This column features a few books that have either been on my never-ending “to be read” pile, or, like the first entry, that I’ve been going through slowly. The one problem — if that is what you could call it — is with regular reviews and this column, some titles I want to read fall by the wayside for too long, so think of this week’s column as a sort of clearinghouse. No real theme — just some books that should have been read already. Sorry, I’m not Burgess Meredith in THE TWILIGHT ZONE (but I also don’t need glasses).
THE BEST OF THE SAINT: VOLUME ONE by Leslie Charteris — For those looking for a book to fill their time on long flights, here it is. This 2008 anthology, just shy of 800 pages, is a monster read. This is not a collection you could tear through on a leisurely afternoon, that’s for sure. And who would want to? These stories are all placed squarely in the 1930s, so longtime fans won’t have to deal with any of the wartime Saint stories.
What you get is Simon Templar showing off just how clever he is, all the while making the authorities look like the Keystone Kops. For collectors of the original novels, there is a bit of “buyer beware” here: Sure, it’s nice to have all these stories in one collection, but like the first three were actually a book by themselves, called ENTER THE SAINT; other stories have been cherry-picked from other titles, so you better make sure you don’t already have them.
The collection starts out with a great foreword by Ken Follett, who shows his love for and lavishes tons of praise on the books and stories that he read growing up. Onto the stories themselves: “The Man Who Was Clever” is where Templar shows off that he is not just some criminal, but a crimefighter going up against a drug smuggler. This is followed by a direct sequel of sorts in “The Policeman with Wings,” which deals with stolen diamonds and kidnappings. “The Inland Revenue” is a story that clears up a few loose threads, in that we are told that The Saint has been retired for a while, until trouble comes a-, all due to a book he wrote and a blackmailer named The Scorpion.
Also included is “The Simon Templar Foundation,” which actually has a lot to do with one of the books in the series, KNIGHTS TEMPLAR aka THE AVENGING SAINT. The story deals with a certain black book that details the exploits of wartime profiteering. “The Art of the Alibi” finds Templar going up against Simon Templar, or should I say, someone impersonating him. “The Affair of Hogsbotham” finds The Saint dealing with a man who thinks society needs to be more chaste.
I literally could go on and on, but I’ll close it out with “The Star Producers,” which deals with a deceitful acting school. To be fair, some of the tales show their age, but they are a treat to read, no matter how long it might take you — for me, about four months. From what I understand, VOLUME TWO is not as strong.
THE SAVAGE TALES OF SOLOMON KANE by Robert E. Howard — Best known for his creation of Conan, Howard came up with a few other heroes in his 12 years of writing, like a swashbuckling Puritan who fights the good fight against demonic creatures in Africa. One thing can be said about it all: They’re fantastic pulp adventures.
This 1998 book gathers all the stories and fragments that comprise the Solomon Kane output. He’s a man on a mission who is so set in his beliefs, no one is going to stop him, be it African warriors or some strange humanoids. The centerpiece and longest of the stories is “The Moon of Skulls,” where Kane is on a mission to save a kidnapped girl and comes face to face with an African tribe in a glorious lost city, which makes all of Errol Flynn’s swordplay look like two kids hitting each other with fungo bats.
Most of the truly great Kane stories are set in Africa, like “The Hills of the Dead,” where Kane faces zombies, or better yet, “Wings in the Night,” which has Kane fight bat-like humans in a lost part of the continent. Earlier on, you are treated to “Red Shadows,” where Kane tracks down a bandit to Africa, with a nice mix of magic and swordplay.
Other stories take place in Europe, like “Skulls in the Stairs” and “Rattle of Bones.” Before I forget, I really need to bring up the fantastic artwork of Gary Gianni. His renditions of Kane are top-notch. I just wish they let him do all the artwork for all these reprints, since his style is pitch-perfect.
For those who want more Kane adventures after reading this anthology, might I suggest the terrific companion piece put out by Dark Horse Comics called THE SAGA OF SOLOMON KANE, which is every Marvel magazine appearance of the character. Those comics used a bulk of the original Howard stories as jumping-off places.
KULL: EXILE OF ATLANTIS by Robert E. Howard — This 2006 collection is ground zero for American sword-and-sorcery literature. Howard not only created a new character, but a completely new genre that still survives to this day. Not being familiar with the Kull stories, I went into this book somewhat blind. I knew that Kull was Howard’s first creation, and that one of his stories was later reworked into the first Conan tale, and that’s it.
Del Rey outdid itself with this one, as with all the other Howard anthologies it has put out. My one problem is that the last three they have collected have serious carryover for anyone who has the others. But let’s get down to the Kull stories themselves.
“Exile of Atlantis” — aka “Untitled Story #1″ — tells of Kull’s banishment from Atlantis after he commits a crime, while “The Shadow Kingdom” is more of an action tale that Howard would excel at throughout his career. The Picts — anyone who has read any Conan knows they are usually the enemies — are actually Kull’s allies in these tales. They help him hunt down the serpent men who have sworn to kill Kull. This is full-on action, with countless scenes of beheadings and killings — just pure awesomeness!
It’s in the later stories Howard gets a bit philosophical, especially after the events of “The Mirror of Tuzun Thune,” which deals with Kull becoming fascinated by a wizard and his room of mirrors, not knowing the whole time it was all a plot to kill him. “By This Axe, I Rule” was heavily reworked into the first Conan story, “The Phoenix on the Sword.” The two don’t share a lot. The Kull plot deals with an assassination attempt on Kull and his burden as king, having to deal with ancient laws and traditions.
Not all Kull stories actually feature Kull. Take “The Altar and the Scorpion,” where he is only mentioned. “Kings of the Night” is actually a Bran Mak Morn story, in which Kull has a glorified cameo. The story drags under its own prose, since most of it deals with Morn detailing the army he is putting together.
The collection has a nice chunk of fragments included, with earlier drafts of select stories. The last piece, “Atlantean Genesis” by Patrice Louinet, is a complete history of Howard’s creation of Kull and his attempts of getting it published. It’s a terrific essay about one of Howard’s lesser-known creations.
Next time: Django! —Bruce Grossman
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF LESLIE CHARTERIS:
• THE SAINT IN THE SUN by Leslie Charteris
• THE SAINT ON THE SPANISH MAIN by Leslie Charteris
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF ROBERT E. HOWARD:
• ALMURIC by Robert E. Howard
• THE BEST OF ROBERT E. HOWARD, VOLUME 2: GRIM LANDS by Robert E. Howard
• BLOOD & THUNDER: THE LIFE & ART OF ROBERT E. HOWARD by Mark Finn
• BOXING STORIES by Robert E. Howard
• THE COMPLETE ACTION STORIES by Robert E. Howard
• LORD OF SAMARCAND AND OTHER ADVENTURE TALES OF THE OLD ORIENT by Robert E. Howard
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- BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS >> High Adventure
- BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS >> Swords, Sorcery, Sandals & Slave Girls
- BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS >> A Shoggoth on the Roof
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I dig the Saint. The stories are old, but most of them are still pretty good.