Pulp Reading

[Steve Long]

I'm sure plenty of you are interested in the pulp genre/era and have done your own researching and reading on the topic. What books have you run across that you'd recommend? The PH draft bibliography is already about 2,500 words long, but there's always room for more. ;)

[Vanguard00]

I'm sure plenty of you are interested in the pulp genre/era and have done your own researching and reading on the topic. What books have you run across that you'd recommend? The PH draft bibliography is already about 2,500 words long, but there's always room for more. ;)
Any chance of getting the list so we don't cover stuff you've already added? I mean, Doc Savage, The Shadow, Jens Altmann stuff, etc, are probably already listed.

[Starwolf]

Phiilp Jose Farmers Doc Savage the apocalyptic life
Philip Jose Farmers Tarzan the apocalyptic life
The entire Doc Savage series
Anything by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Phantom
The Shadow

[Steve Long]

Actually, I'd kind of rather not post the biblio yet, Starwolf -- it will be interesting to see what people recommend as a sort of mirror of their own taste. ;) However, you can take it for granted that I have all the really obvious stuff, like actual pulp stories of the Shadow, Doc Savage, etc. :hex:

[AliceTheOwl]

There's a whole publisher of modern pulp here (http://www.hardcasecrime.com/index.shtml).

Not that I've gotten around to reading any of it yet.

[tancred]

Except for Edgar Rice Burroughs, I haven't read much pulp-era fiction (a sad deficiency that I need to correct).

But there is one, quite IN-obvious book that I can highly recommend:
Dydeetown World, by F. Paul Wilson.

Technically speaking, it's not pulp-era; it's set in the future. (And one of the main characters is a clone.) But the feel is very gritty, Sam Spade like. It is written like a classic film noir.
A REALLY fun read.

[Curufea]

Nero Wolfe.

Also, possibly Edgar Allen Poe - first writer of self-narrative detective stories (as well as horror).

[Vanguard00]

Edgar Rice Burroughs ("Tarzan" series, some shorts), Robert E. Howard (various shorts), HP Lovecraft (various)

"Zorro" books (various authors, but a bunch by Johnston McCulley)
"Doc Savage" series (Lester Dent, mostly)
"The Shadow" series (various authors)
"The Spider" series (various authors)
"G-8 and the Battle Aces" series (various authors)
"Operator #5" series
"The Avenger" series (Paul Ernst, I think)

That's pretty much all I've read thus far. I went on a kick a couple of years back and bought up a bunch of collections and compilations.

[Vanguard00]

I suppose you could make "modern pulp" out of Mike Resnick's books (Santiago, Widowmaker, etc). Good 'frontier sci-fi' type stuff.

[Vanguard00]

Oh! Frank Miller's "Sin City" and Ed Brubaker's "Sleeper" comics both have excellent pulp characteristics. Very hard-boiled.

Dashielle Hammet, too ("Thin Man" books, which are also good movies).

[Lamrok]

If you can find them, reprints of Seabury Quinn's "Jules De Grandin" stories are excellent examples of pulpy supernatural mysteries. Nowadays we remember Lovecraft as the most influential horror writer to come from "Weird Tales," but, at the time, Quinn was a lot more popular.

I'll put in a reminder that no list of Pulp Heroic fiction would be complete without my avatar, "The Spider," Master of Men!

If you're going to include "Doc Savage," you might as well go ahead and include "The Avanger." This is especially appropriate since "The Avenger #1" gave us the title for the last Hero Pulp Supplement, "Justice Inc."

[Agemegos]

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Sherlock Holmes corpus, Professor Challenger corpus.

Leslie Charteris: the early (pre-WWII) Saint stories.

Edgar Rice Burroughs: Tarzan corpus, John Carter, Warlord of Mars corpus, Venus corpus, Tarzan corpus.

Dashiel Hammett: 'Continental Op' stories, collected in The Big Knockover and other stories

Lee Falk: Phantom comics.

Alexandre Dumas (pere): The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo.

Jules Verne: Around the World in Eighty Days, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

various hack writers: Ellery Queen mysteries.

[Barton]

A favorite pulp "area" for me is Abyssinia (Ethiopia) 1930-1940. You can have facistists (both kinds Italian and German), adventurers, spies, gun runners, and even treasure hunters.

A great book is from Osprey Publishing; Men-at-Arms Series
The Italian Invasion of Abyssinia 1935-36
by David Nicolle and illustrated by Rafaele Ruggeri.
A great book (short 48 pages) with many photos and beautiful illustrations.

[teh bunneh]

I hope you'll be including a list of some of the great pulp magazines of the 20s, 30s, and 40s. Black Mask, Detective, and others gave most of the people in the pulp genre their start!

Bill.
(I'll post a better list when I get home and can look at my own collection). ;)

[Lamrok]

I have several sets of encyclopedias from the era, and I think the "Worldbook" is probably the most useful, since it is a bit more focused on explaining things to kids than adults. These types of explanations tend to be a bit easier to digest for the modern reader, and tend to be a bit more colorful for the modern gamer.

[teh bunneh]

Many of the great crime/detective writers we know today got their start in cheap, disposable pulp magazines. Writers like Dashiell Hammett, Mickey Spillane, Jim Thompson, WR Burnett, and Raymond Chandler are names that any crime drama afficianado knows. Some of the great old detective pulp magazines of the 30s and 40s:

These two are still being published:
Alfred Hitchcock's Magazine (http://www.themysteryplace.com/ahmm/)
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (http://www.themysteryplace.com/eqmm/)

This one still has a web presence, but it's not being printed anymore:
Black Mask (http://www.blackmask.com/)

None of these are around anymore (AFAIK), but many of the stories first published in them are still available in reprints and collections:
Spicy Detective
Underworld
New Detective
Detective Fiction Weekly
Manhunt Detective Story Monthly
Crime Detective
And many more!

[Lamrok]

A few primarily non-fiction items that have proven useful over the years:

"The Giant Airships" volume of the Time/Life "Epic of Flight" series. Nice history of airships along with some very nicely done drawings.

