Bookstooge's Reviews On the Road: The Shadow

Showing posts with label The Shadow. Show all posts

Saturday, May 03, 2025

Shadowed Millions (The Shadow #21) 3.5Stars

Title: Shadowed Millions
Series: The Shadow #21
Authors: Maxwell Grant
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 142
Words: 44K
Publish: 1932

The amount of money involved in this story was 10million dollars. I used one of those online inflation calculators and in terms of today’s money, it is about 235million, almost a quarter billion dollars. Can you imagine a group of people handing over a quarter billion in cash and bonds to one man, on the strength of his word and some papers “certifying” that he’s the guy to work with. No oversight, no triple checks, no one accompanying him. I don’t know if the world has changed that much (I suspect it has) but the thought of trusting someone I don’t know with a quarter billion is more than I can imagine.

It is all complicated by the fact that the Carrier has something shady going on and we as the readers do not know if he’s actually trustworthy or not. Right up until the very end in fact. I rather enjoyed that ambivalence.

Of course there is a shadow’y mastermind in the background, but par for the course, The Shadow is one step ahead, if not two or three. I was never in doubt about the outcome, but how it would play out was another matter completely. That’s part of why I enjoy these pulp stories so much.

The Shadow wins. The End.

★★★✬☆

From Bookstooge

A group of Capitalists stake 10million on a small South American Country for exclusive mineral rights. The carrier of said 10million appears to have his own agenda. At the same time, the carrier appears to be involved with powerful men who don’t want the country to succeed. It’s up to The Shadow to make sure the 10million gets to where it is going. Along the way there will be fisticuffs, gunfights and general mayhem.

All of My “The Shadow” Reviews

Sunday, January 19, 2025

Kings of Crime (The Shadow #20) 3.5Stars

Title: Kings of Crime
Series: The Shadow #20
Authors: Maxwell Grant
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 160
Words: 50K

The Shadow takes on another group of villainous masterminds of crime. This time we know that the Ace of Crime is somebody important in the town, we just don’t know exactly who until the end. There were some obvious red herrings, so I knew it wasn’t them. For me, I KNEW it had to be either the Police Chief or the Mayor. But almost up until the reveal, I was still guessing which. Which means the author did things write. I appreciate that tension.

Once again, speed of communication makes such a world of difference. Half this story could have not mattered if there had been faster ways to communicate. I feel like I am peeking into a completely different world when I read these stories and in some ways, I am. It’s good to be reminded that times were different and those differences drove innovation, etc in ways we can’t imagine today.

Once again, this was another tight little adventure story where The Shadow outthinks, outshoots and outpunches everyone. While I wouldn’t want a steady diet of that, a drip feed of it does wonders for my morale. While I know evil will be destroyed at the end of time, seeing it gets its butt kicked in the here and now is quite satisfying.

★★★✬☆

From Bookstooge

Four villains are called together by a mysterious Ace of Crime. Their goal? The total take over of a town so the money pours in continually. Facing off against them is the mayor of the town, the police chief and unbeknownst to anyone, The Shadow and his agents!

The Shadow shuts down each villain and their part of the plan, but not until the Mayor is revealed as the Ace of Crime can The Shadow reveal that HE is the Joker of the Deck and he trumps all the Kings and Aces.

All of My “The Shadow” Reviews

Sunday, October 27, 2024

The Romanoff Jewels (The Shadow #19) 3.5Stars

Title: The Romanoff Jewels
Series: The Shadow #19
Authors: Maxwell Grant
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 142
Words: 43K

Commies, Czar’ists and The Shadow all collide! Man, this was a weird read. Russian Royalty simply hasn’t been a part of our world close to 100 years now and so to read a story about it just after its heyday, still a force to be reckoned with, really threw me. It was kind of hard to take seriously too.

The Shadow really plays up the human factor in this story. He’s fully Lamont Cranston as much as he is the Shadow and he gets shot and beaten up and generally manhandled as any one person would in these circumstances. I’m used to The Shadow utterly triumphing, not surviving by the skin of his teeth.

I’ve never heard of the Romanoff Jewels, so everything about them, (a fabled stash of jewels representing the sum wealth of the Czars that was hidden away for their eventual return) was brand new and any info in the book I just took at face value. I did have some problem with the revelation that they were all fakes at the end. I had to roll my eyes at the naivete and stupidity of both commies and czarists thinking they were real. One jeweler is all it would have taken to prove things. It was shown that The Shadow’s ghirasol ring WAS one of the originals, and while it seems to have no purpose or function, it has a mystical mystique about it that in turn conferred such a feeling on the rest of the horde (that turned out not to exist). It would be like finding out that my food pantry was made up of a piece of wood from the Ark of the Covenant and that Putin and Kamala Harris were both after it.

