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Shell Scott #28
The Trojan Hearse
With a national election going on, Shell Scott's timing might have been less than perfect. Perhaps he did prevent the victory for the shoo-in candidate, but a lot of strange things were happening. There was Polly Plank whom he encountered in her psychiat
180 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 1964
3 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
Richard S. Prather
94 books43 followersRichard Scott Prather was an American mystery novelist, best known for creating the "Shell Scott" series. He also wrote under the pseudonyms David Knight and Douglas Ring.
Prather was born in Santa Ana, California. He served in the United States Merchant Marine during World War II. In 1945 year he married Tina Hager and began working as a civilian chief clerk of surplus property at March Air Force Base in Riverside, California. He left that job to become a full-time writer in 1949. The first Shell Scott mystery, 'Case of the Vanishing Beauty' was published in 1950. It would be the start of a long series that numbered more than three dozen titles featuring the Shell Scott character.
Prather had a disagreement with his publisher in the 1970s and sued them in 1975. He gave up writing for several years and grew avocados. However in 1986 he returned with 'The Amber Effect'. Prather's final book, 'Shellshock', was published in hardcover in 1987 by Tor Books.
At the time of his death in 2007, he had completed his final Shell Scott Mystery novel, 'The Death Gods'. It was published October 2011 by Pendleton Artists.
Prather served twice on the Board of Directors of the Mystery Writers of America. Additionally Prather received the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) in 1986.
Prather was born in Santa Ana, California. He served in the United States Merchant Marine during World War II. In 1945 year he married Tina Hager and began working as a civilian chief clerk of surplus property at March Air Force Base in Riverside, California. He left that job to become a full-time writer in 1949. The first Shell Scott mystery, 'Case of the Vanishing Beauty' was published in 1950. It would be the start of a long series that numbered more than three dozen titles featuring the Shell Scott character.
Prather had a disagreement with his publisher in the 1970s and sued them in 1975. He gave up writing for several years and grew avocados. However in 1986 he returned with 'The Amber Effect'. Prather's final book, 'Shellshock', was published in hardcover in 1987 by Tor Books.
At the time of his death in 2007, he had completed his final Shell Scott Mystery novel, 'The Death Gods'. It was published October 2011 by Pendleton Artists.
Prather served twice on the Board of Directors of the Mystery Writers of America. Additionally Prather received the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) in 1986.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 10, 2023
The Trojan Hearse was published in 1964 and, by that time, Prather had switched publishers from Gold Medal to Pocket Books. It was a business decision as apparently Gold Medal paid by the run and Pocket Books offered a ten-year contract with a significant signing bonus. The biggest difference in the new run of Shell Scott books was the cover art rather than the material inside. None of the cover art on the Pocket Books could hold a candle to the cover art on the Gold Medal books.
The Trojan Hearse (and Prather was not the only author to use that pun for a book title) is an unusual story in the Scott series and one of the most ambitious in terms of ideas and social commentary. Ostensibly, the novel is about a highly successful pop singer (Johnny Troy) with multiple gold albums whose best buddy seemingly commits suicide from a Los Angeles hotel. Scott is called in by the music manager to check it out and verify that there was no foul play and maintain the good press. Of course, this being a Shell Scott novel, he is attacked by thugs, shot at, beat up, and the like. But what makes it interesting and different for a private eye novel is that Prather uses this novel as a vehicle to comment on phoniness in the music industry, the advertising industry, in politics, and psychiatry. It is a seething indictment of falsehoods and phoniness.
But Prather leads the unsuspecting reader in gently, telling them early on that they dug up Johnny Troy that day and rioted, digging up the still earth, taking his body out of the coffin and tearing it limb from limb, pounding him, hacking him, and when they were through with Johnny Troy, they went and voted. This is an allegory, folks. It doesn’t quite happen like this in reality.
Sylvia White is Scott’s client, the sister of Charley White, Johnny Troy’s inseparable childhood friend. “She had oddly blue, almost violet eyes with ridiculously long lashes and smooth black hair pulled back from her forehead. Her skin was pale, almost luminous; somebody wrote of Shelley, I think it was, that he had skin like alabaster illumined from within.” Sylvia, here. symbolizes true innocence and, in the end, when she is brutalized and murdered and left like a decaying husk of corn bereft of life, she represents the mutilation and destruction of innocence on a grand scale.
Politicians, we are told, in this novel, are “glib, handsome, sincere” and disagree to disagree. They are all phonies, some slightly less glib than others. The phrases used by the politicians are pretty, but don’t actually mean much, we are told. The words charm the ear, but are not the truth. As Jerry Garcia once told us, “it is all too clear we are on our own: “And the politicians throwin’ stones Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down; Commissars and pin-stripe bosses Roll the dice; Any way they fall Guess who gets to pay the price?”
