Customer Reviews

KILLING CASTRO

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Hard Case Crime has done it again, bringing us a 1961 pseudonymous thriller from Lawrence Block. Killing Castro focuses on one member of a ragtag ensemble cast who have accepted a commission to kill Fidel Castro. They begin in Tampa, make their separate ways to Havana and . . . well . . . don't think that later history guarantees that Fidel will make it through the final reel.

The narrative is taut, the language pulpy, the plotting perfect. Drenched in booze, cigarette and cigar smoke, beans and rice and sex, the story moves to its satisfying conclusion. Along the way there are interspersed accounts of Fidel's rise to and abuse of power. And give Block special points for his knowledge of Cuba in general, Havana in particular.

The book underscores Block's persistent and longstanding talent for this sort of writing. He does it now and he could do it then. And no, hitman Turner in this book is not the prototype for Block's current hitman, John Keller. He's his own man and he's got some dangerous partners. Fidel, watch your back.

Thirty-four years old and wanted for murder, Turner has a plan to get his life back on track. One job, one golden opportunity plus twenty thousand dollars promised and he's off to Brazil to put his past behind him and live the good life. Together, Turner sets off on a mission with four other men to assassinate Fidel Castro, each member with motivations all his own. Fenton has nothing to lose. Cancer will get him if Castro's men don't. Fueled by a sense of justice, Hines plans to revenge the death of his brother, a man who fought alongside Castro and then was executed. Garth is all muscle, a man whose lack of restraint might endanger the mission before it even gets started. Garrison has his own plan. If the others fail, he will finish the job from his window and then escape. As the assassination comes together, their various motivations and personalities mix to create tensions and for some of the members, recent encounters during the mission put a kink into their original motivations. Can these men hold it together long enough to accomplish their mission and can they survive?

Hard Case Crime's publication KILLING CASTRO makes available for Lawrence Block enthusiasts a most exceedingly difficult work to obtain for fans who cannot afford the high price tag of the original edition, if one can even manage to find a copy of this rare work. Originally published as FIDEL CASTRO ASSASSINATED under the pen name Duncan Lee in 1961 by Monarch, a pseudonym never used before or afterwards, this new publication of KILLING CASTRO will allow fans a fuller insight into the totality of Lawrence Block's works. For culture and history enthusiasts, this thriller provides an intriguing look into the past. Published after the Bay of Pigs incident but before the Cuban Missile Crisis, the thriller KILLING CASTRO provides an intriguing insight into the attitudes and thoughts at the time. Original cover art by Sharif Tarabay accompanies this thriller, setting the tone from the sten gun to the younger portrait of Castro.

From the perspective of readers several decades later who are witnessing the end of Castro's regime rather than the ramp up to the height of his power, KILLING CASTRO is an intriguing document of cultural history now available to a wide range of readers. Italicized chapters provide a historical perspective on Castro. From law student dedicated to winning rights for the average man and overturning Batista's dictatorship by legal means to a leader who becomes more and more like the man he seeks to depose, the author gives a chilling portrait of the corruption of power and greed when a guerrilla warrior moves from the outsider to the one in power and revolutionary justice becomes the norm rather than law. Lawrence Block creates an intriguing echo between the motivations and changes in Castro and some of the men on a mission to assassinate him. The echo is not a simplistic parallel but rather, the author provides intriguing variations and outcomes depending on the characters involved. Although those who have read the entire Lawrence Block canon might not feel KILLING CASTRO measures up to his best and most known thrillers, certainly, this book is a must have addition to any Lawrence Block collection, a book to treasure and an intriguing lesser known work to ponder in the context of the entire Lawrence Block canon. Hats off to Hard Case Crime for making this work available!

In 1961, Duncan Lee/Lawrence Block wrote an obscure novel called "Killing Castro" that put forth the idea that a group of 5 killers ahd been paid $20,000 to assassinate Fidel Castro. Their challenge,find a way into Cuba, then kill him...

The resulting novel is remarkable, both for content and rarity. Block writes in his trademark style, fleshing out the breakneck pace of the book, and creating an 'event' that just might have happened.

