The Living Shadow by Maxwell Grant (Walter B. Gibson)

I’ve read a number of pulp adventures with a wide variety of main characters but have never sampled one of the greatest of all time.  The Shadow. High time I corrected that. 

First published in 1931, “The Living Shadow” is the very first pulp novel in The Shadow series. It was written by Walter B. Gibson, the creator and main writer of the series under the name "Maxwell Grant." The character would evolve considerably over the years, branching out into all forms of media entertainment but many of the character’s traits are already found in this first story, including the red-lined black cloak and slouch hat, and of course his uncanny ability to hide by blending into shadows.

Throughout the book The Shadow remains an extremely nebulous character.  We tend to learn about him through other characters and their reactions to what they encounter but never The Shadow himself.  Certainly not his name or who he actually is.  Instead, the story’s main character is Harry Vincent, a man down on his luck who has decided to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge in New York.  A mysterious man prevents this and extracts a loyal promise that Harry will work for him from now on. The Shadow, of course.

Harry becomes the foil for the reader, accepting circumstances as they are no matter how strange.  We follow along in his shoes as he assists his mysterious benefactor in solving a case involving a Chinatown mastermind, a murdered millionaire, and missing jewels.  Harry knows no more about The Shadow than we do.

There are a number of “firsts” in this book; characteristics that would become hallmarks of the series.  These include The Shadow as a master of disguise, messages written in disappearing blue ink, verbal messages with emphasized words, and The Shadow’s Fritz the janitor identity.  Harry is the first of an entire network of recruited agents that work for The Shadow and we also meet Claude Fellows who is more of an administrative desk man.

All in all, I was fairly well impressed with the quality of the writing and the complexity of the mystery tale that unfolded. I’ll be reading many more of these books to be sure.

The Deep Blue Good-by (Travis McGee) by John D. MacDonald

I first read this novel back in High School and was ill-prepared to appreciate its style.  I had read science fiction, fantasy, and books like Doc Savage almost exclusively and I thought it was high time I branched out.  In fact, I think this was the first book of the hard boiled crime/noir/PI genre I had ever read.  It seemed dull to me at the time but as I grew older (and older) and sampled more and more of the genre and came to love it even, I knew that someday I would get back to Travis McGee and see what it was that I had missed all those years before.

Turned out I was correct.  This time around I thoroughly enjoyed it and will now plan to read the rest of the entire series over the next several years.  The fascinating thing about this book is not so much the plot (although it’s a good one), or the setting (also good), but rather the character of Travis McGee himself.  I really enjoy his approach to life and his ability to thumb his nose at what “traditional” society expects, choosing to live how he wants.  Accumulating money is not his end goal.  He looks out for those that are getting bullied or become innocent victims of the powerful so we readers want to root for him.

The author’s prose is also great fun to read, something else that I under-appreciated in my youth.  He could turn a phrase with the best of them and say so much with a single sentence.  Yes, I look forward to my journey with Travis over the entire 21 novel set.  Overall I give it 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 because of the sheer joy I experienced at proving my youthful opinion so very wrong.

Usher's Passing by Robert R. McCammon

For my Halloween read this year, I chose an author that I can always count on for a great read (not just a great horror read but a great read in general).  This one certainly fulfilled my hopes and expectations.

For those that remember the plot of Edgar Allan Poe’s "The Fall of the House of Usher" (and if it’s been a while, I suggest you review a plot synopsis at the very least), Roderick Usher suffers from a condition that is part hypochondria and part acute anxiety that is triggered by sensory overload.  He also believes the house he lives in to be alive, and that this sentience arises from the arrangement of the masonry and vegetation surrounding it.

These themes play out in all their intriguing and horrific glory in this “sequel” novel.  Rix Usher is a descendant of the Usher clan and he has reluctantly returned to Usherland, a huge compound worthy of the family behind the enormously rich and powerful Usher Armaments Company. Along with his brother and sister, they await the imminent passing of the current patriarch, Walen Usher. While the brother and sister vie for selection as the heir to the company leadership, Rix, a former best-selling horror author is struggling to recapture that magic and wants to turn his focus toward writing a family history. 

I really enjoyed how the author shows us how Rix uncovers the history of his family.  While Rix researches old letters, journals, newspaper clippings etc. from the secretive family archives, we get to live those scenes and learn of all five prior generations, all the way back to Roderick.  While lots of juicy details and intrigue are uncovered, it all becomes a complex puzzle as we continue to learn about more pieces throughout the book.  Along with all of that is an assortment of supporting characters, many of which are…a little odd.  

The horror aspects through the first 3/4ths of the book are pretty much confined to odd happenings such as some disappearing children, rumors of “The Pumpkin Man” and his giant black panther pet in the woods, references to the King of the Mountain, etc.  Also, we get to witness the real-life horror that can happen when greedy siblings compete for untold wealth. McCammon masterfully builds the suspense and the horror until it explodes in truly scary fashion.  The horror combines aspects of traditional haunted house scariness, witchcraft-style magic and bestial attacks. He weaves in the historical themes from Poe’s original story along with the historical puzzle pieces we’ve learned through Rix’s research. It is, indeed, a complex structure but McCammon pulls it off, just as I had hoped.

A great choice for reading late at night and into the wee hours of an October morning.  But I recommend leaving the lights on.

The Dead Stay Dumb by James Hadley Chase

Out of the 5 or 6 novels I’ve read by James Hadley Chase, this one is my favorite so far.  I understand that this author turned to full-time writing after his very first novel was published (No Orchid for Miss Blandish) and since this is only his second novel, the quality is really quite remarkable.

Make no mistake, this is one hard-boiled crime story.  It’s a gangster novel through and through and is often violent and even brutal in its approach.  Dillon is a hardened criminal but never content with his level of power.  He works his way up the mobster ladder through deceit, double-cross, and murder.  And the more power he gets, the easier it is for him to take the easy way forward and simply eliminate his competition.

The story is rounded out with a handful of important characters that are associated with Dillon.  While most of them are also criminals, they tend to have at least some sort of redeeming quality that makes the reader root for them in hopes they will finally give Dillon what he deserves.   Many times, they actually feel like the main character of the story, particularly Myra, who becomes a gun moll for Dillon. 

This novel is certainly not for everyone.  It was written in the early 1940's so the violence and degradation is pretty mild by today’s standards.  Nevertheless, some characters’ stories are tragic, and you really get gut-punched a couple of times.  For me, it was a worthy reading experience even if I do feel the need to go read something akin to Winnie-the-Pooh next, just to provide balance to my outlook on life. 

Devil Take Her by Fan Nichols

Fay Adams is a lounge singer, and a pretty good one.  She has the looks, a nice singing voice and the kind of sweet personality that keeps her fans and admirers coming back for encore performances.  The only problem is, she’s got a secret.  She didn’t choose the backwater town of Bayport Florida as a way to jump-start her career, but rather as an out-of-the-way locale that would keep her hidden from her former life in New York, one step away from a role on Broadway, and a double-murder rap.  She didn’t commit the murders but she was there and the evidence all points to her…so she ran.

This sounds like a set-up for a movie-of-the-week melodrama but it was far better than I expected it to be.  The character of Fay Adams is certainly a flawed one, allowing herself to be ruled by greed for fame and fortune and not at all leery of using other people for her own ends. Her choices grow riskier as she tries to make fast money and she grows more and more desperate as she gets in over her head.  But as the protagonist of the story you can’t help but root for her to overcome it all, and turn herself around.  

Several years ago I acquired a huge box of beat-up old paperbacks from the 1940s-1960s and occasionally I pull one out at random and give it a whirl.  I had never heard of this one before (or the author) so it was very surprising when I found myself completely absorbed after the first few pages.  My research indicates that the author, Fan Nichols, began her career as a mainstream novelist but then dabbled in romance and then moved towards crime fiction.  She evidently enjoyed writing career driven female characters and thus most of her work was sold to genre paperback original publishers like Popular Library.  I don’t know that this one was ever picked up for re-publication but it should be.  Hard Case Crime or Stark House Publishing should take a look.

ll need to be on the lookout for more Fan Nichols stories.

Quantrell's Raiders by Frank Gruber

Frank Gruber, one of the most prolific pulp writers of all time, is also famous for saying there are only seven different plots for westerns.  One of those is the “Outlaw story” in which outlaw gangs dominate the action.  This book, although heavily influenced by historical events, is just such a story.

The novel opens in 1861 with new West Point graduate, Second Lieutenant Doniphan “Donny” Fletcher on his way home to Kentucky to await his first posting. While Donny’s loyalties lie with the Union, most of his family, hometown friends, and an especially attractive young lady next door are slaveholders and either pro-South or just trying to remain neutral. But no sooner does he arrive when trouble between Jayhawkers and Bushwhackers boils over onto his home turf forcing Donny to kill a couple of Union guerrilla fighters in self-defense. Under arrest and about to face a firing squad, Donny manages to escape, but has nowhere to run. He wants revenge and the answer, at least for now resides in becoming a guerrilla fighter himself, ultimately joining up with William Quantrill and “Bloody” Bill Anderson.

This novel is historical fiction disguised as a western.  The story of Quantrill’s Raiders (I’m not sure why it’s spelled “Quantrell” throughout the book) and how it became known as the breeding ground for outlaws after the Civil War’s conclusion, including such luminaries as Cole Younger, Jesse and Frank James, and others is an exciting one. The action, particularly in the second half of the book is bloody and brutal, and all the more horrifying because it is factual. These men are outlaws at their worst. The scenes involving the massacre of Lawrence, Kansas are especially disturbing as some 450 guerrilla fighters swoop in and murder numerous innocent noncombatants including women and children.

The character of Donny Fletcher undergoes a sweeping transformation, from loyal Union Army officer to wanted Southern guerilla fighter and criminal.  Ultimately, no longer willing to participate in such atrocities, he works with the Union once again to turn on Quantrill and the other guerrilla leaders helping to bring an end to their reign of terror.  This is largely a tragic tale, watching one man get caught up in circumstances beyond his control but it does end on a positive note. 

Definitely worth reading, especially for readers interested in this period of history.

Brak the Barbarian by John Jakes

John Jakes, of course, is well known today for his popular historical fiction sagas such as the Kent Family Chronicles (Bicentennial series), the Crown Saga, and the North and South trilogy.  But before he turned to that genre he was a pretty successful science fiction and fantasy author.  As a great fan of Robert E. Howard, Jakes began writing his first Brak the Barbarian story in the 1960s, a Conan pastiche and homage to Howard. 

Apparently it was fun to write so he continued on to write quite a few more. This volume contains five stories that cover a time when Brak journeyed from his birth place in the northern steppes towards the warm, rich lands of Khurdisan in the South.  But by the end of this volume, he still hadn't reached his goal and I have to wonder if he ever does make it.  I'll need to read the rest of the volumes to find out.  Regardless, this journey gives a great excuse for Brak and his broadsword to get mixed up in one wild and weird adventure after another. The stories here really do stand alone and only occasionally mention a character or location from a previous story. I believe I’ve read all of the available Conan stories by Howard and these stories are certainly written in the same vein, using a similar story-telling style.  Pure sword and sorcery adventure and fun to read.

Collision Course by Robert Silverberg

I’ve been on a bit of a Robert Silverberg kick in recent months and have generally enjoyed them.  This novel is no exception.  First published in 1961, this novel takes place in the 26th century after planet Earth (Terra) has developed instantaneous transport via “transmats” making colonization of additional planets much easier.  Now, during Terra’s expansion into the galaxy, they’ve encountered an alien race which appears to be very closely matched to human evolution and level of technology and whom also happens to be in the midst of expanding into the galaxy.

This is essentially a first contact novel but also examines the nature of human-kind’s perceptions of their own place in the universe.  What appears to be a friendly alien race turns out to be rather bossy and ultimately a third, extremely powerful alien race intercedes and forces the two “child” races to negotiate an equal solution and avoid armed conflict.