Psychiatry we are told in this novel is chicancery, no different than carnival tricks. Here, we get a new form of Freudian analysis which apparently requires the patient to completely disrobe in order to clear themselves and unburden themselves. Scott sees it all as pure nonsense designed to satisfy the perverted eye of of the psychiatrist. Of course, we are introduced to this new form of psychoanalysis through the irresistible body of Polly Plonk.
As for the writing industry, the critics we are told promote ridiculous crap and no one has the balls to say the truth, that what the critics pretend to like is utter nonsense. Scott gets there through ridicule and mockery.
The rise and fall of Johnny Troy is symbolism at its best. We learn how the wool has been pulled over our eyes by the money-hungry music industry, who will promote whatever will sell.
Thus, the Trojan Hearse is filled with complex social commentary and scathing moments of revealing who is behind the curtain (pay no attention to that man behind the curtain, I am the great and powerful…..). As a private eye novel, it is, however, somewhat less successful as it goes off for pages in dream sequences with songs and gets caught up in being more Gulliver’s Travels than Shell Scott.
The Trojan Hearse (and Prather was not the only author to use that pun for a book title) is an unusual story in the Scott series and one of the most ambitious in terms of ideas and social commentary. Ostensibly, the novel is about a highly successful pop singer (Johnny Troy) with multiple gold albums whose best buddy seemingly commits suicide from a Los Angeles hotel. Scott is called in by the music manager to check it out and verify that there was no foul play and maintain the good press. Of course, this being a Shell Scott novel, he is attacked by thugs, shot at, beat up, and the like. But what makes it interesting and different for a private eye novel is that Prather uses this novel as a vehicle to comment on phoniness in the music industry, the advertising industry, in politics, and psychiatry. It is a seething indictment of falsehoods and phoniness.
But Prather leads the unsuspecting reader in gently, telling them early on that they dug up Johnny Troy that day and rioted, digging up the still earth, taking his body out of the coffin and tearing it limb from limb, pounding him, hacking him, and when they were through with Johnny Troy, they went and voted. This is an allegory, folks. It doesn’t quite happen like this in reality.
Sylvia White is Scott’s client, the sister of Charley White, Johnny Troy’s inseparable childhood friend. “She had oddly blue, almost violet eyes with ridiculously long lashes and smooth black hair pulled back from her forehead. Her skin was pale, almost luminous; somebody wrote of Shelley, I think it was, that he had skin like alabaster illumined from within.” Sylvia, here. symbolizes true innocence and, in the end, when she is brutalized and murdered and left like a decaying husk of corn bereft of life, she represents the mutilation and destruction of innocence on a grand scale.
Politicians, we are told, in this novel, are “glib, handsome, sincere” and disagree to disagree. They are all phonies, some slightly less glib than others. The phrases used by the politicians are pretty, but don’t actually mean much, we are told. The words charm the ear, but are not the truth. As Jerry Garcia once told us, “it is all too clear we are on our own: “And the politicians throwin’ stones Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down; Commissars and pin-stripe bosses Roll the dice; Any way they fall Guess who gets to pay the price?”
Psychiatry we are told in this novel is chicancery, no different than carnival tricks. Here, we get a new form of Freudian analysis which apparently requires the patient to completely disrobe in order to clear themselves and unburden themselves. Scott sees it all as pure nonsense designed to satisfy the perverted eye of of the psychiatrist. Of course, we are introduced to this new form of psychoanalysis through the irresistible body of Polly Plonk.
As for the writing industry, the critics we are told promote ridiculous crap and no one has the balls to say the truth, that what the critics pretend to like is utter nonsense. Scott gets there through ridicule and mockery.
The rise and fall of Johnny Troy is symbolism at its best. We learn how the wool has been pulled over our eyes by the money-hungry music industry, who will promote whatever will sell.
Thus, the Trojan Hearse is filled with complex social commentary and scathing moments of revealing who is behind the curtain (pay no attention to that man behind the curtain, I am the great and powerful…..). As a private eye novel, it is, however, somewhat less successful as it goes off for pages in dream sequences with songs and gets caught up in being more Gulliver’s Travels than Shell Scott.
February 24, 2025
„Toho dne vykopali Johnyho Troye.
Pohřbili ho – a pak ho vykopali.
