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Madball
MADBALL. . . It was only cheap glass, a fraud, a come-on for the suckers who paid Doc Magus to gaze into its depths and tell them tomorrow would be better. And Doc--a decent man, a smart man--pitied them. Yet tonight, even Doc had to believe the Madball. There was nothing left to lead him to the money--enough money to spring him free of the raucous, sordid world of the pitchmen and the pickled punks, the cotton candy and the kewpie dolls--and the belly dancers who needed him for all-night alibis.
Doc was shrewd, but not quite shrewd enough. Someone else knew about the $42,000--a specialist in death, who was only yards away. . .
MADBALL is a novel of one traveling show, and of the lives of its carneys, who live to close to the edge of frenzy.
Doc was shrewd, but not quite shrewd enough. Someone else knew about the $42,000--a specialist in death, who was only yards away. . .
MADBALL is a novel of one traveling show, and of the lives of its carneys, who live to close to the edge of frenzy.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1953
9 people are currently reading
139 people want to read
About the author
Fredric Brown
808 books354 followersFredric Brown was an American science fiction and mystery writer. He was one of the boldest early writers in genre fiction in his use of narrative experimentation. While never in the front rank of popularity in his lifetime, Brown has developed a considerable cult following in the almost half century since he last wrote. His works have been periodically reprinted and he has a worldwide fan base, most notably in the U.S. and Europe, and especially in France, where there have been several recent movie adaptations of his work. He also remains popular in Japan.
Never financially secure, Brown - like many other pulp writers - often wrote at a furious pace in order to pay bills. This accounts, at least in part, for the uneven quality of his work. A newspaperman by profession, Brown was only able to devote 14 years of his life as a full-time fiction writer. Brown was also a heavy drinker, and this at times doubtless affected his productivity. A cultured man and omnivorous reader whose interests ranged far beyond those of most pulp writers, Brown had a lifelong interest in the flute, chess, poker, and the works of Lewis Carroll. Brown married twice and was the father of two sons.
Never financially secure, Brown - like many other pulp writers - often wrote at a furious pace in order to pay bills. This accounts, at least in part, for the uneven quality of his work. A newspaperman by profession, Brown was only able to devote 14 years of his life as a full-time fiction writer. Brown was also a heavy drinker, and this at times doubtless affected his productivity. A cultured man and omnivorous reader whose interests ranged far beyond those of most pulp writers, Brown had a lifelong interest in the flute, chess, poker, and the works of Lewis Carroll. Brown married twice and was the father of two sons.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
July 29, 2019
Originally published in 1953, this great hard boiled pulp novel has just been reprinted by Black Gat Books, a division of Stark House, which has reprinted a number of pulp classics over the last few years.
Set in a traveling carnival that's stopped in a small town for a few weeks before its season ends, the book is populated by carnival barkers, strippers, fortune tellers, grifters, roustabouts and a host of the other seedy types that were associated with outfits like this in the middle of the last century. Everyone around the operation is on the make and seems to have his or her own con, and if there aren't enough marks among the square johns who come out to the carnival from town, a lot of the carnies are not above taking advantage of each other, in nightly poker games and other diversions.
The stakes are raised dramatically when two of the carnies hit a bank and get away with $42,000. Before they have a chance to enjoy the money, though, they're in a car accident. One of the robbers is killed; the other is laid up in the hospital for several weeks, recovering from his injuries. By the time the second robber is able to return to the carnival, others among the carnival's crew are beginning to put two and two together. Some of them will now be looking for the stolen money, which they assume that the robbers must have hidden nearby, and once the hunt begins, no one will be safe.
The search for the stolen loot sets off a cascading series of events that constitute the novel's story. It's an intricate plot, and watching the pieces come together is hugely enjoyable. The cast of characters is also expertly devised, and Brown creates a truly believable world. Just watching the inner workings of the carnival is fun in and of itself and, all in all, this is a book that will appeal to large numbers of readers who love classic pulp fiction.
