FREE SAMPLE CHAPTERS! PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS AT GOODREADS!


"Shake, Rattle & Rocket!"
Travel with Eddie Atomic, Spunky, and Kioko as they blast off in the X-9 for their first outer-space adventures!
https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/395867-shake-rattle-rocket


"Ghost Saucers In the Sky!"
Adventure #2 finds the Earth trio battling Empress Cassandra, the Mad Witch of Rontarr, and solving the mystery of the deadly Ghost Saucers!
https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/322379-ghost-saucers-in-the-sky


Coming soon!
"Stratosphere Boogieman!"
Can Eddie, Kioko, and Spunky save Earth from the evil Doctor Wonder's Mechanical Man army?!
https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/395871-stratosphere-boogieman

Thanks to Gary McCluskey for the fantastic (copyrighted) cover and illustrations for my third Eddie Atomic two-fisted outer-space adventure novel! (Here are a few, plus an excerpt.) "Stratosphere Boogieman" is scheduled for mid-2015 release!

LEAGUE OF PLANETS EARTH HEADQUARTERS, 
CAPE EISENHOWER

The X-9 crew swept into McGuffin's outer office. Eddie strode in the lead.

Glick looked up. "Captain Atomic! Good to see you! I'll tell the commander you're here!"

He touched his intercom. "Sir? Captain Atomic and his crew have arrived!"

"Fine, Glick! Send them in!"

The League employee stood. "Must be important, for Commander McGuffin to call you in!"

"Important enough to keep just between us!" Eddie said, simply.

The chastened Glick watched the visitors pass. 

Spunky brought up the rear. "Cap didn't mean anything!" he assured Glick. "He just likes to keep his cards close to his vest!"

"Of course! I understand!" Glick smiled obsequiously.

"There's been a radical new wrinkle in the League arsenal," the commander began. "But before I disclose it, tell me of this latest incident!"

"Well, sir," Eddie began. "As you know, we were patrolling this side of the galaxy to its boundary. We came across nothing out of the ordinary!" 

He flashed an even-toothed grin. "I'll let Kioko take it from there!"

The girl robot related to McGuffin the runaway transport rocket she had first sighted, and her research of its history.

Eddie then told of the deadly space creature he had fought.

"Cap had to paste it one, square in the pearlies!" Spunky laughed. 

"Nicely done, Captain Atomic!" McGuffin took up an electronic-paper dispatch. "And now, it is I who has heartening news to relate!"

His presentation was interrupted. Glick entered, papers in hand.

"Forgive the intrusion, Commander! These documents that are to go out today require your signature!"

"Of course, of course!" McGuffin set them to one side. "I'll attend to them straightaway!"

Glick left. But he remained just outside the slightly ajar door.

"Now then, back to the reason I sent for you, Eddie! With the addition just now of astro-chemical power resources hidden on two League planetary installations, Tresdemer and Ilgn Athol, our offense/defense capability has been increased multi-fold!"

Eddie let out a low whistle. "Say, that is big news!"

"I'm glad that stuff's on our side!" Spunky laughed.

Kioko struck a thoughtful note. "Commander, with anything that productive of amplified intensity, the levels would have to be correctly aligned beyond even hairs'-breadth miscalculation! Are you confident of balance?"

"That very concern is at this moment being addressed," McGuffin replied. "In fact, your query directs me to the second reason for this meeting! Come, we shall pay a visit to the lab!"

(Glick hurried from his eavesdropping point.)

The X-9 crew followed McGuffin from his office. And found Glick bearing an armload of folders.

"I'm just taking these to the lab!" he explained.



.

GHOST SAUCERS IN THE SKY!              X-9 EXCERPT

Back on the saucer-rocket X-9, the three adventurers sped toward Earth.

 

"Wonder what Commander McGuffin meant by 'matter most urgent?!'" pilot Spunky asked, his eyes on the looming home world.

Eddie was entering an account of the Zero Star incident in his just-begun Saucer Log II. "Right now, I'd say that's anyone's guess!"