Another good read and I enjoyed it. Overall, I don’t ever see myself re-reading these Shadow books, but that’s ok. Not every book is written to be re-read. Once and done is sometimes ok…

★★★✬☆

From the Publisher

Click to Open

The lofty towers of the Kremlin loomed like spectral spires against a darkened sky. Senov – master spider in a web of espionage – was about to ensnare America in the most nefarious deal of all time: behind the guise of a trade detente, he and his treacherous American trusties will swap the Romanoff jewels for help in restoring the ancient Russian monarchy! Only a certain black-clad form, swept like the shroud of night itself across the oceans and mountains of a desperate world, could hope to challenge such global enemies… and from the mysteries of New York’s Cobalt Club to the thrills of a breathtaking submarine voyage the Shadow carves a dark and hidden path for the forces of justice: beware The Shadow as you beware the darkest unknown!

All of My “The Shadow” Reviews

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Dead Men Live (The Shadow #18) 3.5Stars

Title: Dead Men Live
Series: The Shadow #18
Authors: Maxwell Grant
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 150
Words: 45K

We get to play in a full sized castle, In America!

The situation is one anyone familiar with Atlas Shrugged will recognize. Only instead of all the egghead geniuses being whisked away voluntarily, they are kidnapped and doppleganger corpses left in their place. They are then kept prisoner in the aforementioned castle and made to work on whatever it was that brought them to the attention of the bad guys.

The Shadow has one of his men infiltrate them, infiltrates the gang himself and then causes untold havoc. Guns blazing, fists flying, bodies lying dead all over the place. Just what the Dr ordered in fact.

One interesting thing about reading older books (this was published in the 1930’s, so almost 100 years ago) is you get to see “new” ideas and how they have no idea of the limitations yet. Much like fiction writers of today with their “dna’s” and “black holes” and “quarks” and other scyenze schizzle that they don’t actually understand beyond the most basic level (and that’s partly not their fault, because NOBODY understands the limits of those just yet). In this novel, it is plastic surgery. The bad guys kidnap hobos, etc, who bear a similarity to the people they want to kidnap, the doctor does his presto-chango magic plastic surgery on them and two days later they look just like the guy who is about to be kidnapped. Most of said hobos were then killed in some sort of fiery explosion to deal with fingerprints etc. And nobody is the wiser. I’m not knocking it, it’s just fun to see how those kind of things have change with the reality of the situation. Which is why I’m always skeptical of “scyence” people extrapolating something from a starting point that they barely understand themselves, much less non-specialists.

Another good thing about this story was that it was Harry Vincent’less. I do not like Harry. He’s the male version of Nell Fenwick, who only exists to get tied to train tracks and be rescued by Dudley Do-Right. Or in these books, The Shadow. So a story without Harry getting shot, bopped on the head, kidnapped or almost killed and then miraculously rescued by The Shadow is a good story in my opinion.

★★★✬☆

From Bookstooge.blog

Synopsis – click to open

A trio of criminal masterminds kidnap geniuses from various fields for their own personal gain. The Shadow gets wind of the plot and sends in his man Marston to stop it. He also personally gets involved. It ends with the 3 criminals dead, the geniuses rescued, 2 stepbrothers reconciled and The Shadow triumphant.

All of My “The Shadow” Reviews

Sunday, July 21, 2024

The Five Chameleons (The Shadow #17) 3.5Stars

Title: The Five Chameleons
Series: The Shadow #17
Authors: Maxwell Grant
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 128
Words: 40K

This was probably the first book where the Shadow really takes a beating. He’s been shot before, but this time it’s to the point of incapacitation. Never seen him so weak, but he still kills the bad guys. That’s how it should be.

I was expecting more from the Chameleons. Turns out they are just crooks that can pretty much blend into any situation and become whatever the circumstances demand. In this case, it was a bank manager, some bank tellers and a mortician. Not quite what I had in mind from the title. But, the leader, the guy playing the bank manager, manages to out think the Shadow and shoots him. Of course, the author sets up “circumstances” so the gang can’t immediately shoot the Shadow dead, which gives him opportunity to revive and fight back. A knife to his throat would have been just as effective at that point and it would have been silent. Lesson Number 1 in Villainy is always make sure the Hero is dead, really, totally, utterly dead. Or else he’ll come back and get you. Just like the Shadow does 😀

Speed of communication is the lifeblood of a society. I wrote about it in Kalin (A Dumarest book) and it has shown itself throughout the Shadow books as well. The crooks plan depends on people and the Feds not finding out about the counterfeit money until they are long gone. They are planning on days and possibly weeks. The Shadow counters that with a highspeed plane that gets information to his confederates in a day and brings those same confederates back to help him out. It still amazes me how the speed of information changes a culture. How much faster can we get? I’m kind of afraid to find out…

★★★✬☆

From the Publisher & Bookstooge.blog

Synopsis – click to open

The Shadow seeks to unmask The Five Chameleons, master villains whose uncanny ability to blend with their surroundings rivals his own. Having hit upon a plan to funnel counterfeit money through a bank and steal genuine money, the scheme soon turns to murder and the Shadow becomes involved. He kills them all and saves the community.

