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John Conquer #2
Conquer: Fear Of A Black Cat
Who's The Black Private Dick That's A Hex Machine With All The Tricks?
CONQUER!
It’s 1977 and gods and demons stroll the red-hot streets of the N-Y-C. The Summer of Sam is in full swing when the fortune teller who raised John turns up dead and mutilated in her kitchen. Conquer vows to turn the Five Boroughs upside down in order to find the doer. Is it the elusive .44 Caliber Killer? Is it the Devil of Harlem, King Solomon? What do block parties in the Bronx gotta do with the price of bread? Is John finally in over his afro?
Betta read the book, sucka, and find out!
Hotter Than Hellboy, Cooler Than Constantine!
CONQUER!
It’s 1977 and gods and demons stroll the red-hot streets of the N-Y-C. The Summer of Sam is in full swing when the fortune teller who raised John turns up dead and mutilated in her kitchen. Conquer vows to turn the Five Boroughs upside down in order to find the doer. Is it the elusive .44 Caliber Killer? Is it the Devil of Harlem, King Solomon? What do block parties in the Bronx gotta do with the price of bread? Is John finally in over his afro?
Betta read the book, sucka, and find out!
Hotter Than Hellboy, Cooler Than Constantine!
524 pages, Paperback
Published August 21, 2023
5 people want to read
About the author
Edward M. Erdelac
80 books114 followersEdward M. Erdelac is the author of thirteen novels including the acclaimed Judeocentric/Lovecraftian weird western series Merkabah Rider, Rainbringer: Zora Neale Hurston Against The Lovecraftian Mythos, Conquer, Monstrumfuhrer from Comet Press, Terovolas from JournalStone Publishing, and Andersonville from Random House/Hydra.
Born in Indiana, educated in Chicago, he lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife and a bona fide slew of kids and cats.
Born in Indiana, educated in Chicago, he lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife and a bona fide slew of kids and cats.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 6, 2024
When John Conquer gets called to a crime scene, he's tasked with solving the grisly murder of the woman who raised him and a friend of hers. But how does that relate to his other case, tailing the daughter of Harlem's devil, King Solomon Keyes?
I loved the first Conquer collection and the sheer size of this thing surprised me. That's what she said. Anyway, this is 500+ pages of blaxploitation plus magic from various traditions.
This is one of those books where it's best to go in as cold as possible. Conquer's cases take him all over Harlem and the NYC area. There's some interaction with historical figures and places from the time of the tale, the hot summer of 1977. The private dick that's a hex machine with all the tricks goes up against all kinds of crazy shit.
I'm underselling this. Conquer goes through the wringer a couple times in this. Erdelac manages to tie everything together nicely at the end. I have to admit, I didn't see how all the threads would converge at first and a lot of time was spent on things that didn't seem important until they were. Erdelac plays with some PI fiction traditions and did his homework on the various magical practices, as usual. No D&D fireballs here.
Erdelac's writing has come along quite a bit since I first discovered the Merkabah Rider whenever that was. It feels a lot more confident now. I probably would have wolfed this down in one day if my kindle hadn't needed charging near the end. By the end, I was as spent as Conquer was.
I loved the first Conquer collection and the sheer size of this thing surprised me. That's what she said. Anyway, this is 500+ pages of blaxploitation plus magic from various traditions.
This is one of those books where it's best to go in as cold as possible. Conquer's cases take him all over Harlem and the NYC area. There's some interaction with historical figures and places from the time of the tale, the hot summer of 1977. The private dick that's a hex machine with all the tricks goes up against all kinds of crazy shit.
I'm underselling this. Conquer goes through the wringer a couple times in this. Erdelac manages to tie everything together nicely at the end. I have to admit, I didn't see how all the threads would converge at first and a lot of time was spent on things that didn't seem important until they were. Erdelac plays with some PI fiction traditions and did his homework on the various magical practices, as usual. No D&D fireballs here.