Set in a traveling carnival that's stopped in a small town for a few weeks before its season ends, the book is populated by carnival barkers, strippers, fortune tellers, grifters, roustabouts and a host of the other seedy types that were associated with outfits like this in the middle of the last century. Everyone around the operation is on the make and seems to have his or her own con, and if there aren't enough marks among the square johns who come out to the carnival from town, a lot of the carnies are not above taking advantage of each other, in nightly poker games and other diversions.
The stakes are raised dramatically when two of the carnies hit a bank and get away with $42,000. Before they have a chance to enjoy the money, though, they're in a car accident. One of the robbers is killed; the other is laid up in the hospital for several weeks, recovering from his injuries. By the time the second robber is able to return to the carnival, others among the carnival's crew are beginning to put two and two together. Some of them will now be looking for the stolen money, which they assume that the robbers must have hidden nearby, and once the hunt begins, no one will be safe.
The search for the stolen loot sets off a cascading series of events that constitute the novel's story. It's an intricate plot, and watching the pieces come together is hugely enjoyable. The cast of characters is also expertly devised, and Brown creates a truly believable world. Just watching the inner workings of the carnival is fun in and of itself and, all in all, this is a book that will appeal to large numbers of readers who love classic pulp fiction.
November 18, 2023
It’s hard to express how much I really enjoyed this swift, tightly written mystery. It has everything I love about dirty, gritty Noir Lit.
It’s set in a carnival, all the characters besides a cop or sheriff here and there are all carneys. The dialogue is out of Bukowski (cleaned up), Fante, or Jim Tully. There are the usual grifters and part-time hookers who service carneys only, a predator and his mentally challenged punk, a carnival knife thrower who’s insanely jealous of a wife he continually brutalizes, a seance artist/master of the madball and a desperate murderer on the loose.
Note: Beware the pickled punks!
It doesn’t matter that we know the identity of the killer of five or six other carnies - it’s revealed as a toss-off early on- this was the most enjoyable mystery I’ve read in quite a spell. I usually limit myself to crime-thrillers. This was discovering a new-for-me author -a master of noir.
It’s set in a carnival, all the characters besides a cop or sheriff here and there are all carneys. The dialogue is out of Bukowski (cleaned up), Fante, or Jim Tully. There are the usual grifters and part-time hookers who service carneys only, a predator and his mentally challenged punk, a carnival knife thrower who’s insanely jealous of a wife he continually brutalizes, a seance artist/master of the madball and a desperate murderer on the loose.
Note: Beware the pickled punks!
It doesn’t matter that we know the identity of the killer of five or six other carnies - it’s revealed as a toss-off early on- this was the most enjoyable mystery I’ve read in quite a spell. I usually limit myself to crime-thrillers. This was discovering a new-for-me author -a master of noir.
January 7, 2024
While this noir story involves several murders and a bank heist, we know exactly who's guilty pretty much from the outset. The mystery here is rather who will get away with the loot and which greedy fools are going to pay the price along the way. Brown keeps things tight and exciting and throws out some nice curveballs, excelling in particular at depicting carney culture with its seedy air of cheap thrills, desperation and greed. There are also some moments of genuine camaraderie and even childlike innocence, though the characters all remain steadfastly driven by greed, lust and jealousy in the end.
March 27, 2018
Terrific Pulpy Action
Madball is a terrific pulp novel that is filled with energy and excitement from cover to cover. Carneys were a hot subject in the fifties and appear in quite a few novels. Along with the carneys always come conmen, grifters, thieves, tramps, misfits, and others living at the edge of society, often on the run from something or other.
Brown fills this novel with all manner of thieves, murderers, strippers, carnival barkers, knife throwers, drifters, fortune tellers, and others. And all manner of tragic endings befall these characters, all linked together by stolen money, jealousy, fear, lust, and greed.
Brown gives us crime fiction, but it's not the usual pulp fare of a guy on the run or a mysterious body no one could have gotten to. The setting itself among the the tents and trailers in the closed tight carnival community makes this one a pleasure to read.
Madball is a terrific pulp novel that is filled with energy and excitement from cover to cover. Carneys were a hot subject in the fifties and appear in quite a few novels. Along with the carneys always come conmen, grifters, thieves, tramps, misfits, and others living at the edge of society, often on the run from something or other.