All of My “The Shadow” Reviews

Sunday, June 16, 2024

The Ghost Makers (The Shadow #16) 3.5Stars

Title: The Ghost Makers
Series: The Shadow #16
Authors: Maxwell Grant
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 120
Words: 37K

A bunch of scam artists pretend to be able to talk to the dead and bilk idiots out of their money. This is only possible if you don’t believe in soul sleep. Which I doubt any of you do. So prepare yourselves to get bilked, because the Amazing Bookstoogio will now do something that no one has ever done before.

I will end this review before it even gets started. Tada!

Now give me your money!

★★★✬☆

From Bookstooge.blog

Fake Mystics from India are fleecing the dumb and gullible nitwits here in the United States. The Shadow can’t stand for that, so he steps in and sends his own gullible nitwit against the fakirs, Detective Cardona. The whole gang is wrapped up and Cardona gets the accolades.

All of My “The Shadow” Reviews

Saturday, May 11, 2024

Green Eyes (The Shadow #15) 3.5Stars

Title: Green Eyes
Series: The Shadow #15
Authors: Maxwell Grant
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 158
Words: 48K

For whatever reason, I really enjoy when the Shadow goes up against a Chinese villain. Part of it is that those villains tend to be extremely smart and clever and aren’t reliant on guns and muscle alone (like many of the mob bosses the Shadow regularly takes down). They have a brain and they use it. At the same time Grant (the author) isn’t promoting the “Oldskool Gangsta” lifestyle. The badguys get theirs every time. But it feels like a battle between almost equals instead of just the Shadow mopping everything up like a janitor.

In this story, the Shadow is on the West Coast of the United States, in that most evil and iniquitous state called California. The Feds are hot on the trail of a supposedly pacifist Chinese cultural movement that plans to start a new empire. Massive drug smuggling is involved and the Shadow is captured, good and proper. Sadly, the Mastermind falls into the typical villain hubris and doesn’t immediately kill the Shadow. Remember kids, if you’re going to be a villain, kill the good guy immediately! No gloating, no monologues, no torture. Just kill him. Or else he will escape and get you. It always happens that way, and it happened that way here too. Of course, I was rooting for the Shadow, so that was a good thing.

My one big disappointment was that Green Eyes did not end up referring to a Femme Fatale. I was picturing some sort of Shadow’ized Catwoman’ish lady who could take on the Shadow and then fall hopelessly in love with him. Nope. Green Eyes simply refers to a guy who can mesmerize people with his eyes. Poop to that!

But the cover. Ohhhhhh, that cover. Pure Awesomesauce! Twin automatic .45’s, the only thing better is an assault shotgun.

★★★✬☆

From the Publisher

There is a criminal empire being run by a mad genius out of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Nobody knows who they are or when they will strike again. Only one man can bring down the vicious criminal operations. The Shadow!

All of My “The Shadow” Reviews

Thursday, April 04, 2024

Hidden Death (The Shadow #14) 3.5Stars

Title: Hidden Death
Series: The Shadow #14
Authors: Maxwell Grant
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 138
Words: 42K

Good enjoyable pulp. The Shadow has to take on the machinations of a dead genius who is apparently killing people from beyond the grave. At the same time, the police bring on an eminent psychologist because facts just aren’t enough apparently. And no surprise to anyone, said psychologist turns out to be a bad apple. Throw in a massive attack on the Shadow by the combined might of the lowlifes of the city and you have yourself a pretty good story.

I did notice how amateur everything is (except the Shadow and his procedures). The cops are like the Keystone Cops and I have to assume that is deliberate on the part of the author and not an actual reality of the times. Individually, some of the cops are pretty good, but overall, yeah, they are a mockery of law and order.

For a much more indepth and excited review, please visit Riders of Skaith’s “Review from 2020”.

★★★✬☆

From the Publisher

Murder of a Genius
When a mechanical genius is murdered at the moment of his greatest invention, THE SHADOW decodes a plan of linked deaths and traps a master killer in a bizarre and brilliant intrigue…

All of My “The Shadow” Reviews

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

The Blackmail Ring (The Shadow #13) 3.5Stars

Title: The Blackmail Ring
Series: The Shadow #13
Authors: Maxwell Grant
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 146
Words: 44K

The Batman vibes were almost overpowering in this story. It’s a decent story about a blackmailer using other blackmailers to do his own dirty work and the Shadow catches wind of it and goes on an international rampage taking out the limbs of the Ring before finally cutting off the head.