Hard Case Crime gives us a true publishing jewel that is ready to be appreciated one more time.

Thank you.

Tim Lasiuta

In June 1961, Castro has been in power for two years since his Communist revolution successfully deposed corrupt the dictator Batista. Not everyone is pleased with the change in leadership; especially the Americans who loathe a Soviet beachhead ninety miles from Florida and the many Cuban expatriates who fled to the Miami for safety.

Someone using the name Hiraldo offers a $100,000 bounty for killing Castro. Five men forge an agreement of sharing the loot equally as they plot to sneak onto the island and take Castro's head with them when they leave. Ray Garrison has never worked with partners when chasing down a bounty; Michael Turner is a cold blooded killer; inexperienced teenager Jim Hines is motivated by his brother's execution; cancer victim Earl Fenton wants to have one good deed in his pocket when he meets his maker shortly; and mercenary Matt Garth sees a solid pay day. In Southern Florida the quintet receives logistical support from the exiled Cuban community who ignore their penchant for violence. Soon they will cross into Cuba heading for Havana and a date with Castro.

Not to long after the Bay of Pigs invasion (April 1961), but prior to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis is the time frame of this exciting thriller, a reprint of a 1961 tale; the story line actually reads more as a historical thriller with insight into the beginning of the Castro reign and the end of Batista then the contemporary story when first released. Although the climax is rushed, this novel is character driven and fast-paced especially once the not so magnificent five meet up. Fans will appreciate this fine Lawrence Block thriller while comparing the plot to Castro's five decade reign.

Harriet Klausner

Killing Castro has a good plot underlying a book that seemed to try to hard to be tough. There was a noticeable effort to write in the tough style, rather than the words flowing from the story as is the case in every other Block book. After reading Block's afterword, I attribute that to the speed at which the book was written and the low fee he received. As an aside, what's with all the prostitutes? The men were thinking of prostitutes, having sex with prostitutes or, in one case, confusing a woman with a prostitute.

From the moment Fidel Castro made the choice to wage war against the dictatorial government of Cuban President Fulgencio Batista and to begin the Cuban Revolution, his life was in constant jeopardy. There were the perils of guerrilla warfare in the Sierra Maestra mountains, post revolution dangers from those he deposed, civilian and military, Cuban and US, plantation owners and crime bosses, who so profited under Batista. Then there were the numerous CIA attempts to kill Castro with poison pills, toxic cigars and exploding mollusks. Rumor has it that the dictator once even volunteered to kill himself. He was joking, of course. For nearly half a century, the CIA, Cuban exiles, and heaven knows who else, have been trying to devise ways to assassinate el Presidente.

However, Lawrence Block did not know this when he wrote "Killing Castro." The book was originally published by Monarch in 1961 as "Fidel Castro Assassinated." Block used the pseudonym Lee Duncan, a moniker adopted for this novel alone.

"Killing Castro" is as much about the journeys, literal and figurative, of five men, as it is about an assassination. Five Americans are offered twenty thousand dollars apiece to kill Castro. That was really a lot of money back in 1961. The loot is to be collected after the fact. Every one of the five has different reasons for slipping into Cuba and risking his life to kill a man relatively unknown to them, except for the media, stories from Cuban exiles, and government statements. It is, after all, only 1961, two years into the revolution and shortly before the Cuban missile crisis. Each man's journey, his motivations and outcome, are what is really exciting and unexpected here. All of these characters are changed by this deadly adventure.

Then one wonders who or what entity is behind the operation? Impoverished Cuban refugees could hardly have scraped together one hundred thousand dollars. So, "who was financing the assassination? Tobacco and sugar planters? Oil refiners? Batista fascists hungry to regain power? Americans unwilling to tolerate a Communist nation ninety miles offshore?"

Interspersed between the narrative are italicized chapters which provide a historical perspective on Castro and the reasons he became involved in the politics of revolution. The history of the man, his years as a student and young revolutionary, are absolutely fascinating - especially as the changes which occur in him are contrasted with those which take place in his prospective killers. However, there are occasions when the author, through the voice of the omniscient observer, makes certain points and allegations which are way too subjective for omniscience, and border on editorializing. I think Block would have been more credible had he used one of his characters to express these personal political views.