Na hřbitově vypukly nepokoje, bylo tam přes tisíc lidí. (…) Vytáhli jeho tělo z rakve a snažili se ho roztrhat na kusy. Bušili do něj, sekali, trhali z něj maso, lámali mu kosti a vyrvali obě oči. Na pohřbení… nebo spíš znovupohřbení… toho z něj moc nezůstalo.
A pak šli k volebním urnám a hodili tam svůj hlas.“
Coby autor románů drsné školy není Richard S. Prather moc vysazený na překvapivé zvraty a šokující odhalení. Pachatele obvykle poznáte v okamžiku, kdy se o něm poprvé někdo zmíní. Takže tady to autor obešel tím, že vám hned v úvodu řekne, jak to celé dopadlo… a pak už se jen k tomu dostáváme. Tohle hraní s otevřenými kartami ale překvapivě vůbec nevadí. Taky je to autorovo pozdější dílo, z šedesátých let, což v praxi znamená že se tam víc objevují jeho názory a víc než v ranějších pracích tady zaznívají satirické prvky.
„Lidi z reklamek se za posledních pár let hodně naučili – když prodávali zubní pasty, projímadla, pilulky proti pocení a tak dále. Dosáhli téměř dokonalosti při používání analýz, psychologie davu, podmíněných reflexů a hypnózy. Jména kandidátů na prezidenta vám bušila do uší celý den, až jste měli chuť vyrazit do obchodu a oba si okamžitě koupit. Ale měli jste smůlu, mohli jste dostat jen jednoho, takže vaše nutkání nemohlo být nikdy úplně uspokojené.“
Je z toho cítit nadávání na novou dobu, na umění, které je dělané čistě pro kritiky, na pseudohlubokou literaturu, na liberální politické trendy a především na moderní psychology. Tady je to Duerfismus, který vychází z jednoduchého principu. Freudismus nefunguje, takže je nutné dělat úplný opak. Tudíž není Oidipův komplex, ale Pidiovův, místo id, ega a superega máme di, oge a ogerepus. A jelikož je to Prather, samozřejmě lidé leží při rozboru nahatí. Když přijde hrdina vyslechnout psychiatrickou ikonu, vstává z pohovky vstává nahá žena, což hrdina asi stránku popisuje, aby to pak zakončil: „A tak jsem se seznámil s doktorem Mordecaiem Withersem. Ne, ona nebyla doktor Withers. Ten celou dobu seděl ve svém křesle. Ale jaký magor by se v takovéhle situaci díval na doktora Witherse?“
Hodně se tu opírá do „současné“ levicové politiky, ale pořád má čas na klasické lakonické věty ve stylu: „Hledal jsem pokoj číslo pět. Našel jsem ho mezi čtyřkou a šestkou.“ Někde se opravdu odvázal, takže když se mu zdá sen, zdá se se mu ve verších, prostě si tam střihl veršovanou kapitolu. Na druhou stranu tam nechal i volební proslovy, kde může prostřednictvím kandidátů hlásat své názor.
„Začalo mi docházet, co je hlavní myšlenkou Duerfismu. Ať je na tobě co chce špatnýho, je to vina někoho jinýho, svět je ti za něco dlužný, já se vytáhnu vzhůru za tvoje kšandy, ostříháme Samsona a uděláme z jeho vlasů paruky pro slabé a zločinci nejsou zlí, jsou jenom nemocní.“
Chvílemi je to už moc a v některých okamžicích to padá do bažiny kázání. Naštěstí se to z ní dokáže vyhrabat, hodit tam hlášky, akci a fórky… a všechny vyvažuje hodně zábavný finále, ve kterém dojde na let (a pád) se starým letadlem a nenápadný průnik do volební základny za použití bourací koule.
Jak jsem se rozjel, chci zkusit přečíst ještě pár knížek… abych zjistil jak se autor vyvíjel a jestli tohle je spíš odskok od klasiky, nebo i další věcí budou takhle osobní. Doufám, že spíš zase ubere.
Pohřbili ho – a pak ho vykopali.
Na hřbitově vypukly nepokoje, bylo tam přes tisíc lidí. (…) Vytáhli jeho tělo z rakve a snažili se ho roztrhat na kusy. Bušili do něj, sekali, trhali z něj maso, lámali mu kosti a vyrvali obě oči. Na pohřbení… nebo spíš znovupohřbení… toho z něj moc nezůstalo.
A pak šli k volebním urnám a hodili tam svůj hlas.“
Coby autor románů drsné školy není Richard S. Prather moc vysazený na překvapivé zvraty a šokující odhalení. Pachatele obvykle poznáte v okamžiku, kdy se o něm poprvé někdo zmíní. Takže tady to autor obešel tím, že vám hned v úvodu řekne, jak to celé dopadlo… a pak už se jen k tomu dostáváme. Tohle hraní s otevřenými kartami ale překvapivě vůbec nevadí. Taky je to autorovo pozdější dílo, z šedesátých let, což v praxi znamená že se tam víc objevují jeho názory a víc než v ranějších pracích tady zaznívají satirické prvky.
„Lidi z reklamek se za posledních pár let hodně naučili – když prodávali zubní pasty, projímadla, pilulky proti pocení a tak dále. Dosáhli téměř dokonalosti při používání analýz, psychologie davu, podmíněných reflexů a hypnózy. Jména kandidátů na prezidenta vám bušila do uší celý den, až jste měli chuť vyrazit do obchodu a oba si okamžitě koupit. Ale měli jste smůlu, mohli jste dostat jen jednoho, takže vaše nutkání nemohlo být nikdy úplně uspokojené.“
Je z toho cítit nadávání na novou dobu, na umění, které je dělané čistě pro kritiky, na pseudohlubokou literaturu, na liberální politické trendy a především na moderní psychology. Tady je to Duerfismus, který vychází z jednoduchého principu. Freudismus nefunguje, takže je nutné dělat úplný opak. Tudíž není Oidipův komplex, ale Pidiovův, místo id, ega a superega máme di, oge a ogerepus. A jelikož je to Prather, samozřejmě lidé leží při rozboru nahatí. Když přijde hrdina vyslechnout psychiatrickou ikonu, vstává z pohovky vstává nahá žena, což hrdina asi stránku popisuje, aby to pak zakončil: „A tak jsem se seznámil s doktorem Mordecaiem Withersem. Ne, ona nebyla doktor Withers. Ten celou dobu seděl ve svém křesle. Ale jaký magor by se v takovéhle situaci díval na doktora Witherse?“
Hodně se tu opírá do „současné“ levicové politiky, ale pořád má čas na klasické lakonické věty ve stylu: „Hledal jsem pokoj číslo pět. Našel jsem ho mezi čtyřkou a šestkou.“ Někde se opravdu odvázal, takže když se mu zdá sen, zdá se se mu ve verších, prostě si tam střihl veršovanou kapitolu. Na druhou stranu tam nechal i volební proslovy, kde může prostřednictvím kandidátů hlásat své názor.
„Začalo mi docházet, co je hlavní myšlenkou Duerfismu. Ať je na tobě co chce špatnýho, je to vina někoho jinýho, svět je ti za něco dlužný, já se vytáhnu vzhůru za tvoje kšandy, ostříháme Samsona a uděláme z jeho vlasů paruky pro slabé a zločinci nejsou zlí, jsou jenom nemocní.“
Chvílemi je to už moc a v některých okamžicích to padá do bažiny kázání. Naštěstí se to z ní dokáže vyhrabat, hodit tam hlášky, akci a fórky… a všechny vyvažuje hodně zábavný finále, ve kterém dojde na let (a pád) se starým letadlem a nenápadný průnik do volební základny za použití bourací koule.
Jak jsem se rozjel, chci zkusit přečíst ještě pár knížek… abych zjistil jak se autor vyvíjel a jestli tohle je spíš odskok od klasiky, nebo i další věcí budou takhle osobní. Doufám, že spíš zase ubere.
September 5, 2025
"θα πληρώσεις με την ζωή σου" εκδόσεις πάπυρος και βήμα
διασκεδαστικό παλπ με εξτραδακι κράξιμο ψυχανάλυσης και ιστορίας εξαπάτησης τύπου μίλι βανιλι
διασκεδαστικό παλπ με εξτραδακι κράξιμο ψυχανάλυσης και ιστορίας εξαπάτησης τύπου μίλι βανιλι
January 7, 2011
Another serious disappointment from an author I originally liked. Purportedly a mystery, it winds up halfway through simply a rambling, incoherent political manifesto for the rabid, simple-minded conservatives of the 1960s. We know now---which they didn't then---from released FBI documents and a high-profile deathbed confession that the Republican Party of the '60s, far from being the staunch defenders of "self-determination" against liberal "handouts," was in fact involved in such charming machinations as blatant law-breaking, shameless lying to the public, framing innocent people for GOP political gains, intimidation of political opponents, and even the assassination of a US president.
Hardly the pillars of morality Prather appears to have been hired to portray them as in his histrionic excuse for a story.
Hardly the pillars of morality Prather appears to have been hired to portray them as in his histrionic excuse for a story.
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