Flight to darkness [Unknown Binding]

Gil Brewer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1952

Eric Garth is a Korean War veteran who has spent the last several months of his life in a psychiatric ward. There, he becomes romantically involved with a nurse named Leda, who seems to have more than just a passing interest in the inheritance that Eric is due to receive once his ill mother passes. When Eric is fingered for a brutal murder, an incident that he doesn't remember happening, he begins doubting his own sanity. Is he a delusional killer, or has he been set-up? This is the first publication of this pulp classic in 57 years.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Flight to Darkness is at once a pulp fiction classic and a sly masterpiece of amnesia literature. At his best, Gil Brewer was as good as James M. Cain and Charles Williams, and this is Brewer at his absolute best." --Jason Starr, best-selling author of Panic Room

"Lean, lurid, and compelling." --Christa Faust, author of Money Shot

"There is a Woolrichian darkness and desperation in his best work. It stays with you a long, long time." --Max Allan Collins, best-selling author of Quarry In The Middle

"For me, Gil Brewer is the premier architect of the Gold Medal noir." --Jack O'Connell, author of The Resurrectionist

"Flight to Darkness is at once a pulp fiction classic and a sly masterpiece of amnesia literature. At his best, Gil Brewer was as good as James M. Cain and Charles Williams, and this is Brewer at his absolute best." -- Jason Starr, best-selling author of Panic Room --Review

"Lean, lurid, and compelling." -- Christa Faust, author of Money Shot --Review

"There is a Woolrichian darkness and desperation in his best work. It stays with you a long, long time." -- Max Allan Collins, best-selling author of Quarry In The Middle --Review

"For me, Gil Brewer is the premier architect of the Gold Medal noir." -- Jack O'Connell, author of The Resurrectionist --Review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Florida writer Gil Brewer (1922-1983) was the author of dozens of crime adventure novels of the 1950's and 60's, including the best seller The Red Scarf, which sold more than a million copies. The Gina Gershon movie 3-Way was based on two of Gil Brewer's novels. Brewer wrote some 30 novels between 1951 and the late 60s--very often involving an ordinary man who becomes involved with, and is often corrupted and destroyed by, an evil or designing woman. His style is simple and direct, with sharp dialogue, often achieving considerable intensity. In recent years there has been a renewed interest in Brewer's books, similar to the Jim Thompson revival of the 1980's. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Unknown Binding: 183 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett; 1St Edition edition (1952)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0006P1ZTE
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,215,706 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars solid pulp, July 19, 2011

By 

Ron Bradford (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flight to Darkness (Paperback)

Gil Brewer was a writer who was dependent on lean prose (think of a pulp-version of Ernest Hemmingway) yet who managed to create fiction with an emotional punch. Flight to Darkness, long out of print, is a solid if not spectacular novel, certainly a worthwhile read for any Brewer enthusiast. While some of the themes (amnesia for example) may seem cliche by today's standards, Brewer manages to keep the plot raw and compelling and allows us to care and sympathize with the characters (a rarity in much of crime fiction). As far as the reviewer who felt there were many typos in this version, I respectfully disagree. Compared to the original version, which I own, I feel it was cleaned up nicely.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Riddled with typos, not that compelling of a story, May 26, 2011

By 

Baron Von Cool - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flight to Darkness (Paperback)

Gil Brewer wrote some great stories in his day, but Flight To Darkness isn't one of them. It's decent enough, I suppose, for fans of this type of amnesia-noir, but comes off like a hackneyed cliche in the plot department. Brewer does serve up some nice bits of descriptive text/inner monologue here and there, but the dialogue isn't anything special, so it makes it kind of hard to connect to the characters through their conversations. To make matters worse, New Pulp Press did a poor job editing the book (as in, I don't think they edited it at all, just scanned it in and said, "who cares?" like so many reprint publishers). As a result, the book is riddled with typos and missing words, which makes for an annoying reading experience. It's also horribly overpriced for barely being 200 pages, so I'd buy it used if you buy it all.

If you want to read Gil Brewer's best stories, try: The Vengeful Virgin, A Devil for O'Shaugnessy/ The Three-way Split (note that only The Three-Way Split is any good in this double feature, and by good, I mean fantastic), The Red Scarf, and the long out-of-print, but spectacular A Killer is Loose.