 

He had come far since his days as a researcher at League of Planet's predecessor Earth Agency. Fed up with constricting routine, he'd struck out on his own. An independent braving outer space, he made his own rules.

As Kioko put it, "Eddie has an amazing intellect!"

 

"And dynamite in his fists!" Spunky would add.

 

But the captain had learned the value of uniting with allies, when cooperation toward a shared goal promised advantage.

He watched as Kioko's slender fingers flew across her on-board tele-putor's command console. "Spunky, ease up on accelerators 5 and 7! Earth's League of Planets headquarters is right below us!"

The flyer flicked appropriate toggles. The X-9 began descent. "Can't even see the landing port, from this altitude!" Spunky grinned. "But who'm I to face off with navigational data?!"

"Don't ever question mecha-logistics!" cautioned Kioko. Her purple bodysuit clung. It provided sharp contrast to the male rocket-mens' bulkier silver uniforms. "They're resolutely calibrated to within one trillionth of bio-exactitude!"

Spunky threw up a hand. "Question 'em?! I can't even unnerstan' 'em!"

Eddie laughed. "Understand this: Once we've checked in with the commander, and looked over the new building, we've got to be ready to head back into space! Don't get any notions about time off!"

"None at all?!"

Eddie rose from his master-swivel. "None at all! McGuffin may have a line on trouble! And that's our cue to go into action!"

"Commander McGuffin certainly depends upon us!" Kioko's voice was breathy.

"Yeah!" Spunky cracked. "When playing by the rules isn't good enough!"

Captain Atomic shelved the Saucer Log II. "I've learned a lot from McGuffin over the years! He's on the square, for my money!"

Spunky threw over the governing-mandate lever. The X-9 settled into final ground capture.

Kioko snatched up her compact. "I have just moments to prepare for greeting!"

"Man, oh man!" Spunky affected gruffness, as he locked the aerodynamic craft into End Mode. "We're about to land, and all she's thinking about is pretty war paint!"

Eddie chuckled, and formalized the disembarking process. The ship's inner exit whirred to one side.

"Come on, let's find the Commander!" He strode toward the door. "And, Spunk," the burly captain dropped his voice, conspiratorially. "I'd take it easy on our girl here, if I were you! She's gotten us out of a couple of jams, as I recall!"

"Aw, Cap! I'm only kiddin' her along!" The flyer winked at Kioko. "She knows that, don'tcha?!"

She brushed him to one side. "Don't let it bother you, little man!"

Spunky grinned as she and Eddie moved ahead. "'Little man!'" He pulled up short -- "Huh? HEY!" -- and scrambled to catch up.

 

 

 

.

SHAKE, RATTLE & ROCKET! COMMANDER AUGUSTUS MCGUFFIN OFFICE EXCERPT

   Commander McGuffin took the Galactic Academy Class of 2019 graduation photo from his office wall. His classmates had scattered. Bigsby had become a laboratory master-analyst. Matthews, an grand-archivist. Collingsworth, a researcher. Stevenson had taken to drink and gone into the show business.

   One fellow was absent. Khabarrah Khoom. McGuffin sighed. Odd duck. The mysterious, exotic Khoom had been his roomate. Driven nearly to madness by his quest for scientific knowledge and immortality. So many tortured nights of chemical experimentation. So many fruitless bids for breakthroughs.

   And then, the explosion in the abandoned laboratory Khoom had refurbished. The terrible fire. Young Khabarrah Khoom had been horribly disfigured. His dreams dashed, the tortured wretch had vanished. Never to be heard from, again.

   Until now. McGuffin looked to the letter he held. "Great danger looms on Earth's horizon, but do not be foolish. Other planets have found reason and discretion to be salvational. Anger and violence will beget only Earth's destruction. I will soon explain further. Khabarrah."

   The desk intercom buzzed. "Commander McGuffin," said the secretary. "Earth Agency Global Control is on line one."

   The space veteran returned to his desk. He pressed the line activator. "McGuffin here."

   "Commander, we need a status report on all EA West deliveries and arrivals for the week."

