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Alleys of Darkness
Alleys of Darkness
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Book Excerpt
begun to pat my sleeves in his soothing way, which I always despises beyond words, "there ain't no need for hard feelin's. I know just how you feel. But we got to have that paper. You know that, Sailor--"
Suddenly a faint sound made itself evident. "What's that?" gasped Limey, going pale.
"It's Spike," I said. "I left him in the car, and he's got tired of settin' out there, and is scratchin' at the front door. I'm goin' to go get him, but I'll be right back, and if anybody lays a hand on Bissett whilst I'm gone, I'll bust him into pieces. We'll get that paper, but they ain't goin' to be no torturin'."
I strode out, scornful of the black looks cast my way. As I shut the door behind me, a clamor of conversation bust out, so many talking at wunst I couldn't understand much, but every now and then Ace Bissett's voice riz above the din in accents of anger and not pain, so I knowed they wasn't doing nothing to him. I crossed the dim outer room, opened the door and let Spike in, and then, forge
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3.3
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A fast-paced, rollicking action story. Dorgan is your typical REH hero--not necessarily smart, but a heck of a fighter.
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I like Howard's humor stories a lot--perhaps more than his Conan stories.
"Alleys of Darkness" features a naive narrator, much like the talkative barber Whitey in Ring Lardner's "Haircut." Added in is a great deal of hyperbole. The violence in this story is an exaggerated cartoon violence.
Dennis Dorgan resembles Elzie Segar's Popeye quite a bit. He resembles him so much that I suspect that Popeye may have been an inspiration or model for the character.
This isn't the absolute best Dennis Dorgan story I've ever read, but it's not a bad sample. Howard's humor stories can be very addictive. I recommend reading both Howard's fighting sailor stories (Dennis Dorgan and Steve Costigan) and his westerns (including Breckinridge Elkins--who is a lot like Li'l Abner).
"Alleys of Darkness" features a naive narrator, much like the talkative barber Whitey in Ring Lardner's "Haircut." Added in is a great deal of hyperbole. The violence in this story is an exaggerated cartoon violence.
Dennis Dorgan resembles Elzie Segar's Popeye quite a bit. He resembles him so much that I suspect that Popeye may have been an inspiration or model for the character.
This isn't the absolute best Dennis Dorgan story I've ever read, but it's not a bad sample. Howard's humor stories can be very addictive. I recommend reading both Howard's fighting sailor stories (Dennis Dorgan and Steve Costigan) and his westerns (including Breckinridge Elkins--who is a lot like Li'l Abner).
11/30/2008
A gullible boxer is tricked into a kidnapping plot in this pulp tale by Robert E. Howard. The story is forgettable but worth reading if you’ve never encountered anything by REH outside of the sword & sorcery genre.
05/05/2007