Simon Ark #06 - The Wolves of Werclaw

I reviewed a novel called Murder's Old Maid by Donald Bayne Hobart. It was published in the October 1956 issue of Famous Detective. I was happy to find a digital scan of the issue online and even more delighted when I saw that the sixth Simon Ark story, “The Wolves of Werclaw”, was included in this same issue. 

Simon Ark, written and created by Edward D. Hoch, may or may not be a 2,000 year old occult detective who is endlessly searching for Satan. He teams with an unnamed narrator who normally presents each Simon Ark story in first-person perspective. These stories have Ark and the narrator somewhere on Earth investigating a weird menace that typically has more in common with crime-fiction than the supernatural. But, Hoch writes the stories subjectively with the reader still thinking something creepy really happened long after the last page is read. That is sort of the Ark gimmick with these tales.

In “The Wolves of Werclaw” novelet, the narrator is now serving as vice-president of a major New York publishing firm. He journeys to Poland to witness firsthand the gradual lifting of the Iron Curtain. In the Polish city of Werclaw (not to be confused with the real Polish city of Wroclaw) the narrator is joined by a co-worker named Franklin Fangler. A celebration is occurring to commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of a historic battle in which the tiny town held off a thousand Nazi troops. The survivors are being honored for their achievements and patriotism.

That night the narrator and Fangler are invited to the cavernous home of Berza, the town's Chief of Police. Later, the two are awakened by a frantic Berza claiming that giant wolves are savagely attacking the town. The narrator witnesses three large grey wolves running through the streets and a rifle crack as police officers attempt to stop the bloody carnage. The next morning Berza calls for a wolf expert. 

Simon Ark appears with an introduction and is pleased to discover his friend from years ago in the unnamed narrator. The two catch up and then discuss the pesky wolves. As the narrative tightens the two friends are thrust into protecting a man named Otto from the town's vigilantes. The people feel that Otto is an actual werewolf and may be behind the brutal murders (or a pack leader). But, as usual, Ark has a different theory that may suggest the real killers are the communists hoping to keep a firm foothold on Poland's throat. 

This story was just terrific with plenty of action, foul play, murder, and violence. With so much carnage and mayhem the author was still able to create an imposing chilly ambiance to the storytelling. While certainly maintaining a political vibe, this tale had more of a supernatural feeling to it than any other Ark story I've read. The white-knuckled hatred from the town combined with the innocent nature of Otto was such a great blend. The story was clever, entrancing, and just excellent. I'm loving these Simon Ark stories. Get a lot of stories starring Simon Ark HERE.

Simon Ark #04 - The Man from Nowhere

The fourth Simon Ark appearance was in the June 1956 issue of Famous Detective Stories. It was also reprinted in Startling Mystery Stories' Summer 1967 issue. The story, written by Edward D. Hoch, is titled “The Man from Nowhere” and features an enticing premise of “...the story of Douglas Zadig's last day on Earth and the people who were with him when he died.”

The story begins with occult detective (who may be 2,000 years of age) Simon Ark telephoning the unnamed narrator in November 1940ish. Ark asks if the narrator would like to join him on a weekend trip to Maine. In first-person narrative, the narrator explains that any trip with Simon Ark is never as casual as it sounds. He's delighted to unearth some criminal activity with the bizarre detective. 

Ark, who is presented in the series as searching for “Ultimate Evil”, is in Maine to interview an overnight sensation named Douglas Zadig. The 20-yr old man appeared out of the mist one day claiming to have no memory of his past life. He spoke English very poorly, wore clothes that were rags, and possessed a copy of Voltaire's novel Zadig, thus his name was created. However, since the man appeared he has managed to write a book titled “On the Eternal War Between the Forces of Good and the Forces of Evil” that contains word-for-word teachings from a religious leader named Zoroaster – a man that lived seven centuries before Christ. 

When Ark and the narrator arrive to visit Zadig they discover that he has been attacked twice by an unknown entity while sitting alone in his room. There's talk that Zadig may be a target for the Devil himself. Through an investgation both Ark and the narrator learn about a similar man named Kaspar Hauser that also appeared “out of thin air” in 1829. He also remembered nothing of his past and was dressed like a peasant. What is the correlation between these two bizarre men and their outwardly appearance of being from another century? Needless to say the story escalates with a murder mystery. 

“The Man from Nowhere” is an excellent representation of what this series is all about – the perfect cocktail of traditional detective-fiction mixed with a dose of Victorian horror and draped in the hints of a supernatural explanation. Like other weird-menace stories in the pulps there is always a logical explanation. But, what I love about Hoch's resolution to these cases is that he leaves it subjective. There is always a brief possibility that the abnormal things happening are really supernatural. That is evident with Ark's last spoken words in this story: “...there are some things better left unexplained, at least in this world.” 

In this world, you can get a copy of the Simon Ark stories HERE.

Simon Ark #03 - The Witch is Dead

“The Witch is Dead” was the third Simon Ark story, and it appeared in Famous Detective Stories' April 1956 issue. It was reprinted in the Fall 1966 issue of Startling Mystery Stories. There were a total of at least 45 Ark stories, and they are all penned by Edward D. Hoch. The concept is that Ark travels the globe searching for Satan while also solving crimes that possess a weird menace. Most of the stories include an unnamed narrator presenting the story in first-person. 

The story begins with the narrator describing a woman named Marie Carrio and her career as a fortune-teller named Mother Fortune (how original). She operates her mammoth crystal ball in Westchester County, New York. The narrator states that Mother Fortune died in a burst of flames and that her death proved even more fantastic than her life. 

The narrator then describes the events leading up to Mother Fortune's fiery demise, which is the story. He says it was October in 1950 and he was now working for Neptune Books, a paperback publisher (great nod to the era). He is now married to a woman named Shelly. He meets Simon Ark unexpectedly at a train station. Ark catches up with the narrator on the last couple of years since they had worked together. He says, “There is evil everywhere these days, and it is most difficult to separate the man-made evil from the more ancient type.” This statement pretty much sums up the Simon Ark series – deciphering supernatural or simple logic. 

Ark explains to the narrator that he is in Westchester County to investigate weird happenings at the Hudsonville College for Women. The narrator laughs when Ark advises that the college has somehow become cursed by Mother Fortune. Three students are near death and another forty are critically ill. Ark is there to determine the real cause of the outbreak and if it is somehow linked to an unfortunate event that occurred between Mother Fortune and the school years ago.

This was probably my least favorite of the Simon Ark stories thus far. The plot development was a bit murky and the final solution to the school's epidemic was hard to believe. I enjoyed the exchanges between Ark and the narrator and appreciated the PI-esque investigation. The story just moved a little too slow with such a limp payoff. With this many stories across four decades the output is certainly going to vary. You could skip this one.

Paperback Warrior Podcast - Episode 105

Today's brand-new episode focuses on one of the most polarizing authors of the early to mid 20th century, Sydney Horler. He wrote 150 books and authored over 1,000 short stories while waging a headline war with his contemporaries. We dive into his life, his involvement in London's criminal underworld, and the many series titles and characters he created. Eric also reviews a private-eye novel from 1984 and discusses a heated marital dispute in the parking lot of a Jacksonville bookstore. Play the episode below or on any streaming platform. Download the episode HERE. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast and follow us on Facebook, X, and YouTube. 

Listen to "Episode 105: The Crazy Career of Sydney Horler" on Spreaker.

Simon Ark #02 - Hoofs of Satan

The Famous Detective Stories February 1956 issue includes “Hoofs of Satan”, the second appearance of occult detective Simon Ark. He first appeared in the magazine a few months earlier. Those of you unaware of the character there were at least 45 Simon Ark stories and they were all authored by series creator Edward D. Hoch. Ark travels the world searching for the Devil while investigating bizarre occurrences that suggest an evil presence. He teams with an unnamed narrator that progresses from a reporter to a publisher and then a partner with Ark in a detective agency. 

“The Hoofs of Satan” takes place in the winter of 1945 in North Bradshire, a village that lies on the edge of a forest on one of the main highways from London to the coast. The narrator, in third-person this time, describes it as a relic of the Middle Ages that somehow survived the 20th century. Simon Ark is there to investigate the village and later explains to a Chief Inspector that a hundred years ago several villages in that area discovered strange cloven hoof-prints in the snow. The villagers followed the path of the prints through the forest but came to a certain point where the dogs would just howl but go no further. 

Simon Ark, the Inspector, and the village mayor examine new hoof-prints that have appeared in North Bradshire. The trio interview the owner of a house where the majority of the hoof-prints appear. A man named Summers agrees to help the group find answers on who – or what – is making these tracks. Ark has some suspicions and meets with a neighbor named Hunt, a strikingly beautiful married woman that was a popular actress before her retirement a couple of years ago. Ark believes there may be some connection between Hunt, her husband, and Summers. A love triangle? But, what does that have to do with hoof-prints?

Despite Ark's explanation of the weird happenings in North Bradshire, the story eventually drifts into familiar territory in these Ark stories. There is a logical explanation, a murder, and a central mystery on who the killer is. The prints in the snow are unusual but explained in the story's conclusion. As the story ends there is a dark tone as readers discover that Ark may have dished out vigilante justice. The ending suggests that maybe there was a supernatural element marked by Ark leaving an ankh behind. 

This was a fun bit of escapism that puts Ark into the role of leading a mystery investigation. The story is more procedural and follows a well-worn template but it still works well. Readers gain a few tidbits about Ark along the way which contributes to the grand mystery of who the heck Ark really is. As usual, suspend your disbelief and have fun with it. That's what the Simon Ark stories are really about. 

You can obtain this story by purchasing City of Brass: And Other Simon Ark Stories. It is a collection published by Mysterious Press and it features three Ark stories. You can buy it HERE.

Simon Ark #01 - Village of the Dead

Edward D. Hoch was a prolific writer that penned hundreds of shorts across several different genres in dozens upon dozens of magazines. He was a big deal for publishers and editors looking for content for their monthly or weekly books. While there have been several memorable characters in Hoch's bibliography, ranging from Ben Snow to Captain Leopold, the one that fascinates me the most is the bizarre occult detective Simon Ark. 

Simon Ark debuted in “Village of the Dead”, a short story featured in Famous Detective Stories in December 1955. In fact, Ark's first six appearances were in that magazine before spilling over into magazines like Crack Detective and Mystery Stories, Double-Action Detective and Mystery Stories, and Tightrope!. Eventually, the character would become a fixture in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. There were at least 45 stories featuring Simon Ark between 1956 and 2008. 

In “Village of the Dead”, an unnamed narrator (he is never named) recounts a strange event that occurred in a small American town – The Gildaz Horror. In first-person, the narrator explains that he was working as a reporter scoping out political stories when a teletype hit the newsroom about a mass suicide occurring in the tiny village of Gidaz, just south of the narrator's location. He quickly gets to the scene and discovers that a majority of Gidaz's population took a fatal jump from the top of a hundred foot cliff. 73 people now lay in bloody shreds on sharp rocks lying at the cliff's base. What would make all of these people commit suicide together?

As the narrator begins researching the story he enters one of the abandoned homes and meets another investigator – one of a different sort. He introduces himself as Simon Ark, but advises the narrator that his name is not important. He is described as not appearing old, yet there were tiny lines of age if you looked close enough. The narrator says in a way Ark was a very handsome man, yet he couldn't imagine women ever being attracted to him. He later describes Ark as seemingly from another world or another time.

The two team up together to learn more about the suicide and eventually meet another reporter named Shelly that was originally from the small town. Ark discovers a book in town called The Confessions of Saint Augustine that looks as though it was burned. Later, they discover that a man calling himself Axidus came to town two years ago and began a new religion for Gidaz. The population trusted him to a fault, which may have been their downfall. Through the course of the investigation the narrator and reader learns more about Simon Ark – he may be 2,000 years old, he speaks Coptic, hints that he knew Saint Augustine himself, and that this Axidus may be an evil figure from long ago. How does it all tie together?

There are readers that absolutely love the Simon Ark stories and others really hate them. I've had the fortune of reading a lot of them and I really enjoy the character. “Village of the Dead” by itself isn't strong storytelling and ends with a Scooby-Doo type ending. That's the thing about the Simon Ark stories, they have a bizarre menace theme that eventually leads to a logical explanation instead of some far-flung supernatural one. However, what makes the stories cool is there is always a lingering thought that maybe there was something supernatural occurring. Like in this story Axidus is probably just a quack fanatic that got rich quick or he really was some ancient enemy from centuries ago. 

The thing with Simon Ark stories is that he is on a mission to find the Devil. It is his goal to combat evil across the globe and to eventually bring the ultimate fight to the Devil. But, he isn't a pulpy over-the-top hero. Instead, he solves mysteries in a Sherlock Holmes way with the narrator playing Watson. As the series progresses forward the narrator becomes a book publisher and then eventually partners with Ark as a detective agency. The supernatural and bizarre menace possibilities tend to lessen as the series matures in the 60s and 70s. 