Brown fills this novel with all manner of thieves, murderers, strippers, carnival barkers, knife throwers, drifters, fortune tellers, and others. And all manner of tragic endings befall these characters, all linked together by stolen money, jealousy, fear, lust, and greed.
Brown gives us crime fiction, but it's not the usual pulp fare of a guy on the run or a mysterious body no one could have gotten to. The setting itself among the the tents and trailers in the closed tight carnival community makes this one a pleasure to read.
September 10, 2024
From 1961
This is a terrific, full, book set at a traveling carnival. I liked it more than I like most things set in circus situations (it is just such an obvious setting for horror or thrillers that I feel it usually isn’t that good). This one is.
Multiple characters work in the carnival. Characters the reader cares about die and the novel progresses.
I already knew Frederic Brown was remarkable. This confirms it.
This is a terrific, full, book set at a traveling carnival. I liked it more than I like most things set in circus situations (it is just such an obvious setting for horror or thrillers that I feel it usually isn’t that good). This one is.
Multiple characters work in the carnival. Characters the reader cares about die and the novel progresses.
I already knew Frederic Brown was remarkable. This confirms it.
December 9, 2018
Having read a Fredric Brown story or two prior to “Madball” that focused on the sordid life endemic to traveling carnivals, most notably “The Dead Ringer” I am convinced now that no one captures the aura of seamy carny life better than Mr. Brown. This is a taut, suspenseful and highly enjoyable thriller that begged to be filmed for Boris Karloff’s “Thriller” series in 1962 in like manner as his novel “Knock 3-1-2” was. One of Fredric Brown’s top five crime novels.
July 29, 2015
"Madball" is making its first ever hardcover appearance, and to round it out, Centipede have included two bonus short stories: "Come and Go Mad", considered by many to be Brown’s finest short work, and the long out of print "Greatest Poem Ever Written". Dick Adler has contributed a fine introduction. Limited to 300 copies, each one is signed by Dick Adler.
This is copy 140 of 300 signed numbered books signed by Dick Adler.
This is copy 140 of 300 signed numbered books signed by Dick Adler.
December 22, 2012
This mystery highlights the primary downside of many of Brown's novels, namely the vulgarity and nastiness of the characters and events he depicts. To say Madball takes place amongst some the seamier members of a traveling carnival is an understatement. (For once, the sensationalistic cover is an accurate indication of the contents.) But the abiding virtue of all his work is the ingenious, complicated (yet always clear) plots. The fact that one continues reading despite being repelled by the various goings-on, is a testament to the narrative skill with which he engenders suspense.
May 24, 2021
A “madball” is carney lingo for a crystal ball, the kind that Dr. Magus the alcoholic fortune teller, uses to manipulate people. Equally adept at manipulation is Burt Evans, a greedy carny sociopath who has found $42,000 in stolen cash. This drives the two main narratives with Magus brilliantly deducing the location of the stolen fortune, and Evans killing without remorse to protect it. The book provides an insider look at carnival life of the era with several fascinating characters and a relentlessly paced plot - since all the machinations need to be completed by the end of the carnival season. At its heart it’s a story about greed and what people are willing to do to get what they want, which covers a lot of bases - stealing, prostitution, murder, etc. since the carneys are not a very lawful bunch. A slice of carnival life, compelling and repellant at the same time, combined with a cracking good plot and dialog place this book near the top of the carnival noir heap. An easy five stars.
July 31, 2015
I almost overlooked this one. I hadn't realized that a Fredric Brown title had ever been released as a Gold Medal paperback. When I came across it and read the description I jumped on it. Great novel with authentic details of 1950s carney life and a great noir mystery. I have to add it to my list of favorite Fredric Brown novels, which include The Far Cry, His Name Was Death and Knock Three-One-Two.
June 2, 2020
Crimes among the carneys. Stellar cast of cronies caught in a web of avarice, cons, lust, and murder. A classic novel, reprinted in a beautifully designed new package, still leveraging the best of the past, but with bright, white paper stock the first edition never glimpsed in the madball.
December 13, 2025
An entertaining read, the theme here being Greed is Bad, and anyone inflicted by it will go to the bad.
Two carnies have committed a bank robbery and have the loot hidden on the carny site. One night after the robbery they go out to celebrate their theft, but one is killed in an accident and the other spends seven weeks in hospital. After leaving the hospital, one of the robbers returns to the carnival to grab his money, unaware someone else knows of the robbery/ money and is willing to kill if necessary to keep that dough for himself.
There are a series of murders to follow, and we know early on who The Murderer (as the author sometimes calls him) is. Another character, fortune teller Doc Magus, is also after the money and does much investigating to find it. These people have the same aim, to take the money and run. Greed is their sin. But will their Greed pay off? Even a halfwit named Sammy gets hold of the money, but can he have a happy life living it up? One cannot help turning the pages to find out.
I enjoyed this story of carny life, with its sordid atmosphere, and its backstabbing, desperate souls who'll do anything to get away from their lives of drudgery and hope for better days ahead.
And $42,000 of stolen money ( obviously a bigger sum of money back in the early 1950s) is just what the doctor ordered. A ticket for starting a new life.
A good Fredric Brown book.
Two carnies have committed a bank robbery and have the loot hidden on the carny site. One night after the robbery they go out to celebrate their theft, but one is killed in an accident and the other spends seven weeks in hospital. After leaving the hospital, one of the robbers returns to the carnival to grab his money, unaware someone else knows of the robbery/ money and is willing to kill if necessary to keep that dough for himself.
There are a series of murders to follow, and we know early on who The Murderer (as the author sometimes calls him) is. Another character, fortune teller Doc Magus, is also after the money and does much investigating to find it. These people have the same aim, to take the money and run. Greed is their sin. But will their Greed pay off? Even a halfwit named Sammy gets hold of the money, but can he have a happy life living it up? One cannot help turning the pages to find out.
I enjoyed this story of carny life, with its sordid atmosphere, and its backstabbing, desperate souls who'll do anything to get away from their lives of drudgery and hope for better days ahead.
And $42,000 of stolen money ( obviously a bigger sum of money back in the early 1950s) is just what the doctor ordered. A ticket for starting a new life.
A good Fredric Brown book.
January 13, 2022
What a hoot! This is a mad-cap sort of tale, involving a bank robbery (before the story opens), a carnival (lots of "life of the carney" sorts of sketches), multiple murders, multiple carnival people putting together the robbery and a couple of the carneys and hunting for the money and, oh, so much more!
June 18, 2017
A murder at a traveling carnival. Hi-jinks and lo-jinks ensue.
I love Brown's writing: very clear and concise, to the point. After reading two paragraphs of any of his stories, I know that I'm in good hands.
I've read what there is to read about Fredric Brown's life, and suffice to say, he had spent some time in carnies. His intimate knowledge shows in this book. There's even a lexicon for "carny talk". While he'd written several stories set in a carny before, this is his carny magnum opus. Alternately heartbreaking, shocking (for the time), and fascinating, Brown spins a satisfying tale that involves all 7 of the 7 Deadly Sins.
I love Brown's writing: very clear and concise, to the point. After reading two paragraphs of any of his stories, I know that I'm in good hands.
I've read what there is to read about Fredric Brown's life, and suffice to say, he had spent some time in carnies. His intimate knowledge shows in this book. There's even a lexicon for "carny talk". While he'd written several stories set in a carny before, this is his carny magnum opus. Alternately heartbreaking, shocking (for the time), and fascinating, Brown spins a satisfying tale that involves all 7 of the 7 Deadly Sins.
March 18, 2020
I don't want to work at the carnival anymore. A collection of carney misfits each looking for the missing $42,000, death and destruction follows.
It's well written from a number of equally desperate perspectives, and the action ramps up towards a predictably nasty conclusion. I really liked it. Some pulp fiction is worth re-discovering.
It's well written from a number of equally desperate perspectives, and the action ramps up towards a predictably nasty conclusion. I really liked it. Some pulp fiction is worth re-discovering.