   McGuffin pawed through a sheaf of printouts. "Of course, of course...it's all here." He read off the needed statistics.

   After documenting the data, the Global Control representative dropped the formal tone. "There's another matter. We've received reports of an independent craft's having left your hemisphere. What's going on there at West? You know all flights are to be pre-approved and duly regulated."

   The Commander sighed and fell back in his chair. "Of course I know that! I've been at the helm here since --" Too long. "But you don't know Captain Eddie Atomic!"

   "'Atomic,' you say? He's behind this independent space travel?"

   "He is, indeed." McGuffin studied the cosmic chip. "Atomic has a top-flight scientific mind. A marvel, really. But unfortunately, he also has an appetite for adventure, an instinctual craving for independence."

   A gasp. "But, such impulses are uncouth throwbacks. We live in reasonably-ordered, modern times, that populations might be productively channeled."

   "I know," McGuffin agreed. "But somehow, Eddie got past the uniform instruction and regimentation. He's a square peg with no time for round holes."

   The operator protested. "But there's a risk he could jeopardize Earth Agency's deliveries and financial transactions!"

   "Not a chance. Eddie Atomic has no interest in such things," McGuffin assured. "He's a wild one, I'll grant you. But otherwise harmless. He wants excitement. But no more."

   Fingering Khoom's letter, the Commander began, "I just received an alarming warning that other planets..."

The operator cut him off. "Earth Agency is not interested in other planets' affairs. Eddie Atomic's independence is unacceptable. And your own tolerant attitude toward it is most troubling. Your position with Earth Agency depends upon your effective and immediate resolution of the Atomic matter. He must return to Earth immediately."

   "But he is no longer an operative, I tell you! Now, about this message -"

   "Earth Agency has in its top echelon experts most able to deal with external issues. Confine your attentions to Earth Agency West business."

   McGuffin watched the intercom "In Use" light fade.

   Uncouth. Unacceptable. Troubling. Confine.

   He hurled his digital pencil across the office. It stuck in the wall.

                                                           * * *

.

PRAISE FOR DC LARSON'S RETRO RIFF BOOKS!



"These would be very good movie serials!"
- actor Conrad Brooks, Ed Wood's Plan 9 From Outer Space



"If they make it into a film, I want to be the robot!"
- cult film star Tura Satana, The Astro-Zombies; Mark of the Astro-Zombies; Faster Pussycat, Kill, Kill; Doll Squad



"DC Larson's luminous writing harkens back to the golden age of science fiction, when Asimov, Heinlein, Bates, and von Vogt ruled the universe!"
- Jan Alan Henderson, author Speeding Bullet, Rocky Jones: Space Ranger, and the Legendary Lydecker Brothers.



"In terms of style, DC Larson also jumped back in time for his latest novel, 'Ghost Saucers In the Sky!' which chronicles the exploits of Captain Eddie Atomic, sprightly young copilot Spunky, and beautiful robotic navigator Kioko. Penned with such early kids TV series as Rocky Jones, Space Ranger and Flash Gordon in mind, the tale is a high-octane, planet-hopping scramble through a cosmos brimming with menacing aliens, egomaniacal villains, and physics-defying rocketry."
- Jeff Berkwits, Sci Fi Magazine



"I have been reviewing books now for just about a year for Famous Monsters, and I’ve thought I’ve seen it all. Monsters, ghouls, depraved rednecks, serial killers, graphic violence and sex, etc. What I haven’t seen was a novella like this.

"If you miss the days of movie matinee serials, Flash Gordon, movies with pie plate flying saucers and strings you are going to love Shake, Rattle & Rocket.

"Just reading it brings me back to my childhood, watching reruns of classic serials, rubber monsters and spaceships dangling by a string with sparks shooting out of the back, Famous Monsters of Filmland Magazine and Saturday afternoon Creature Features. DC Larson has created something that all us monster kids can sink our teeth in.

"There is no graphic violence, sex, blood or swearing at all. And believe me, there is no need for any.

"It is well written, funny and a heck of a good read. This was the most fun I have had reading in a long time. If you miss the wholesome entertainment of a bygone era you should click on the link above and get Shake, Rattle & Rocket.

