In an open letter to the editor, contributor Harlan Ellison® calls Joe R. Lansdale, editor and contributor, a “sick, perverted, grotesque, and loathsome twisto-pervo-devo sumbitch.” He goes on to address the darker aspects of Lansdale’s work before saying, “I am quietly humble and proud to be in this book with you.” And what august company! William F. Nolan, Timothy Truman, David J. Schow, Mike Resnick, and a few others also grace the pages of Lansdale’s new anthology, SON OF RETRO PULP TALES. In fact, almost every story is good, and this is a rarity when it comes to anthologies.
A vampire who bites the heads off his victims to get to the blood he desires. A child who faces down Death with ghost bullets fired from his father’s service pistol. A Parker pastiche. A self-professed god who argues with a self-professed emperor of a forgotten kingdom in South America. A possessed nanny who wishes to take over the body of the child she’s supposed to take care of. Famed boxer Joe Louis vs. a Nazi werewolf. A prostitute on Mars who finds herself in a tale of espionage in the Martian pleasure dome. These are just a few of the situations you will find between the covers of this incredible homage to pulp magazines of old.
The only problem is, very few of these stories actually play by the rules of the pulps. Most are better defined as nostalgia pieces. Not to say that you won’t be entertained, but if these stories had been published back in, say 1930, they would have terrorized their readers. They would have blown brains out of heads. In short, these are definitely works of our time.
The best comes from Lansdale himself, “The Crawling Sky.” (Usually, it’s tacky for an editor to include a work by himself in his own anthology, but in Lansdale’s case, it is forgivable. JRL is so damned good that he doesn’t need to prove himself to anyone.) For those who read his novel, DEAD IN THE WEST, you will be glad to find his gunslinging preacher, Jebediah Mercer, is back in action. This time, he is helping the town pariah defeat a creature that lives in a bricked up well on the outskirts of town. As usual, the questionable man of god provides plenty of dark humor as he deals with the forces of evil.
One of the only stories that plays by the rules of the pulps is Stephen Mertz’s “The Lizard Men of Blood River.” It has everything you would expect: flaming zeppelins, bloodthirsty tribes in South America, a lantern-jawed superman hero named Speed McCoy, and a lost city. This one would have been at home in the golden age, alongside folks like Edgar Wallace, Manly Wade Wellman, and the rest.
The most memorable story, though, is Matt Venne’s “The Brown Bomber and the Nazi Werewolves of the S.S.” The title alone is worth the price of admission. But imagine national hero and boxer, Joe Louis, getting captured by the Nazis and forced to fight a Nazi werewolf in the ring, and you’re still falling short of this outstanding tale’s mark.
There is only one story that doesn’t cut muster: Cherie Priest’s “The Catastrophe Box.” Inspired by real life paranormal investigator, Harry Price, it fits with the theme, but the writing and the appeal simply doesn’t live up to the quality of the other stories in this volume.
And while still being a good read, Harlan Ellison®’s “The Toad Prince or, Sex Queen of the Martian Pleasure-Domes” is kind of a letdown. Unlike many of the other stories in this book, this one was actually written back in the ‘Fifties, but unfortunately this was a time before Ellison found his voice. His fame and renown was still ahead of him, and this story has none of the Ellison earmarks about it. The difference is so noticeable that it could have been written by someone else. It doesn’t possess the visceral, gut-twisting prose that Ellison would eventually be known for.
This is, of course, a small press book, so it’s pretty expensive. For collectors, it is definitely worth it (especially if you get the special signed edition), but even for the common reader, this book will make an excellent addition to your collection. Shell out the extra money, and you won’t be disappointed. And keep in mind that the likelihood of this book being mass marketed is very, very slim. If you want in on this action, you’re going to have to do so now, before all the copies are gone. Then, you’ll probably be stuck paying a hundred bucks for it on E-Bay. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
SON OF RETRO PULP TALES
Edited by Joe R. Lansdale and Keith Lansdale
Published by Subterranean Press
Deluxe hardcover edition: $40
211 pages
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