The Revenge of Kali-Ra [Hardcover]

K. K. Beck (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1999

"I don't like it," said Raymond Vernon. "I sense a strange presence here."

"Steady, old chap," said the inspector. "I know you've had a scare, but it's all quiet now."

"Too quiet," said Raymond Vernon grimly. "Kali-Ra is here. I know it!"

Suddenly, Nick heard a shattering crash and a woman's terrified scream. He nearly dropped the book in his hand. He must stop reading these damn Kali-Ra thrillers; they were beginning to seem real. But then he realized he had heard an actual scream outside the mansion doors...

Super-bankable, way-hot movie star Nadia Wentworth has found her dream role: the all-powerful, eternally beautiful Kali-Ra, Queen of Doom-one of pulp fiction's most famous characters. Even better, no one stands between Nadia owning all the rights to the Kali-Ra novels. As far as Nadia's assistant, Melanie, can tell, Kali-Ra's creator, dissolute 1920 s novelist Valerian Ricardo, left no heirs. So, it seems that no power on earth can stop the return of Kali-Ra-or prevent Nadia from gaining untold profits and worldwide mega-stardom...

That is, until a cast of mysterious characters descend on Nadia's exotic Beverly Hills mansion-putting the level-headed Melanie in a scenario weirder than anything even she's ever seen. Nick Iversen, Valerian's great-great-nephew from Minneapolis, wants the truth about his dubious heritage. The writer's wacked-out widow, Lila, hungers to spread the "divine power" of his words and control his new fortune on the earthly plane. Haplessly sleazy lawyer Quentin Smith is out to claim the profits of Kali-Ra for his unscrupulous employer. And the mysterious Callie might have a more sinister connection to her Valerian Ricardo's creation than anyone can guess.

Determined to uncover the truth about Ricardo's legacy, Melanie attempts to untangle a web of events as fiendishly difficult as any Kali-Ra herself could devise. But from the moment one of Nadia's unwanted guests turns up stabbed and dangerous forces-including obsessed Kali-Ra Internet fans-stalk the scented night, Melanie must put her own final cut on this deadly script. Even if she must confront the most terrifying perils of celebrity ego, big-studio moviemaking-or the unholy powers of Kali-Ra herself...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Beck rightly dedicates this zany parody of 1920s exotic adventure fiction to Sax Rohmer, E. Phillip Oppenheim, the Baroness Orczy and their ilk, who created the genre. Movie superstar Nadia Wentworth reads The Wrath of Kali-Ra, written decades ago by the long-forgotten Valerian Ricardo, and determines to produce a film about the eponymous cruel dominatrix, Queen of Doom. Immediately, Nadia is besieged by a horde of greedy claimants to the Kali-Ra copyright and by others scrambling for a financial piece of the movie: Ricardo's possessive widow; his naive great-grandnephew; a scheming, possibly illegitimate granddaughter; an inquisitive academic authority on Ricardo; a luckless British screenwriter; a feckless lawyer representing a crook hiding in the Caribbean; an inept security adviser; a washed-up crooner with Mafia connections; and a mysterious "slave" of Kali-Ra. Melanie Oakley, Nadia's assistant, must sort through this dazzling hodgepodge and protect Nadia's project. Mistaken identity, accidents, fights, a stabbing and an abduction proceed apace, studded with hilarious excerpts from Ricardo's melodramatic novels. After a grand finale in which the copyright ownership is cleared and nearly all the characters pair off, readers will still be chuckling at this dead-on sendup of Hollywood and pulp fiction.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Nadia Wentworth, a big-bosomed, empty-headed Hollywood actress, chances upon a fictional character she wishes to portray. Taken from pulp novels by a jaded 1920s drug addict, Kali-Ra (the Queen of Doom) embodies a dangerous blend of eroticism, bondage, and violence. As soon as Nadia makes her plans known, grasping strangers appear on her doorstep: the author's ancient widow, an alcohol-soaked scriptwriter, and (could it be!) Kali-Ra's current incarnation. Beck's (We Interrupt This Broadcast, LJ 11/1/97) subsequent mixture of spoof, exaggerated confrontation, phoney mysticism, and murder spotlights Nadia's level-headed assistant Melanie, who saves the day. For larger collections.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Mysterious Press (March 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 089296670X
• ISBN-13: 978-0892966707
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,017,499 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

K.K. Beck (also known as Kathrine K. Beck) lives in Seattle, Washington, and is the author of 17 crime novels and one work of nonfiction, "Opal: A Life of Enchantment, Mystery and Madness." Beck is an Edgar award nominee and an Agatha award nominee.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is what I think of when some one says "a good read.", March 28, 2002

By 

Small Press Fan (parts unknown) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Revenge of Kali-Ra (Hardcover)

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.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, though mystery plays second fiddle to comedy, May 7, 2000

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"loungelizard7" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Revenge of Kali-Ra (Hardcover)

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm glad I discovered k.k.beck, August 15, 2004

By 

M. Bellows "t.bellows" (Fairfax virginia) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Revenge of Kali-Ra (Hardcover)

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.