Max Brand is one of the pseudonyms used by the prolific American writer, Frederick Schiller Faust (May 29, 1892 – May 12, 1944). Using the Max Brand pMax Brand is one of the pseudonyms used by the prolific American writer, Frederick Schiller Faust (May 29, 1892 – May 12, 1944). Using the Max Brand pseudonym, he wrote hundreds of western stories and novels as well as creating the Dr. Kildare character. Destry Rides Again was first published in 1930, in a series of installments under the title "Twelve Peers" in Frank Blackwell's Western Story Magazine. [image][image] It was republished, as a paperback, later that year under the title Destry Rides Again. It remains one of Brand's most famous works and had been in print for 70 years after its first publication. There were three film versions made of it between 1932 and 1954. However, these owe little to the novel other than their name; the plots are completely unrelated to Brand's story, and Destry's first name is also changed from Harry to Tom in the movies. The most famous version was made in 1939 and starred Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart. [image] I have had this old Triangle hardcover copy on my shelves for years and decided to finally read it. DESTRY is a typical western of its time. It takes place mostly in and around the fictional town of Wham, Texas. The protagonist, Harry Destry, was a young hotheaded man with a reputation for fighting and reckless behavior. He had fought and bested many of his peers when he was growing up in Wham and was therefore not well-liked. But then he is framed for the robbery of the Express train and is sentenced to ten years in prison by a jury of his peers. Destry looks down on the twelve jurors and feels that he was sentenced unjustly and vows to get vengeance on them. He ends up being released after six years and as in the title he rides again to call on these twelve peers for the wrong he feels they did him. But is he really taking vengeance on the right people? Who actually framed him for the robbery?
Like I said, this is definitely a novel of its time. Of course, Destry also has a love interest in the story, Charlotte Dangerfield, the daughter of a wealthy rancher. The novel was full of action but it also contained some surprising racist remarks including using the N word on more that one occasion. For example, one discussion between Charlotte and her father: "I never seen anything the way you throw money away on them n*****s, the worthless good-for-nothin's! . . . Money is no good for n*****s, said Dangerfield. Money and votes ain't no good for them." The author was obviously against allowing blacks to vote. I know that this attitude was included in many works of the time but it still was somewhat triggering. I guess this book is considered a classic but I would only mildly recommend it....more
I have been reading Edgar Rice Burroughs since I was a teenager back in the 1960s. I've always considered him one of my favorite authors and I have loI have been reading Edgar Rice Burroughs since I was a teenager back in the 1960s. I've always considered him one of my favorite authors and I have loved his Tarzan, Mars, and Pellucidar series. I have a large collection of most of his books in hardcover. I had never read Bandit of Hell's Bend but after reading a good review by another Goodreads member, I decided to pull it off my shelf and dig in!
I actually really enjoyed this one. This is one of only a few Westerns that Burroughs wrote and although he was a huge success writing adventure and sci-fi/fantasy novels, I think he could have also been successful as a Western writer in the vein of Zane Grey and William McLeod Raine if he had focused only on that genre.
Bandit is a very typical Western of its time. It was originally published in the pulp magazine, Argosy All-Story Weekly in 1924 and then in book form in 1925. [image] It is the story of a rancher and gold mine owner named Henders in Arizona with a beautiful daughter named Diana who is loved and admired by all the ranch hands. The foreman of the ranch, Bull, is betrayed by another rancher named Hal Colby who longed for his job. Hal purposely got Bull drunk so he would be fired by Henders. Colby takes over as foreman while Bull is thought to be a bandit who has been robbing the gold shipments at a pass called "Hell's Bend". The robber wears a black silk scarf and mask and is know as the "Black Coyote". Later in the story, Diana's cousin, Lillian, and her attorney arrive at the ranch and insist that the cousin is the heir to all of it after Diana's father and Lillian's father both die. So will Diana be able to save the ranch? Is Bull the notorious bandit, the Black Coyote? If not, then who is?
The novel as usual for the time was really a romance with Diana's love interests and the cowboys who want her. But it is also full of action, especially the last part of the novel. It is also filled with some very colorful side characters including the ranch hands (one is a singing cowboy), the Chinese cook, the Mexican bandit, and the renegade Apaches. And as typical for the time, the novel did have a few racial epithets describing the Mexicans and Chinese and the Indians were of course bad and should be shot on sight. But this was very prevalent for novels written in the early twentieth century. Overall, I enjoyed this and recommend it. I have a couple of Burroughs' other Western novels that I also hope to read at some point soon. I also need to read his Venus novels which I have never gotten around to. So much to read, so little time!...more
This collection of four shorter works by Heinlein were originally published in various pulp magazines from 1941 to 1949. I have been a fan of HeinleinThis collection of four shorter works by Heinlein were originally published in various pulp magazines from 1941 to 1949. I have been a fan of Heinlein ever since reading some of his juvenile fiction when I was in middle school back in the 1960s. I also read a lot of his other fiction in the 70s including STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND and STARSHIP TROOPERS, both of which I consider some of sci-fi's best.
The four stories in this collection are loosely related as speculation on what makes one a human:
"Gulf" (Astounding Science Fiction, October–November 1949). This story is about a superspy who travels from the moon to the earth carrying some plans for a super weapon that can turn planets into novas! The spy meets up with a man who is a superbeing who may be the next step in evolution. Along the way, they must stop a madwoman from exploding the earth.
"Elsewhen", (written in 1939 and first published in 1941 in Astounding Science Fiction of September 1941 as "Elsewhere" by Caleb Saunders) This story is a time-travel tidbit that suggests that the human mind is not bound to our here-and-now but can go voyaging into alternative timetracks of possibility.
"Lost Legacy" (written in 1939 but first published in 1941 in Super Science Stories, November 1941 as "Lost Legion" by Lyle Monroe) This novella is about two men and a woman who discover that the brain is not using all of its potential. They eventually find that they can read minds, levitate, and actually fly using this unused brain power.
"Jerry Was a Man" (written in 1946 and published in 1947 in Thrilling Wonder Stories, October 1947 as "Jerry Is a Man") This story is about genetically altered beings including apes that are used as workers in a factory that makes these alterations to provide exotic pets for clients. This leads to a court making a legal ruling on the human rights of these genetically engineered intelligent creatures. Should they be considered "men"?
The themes of these short works were later used by Heinlein is several of his novels including STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND and FRIDAY. I thought these stories were interesting for the most part although they were definitely dated. I need to read more of Heinlein especially his novels that I have been putting off....more
I have been reading Burroughs since I was a teenager back in the 1960s. When I was 10 years old, my father gave me a copy of Tarzan and the Golden LioI have been reading Burroughs since I was a teenager back in the 1960s. When I was 10 years old, my father gave me a copy of Tarzan and the Golden Lion for Christmas. I don't think I read it until a few years later but when I did, I became hooked on Burroughs. My father also had an old copy of A Princess of Mars, the first book in the Mars series which I also read as a teenager. Later in the 70s and 80s, I reread most of the Tarzan series as well as some Mars books and my favorites, the Pellucidar series. Since then, I have collected most of Burroughs books in hardcover and read them somewhat sporadically. I had never read Master Mind before — the last Mars book I read about 20 years ago was Chessmen of Mars so I decided to see what happens in the next book in the series.
Master Mind is the sixth book in the Mars series. It was originally published in the magazine Amazing Stories Annual vol. 1, on July 15, 1927 and then published in book form in 1928. [image] In this book, Burroughs uses a new character, Ulysses Paxton, to tell a really unusual tale involving brain and other organ and limb transplants by an elderly mad scientist named Ras Thavas. Paxton was serving in the trenches of WWI when he is magically transported to Mars where he meets Thavas and becomes his apprentice. At first Paxton is thrilled to gain the knowledge of Ras but then he discovers that Ras has transplanted brains and uses this skill to provide rich elderly Martians with youthful new bodies for a profit. Paxton falls in love with one of the women who has had her brain replaced by that of an old hag and the novel proceeds as an adventure to get the rightful brain back into the beautiful body. Of course, all is well that ends well and Paxton gets his beautiful bride.
I was kind of disappointed in this novel. It really didn't seem like the John Carter novels I had read in the past. The plot about brain transplants was right out of Frankenstein or H.P. Lovecraft's Reanimator. It was like the plot of a very bad B movie from the 50s. The writing to me also seemed very juvenile (maybe it always was) and the dialog was not very realistic. Also all the Martian names became very confusing. I guess mostly I read this for nostalgia's sake but I'm not sure if I will be reading any more of these anytime soon. However, I still have Burroughs Venus series which I have not read — maybe I'll sneak one of them in just to see what happened on Venus. :-)...more
I have had this old hardcover edition of THE MARK OF ZORRO for several years and was finally motivated to read it by another review at Goodreads. Of cI have had this old hardcover edition of THE MARK OF ZORRO for several years and was finally motivated to read it by another review at Goodreads. Of course, Zorro is an iconic figure in both television and movies. I remember watching the old Disney TV series when I was growing up in the 1950's. Mark of Zorro was also made into a couple of movies including a great version from 1940 starring Tyrone Power. [image] The character Zorro was created by Johnston McCulley and first appeared in 1919 as The Curse of Capistrano which was serialized in five installments in the pulp magazine All-Story Weekly. [image] The five-part prose story was then republished as a novel entitled The Mark of Zorro by Grosset & Dunlap in 1924.
This was really a great action adventure novel that takes place in old California during the era of Mexican rule. Zorro, of course, is out to settle injustices heaped upon "the friars of the missions and the natives who were treated worse than dogs by corrupt officials and politicians. Even men of noble blood were robbed because they were not friendly to the ruling powers..." The novel is also a love story with Zorro and his alter-ego Don Diego Vega out to woo the beautiful Lolita Pulido who is part of a noble family in disfavor of the governor. The novel is very familiar to anyone who has seen the movies or TV series. Zorro has a deaf and mute servant named Bernardo and he opposes the villainous Captain Ramon and Sgt. Gonzales.
This was definitely a novel of its time. Zorro is a pulp hero whose adventures are in line with other novels of the time including those written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Zane Grey, and others. Very enjoyable for what it is. One thing the novel lacked was a good origin story for Zorro. The last part of the novel tells how he trained himself to fight and to right injustices while taking on an effeminate persona for Don Diego. In the movies, he had actually gone to Spain where he learned his skills. McCulley wrote some sequels to The Mark of Zorro where he might have expanded on this. I did read Isabel Allende's novel Zorro a few years ago which does expand on Zorro's origins and is a great expansion on the Zorro story. I would recommend it along with Mark of Zorro....more
This book was published in 1918 by Sax Rohmer (real name Arthur Henry Ward). Rohmer was a popular writer of the early twentieth century and was especiThis book was published in 1918 by Sax Rohmer (real name Arthur Henry Ward). Rohmer was a popular writer of the early twentieth century and was especially known for his Fu-Manchu novels. Several years ago, I started a collection of hardcover Rohmer novels but have only read a few of them. I enquired to an online website devoted to Rohmer what books they would recommend reading and several stated that Brood of the Witch-Queen was a favorite. Since i did not have a copy of this, I decided to read it on-line as a free download.
Well, the book was quite strange about an Englishman named Robert Cairn, and his acquaintance with Antony Ferrera who appears to be in league with the devil or some other occult deity. He is suspected of black magic by both Cairn and his father, Dr. Bruce Cairn. Ferrera was adopted and he is also suspected of his adopted father's death. This puts Antony in line to inherit his father's money but first he must deal with his beautiful cousin, Myra Duquesne, who inherits half the estate. Myra is also a love interest of Robert's. The novel shifts from London to Egypt where Dr. Cairn relates the origin of Antony and his relationship to the Witch-Queen of Egypt. The story then returns to England where both Robert and Myra are in great danger from Antony's sorcery. So can they be saved? Well, as usual with these types of novel, the answer is yes!
I kind of enjoyed this for what it is, an old-fashioned romance of the early 1900's dealing with the occult. The occult and Egyptology were hot items of the time and many authors dealt with them including A. Conan Doyle, Rider Haggard, and others. From wikipedia: H.P. Lovecraft compared the novel to Bram Stoker's Dracula, alongside Richard Marsh's The Beetle or Gerald Biss' The Door of the Unreal in his essay Supernatural Horror in Literature. Les Daniels identified the book as being probably Rohmer's best novel, noting that it lacked the pseudo-scientific explanations usually employed by the author and concluding that "Rohmer's occult lore was never as well employed as in this tale... and he never equalled the claustrophobic chills of the scenes in the bowels of a pyramid." But overall, I would only mildly recommend this. The writing to me was a little flat and old fashioned and the ending was much too abrupt....more
According to Lester Del Rey in his introduction to this volume, John W. Campbell revolutionized science fiction by writing stories and novels and thenAccording to Lester Del Rey in his introduction to this volume, John W. Campbell revolutionized science fiction by writing stories and novels and then later by becoming the editor of Astounding Science Fiction which later became Analog Science Fiction and Fact. His first short story was published in January 1930, six months before his twentieth birthday. He became one of the best-liked writers in the field and published under his own name until 1934 when he began to write stories with a different tone, and wrote using the pseudonym Don A. Stuart. He became editor of Astounding in 1937 and was instrumental in developing the careers of many science fiction writers of the time including Robert A. Heinlein, Theodore Sturgeon, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke.
This anthology includes stories from Campbell written in the 1930s and includes probably his most famous work, Who Goes There? which was the basis for the films The Thing from Another World (1951), The Thing (1982), and The Thing (2011). This story was the main reason I obtained this book several years ago. The original movie from 1951 was always one of my favorites. [image] Who Goes There? was really a story of suspense and was closer to the 1982 version of the movie than to the original. It of course tells the story of a group of men stationed in Antarctica (in the original film they were in the Arctic) who discover a space craft embedded in the ice which had been there for millions of years. The craft is destroyed when they try to blast it out but one of the occupants is cut from the ice and thawed releasing a monster that is able to shape shift and is also telepathic. This leads to a suspenseful tale in which the group is unsure whether the being has taken over the bodies of the group. Overall a very innovative and terrifying tale.
As far as the other stories in the book, I was kind of mixed on them. The earliest The Last Evolution was published in Amazing Stories in 1932 and told how over many millennia machines evolve to be the rulers of the world. The story had little character development and was quite dry. Campbell follows this premise about the rise of machines in most of the stories that follow. [image][image] The Invaders published in 1935 told of an invasion of earth by aliens after mankind has let machines take over and do everything for them. The invaders try to breed mankind back to some semblance of superiority using the science of Eugenics. I know this was prevalent in the 1930s especially in Nazi Germany. In the next story, Rebellion the human race is able to rebel against the invaders and take back the earth but this is only after thousands of years have passed. [image] Forgetfulness is another story similar to The Invaders where an alien race comes to earth finding the remnants of a magnificent civilization it has forgotten. One of the better stories in the anthology.
I'm glad I finally read this, especially Who Goes There? but overall I thought this was definitely dated with generally stilted prose and very fantastic storylines. Probably what was to be expected from sci-fi in the 30s....more
I've had this book on my shelves as part of my permanent collection for several years. It's a great introduction to the pulp magazine Weird Tales and I've had this book on my shelves as part of my permanent collection for several years. It's a great introduction to the pulp magazine Weird Tales and is presented in a facsimile approach where the presentation of the stories is basically how they were presented in the magazine. The size of the pages are the same and the stories are presented in two columns for reading. This actually makes the stories seem longer because a lot of words fit on each two-column 6" x 9" page. The paper for the book is also a cheaper pulp type paper which really gives it a feel for reading the old pulps from the early 20th century. There are also old advertisements, letters to the editor (The Eyrie), poems, and true experiences submitted by readers. Then there is a very good introduction by Haining giving a history of the magazine as well as information about some of its more famous authors including H.P. Lovecraft, Robert Bloch, Robert E. Howard, August Derleth, and Ray Bradbury among others.
As far as the stories go, I enjoyed most of them although some were to me a lot better than others. I tended to like the horror stories more than the fantasy offerings such as BEYOND THE PHOENIX by Henry Kuttner and HEART OF ATLANTAN by Nictzin Dyalhis which were both tales of Atlantis. [image]
Some of the stories I enjoyed the most were: THE MAN WHO RETURNED by Edmond Hamilton from February 1934. This was about a man who had died and comes back to life a week later only to find that his wife has another lover, his son received his life insurance money to make ends meet, and his boss thought he was pretty worthless. Enough to make you want to return to your crypt! [image] BLACK HOUND OF DEATH by Robert E. Howard from November 1936. This one was really a "weird" tale about a man who was transposed to a werewolf and is after the man who deserted him in Mongolia. There is also a psychotic black man involved in this tale that was pretty racist in its presentation and definitely not politically correct by today's standards. [image] FROZEN BEAUTY by Seabury Quinn from February 1938. This tale involves Russian anarchists who are after a coffin containing a frozen woman who is thawed and returned to the living. This is one of Quinn's Jules de Grandin tales and was quite enjoyable. [image] THE GARDEN OF ADOMPHA by Clark Ashton Smith from April 1938. This was one of the strangest stories in the collection about a garden where human body parts are grafted onto plants. Very eerie! [image] THE BEASTS OF BARSAC by Robert Bloch from July 1942. This was a tale about a mad scientist in a European castle who is trying to transpose his traits to animals. This reminded me somewhat of H.G. Wells' ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU. [image]
The stories included from H.P. Lovecraft and Ray Bradbury were not among my favorites. Overall, a good introduction to Weird Tales Magazine but for me some of this got a little tedious towards the end. Probably better to read these tales sparingly and spaced out over several weeks. I read this in about four days....more
When I was 10 years old, my father gave me three books for Christmas: Treasure Island, The Swiss Family Robinson, and Tarzan and the Golden Lion. At tWhen I was 10 years old, my father gave me three books for Christmas: Treasure Island, The Swiss Family Robinson, and Tarzan and the Golden Lion. At the time, these were all a little advanced for me but when I reached my teen years, I finally read the Tarzan book and was hooked on his adventures. My older brother also had a copy of Tarzan and the Ant Men which I still consider one of the best in the series. In the 80s, I decided to read all of the Tarzan adventures in order but only made it as far as Tarzan at the Earth's Core and then for some reason I stopped reading them. In the mean time, I started collecting Burroughs editions in hard cover and now have a near-complete set of his books. So I kept seeing the books on their shelves and decided to read the next Tarzan adventure, Tarzan the Invincible.
This book was originally published in Blue Book magazine from October 1930 through April 1931 as Tarzan, Guard of the Jungle. [image]
The plot of this one has Tarzan coming upon a group of Soviet communists who are hatching a very convoluted plot to attack Italian Somalia in the guise of French troops thereby starting a war between Italy and France which they hope will embroil Europe in another world war leaving the Communists to pick up the pieces. The leader of the group is hoping to become emperor of all of Africa. Part of the scheme is to get gold to finance this coup from the treasure vaults of the lost city of Opar. Well Tarzan overhears this and immediately goes to Opar to find that La, the high priestess of the city, has been overthrown and placed in a cell. Tarzan rescues her but she winds up wandering lost in the jungle. Others are also lost in the jungle including some of the communists including a beautiful woman named Zora. A lot of the story has Tarzan looking for La and others looking for Zora. Tarzan gets help from his faithful Waziri to stop the communists and eventually reinstate La to her rightful place in Opar.
