The Adventures of Zana O'Savin

It might cost me a stamp on my Pulp card, but I must confess I have yet to 'get the hang' of Doc Savage. I find the original stories (I have read to date) to be too clunky. Yes, Dent pours on the action but it's obvious he's thinking action first, explanations later. And I never find the explanations satisfactory.

Though, I do find the concept and setup as having potential. The team. The Empire State building headquarters. The Fortress of Solitude.

Perhaps, if I'd read some of those tales (and saw those Bama 1960s covers!) as a boy, I might not be so critical. But coming in cold as an adult--they just don't work for me.

There are many Doc Savage pastiches out there. I do wonder if any of them might make things gel better.

Enter Craig McDonald's THE ADVENTURES OF ZANA O'SAVIN.

These are different. As much as they have all the pastiche characters, it's hard to refer to these as pastiche.  McDonald has infused this series with a fantasy element that makes it all work. You see, Doc O'Savin is a tulpa--a being manifested from pure thought and will. Created by Lester Dent's own intensity and belief in his own fiction.

This gives McDonald the springboard to weave the team through historical events, provide pulpy action, and give it all depth. I just finished the third entry, THE DEATH KILLERS, and it's a doozy torn from today's headlines.

This is a neat series. Recommended.

Back to the Valley of Gold

TARZAN AND THE VALLEY OF GOLD

Publicity still. (the movie is in color.)

I've been revisiting the late 1950s through 1960s TARZAN movies with my son. Yesterday we watched TARZAN AND THE VALLEY OF GOLD. (which I've touched on before)

It's a crazy mix of modern world Tarzan, James Bond pastiche, Tarzan pastiche. On the 007 side, the main baddie is pure Bond villain. Tarzan first appears in a suit, fighting assassins in Mexico City. The jazzy soundtrack. For Tarzan moments, we see Tarzan suiting 'down' to the loincloth and requesting a knife and a length of rope. His use of the animals (leopard as tracker, chimpanzee as scout, lion as his army) has echoes of original Tarzan novels (Beasts of Tarzan, Tarzan the Untamed.)

The sum of the parts never really adds up. The story's scope & vision far exceed its budget. The climax drags on too long.

But it's a favorite. Maybe because Mike Henry is a physical cast perfect for Tarzan--and Nancy Kovack is quite fetching. Or maybe I just enjoy the audacity of what they were trying to pull off.

I think it's a fun way to spend a ninety-minute weekend matinee.

The Fritz Leiber novelization was recently re-released. It takes the story where it could have gone and adds a lot to it. Maybe not worth the current collectible hardcover price for casual fans but when it comes out in paperback or ebook, you might give it a read, if you're a pulp / action adventure fan.

recent read; HIGH ADVENTURE #86

HIGH ADVENTURE #86

Keeping with my resolution for more 'zines in my reading mix...

I swung back into the jungle pulp, following up last year's Ki-Gor read with two more of the better Ki-Gor tales, "The Devil's Death Trap" and "Blood Priestess of Vig N'Ga." Luckily, both stories are included in this single volume.

"The Devil's Death Trap" finds Ki-Gor and his stalwart companions trapped in a lost city of intelligent gorillas (shades of DC Comics' Gorilla City!) "Blood Priestess of Vig N'Ga" also features a hidden city--this one more of a classic Middle Eastern flare. While the former story had echoes of Edgar Rice Burroughs, the later tale had echoes of Robert E. Howard.

Both delivered on pulp fun and adventure.

Unfortunately, this issue (or my copy, anyway) has a glaring misprint in "Blood Priestess of Vig N'Ga" that repeats a page and left out a piece of the story. Fortunately, there is an archive available here. I need to check this out and fill in the gap.

recent read; The Secret Files of Solar Pons

THE SECRET FILES OF SOLAR PONS by Basil Copper

Pons finds himself dealing with four separate mysteries in this collection - "The Adventure of the Crawling Horror," "The Adventure of the Anguished Actor," "The Adventure of the Ignored Idols"
and "The Adventure of the Horrified Heiress."

I admit to sometimes being too easily entertained. I am still new to original Sherlock Holmes tales and the tales of Solar Pons.  I thought these tales were enjoyable, at least.

In "The Adventure of the Crawling Horror," Pons must solve the mystery of a ghostly monster in the marsh lands. "The Adventure of the Anguished Actor" features a tale of theater as Pons and Parker race to save an actor from assassination. In "The Adventure of the Ignored Idols," a brazen thief challenges a museum to stop his imminent procurement of exhibits. And "The Adventure of the Horrified Heiress" is a tale of murder and inheritance.

I found the last story surprisingly predictable.  "Ignored Idols" seemed to have an odd central conceit - the museum thief is initially introduced as known forger. So, why turn to thieving? I was expecting an artifact forgery swap somewhere in the story but it is also a straightforward tale of burglary and Pons's attempt to stop the thief.

So, I'd say the first two stories were the better of the collection.

Copper favored novella length adventures for Pons and his stalwart companion, Parker. I enjoyed settling into all of these longer stories, soaking up some atmosphere and spending more time with the mainstay characters of the series.

(The original Basil Copper stories came in the series of books published by Pinnacle Books back in the day and included Derleth's run. Hence, the first edition of SECRET FILES was numbered 10, not 3. Story content is the same.)