July 28, 2021
I really love this book until near the end Frederic Brown made the mistake of killing off the main character Doctor Magus. To me it diffused the story and to make matters worse he ends the book killing off anybody else you could probably pull for to get the money.
The book starts off with two carnies who rob a bank and get away with 42,000 in cash. One of them is killed in the get away car crash. The other carnie named Mac Irby survives thinking he now has 42,000 in cash to live on. It sounds small in amount but converted to dollars today it would be worth 809,000 which is a huge chunk of coin.
Irby starts to make plans but what he does not realize is there someone else at the carnival who knows about the cash, where Irby has hidden it, and now kills Irby.
The killer feels good except someone witnessed the killing. A woman named Dolly and the killer now has to eliminate her without bringing more suspicion upon himself. He knows Dolly has a jealous abusive husband and the killer makes arrangements to have her husband catch her with another man so he will kill her. The plan works perfectly.
Meanwhile the woman who was sleeping with Mac Irby the night he was killed named Maybelle goes to Dr. Magus for help because the police are investigating and although she saw nothing regarding the killing she does not want to be considered a suspect because she had been with him before he was killed. She wants Dr. Magus to be her alibi and say that they spent the night together. I will quote this scene where he does a body search for money on Maybelle to make sure she is not the murderer or an accomplice too it because it gives such insight to Dr. Magus.
"She giggled a little, "Okay Doc. It won't take you long to find out, me wearing only shoes and a wrapper." and Dr. Magus replies, "Good, and I remove the shoes first to save the best for last. No, nothing in the shoes and now the wrapper.....No nothing. And now, keeping firmly in mind that money can be concealed, at least conceivably, upon any part of the body by being fastened down with adhesive tape, and that a tightly folded bill can be concealed, well, almost anywhere, and that it is too dark for me to see--He missed no inch of surface, no nook or cranny. Maybelle giggled again, "Doc, no police matron ever gave me a search like that." and Dr. Magus replies, "No police matron would have the same ulterior motive. And you have no money on you but I found something just the same. I found how badly I want to give you an alibi for tonight. So if necessity arises wearing a blue uniform we shall say you slept here with me all night-and tell only half a lie. Oh, my dear--"
And Maybelle, all of whose amours had been with younger and less experienced men, learned a few things that night that she had never know before. Young lust and then experienced lechery, with a murder in between. All in all quite a night"
Dr. Magus begins his investigation into the Irby murder and discovers he robbed the bank with the other carnie, that the money was hidden in a "punk Jar" in the unborn tent in the body of a two headed calf.
The only problem is the killer had already rifled the money and hidden it elsewhere and he has booby trapped the two headed calf with dynamite. Needless to say poor Dr. Magus is blown to smithereens without the glory of finding the money and unveiling the killer.
The flaw of the book. It ends with nearly everyone, including the killer being killed and the money burned up in a fire. A real downer. You can't take away your protagonist, especially one that is so well written and defined. Dr. Magus is a great character, flawed but a human goodness to him, and you kill him so your story loses focus and meaning. I would have given this a five star review had Dr. Magus survived.
I wish I could make a movie based on the book but I would change the ending for Dr. Magus to come out triumphant. It would be a great movie.
The book starts off with two carnies who rob a bank and get away with 42,000 in cash. One of them is killed in the get away car crash. The other carnie named Mac Irby survives thinking he now has 42,000 in cash to live on. It sounds small in amount but converted to dollars today it would be worth 809,000 which is a huge chunk of coin.
Irby starts to make plans but what he does not realize is there someone else at the carnival who knows about the cash, where Irby has hidden it, and now kills Irby.
The killer feels good except someone witnessed the killing. A woman named Dolly and the killer now has to eliminate her without bringing more suspicion upon himself. He knows Dolly has a jealous abusive husband and the killer makes arrangements to have her husband catch her with another man so he will kill her. The plan works perfectly.
Meanwhile the woman who was sleeping with Mac Irby the night he was killed named Maybelle goes to Dr. Magus for help because the police are investigating and although she saw nothing regarding the killing she does not want to be considered a suspect because she had been with him before he was killed. She wants Dr. Magus to be her alibi and say that they spent the night together. I will quote this scene where he does a body search for money on Maybelle to make sure she is not the murderer or an accomplice too it because it gives such insight to Dr. Magus.