Many Simon Ark stories have been reprinted in physical and digital collections. A passing glace on Amazon will net you a handful of titles with this story included. Start here as a base and then work your way forward. I'll bring you more Simon Ark reviews to guide your way through the darkness. 

Get Simon Ark books HERE.

Paperback Warrior Primer - Sammy Gomez

Author George F. Krull (1911-1963) utilized the pseudonym Dean Evans to author shorts for the pulps from 1948 through 1954. During his short writing career (and abbreviated lifespan) Krull churned out 30 stories for magazines like Black Mask, The Phantom Detective, and Detective Tales. From my research, I was able to find one lone paperback authored by Krull, This Kill is Mine, published in 1956 by Graphic Mystery that also uses the Evans name. 

Krull created two characters during his pulp career, both of which are of the detective variety. The first was Edward Gates, a private-eye beating the street for clients in Reno, Nevada. He first appeared in “Need a Body Cry?” in New Detective Magazine's May 1949 issue. He then re-appeared in the subsequent issue, a cleverly titled story called “I.O.U. - One Grave”.

The second of Krull's character creations, which we are examining today, was Sammy Gomez, a Lieutenant Detective working for the Carson City, Nevada police department. The fact that both characters are in Nevada makes me think Krull was a Nevada native and/or resident. Gomez's appearances were “The Man Behind the Gun” in Detective Tales July 1950, “Margie – It's You!” in Detective Tales September 1950, and the novelette "Immanuel" in 5 Detective Novels Magazine Summer 1952.

A look at Gomez and his three appearances:

“The Man Behind the Gun” - The story begins with Gomez arriving at the Club Drake casino to investigate a fatal shooting. The initial interview and evidence shows that a disgruntled gambler barged into an accounting room and started firing off shots. Drake, behind his desk, ducks and pulls a .45 and kills the gambler. Despite the evidence and City Hall's praise that this is an open and shut case, Gomez doesn't buy it. Despite his superior, the recurring Captain Hart, Gomez digs in further to learn about Drake's business practices and connections. His determination to seek justice leads to Gomez giving Hart his badge when the pressure is on to bring Drake to trial for murder. The story had a fast-pace, quick character development, and provided the traits and skill-set to establish Gomez as a viable and durable hero. I enjoyed it.

“ Margie – It's You!” - Gomez begins with a scolding from Captain Hart about his inability to find a murderer named Hamil. He interrogates Gomez and wants to learn what the delays are. Gomez is working the case hard by going after Hamil's honey, a woman he finds at a nearby bar called The Queen Bee. The bulk of the story relies on dialogue as the woman expresses her discontent with Hamil, an emotion that is only rivaled by her undying love for him. Eventually Gomez gains the scoop on what type of vehicle Hamil is driving and his plans to escape town. The story ends in a subjective manor as Gomez pulls a gun and begins walking into a laundromat that Hamil is occupying. As I flipped the page I was wanting more, but then I thought better of it and decided the story didn't need the shootout or cuff. I was happy with the pursuit, which is where Evans' writing centers consistently. This was a great story. 

“Immanuel” - This story concerns a dying man's last words. When a bank heist occurs, the police erroneously shoot an innocent bystander. Now, City Hall is cracking down on the department and Captain Hart is feeling the heat. He wants Gomez to learn more about the incident and what exactly led to the citizen's death. Gomez, of Hispanic ethnicity, interviews the man's family and friends, all of which share his same ethnicity. As the pieces come together the man's innocence is severely questioned. Again, this was a fantastic story and I appreciated Gomez's determination. Like the first story, Gomez once again threatens to give Hart his badge when the criminal fires begin to heat up. Hart, in a role-reversal, is often found serving Gomez more often than not. 

Unfortunately, there were no other Gomez stories. The author's death at just age 52 abbreviated his writing career and diminished his contributions to the pulps. His run is rather short compared to other writers of the time like Edward D. Hoch, Bruno Fischer, and John D. MacDonald. Like so many of these pulp authors, Krull's literary work is mostly forgotten now. Hopefully, this primer will provide some new light on the author, his stories, and maybe more information about his personal life. If anyone has more information please feel free to post it in the comments. You can read these stories and more HERE.

Paperback Warrior Podcast - Episode 103

Today's episode examines the intriguing police procedural sub-genre of crime-fiction. Eric presents an exciting feature on one of the genre's most iconic authors, Hillary Waugh. In addition, Eric reviews the first installment of the vintage detective series Neil Hockaday and discusses some new book aquisitions. The episode also includes an audible story by crime-noir writer Jimmy McKimmey. Stream below or download the episode directly HERE. 

Listen to "Episode 103: Hillary Waugh" on Spreaker.

Paperback Warrior Primer - Doctor Death

The Doctor Death pulp character has a rather strange history. The first incarnation was in the pages of All Detective Magazine where the dastardly Doctor Death appeared in July through October of 1934 and again in January 1935. In these novels, the nemesis is Nibs Holloway, but that character actually debuted a year prior in the pages of Rapid-Fire Detective Stories. The 1934/1935 Doctor Death stories were authored by Edward P. Norris, although that could have been a pseudonym. No one really knows. After the January 1935 story, things change for the character.

All Detective Magazine folded with the January 1935 issue and that was the end of that particular version of Doctor Death. Then, February 1935 sees the shocking launch of Doctor Death Magazine with Norris replaced by prolific writer Harold Ward (using the bizarre pseudonym Zorro) and nemesis Nibs Holloway replaced by detective Jimmy Holm. This new version of Doctor Death debuts in the novel “12 Must Die”, the lead for the first issue. Then comes “The Gray Creatures” for the next issue followed by “The Shriveling Murders” for the very last issue of the magazine in April. That's it, February, March, April of 1935 – three total issues. Weird, right?

Thankfully, fans of the pulp got two additional novels that weren't originally published in the magazine - “Waves of Madness” and “The Red Mist of Murder”. These appeared in the 1980s in Nemesis Incorporated and Pulp Vault. Note that a publisher called Pulp Classics also reprinted at least one of the Doctor Death Magazine issues in 1979.

In 1966, a paperback publisher called Corinth Regency reprinted the three Doctor Death Magazine novels as paperbacks with amazing artwork by Robert Bonfils. These books were titled the same as the novels – 12 Must Die (CR118), The Gray Creatues (CR121), and The Shriveling Murders (CR125). But, the publisher also threw a fourth book in there titled Stories from Doctor Death and Other Terror Tales (CR129) which included the various shorts that were included in the three issues of the magazine.

In July, 2008 the Altus Press reprinted the Spring 1956 issue of Triple Detective Magazine. This issue featured a novel titled "Doctor Death Returns". It was authored by Steve Mitchell using the pseudonym Son of Zorro (clever). This same issue had also been reprinted in 2002 as Double Danger Tales #56.

But, wait..there's more. In 2009 Altus Press (now part of Steeger Books) published Doctor Death Vs The Secret Twelve Volume 1 which includes the three novels from Doctor Death Magazine with an awesome introduction by Will Murray. The same publisher released Doctor Death Vs The Secret Twelve Volume 2 which featured the two novels that were published in the 80s by Nemesis Incorporated and Pulp Vault. Then, there is also a combination of both volumes in one larger collection called The Complete Exploits of Doctor Death. In that edition there is also a treatment for an original comic strip that Harold Lamb had pitched.

What's Doctor Death all about? The backstory for the Doctor Death Magazine version of the character is that he is really a scientist named Rance Mandarin. He earned his education at Yale and became a Dean of Psychology there. But, somewhere along the way Rancine loses his mind and gets the notion that he himself is more superior to Albert Einstein. With his superior mental prowess he incorporates a fanatical religious crusade into an apocalyptic plan. As a mission from God – he claims – he will work to eliminate all of his contemporaries and completely destroy modern civilization. By returning Earth back to the Dark Age humanity can grow and evolve in different ways under his leadership.

To combat Doctor Death's attempts to destroy Earth with things like death rays and zombie armies the President of the United States forms a Secret Twelve committee made up of leading scientists, government leaders, and even the Mob boss. But, there are law-enforcement agents that do all of the heavy lifting.

Policeman Jimmy Holm is Doctor Death's main foe, an iron-fisted hero that reports to Inspector Ricks, a “policeman of the old school and head of the greatest body of manhunters in the world”. Holm is also engaged to Doctor Death's niece and former assistant Nina Fererra. There is also a psychic thrown in the mix named Elise Lando and the wealthiest man in America, Secretary Hallenberg.

If you are familiar with the “clearly good guy” versus the “clearly bad guy” then this pulp really isn't much different. It resembles many of the other villain-led pulps and stories of the time like Fu-Manchu. The Doctor Death novels are over-the-top and wildly entertaining if you simply suspend disbelief – which is the obligatory stance for reading any pulp material. You should know that if you've read this far. How does it rank with the pulp giants of the time? I'd say middle of the pack. There's nothing spectacular here, but nothing completely disposable. It serves the purpose of escaping our hectic troubled modern world and takes us back to more innocent times. Who can ask for anything more?

Murder's Old Maid

Donald Bayne Hobart (1898-1970) began his writing career in the pulps. He authored shorts for magazines like Popular Detective, Texas Rangers, Masked Rider Western, and The Phantom Detective. He also wrote filler stories for the mid-20th century comics like Thrilling Comics, The Black Terror, and Exciting Comics. He used pseudonyms like Lew Martin, Hobart Donbayne, Bayne Hobart and also house names like Jackson Cole. There is an excellent write-up on the author HERE. Anxious to read more Hobart, I found an online copy of Famous Detective's October 1956 issue which features his novel Murder's Old Maids. 

This sinister mystery stars Mark Creston, a doctor visiting an old-fashioned country hotel in New England in late September. Due to the tourist population's decrease, the hotel is nearly empty aside from a handful of characters. Creston is there to meet his wife Martha in hopes of repairing their strained marriage. The two have been separated for some time and Creston feels that Martha may have moved on to another lover.

Upon Creston's arrival things begin to unravel at a frantic pace. First, a man that Martha was boating with has died from a gunshot. Next, Creston discovers that the gun used in the murder has been deposited in a drawer in his guest room. The sickly hotel owner dies the night of Creston's arrival and a woman named Fern accuses Creston of physically mauling her in the nearby forest. Creston, dumbstruck by the insanity of the evening, begins to question three mysterious elderly women that live at the hotel.

Eventually the story enters the locked room mystery formula as Creston, the hotel's bellboy, and the county's Chief of Police begin a comprehensive investigation into the night's festivities and the short list of suspects. Who is behind the murders and why? Could Creston's wife be on a murderous rampage? The fascination is the obligatory unveiling of crime and motive, but the journey to get there is the real satisfaction. 

Creston is a likable character thrust into some really hard decisions that ultimately propel the narrative and central mystery. The writing is done in a way that the reader feels like a guest in the old hotel. The late summer season sets up a unique atmosphere that provides a gloomy isolation for the survivors. 

Needless to say these sort of Clue murder mysteries appear in hundreds of 20th century magazines and novels. What sets them apart is the originality of the story and the writer's prose. Hobart was a prolific author for a reason – he had a knack for the murder mystery no matter what genre he was writing. Murder's Old Maid is a terrific novel that buzzes with energy and showcases Hobart's ability to spin a gripping mystery.

You can read the novel online HERE or by streaming it below.

Railroad Stories #12: The Silver Switch Key

Railroad Stories #12: The Silver Switch Key was published by Bold Venture Press in late 2023. I've enjoyed the publisher's efforts on producing these compilation volumes containing vintage stories from the railroad pulps. The lead novel in this book is The Silver Switch Key, a serial that was originally published over a five-month period in the 1931 issues of Railroad Man's Magazine. It was authored by Wilson Wells, a writer that contributed five short stories to the magazine in 1931 along with the novel serial.

Protagonist Bob Martin is employed by Gila County as sheriff. But it's a job that Martin doesn't particularly enjoy or want. When the book begins Martin has been in the lawman role for four months watching fruit trains climb the two-percent grade out of town daily. The partial reason for Martin's dejection is that he was born a railroad man. For 15 years Martin rode the rails as an accomplished and experienced railroader. However, Martin was fired by the railroad committee after liquor was found in his possession. This event is the key element to the novel – Martin's ultimate redemption from being framed by a criminal.

Through a conversation with his friend Frank, Martin explains that he was in love with Janet, the daughter of the railroad's vice president. But, a wealthy land baron named  Thomas had his eyes on Janet in a way to politically attach himself to the lucrative railroad. By making a play for Janet while simultaneously framing and disgracing Martin, Thomas set himself up as Janet's fiance.

Martin receives word that Janet, Thomas, and his family are arriving in town on a private car. But, Janet sends word to Martin that she desperately needs to meet him on the train. Once the narrative gets steamrolling a murder mystery is unveiled involving a railroad detective and the passengers on the private car. With Martin's help, Janet hopes to learn more about Thomas and his family and who is killing who. It is Martin's chance to not only redeem himself by exposing Thomas as a criminal but also a new lease on life to reacquire his former lover and job.

I'm not sure how prolific Wells was as an author but he certainly had a talent for writing an interesting murder mystery. This long train ride is ripe with scandal, intrigue, and enough suspicion to fill an ocean. Martin's good-guy persona isn't overdone and the fact that his redemption is central to the story was a clever addition. I really enjoyed riding the rails with all of the characters and the frenzied race to uncover the secrets behind the prized silver switch key was well worth the price of admission. Recommended. Get a copy of it HERE.

The Fetish Fighters

Francis Van Wyck Mason (1901-1978) was an American historian and author from Boston who was a World War One veteran and Harvard graduate. He started writing professionally in the 1920s finding success selling stories to pulp magazines, including fictional adventure tales of the French Foreign Legion appearing in Argosy. Four of these serialized novellas have been collected in a beautiful volume by Steeger Books, anchored by the 100-page The Fetish Fighters from 1931.

Our story begins in a Foreign Legion’s African outpost in Kouande, which is in modern-day Benin (next door to Nigeria). It was a French colony called French Dahomey beginning in 1892, but still largely populated by black Africans. Wikipedia is helpful in providing some historical and and geographic context - not that you really need it.

It’s also important to understand that the French Foreign Legion was a branch of the French Army that welcomed foreign nationals into the fighting force. They were highly retrained and well-paid soldiers who largely handled the muscle behind France’s occupation of African regions.

Our hero is muscular American Lem Frost who was just promoted to Seargeant within the Legion. However, Frost has no time to celebrate his promotion before word arrives that a bunch of native religious fanatics known as The Fetish Fighters, are putting on war paint and planning to attack the outpost. The African fighters are comprised of both male and female cannibal killers with a taste for colonizer blood.

You’ll need to set aside 21st century sensibilities and racial decorum while reading “The Fetish Fighters.” The N-word is bandied about casually and the African bushmen are of the non-subtle ooga-booga variety. But part of the fun of an adventure story from nearly 100 years ago is the antiquated stereotypes at play. You can either be offended or you can enjoy a fine adventure story and be happy about how far we’ve come as norms change over a century. Context is everything here.

With the sound of the war drums approaching and only 68 men at the French outpost, the Legionnaires need to work smarter, not harder. The tension and combat scenes are well-crafted. There are way too many characters for a modern reader to track, but you only need to be invested in the fates of a few. The interpersonal drama among the soldiers was a bit much, but you can probably skim over much of it. It’s pulp fiction, after all, and there’s no test at the end.

Overall, if the idea of a classic French Foreign Legion adventure sounds up your alley, The Fetish Fighters, as well as the other stories included in this volume, are an excellent way to go. Recommended. Buy a copy of the book HERE.

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Paperback Warrior Podcast - Episode 102

The Paperback Warrior Podcast is back! On this episode, Eric explains the show's new format while also presenting features on pulp author and screenwriter William L. Chester and the history of vintage paperback publisher Handi Books. Tom checks in from the road after browsing the third best bookstore in America. In addition, Eric reviews the 1971 suspenseful mystery paperback Crawlspace by Herbert Lieberman and sorts through a stack of new arrivals. Stream HERE, watch on YouTube HERE, play below, or download the episode HERE

Listen to "Episode 102: We're Back!" on Spreaker.

The Last Celt: A Bio-Bibliography of Robert E. Howard

Glenn Lord (1931-2011) became a literary agent for the Robert E. Howard estate in 1965, a role he served in for over 25 years. Lord was instrumental in the resurgence of Howard's work in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Lord was able to amass hundreds of unpublished stories and poems and provided the source material for the author's contents to appear in media from 1965-1997. In 1976, Lord edited and compiled a 400-page reference book titled The Last Celt: A Bio-Bibliography of Robert E. Howard. Reviewing non-fiction and reference materials isn't really our style, so the below "review" is a loose description of the book's contents and why you should track it down.

The book's introduction is an informative and touching essay by E. Hoffmann Price, one of the only Howard contemporaries to have met the man. In this 16-page article, Price commends Howard as a natural storyteller and cites the author as one of his early influences. He also recalls meeting the author at his home in Cross Plains, TX. Following this introduction is a four-page Foreword from Lord outlining some of his references while explaining that The Last Celt is the outgrowth of 15 years of collecting "Howardiana".

"The Wandering Years" is a short autobiography that Howard began writing not long before his death. In this piece, Howard documents his family's history back to 1724. He documents his ancestors in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. He writes about his grandparents and parents. This is very minor stuff in the grand scheme of things. This is followed by the short half-page "An Autobiography", which Howard wrote while attending high school. 

In 1930, Howard chronicled a few events in history in a piece named "A Touch of Trivia". In it Howard writes about WWI, Jack Dempsey, the American Revolutionary War, and the great Potato Famine of 1842. 

Next is a letter written circa 1931 to Weird Tales editor Farnsworth Wright. The letter was never published and gathers more autobiographical contents from Howard. In it he recalls selling Wright his first story, "Spear and Fang", when he was just 18 years of age. The next section, titled "On Reading - And Writing" is another historical piece in which Howard applauds and criticizes literary works. The moral to the story is that Howard admits he would rather read Zane Grey the rest of his life than to read the popular American writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald, George Jean Nathan, Mike Gold, and Floyd Dell. He also doesn't care much for French works. The final portion of this section is a collection of various letters written to a variety of correspondents. 

Alvin Earl Perry, a legendary fantasy fan and fellow Texan, offers up "A Biographical Sketch of Robert E. Howard". There are some arguments on whether Perry and Howard communicated, but this is a great two-pager describing the author, various payments he received, and that Howard loved Jack London's work. 

H.P. Lovecraft's "Robert Ervin Howard: A Memoriam" has been popularized and reprinted numerous times and it is included here. Lovecraft and Howard communicated through numerous letters, some now lost in the annals of time. This is a moving eulogy that describes Howard's stories and writing style. There is clearly a real admiration on display and Lovecraft captures that beautifully. 

The highlight of the book is Glenn Lord's "Lone Star Fictioneer", a detailed history and account of Howard's literary work and life beginning in 1906 through his tragic suicide in 1936. Howard's education, family life, work history, and early influences are all meticulously analyzed. The insight on his industry sales and receipts of payment was really compelling. I love the peek behind the typewriter to see what his stories sold for. 

"A Memory of R.E. Howard" is another piece written by E. Hoffmann Price, this one documenting his own writing history and correspondence with Howard through the years. The famed meeting between Price and Howard is described in detail and remains as fascinating today as it did then. It's as if Stephen King paid a visit to Clive Barker's house (which maybe he has and I just didn't know it). I love the reference to Howard's characters as a sort of rebuilding of his boyhood. Price speculates that some of the bravado and overcorrection on certain characters may have been a result of the men of Cross Plains belittling him for not having a "real" job. 

Harold Preece's "The Last Celt" is a written connection between Howard's writing and his interest in Celtica. He describes various conversations he had with Howard, both oral and written, as intellectual, passionate conversations about Celtica. 

The rest of the book serves as a massive bibliography detailing stories both published and unpublished as well as listings of poetry. There is also an index by character and the collections that existed upon the time of this book's publication. Whether this bibliography is still useful for Howard fans 50 years later is in the eye of the beholder. I still find some interesting tidbits gathered here and the story listings is really helpful. The bibliography finishes out with unfinished Howard books and stories, Conan pastiches, comics, and any other Howard related piece of literature. 

The last section of the book are photos of various letters, manuscripts, and a lot of the pulp magazine covers that published Howard stories. 

So, the question is do you really need this hardcover book? Yeah, I think so. It is a handy reference book that still connects in so many ways to the spirit, talent, and personality of one of the greatest pulp writers of all-time. There is enough information here to warrant a spot on your bookshelf. Recommended. Get it HERE

Tales of the Zombie #1

If you have read, or want to read, my review of the Savage Sword of Conan #1, I point out the changing of the guard at Marvel in the early 1970s. When founding publisher Martin Goodman retired, Editor-In-Chief Stan Lee ushered in a new line of black and white magazines to compete with Warren's staple of Eerie, Creepy, and Vampirella titles. These magazines were distributed by Curtis, an affiliated Marvel company. By releasing these comics in magazine format the company was able to leapfrog the Comics Code Authority. The newfound freedom allowed a bit more violence, a touch of nudity, and some mild profanity.

The first of the books was Savage Tales in 1971, followed by a Marvel Monster Group brand that consisted of titles like Dracula Lives!, Monsters Unleashed, Monster Madness, and the subject matter at hand, Tales of the Zombie. The black and white brand was arguably cemented by the long-running Savage Sword of Conan title that began in 1974.

Tales of the Zombie was the brainchild of Roy Thomas (Conan the Barbarian, Amazing Spider-Man, Doctor Strange), but the book's star character, Simon Garth, was created by Stan Lee and Bill Everett in the mid 20th century. The character and origin was originally presented in the Atlas Comics (pre-Marvel) title Menace #5 (July 1953). Both Thomas and Steve Gerber (Captain America, Man-Thing) wrote a 12-page prequel/retcon to the story and inserted it as the first story for Tales of the Zombie #1, published in August 1973. Then, they cleverly reprinted the Atlas Comics story as the second story in the first issue, making a smooth two-part introduction to kick off the debut and series. 

The first issue features an incredible painting by Boris Vallejo (Conan). The contents are:

"Altar of the Damned" - Steve Gerber & Roy Thomas/John Buscema & Tom Palmer
"Zombie!" - Stan Lee/Bill Everett
"Iron-Head" - Dick Ayers
"The Sensuous Zombie!" - Tony Isabella
"The Thing from the Bog!" - Kit Pearson & Marv Wolfman/Pablo Marcos
"The Mastermind" - Tom Sutton
"Night of the Walking Dead" - Steve Gerber/John Buscema & Syd Shores

In the opening pages of "Altar of the Damned", a Louisiana bayou is ripe with women dancing in a ritual as the Voodoo Queen appears holding a gleaming ceremonial blade. Her sacrifice is a tied and gagged Simon Garth, draped upon a smooth stone altar. As the knife whips upward into the air, Garth ponders the sounds of his final scream. But, miraculously the killer cuts his bonds and provides a warning for him to escape before his captors discover his absence. Garth runs into the dense swamp and hides behind a tree. The writers take this opportunity to bring readers up to speed on the events leading to Garth's capture.

Simon Garth is a wealthy businessman that runs a successful coffee company by exploiting the labor force and overworking them. One morning as he is leaving for the office, he engages in an argument with his daughter Laurie and his groundskeeper Gyps. Later, Garth catches Gyps, who is a short pudgy pervert, sneaking a peek at Laurie skinny dipping in the pool. Garth fires Gyps but is eventually blindsided by him, knocked unconscious, and then delivered and sold to a group of Hoodoos that pay well for human sacrifices. 

Full-circle back to the beginning of the story, Garth moves from behind the swamp tree and is attacked again by Gyps, only this time he is fatally stabbed with shears. Gyps and the Hoodoos bury a very dead Garth. However, Gyps wants the ultimate revenge and asks the Hoodoos to resurrect Garth's corpse so he can make him a slave. The Hoodoos honor Gyps' request and provide a necklace for Garth to wear and a controlling power through a magical coin that Gyps controls. "Altar of the Damned" ends with Garth seemingly a braindead slave-corpse. 

This second entry, "Zombie!", is the reprinting of the original 1953 story. The only changes made were to add longer hair for Garth to make a modern match with the prior story. In "Zombie!", Gyps summons Garth and makes him go to the city to steal gold. When Garth is found by the police he is shot repeatedly but doesn't die. Sometime later he returns to Gyps empty-handed. Gyps then orders Garth to go to a house and kidnap a girl that he is infatuated with. When Garth goes to the house and sees the targeted girl, some semblance of his old self kicks in and Garth refuses to get the girl. Instead, he goes back to Gyps and kills him before lying down in a grave. The narrator states at the end that the girl was really Garth's daughter. 

Let's face it. This is pure genius on the part of Thomas and Gerber to retcon this simple undead story from 1953 into a more intricate presentation of the proverbial riches-to-rags cautionary tale. The placement of the prequel before the original 1953 story was just an excellent concept. This origin tale is developed well and explains so much to the reader in 24 pages. The art layout and pencils from both Buscema and Palmer provide shadowy darkness behind Gyps, reiterating this is the bad guy being described in dialogue. I really enjoyed Gyps revealed as the narrator, the master controlling the slave. Also, there is a convincing subtext here of Garth molding his labor into lifeless blue-collar slaves and then role-reversal as Garth transforms from master to slave. Well done.

"Iron-Head" is a five-page short-story that features a grave robber killing someone. To escape authorities, the man gets a job on a private yacht doing deep-sea dives for a crew of treasure hunters. When they realize one more treasure chest remains, the man schemes a plan to go underwater in his iron diving suit after blowing up the boat. With the treasure hunters out of the way, the man gets the chest and then slow walks across the ocean floor to a nearby island. He plans to rest on the island and await a rescue crew. Instead, the island is filled with savage cannibals. His only way to survive is to pretend he is some sort of ironbound God inside the suit. However, he can't take the suit off or remove the helmet for fear the natives will discover his con. After days without food and water he finally....well I don't want to ruin it for you. It was a simple entertaining story. Nothing more, nothing less.

Tony Isabella presents an article on zombies at the movies. In "The Sensuos Zombie", Isabella documents the first zombie films from 1932's White Zombie and 1936's Revolt of the Zombies through the 1969 shocker Night of the Living Dead.

Pablo Marcos is one of my favorite artists and his illustrative style highlights "The Thing from the Bog!", authored by Marv Wolfman and Kit Pearson. The synopsis is that centuries ago a bog in the Northern Jutlands of Denmark was used to kill vile criminals. Two years before the story takes place a witch was tortured and sent to her death in the steaming waters of the bog. Her pact with the Devil allows her to return to life as an old hag. She finds a young child and then secretly becomes his "Witch Guardian". The boy and his stepfather are cutting peat in the area and unearth a corpse. One thing leads to another and soon the town is overran with zombies. The story has one too many flashbacks, and the plot is a bit scrambled, but again, Marcos is the real highlight here and his descriptive drawing of graveyards, skulls, witches and...death is simply awe-inspiring. 

"Mastermind" by Tom Sutton is a simple two-page story that has a mad scientist creating a Frankenstein creature called Manaak. 

The third Zombie (Simon Garth) installment, "Night of the Walking Dead", is a continuation of the first two stories of the issue. Garth's daughter Donna is at the morgue and identifies Gyps' corpse on the tray. She explains to a detective that a mysterious amulet/coin may have some connection with her father's murder. As she stares into the coin and talks the next page reveals that Garth is stirring in his dirt bed. 

A hunter is stalking the bayou as Garth rises from the grave. There's a bit of action here as Garth fights the hunter's hounds before going into the town to find Donna. As Donna is leaving the mortuary a druggie desperate for money mugs her. Garth shows up and shows a bit more intelligence while killing the mugger. As the story ends Garth is walking away, presumably back to his grave. 

Tales of the Zombie #1 was entertaining from cover to cover. The selection of writers and artists was the perfect combination to deliver some of the better horror tales you'll find in this era of Marvel black and white. While cautionary tales are always dominant in the horror comics, the idea of a "heroic" zombie playing the star is unique and edgy. Readers can sense the personal anguish and despair in the Garth character while also sharing Donna's grief over her murdered father. The satisfaction is delivered when the bad guys get their comeuppance. 

You can get still find copies of the Marvel Essentials trade paperback that collects the Garth stories. Buy a copy of the book HERE

Wolfshead

If I may take some liberties here, I'm introducing my review of Robert E. Howard's horror tale “Wolfshead” with a fun tidbit of how this story became published. I'm summarizing pages 76-77 of The Last Celt: Bio-Bibliography of Robert E. Howard, specifically the chapter “Lone Star Fictioneer” by the book's editor Glenn Lord.

After Howard's first two published stories, “Spear and Fang” (Weird Tales, July 1925) and “In the Forest of Villefere” (Weird Tales, Aug 1925), Howard went to work writing “Wolfshead” (a sequel to "In the Forest..."), a supernatural narrative featuring a werewolf terrorizing an assortment of characters in a castle. Weird Tales accepted the story and paid Howard $40. The plan was for “Wolfshead” to be the lead cover story for the April 1926 issue. While artist E.M. Stevenson was completing the cover art, he discovered that he had either misplaced the story or simply lost it. Weird Tales editor Farnsworth Wright contacted Howard and asked him to mail a carbon copy of the story as a replacement. Unfortunately, Howard never made one so he had to re-write the story from memory. Eventually the original manuscript was found prior to publication and Wright paid Howard an additional $10 due to the mistake.

That is a goofy way to begin my review of “Wolfshead”, but on that introduction you have learned that “Wolfshead” was the lead story for the April 1926 issue of Weird Tales and it was only the author's third story to be published (outside of his local school paper). And...what a story it is!

In first-person narration, an unnamed individual is explaining to a group of soldiers that despite their adventures on wind-lashed seas they have never experienced “hair-raising, horror-crawling fear”. To demonstrate that the narrator has seen terror first-hand, he recounts a time that he was invited to a castle.

Dom Vicente sends an invitation for the narrator to join him and a gathering of guests to a vacation on the African coast. Here, Vicente had cleared the jungle and built a huge castle, complete with storehouses and a nearby village of slaves and workforce. The narrator accepts the invitation and joins the guests at the castle for a few days of flirting and drinking. With his Spanish friend de Seville, the narrator explains that upon first impression he dislikes a man named De Montour. He feels that the man isn't trust worthy and may have a hidden agenda of some kind.

That night, De Montour enters the narrator's bedroom and kindly warns him to lock his bedroom door at night. Things are apparently amiss in the castle. The next morning the narrator and guests learn that a villager was ripped to shreds by some sort of animal. Suspicions are aroused when a guest is attacked in the house. The narrator places his bets that De Montour isn't all that he appears to be. As the narrative continues, the killer is revealed with a backstory on lycanthropy.

While some may disagree, “Wolfshead” is an entertaining, fleshed-out tale that captures the imagery and imaginations of several genres – horror, swashbuckling, action-adventure, locked-room mystery, and even fantasy (to a minor degree). The suspect is pretty easy to pinpoint but the fun is just getting to the reveal and explanation of the attacks. While there is an isolation among the prey, the castle halls are still frenzied with accusations and suspicions. When the reveal is made, the story makes an advancement into sword-fighting and minor military campaign. Overall, just a versatile story that should appeal to readers in the broadest of terms. I didn't read "In the Forest of Villefere", but I feel like the events in that story were relayed here. 

Roy Thomas penned a 1999 comic adaptation of this story for Cross Plains Comics. Kull the Conqueror #8 (May 1973) features an adaptation of the story with Kull inserted as the main character. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that the werewolf horror film series Howling used this story as an obvious blueprint for the fifth installment, Howling V: The Rebirth (written by Clive Turner), which is a fantastic film and a real highlight of that otherwise sub-par series.