I really enjoyed "Killing Castro," and although it is far from the author's best work, it certainly makes for an entertaining read.

Kudos to Hard Case Crime for making this most rare of Lawrence Block's thrillers available.
Jana Perskie

I haven't spent a lot of time in the Hard Case Crime series, checking in just for Stephen King's debut, The Colorado Kid (Hard Case Crime) and then not returning again until I found "Killing Castro" quite by accident.

The phrase "Killing Castro" represents a fairly common theme in early 1960s genre fiction. Who didn't want Castro gone back then, even before the Cuban Missile Crisis? The final James Bond novel, The Man With The Golden Gun (James Bond Novels), features Fidel as an off-screen bad guy, and Ian Fleming states through his characters that he feels Fidel's days are numbered. Even Rod Serling cast Peter Falk to play an undisguised version of Castro in "The Mirror", an episode fromThe Twilight Zone: Season 3 (The Definitive Edition).

What Lawrence Block does in "Killing Castro" is to take the cliche -- a brutal dictator must be paid in his own coin -- and turn it on its head in a way that Serling and Fleming didn't. A shadowy Cuban syndicate hires five Americans and sends them to the island in three assassination squads. If any one man succeeds in executing the target, each man gets $20,000. While the set-up is lean and familiar, what Block does with it is, not to engage in hyperbole, an extraordinary achievement.

Each of the five would-be hit-men is given his own distinct voice. There's Garrison, the solider of fortune who prefers to work alone. Turner, the man running from the shady past looking to stake his claim beyond the reach of U.S. extradition. There's Garth, the hired muscle. And then, most interestingly, there's Hines the college kid from upstate New York, and Fenton the aging bank teller from New England. Each man confronts his own demons along the way and is changed by the mission; the suspense ramps up not from the net tightening around Castro, but rather from each man slowly losing focus. Will Castro get away? Will any of the assassins survive to claim the reward? It's not so much the plotting of "Killing Castro" that drives the story as it is the five hit men with too much time to kill.

Block's writing style impressess -- he quotes liberally from other authors and poets, and each of his five characters has a sufficiently different voice so that you're not just reading the same hunter-stalks-his-prey episode five times over. Even Castro gets his own voice -- Block tells his story in alternating chapters, and although history proved him wrong about Castro outstaying his welcome, it's still a bold narrative maneuever.

Most exciting of all about this book was the fact that Block was barely 23 when he wrote it. Such a sophisticated, mature voice at that age. Naturally the best was yet to come.

Lawrence Block has spent around fifty years writing top-notch fiction. In his younger days, he was churning out the novels rather quickly, many of which fell out of print. The result is that these books are like little treasures just waiting to be unearthed again. Killing Castro, originally published in 1961, is one such gem.

As the title indicates, this short novel is about an attempt to kill Fidel Castro. At the time of the book's writing, Castro was still relatively new to power and Block (nor most others) would think that he would reign over Cuba for so long; in the early `60s, an assassination seemed likely. To make the attempt, five Americans are recruited for the task: Turner is a bit of a nomad, on the run after a killing and looking for funds to leave the country; Fenton is a middle-aged banker dying of cancer and hoping to make a mark before his life ends; Hines is a college student seeking revenge for his brother's death on Castro's orders; Garrison is a professional hit man and Garth is a professional thug.

The five are split into three separate missions. Garrison, ever the loner, operates alone and plans on a sniper attack. Turner and Hines are working with explosives while Garth and Fenton join a rebel group. Each runs into snags on the way to completing a mission. Garth is interesting in raping a fellow rebel while Fenton tries to oppose him. Turner and Hines begin to have their own doubts about the mission. Garrison finds himself falling for a prostitute.

Killing Castro is reminiscent of the more famous Day of the Jackal, which dealt with an assassination attempt on DeGaulle. In the Forsythe novel, the reader knows that DeGaulle wasn't really assassinated, but the suspense is still there. Here too, the reader knows that Castro was never killed, so what twists does Block have planned? Far be it from me to disclose them. While not a perfect novel (in particular, the premise for getting the characters together is a bit weak), this is still a fun, quick book that shows that even "lost" Lawrence Block is worth a read.