"She giggled a little, "Okay Doc. It won't take you long to find out, me wearing only shoes and a wrapper." and Dr. Magus replies, "Good, and I remove the shoes first to save the best for last. No, nothing in the shoes and now the wrapper.....No nothing. And now, keeping firmly in mind that money can be concealed, at least conceivably, upon any part of the body by being fastened down with adhesive tape, and that a tightly folded bill can be concealed, well, almost anywhere, and that it is too dark for me to see--He missed no inch of surface, no nook or cranny. Maybelle giggled again, "Doc, no police matron ever gave me a search like that." and Dr. Magus replies, "No police matron would have the same ulterior motive. And you have no money on you but I found something just the same. I found how badly I want to give you an alibi for tonight. So if necessity arises wearing a blue uniform we shall say you slept here with me all night-and tell only half a lie. Oh, my dear--"
And Maybelle, all of whose amours had been with younger and less experienced men, learned a few things that night that she had never know before. Young lust and then experienced lechery, with a murder in between. All in all quite a night"
Dr. Magus begins his investigation into the Irby murder and discovers he robbed the bank with the other carnie, that the money was hidden in a "punk Jar" in the unborn tent in the body of a two headed calf.
The only problem is the killer had already rifled the money and hidden it elsewhere and he has booby trapped the two headed calf with dynamite. Needless to say poor Dr. Magus is blown to smithereens without the glory of finding the money and unveiling the killer.
The flaw of the book. It ends with nearly everyone, including the killer being killed and the money burned up in a fire. A real downer. You can't take away your protagonist, especially one that is so well written and defined. Dr. Magus is a great character, flawed but a human goodness to him, and you kill him so your story loses focus and meaning. I would have given this a five star review had Dr. Magus survived.
I wish I could make a movie based on the book but I would change the ending for Dr. Magus to come out triumphant. It would be a great movie.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 5, 2023
Mad Ball, written 1953 by Fredric Brown, is a tightly constructed, straight forward noir narrative of carney life and carney folks’ pursuits. About the author: “Fredric Brown was born on October 29, 1906 in Cincinnati, Ohio. According to his wife, Brown hated to write. So he did everything he could to avoid it—he’d play his flute, challenge a friend to chess, or tease his cat. But when he did write, he produced work in a wide variety of genres: mystery, science fiction, black comedy, sometimes all in the same work.” For a guy (a journalist by trade) who didn’t like to write he sure was prolific -having 🖊️ ed some 30 mystery novels and another 30 or so works of science fiction.
The set-up is simple - the end game, $42,ooo hidden on carnival grounds from a bank heist. The story - the pursuit of these ill gotten gains, heading into the close of the carnival season and winter retreat. The bodies keep falling, daily events continue as the body count rises.
A Madball Caper. “thinking how descriptive was the carney slang word for it, madball. He stared at it, but not into it, musingly. Round like the world, he thought. Like the world, sometimes seeming transparent, easy to see through; like the world, at other times mysterious and a little frightening. Not that he ever really saw anything there except once in a while when he was a little drunk and then it always scared him, but looking into it helped him to concentrate.”
New to the Game. “he’d found a man dead and instead of pretending he hadn’t found a man dead he’d called people to tell them about it. And it wasn’t fair of Jesse to be mad because how could Sammy have known, since he’d never found a dead man before, that he was supposed to go away quickly and let somebody else find the man? you never knew what you were supposed to do when something new happened until it had happened once and you’d learned, but the first time you probably did the wrong thing and so many new things kept happening …”
A masterful piece of noir - a satisfying read. Highly recommended.
The set-up is simple - the end game, $42,ooo hidden on carnival grounds from a bank heist. The story - the pursuit of these ill gotten gains, heading into the close of the carnival season and winter retreat. The bodies keep falling, daily events continue as the body count rises.
A Madball Caper. “thinking how descriptive was the carney slang word for it, madball. He stared at it, but not into it, musingly. Round like the world, he thought. Like the world, sometimes seeming transparent, easy to see through; like the world, at other times mysterious and a little frightening. Not that he ever really saw anything there except once in a while when he was a little drunk and then it always scared him, but looking into it helped him to concentrate.”
New to the Game. “he’d found a man dead and instead of pretending he hadn’t found a man dead he’d called people to tell them about it. And it wasn’t fair of Jesse to be mad because how could Sammy have known, since he’d never found a dead man before, that he was supposed to go away quickly and let somebody else find the man? you never knew what you were supposed to do when something new happened until it had happened once and you’d learned, but the first time you probably did the wrong thing and so many new things kept happening …”
A masterful piece of noir - a satisfying read. Highly recommended.
September 12, 2017
I generally favour Brown's crime stories and mysteries in comparison to his Sci Fi and consider him to be one of the leading and most original crime writers we ever had.... even though he is regretfully pretty much forgotten about these days. More than most other writers in the genre he had such an amazing sense for the bizarre and the odd that one never quite knows what to expect.
MADBALL, however, is not his best effort. Set in the world of a travelling carnival this is more interesting for its assortment of carnies and some more explicit descriptions of sexual relationships than typical for other books of its times than for its mystery.
For some strange reason all the chapters told from the killer's perspective refer to him obliquely as "the murderer" making it appear as if this was a genuine Whodunnit, yet the identity of the killer is openly revealed already at a much earlier stage and is never ever really in question.
Still, even an average Brown is more entertaining than most other books and just when you think he may have forgotten you even get a few of his typical Lewis Carroll references.
MADBALL, however, is not his best effort. Set in the world of a travelling carnival this is more interesting for its assortment of carnies and some more explicit descriptions of sexual relationships than typical for other books of its times than for its mystery.
For some strange reason all the chapters told from the killer's perspective refer to him obliquely as "the murderer" making it appear as if this was a genuine Whodunnit, yet the identity of the killer is openly revealed already at a much earlier stage and is never ever really in question.
Still, even an average Brown is more entertaining than most other books and just when you think he may have forgotten you even get a few of his typical Lewis Carroll references.
August 19, 2018
Carnival of Death
One of the things I have liked about the Ed and Am Hunter series by Frederic Brown is the frequent reference to carneys and carney life. “The Dead Ringer,” the second of that series, is set primarily at the carney and most of the volumes in that series, if not all 7, have some references to something carney.
“Madball” is a dark crime story set at a carnival and dealing with all the various characters that make the carnival work. From the stereotypical owner, Wiggins, to Dr. Magus, the mentalist, to the talkers and grinders and performers and other show people, we are introduced to the full array. We encounter the various “tops” (tents), and the mitt camp, freak show, unborn show, and even the mystery of sex show (just one thin dime, but doctors and nurses are free).
A bank robbery is the catalyst with numerous people chasing the $42,000 taken. Most of those are numbered among the 5 or 6 deaths in the book. Frederic writes in his typical easy-going cadence, unfolding a brilliant and entertaining tale.
One of the things I have liked about the Ed and Am Hunter series by Frederic Brown is the frequent reference to carneys and carney life. “The Dead Ringer,” the second of that series, is set primarily at the carney and most of the volumes in that series, if not all 7, have some references to something carney.
“Madball” is a dark crime story set at a carnival and dealing with all the various characters that make the carnival work. From the stereotypical owner, Wiggins, to Dr. Magus, the mentalist, to the talkers and grinders and performers and other show people, we are introduced to the full array. We encounter the various “tops” (tents), and the mitt camp, freak show, unborn show, and even the mystery of sex show (just one thin dime, but doctors and nurses are free).
A bank robbery is the catalyst with numerous people chasing the $42,000 taken. Most of those are numbered among the 5 or 6 deaths in the book. Frederic writes in his typical easy-going cadence, unfolding a brilliant and entertaining tale.
May 16, 2025
Madball is about a group of carnies–all of whom are always super horny–who are after some stolen money that has been hidden after a bank robbery. Brown’s writing here is quick and efficient, and the story’s structure is economical with little aimless narrative wandering and just enough quirky details to keep things interesting.
