Black Mask, Volume 2 edited by Otto Penzler (Audiobook Review)

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Title: Murder Is BadLuck
Series: Black Mask, Volume 2
Author: Edited by Otto Penzler
Narrator: Various
Copyright: 2011, HighBridge Audio
Duration: 6 hours, 37 minutes
Genres: pulp fiction, crime fiction
Filed in: Audiobook Reviews
Review copy provided by HighBridge Audio.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: From its launch in 1920 until its demise in 1951, the magazine Black Mask published pulp crime fiction. The first hard-boiled detective stories appeared on its pages. Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, Erle Stanley Gardner and John D. MacDonald got their start in Black Mask. The urban crime stories that appeared in Black Mask helped to shape American culture. Modern computer games, films, and television are rooted in the fiction popularized by "the seminal and venerated mystery pulp magazine" (Booklist). Never before in audio, these vintage stories are the darkest of the dark, and the best of the best.
Crime fiction fans old and new will delight in rediscovering these taut, character-rich, heart-stopping tales, now on audio for the first time.
©2010 Compilation by Otto Penzler. Introduction © 2010 Keith Alan Deutsch. (P)2011 HighBridge Company.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: In the1920’s and 30’s, America fell in love with detective stories. To meet the demand for crime fiction, several pulp magazines were born, featuring works of short detective fiction by a variety of authors who were unknown at the time, but who became very famous in the years hence. Dime Detective, Detective Story, and most famous Black Mask are just a few examples of these pulp magazines. Although Black Mask originally contained stories from a variety of genres such as adventure, western, and even romance, it was the hard-boiled detective stories that it is most known for today.
Black Mask enjoyed a tremendous amount of success from its inception in 1920, until the late 30’s when sales began to decline. This was about the time the comic book industry began to boom with the birth of Superman in 1938, and Batman in 1939. Still, Black Mask was faithfully published until its final issue was printed in 1951. Pulp magazines were the biggest trend in fiction during this period, offering readers a variety of content at a price almost anyone could afford, anywhere from 5 to 25 cents a copy. There were dozens of magazines to choose from, offering fiction from every genre. But of all the titles printed, only three are being preserved today in the Library of Congress’ Rare Book and Special Collections Division: Weird Tales, Amazing Stories, and of course Black Mask.
Now, for the first time, some of the more notable entries from the Black Mask files are being produced in an audio format. HighBridge Audio has already released three volumes in this exciting series, with nine more on the way. From what I’ve seen (or heard) so far, the collection of stories has been carefully selected, representing some of the most significant authors, stories, or recurring characters from the magazine’s long run. At the beginning of each story, there is ashort, but fact-filled, description of the story, and what is significant about it. These descriptions provide some fascinating history on an important piece of American literature and pop-culture.
Volume 2 of the collection includes:
"Ten Carats of Lead" by Stewart Sterling; read by Alan Sklar
"Murder Is Bad Luck" by Wyatt Blassingame; read by Oliver Wyman
"Her Dagger Before Me" by Talmadge Powell; read by Pete Larkin
"One Shot" by Charles G. Booth; read by Alan Sklar
"The Dancing Rats" by Richard Sale; read by Jeff Gurner
Reading these stories is like taking a trip back through time. It was a time when men wore hats and women wore gloves; the men were tough and the women were just looking for a big strong man to take care of them. It seems like the detectives in each of these stories all roll their own cigarettes, usually with Bull Durham tobacco, they always carry guns, and they’re not afraid to use them. Cars were called machines in those days, and a neon sign flashing over the street was classy instead of trashy. What mustit have been like to live in those days? We can only wonder about it now, and read these great stories of course.
I love the way a story can capture a period of time and take you there for a little while, and these writers did it as well as anyone. If you’re afan of pulp fiction, especially crime stories, then you need these Black Mask volumes in your collection.

RELATED MATERIALS:
Visit Black Mask Magazine online.
View the collection of Black Mask cover images.

CHECK OUT THESE OTHER AUDIOBOOK REVIEWS:
Black Mask Volume 1 by Otto Penzler (Audiobook Review)
Black Mask Volume 2 by Otto Penzler (Audiobook Review)
Black Mask Volume 3 by Otto Penzler (Audiobook Review)

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If you like this audiobook review, you can purchase the audiobook here:
Get “Black Mask Volume 2” edited by Otto Penzler (Unabridged Audiobook) from HighBridge Audio.

This audiobook review is based on the unabridged audiobook.
Audiobook review by Steven Brandt
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