First, I sure hope there's a special place in heaven for Charles Ardai and all the HCC folks for bringing this treasures back into print. Block is a master at writing absolutely gripping stuff, and I'm always sad to turn that last page.

In less than 200 pages we have no fewer than five protagonists. And a few interleaved chapters of Castro-history. To pull this off, Block's characters may not be as round as the ones who wade around in the newer slightly bloaty 300+ page thrillers, but Block is the master at the telling details. We know exactly how much we need to know--and not a bit more--to decide how we feel about the characters, and how to keep them straight in our minds.

A great thrill ride, as usual for HCC!

Lawrence Block's Killing Castro (2009) is a prime example of why Hard Case Crime is such an exceptional publisher. A properly "lost" book, Killing Castro first (and last) saw print in 1961 (as Fidel Castro Assassinated), written under the pseudonym "Lee Duncan".

As well as being of interest to Block completists, Killing Castro is an astounding book - the Grand Master turns his cool, unflinching gaze to both assassins and dictators alike.

Five men are each paid $20,000 to kill Fidel Castro. The money comes from a seedy collection of expatriate revolutionaries; once middle class dissidents under Batista, they're now scheming against Castro from exile. From the start, Mr. Block creates an atmosphere of uncertainty. The revolutionaries are an unspectacular bunch, meeting in dingy back rooms.

Some of the assassins doubt the money even exists, a note of distrust that hangs over the book to its conclusion.

The would-be assassins are all American and from all walks of life. Turner is a itinerant worker; occasional trucker and part-time grifter. In a fit of anger, he killed his girlfriend and her lover. He needs the money to start a new life in Brazil. Jim Hines is a New England college boy with his whole future ahead of him. His brother fought alongside Castro, but was killed when the dictator took power. Hines is out for revenge. Garth is a thug - pure and simple. He wants the money, doesn't care about politics and has no concern beyond his next physical pleasure. Fenton is a older man and an odd fit (down to his wire-rimmed glasses). He's dying of cancer and wants to make his mark before his time comes. He's filled with a burning desire to be remembered, and sees this as his way into history. Finally, Garrison is the professional - the cold-hearted hitman with no ties. Castro is another target to him, albeit one more valuable than most.

Mr. Block splits up the five protagonists and then sends them all creeping carefully towards their bloody goal. As they spend their days in Cuba, preparing for their attempts, they each begin to have second thoughts. Initially, their motivations are clear, but the more they see of Cuba, of Castro and of one another, things begin to get muddied. Turner, the rational man, realizes that Cuba is just as good as Brazil when it comes to escape. Garth's own overpowering needs undermine his dedication. Hines learns a disheartening truth about his brother (and, more broadly, about many revolutionaries). Fenton takes part in brutal atrocities - and witnesses more. He believes he's saving himself for one final act of legend, but as the body count grows, he begins to wonder if he's making the right decision. Finally, Garrison makes the traditional failure of the cinematic killer - he grows attached to someone.

These five different conflicts are all punctuated with stories from Castro's own past - pithy analyses of the dictator's own motivations and his path to power. Mr. Block paints Castro as a man of ambition, who began with laudable motives but eventually succumbed to temptation. His story is revealed to be no different to that of his possible killers. Nor are any of the minor characters any less morally gray. No one is perfect - the more power we're given, the more damage we can do.

Killing Castro ends in a shocking turn of events. The five assassins each make their choices and have their literary judgement meted out accordingly. None of them end the book unscathed and the final pages, echoing the book's theme of uncertainty, introduce even more doubt into the mix. Mr. Block's novel is amazing - a study in how absolute anything (certainty or power) corrupts. Despite the title and the narrow focus, he's created a timeless piece, successfully reducing men and events to their essences and motivations without stripping them of the humanity necessary to tell a brilliant story. Well done to Hard Case Crime for rediscovering a lost masterpiece, easily the best I've read in the series since Memory.