Erdelac's writing has come along quite a bit since I first discovered the Merkabah Rider whenever that was. It feels a lot more confident now. I probably would have wolfed this down in one day if my kindle hadn't needed charging near the end. By the end, I was as spent as Conquer was.
October 12, 2023
At last, after a 2 year wait, the baddest brutha out there is back, with his wisecracking sidekick, the ghost Pope (of the automobile) also along for the ride. Was it worth the wait? You bet it was! I'm glad Conquer got his 0wn full-length novel (this one is just over 500 pages) this time.
This is essentially a detective/crime story, with plenty of magic and black hoodoo thrown in to separate it from the rest of the pack. That's what makes Conquer cool-he does do detective work the old way, but he's also quite adept at using magic charms and spells to find out what he needs. Worth noting: some of his most fun magic charms are ones that sure help in NYC! He's got one that makes people not notice his car (No See Um wax) good for avoiding the cops, and another that always guarantees him a parking space throughout the city.
The plot is good, moves fast, and is a good combo of normal and magic. If you really need the plot, read the synopsis. I'm just covering what works.
The best thing is how realistic this seems. It's set in 1970's Harlem, and if the author didn't live through the period, he sure did his research. Reading this feels like a time warp-you'll feel like you are actually in 1978, you dig? The clothes, mannerisms, language...it's all here, true to life. Plenty of famous places from the era figure into the plot as settings, such as CBGB's and Studio 54. Yes, there is disco in this book, and yes, Conquer himself thinks disco sucks, and I agree with him. He's way too cool for that stuff.
Also worth noting: as good as Conquer is, the supporting characters are quite strong also. A couple from the prior book are still part of the show, and there's one new one, Oshkosh, who is fantastic, one of the funniest characters so far in the series.
If you liked the first collection of stories, you'll love this one. If you haven't read the first one, you can still read this as a stand alone. Reading the first one does help with the background, though.
This is essentially a detective/crime story, with plenty of magic and black hoodoo thrown in to separate it from the rest of the pack. That's what makes Conquer cool-he does do detective work the old way, but he's also quite adept at using magic charms and spells to find out what he needs. Worth noting: some of his most fun magic charms are ones that sure help in NYC! He's got one that makes people not notice his car (No See Um wax) good for avoiding the cops, and another that always guarantees him a parking space throughout the city.
The plot is good, moves fast, and is a good combo of normal and magic. If you really need the plot, read the synopsis. I'm just covering what works.
The best thing is how realistic this seems. It's set in 1970's Harlem, and if the author didn't live through the period, he sure did his research. Reading this feels like a time warp-you'll feel like you are actually in 1978, you dig? The clothes, mannerisms, language...it's all here, true to life. Plenty of famous places from the era figure into the plot as settings, such as CBGB's and Studio 54. Yes, there is disco in this book, and yes, Conquer himself thinks disco sucks, and I agree with him. He's way too cool for that stuff.
Also worth noting: as good as Conquer is, the supporting characters are quite strong also. A couple from the prior book are still part of the show, and there's one new one, Oshkosh, who is fantastic, one of the funniest characters so far in the series.
If you liked the first collection of stories, you'll love this one. If you haven't read the first one, you can still read this as a stand alone. Reading the first one does help with the background, though.
August 22, 2024
(Actually I've read the Kindle version, sosumi.) John C. steps out into Harlem again, and a lot of things happen. This is a very fine rendering of 1970s New York, a homage to the time and place. There's plenty of sneaky jokes thrown in (I'm sure I missed quite a few), the plot does some meandering (a bit beyond optimum, IMO), but tying the ground roots of rap with the Son of Sam affair is pure brilliance. Want more!
October 13, 2023
A worthy sequel to the anthology that gave us the title character. I wasn't expecting a full length novel when I got it because the first book was an anthology of short stories but it was a great read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
February 1, 2026
Solid story. I think that it’s more like a 3.5 or 3.75 because Ed blatantly shoehorned in a lot of references to late 1970s NYC. Those references felt awkward instead of organically included. Hoping to see more Conquer stories.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews