I'm spending part of the winter break getting back in touch with my pulp roots. I had forgotten how well written some of these were. Read this Spider book, the third one Norvell W. Page wrote in the series and was blown away by how well-paced the story/action was.
I was not so happy with this one. I'd waited a long time to see the Shadow reveal his true identity as Kent Allard, and it was all weird and convoluted. I know Walter B. Gibson usually knocked these things out in a week, but I was really disappointed. The plot was all over the place and there was no real build-up to this REAL identity.
If you haven't read Paul Malmont's brilliant novel about real-life writers Lester Dent (Kenneth Robeson, Doc Savage) and Walter B. Gibson (Maxwell Grant, The Shadow) you should. H. P. Lovecraft (Cthulu), Ron L. Hubbard (Scientology), and Louis L'Amour (Sackett Family) are also in the pages. I loved how Malmont brings those old pulp days to life and puts in a lot of the history at the same time.
3 comments:
After trying to read a new comic book featuring the Spider, I ordered this one thru Amazon. Started it and lost track of it when I started another book. I remember being amazed how good it was. Gonna find it & jump back in.
After trying to read a new comic book featuring the Spider, I ordered this one thru Amazon. Started it and lost track of it when I started another book. I remember being amazed how good it was. Gonna find it & jump back in.
Hey Mel, I liked one of your Shadow reviews on Amazon, where you said you liked the Shadow's mystique more than the actual prose itself. This is the way I feel too about some of the stories. So on your recommendation, I've just purchased The Spider's Empire of Doom.
Have you written anything in with this kind of flavor - mysterious, nostalgic, and pulpish?
Thanks!
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