Many of the characters are stock. And some, like Sammy, the resident simpleton who comes across like a low rent Lennie, are annoying and, unfortunately, do the most to push the plot forward. But, there’s also Dr. Magus, the wise fortune teller and classic example of a carnie who is presumed dumb but can actually quote Shakespeare at the drop of a hat, and he provides some compelling moments even if his crystal ball–what he calls a madball–is largely irrelevant by the end.
All in all, it’s a fun piece of old pulp that is good for a lark but has little that’s all that memorable.
Many of the characters are stock. And some, like Sammy, the resident simpleton who comes across like a low rent Lennie, are annoying and, unfortunately, do the most to push the plot forward. But, there’s also Dr. Magus, the wise fortune teller and classic example of a carnie who is presumed dumb but can actually quote Shakespeare at the drop of a hat, and he provides some compelling moments even if his crystal ball–what he calls a madball–is largely irrelevant by the end.
All in all, it’s a fun piece of old pulp that is good for a lark but has little that’s all that memorable.
January 31, 2025
A Neat Little Crime Thriller
This book has a great plot - $42,000 from a bank robbery was hidden in a carnival and someone found it, and now that person is worried about someone finding out that he found it, so he starts killing people. In different chapters we follow the murderer, the bank robber (who’s come back to the carnival to get the money), a frightened woman and her jealous boyfriend, a friendly (and clever) fortune teller, and a rather simple-minded young man who just wants to discover what it’s like to have sex. All these characters intersect in various ways, all leading to an unexpected climax. Brown is a master storyteller ant the book moves along at a good pace. He clearly knows the carny world and creates three dimensional characters. Any fan of crime fiction should enjoy this book.
This book has a great plot - $42,000 from a bank robbery was hidden in a carnival and someone found it, and now that person is worried about someone finding out that he found it, so he starts killing people. In different chapters we follow the murderer, the bank robber (who’s come back to the carnival to get the money), a frightened woman and her jealous boyfriend, a friendly (and clever) fortune teller, and a rather simple-minded young man who just wants to discover what it’s like to have sex. All these characters intersect in various ways, all leading to an unexpected climax. Brown is a master storyteller ant the book moves along at a good pace. He clearly knows the carny world and creates three dimensional characters. Any fan of crime fiction should enjoy this book.
September 24, 2024
Mayhem rolls through the carnival as murder and stolen loot become the focus of the carnies' lives.
There's a pretty big cast of characters here, and Brown lets the reader spend time with each of them a chapter at a time. There's Doc Magus, the palm reader; Trixie and Maybelle, the dancing girls; Sammy, the simpleton; a knife thrower; the side show barkers; and a host of others, including "the murderer."
I enjoyed all the carny lingo and behind the scenes stuff most. What a great lost world to host a murder or two.
There's a pretty big cast of characters here, and Brown lets the reader spend time with each of them a chapter at a time. There's Doc Magus, the palm reader; Trixie and Maybelle, the dancing girls; Sammy, the simpleton; a knife thrower; the side show barkers; and a host of others, including "the murderer."
I enjoyed all the carny lingo and behind the scenes stuff most. What a great lost world to host a murder or two.
December 29, 2022
Started slow but finished better. I found it strange that throughout the book the murderer was sometimes referred to as The Murderer and sometimes by his name with no attempt to conceal who was being discussed. Strange.
April 25, 2023
I honestly believe that Frederic Brown is vastly underrated by the general reader. Well regarded amongst pulp aficionados his hard boiled crime stories are first rate. Add to this a tale of 'carny' men and Madball is a terrific read.
October 20, 2018
A gritty portrait of carney life in the 30s and 40s with a pretty good story. The ending was perfect.
Want to read
February 16, 2020Synopsis: Doc Magus did the crystal ball bit at the carney show. This time there was $42K at stake, and a specialist in death yards away.
May 14, 2021
One of my favorites from Brown.
December 12, 2022
First Brown mystery I've read. I've known him more for his SF short stories. This is a carnival related murder mystery. Very enjoyable so I'll probably look for more by him.
July 7, 2023
I'm pretty sure this book was written in one sitting.
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