He does detecting work.

He is very physically present in this story, with both fists, guns and body checks. He’s not a skinny wimp relying on just scare tactics. The Shadow knows how to fight and he does so.

He drives a souped up super car.

He flies his own little private airplaine.

Batman was most definitely based on the Shadow and the more I read of the Shadow, the more I realize just how much Batman took from him. In many ways, Batman is just an updated version for a new generation and a new medium (comics vs books or radio drama). And yet only 9 years separated the two and they ran concurrently for several decades.

The Shadow gets another recruit and still has to rescue Harry Vincent. I don’t understand Gibson’s continued use of him. He has let other recruits slide into the background and barely mentions them, so why can’t he do that with Harry? Some things just aren’t to be I guess. Kind of like wishing that Coca-Cola would bring back Vanilla-Orange Coke Zero. It ain’t happening. Now I am sad. I’m going over to that corner over there and have a good cry.

And that’s how I’m going to end this review, sitting in a corner crying for something that will never exist again. Ahhh, the pathos is real in this review. Weep, minions, weeeeeeeeep I say.

★★★✬☆

From the Publisher

The Shadow follows a bloody trail of extortion and murder that leads from the back alleys of Paris to the country homes of New England to confront “The Blackmail Ring”.

All of My “The Shadow” Reviews

Tuesday, January 02, 2024

The Crime Cult (The Shadow #12) 3.5Stars

Title: The Crime Cult
Series: The Shadow #12
Authors: Maxwell Grant
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 156
Words: 50K

The Shadow goes up against a devotee of the Thuggee sect, which is devoted to the death goddess Kali. If you’ve ever seen Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, you’ll get a decent picture of the Thuggee cult. But they’re are also practitioners of the art of death by strangulation. So every victim in this story was strangled to death.

I’ve read another short story about Thuggees, either in an Alfred Hitchcock Collection or one of the Roald Dahl adult books, but I can’t be bothered to track down one specific short story. Anyway, that story also dealt with the strangulation side of the Cult, so that wasn’t a revelation here.

The more I read of these Shadow stories, the more I can why everyone says Batman was born of the Shadow. This time I noticed just how afraid the thugs, criminals and gangsters are of the Shadow and how he not only uses that fear, but encourages it. They SHOULD fear him. It reminds me of how Batman started. He wanted something to scare the badguys, to put the fear of God into their hearts and he would out-think them but also out-fight them. The Shadow had his time, and I enjoy reading these novels, but I don’t see him ever making a comeback. I mean, Batman is on the skids after all these years due to really bad story telling and the authors and artists relying on the fans buying crap just because of nostalgia and past associations. The era of Batman is coming to a close too I think.

When I wrote about Foundation and Empire last month, I mentioned how the length of it worked for me. These Shadow novels are built along the same lines and I just love it. It’s enough to entertain me without bogging me down. There are times when I’m reading a book and if I realize it’s over 300 pages I kind of groan to myself because I know the author is going to fill in all the background when I just wanted a two paragraph description of the whole world. Even better, one paragraph would suit me just fine! But instead of whining about that, I realize I have that need for brevity and these Shadow books are filling that need perfectly.

While this is the first book I am reviewing in 2024, it was not the first I read. I read a very mediocre book and just couldn’t face up to writing a review for a completely boring and mediocre book as my first review of the year. So I decided to read a good book and review it first. That’s the beauty of scheduling posts a week or so ahead of schedule, I can do things like that. I am glad to be reviewing a Shadow book first thing. It’s brief, exciting and filled with bad, gun toting thugs, decent upstanding men in the Shadow’s employ and a main character who totes two automatic pistols and isn’t afraid to use them.

★★★✬☆

From the Publisher

Click to Open

The marks of death were upon them. A mysterious round burn no bigger than a dime scarred each forehead; upon each throat was a thin, almost invisible white line. The police were baffled, but each of the victims knew that his time was up and his page in the book of death had come due. It was obviously a case for The Shadow but the most famous crimefighter of all was missing!

All of My “The Shadow” Reviews

Friday, November 17, 2023

Double Z (The Shadow #11) 3.5Star

Title: Double Z
Series: The Shadow #11
Authors: Maxwell Grant
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 188
Words: 60K

Good stuff. As I noted at the beginning of the month:

Currently Reading Cover Love: Double Z

I really liked the cover. We will see what else the month holds, but I suspect this will earn that coveted (oh so coveted!) award of Cover Love of the Month. Doesn’t get much more honorable than that, let me tell you!

The story itself was pretty good too. We get another “Agent” of the Shadow introduced. At this point I’m not even trying to remember who is who, I just read “Character Agent X” and nod my head and continue reading. The Shadow faces off against an old Chinese guy who has a booby trapped house and that was pretty cool. Sadly, Old Chinese Guy isn’t Double Z. He should have been though. He has the booby trapped house. He has poisons. He has a young protege. He has underworld connections. So of course Double Z turns out to be some disgruntled, too rich, businessman. It was kind of anti-climactic to find out it was him. I mentally went “Really, that guy? He’s not even oatmeal, much less Villain of the Month Flavor”. Thankfully, I got all the flavor I needed with Old Chinese Guy. Soy sauce baby!

Another successful entry in the Shadow series. I recommend this series if you like pulp stories.

★★★✬☆

From Bookstooge.blog

Double Z, a mysterious underworld figure, has leaked information to the police about people who are going to get killed. Now he has decided to move into the game himself, thus setting himself on a collision course with The Shadow. Utilizing the services of corrupt old chinese triad leader, Double Z intends on being the one to survive that collision.

In the end, Double Z is unmasked as a bored businessman with too much time on his hands and not brains in his skull. The Shadow and his servants prevail and Right is Victorious.

All of My “The Shadow” Reviews

Sunday, August 27, 2023

Hands in the Dark (The Shadow #10) 3.5Stars

Title: Hands in the Dark
Series: The Shadow #10
Authors: Maxwell Grant
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 187
Words: 55K

Ha! Proof positive. The Shadow wears his girasol jewel on his left hand. It was stated explicitly in this book. This matters because Riders and I had a conversation about which hand it was on and neither of us could show a book which proved right or left. So here we go, the question is settled for all ages, or at least until I forget and forget that I answered the question here. So 2-3 months should do it!

And poop.

Apparently, our conversation centered around which FINGER it was not, not which HAND. Sigh. The Quest for Knowledge must continue then. And back to the unimportant stuff like talking about the book I read. Man, this book reviewing thing isn’t all I was led to believe. However, it has allowed me to read TWO The Shadow books this month, so that’s definitely a check on the positive side of the life column.

This was a pretty gutsy book in that a regular joe schmoe gangster (well, he is pretty smart but still, he’s not super villain league smart) goes up against the Shadow on purpose. And he doesn’t do a bad job of it either. Millions of dollars in loot are at stake and a Great Love between Boyman and Girlwoman is at stake too. And the Shadow cleans house like the vigilante he is. Booyah!

That is why I keep reading these. Bad guys do really bad guy things and the Shadow puts a stop to it and bad guys usually die in droves. If that doesn’t count as a happy ending, I don’t know what does.

I’m just glad there’s no Vicki Vale kind of character. That would have ruined things completely.

★★★✬☆

From the Publisher:

WHO KNOWS WHAT EVIL LURKS IN THE HEARTS OF MEN?

It was a message from a dead man. A small piece of paper worth a fortune in blood. Eight mysterious symbols that marked the beginning of a chain of violence executed by gangsters willing to kill for a code they did not understand. Only one man called the shots for this riddle: The Chief, whose reputation made any further identification unnecessary–and lethal.

Obviously a case for THE SHADOW–a cryptic message, a series of baffling murders, seemingly unrelated, and an invisible mastermind who choreographed killings for the highest stakes in town. THE SHADOW was on a trail leading straight to a brilliant trap–and a face-to-face encounter with a criminal genius determined to beat him at his own game!

All of My “The Shadow” Reviews

Wednesday, August 02, 2023

Mobsmen on the Spot (The Shadow #9) 3.5Stars

Title: Mobsmen on the Spot
Series: The Shadow #9
Author: Maxwell Grant
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 190
Words: 60K

We are introduced to yet another new agent for the Shadow. A former mob member who has spent time in jail for robbing a bank and killing a cop. Only the Shadow knows the truth about it all and uses the man to bring down a mastermind behind a bunch of protection rackets.

I thought this was really good. The Shadow maneuvers various levels of mobsters against each other and lets them spill their own blood. Things don’t go all his way though, as one good business man is murdered and the daughter of another is kidnapped.

The mastermind once again is pretty obvious once it becomes apparent that there IS a mastermind. That type of thing used to bother me, and under the right circumstances still might, but overall, I like a nice simple story where I don’t have to use my brain much. Working 9hrs in the heat and humidity really fries my mental capacity and I can appreciate a well told story that entertains me yet doesn’t expect me to turn into Sherlock Holmes to figure out what is going on.

If this was a Sandwich Rating, I would have probably given it the Toasted Tomato Sandwich rating. But it was missing the 1/2lb of black pepper that I usually dump on mine, hence the half star downgrade. Black Pepper makes a toasted tomato sandwich really pop and gives it that extra zing that makes me go “Yuuuuuuuum!”.