"Mr. Larson has renewed my faith that you don’t need all the senseless gore, graphic sex and foul language to entertain.

"This is a book I will treasure always and when things get out of control and I need to reflect back to a simpler time I will pull it out of my library and join in the adventures Captain Eddie Atomic and his sidekicks."
- Peter D. Schwotzer, Famous Monsters of Filmland



"DC Larson will launch you into a rugged retro-spectacular of cosmic proportions! 'Ghost Saucers In the Sky!' will abduct you with it's space age comic book charm, and thrill you with nostalgic futurism!"
- Mr. Lobo, host of cable TV's Cinema Insomnia, star of Plan 9 (2012)




"Like Flash Gordon serials from the 50s...great stories!"
- Marc Bristol, Blue Suede News



"When they make that movie, I want to do the soundtrack!"
- Barry Ryan, Rockats

"DC Larson is on our wavelength!"
- RockabillyBluesSoulman Steve Hooker 

"After only 2 chapters the characters became alive and jumped right off the pages!"
- Martin Telfser, Mars Attacks



"A space age, rock 'n' roll fantasy which brought me back to my
childhood days in the 1950s. But it takes place decades from now!
(How weird is that?) It's great fun and exciting. So give it a read
already!"
- John Holmstrom, NYC's 1970s PUNK magazine

"As a dedicated reader of Horror Monsters Magazine and Gene Vincent's 'Be-Bop-A-Lula' being the first record I ever bought - trust me, DC Larson understands the humor and the Rock'n'Roll that goes along with the whole 1950s outer space/sci fi world! Very cool stuff!" 

- Dig Wayne, Buzz and the Flyers, JoBoxers

"DC's retro-based vision of the future is much cooler and more fun than the real thing will ever be!"

- Jimmy Tremor, The Tremors

"More fun than a zombie-filled '57 Chevy racing from the

graveyard with a rockabilly soundtrack!"

- Wolfman Nick Falcon, The Young Werewolves

"Sci Fi buffs all over will dig this crazed out spacey adventure which reminds me of the nutty comic books I read in the late 1950's while wearing my tight blue-jeans, in between listening to Little Richard and watching chicks in short shorts flaunting theirs on the boardwalk! I am speechless! It's The Best In The West & The Most In The East To Say The Least!"
- Ronnie Weiser, Rollin' Rock Records

"I've just finished reading DC Larson's 'Shake, Rattle & Rocket' and 'Ghost Saucers In The Sky.' These 'chapter-play' novellas are set in 2040 and 2041 respectively and feature the X-9 chromium spaceship, which is crewed by independent space scientist, Captain Eddie Atomic, and his two sidekicks: ace pilot Spunky and gorgeous robot girl Kioko. "The books are a homage to science fiction TV series of the 50s such as 'Rocky Jones, Space Ranger' and 'Flash Gordon,' and are fast-paced - almost comic strip type - action adventures. I found both to be wonderfully refreshing reads, and it was great fun to see the heroes encounter Astro-Vampires, saucer flying teen hooligans, and minions of the evil Mystic Claw, who utter such as: "'Space Age'! Gee, it's a great time to be evil!' "In the second adventure while they try to solve the mystery of the Ghost Saucers, they face new space monsters, the mad sorceress Rontarr and her narcissistic co-conspirator, Apollo DeMilo. My favourite line of this latter's being: "My dear, I will restrict myself to facts! I am the most stunning creature in the galaxy!" Will Eddie Atomic have to dispatch these with his Solarmanite ray pistol which goes ZXZXZXZXZXZXZ! when fired? Or will he use his scientific cunning? Buy, read, enjoy, and discover! "'Ghost Saucers In The Sky' also contains a bonus horror short set in 1959, in which teenager Chet Bixbee in his V8 powered cherry-red modified roadster faces a dread sludge monster – possibly the accidental creation of a current Monsanto scientist's grandpappy!" - author Chay Tana, Quest of the Solar Flower "Great writing and imagery in classic 1950s fashion, even down to crew nicknames. I'd love to be a member of this crew. As you read on, you feel like you're there, in this fascinating world. It's a great read!" - rocker Jeff Potter "Has everything a B-movie fan would want: space zombies, hot rod saucers, and a sexy female robot!" - Eric Callero, Flying Saucers Rock and Roll ..

Nightmare Planet excerpt, "Ghost Saucers In the Sky!"

Eddie skillfully navigated the compact Jet-Orbiter down onto Nekron-Nihne. Even as they set down, he and Kioko saw that the planet had once boasted a thriving populace. Empty architecture stood in magnificence, advanced and orderly. Wide thoroughfares spidered the city, but were abandoned.

 

"I don't understand!" the manufactured space-girl ventured. "All seems quite civilized, yet -- what became of the inhabitants?"

 

"That's one puzzler whose solution the finest minds have agonized over!" Eddie released the Jet-Orbiter's bubble-hatch latch.

 

As they climbed out and onto the avenue, Eddie drew his ray-gun. "Let's watch our step..!"

 

A pool of quicksand materialized beneath them.

 

Kioko thrashed, her long limbs desperate for support but finding none. Eddie lost his ray-pistol. He strained to reach the girl robot. Every muscle rippled. His square jaw clenched.

Almost…got…her!’ his fevered mind insisted.

Suddenly, they were again on stony avenue. Nothing remained of the murky sludge.

“Come on!” Eddie urged. “Let’s wrap this up before another nightmare shows up!” 

But before Kioko could respond, a red-scaled, horned berserker lurched toward them. His left arm looked frozen in place, thrust out and swiping at thin air. His upraised right arm was crooked at the elbow, its hand a palsied claw.

 

It's ugly head was crooked onto its bony left shoulder. Its fanged mouth yawed and gnashed. Most horrifying of all was its incessant high/low groan-shriek:

 

"AAAH-OHHH! AAAH-OHHH! AAAH-OHHH!"

 

"What th-!" Eddie raised his ray-gun. "It's the damaged atmosphere! Whatever it is, it's gone Germ-Crazy!"

They edged back. Eddie instructed Kioko, "Get to the Jet Orbiter! Get Spunky on the radio! Tell him to blast with all he's got!"

 

"AAAH-OHHH! AAAH-OHHH! AAAH-OHHH!

As the tawny girl robot dashed back to the craft, the captain squared off with the microbe-deranged reptile-beast. Earth fists flew.

Kioko tried the radio. "X-9! Come in!"

No answer.

She deduced the cause. "The same germs that render this planet's atmosphere hazardous make Jet-Orbiter console transmission impossible!"

Her analysis was interrupted by a cold, claw hand on her delicate shoulder.

"AAAH-OHHH! AAAH-OHHH! AAAH-OHHH!

A second germ-crazed, reptile-man loomed.

Mascaraed eyes wide with terror, she bolted. But style proved her literal downfall as she caught a high heel and tumbled in leggy disarray.

The maniacal wretch loomed over her, arm swinging wildly.

"AAAH-OHHH! AAAH-OHHH! AAAH-OHHH!"

Still battling the original attacker, Eddie saw Kioko's peril. "Say goodnight!" he yelled, knocking the infected thing to the ground.

 

Racing to the Jet Orbiter, he sailed into the second creature.

Kioko snatched up a fallen street sign, hoping to club the captain's lurching opponent. But the battlers' revolving set-to stymied her attempted intervention. Time and again, she targeted the attacker's head, only to pull back lest she strike Eddie.

 

At length, he summoned all his strength and loosed a knuckled powerhouse that flattened the germ-crazed monstrosity.

Captain Atomic shouted hoarsely into his hand-radio. "Spunky! Full-power blast! I mean now!"

The reliable young pilot heard him. The entire planet was engulfed in a white flash that for moments rendered all blank and silent.

A moment later, Eddie saw that only he and Kioko remained.

• 
  

Astro-Vampire attack, "Shake, Rattle & Rocket!"

