INTO THAT GOOD KNIGHT
A Review of The New Adventures of Richard Knight
by
Andrew Salmon
(Disclaimer: Andrew Salmon writes for Pulp Obscura)
When Pro Se Press got together with Altus Press to create the Pulp Obscura line, it was a match made
in Heaven. As Altus gave rabid pulp
fans top-notch collections of forgotten heroes from the Golden Age of pulp, Pro Se wrangled together a bevy of New
Pulp's finest authors to create anthologies containing new tales featuring
these forgotten heroes - the perfect melding of past and future.
Submitted
for your consideration is first release in the Pulp Obscura line: The New Adventures of Richard Knight.
With Altus's first collection of
original Knight tales comes this first volume of new Knight stories by some of
New Pulp's best. And it does not disappoint.
But
first a little background. For those of you who don't know, Richard Knight was
a 1940s pulp hero in the rich playboy by day, ace pilot and secret spy
designated Q by night. Created by Donald Keyhoe, Knight and his trusted
assistant Larry Doyle worked for General Brett who gave them strange cases
featuring science-fiction elements solved with espionage, aerial escapades and
two-fisted action. A fine introduction by Tommy
Hancock provides all the information you'll need before diving into the
tales themselves.
In The New
Adventures of Richard Knight, we get six brand new adventures to add to
the original canon. New Pulp scribes Josh
Reynolds, Barry Reese, Terry Alexander, I. A. Watson, Frank
Schildiner and Adam Lance Garcia
do the honors this time out and the result is a mixed bag of pulp goodies.
Reynolds
gets things going with Hell's Hands,
a tale featuring aerial pirates threatening European skies. There is a lot of
great action in this first outing and the villain is well drawn. For all its
merits, the tale does suffer from a little too much character set up since the
tale wraps up without giving us a true look at the villain. I can't help
thinking that Reynolds has plans for this baddie which will play out later. All
well in good, but the absence of sufficient details in this story lessens one's
enjoyment of it. The story more than makes up for it with its lightning pace
and great action sequences and is a great way to get this party started.
Richard Knight and the Stones of Heaven
by Barry Reese is next up. In this
yarn, Knight goes up against a group of artifact-hunting Nazis bent on created
a death ray for nefarious purposes by collecting the six stones of Heaven and
harnessing their strange power. Most of the action takes place on the ground,
rather than in the air, but the tale moves well and is an enjoyable traditional
pulp actioner that would not be out of place in Knight's original run. Good
writing and clear characterization are on display here as well, making for a
fun read.
Terry Alexander gives us The Bapet, a tale with traditional
horror elements as a small town is terrorized by a supernatural creature. All
the makings of a good, scary action tale. However it doesn't quite gel here.
It's as if Alexander is fitting Knight and his supporting cast to an existing
plot rather than The Bapet reading
like a true Knight tale. The result is a somewhat engaging read with gore and
scares aplenty yet feels somehow out of place.
The Hostage Academy by I. A. Watson is another strong entry in
this collection. The death of a senator in a plane crash barely crosses
Knight's radar but when the love of his love, Benita, meets a similar fate,
then it's time for this Knight to go on a crusade. Strong characterization
highlight this very personal mission of Knight's and emotions run high as the
airman tries to solve a compelling mystery in his search for vengeance.
Fear From Above by Frank Schildiner has Richard Knight going it alone in an intriguing
adventure slightly hampered by its wordiness. The strange disappearance of the
crew of a ship out of Jack London's The Sea Wolf leads Knight on an adventure
that sets itself apart from the norm. Some great action and vivid description
make for a rousing adventure in the air, on the ground and on the high seas.
Crimes of the Ancients by Adam Lance Garcia is my personal
favorite in this fine collection. It starts with a bang and the pace does not
let up. A character-driven tale, it features Knight going toe-to-toe and
quip-to-quip with a former love interest. The plot is never fully explained but
given that classic pulp tales generally featured the simple Good vs Evil plot
to begin with, it's interesting to see a detailed breakdown of the situation
Knight finds himself in being left to the readers. It's as if Garcia is saying
to pulp fans: "You've read enough of these great action yarns, you already
know what the story is here." Although
the banter did get annoying in spots, this new approach to a traditional pulp
tale, the ending in particular, left a pleasant taste in this reader's mouth
after closing the book.
The New
Adventures of Richard Knight is sure to please pulp
fans, old and new, as well as any action junkie. It's available in print and as
an ebook so they've got your preferred method of reading covered. If you're a
fan of action fiction, then this book is for you. Don't miss it!
