ICH
BIN EIN AUSLANDER
A Review of Michael
Patrick Sullivan's THE AUSLANDER FILES
by Andrew Salmon
The debate has raged on
since New Pulp first burst on the scene: what exactly is "new" about
New Pulp? Should today's pulpsmiths be trying to recapture the style and tone
of the great pulp yarns of yesteryear or should they be trying to re-invent the
form for a modern audience?
Here's another question:
what if you can do both?
THE AUSLANDER FILES by
Michael Patrick Sullivan is the answer to that last question.
The premise is
deceptively simple: a WW2 German agent wakes up in a hotel room in the US. He
can't remember who he is and he has false identification for multiple
identities. He calls himself The Auslander, the Outsider. He dreams of
terrorist acts, espionage, sabotage and concludes that he is the architect of
these pending crippling attacks on the US war effort. Yet his devotion to
Nazism has been lost along with his name and identity and he must race against
the clock, and around the country, to prevent the operations from taking place.
What follows from this
are 10 punchy tales collected for the first time by Pulp 2.0, 10 sustained,
machine-gun blasts of pulp action! THE AUSLANDER FILES is one of the best New
Pulp releases of the year - hell, it's one of the best New Pulp books I've ever
read.
Each tale kicks off in
the middle of the action. The Auslander is on the scene and fighting not only
his own people but the average citizen as well, trying to save the day while
every hand is against him. Assassinations, abductions, sabotage, bombings...
The Auslander frantically attempts undo the evil he himself has devised before
it's too late. The tales are short, quick, addictive reads averaging out to
about 10 pages a pop. Yes, they are formulaic but this must be overlooked in
light of the fact that they were originally published months apart, which
required some recapping of the overall premise. This minor stumbling point is
easily sidestepped by the intense writing and pace of each actioner. The
Auslander is a complex character and this is no small feat as we do not learn
who he is by the end of the collection. What does come across is his
willingness to do whatever it takes to prevent the destruction he has set in
motion.
I enjoyed all of the
tales in this collection. If I had to pick a favorite it would be "The
Yellow Star of Antwerp" for its emotional resonance as well as how it
depicts just how far The Auslander will go to prevent further bloodshed. Ultimately,
all of the stories work very well. Very well indeed.
My only knock against
the collection is the odd problems with tense and a typo or two. Jarring, yes,
but not debilitating. Bumps along this roller-coaster ride do not derail the
train. Trust me, pulp fans, you want to get on board The Auslander express. If
you like quick, shot-to-the-gut action tales, look no further. If you like a
tormented lead character, THE AUSLANDER FILES has your poison. A great read,
start to finish, don't miss it.
