Sunday, April 13, 2014

DOC SAVAGE #73: LAND OF LONG JUJU

Here’s another new book from Anthony Tollin’s Sanctum Books. Doc Savage #73: Land of Long Juju and Se-Pah-Poo [$14.95] reprints two novels by Laurence Donovan and Lester Dent (writing as Kenneth Robeson) and a Captain Fury short by Donovan (writing as Wallace Booker). This volume also features a new historical essay by the ever-informative Will Murray.

Land of Long Juju was originally published in Doc Savage Magazine for January, 1937. Superstition plays a large part in both of this volume’s Doc Savage novels and, as Murray points out, some consider Juju to be one of the most racist Doc novels of all. As editor and publisher Tollin points out in every one of his books, these novels are the product of their time and sometimes contain “out-of-date ethnic and cultural stereotyping.” From the back cover:

The capture of Renny Renwick by African warriors of the mysterious Shimba propels Doc and Patricia Savage on a daring mission to the Land of Long Juju.

Se-Pah-Poo is from the February 1946 issue of Doc Savage Magazine. From the back cover:

The bizarre murder of an archeologist in Arizona and a withered hand lead the Man of Bronze to an ancient lost city.

Cap. Fury - also known as The Skipper - was the star of his own short-lived magazine. Though the magazine only ran a dozen issues, Fury also appeared in 39 novelettes in Doc Savage Magazine. “Satan is a Sailor” ran in the February 1938 issue of the magazine.

Sanctum Books will be reprinting the Cap Fury novels in their own series. I’ll be writing about the first book soon.

As with other Sanctum Books editions - The Avenger, The Shadow and others - these Doc Savage double novels are entertaining journeys into the heroic fiction of the pulp era.  They’re wonderfully made books and I regularly despair I might never get around to reading all of them.  But what I can and will do is let you know about the new releases as they appear.  More Sanctum Books news is on the way.

© 2014 Tony Isabella

1 comment:

  1. Hmmm ,,,I wonder if Captain Fury inspired Nick Fury?

    I love these reprint books. I wish I could afford to buy them all....and the time to read them all....they look fantastic.

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