The Revenge of Kali-Ra

I came accross my first k.k.beck book in a used book store. I have started collecting them. The Revenge of Kali-Ra is a well crafted tale, a very enjoyable read. Slightly different in style than her books set in the 1920's, Kali-Ra grabs you at the very beginning and I couldn't put it down.

Actress Nadia Wentworth, well-known for her popularity and anatomy, has found the role that she deeply believes she was born to play: the evil, eternal and gorgeous goddess Kali-Ra, of the now-forgotten, wildly popular pulp fiction series from the '20s. Little does Nadia know that by bringing Kali-Ra and her creator Valerian Ricardo back into the public eye, she'll be setting the stage for. . . a lot of people to come tramping into her life with demands! Nick Iverson, average guy with a philosophy degree, has just discovered he's Ricardo's heir. Or would be if Ricardo's wife, Lila were dead. Which she isn't. She's very much alive and trying to spread Valerian's "message" to the masses. But that won't benefit either of them monetarily as the book is public domain now and no one owns the rights. Or do they? It appears some heavy handed fat guy in a Speedo living in some foreign county not only has the rights, but he's sending his goons--a nervous lawyer and an aged lounge singer to be exact--to get his money. Into this mix, add one Doctor of Literature, who wrote his thesis on Valerian, one burnt-out script writer who just wants some peace and a good drink, a mysterious hot young thing named Callie, and Melanie, Nadia's manager and general dog's body--the only really sane one of the bunch. Stir in one murder, a missing security man and some cheesy pulp fiction and you've got The Revenge of Kali-Ra! In this tongue-in-cheek, laugh-out-loud novel, Beck manages, easily and credibly, to bring together all these bizarre and seemingly unrelated characters. The story generally flows well and employs a few twists and turns that would have made any pulp author proud. Over all, this is a fun, breezy book and well-worth a read.

I was recently given a copy of THE REVENGE OF KALI-RA by a friend who thought I would enjoy it, knowing my fondness for Pulp fiction (and all things Pulp related).Being unfamiliar with the work of K.K. Beck, I added this novel to a precariously balanced stack of other books that had already accumulated in my bedroom that has come to called my "BOOKS TO BE READ...SOMEDAY" stack, figuring that I would get to it "eventually". But, every time I glanced at the mockingly large mound of books in the corner, the gaudy red book cover with the 30's heroine in peril on the top of the pile kept egging me on, "Pick me up and read me," it said, "thrills, spills & chills are waiting for you beneath my tawdry red cover." Finally, unable to ignore it's lure any longer, I picked up this book hesitantly, unsure what to expect from this intriguingly titled book by an author with whom I was completely unfamiliar...and am I glad that I did.This story revolves around a hot young Hollywood starlet who stumbles across a long out of print pulp novel written by a long forgotten 1920's hack by the name of Valerian Ricardo (Uncle Sid to his family back in MN). The starlet, Nadia Wentworth, decides that she must play the main character featured in a series of out of print books written by Ricardo about a femme fatale character called Kali-Ra, Queen of Doom (think Fu Manchu in a dress). Out of this simple premise follows a rollickingly good story about a flaky Hollywood starlet and her level-headed but put upon assistant, a hectoring old harridan of a widow clutching for control of her husbands memory, a drunken screenwriter being held against his will, a shady off-shore money man living in exile, a possible illegitimate child, a senile old crooner and his mountain of a chauffeur, a directionless great-great-grand-nephew from MN, and a mad dash to claim the copyright to the long forgotten, but now much in demand, writings of Valerian Ricardo. It all leads to a bevy of twists and turns, a few good laughs, and a very satisfying ending.This humorous, light-hearted send-up of Hollywood and the self-absorbed characters that live their may not be Shakespeare (or Hammett or Chandler for that matter), but if you're looking for a well told story and a memorable cast of characters, I can sincerely recommend this book.

This is not a mystery in the traditional sense. In fact, the crime is committed surprisingly close to the end of the book (and don't be let down by the solution). The real focus here is the wild sendup of trashy pulp novels from the '20s-'40s, vulturous heirs, crazed cults, and modern-day Hollywood and the idiots and sleazeballs that surround it.Every character is memorable, as well as a loving parody of some cliche, celebrity, or character type. In disagreement with one of the below reviews, the fun of the book is that all the characters are one-dimensional types. The best mysteries are usually written that way (even Agatha Christie did it with "And Then There Were None!"), so that their one domating personality trait (often the one that makes them look guilty for one reason or another) can be emphasized and the story, which surrounds the murder, is not clogged up by character development. Sure, we all love books rich in character, but mysteries often shouldn't be that way. Some writers (like Sue Grafton) can pull it off, but for most of us, it's just fine. The one side of the characters we see are always uproarious, and the characters are very well-drawn: SSelf-absorbed, dumb Nadia; resourceful, studious Melanie; eager, giddy Nick; mysterious, sexual Callie; bitter, drunken Duncan; abrasive, demanding washed-up crooner Vince; hapless, loveless Quentin; sneaky, calculating Lila; and the list rolls on.....It's the most humorously well-written book I've read, too. The prose is laced with sour humor, even in simple descriptions of characters and items, and the dialogue is witty and vital. (And the pulp novel segments are great!) The pacing is fast and interesting, never slowing too much to lose interest. All the plots weave together quite nicely, and there's even an all-around happy ending that could only happen in Hollywood. By no means your conventional murder-mystery, and more resembling some wild satire along the lines of "Soap," this book just screams "MOVIE!" This could easily be done with an obvious all-star cast; one's brain automatically fits celebrities into the roles with no trouble. A fun, light summer read, I picked it up one Sunday in July and had devoured it by Friday night. Tuck your cares away and read this book. you won't be disappointed.

Actress Nadia Wentworth, a power in Hollywood, is bored with the on-location shoot of her current movie. An early arriving monsoon interrupts Nadia's filming on the South Pacific island of Boola Lau. Nadia's assistant, Melanie Oakley, finds several books to occupy her employer's time. Normally, Nadia never reads a novel. However, a particularly weird sounding title, "The Wrath of KALI-RA" by a deceased novelist Valerian Ricardo, captures her attention. Nadia decides that the story would be the perfect vehicle for her next movie. In spite of the fact that Ricardo has been dead for years, several individuals descend on Nadia's mansion for a piece of the pie. Ricardo's alleged wife Lila manages to work her way intoNadia's inner sanctum. Ricardo's great-nephew Nick Iverson arrives with a girl friend Callie Cunningham whom he actually just met. Both have a strong interest in Ricardo and his KALI-RA series. A gangster on a Caribbean island seemingly owns the rights through the Uruguay Round agreement. Also arriving at the mansion is Professor Glen Pendergast, who has written the ultimate (and only) book on the works of Ricardo. This cast of characters soon has a mystery to solve as someone is trying to kill Nadia for defiling KALI-RA. Anyone who has read a K.K. Beck novel (see WE INTERRUPT THIS BROADCAST) knows that the story line will be irreverent, jocular, and absolutely entertaining. THE REVENGE OF KALI-RA is no exception as the novel provides an interesting, humorous, and fun reading experience. The characters are warm and though it is an ensemble of several players, the awesome author appealingly brings them together. This is another wonderfully witty work by a master of the beguiling tale.Harriet Klausner