Unlike many “classic-era” science fiction stories, Silverberg tends to write very approachable stories rather than utilizing obtuse and overly-scientific prose.  He does, however, convey an excellent competence in the nature of the science he uses, especially space travel and the reader comes away with a feeling that it is all entirely plausible. The overall novel was fun to read although the ending seemed a little bit like Silverberg wasn’t sure where to take it.  It does conclude, but the major characters are left fundamentally changed but with no comments on what that would mean for them.

Gone North by Charles Alden Seltzer

We have largely forgotten the name Charles Alden Seltzer these days outside of pulp fiction aficionados, but back in the 1920s and 30s, he was one of the better-known authors who contributed to serial publications, magazines, and quite a few movie scripts. Known mostly for his westerns, he did deviate once in a while, such as with this novel, originally serialized in 6 parts in "Argosy" pulp magazine during March and April of 1930. It was his 30th published book.

This novel takes place in the Hudson Bay country and features Jim Fallon, an adventurer recently come from the Klondike where he made a fortune in gold. And it’s pure adventure.  Fallon is on the trail of a missing man who happens to know the location of a valuable gold mine. Just imagine a plot that includes things like a huge stone castle in the middle of the forest with secret tunnels and housing a nest of high-seas pirates. Add in a beautiful young girl, a formidable Indian who acts as a sidekick, a group of Europeans who are also looking for this gold mine, sword fights, massive fist fights, and much more.  One can certainly tell this was originally published as a serial, with cliff-hangers spaced evenly throughout, always coaxing a reader to come back for the next installment.

Thankfully, Altus Press (now Steeger Books) has reprinted this story as part of its "Argosy Library", rescuing it from obscurity. Readers looking for a good old-fashioned adventure yarn are sure to love this one.  I certainly did.

The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester

I’ve long wanted to fill in some of the holes in my science fiction reading and this one was prime among them.  First published in 1956, it is often regaled as the single best sci-fi story of all time.  I’m not sure I would go that far but it does provide a substantial number of “firsts”, including what is probably the first salvo in the cyberpunk movement.  And despite the year in which it was written, it still stands up surprisingly well today.

A central concept of the novel is the idea that a couple of centuries from now, mankind has learned to use part of their brains to transport themselves over distances of 100-200 miles or so.  Speculating on how this would impact human society is the gist of great sci-fi and the author certainly provides a lot of potential scenarios.  But to properly tell a story, you need characters and here we have Gulliver “Gully” Foyle who ranks right up there with some of the best iconic sci-fi characters of the past.  His story somewhat mirrors the Count of Monte Cristo…but in a very raw form.

I will confess to probably missing some of the weird wild trippy stuff sprinkled throughout, especially at the end, but still, I found myself quite enjoying the read.  I can finally count Alfred Bester among the authors I’ve read and enjoyed and no longer just think of that name in context of Babylon 5.

Force 10 From Navarone by Alistair MacLean

As far as I know, this is the only Alistair MacLean novel that is a sequel, a follow-on to "The Guns of Navarone".  But, strangely, it’s a sequel to the movie version of that novel rather than the novel itself and consequently a little bit confusing given the changes to the characters.

This book picks up immediately after the events of the first (movie version).  And I do mean “immediately”.  Perhaps 10 minutes have passed and the survivors of that first mission, (Captain Keith Mallory and Corporal Dusty Miller) now on the rescue boat, are told to turn back to shore in order to take on a new mission.  They recruit their Greek comrade Andrea Stavros for the mission, code named “Force 10”. This time around, together with three redshirts British Royal Marine Commandos, they parachute into Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia.  Their mission: to aid the Yugoslav Partisans in their battle against the Nazi German occupiers.  Of course this is an Alistair MacLean novel so there is a hidden mission, hidden even from the British Commandos.

Aside from the slight confusion of this being a sequel to the movie version of a prior novel, it is actually a pretty decent read. There is more confusion however, due to multiple layers of deception.  The main characters act as double agents…and then triple agents and sometimes the characters themselves are unsure of who to trust.  It does, however, all make sense…as long as you can follow it all.

Bottom line:  not quite as good as Guns of Navarone but still worth reading, especially for MacLean fans.