Friday, November 14, 2014

THE SHADOW #87: THE POOLTEX TANGLE AND DEATH TURRETS

The Shadow #87: The Pooltex Tangle & Death Turrets [Sanctum Books;$14.95] features novels by Theodore Tinsley and Walter B. Gibson of The Shadow as a master escape artist. These full-length novels are  inspired by and a tribute to the legendary Harry Houdini.

The Pooltex Tangle is by Theodore Tinsley writing as Maxwell Grant.  It first appeared in The Shadow Magazine for the October 1, 1937. From the back cover:

Can The Shadow recover a stolen invention that will change the course of a future war?

Death Turrets is by Walter B. Gibson as Maxwell Grant.  It’s from the November 1, 1937 issue of The Shadow Magazine. From the back cover:

In his true identity of Kent Allard, the Dark Avenger attempts to thwart the murderous plots of a serial killer!

In addition to the novels, The Shadow #87 also features a new essay by Will Murray that focuses on Gibson’s relationship with Houdini.Gibson, the president of the Philadelphia Assembly of the Society of American Magicians in his pre-Shadow days, knew Houdini and washired to write books on magic for him. Though Houdini died before this venture began, Gibson would, working with the Houdini estate,write Houdini’s Magic and Houdini’s Escapes.

Rounding out this volume are “Memories of Houdini” by Gibson and a short piece on Bill Lawlor, who posed as The Shadow for the photo cover of The Shadow Magazine for November 1, 1937.

As with the other Sanctum Books series - Doc Savage, The Whisperer and others - these Shadow adventures are entertaining journeys into the heroic fiction of the pulp era. More Sanctum Books news is on the way.

© 2014 Tony Isabella

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