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The Choking Rain
Los Angeles, 1932. Six months before the Olympic Games are to bring relief to a Depression-battered city, men are falling dead in the rain-swept streets, their necks broken as if by an invisible noose. Pulled into a shadowy, rain-slick storm of murder and kidnapping, ex-fighter pilot Eric Reinhold enlists a group of old friends with singular talents to track down the terror plotters and stop their deadly spree. But when tragedy strikes the group, the survivors must brave one of the last untamed places on Earth to learn the secret of the Invisible Death--a secret designed to destroy America's greatest cities, one by one…
309 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2014
2 people are currently reading
21 people want to read
About the author
Brian K. Lowe
45 books10 followersBrian K. Lowe is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He has sold over 50 stories to Galaxy's Edge, Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show, Daily Science Fiction, Cirsova, StarShipSofa, and Escape Pod.
Never one to settle on one thing, Brian has written SF (The Stolen Future, Alien House), pulp thrillers (the Nemesis series), humor (Once a Knight), and a non-fiction book on how to keep your stock portfolio safe from unscrupulous brokers.
When not wandering through space and time in his mind, Brian works as a paralegal in the securities field.
Never one to settle on one thing, Brian has written SF (The Stolen Future, Alien House), pulp thrillers (the Nemesis series), humor (Once a Knight), and a non-fiction book on how to keep your stock portfolio safe from unscrupulous brokers.
When not wandering through space and time in his mind, Brian works as a paralegal in the securities field.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 30, 2023
Disclaimer first: I picked up this book because the author, who is a fellow member of a writers' forum I belong to, mentioned it in the Books for Review thread on that forum. I don't know the author well.
This is an old-school pulp adventure, set in 1932, that could almost have been written in that year, down to contemporary references and subtleties of language. That's quite an achievement, though it does border on a fault insofar as the characters are no deeper than 1930s pulp characters would be. They have a small amount of backstory and a couple of quirks and their role in the plot, and that's about it. At times I struggled to distinguish Mary from Kate, and Ted from Eric, and "Professor Death" (whose nickname was never explained) from Damian - not so much that I was confused about who was who, but they did feel very similar to one another. I also felt that some of the characters' specific skills could have been brought out more; some could have seen more use, like Damian's chemistry knowledge, while others (the mastery of disguise by one character, for example) could have been better foreshadowed.
Kate's linguistic abilities and martial arts prowess did get a good amount of use, and her prominence and agency in the plot were a good update that probably wouldn't have appeared in many 1930s pulps; even though she does get captured through being, as she herself puts it, "too stupid to live," she contributes significantly to her own escape rather than being passively rescued. While I wouldn't say that the book has 21st-century sensibilities in the way that some books being written at the moment ignore the way historical people actually thought at the time and impose current thinking and language, it also avoids the casual sexism and racism that was prevalent in many (though not all) books a century ago, and treats its female and non-western characters with respect.
The author deliberately withholds information from the reader that's available to the characters at times, and even engages in deception, though my suspicion that he'd outright lied in the narrative at one point turned out to be technically incorrect. I haven't read enough 1930s pulp to know if this is part of the genre or specific to this author. I found it mildly annoying while it was happening, though it did set up some good reveals that compensated. (I still correctly guessed the biggest reveal, though not the other two about who was a hero and who a villain.) The advantage for the author of doing this is that he can almost get away with some events early on, when the reader doesn't know what's happening, that don't make complete sense in light of the final revelations. I was left with a number of questions, though, in retrospect.
The antagonists are early Nazis, always a strong choice, because you don't have to exaggerate to make them thoroughly villainous. The McGuffin is a clever idea, and more than plausible enough for pulp. While the plot does need a couple of minor Convenient Eavesdrops and at least one small Fortunate Coincidence to help it along, they're not egregious or constant, and the agency of appropriately motivated characters is the main plot driver.
While it's not without its minor flaws, anyone who enjoys 1930s pulp, which was often a lot more flawed in all the same ways and several others, should find it a fun ride; it has the strengths of that genre too, with a variety of challenges overcome by a mixture of intelligence, bravery and determination.
This is an old-school pulp adventure, set in 1932, that could almost have been written in that year, down to contemporary references and subtleties of language. That's quite an achievement, though it does border on a fault insofar as the characters are no deeper than 1930s pulp characters would be. They have a small amount of backstory and a couple of quirks and their role in the plot, and that's about it. At times I struggled to distinguish Mary from Kate, and Ted from Eric, and "Professor Death" (whose nickname was never explained) from Damian - not so much that I was confused about who was who, but they did feel very similar to one another. I also felt that some of the characters' specific skills could have been brought out more; some could have seen more use, like Damian's chemistry knowledge, while others (the mastery of disguise by one character, for example) could have been better foreshadowed.
