More Good Stuff

This anthology takes a looks at classic pulp and comic book archetypes from five different perspectives. Each character defines their space in the book and each story can stand alone.

Rurik is a giant bronze age Barbarian who roams the wastelands where Conan could have dwelled. The descriptions are visceral and gritty.

Dead Reckoner is a disembodied spirit who arrives in WWI and looks into the shadows where Weird, Creepy or Eerie magazines once lurked. It has a poetic quality to it.

Wild Marjoram is a blond haired blue eyed mechanic trying to fix things with Chicago gangsters in an alternate timeline of WWII. There is a lot of clever character interplay.

Pandora Driver is a Batgirl gone bad and running down villains on the streets of a Noir City. The plot reveals keep this story moving.

Skyracos looks into the far reach of space to spot a pair of armored Rocketeers or 1940s Ironmen fighting alien insects. This story is all action and blood flies.

This anthology is hosted by a presence named Kilroy. He is a cross between Stan Lee's soapbox and Rod Serling of Twlight Zone Fame. His tidbits are practically a sixth story and very light in contrast to the others.

This ePulp Sampler rapidly transports us from the gladiatorial arenas of a fantasy wasteland to the blood-red seas of the distant planet Claous, but it makes the journey feel almost effortless. In passing, it touches down on the battlefields of World War One, pauses momentary on the mean streets of an alternative Chicago and makes a swift whistle stop in Citadel City.

I cracked open this Sampler in search of more of John Picha's Pandora Driver series, with its crusading, worker's heroine, but I enjoyed my detours to Russ Bopp's Robert E. Howard-inspired Rurik fantasy, N.R. Grabe's post-gender gangster tale and Mathew Davies' time-hopping journey into the trenches. Thrown in for good measure, is tale from John's Skyracos rocketeer adventures, an always welcome diversion.

Volume 1 of this EPulp Sampler is a pleasant throwback to the golden days Weird Tales, and brings back fond memories of reading under the covers by flashlight, trying to squeeze in just one last page... Keep up the good work!