★★★✬☆

From the Publisher

Who KNOWS WHAT EVIL LURKS IN THE HEARTS OF MEN?

Who calls the shots for the country’s toughest gangsters? Who makes them dance to an offer they can’t refuse? Who is the invisible power behind the scenes of Manhattan’s billion-dollar protection rackets?

THE SHADOW KNOWS only that the criminal mastermind who controls the waterfront, the warehouses and the garages, is about to invade the theaters of the world’s most volatile city, where the root of crime flourishes, gangland-style.

THE SHADOW stalks his man with cunning, stealth and brilliance, and the eerie laugh that is his hallmark. The laugh that aims to chill all who have ever tasted the bitter fruit of the weed of crime: The Underworld, whose secrets belong to this Master of Darkness!

All of My “The Shadow” Reviews

Monday, June 12, 2023

The Black Master (The Shadow #8) ★★★✬☆

Title: The Black Master
Series: The Shadow #8
Authors: Maxwell Grant
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 174
Words: 82K

From the Publisher & Bookstooge.blog

Five die and many are injured when Wall Street is bombed, followed by Grand Central Station and the subway entrance at Columbus Circle. When a reporter for The Classic claims to have information on the bomber’s identity, the office explodes. As the death toll rises, The Shadow races to uncover who is the bomber known as The Black Master.

Turns out the Blackmaster is a german scientist who had a sister back in the day. Said sister married an American and died from starvation. The american went on to become a multi-millionaire and the Black Master has decided that HE is the one to mete out justice for his sister’s death. If a multitude of New Yorker’s must die in the process, that is a price the Black Master is willing to pay.

The Shadow is not a big fan of this course of action and sets himself in opposition. Of course he wins and destroys the Black Master, who was also a crime fighter helping the police with his new fangled german “criminal psychology”.

First things first. This is not some filthy urban fantasy erotica porn. I mention this because I am reading the Shadow omnibuses and so have to search out the individual titles to find the covers, pages, etc. The crap I had to wade through was not right. I ended up searching for ISBN 9780450027420 to get the correct info. So use that, not the title if you’re ever searching this out.

Second thing. This gave me YUUUUGE 9/11 vibes. New York was getting bombed and there was panic in the newspaper and speculation was rife and nobody knew what was going on. It reminded me exactly of my experience on 9/11. I was working and the radio was going nuts. There were “reports” of bombs going off in cars, of bombs going off in garbage cans, of “sporadic gunfire”. The *&^%%% media didn’t know what was going on and they let their speculation run rampant and increased the panic. Until the plane hit the towers, nobody actually KNEW what was happening. That sense of bewilderment was spot on. Of course, in this novel everybody just goes back to normal the next day and life carries on.

Thirdly, the Crime Fighting Psychologist. Come on, I mean, really? As soon as it was revealed that he was german and profiled criminals, it was painfully obvious he was the Black Master. And if that comes as a spoiler to you, shame on you for being so gullible. It reminded me of the first episode in the Sherlock tv show with Benedict Cumberbatch and one of the police officers, who is not a fan of Sherlock, tells Watson that someday Sherlock will get bored of solving crimes and begin committing then. That is the exact vibe I got from Dr Proffessor Germano (yeah, yeah, whatever, who remembers his real name anyway?) and so as soon as he was introduced he had a big fat arrow pointing to him screaming “Dah Black Meister!”

Now, with all of that being said, I still enjoyed the daylights out of this story. The Black Master was a very worthy adversary for the Shadow and gave him a good run for his money. When a villain seeks to go head to head against the Shadow in a game of mental manipulation, you know he’s not just some thug with a .38 police special.

And Harry Vincent gets his brain blasted by the Black Master and his magic crystal ball. Sadly, we all know he’ll recover and show up in future books. I would have liked to see his drooling corpse slumped against a wall. Oh well, not every story can be a completely Happily Ever After.

★★★✬☆

All of My “The Shadow” Reviews

Tuesday, May 02, 2023

The Silent Seven (The Shadow #7) ★★★✬☆

Title: The Silent Seven
Series: The Shadow #7
Authors: Maxwell Grant
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 142
Words: 46K

From Thelivingshadow.fandom.com

A violent crime wave swept New York — ingenious, well-planned escapades masterminded by the Silent Seven, a vicious underworld conspiracy. Hooded criminals, meeting in secret, known to each other by an ancient ritual and matching scarab rings, they plotted to terrorize the city.

Detective Joe Cardona was baffled. First one murder, death by poison pin prick; then another, a cold-blooded execution. The sole clue to both, a pair of dice showing seven. He knew only man could penetrate the inner sanctum of the den of evil — The Shadow. Moving with an uncanny stealth, the master crime fighter carefully lays a brilliant trap. if his cunning were enough to defeat these evil angels, the last laugh, that eerie chuckle, would be his once again!

