I’ve had the distinct honor of co-editing one of the year’s finest collections of short pulpy fiction, Beat to a Pulp: Round 2 (softcover; 6 x 9; 386 pages; $15.95; ebook: $5.99), with my friend and fellow writer, David Cranmer (mastermind behind Beat to a Pulp e-zine and anthologies, the Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles shorts and novels, and many other fine projects).
Rather than reinvent the wheel, I’ll let the back-cover copy for Beat to a Pulp: Round 2 do the talking:
Smoke ’em if you got ’em, then set your jaw and steel your stance, ’cause BEAT to a PULP: Round Two is here! It’s all meat, no filler in this red-raw-and-oozing collection of twenty-nine tales of pure pulp action. You’ll find aliens, gangsters, drifters, mountain men, private dicks, gun molls, loners, misfits, drunks, thugs, booze-hounds, and more, all brawling in the pages of Round Two. And that’s just for starters.
Seething with left-hooks, uppercuts, kidney shots, and gut-punches aplenty, this powerhouse compilation doles out the genres, from hardboiled crime, western, and noir to sci-fi, fantasy, literary, horror, and more.
Round Two covers all-new ground with offerings from a gang of tried-and-true heavyweights and inspired up-and-comers, all savvy purveyors of pulp at the top of their game. Haymakers include a Hemingway pastiche by famed mystery author Bill Pronzini, a stunning Chandler homage by Hard Case Crime kingpin Charles Ardai, a post-war tale with a twist from James Reasoner, a zombie-horror nightmare by Bill Crider, and even more blows to the temple from such hotshots as Glenn Gray, Patricia Abbott, the legendary Vin Packer, and more, more, more!
Feel up to it? Then climb back in the ring. BEAT to a PULP: Round Two is ready to rumble.