"Bloodletters and Badmen" by Jay Robert Nash. This is a very nice encyclopedia of criminals in American history, giving quick bios of just about any criminal you can think of, along with a nice accounting of their more infamous crimes. I love this book.

"1927 Edition of the Sears, Roebuck Catalogue." Mine is a reprint from 1970, and not that difficult to find if you spend some time looking. This is the definitive place to start when looking for prices of ordinary items.

"The Pulps" edited by Tony Goodstone. This is the book that really served as my introduction to the Pulps. It includes reprints of stories from a very wide array of pulps, along with photos of a nice selection of pulp covers.

"This Fabulous Century 1920-1930" and "1930-1940" Nice sweeping overview of the events and fads of the these two decades (and other decades if you have the full set.)

"American Heritage History of the 1920's and 1930's" Another sweeping overview, focused (if I remember correctly) a bit more on higher culture than the previous series.

"Janes Encyclopedia of Aviation" This was the best thing I could find to illustrate the differences in the various models of propellor aircraft avalable at the time.

If you can get your hands on a copy of the "World Almanac" covering the time of your game, those are an invaluable resource. My favorite feature is a chronological accounting of all major news stories of the year - this is like looking at a timeline with a magnifying glass - hundreds of stories are summarized.

For the 1920's in particular:

"The Lawless Decade" by Paul Sann. This is a pictorial look at the 1920's that focusses on the events that have made the decade legendary.

"America in the Twenties, a History by Geoffrey Perretti" Very readable narrative of the decade that successfully weaves fun and fads with the major events of the decades.

And, no list of books about this decade would be complete without mentioning Frederick Lewis Allen's "Only Yesterday." This is another very readable history of the decade written, in this instance, right at the end of it. This is another great resource for gamers more interested in social history than a strict accounting of facts.

[Lamrok]

One more:

"The American Thesaurus of Slang" Berry and Bark (1942). Probably the definitive guide to slang from the Pulp era.

[Steve Long]

Now that's the sort of stuff I'm talkin' about! ;) -- thanx, Lamrok!

[LadyChaos]

The Amelia Peabody series of mysteries by Elizabeth Peters start out in late Victorian and are currently in WWI. Anyone who reads them will recognize a LOT of elements from The Mummy movies.

The Last Camel Died at Noon actually is EP's nod to the H. Rider Haggard novels, complete with a lost civilization. The latter books in the series feature the protaganist's son, who acts as a British Spy against the Germans and Turks.

[Nyrath]

I suppose somebody has already mentioned the old TV show "Tales of the Gold Monkey"?
http://www.goldmonkey.com/index.html

Rogues, spies, nazis, samurai, expatriots, what's not to like?

[Starwolf]

How about some Jack London: Call of the Wild, White Fang

or Silver Chief.

[Beetle]

For a slightly more modern take than usual (50s-60s) you could look at the stories of John D. MacDonald (http://www.thrillingdetective.com/trivia/jdm.html), especially his short stories but also the early Travis McGee novels.

Probably the easiest way to get his short stories would be to find the collections "The Good Old Stuff" and "More Good Old Stuff" from the 1980s.

[st barbara]

I have alongside me at the moment a very interesting "period" resource called "The Ships and Aircraft of the U S Fleet" by James C Fahey. It is a boxed set of three small "chap books" about 50 pages each. Published 1978 by "SHIPS AND AIRCRAFT" 1265 Broadway New York City. The original copyright date is 1941. It goes into the ships and aircraft of the U S fleet from before World War II to about 1942 with details of size, when they were built, dimensions, machinery, armament, crew etc.

[st barbara]

To "Starwolf" Jack London Good one ! I might also suggest "Beau Geste" by P C Wren. Classic French Foreign Legion adventure ! (The film with Gary Cooper is fun too !)

[st barbara]

To "Steve Long" Okay. Some Pulp Resorces that I have sitting nearby. "The Great Pulp Heroes" Don Hutchison (Mosaic Press, 1996), "Yesterday's Faces" Robert Sampson (a series of 6 books) (Bowling Green University Popular Press, 1983), "The Pulp Jungle" by Frank Gruber (Sherbourne Press Inc, 1967). Interestingly Gruber was a genuine Pulp writer, his career starting in 1927 (according to the dust jacket). Another book of interest to annybody who might want to run a "fantastic adventure" type campaign is "Danger My Ally" by F A Mitchell-Hedges. This is the autobiography of the explorer who discovered the first "Crystal Skull" (supposedly; he is very coy about not revealing how he got hold of it) in the 1920's. (To be correct his daughter Anna is the one who is supposed to have actually found the skull, on her 17 th birthday !)

[ArmlessTigerMan]

I just started "The Scarlet Riders: Pulp Fiction Tales of the Mounties" which is exactly what it sounds like. Pretty cool stuff, some true crime type stories, as well as some more fantastic lost race tales.

Also got Nile Empire for TORG off Ebay. It was pretty disappointing, but in only cost me two dollars. And there were one or two useful sections, The Law of Drama for example. If you can find it cheap, I recommend it.

[FenrisUlf]

I'm stunned no oen mentioned Sax Rohmer, especially his immortal creation, the Chinese Devil-Doctor Fu Manchu.

And for non-fiction, don't know if it's still available, but Wirter's Digest once published a guidebook to daily life in the 20's and 30's. It might still be available.

[Fry Daddy]

Books/stories:

Well, although H.P. Lovecraft's stories are more in the "Horror Hero" vein, those would be good sources for the era.

The Fu Manchu novels

The Father Brown Novels

R.E Howards John Kirowan stories (again, more Horror Hero but they still have that pulp feel)

Ironcastle, as translated by Jose Philip Farmers

Movies:

The obvious Indiana Jones trilogy, plus the Mummy and the Mummy Returns

Any of the 1940s movie serials

The television show Tales of the Gold Monkey with Stephen Collins

[AnotherSkip]

"The best american novels of the twentieth century still readable today"
by Elenor Geheres(iirc), note this may only be locatable at really really large libraries, this is a locally(Colorado) published book.

Very much focused on americana, but still since it is organised by decades and has a paragraph description of each novel (and has alll the greats like gone with the wind, the grapes of Wrath, Shenandoah, etc...) that usally includes time period/setting this should be a great indexing resource for Steve when he wants to look at the more gritty pulp books as well as a definate set of books to ground someone in the "reality" of the pulp time periods. Though they are in most cases not "pulpish" to the strictly discerning snobbish buyer understanding the reality behind the fantasy can be a good thing. Besides these are the best books of those periods (as well as some looking back) and at a well written paragraph apiece, a very easy chance to get a mini review prior to consideration of selection. Also several excellent recommendations for that Western Hero book that will likely be eventually written.

that is my suggested reading list in a nutshell.

[st barbara]

To "FenrisUlf" I think that the Writers Digest book that you are referring to is "The Writer's Guide To Everyday Life from Prohibition through World War II" by Marc McCutcheon. Written in 1995. I have previously recommended this book. Probably hard to get hold of these days, but a useful resource !

[AndyStaples]

I've been trying to wrack my brains to think of suitable British authors of the period - most of our fiction at that time was rather too sophisticated to be considered pulp (as others have pointed out, our Victorian writers set the stage for pulp, but then we moved on).

Then I remembered John Buchan. The 39 Steps is the obvious one, but Greenmantle (WWI gentlemen adventurers turn spies) and Prester John (African black magic comes ot Scotland) are also worth reading.

The Gutenburg Project has a good selection of Buchan novels (http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/author?name=Buchan%2c%20John%2c%201875%2d1940), including the three I mentioned.

[AndyStaples]

A good non-fiction resource is Trident Press International's 1999 facsimile reprint of the Army & Navy Stores Catalogue, 1939-1940 (http://www.trident-international.com/history_an.htm) (ISBN 1-888777-96-6). It lists everything a stout fellow could require, and delivery can be arranged to anywhere within the Empire. Chin-chin, old bean.

[st barbara]

Sounds like a good idea. I think that someone once published a price list for the 1920's ( for "Call of Cuthulu") which I MAY still have a copy of someplace.

[Dr Rotwang!]

The Advntures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, or is that too obvious?

[Curufea]

Yeah, the price list was for Cthulhu - I think it was in the Investigator's Companion book. I've got most of the books, and most editions of the rulebook - I'll have a look too :)

[st barbara]

I might recommend (especially for those who want to play a "pulp" detective) both the works of Max Allan Collins, especially the novels featuring Nate Heller, a Chicago P I; and the novels of Stewart Kaminsky featuring Tooby Peters,who works in Hollywood and whose "co-stars" have included Gary Cooper,Mae West, and The Marx Brothers at different times !

[st barbara]

To "Dr Rotwang" Well I know that a lot of people REALLY like "Buckaroo Banzai", but I am not one of them. I don't see him as anything other than a low rent "Doc Savage" wannabe !

[Curufea]

I'm wondering if China Meiville might be classed as Pulp. Albeit pulp in a fantasy/sci-fi setting.

[st barbara]

I have just started "The Volcano Ogre" by Lin Carter, one of his "Prince Zarkon" novels. Fun and not a bad homage to "Doc" !

[LadyChaos]

"Bride of the Rat God" by Barbara Hambly (Darwath Trilogy, Dragonsbane) takes place in Hollywood of the mid-1920s and involves an ancient Chinese evil and the silver screen.

[Wolfjack]

I second the Prince zarkon series written by Lin Carter. They are a pulp enthusiasts dream to read, espcially as each novel is in and of itslef a loving homage to the pulp genre and its various characters. I've found a list of Lin Carter novels that give the following as Prince Zarkon books:

Zarkon, Lord of the Unknown, in The Nemesis of Evil (1975)
Zarkon, Lord of the Unknown, in Invisible Death (1975)
Zarkon, Lord of the Unknown, in The Volcano Ogre (1976)
Zarkon, Lord of the Unknown, in The Earth-Shaker (1982)
Horror Wears Blue (1987)

He led a group of men called the Omega Crew, obviously a nod in regard to Doc Savage's men. Zarkon would also rendezvous at a place calle the Cobalt Clkub, where adventurers meet. Each novel would establish quite a few, if you familiar with the genre. For instance, in The Volcano Ogre, he meets up with Richard Benson (The Avenger), detective Philo Vance, Richard Curtis Van Loan (The Phantom Detective), Admiral Donald A. Winslow (Don Winslow of the Navy) and Col. John "Renny" Renwick (one of Doc Savage's Fabulous Five assistants). Its also revealed that one of Zarkon's Omega Crew, Ace Harrigan, is named as the son of '40s aviator "Hop" Harrigan.

Great books and geat fun... just good luck finding them. They were treaseured library finds as a kid.

[Andrea]

Here's my humble opionion after much reading...And there are some suggestions that are quite out of the classic canon. I hope that can be useful...

Sax Rohmer " The mistery of Dr Fu-Manchu" for the classical oriental pulp feeling

H. Rider Haggard " Allan Quatermain" and "King Solomon's Mines" for the mysterious african flavor. And it's very well written too.

Edgar Rice Burroughs "The Land that Time Forgot" for the sense of Marvelous, the Dinosaurs and the Nazi

Edgar Rice Burroughs " At the Earth's core". Pellucidar is the perfect exotic pulp setting !!

Arthur Machen " The Three Impostors". A collection of eerie tales that have that conspiracy feeling that so part of a Pulp setting.

HPL all the Mythos tales. I know that it would be more appropriate for Horror Hero but there are some fundamental seeds that defines Pulp for years to come

Clark Ashton Smith " The Emperor of Dreams" ( a collection of tales) There are Dreamlike stories that are very good in order to see how a fantasy pulp can be defined and there are the darker ones that shape up the horror pulp ( the nameless offspring to say one)

Rober E. Howard " Skull face" A tale that can be found in some collection and that I like it very much for the hard boiled take on mysterious issues

Clayton Rawson "The footprints on the ceiling Perfect incredible puzzle like detective story, set in a Island with lot of suspects. The archetipe of the magician detective. I love this book

Glen David Gold " Carter beats the devil" A marvelous book set firmly in the pulp tradiction but with a twist. Great even for the meticolous historical setting

Michael Chabon " The adventures of Kavalier and Clay" Maybe not set in the Pulp golden age but very beautiful indeed. There's a golem, golden age heroes, the Escapist, a Pulitzer. I learnt many things about life in those years

Jules Verne "Robur the conqueror" Not Verne's best book but the flying machine are really worth the reading.

This is all for all but I'll hope to contribute with some others in a next post ( if you are interested...)
Ciao
Andrea

[st barbara]

To "Andy Staples" Re British Pulp. Well, first of all let me recommend "Beau Geste" (and its sequels) written by P C Wren in 1924. THE "French Foreign Legion" novel. Next the works of Talbot Mundy such as "Jimgrim" and "King of the Khyber Rifles". Mundy was born in Britain and naturalised as a U S citizen and third the British agent "Bulldog Drummond" , the "James Bond" of the 1920's (well, maybe, probably less sex ). Earlier (in the 19th century) of course British writers had created some of the classic "Pulp" stereotypes like Allan Quartermain ("Great White Hunter"- H Ryder Haggard,) and Professor Challenger ("Irrascible Scientist"- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) also Raffles ("Gentleman Theif"-Ernest William Hornig) whose adventures continued into the 1920's. There should be plenty there to keep you reading, provided that you can FIND the works !

[st barbara]

To "Andrea" Good choices all !

[st barbara]

P S I don't know "The Footprints on the Ceiling", but it sounds like a "locked room" whodunnit !

[st barbara]

How could I forget "Sax Rohmer" ! I'll plead that it's the end of the week and I am tired !

[st barbara]

To Andy Staples "Bulldog Drummond" was written by Cyrile Herman McNeil under the psuedonym of "Sapper". Sorry, I left that off my earlier post !

[st barbara]

To "Wofjack" I got the "Prince Zarkon" novels about a year ago from "Bookfinder" !

[MisterBaldy]

The Agent 13 novels by Flint Dille & David Marconi...

The Invisible Empire (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0880382813/qid=1113056355/sr=8-4/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i4_xgl14/102-7046744-0712144?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)
The Serpentine Assassin (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0880382821/qid=1113056355/sr=8-5/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i5_xgl14/102-7046744-0712144?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

[Andrea]

Posted by st barbara "I don't know "The Footprints on the Ceiling", but it sounds like a "locked room" whodunnit !"

In some way it is a whodunnit but it has many pulp elements, the eerie setting, the shady cottage, and a magician as the investigator ( I think that Glen David Gold owes much to Rawson).
I think that also "No coffin for the corpse" from the same author is really worth reading.

I trasformed both the two books in Cthulhu adventures and were very aprreciated by the PCs so I think that can be a good resource even for Pulp Heroes

[demonjuice]

I am suprised no one has mentioned the superlative pulitzer prize winning tome " Freedom From Fear: the American People in Depression and War 1929-1945" by David M. Kenedy. It gives incredible insites into the personalities and character of the era in a engaging and easy to relate to way.

also for a more global perspective on the era there is ' The Dark Valley: a panoram of the 1930s" by Piers Brendon - not as strong or intimate, but a solid overview of the era.

[Steve Long]

Good suggestions, demonjuice -- thanx! Even better, they're both available at my local library. I've already spent plenty of money on reference books; I'd just as soon save a little this time. ;)

[demonjuice]

I haven't seen a couple great books of pulp art listed here, and a great site for free digital pulp stories:

1- "Pulp Culture: the Art of Fiction Magazines" by Frank M Robinson (independant puplishers pop culture book of the year) it has 100s of covers with lots of info on the artists, the culture, and the industry

2- "Pulp Art: Original Cover Paintings for the Great American Pulp Magazines" by Robert Lesser - lots of covers and interviews

3- Pulp Gen over 500 free pulp pdfs to download all referencing the original publication, and most have the original graphics
http://pulpgen.com/pulp/downloads/index.html

[st barbara]

A book which I received as a present last christmas which may interest Pulp fans is "The Classic Era Of Crime Fiction" by Peter Haining (Prion Books , U K, 2002) Starting with Edgar Allan Poe and going through to John Le Carre . Lots of illos and some useful information with lots of characters covered (albeit lightly) including such less well known characters as "The Thinking Machine" and "Dr Nikola".

[Nyrath]

Some of "The Thinking Machine" stories are on-line here (http://www.futrelle.com/). Everybody's favorite is "The Problem of Cell 13". He is sort of a querlous Sherlock Holmes, an irritable genius scientist who cannot understand why everybody else is so stupid.

[Doc Democracy]

My current reading material that is making me want to run a pulp game is the current run of Hawkamn. Not a character I have followed in the past but the stories are set in Louisiana within the context of a museum and a main character who is a multiply reincarnated soul of an Egyptian prince.

Very atmospheric even though it is set in the modern day.



Doc

[AnotherSkip]

Actually Steve if you don't mind some adult reading and know of a place to get the goods Playboy did an overview of society during certain eras (1800's-1940's+ by decade) in 1997, with a focus on you know what, though not exclusively.

Copies can be provided from my stock if you want them.


I read them for the articles don't cha' know....

Really.

No really.

[Supreme Serpent]

S.M.Stirling's "Peshwar Lancers" novel has a good pulpy feel, IMO. Alternate history of post-apocalypse Victorian world, where center of the British Empire is now in India. Intrigue, swordplay, Russian Satanists...it's a good read. :)

[st barbara]

I haven't read "Peshawar Lancers" yet but, to illustrate a point about "pulp" (or "NeoPulp") being all around I am reading "After The Puce Empress" by Geoffrey McSkimming (an Australian author). It is a book written for teenagers I think (certainly not very violent so far) but it contains many Pulp elements; a brave heroine given a mysterious artifact by a stranger who promptly dissapears; setting the heroine on am adventure to return a piece of puce jade to an ancient statue in China. She is followed by a magician out to gain "real magical power" from the statue, and assisted by a mysterious German lady with a remarkably useful walking stick . It could be turned into a Pulp Hero adventure with the greatest of ease !

[JmOz]

It's a relativly modern comic book but:

Sandman Mystery Theater from DC Comics, I beleive they have put out 3 TPB to date. While it is "Masked Mystery Man" style so delves a little into Champions, it definatly has the pulp feel to it

Another title, that I don't know if it is really a pulp tytle to it, but it definatly has the feel sometimes was "Starman" from DC (The most recent) Again a bit of a hybrid with Champions...

[Fazhoul]

I might recommend (especially for those who want to play a "pulp" detective) both the works of Max Allan Collins, especially the novels featuring Nate Heller, a Chicago P I;
I can second the recommendation of the Nathan Heller novels. Max Allan Collins is a master at mixing fictional characters with historic people and events. The first three books (True Crime, True Detective & the Million-Dollar Wound) have recently been rereleased in paperback as the "Frank Nitti Triliogy". Excellent pulp detective stories.

[Fazhoul]

OK, I've worked up a list of books and materials that I have for my pulp games. I've not listed the Doc Savage, Shadow, Avenger, Spider, Operator 5 and Fu Manchu novels since they have all been mentioned previously. I also decided not to list the dozens of books on mythology that I have. Also, the best book on the list, The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life from the Prohibition through WWII is OOP and costs anywhere from $75 - $132 in the used bookstores online. I don't know why Writer's Digest Books hasn't kept the book in print.

The list is a Word document created in Office XP (2003). Let me know if you need it in a different format.

[st barbara]

Thanks for the list "Fazhoul" I must try to get a copy of "Flying Blind". The first "Pulp" game I ever tried to run ("Daredevils") involved the PC's trying to rescue an Amelia Earhart analog !

[Fazhoul]

Thanks for the list "Fazhoul" I must try to get a copy of "Flying Blind". The first "Pulp" game I ever tried to run ("Daredevils") involved the PC's trying to rescue an Amelia Earhart analog !
I'm glad to see someone checked out my reading list. I was afraid that it had gotten lost in the shuffle. I personally don't know how good Flying Blind is since I haven't read that far in the series yet but my mom and my mother-in-law both loved it.

[SKJAM!]

Adventure House just put out four new pulp reprints: Don Winslow of the Navy, Spicy Mystery Stories and Saucy Movie Tales (x2). the June 1936 Saucy Movie Tales has a story, "Yellow Peril in Hollywood" which is...astoundingly racist, in a "did the author even have a clue?" way.

[st barbara]

To "SKJAM" Unfortunately a lot of the Pulp writing was "astonishingly racist". Orientals were almost always evil, blacks were ignorant and superstitious etc. For role playing purposes I think that it can be best to ignore some of the less palatable conventions.

[SKJAM!]

When I say "astonishingly racist" I mean "rancid even by the standards of 1936 pulp magazines." I've read quite a bit of this stuff, after all.

[The Monster]

Philip Jose Farmer's biographies of Doc Savage and Tarzan (can't recall the titles off-the-cuff) I found good reading and added a bit of inspiration to my campaign. After reading these, my wife and I realized that the "mystery man" who'd been backing the heroes all these years must have been Doc Savage himself! The revelation was as thrilling to the other players as it was to me!

What I enjoyed is Farmer's ability to pull in so many pulp-style heroes - from the Scarlet Pimpernel on up - into a loosely related bloodline, drawing inferences from descriptions and attitudes among them.

[Koshka]

From this week's update:
... though I did just order a couple more books, including what looks to be a darn good one about voodoo in Haiti circa 1930.

Sounds tempting, got a title/author for us? :winkgrin:

[Steve Long]

William Seabrook, The Magic Island.

[Dr. Anomaly]

Philip Jose Farmer's biographies of Doc Savage and Tarzan (can't recall the titles off-the-cuff) I found good reading and added a bit of inspiration to my campaign.
Lord of the Trees is the one about Tarzan. I don't believe I've ever read the Doc Savage one.

[Koshka]

Thanks, Steve :)

(off to check online bookstores .... )

[Fazhoul]

The Doc Savage books by Philip Jose Farmer were:

A Feast Unknown - Not for the squeamish but a great, great book. Two of Farmer's all time favorite characters, Tarzan and Doc Savage (called Caliban here), do their best to kill each other. There is one problem though, they are being manipulated by a secret group called The Nine and every act of violence results in an erection and to kill results in an orgasm. Farmer does have an explanation for this and has a lot of fun with history in the process. This book has everything that Farmer does well, a must read.

Doc Savage: His Apocolyptic Life - Everything you ever wanted to know about Doc Savage and some stuff that Farmer figured out on his own. Farmer links this work to Tarzan Alive by the extended family tree that is in the front of both books. There are lots of other famous people, both real and imagined, in this amazing family.

The descriptions above were taken from the Official PJF Web Site (http://www.pjfarmer.com/).

[ThothAmon]

The Doc Savage books by Philip Jose Farmer were:

A Feast Unknown - Not for the squeamish but a great, great book. Two of Farmer's all time favorite characters, Tarzan and Doc Savage (called Caliban here), do their best to kill each other. There is one problem though, they are being manipulated by a secret group called The Nine and every act of violence results in an erection and to kill results in an orgasm. Farmer does have an explanation for this and has a lot of fun with history in the process. This book has everything that Farmer does well, a must read.

Doc Savage: His Apocolyptic Life - Everything you ever wanted to know about Doc Savage and some stuff that Farmer figured out on his own. Farmer links this work to Tarzan Alive by the extended family tree that is in the front of both books. There are lots of other famous people, both real and imagined, in this amazing family.

The descriptions above were taken from the Official PJF Web Site (http://www.pjfarmer.com/).

You missed the novel 'The Mad Goblin' which is the Doc Savage equivalent novel to the Tarzan novel 'Lord of The Trees' . Both these novels are sequels to 'A Feast Unknown' noted above and both involve further adventures against the Nine. Also known by an alternative title 'Keepers Of The Secrets'.

Further worthy PJF reading is the novel 'White Tyger' which (SPOILER AHEAD HIGHLIGHT TO SEE) has a Tarzan protagonist who is actually a Nazi genetic / sociological experiment. Recommended as a real headf*ck.

[John Desmarais]

You missed the novel 'The Mad Goblin' which is the Doc Savage equivalent novel to the Tarzan novel 'Lord of The Trees' . Both these novels are sequels to 'A Feast Unknown' noted above and both involve further adventures against the Nine. Also known by an alternative title 'Keepers Of The Secrets'.

And, unlike 'A Feast Unknown', these two won't bother the squeemish nearly as much.

[FenrisUlf]

William Seabrook, The Magic Island.

Ooh, that's a good one, even if real voudonistas tend to go apoplectic at the very mention.

And while talking about Haiti, I'm surprised no one ever mentioned the Pennsylvania Marine who became a voodoo king in Haiti in the 20's. I mean, if the 'white king of the savages' isn't pure pulp, then what is?

[Steve Long]

real voudonistas tend to go apoplectic at the very mention

I think that might even make it better. ;) If the pulps, comics, and movies have taught us anything, it's that tweaking or distorting existing folklore and mythology can lead to some fun stories. ;)

[Doc Democracy]

I think that might even make it better. ;) If the pulps, comics, and movies have taught us anything, it's that tweaking or distorting existing folklore and mythology can lead to some fun stories. ;)

Almost a rule in fact for pulp - never try to be to accurate or grittily realistic - in pulp rumours almost always turn out to be true...

[st barbara]

To "Doc Democracy" Yes and no. I would have said that rumours always turn out to have some substance to them rather than "always turn out to be true". After all there are all those "ghost" stories that turn out to be fronts for criminals smuggling things or conducting unmentionable experiments !

[Doc Democracy]

To "Doc Democracy" Yes and no. I would have said that rumours always turn out to have some substance to them rather than "always turn out to be true". After all there are all those "ghost" stories that turn out to be fronts for criminals smuggling things or conducting unmentionable experiments !


It's the same principle I think. If there is a rumour of a lost tribe sitting in a city of gold - you can bet your bottom dollar that it is true (in enough aspects as make any difference) but if the local ghost is suddenly being seen by everyone and his dog then the 'fact' of the ghost is almost certainly false! :)

[ThothAmon]

Historical accuracy (or accuracy of any sort really) tends to be anathema in the pulps. I can think of many pulp tales of lost civilisations which just couldn't exist as written, survival of prehistoric creatures etc etc.

Pulp reality is a different sort of reality and should be read accordingly :winkgrin:

[Vondy]

For Hard Boiled Detectives (I don't know whether you are including them, but most of the big ones were born in the pulps) I would recommend Phillip Marlowe, the Continental Op, and Sam Spade. A good introduction to Marlowe that doesn't require reading a novel is "Trouble is My Business*," which is a compilation of Chandler's favorite Marlowe Shorts. Hammet's Continental Op is best experienced through Red Harvest (novel) and a compilation of short stories entitled "The Continental Op." Spade, as always, is best experienced through the Maltese Falcon (the short stories he appeared in are hard to find). Two Old Time radio detectives also come to mind: Nero Wolff and Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator are definate musts. A few radio shows featuring the latter two, and some Marlowe radio stories, can be found for free at:

http://www.radiolovers.com/pages/mysteries.html

I think Ellery Queen is a little too "armchair cozy" to be a good example of the definitive hard-boiled PI as he came to be understood in the pulps; and Mike Hammer is post pulp era.

A related pulp genre to the hard-boiled detectives is the crusading G-Men subgenre, which was popular in the latter pulp era, and into the 50's. For this I would recommend "Ace G-Man," who appeared both in his own title, and in the "Suicide Squad" stories. To this end, TSR's old Gangbusters game isn't too bad as a reference, either. And you might look at the "Dick Tracy" comic strips.

A weird spinoff of this genre is the G-Man fighting foreign invasion stories, which have a heavy dose of the Bloody Pulp genre in them, and are probably inspired by the rise of fascism in the 30's and Communism in the 50's. Two excellent examples of this cross-genre are "Operator 5, America's Undercover Ace" (who fought the purple invasion!) and "Dusty Ayers" (the latter has a heavier bloody pulp aviation angle).

There are of course the Bloody Pulps, which are, essentially zany occult / super-science / just plain weird war pulps. The quintessential bloody pulp is "G-8 and His Battle Aces." Read a few G-8 stories and you've got this genre down cold. Further reading is moot.

For the Masked Avengers I think "The Avenger," "The Spider," and "The Shadow" are the best examples, but three early comics come to mind as well: "The Phantom," "Phantom Lady," and the early Batman stories where he is still carrying a gun are good examples. For modern pastiche, you can't go wrong with "The Rocketeer," "Airboy," and "Tom Strong." I know "Doc Savage" was born in the pulps, but he strikes me as being more of a super-hero than a masked avenger. One emerged out of the other, however, so Doc is a good example of progression (he's the proverbial missing link).

For science fiction pulps "Buck Rogers" and "Flash Gordon" are really the pinnacle. Most of the other stuff is really bad. However, its good to keep some of the motiffs of the bad stuff in mind. Journey's to the center of the earth, lost and hidden lands, a venus populated with amazon women, bubble helmets, ray guns, rocket ships that take off and land, etc. Actually, the Barsoom stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs are also pillars of this pulp genre.

For Adventure pulps I think Tarzan is critical. Also, though he predates the pulps, Allan Quartermaine is a very important character who impacted the pulps. As is the literary (non-pulp) work The Heart of Darkness gives an excellent idea of what people (and this was expressed in the pulps) thought about Africa. Another critical character for adventure pulps is Solomon Kane. Some of Howard's other adventure stories, some set in the southwest, have also been compiled into a collection recently. Zorro also fits into this category, I think, though some people would think he's more superheroic.

For Weird Menace the "Secret Six" and any old copies of "Terror Tales" and "Horror Stories" are good, though the latter crosses over into the horror genre. I never cared for weird menace myself. Actually, the quintessential example of weird menace, though it appeared after the pulp era and contains humor, is Scooby-Doo.

Horror was also very popular during the pulp era. I'm not very versed with written horror pulp material, but any of the old monster mash movies would probably do. Personally, modern horror, and the horror of the 19th century is superior to most of what came out during the pulp era. However, we cannot forget HP Lovecraft and his Cthulu works, which create a genre all their own, I think.

Westerns, which were popular during and after the pulp era, probably deserve their own genre (though many western stories appeared in the pulps). But, "The Lone Ranger" is a good one for this. The old Boot Hill game is passable, but not worth buying unless you can find it at a discount. A lot of critical essays discuss how the Pulp's Hard Boiled detective was the Dime Store Novel's cowboy recast for the modern day.

One other thing to consider is that several villians in the pulp era were popular enough to merit having their own titles, and were more interesting than the heroes who faced them. The most notorious of these is Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu stories.

You probably don't have much need for the spicy pulps... unless you're taking the line in unexpected directions :D


*Raymond Chandler wrote an intro to Trouble is My Business that is the be all and end all assessment of what the hard boiled detective was all about, and is excellent reading for any game-master who wants to understand the genre. If you can't find a version with his intro let me know and I'll find a way to post it.

[st barbara]

To "Von D Man" "You are a blinding flash and a deafening report" But you left the works of E E 'doc' Smith and John W Campbell out of your S F pulps ! Shame !

[Vondy]

To "Von D Man" "You are a blinding flash and a deafening report" But you left the works of E E 'doc' Smith and John W Campbell out of your S F pulps ! Shame !

Why? I can think of some others I also left out, too. In fact, if you look at my list of SF pulps, you'll note I only mentioned one author by name. Aside from the Hard Boiled detectives I tried to focus on major characters or publications that represent the feel of the work from a nostalgia perspective, not authors. The reason for this is, the Hard Boiled detectives were defined by a handful of writers who were as well known as their characters were (sure, there were a lot of detective writers out there, but you can count the one's who set the tone and defined the genre on one hand). Most of the other genres had significant contributions from a wider pool of authors. As a result, focusing on individual authors, rather than major characters and series, won't do much good. And I don't really care for E.E. Doc Smith, anyways.

[SKJAM!]

Strangely enough, the SF pulps are perhaps over-represented in available reading, though they may masquerade as serious books. Quite a few of the field's "classics" from the Thirties and Forties are simply reworked versions of stories that originally appeared in the pulps. And they can be found through your local library (especially if it has a good exchange program with other libraries.)

The "Science" chapter of Villainy Amok has useful material on the stock Mad Scientist character endemic to pulp SF, and what he might be up to.

Trying to remember the name of that novel where the protagonist winds up in a world where all the pulp SF cliches are literally true. "What Mad World"? Leiber?

[st barbara]

To "Von D Man" Yes but E E Smith(and to a lesser extent John W Campbell) were among THE most popular authors of S F back in the Pulp era; as important to S F pulps as Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett were to crime ! Pulp S F was more than just the comic strip versions represented by "Buck Rogers" and "Flash Gordon" and while I don't expect you to mention Ray Cummings or David H Keller I thought that it was reasonable to expect some mention of"Doc" Smith. If one is going to run a galaxy hopping superscience spacefaring campaign Smith is almost a must for reference purposes.

[st barbara]

To "SKJAM" I think that that book is "What Mad Universe" by Frederic Brown.

[SKJAM!]

Yes, that's it.

[st barbara]

Another writer of the pulp era worth looking for is Robert E Howard. Howard is best known for his "Conan" stories of course, but he wrote a lot of other pukp stories as well , including horror, two fisted adventure, westerns and even pirate stiories. Some of them have been reprinted and are available, others may not be. I have had trouble trying to track down his Horror/Western "Breakenridge Elkins" stories for example !

[BlackSword]

Two Old Time radio detectives also come to mind: Nero Wolff and Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator are definate musts. A few radio shows featuring the latter two, and some Marlowe radio stories, can be found for free at:

Was just out to lunch with a co-worker. He has the XM Sattelite Radio. One of the stations is Old Time Radio and it includes some of the classic Radio Shows. While driving we heard part of Dragnet, and he said they occasionaly play Nero Wolfe stories as well.
*Raymond Chandler wrote an intro to Trouble is My Business that is the be all and end all assessment of what the hard boiled detective was all about, and is excellent reading for any game-master who wants to understand the genre. If you can't find a version with his intro let me know and I'll find a way to post it.
The Intro to Simple of Art of Murder (Vintage Crime version at least) has an essay by Chandler of the same title. In it he is fairly critical of some other styles of crime fiction. Its been a while since I read it, but it was a good take on crime fiction and compared his style with that of some other writers of the time.

[Lamrok]

The Intro to Simple of Art of Murder (Vintage Crime version at least) has an essay by Chandler of the same title. In it he is fairly critical of some other styles of crime fiction. Its been a while since I read it, but it was a good take on crime fiction and compared his style with that of some other writers of the time.

I'd like to point out that I think Chandler's "Simple Art of Murder" essay is the best starting point I've ever seen for running a mystery in a role-playing game. His criticism of the typical "English" mystery points out exactly why those types of mysteries don't work as well when you have a group of players running down clues. If Pulp Hero wasn't bound by page or copyright restrictions, I'd say this essay deserved a place in it.