 

recent read; Forever and a Death

FOREVER AND A DEATH by Donald E. Westlake

From the blurb;

The Bond That Never Was

Two decades ago, the producers of the James Bond movies hired legendary crime novelist Donald E. Westlake to come up with a story for the next Bond film. The plot Westlake dreamed up – about a Western businessman seeking revenge after being kicked out of Hong Kong when the island was returned to Chinese rule – had all the elements of a classic Bond adventure, but political concerns kept it from being made. Never one to let a good story go to waste, Westlake wrote an original novel based on the premise instead – a novel he never published while he was alive.

Intriguing!

Richard Curtis is a powerful business man who had been run out of Hong Kong after the handover from UK control to China (post 1997.) He wants revenge and he wants his fortune back. He has a plan for destruction and robbery. When Curtis tests his "solitron wave" device on an abandoned isle, members of the environmental group, Planetwatch, get caught up in Curtis's scheme. After Curtis arranges the death of a young woman, Kim, his chief engineer George Manville defects, saves Kim, and maneuvers to block Curtis's plans from reaching fruition. The novel builds steam from there, with a cast of characters, reversals, turns, and intrigue. Like a Bond story, we have exotic settings - Singapore, Hong Kong, South Seas, and Australia.

Certainly, Hard Case Crime have used the Bond angle to promote the novel but Westlake didn't appear to want his novel near pastiche territory. He reused elements (Hong Kong, gold robbery, corporate villain with a destructive machine, etc.) but the characters are nowhere near MI6 or any other fictional spy agency or criminal organizations. Sex is off-screen and nearly non-existent - far more tame than any Bond movie or novel. Perhaps the most jarring element is the ensemble team of good guys trying to stop the bad guy, rather than one person. Manville at first appears to be a Bond analogous in training but he disappears off-page for a large chunk of time later in the novel.

Richard Curtis is the most realized character in the book. Westlake does a good job of creating a villain who just gets more villainous because he digs his holes deeper and deeper. He starts off with bribes and corner cutting, never imagines being a murderer, and by the end, the extinguishing of life no longer bothers his conscience.

The afterword by Jeff Kleeman is worth the price of admission. Kleeman reveals all the details of Westlake's involvement in the unproduced screenplay. He highlights some of the differences and similarities between the novel and the original project, including some cinematic scenes and Bond pun quips that aren't in the book. He also mentions Westlake was on-screen in LIVE AND LET DIE, as a background extra! (I'll need to rewatch the movie.)

While the novel might have been better if it had stuck closer to a Bond pastiche by keeping Manville's through-line consistent, it is still an enjoyable thriller. If you like Bond and adventure fiction, you should give it a read. (4/5 stars)

recent read; The Papers of Solar Pons

THE PAPERS OF SOLAR PONS by David Marcum

I'll come right out and say I wanted to enjoy this book more than I did but that is not to say it is bad. I brought a lot of expectations to the Kickstarter-funded book. As such, this review is probably longer than it needs to be.

I am new to the Arthur Conan Doyle Holmes original stories and also new to Pons. I was fortunate enough to secure the first Derleth Pinnacle paperback collection, so I had some familiarity with Pons before starting.

Pons has a long history. In a nutshell - August Derleth was a Sherlock Holmes fan. When no more Holmes stories were coming, he created a pastiche character, Pons, who is essentially Holmes. All the bells and whistles of Holmes are in Pons - a London address, a doctor confidant, a untouchable enemy, a gang of helpful street urchins. Later, Basil Copper took over the character. But, Pons has been dormant a long time until now.

THE PAPERS OF SOLAR PONS, authorized by the Derleth estate, are new tales that harken back more to Derleth's style, though Marcum has his own style, certainly.

The book opens with many essays from various writers about Pons and their joy at seeing his return. I did enjoy their excitement.

The stories are all well written and I enjoyed them to an extent. Some went where I wasn't expecting. One story even turned out to be of the "weird menace" category, which was pleasant surprise. Marcum certainly knows the ins-&-outs of Pons canon.

Now, on to some of the negatives.

First, there was constant cross-referencing to other cases - both Holmes's and Pons's. Being new to both canons, I never knew when Marcum was referencing previous tales or creating "lost tales." It's an old tradition to drop hints of cases we've never read but it just felt overboard in this collection.

The final story is a long one. It is a Holmes story, concerning the origins of Solar Pons. It isn't a bad story and it written well enough. But this novelette-length story just didn't jibe with me.

If you know me by now you know I'm a big Robert E. Howard fan. I have mixed feelings on continuations and pastiches, anyway. When it comes to origin stories, I am of the mind, mostly, that any origin story from the original author is fine. But I really have a hard time with origin stories coming from follow-on pastiche writers.

There is that old quote about whether a nude picture is art or pornography, and the answer is "I know it when I see it." I feel the same way about amateur fan fiction vs. a professional tie-in or authorized by an estate story. Don't get me wrong, sometimes (as with anything) you can find better fan fiction than authorized canon and sometimes fan fiction vibes creep into authorized canon.

I felt the story - as regards to Pons's origins - was fan fiction and far too obvious. The constant Easter egg cross-referencing of stories also felt like fan fiction - if only because it was done so often. But it is authorized canon, so that's fine.

If I gave it stars - as someone new to Holmes and Pons - I would give it three out of five, I'd say. It's not a bad addition to the canon. But as a starting point for someone new to Pons, I would have preferred something a bit more accessible and in the vein of a restart than something with deep tendrils into the canon world of Pons (and Holmes.)

Your mileage will almost certainly vary.