Eddie trained his eyes on the attackers, fingers curling about the hand-grip triggers. Each time a new target presented itself, he squeezed off a sizzling ray-round. Their return fire glanced off the X-9, rocking it. But the scientist had constructed it to withstand such attacks. It held.

"Keep the ship steady," Eddie shouted.

"I'm tryin', I'm tryin'!" Spunky strained at the levers.

An intense fusillade of infra-jolts scattered the swooping Astro-Vampires. They scrambled away.

"Very good, Captain Atomic!" Kioko ran to his side. "It would appear they are retreating."

Relieved, Spunky fell back in his driver's chair. He glanced through the wraparound windshield. Eyes wide, he again bolted upright. "Don't break out the cigars, yet!"

Two remaining Astro-Vampires had secured themselves to the X-9's hull. Flapping menacingly, they glared through the window.

Young Spunky veered and swayed the ship, but to no avail. "Can't shake 'em!"

Eddie raced to the port exit. "Keep steady, boy! I'm going out there!" Snatching a bulky space-suit, he admonished his colleagues. "You two stay put! Let's not have any heroes!"

Kioko protested. "Captain Atomic, I'm going with you!"

"Like fun you are!" Eddie pulled on a strap. "Those things are playing for keeps! It's going to be a free-for-all out there, and I'm not going to have you in the middle of it!"

He became practical. "Besides, if anything happens to me, Spunky'll need your analytical acumen to pull him through, get him back on Terra Firma. You're a very important robot, you know!"

She drifted, lovely eyes downcast. "Yes... A robot..."

In the cool blackness of space, Eddie spider-crawled around the X-9's outer shell. A tri-woven, plasti-fibre cord secured him to the ship. His eyes searched for the uninvited visitors.

He soon found them. "Sorry, boys." He clenched his teeth. "But, I happen to know that the Captain takes a dim view of stowaways!"

Throwing both arms around one fanged horror, he pried it away from the window. The two wrestled in the slow-motion agony of gravity-free space. Eddie's every muscle strained against inhuman peril, his bulky space-suit inhibiting defensive motion.

The lifeline grew taut. Teeth gnashing, maw dripping, the Astro-Vampire swiped at the line. In counter-move, Eddie twisted the monster off balance. He pressed the ray-gun tip to a wing.

ZXZXZXZXZXZXZXZXZXZ!

The blast seared a hole through the appendage, rendering it useless. The enraged creature fell into random floatation. The remaining intact wing flapped vainly.

Eddie directed a second, fatal ray-pistol blast straight into its chest.

ZXZXZXZXZXZXZXZXZXZ!

The Captain smiled. One down, one to go.

But this was the larger of the two, and it attacked from behind. Wrapping a forearm around the scientist's throat, it squeezed until Eddie felt his head would burst inside the space helmet.

The Captain grimaced in pain. His frantic hands clawed at space.

The Astro-Vampire opened wide its foul, slavering jaws, exposing dagger-teeth yearning to tear and ravage Earth flesh.

Desperate, Eddie wrenched the static-antennae loose from the creature's head. The unearthly thing became frantic, its arms and legs jerking spasmodically.

A well-directed space-boot kick sent the vanquished beast arcing into the void.

The battle finished, Eddie held tight to the starship's hull and turned back toward the door.

Then he saw Kioko.

"Captain Atomic, I'll show you who's just a robot," she declared through their helmets' communication link. Salvatory guide line in hand, she inched toward the scientist. "Take hold of this and follow me."

Eddie saw a third Astro-Vampire rise up behind the unaware girl robot savior. It raised its arms, poising to strike.

Without thinking, the scientist fired his ray-pistol.

ZXZXZXZXZXZXZXZXZXZ!

Kioko shrieked as the ray beam passed her delicate ear and found its target, just over her shoulder. The crispy and shriveled space menace wafted away.

Enraged, Eddie crawled across the hull to Kioko. Jerking her erect, he snapped. "Now you get something straight, girl! I'm the captain of this ship and what I say, goes! There are to be no more cockamamie stunts! Understood?"

Like · Comment · Share