Well, its been decades since I last read a Tarzan novel and this one definitely did not grab me like the earlier books in the series. Too much wandering in the jungle with not enough plot. This is the fouth book to feature Opar and I believe the last. I know Opar was also a story line in the first Tarzan book I read, Golden Lion. I'll probably read more of these, along with other Burroughs novels, at some point but I'm really not in a rush to do so....more
I've actually had this copy of Hitchcock stories since 1968. It was a selection from a book club that I belonged to in high school. I know I have readI've actually had this copy of Hitchcock stories since 1968. It was a selection from a book club that I belonged to in high school. I know I have read some of this but I don't think I ever read the whole book. Anyway, this was a really great collection of stories ranging from the macabre to just plain scary and unsettling. The book was published in 1967 so some of the stories are definitely dated but they still provide chills. Some of my favorites from the collection include:
A DEATH IN THE FAMILY by Miriam Allen deFord: This one was reminiscent of Psycho with a lonely mortician using the dead to make his own family.
PARTY GAMES by John Burke: About an odd boy who attends a party uninvited with dire consequences.
CURIOUS ADVENTURES OF MR BOND by Nugent Barker: This one was about a traveler who goes to three inns run by three different brothers who have some strange ghoulish ulterior motives.
TWO SPINSTERS by E. Phillips Oppenheim: About two lonely sisters who were apparently jilted by a suitor and are patiently waiting for him to return.
IT by Theodore Sturgeon: This one was definitely creepy about a thing that comes to life in the woods trying to figure out life by pulling apart anything it comes in contact with. This reminded me of some of the old EC horror comics from the 50s.
THE TROLL by T.H. White: Really strange tale about a troll who resides in a hotel room in Sweden.
JOURNEY TO THE DEATH by Donald E. Westlake: Westlake is one of my favorite crime novelists. This story is a little unusual for him about two men who get trapped in a sealed room in a boat that sinks and how they try to survive.
Overall, I enjoyed probably 90 percent of these stories and would highly recommend this anthology. It also contains the complete novel OUT OF THE DEEPS (aka THE KRAKEN WAKES) by John Wyndham. I didn't read this one but I have a paperback copy of this novel that I will read at a later date....more
Finished reading Mystery Under the Sea. When I was in high school and college, I read the Bantam reprints of the Doc novels as soon as they were publiFinished reading Mystery Under the Sea. When I was in high school and college, I read the Bantam reprints of the Doc novels as soon as they were published. Several years ago, I decided to read them in the order they were originally published back in the 30s and 40s, however, I only made it through about the first 30 or so. I have continued this sporadically in recent years, reading Murder Mirage a few months ago. Mystery Under the Sea is next in line. I happened to have one of the Sanctum reprints that includes Mystery plus The Red Terrors. This volume actually had a restored version of Mystery that included more than 7000 words that were edited out of the original publication. It also contained an article about Lester Dent and some of his sources for the novel. Also discussed how Red Terrors became a sequel to Mystery Under the Sea.
In Mystery, a mutilated man who has been burnt with acid makes his way to Doc's headquarters but dies before he can tell them anything. Even so, Doc and his crew are soon on the trail of modern-day pirate Captain Flamingo and ruthless heiress Diamond Eve Post, racing to the Caribbean to claim the lost science of TAZ, ancient outpost of Atlantis. This one seemed to take a long time to get going. The novel was more than half over before Doc and his crew eventually get kidnapped and on to the lost city. Some interesting features of the novel include use of a substance that makes it possible to go under water without breathing. The restoration also included the first mention and explanation of Doc's "flea run", the pneumatic escape system mentioned in later novels. Overall, I liked this one better than the last couple of Doc's I read that were written by authors other than Lester Dent. I'll read The Red Terrors at a later date....more
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