Another good Shadow read. I was thinking about giving this 4stars because I really enjoyed the idea of the Shadow taking on a whole group of hidden crime masterminds but then they ended up acting pretty stupid and so I bumped it down that critical half-star. Plus, allowing themselves to be infiltrated by some schlub didn’t measure up to the mark of Master Villain in my mind.

Harry Vincent almost getting crushed to death in a room with a descending ceiling though, that was great. That guy is the world’s foremost idiot and I like to see him suffer. I know the chances of him actually dying are zilch, but I can always hope. Without hope, life is miserable 😉

Nothing about this book, aside from the villains not living up to my expectations, was a hindrance. It was smooth sailing and a good adventure story. Keep’em coming Grant!

★★★✬☆

All of My “The Shadow” Reviews

Tuesday, March 21, 2023

The Death Tower (The Shadow #6) ★★★✬☆

Title: The Death Tower
Series: The Shadow #6
Authors: Maxwell Grant
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 138
Words: 45K

From Bookstooge.blog

The Shadow comes to grip with Dr Palermo, a murderous psychopath who is almost as smart and intelligent as the Shadow. And Dr Palermo is one of the Silent Seven and can call upon the Something Something 50, one of which is a celebrated police detective. Can the Shadow, with the help of the ever trustworthy and reliable Harry Vincent (and others) defeat this menace? Of course he can. And he solves the problem by throwing Dr Palermo off a 40story building. Now that’s doing it with panache!

The last time I read a Shadow novel was back in October of ‘22, so it has been a while. It felt really good to dive back into this literary universe though. I like the Shadow. He’s no namby pamby pussy but will kill when it’s needed. At the same time, he’s no John Wick who just kills everyone. Reading about the Shadow go braino-e-braino with Dr Palermo was fun and made for a nice change up from mobsters and gangsters and hoodlums.

My enjoyment wasn’t so much from reading about the Shadow being stymied but from enjoying a more equal fight. In previous stories the Shadow has jumped into groups of hoodlums and beaten the snot out of them even when outnumbered a billion to one. He’s outsmarted gangsters and even mad scientists but Dr Palermo “felt” like a Shadow gone bad. I don’t know if the author, Grant, decided to create Dr Palermo along those lines and thus wrote him accordingly, but it seemed so to me and it was a choice that I really enjoyed.

A welcome return to the Shadow’s adventures for me and I am looking forward to reading more over the coming months.

Finally, that cover! I love these Bantam covers. The little version is clickable to expand to the big version. If I do a cover love section in my monthly Roundup & Ramblings for March, I already know this is going to take the cake.

★★★✬☆

All of My “The Shadow” Reviews

Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Gangdom's Doom (The Shadow #5) ★★★☆☆

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPresss & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Gangdom’s Doom
Series: The Shadow #5
Authors: Maxwell Grant
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 166
Words: 54K

★★★☆☆

All of My “The Shadow” Reviews

Monday, September 19, 2022

The Red Menace (The Shadow #4) ★★★☆☆

Title: The Red Menace
Series: The Shadow #4
Authors: Maxwell Grant
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 176
Words: 53K

Synopsis:

From Thelivingshadow.fandom.com & me

The Shadow lives by darkness, gliding through the waiting night unseen, a mocking laugh his only calling card. None who have trafficked in crime will ever forget him. The may sneer at the law… but not at The Shadow. Each generation of evil breeds a newer, stronger root, and The Shadow’s latest adversary is no exception: The Red Menace. This brilliant, diabolical political assassin has decided to play both sides of the Revolution in order to steal the ultimate weapon… and invincible power. Time is running out if The Shadow is to stop this crimson-masked megalomaniac from making his insane dreams come true!

Harry Vincent is sent on a mission to watch over a scientist who is developing an areal torpedo that the commies want. The Red Menace sends his own minions as well. The Shadows saves Harry from drowning and takes down the minions but they have already given the torpedo plans to the Red Menace. Meanwhile, the Shadow is dealing with a Russian Prince who appears to be fighting for his life against the Red Menace and his cabal of secret masked commies. The Shadow uses the Prince’s loyal aide to kill the cabal with a bomb. Then the Shadow makes a transatlantic flight, tracks down the Red Menace on a train in Europe and unmasks him, as the Russian Prince! The Shadow steals the torpedo plans back and lets the Prince live to face the torture in store for him for his failure by his commie masters.

My Thoughts:

Boo yah! Damned commies. Getting shot and blown up and scheming. They were perfect in this story and I loved it.

