 Mysterious Africa . . . |
THE CITY OF BAAL
by Charles Beadle Introduction by John Locke At the turn of the 20th Century, Charles Beadle served the British Empire in the colonies of southern Africa; saw duty in the Boer War. Afterwards, he worked his way north through perilous territory as an oddjobber, trader and explorer. When his travels ended, he tapped his storytelling gifts and turned the Africa of experience into enthralling fiction, becoming a stalwart of the great adventure pulps. Included in this collection of seven short stories and novelettes—originally published in Adventure and The Frontier—are strange tales of daring quests, wildlife in riot, treacherous characters, inscrutable witchdoctors, bizarre tribes, gruesome fates—all the mystery, discovery, danger . . . and dread, of unknown lands. From small-scale stories of isolated outposts under stress, to epic sagas of lost races in the depths of the jungle—from the macabre to the breathtaking—this is adventure at its best. Also included is a detailed discussion of the historical context of Beadle’s stories, and a look at his fascinating life and career. 240 pages, $20 . . . available at Amazon |
 The complete Adventure serial
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THE LAND OF OPHIR By Charles Beadle Introduction by John Locke The story: a group of world-tested, globe-trotting adventurers—a dog-eared diary for a guide—a carefully-plotted plan—an indomitable armed expedition—a journey into Africa, where brave men were known to enter, never to be seen again. The mission: a quest for fabled Ophir and its legendary riches. The Land of Ophir is a freewheeling saga full of fascinating characters, action, suspense, mystery, even horror, told in Charles Beadle’s inimitable style. His three-part serial is reprinted for the first time since its 1922 appearance in Adventure magazine. 146 pages, $12 . . . Amazon |
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AMAZON STORIES: Volume 1: PEDRO & LOURENÇO
by Arthur O. Friel Introduction by John Locke Arthur O. Friel debuted in Adventure in 1919. With his engrossing tales of the unexplored Amazon jungle, he quickly became one of the pulp’s most popular authors, a position he held for many years. Here, reprinted for the first time, are Friel’s first ten stories for Adventure. They follow the experiences of two rubber industry workers, Pedro and Lourenço. Their journeys into the jungle, one of the wildest and most inhospitable places on Earth, lead to fantastic, suspenseful—and often violent—adventures, and encounters with bizarre and fascinating people. These stories are some of Friel’s most entertaining work, and some of the best fiction to be found in the adventure pulps. Also included is an in-depth discussion of Arthur O. Friel, an enigmatic real-life explorer, and the roots of his Amazon stories. 224 pages, $18 . . . Amazon |
 Adventure on the Danger Trails of the Amazon Jungle
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AMAZON STORIES: Volume 2: PEDRO & LOURENÇO
by Arthur O. Friel Introduction by John Locke Pedro and Lourenço, Arthur O. Friel’s two freewheeling explorers of the Amazon basin, return in ten more unforgettable tales originally published during 1920-21 in the great pulp Adventure. The pair travel by canoe as the seasonal floods open up new channels through the perilous jungle. Along the way, their encounters range from mysterious strangers to hostile natives. Whether in battle with vicious headhunters, or turned into sex slaves by a tribe of wild women, the atmosphere is steamy and the suspense unrelenting. 286 pages, $20 . . . Amazon |
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 “The name of Elmer Brown Mason is a talisman that never fails to open the door to weird adventures in weird places with weird animals and men.” – All-Story Weekly
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THE GOLDEN ANACONDA: And Other Strange Tales of Adventure
By Elmer Brown Mason Introduction by John Locke Officially, Elmer Brown Mason was an entomologist for the United States Government, his beat, the swampy backwaters of the South. Privately, he journeyed to the dangerous corners of the world in search of adventure. For a brief but intense period, his experiences inspired thrilling stories of exploration and wonder. The ten fascinating—and fantastic—stories collected here are set in the Everglades, the Louisiana bayous, the Amazon jungle, Borneo, and other dangerous places known to few people of his era. Included are the five Wandering Smith stories from The Popular Magazine, featuring the South American epic, “The Golden Anaconda.” Also included are five tales from All-Story Weekly, topped by the horror-laden two-part saga, “Black Butterflies” and “Red Tree-Frogs.” All ten stories were published from 1915 to ’16, when the world was much younger than today. 260 pages, $20 . . . Amazon |
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HOBO STORIES
By Patrick & Terence Casey Introduction by John Locke Hobos spoke their own language, lived by their own code. Veterans of the road enslaved younger runaways, to use them as servants, to dispatch their innocent faces to back doors to beg. True hobos scorned brethren who accepted work instead of handouts. To do nothing, to pay nothing, was the hobo dream, the true measure of freedom, the true test of authenticity. Patrick and Terence Casey wrote five stories set in Hoboland—that is, the backroads, railyards, and seedy hobo jungles of America where tramps traveled and congregated. The initial story appeared in The Saturday Evening Post (1914), the remainder in the leading pulp Adventure (1916-21). Together, they constitute a grand saga of life in a strange, often violent underworld of yesteryear. Hobo Stories collects the series. The amazing Caseys . . . they were two brothers from San Francisco who sold regularly to the pulps as teenagers. Soon thereafter, they conned their way into the prestigious pages of Adventure with tales of actual jungles—in Borneo and Central America. Included in Hobo Stories is a biography of the Caseys, an examination of the roots of their hobo fiction, and, from the pulp Romance (1920), their revelatory short story about the adventures of a teenage pulp writer. 332 pages, $20 . . . Amazon |
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THE OCEAN: 100th Anniversary Collection
Edited by John Locke The Ocean is one of the great forgotten pulp magazines. Started by Frank Munsey in 1907, it lasted a mere eleven issues before folding in 1908. It was also one of the first specialized pulps—a sea-story magazine—with contributions from an amazing variety of authors: some, the best sea-story writers of the day; others, destined for anonymity; and still others who achieved fame in surprising ways. This 100th Anniversary Collection presents twenty of the best stories published in The Ocean, representing the wide scope of the magazine’s contents. The authors include: Clarence Budington Kelland, Izola Forrester, Raymond S. Spears, T. Jenkins Hains, John Barton Oxford, W. Hanson Durham, Charles Francis Bourke, L. Frank Tooker, Maitland LeRoy Osborne, and, with a two-part scientific romance, Epes Winthrop Sargent. Over 30 pages of nonfiction material included: a history of The Ocean, profiles of editor, Bob Davis, and the motley crew of authors who found their way into The Ocean’s pages—and ours. 234 pages, $18 . . . Amazon THE TEXAS-SIBERIA TRAIL
Adventure stories by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson Introduction by Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson Before he was a comic-book pioneer, Major Malcolm-Wheeler Nicholson wrote adventure tales for the great pulp magazines—and no run-of-the-mill pulp fiction was it. The Major served as a cavalry officer on the southwest border during the Mexican Revolution. While the First World War raged in Europe, he fought the Moro insurgency in the southern Philippines. Then followed his strangest assignment, conducting espionage in legendarily hostile Siberia. After the war he was stationed in Western Europe. These places became the settings for the majority of his hardboiled adventure stories. His use of authentic detail, combined with his superior storytelling ability, make his stories difficult to put down. You read one of the Major’s entrancing tales--and your imagination is transported back to those real places of danger and daring! This inaugural collection of the Major’s fiction includes stories set in all four of his real-life arenas, originally published in top adventure pulps: Adventure, Argosy, The Popular Magazine. It is time for the Major to receive his due—as one of the genuine larger-than-life men of the pulps. Included is an in-depth introduction by Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson, the Major’s granddaughter. 264 pages, $20 . . . Amazon |
 
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