Kate's linguistic abilities and martial arts prowess did get a good amount of use, and her prominence and agency in the plot were a good update that probably wouldn't have appeared in many 1930s pulps; even though she does get captured through being, as she herself puts it, "too stupid to live," she contributes significantly to her own escape rather than being passively rescued. While I wouldn't say that the book has 21st-century sensibilities in the way that some books being written at the moment ignore the way historical people actually thought at the time and impose current thinking and language, it also avoids the casual sexism and racism that was prevalent in many (though not all) books a century ago, and treats its female and non-western characters with respect.
The author deliberately withholds information from the reader that's available to the characters at times, and even engages in deception, though my suspicion that he'd outright lied in the narrative at one point turned out to be technically incorrect. I haven't read enough 1930s pulp to know if this is part of the genre or specific to this author. I found it mildly annoying while it was happening, though it did set up some good reveals that compensated. (I still correctly guessed the biggest reveal, though not the other two about who was a hero and who a villain.) The advantage for the author of doing this is that he can almost get away with some events early on, when the reader doesn't know what's happening, that don't make complete sense in light of the final revelations. I was left with a number of questions, though, in retrospect.
The antagonists are early Nazis, always a strong choice, because you don't have to exaggerate to make them thoroughly villainous. The McGuffin is a clever idea, and more than plausible enough for pulp. While the plot does need a couple of minor Convenient Eavesdrops and at least one small Fortunate Coincidence to help it along, they're not egregious or constant, and the agency of appropriately motivated characters is the main plot driver.
While it's not without its minor flaws, anyone who enjoys 1930s pulp, which was often a lot more flawed in all the same ways and several others, should find it a fun ride; it has the strengths of that genre too, with a variety of challenges overcome by a mixture of intelligence, bravery and determination.
November 29, 2017
“A Fun Story”
Men connected to the Emerald American Railroad Company are dying in the rain from strangulation, as if an invisible killer is walking the streets of L. A.
Detective-Sergeant Ted Kane is on the case. When millionaire Terence Aloysius O’Donnell’s daughter, Mary watches her fiancé die in front of her, Kane wants to question her. He’s surprised to find her in the company of his best friend’s sister, Katherine Reinhold, and with her in possible danger he calls Eric “Captain Swashbuckle” Reinhold to come and help with the investigation. Eric brings along two more friends, T.J. “Professor Death” Gillis and Damien Pierrot. Together, the old pals tackle the mystery with Katherine’s help.
The story is set during a heavy raining season in Southern California, as a mysterious brain behind a scheme kills to get what they want. The trail leads to the jungles of Brazil, giant snakes, headhunters, and a German camp of soldiers hidden from prying eyes. Can Captain Swashbuckle and his fighting team discover of secret mastermind and stop the strange deaths in L.A. before the Olympic Games?
There is some similarity to Doc Savage, Pat Savage, Monk, Ham, and Renny, and the adventure was fun. The story has a strong plot. However, at times the dialogue reminded me of The Bowery Boys or Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, but that’s not bad, as I loved those characters. The running about tended to sound like The Keystone Cops, however, and the story read a bit slow; yes, there were plenty of things happening, but it just seemed to drag on and on without getting anywhere fast. And pulp stories should never drag. Still, this is a darn good plot and I liked the characters, regardless of a few uses of wrong words and some problems with formatting – scene changes, mostly. Highly recommended.
Men connected to the Emerald American Railroad Company are dying in the rain from strangulation, as if an invisible killer is walking the streets of L. A.
Detective-Sergeant Ted Kane is on the case. When millionaire Terence Aloysius O’Donnell’s daughter, Mary watches her fiancé die in front of her, Kane wants to question her. He’s surprised to find her in the company of his best friend’s sister, Katherine Reinhold, and with her in possible danger he calls Eric “Captain Swashbuckle” Reinhold to come and help with the investigation. Eric brings along two more friends, T.J. “Professor Death” Gillis and Damien Pierrot. Together, the old pals tackle the mystery with Katherine’s help.
The story is set during a heavy raining season in Southern California, as a mysterious brain behind a scheme kills to get what they want. The trail leads to the jungles of Brazil, giant snakes, headhunters, and a German camp of soldiers hidden from prying eyes. Can Captain Swashbuckle and his fighting team discover of secret mastermind and stop the strange deaths in L.A. before the Olympic Games?
There is some similarity to Doc Savage, Pat Savage, Monk, Ham, and Renny, and the adventure was fun. The story has a strong plot. However, at times the dialogue reminded me of The Bowery Boys or Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, but that’s not bad, as I loved those characters. The running about tended to sound like The Keystone Cops, however, and the story read a bit slow; yes, there were plenty of things happening, but it just seemed to drag on and on without getting anywhere fast. And pulp stories should never drag. Still, this is a darn good plot and I liked the characters, regardless of a few uses of wrong words and some problems with formatting – scene changes, mostly. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews