FOR BALLADEER’S BLOG’S SEVENTH PLACE LUDLUM NOVEL CLICK HERE
5. THE SCARLATTI INHERITANCE (1971)
TIME PERIOD: Pre-World War One Era on up through the start of the Great Depression with an epilogue set during World War Two.
This was Robert Ludlum’s very first novel and it’s a shame that the planned movie starring Ingrid Bergman never panned out. In my opinion there has never been a very good screen adaptation of a Ludlum novel. Or at least not when it comes to adaptations that are actually like their source material.
The successful Jason Bourne movies bear virtually no resemblance to the trilogy of novels that inspired them. Other films or mini-series’ adapted from Ludlum’s writings have tended to be so far off the mark that some of them qualify as classically bad, for instance The Osterman Weekend.
HEROINE: (This novel has a female and a male protagonist) Elizabeth Wyckham Scarlatti, an 1890s adventuress from American Old Money who – in her youth – spurned plenty of bloated rich pigs for not being as high-spirited and daring as she was.
Her heart and loins are finally stolen away by Italian-American Giovanni Scarlatti, a laborer in her father’s factory. Though he speaks broken English, Scarlatti’s mechanical genius is first-rate. The rebellious Elizabeth combines her own business acumen with Giovanni’s aptitude for inventions and before long the two lovers are married and have taken over the companies run by her father and plenty of his friends.
The Scarlattis continue to thrive financially through the expected hardball methods and after having three children they change the family name to Scarlett. Eventually Giovanni dies of natural causes and eldest son Roland is killed during World War One.
Making her own version of Sophie’s Choice, Elizabeth allows her brawling, bullying wastrel of a son Ulster to enlist in the Army to romantically take Roland’s place in the World War while keeping third son Chancellor in America with her to prep him to take over Scarlett Industries when she dies.
HERO: Matthew Canfield, an accountant and investigative agent for the American government – specifically Group Twenty, Ludlum’s fictional agency. Group Twenty was operative during the 1920s, when the bulk of this story takes place. Their agents specialized in uncovering financial hanky-panky in that gray area where dishonest business practices and outright criminality mingle. Continue reading
It’s been awhile since I’ve covered Inuit myths. I’ve already examined all the major gods and goddesses so here is a look at one of their mythical heroes. For my initial list of Inuit deities click 
The chief of Inuuraq’s village had sent his son and two other men off together to hunt caribou. Many days had gone by and the trio were presumed to have fallen into the hands of the roving giants. The chief asked for volunteers to search for his son and the other missing hunters, but only Inuuraq was courageous enough. 
Balladeer’s Blog spent part of this past summer on a light-hearted, escapist bit of fun by examining the very first Mantis storylines at Marvel Comics. Mantis was brought into the Marvel Cinematic Universe this year in the second Guardians of the Galaxy movie but I reviewed her ORIGINAL appearance and the 1973-1975 Celestial Madonna epic she starred in. 
II. MANTIS 2: NIGHT OF THE SWORDSMAN – Mantis and her romantic partner the Swordsman show up at Avengers Mansion and wind up helping the superteam against one of their old foes. CLICK 
NUMBER FOUR GETS SHOT DOWN – The storied CITY COLLEGE OF SAN FRANCISCO RAMS traveled to face the number 4 team in the rankings – the AMERICAN RIVER COLLEGE BEAVERS. A 20-6 1st Quarter lead for the Rams became 30-12 at Halftime and 30-26 in the 3rd Quarter. From there CCSF added 10 more points while shutting out the Beavers for a 40-26 wrapup. 
WHEN RANKED TEAMS CLASH – The 3rd ranked RIVERSIDE COLLEGE TIGERS found themselves on the road against the number 10 BAKERSFIELD COLLEGE RENEGADES. The Tigers put up 7 points in each of the 4 Quarters and led the Renegades 7-0 in the 1st Quarter, 14-6 at the Half and 21-13 in the 3rd. Bakersfield College nearly came back for a win but fell short as Riverside College won it 28-26. 
RUSTLING UP A BLOWOUT – The GOLDEN WEST COLLEGE RUSTLERS welcomed the CHAFFEY COLLEGE PANTHERS. The Rustlers kept the Panthers off the scoreboard until the 4th Quarter while producing 7, 13 and 7 more points in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Quarters respectively. The final tally in this lopsided game was Golden West College 27 Chaffey College 6. 
6. THE ROAD TO GANDOLFO (1975) 
VILLAIN: General MacKenzie Hawkins, living legend and a cross between George Patton and Peter Falk’s manipulative CIA agent in the original version of The In-Laws. 
Exiled to a diplomatic post over his tendency to make waves the General’s hard-drinking Bad Boy behavior caused an international incident between the U.S. and China. 
DOWN GOES NUMBER THREE – The 14th ranked BLINN COLLEGE BUCCANEERS welcomed the number 3 team in the nation – the TRINITY VALLEY COLLEGE CARDINALS – on Saturday. The Buccaneers and Cardinals were tied 14-14 in the 1st Quarter but Blinn College grabbed a 24-17 lead by Halftime. A 24-24 tie to end the 3rd Quarter ultimately became a 31-27 triumph for the Buccaneers, who are still unbeaten for 2017. 
AND NUMBER FOUR COMES TUMBLING AFTER – The BUTLER (KS) GRIZZLIES battled the 4th ranked IOWA WESTERN COLLEGE REIVERS. A 14-0 1st Quarter lead for the Grizzlies was cut to a mere 14-13 edge by the break. Butler College made it a 21-13 game in the 3rd Quarter, with the Reivers scoring a Touchdown in the 4th but missing the 2-point conversion attempt. The Grizzlies won it 21-19. 
HUTCH EDGES THE DEFENDING CHAMPS – The storied HUTCHINSON COLLEGE BLUE DRAGONS took it on the road against the Defending National Champions – the number 11 GARDEN CITY COLLEGE BRONCBUSTERS. The opening Quarter ended in a 7-7 tie with the Blue Dragons on top 14-7 at Halftime. Hutchinson College led the Broncbusters 28-21 to start the 4th Quarter and from there held on for a 31-28 road upset. 
MECHANICS MAKE IT TWO IN A ROW – In the USCAA (United States Collegiate Athletic Association) the WILLIAMSON COLLEGE OF THE TRADES MECHANICS followed up last week’s tight victory with a blowout win this week. Yesterday the Mechanics battled the GATTACA COLLEGE NEW JERSEYANS and parlayed a 39-0 Halftime lead into a 45-20 triumph. 
SIXTY-ONE – The NAIA’s (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) LYON COLLEGE SCOTS were on the road against the TRINITY BIBLE COLLEGE LIONS from the NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association). The Scots achieved defensive perfection while piling on the points for a SIXTY-ONE to NOTHING massacre of the Lions. 
TRIPLE OVERTIME – The game between the OTTAWA UNIVERSITY BRAVES and their hosts the FRIENDS UNIVERSITY FALCONS was the Marathon Game of the Day on Saturday. Regulation ended in a 21-21 tie, sending the game into Overtime. Things were still deadlocked after 1 OT session and again after the 2nd OT. It took Triple Overtime before the Braves at last emerged with a 34-28 victory. 
Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at the espionage novels of the late Robert Ludlum. I know it’s odd for me to write about a figure as popular as Ludlum but I’m addressing ONLY his novels in terms of my rankings. Even the novels he wrote under other names.
7. THE GEMINI CONTENDERS (1976) 
Vittorio was the sole survivor of the family. Sobered up into a more serious worldview over the massacre of his loved ones, Vittorio became a deep cover intelligence agent sabotaging Mussolini’s war effort. His twin sons are the major characters of the 1970s portion. 
