George C. ChesbroRezensionen

Mongo, Garth and zombies. As usual the brothers battle extreme right wing conspiracies with plenty of cliff hanging

Enjoyed the circus aspects and the werewolf tie in, glad the religious cult aspect was left out for a change. Tolerable new character in Mongols romantic interest, the snake charmer

This was a collection of his early short stories. Interesting as you can see how he develops and changes as a writer, and which themes recur to him again and again

Well paced and action packed, like all chesbro, but with less supernatural phenomena.a breezy & enjoyable read, despite the somewhat heavy lessons about religion, morality and humanity that are att he heart of the story

you need to completely suspend your disbelief for this one, but it was a fun ride

particularly liked this one. Plot as far fetched as ver, but very neatly done and the vulnerability of the characters and the christmas setting heightened the effect

a fairly straight spy like Mongo. nothing really supernatural, just a shoot-em up, government conspiracy type offering. With the trademark humor and pacing

As the series progresses, the books become more tightly written, the plots easiertofollow and more believable, but I feel it lacks a bit of the more surprising and fun elements of the earlier books. Still appealing though

Somehow, this story of a dwarf detective investigating sensory deprivation, faith healing and witch covens manages to be not too far out there or strange. Chesbro's matter of fact first person narrative gives the whole thing a noir fee

mongo the dwarf is back and still packs a mean kick. This time there are no supernatural or paranormal elements, just international intrigue set in Iran, which was very timely back in 76,77 when this was published and remains so today. Entertaining.

Enjoyed it. Dwarf detective, telekinesis, spies, how can u go wrong

well plotted & characterized, though as the series progresses it is moving away from the sci -fi and supernatural elements and into more mundane, if still outrageous, conspiracy theories, Spoiler ahead. stop reading, Garth gets married

stndard Mongo and Garth, promarily interesting for the addition of another female character with strengths. though still standard chesbro

The usual, religious crazies out to destroy world thwarted by mongo and Garth. This time there are biospheres , nukes & pedophilia

A mystery with Sci-fi themes - a mad scientist, gene splicing the end of the world, etc.

The hero Mongo is a former circus acrobat, karate black belt, detective dwarf.

The cover is very cool - has nothing to do with the book really

Very satisfying book that makes me eager to see what Peter Dinklage does in the role of Mongo Fredrickson, former circus star and current dwarf-private investigator & criminology professor. Bear in mind this is a 1970's-era series, and I don't know if the upcoming adaptation will be a period piece or made contemporary. Even so, good solid characters and mysteries. Recommended...even if the series has been out of print a while.

Dr. Robert Frederickson (Mango), Garth Frederickson, Mango gets in almost more trouble than he can handle when he goes to investigate the death of a FBI Agent who is also a friend,½

Fun foray into a time when Iran was still our "friend." The main character, a dwarf, has a great sense of humor and some excellent self-defense skills. The story is as improbable as it is fun. Double and triple crosses galore.

"Thermonuclear war may destroy human life--indeed, all life--over the planet, but not necessarily so. In fact, the solutions to the equations indicate that the outside parameters for our existence may be as much as three or four hundred years. But no more. The means by which we destroy ourselves cannot be predicted mathematically--and are, in any case, irrelevant. It is of no value to look around for the catastrophe that will come; in an evolutionary sense, we are the catastrophe, a unique species of self-aware, intelligent creatures that are, as an entire species, quite insane. We are, as the Triage Parabola makes quite Clear, simply an evolutionary dead end. Nature, as is well-known from even the most casual observation, is unforgiving and implacable in erasing her mistakes. On an evolutionary scale, we rose with lightning speed; we shall disappear with lightning speed. In four hundred years, or maybe only four hundred months or days or hours or seconds, there will not be a single human being left on the face of the earth. In four thousand years--a snap of the fingers in evolutionary time--there will probably not even be a trace left of our existence."

Ironically, this passage is from Chesbro's rather unusual detective novel. The hero is a dwarf of unusual intelligence, with a doctorate in criminology and experience as a flying trapeze artist in the circus. He and his brother, a New York City policeman, investigate the death of their nephew and discover a worldwide environmental plot. It is impossible to say more without giving away the story. A good, fast, fun read. By the way, this is a classic example of a cover having absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the contents, unfortunately?

I can see the flaws in this a lot more clearly than when I read it as a teenager (including some bad biology - ick!), but I still ate it up with a spoon.

I read this when it first came out, then promptly forgot author and title. For decades it has haunted me, half-formed vestigal images of a dwarf detective, gorilla communicating through chest-slung speak-and-spell, and the fantastic final chapter featuring all humanities woes set to a triumphant 17hr screening of Wagner's Ring Cycle. It was actually through Goodreads that I finally tracked down the title which had left such indelible yet hazy impression, and I was filled with nostalgia when Amazon was able to ship me a worn paperback copy.

On re-read, I can't say that this is exactly a work of high fiction, yet you have to give Chesbro credit for creating a memorable protagonist in Mongo: ex-circus dwarf, current criminology professor, he spins his karate black-belt into action by hiring out as a P.I. specializing in the occult. Um, yeah :-)

The whole thing would be utterly ludicrous, except for two things: one, the over-the-top film noir first-person narrative, which reads like Garrison Keillor's "Guy Noir" on crack. Second, Mongo himself, who I finally recognized as -- wait for it -- George R.R. Martin's Tyrion cast in a parallel, yet equally cold and uncaring universe.

That's right, if you're a fan of Martin's infamous Imp, the Bastard of Lannister, give Mongo a try and see if he can't tide you over until the next SOAIF chapter (due, we all know, whenever Martin damn well feels like it :-) Besides, Gollum the freaked-out gorilla totally owns Crichton's lamoid Amy de la Congo.

The movie was better. The movie was terrible and worth the $1 I paid to sit in the air conditioned theater and watch it.

I suppose I should be more specific.

A depressed private detective searches for people who may or maynot want to be found. He is sought out by a mysterious Tibetan woman; he doesn't believe her story of a child in peril but her knowledge of the gory details of several incidences impels him to go along. There are bad guys who are also dragons and demons, a reborn holy man, and love.

This is one of the very few books that I have ever purchased based solely on its cover. I had never heard of the author and had my doubts about buying a book about an "ex-circus performer turned hard-nosed New York private eye- with a Ph.D. in criminolgy and a black belt to boot", who also happens to be a dwarf named Mongo. But, as I said, the cover was great, so I picked it up.

Lo and behold, in spite of my misgivings, I really enjoyed this book It was well-written, told a good story, and I liked the character of Mongo enough to buy several of the other books in the series.

Great literature?-No. But definitely a fun read. Apparently, every once in a while you can judge a book by its cover.½