QUICK SHOTS: Big Brain #2: The Beelzebub Business by Gary Brandner

I didn't think it would take me too long to get back to the Big Brain books after I read the first one a while back. It was far too groovy of a series to sit on the shelf for long. Gary Brandner is famous for writing "The Howling" and other horror titles but clearly had an affinity for mystery/thriller fiction as well. The Big Brain series gets a little flack for not being what the covers advertise. There is a sci-fi/fantasy element to the novels, but really, they work more a spy/mystery first and foremost with the fantasy being used a set-decoration. They do
ooze 70's though which is part of the appeal to me. They sort of feel like novelizations to a lost TV show of the era, something put into production to compete with "The Six Million Dollar Man" or "The Incredible Hulk." Where the thrills/action weren't exactly a mile a minute, but the ideas were big and well, groovy. 

With Colin Garret's origin out of the way "The Beelzebub Business" kicks off immediately as he's called by the super-secret Agency Zero to use his mental-super-powers to figure out what is causing so much trouble in Washington in the form of brain-washing and satanic shenanigans. The devil-worshipping/cult plot is one of my favorites when it comes to Men's Adventure and luckily for me it was all over the place in the 70's. Seems like every series character tackled a cult at some point in their action hero careers. Basically, Big Brain is a big 'ol nerd, a walking super-computer (70's style) who's brain power is so strong he can worm his way into other folks brains. Sorta like ESP. His powers are better defined (and rarely used) in this book of the series. He doesn't want to fight or get into dangerous situation but (obviously) finds himself in fights and dangerous situations. After being whisked away to D.C. he meets perky, pretty wanna-be spies in bitchin' Barracudas, tangles with long-haired hippies in dirty hippie vans, shows us novel ways of using squirt guns, fights mind-controlled killers, sleeps with a witch and blackmails his way to the solution of the problem. It struck me that Brandner might have been trying to update Sherlock Holmes for the era of "Chariots of the Gods" and "The Bionic Woman." Big Brain is supposed to be a capable cold-calculating investigator-type, he is more prone to failure then Holmes so maybe I'm wrong but the vibe of "consulting detective" and the faux-supernatural element sets my Sherlock-sense tingling. 

Look, it's a lot of fun if you're in the right mind set. If you go in looking for a "Death Merchant" or some straight-up science-fiction, you'll be disappointed. If you want your spy novel tinged with some fantasy and packed with two scoops of 70's mysticism, you'll be happy. The 2nd one is a lot of more streamlined then the first, since the back story is out of the way and since the origin of Big Brain isn't all the exciting, I'd recommend skipping that one and reading this one first then retracing your steps. I'm excited and sad that there's another entry left, "Energy Zero" but it's the last Big Brain escapade out there.