You can get the Lancer paperback collection, which includes and is titled after this story, HERE

Red Shadows

Robert E. Howard's “Red Shadows” story featured Puritan hero Solomon Kane. Howard had initially pitched the story to Argosy but was met with a rejection. Weird Tales paid the author $80 for the story and published it in the August, 1928 issue of Weird Tales (Vol. 12 No. 2, interior art by Hugh Rankin). At this link HERE you can read letters that Howard wrote about the submission and rejection from Argosy and how he originally wrote the subject matter for the Weird Tales audience. It is an interesting read.

Howard's story begins in the mountains of France and ends in an African jungle. Unlike some of the earlier Kane stories I've read, “Red Shadows” is a bit longer and has an extensive feel. It isn't confined to a lone road through a foggy moor or crammed into a stuffy beer-swilling inn. As previously mentioned, the narrative begins with Kane in a French forest discovering a village in ruin. A dying girl explains to Kane that a man named Le Loup (meaning The Wolf) led marauders into the village and they “robbed, slew, and burned” everyone. In her dying breath she describes Le Loup as the Wolf that stabbed her. As she lay dying in Kane's arms he swears he will kill them all. 

Later, the scene shifts to Le Loup discussing the dwindling numbers in his ranks due to Kane systematically killing each member. The men describe Kane as looking like Satan. When Le Loup's remaining party enter a cave to steal treasure, Kane is there waiting in the darkness. He kills nearly everyone, but is foiled by Le Loup when the villainous leader escapes into a nearby tunnel. Kane can hear Le Loup laughing as he makes his escape. His freedom will be short-lived. 

The story changes scenery from France to African jungles when Kane, who has tracked Le Loup, leaves a ship on the shore and embarks into the dense foliage. He meets an African shaman named N'Longa in a violent way and is later captured by a stealthy Le Loup. He ties both Kane and N'Longa to a stake and prepares to have them burned. Yet, N'Longa has a magical ability to leave his body and take over the bodies of both the dead and the living. This ability plays a huge part in the story's epic finale involving a savage avenging ape, a fight to the death with Le Loup, and a reanimated corpse. 

Needless to say there is a lot to unpack here. The story borders on horror with the jungle terrors and the astral projection (?) of N'Longa's spirit. It also had a "Wolves Beyond the Border” vibe, an unfinished story that Howard penned featuring Conan and bizarre rituals along the Pictish border. The ape frenzy conjures Kipling and Burroughs, but that's not to say “Red Shadows” lacks identity. This is a fantastic story with a touch of vigilante justice and a solid reinforcement that Solomon Kane is a noble fighting-man (if anyone ever doubted). I like the injection of human compassion, which is consistently a trait Kane possesses in Howard's pages. 

What's really interesting about Howard's story is that the heroism remains intact with the star, but the performance is shifted to N'Longa to save the day. This is the first appearance of N'Longa and he will return again in “Hills of the Dead”, a 1930 story that was published in Weird Tales. N'Longa provides Kane a magical juju staff in that story, something that becomes iconic in visual imagery of Kane holding the wooden Staff of Solomon.

“Red Shadows” was reprinted in the collection Red Shadows by Donald M. Grant in 1928 (red binding) and 1971 (gray binding). It was also featured in numerous collections including the Solomon Kane paperback (Baen 1995) and the Savage Tales of Solomon Kane (Del Rey 2004). The comic adaptation appears in Marvel Premier #33-34 (1976/1977), a six-issue Marvel series called The Sword of Solomon Kane (1985), and a four-issue series from Dark Horse (2011) simply called Solomon Kane Red Shadows. 

Solomon Kane - The Right Hand of Doom

Robert E. Howard's 16th century Puritan hero Solomon Kane made his first appearance in the August, 1928 issue of Weird Tales. The stories that feature the character are a good mix of sword-and-sorcery and horror, and I really enjoyed my first experience with the character in “Skulls in the Stars". I went back to the foggy moors and terrifying towns for another Solomon Kane story, “The Right Hand of Doom”. The story was never published in Howard's lifetime having been rejected by Weird Tales. The first publication was in the book Red Shadows (Grant 1968). It has appeared numerous times over the years. My version is in the Baen collection titled Solomon Kane from 1995. It has a Ken Kelly cover and an introduction by horror author Ramsey Campbell. 

This story seems to take place before “Skulls in the Stars”, although chronology doesn't matter in any of these. In that story, Kane is deciding which road to take to Torkertown and then proceeds to a haunted path. In “The Right Hand of Doom”, Kane is staying overnight in an English inn at least a day's ride from Torkertown. It's in this inn's bar that Kane has an interaction with a loud-mouthed traitor.

A man named John Redly prances into the inn and declares that a necromancer will be executed by hanging. Kane already knows about the relationship between the necromancer and Redly. After Redly boasts about the necromancer's capture, and hints that he was paid for helping with the capture, Kane is quick to scold the man. He tells Redly that the necromancer surely was worthy of death, but that the necromancer trusted Redly as a friend and that friendship was broken for a few filthy coins. He goes on to say he thinks Redly and the necromancer will meet in Hell some day. Strong words.

Kane goes to bed, but his sleep is disturbed when he hears a scampering outside as if something is crawling up the wall. He grabs his rapier (sword) and goes into the next room where Redly is sleeping. Kane is shocked to see a large spider making its way to Redly's throat, eventually crushing the man's neck in one fatal squeeze. On further inspection, he discovers it is a human hand! Kane thrusts his rapier through the hand and proceeds to toss it into the fire off-page. 

The next morning Kane interviews a young man to determine what the necromancer's experiences were in jail and if anything peculiar happened. The man says that the necromancer's last wish was to have his hand cut off. I won't ruin the surprise for you, but you get where this is going. 

This story reminded me of another Robert E. Howard work called “Mistress of Death”, which was later adapted into a Conan comic called “Curse of the Undead-Man” in Savage Sword of Conan #1. In that story, a sorcerer is publicly executed but his severed finger becomes reanimated and finds its way back to the dead sorcerer. Both the finger in that story and the hand in this one feature a magic ring. It also reminds me of the 1981 Michael Caine film The Hand. 

While Solomon Kane isn't prominent in this short horror story, I still found “The Right Hand of Doom” enjoyable. The dialogue between Kane and Redly at the beginning of the story is well worth the price of admission. Kane's cool and perceptive eyes just ooze off the page and resonate like a veteran gunslinger staring down a boastful cardsharp. The condemnation he heaps on Redly is cold-blooded brilliance. I absolutely love these Kane stories and I'm finding this character to be one of my favorites of the Howard bibliography. 

Get a copy of a Solomon Kane omnibus HERE.