw - “LUCK “
114 – Todd Robinson – “THE HARD BOUNCE” Part 1 (Novel Preview)
126 – Author Bios

I was pleasantly surprised by this collection of stories by authors who were mostly unknown to me. While I enjoyed some more than others, none actually fell flat. What you get here is actually what the title states, tough stories of tough characters including both genders, male and female, but mostly male.

The collection cannot really be called NOIR, although there are strong elements in some of the stories. The stories also cannot be titled Mysteries, as in some there is no mystery, just a slice of the lives of those involved.

This collection is certainly worth the price of admission and I look forward to reading issue 2.

[Zain]

Love It!

Well, this was nice! Sometimes you just have to take a chance and spend $2.99. Glad I did. Lots of good stories in here.

You thriller lovers should give this book a try.

[Dave]

Great series of anthologies. Hopefully these guys Have enough tales of grit and crime to fill a few more volumes

[Steven]

The eight stories in this issue are wide-ranging across the crime-noir spectrum. All show a high-level of craft and were good stories, but my taste runs to certain styles so wasn’t thrilled with the whole issue. Mike Wilkerson’s story “A Clean White Sun” about a cop spiraling down a whirlpool of self-destruction who rescues a kidnapped girl blew me away with its adrenalin prose and anguish and for my money is worth the price of the issue all by itself.

The first story, also a favorite, is Jordan Harper’s amazing “Lucy in the Pit,” which is included in his kick-ass collection Love and Other Wounds: Stories. It’s a moving look inside dog fighting from a trainer’s perspective. The setting, an "emergency room" for the injured dog set-up in a motel room, is phenomenal.

“Bastards of Apathy” by Jason Duke is hard to classify, but we have a teen-aged tough guy stealing a gold chain, then having it stolen from him, which leads to the violent and surprising ending.

Court Merrigan’s “The Gleaners Union” is hick-noir set in rural Wyoming but kind of sounds like it could be in some Kentucky holler. Don’t be rutting with another man’s wife up in them there hills.

“Magpie,” by Hilary Davidson is more an in-law hating family drama than crime-noir, although the action turns on missing pearls and deceit.

“Lady Madeline’s Dive” by Terrance P. McCauley is a period genre piece done Hammett style, or if you prefer, reads like half and episode of Boardwalk Empire. Skim the take from a gangster's casino? Well, you should know what you have coming to you.

Matthew C. Funk’s “Spill Site” is set amidst a torrential storm and flood but the real action is the granddaughter showing up to get revenge on her grandfather who tormented a couple of generations of his family.

“Luck” by Johnny Shaw is all about Violence and how he wouldn’t have any luck at all if it weren’t for his bad luck and his buddy Scrote. Great voice in this one, tagging some Indio gang bangers types.

And as a bonus you get the first chapter of Big Daddy Thug’s (Todd Robinson) novel The Hard Bounce.

[Rory Costello]

I read the Thuglit issues in an odd hopscotch order, from Four to Five and then back to One. Yet the quality has remained consistently high, and you can see how #1 set the tone -- right out of the gate, with Jordan Harper's entry. I greatly respected but didn't quite love his "American Death Songs," but "Lucy in the Pit" really connected emotionally for me. The editors do a really good job of assembling multi-faceted collections, with different voices and sensibilities. The fun thing in #1 that I found different was variety in periods.

[Kevin Gardner]

A noir lovers dream.

Thuglit is a noir lovers dream, all the fiction is hardboiled, dark and gritty and is filled with Fem fatales, conmen, tricksters and bent lawman. All the stories where good, my personal favorite being Luck by Johnny Shaw. This is a very good read, and comes highly recommended.

[Shannon Barber]

I really enjoyed this issue. There is a nice diversity to the pieces chosen and I liked how they were arranged. Absolutely a must read.

[Scott Cumming]

There is a plethora of the latter day editions of Thuglit available on Kindle Unlimited and I thought it'd be worth my while to dig into them seeing as I'm enjoying the current run of lit-zines that are available.

This was as enjoyable as I expected it would be and it kicks off with Jordan Harper's "Lucy in the Pit". I've already read it, but just wanted to mention it as everybody should be reading Harper's work.

Jason Duke's "Bastards of Apathy" is a bloody play on the apathy on display on a daily basis in the 21st Century that we're all guilty of. "The Gleaner's Union" by Court Merrigan heads to the 30s depression hit Dust Bowl. "Magpie" by Hilary Davidson is a tale of domestic psychosis and the lengths a woman will go to to keep her man where she wants him.