[TheQuestionMan]

List of Historial Novels - Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_historical_novels

List of _________ - Wikipedia Search
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=&fulltext=Search

Cheers

QM

[st barbara]

I am just about to start a (modern) novel that looks , from reading the blurb, to be very Pulpish. Said to combine "The Curse of the Pharaohs,Indiana Jones, a good measure of the Arabian Nights, a touch of Rider Haggard and maybe even a hint of Burroughs". It is "The Sleeper In The Sands" by Tom Holland (Little, Brown and Co U K, 1998, 365 pages, Trade Pb). I will try to let people know what I think of it when I get it finished sometime in the next week or so. Has anyone else read the novel and , if so, what did you think ?

[BlackSword]

Picked up Mickey Spillane, The Mike Hammer Collection Volume 1 and Volume 2. Each Volume has 3 novles.

Not sure Hammer fits more in Pulp or Dark Champions. Very hard boiled, with some great descriptions and good action. Hammer is the ultimate tough guy who doesn't mind pistol-whipping someone (or just shooting them in the leg) to get them to talk or shut up, depending on the situation. Also some pretty good story ideas, especially if you want to deal with vice crimes (which to me head towards DC).

[st barbara]

The first Mike Hammer novel "I The Jury" is 1947. Sort of the end of the Pulp period and i'm not sure that a Mike Hammer type would work too well, especially if he is supposed to be part of a team. Having a supporting character of a very violent P I who gets involved with the P Cs could be very useful. It might even be suggested that "Mickey Spillane" is simply Race Williams" taken just a touch further a censorship relaxed a little after the war !

[st barbara]

Oops I ment that "Mike Hammer" is simply Race Williams taken a bit further. Confusing my writers with their creations ! Tsk! Tsk !

[st barbara]

Well here I was , looking at my Yahoo Doc Savage Group on a sunday morning ,when I came across a reference to a publishing company called "Black Coat Press" in California which has published a number of pulp stories, including a story about a "Doc Arsin" who sounds like a French Doc Savage, but predates the famous American pulp hero ! PUlp fans might be interested in checking them out. I will try to post a link later today !

[Agent 13]

http://www.blackcoatpress.com/

[st barbara]

Thank you "Agent 13". Would you believe (to quote Harlan Ellison) "Life got in the way" of me posting that link ? (Actually it was having to do my weekly shopping)

[walker]

There was a really cool book that came out a few years ago entitled The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life from Prohibition through World War II. It was from Writer's Digest Books. It's not in print anymore, but you can find it at used bookstores, or used on Amazon. Very useful for creating period flavor, or just doing research into how people lived in the pulp era.

walker

[st barbara]

There was a really cool book that came out a few years ago entitled The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life from Prohibition through World War II. It was from Writer's Digest Books. It's not in print anymore, but you can find it at used bookstores, or used on Amazon. Very useful for creating period flavor, or just doing research into how people lived in the pulp era.

walker I mentioned that one myself some time ago; but it is good to mention these books again from time to time as not everyone has time to scroll through all the old posts for the information that they want. The section on Slang might be a useful addition to whatever is eventually put in the rules and the section on cars is very interesting. I like the idea of a wealthy PC having his own Doble steam vehicle to run around in !

[Theron]

My favorite resource is the WPA visitors' guide series. Travel guides to the states written by some fairly notable authors (Steinbeck helped write the California guide), with great photographs.

I desperately wanted one for New York back in the days when they were reprinting them, but I never managed to find one. With PH on the way, I may have to do some looking.

[ArmlessTigerMan]

My favorite resource is the WPA visitors' guide series. Travel guides to the states written by some fairly notable authors (Steinbeck helped write the California guide), with great photographs.

I desperately wanted one for New York back in the days when they were reprinting them, but I never managed to find one. With PH on the way, I may have to do some looking.

Amazon.com should still have them. That's where I got it.

The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life.... was pretty good for color details, but it's so horribly over-priced. Check the library.

[the Evil DM]

Hard to believe 7 pages of thread on pulp writers and not one mention of Louis Lamour. best known for his westerns lamour "cut his teeth" in the pulps writing adventure fiction. his Characters such tramp steamer captain "Ponga Jim" Mayo and Fortune hunter Pilot "Turk Madden" are pure Pulp archetypes.
go to amazon or borders and look up:


The hills of homicide
"In the dark alleys of the pulsing cities and the savage criminal wilderness, Louis L'Amour introduces a new brand of characters: men like Kip Morgan, the ex-fighter turned detective who is tough enough to bounce a bouncer, yet has more up his sleeve than sheer muscle; Joe Ragan, dedicated career cop who fears nothing in the pursuit of justice; and women whose soft laughter covers their underlying cruelty.
These are fast-moving stories of brawls where once a man goes down and doesn't get up fast enough he's through, of flashing knives that whisper death, of guns that blaze their fatal file through the blackest nights."


Night over the Solomons
"They're freelance pilots and full-time troubleshooters for democracy. They're men like Steven Cowan, Mike Thorne, and Turk Madden who face danger every day of their lives and fight like tigers for what they believe in. With the world on the brink of war, they're on the front lines, wherever there's action. From the dangerous South Seas islands, to steaming South American jungles, to the other islands of Japan, you'll find these man ready to fight the enemies of freedom--in a battle to the death."

West from Singapore
"He's a two-fisted American adventurer and veteran of a hundred waterfront brawls. He's "Ponga Jim" Mayo, and he minds his own business and leaves international intrigue to others. But, as master of his own tramp freighter, trouble seeks him out as he navigates the treacherous East Indian seas from Borneo to Singapore. Never one to back away from danger, Jim straps on his colt automatic and takes the helm of the Semiramis, ready to battle pirates and spies, dope peddlers and gunrunners and whoever else dares to challenge his command...and God help the man who crosses Jim Mayo."

Pulpy enough for ya??

[st barbara]

Actually I have never read any Louis L'Amour ! I do have a number of westerns by another Pulp stalwart however. Max Brand !