The Red Menace was a great copycat of the Shadow and emulated some of his best traits. In many ways he reminded me of Schwartzvold from Big O (the anime) and how he imitated Roger Smith and Big O with his Big Duo. Subtly different, bad and just not quite good enough. It’s exactly what you want in a badguy who you know is going to be defeated. The Red Menace follows this formula perfectly and it suited him to a T.

I still wonder why the Shadow bothered rescuing Harry Vincent in the first book, or bothers continuing to use him. Harry is brash and has enough common sense to fill a thimble (and no more) and needs continual rescuing. In fact, I’d say his role in this series is more akin to the Lady in Distress (Nell Fenwick from the Dudley Do-Right cartoons) than as an actual aid to the Shadow.

I really thought about giving this a halfstar bump up just for how many commies get kaboomed, but that’s a small enough personal pleasure that I didn’t feel quite right about it.

Wednesday, September 07, 2022

The Shadow Laughs (The Shadow #3) ★★★☆☆

Title: The Shadow Laughs
Series: The Shadow #3
Authors: Maxwell Grant
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 156
Words: 47K

Synopsis:

A duel with Evil

When an innocent man is murdered under strange circumstances and a crack police detective is lured to his death, The Shadow sees the signs of a vicious plot. He uncovers a ruthless gang of counterfeiters, led by the most powerful and diabolical man in New York’s underworld.

Harry Vincent is sent in to investigate, the Shadow gets shot and eventually Eeeeeeevil is brought to justice.

My Thoughts:

Yeah, I liked this. I liked the brevity of the story. But it didn’t feel short. It felt just right. Thrills and chills and action and guns, bad bad guys, doofus good guy minions and a brilliant leader. It’s kind of a mix and match hodgepodge of elements that will work together no matter what order you put them in.

These are reminding me of Louis L’amour and his westerns (these obviously came first but I didn’t read them first). And if you look at the numbers, you can see that this write by numbers approach can work and work well. Lamour was writing his stories up until he died and Grant churned out over 300 stories about the Shadow. It’s pulp and it’s good.

It’s not going to work for everyone but if you’ve felt the need of a good old fashioned action story without a moral message telling you what you should be thinking/doing, then at least give the Shadow stories a try. If you don’t like the first couple, then it’ll be a safe bet the Shadow isn’t for you and you’ll know it. But you won’t know unless you try.

Friday, August 05, 2022

The Eyes of the Shadow (The Shadow #2) ★★★☆☆

Title: The Eyes of the Shadow
Series: The Shadow #2
Authors: Maxwell Grant
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Crime Fiction
Pages: 171
Words: 51.5K

Synopsis:

From Thelivingshadow.fandom.com & me

MARKED TO DIE

Six prominent men were expecting a share in a glittering fortune. But, one by one, they were being brutally murdered. Until the Shadow discovered the plan—a plan so fiendish that only the twisted mind of a monster could have conceived it. The Shadow assumes the identity of Lamont Cranston to investigate the serial murders and stalwart Harry Vincent gets to play camper and act as bait. Justice is committed, Shadowstyle!

My Thoughts:

Another enjoyable entry in the Shadow series. I’ve got a bunch of omnibuses (omnibie?) of Shadow stories that come in sets of 5, so I’m guessing I’ll read a quintet each rotation and then take a couple of months off before adding another quintet back in. I can see myself easily burning out on these and I’d really rather take a few extra steps to prevent that as I am enjoying them.

These are beyond a shadow (ha, aren’t I clever?) of a doubt “pulp”. So if you know you don’t like pulp stories, then you can safely assume The Shadow isn’t going to work for you. If you know that you DO like pulp, you can’t automagically assume this will work for you, because this is as different from Conan or John Carter as you can get and yet both of those are pulp too. But chances are still better than even. If you like pulp and you like the 1920’s era and double pistols are your thing, then I’d say it’s a match made in heaven.

The Shadow has some sort of power to blend into “shadows” but it isn’t speculated upon or dwelt upon at all. Is it supernatural, is it a mutant power or is it just him being really, really, really good at hiding and disguises? Personally, my vote is that he drank a shot of bad russian vodka and it gave him superpowers. The other thing is that Lamont Cranston, a rich playboy that Bruce Wayne was modeled on, appears to be the Shadow’s alter-ego. But I’ve read enough stuff by Riders of Skaith to know that even that simple deduction isn’t so simple and weirdness is going to abound there too. Basically, I don’t try to figure anything out.

Bad guys do bad things. The Shadow investigates one way or another, his agents (his “eyes”) act on his behalf and there’s a lot of weird laughing going on in the shadows. Oh yeah, and the badguys get what’s coming to them. Or their henchmen do anyway. A really good badguy manages to get away.

I’ve been looking at various covers and man, this one rocks! I couldn’t find a really big version of it, but this was as big as I could find. Two-pistol’ing it baby!

The Living Shadow (Book 1)