Allow me to preface this review by admitting that I know Nate Granzow. And by “know,” I mean we bang around in some of the same social media circles and occasionally exchange online pleasantries. It does not mean “know” in the biblical sense, nor does it mean this review is biased. But if you want to assume either of those things, well, to paraphrase Bobby Brown … that’s your prerogative.
With that all cleared up, let’s buckle down to the actual review, shall we?
Cogar’s Despair is the highly entertaining debut of one of the unlikeliest heroes you’ll ever encounter in the modern action-adventure genre. Grant Cogar is not a guns-‘n’-guts warrior like John Rambo/Matrix/Wick, so if you’re despondent over the endless parade of superhuman macho operatives clogging up today's action thrillers, then Cogar will be a refreshing change of pace.
A sarcastic (the droll quips are the highlight of the novel), brash, unapologetic, womanizing—did I mention sarcastic?—underdog, Grant is anything but your cookie cutter action protagonist. If you’re looking for the standard-issue tropes of bulging muscles, overcompensating firepower, and a triple digit corpse-count, then this is not the novel you seek. You most definitely will not mistake Cogar for The Executioner, The Specialist, The Penetrator, or any of those ilk (nothing wrong with any of those, mind you, but this is not that). Of course, you won’t mistake him for Pollyanna either…
As envisioned by expert wordsmith Nate Granzow, Cogar is the kind of everyman who stumbles into bad situations—like torture-happy Shanghai drug runners—and tries to use his fast-talking mouth to get out of them, resorting to fists (and, at the very end, weapons) when words just won't work and something more violent than a sharp tongue is required. It’s not that Cogar won’t resort to bloodshed; it’s just not his first option, unlike most of his trigger-happy contemporaries.
The novel is briskly-paced and packed with plenty of twists and turns, but regardless of which way the plot snaked, I was mostly just interested in what Cogar would say next. There are some laugh-out-loud insults and stellar dialogue in here, falling somewhere between Indiana Jones, Spiderman, and every crass drunk you've ever encountered. I’m not sure if “smartass adventurer” is an actual subgenre, but if there is, Grant Cogar belongs at the head of the pack.
Come for the smirking one-liners, stay for the hard-hitting fisticuffs, and be prepared to root for a new kind of action hero.
The Executioner series is almost exclusively responsible for me becoming an action-adventure author (for more details, visit this earlier post). Back in the day (meaning nearly 30 holy-shit-I-am-getting-old years ago), I devoured Mack Bolan’s bullet-blazing exploits (as well as Phoenix Force, Able Team, and Stony Man) and dreamed of someday penning Executioner novels for Gold Eagle. Heck, I would have settled for Cade or Horn.
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| A boy and his dreams... |
Well, that particular dream never materialized—just like my dream of owning a Lamborghini Countach back in the 80s—but I did publish (and continue to publish) my own action-adventure novels. But a few months back, someone started kicking around the idea of an Executioner fan-fiction contest, and I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to indulge in some literary wish fulfillment and write a Mack Bolan story. The contest never got off the ground, but I decided to write the story anyway. I needed to scratch the itch. No, not like the itch your doctor gave you medicated cream for.
“Ripsaw Justice” is a 6,000 word short story that sees Bolan—plus an unexpected ally—going all guns ‘n’ guts against a ring of kiddie porn snuff-film makers. Because seriously, who hasn’t dreamed of putting bullets into those kind of dirtbags? The story is offered here in PDF format free of charge (this is fan-fiction, for entertainment purposes only, not for profit). Just click on this link, download your copy, and enjoy (hopefully).
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| Don Pendleton |
No post of this nature would be complete without a shout-out to the late, great Don Pendleton, godfather of the men’s action-adventure genre and the literary genius behind the creation of The Executioner. I did my damndest to respect his character and creed.
Happy reading, friends. Remember to always live large and stay hard.