"Lady Madeline's Dive" by Terrence P. McCauley was a favourite as we visit a 1920s mobster's right hand man, Terry Quinn, as he looks to find out who's skimming the take from the dive of the title. "Spill Site" comes from Matthew C. Funk, who has a stack of great flash fiction over at Shotgun Honey, contributes a tale of a family reunion. "A Clean Hot Sun" by Mike Wilkerson took me a while to get into, but it burns slowly before slotting into place. "Luck" by Johnny Shaw closes strongly with a of two friends testing what kind of luck they have.

I'll be sure to continue catching up on these and positive I'll find more familiar names as I go. A great start to a legendary zine.

[Paul Butler]

There is some terrific writing in this collection and very distinctive voices. Most of the stories are very noir-ish (sorry for the neologism), and, like all great short stories, the characters come to life in just a few lines.
I was able to purchase all 14 issues of Thuglit in Kindle versions for just €22. So they're not just great reading, they're bargains !

[Gary L. Carter]

THUGLIT is a noir lovers dream

THUGLIT is a hard boiled, gritty and violent series. It is action filled and populated by thugs, losers, femme fatales and the dregs of society. Reading this series is taking a walk on the dark side that most of us never see or even know exists.

[jill silverman]

Just recently dicovered Jordan Marsh and then these stories, Forgot how much i like short stories all of which are so good in this issue. Isnt the end cut off on the Lucy story by Marsh??

[Alec Downie]

Schlock Noir but a great short sharp collection to make you wince.

[Phil]

Great collection of gritty noid crime fiction by some of the best authors in the field. Highly recommended.

[Paul]

Tough writing. Tough read. Too tough for my stomach. Violence for the sake of violence.

[William]

Great stuff! I found out about "Thuglit" from "Blood & Tacos" at Left Coast Crime 2014. It's my kind of literature -- tough and unyielding. Unsentimental, too, unless you consider "Lucy in the Pit," which made me almost sympathetic with fighting dog trainers.

Almost.

Some of them, anyway.

"Luck" by Johnny Shaw was a home-run: George V. Higgins meets Charlie Bukowsky. How can you not like a story in which the main characters are a couple of no-hopers named Scrote and Violence? They are a little like Jay and Silent Bob with a really wicked mean streak.

"Thuglit" #1 did have its downside, though: now I'm going to have to buy "Hard Bounce" by Big Daddy Thug Todd Robertson, himself. The excerpt included in the maiden issue of "Thuglit" was just too good and too short to satisfy me.

I'm a big fan of crime literature with crooks who talk and think like crooks. "Thuglit" has 'em in spades.

Bon Appetit!

[Marley]

I found Thuglit by accident and intend to go though the entire series. I don't particularly care for short stories, but dug these. Some are very good, some not so, but this is some serious hardcore stuff. Particularly compelling is Lucy in the Pit by Jordan Harper (don't let dog fighting put you off! A Clean White Sun by Mike Wilkerson (James Ellroy on acid). and Luck by Johnny Shaw. If you want to know now to screw over your man's family to keep him all to yourself then read Magpie by Hilary Davidson. This issue also includes excepts from the hard Bounce by editor Todd Robinson, which I intend to read soon. Cozy Mysteries these are not.

[Craig Furchtenicht]

Why haven't I discovered this series of short crime stories sooner? Better late than never. I loved every word of it. The opening tale, Lucy in the Pit is worth the mere dollar admission I paid. It sets the tone for the entire collection of gritty stories about bad people doing even worse things. Great editing and even better writing. If you like your fiction served with a heavy dose of noir then you will love Thuglit.

[Curtis Hempler]

There were a couple of stories that didn't quite do it for me, but that's the nature of an anthology. Overall, the quality of writing is great, and there's a lot of variety of voice and subject. This has started me on a pulp/crime reading tear...Looking forward to reading the other volumes.

Hugely enjoyable, and a bargain in the Kindle store.

[Victor Whitman]

I'd call this mag the extreme side of the crime genre. Some of these stories, from unknown crime writers, were pretty good; others seemed to be written by beginners and were weaker. More proof that this style is very difficult to pull off.

[No Sell Out Productions]

It's Thuglit, 'nuf said. I have a story in this particular issue and PROUD of it, which means you should buy it. NOW.

[Jack]

Really good collection of noir. We got all bad guys, just that dome guys are worse and nobody wins.

Good, gritty writing by various authors. I liked them all.

[Phil Jones]

N/F

[MR ALEXANDER DICKINSON]

Great first issue of this impressive series.