RIP artist Neal Adams

RIP artist Neal Adams. Among his incredible body of work, I best loved his 12 covers for the 1970s-80s Ballantine editions of the Tarzan novels.

Safe Journey, sir, and thank you for the wonderful imagery you shared with the world.

FarmerFan - a new fanzine dedicated to Philip José Farmer

If you're a fan and reader of Philip José Farmer and haven't checked this out yet, you really should...

Online and free here: http://farmerfan.com/

April is Tarzan Month!

 April is Tarzan Month with the arrival of the Edgar Rice Burroughs Authorized Library, Tarzan volumes 13-16, with gorgeous covers by Joe Jusko, and the just-delivered and totally awesome Tarzan and Jane figures from Boss Fight Studios!

• Tarzan at the Earth's Core
• Tarzan the Invincible
• Tarzan Triumphant
• Tarzan and the City of Gold

Edgar Rice Burroughs titles... recently read!

 

RIP James Bama

RIP James Bama. 

His vision of Doc Savage was a huge part of my childhood (and ongoing) obsession with the character. While I understand that Baumhoffer’s portrayal of Doc on the original 1930s pulp magazine covers may be more accurate, when I read Doc novels, I see Bama’s version in my mind’s eye. I can’t help it.

Safe Journey, Sir, and thank you.

Meteor House's New Edition of IRONCASTLE

I submitted my afterword, "Surprising Embellishments," yesterday for the new edition of IRONCASTLE by J.-H. Rosny aîné and Philip José Farmer. The new limited edition hardcover, as well as softcover edition, is coming soon from Meteor House.

I'm in good company with essayists Brian Stableford and Christopher Paul Carey!

US $23 tpb/$65 hc
5.5×8.5, 204 pages
Trade Paperback
Limited Edition of 200 Hardcover copies

Somewhere in the unexplored heart of Africa, a part of this Earth had been taken over by an intelligence from outer space. Such was the message that reached the explorer Hareton Ironcastle, member of the famous Baltimore Gun Club. In that hidden and transformed valley would now be found monsters and pre-humans not to be seen anywhere else. Such a challenge could not be ignored…

The account of Ironcastle’s expedition of daring but inexperienced amateurs became one of the classic novels of the French writer, J.-H. Rosny aîné, who was a contemporary of Verne, Wells, and Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Philip José Farmer, Hugo winner and chronicler of the adventures of Tarzan and Doc Savage, translated and retold Rosny’s 1922 novel, L’étonnant voyage de Hareton Ironcastle, making it a marvelous adventure novel to stand alongside the works of Burroughs, Haggard, and Farmer himself. Farmer’s 1976 version, published in paperback only, followed Rosny judiciously, while adding certain surprising embellishments of his own.

This handsome new edition boasts the same stunning cover art and six interior illustrations as the original paperback—by the legendary Roy G. Krenkel!

Curiously, the 1976 edition featured only a tiny sample of Krenkel’s painting, making this the first edition to feature the entire magnificent cover art. Honoring Krenkel’s original art, the Meteor House limited edition hardcover is presented unadorned—that is, no title and byline will cover any portion of Krenkel’s stunning artwork.

Bonus Features:

• Brian Stableford, a prolific British science fiction author who has in recent years translated many of Rosny’s works from French to English for Black Coat Press, has provided an introduction to this edition of Ironcastle.
• Published with Ironcastle for the first time is the short story sequel, “Iron and Bronze: A Hareton Ironcastle and Doc Ardan Adventure,” by Farmer and pulp-lit experts Christopher Paul Carey and Win Scott Eckert.

Taduki-inspired visions draw an intrepid adventurer and a madman to a lost African outpost of Atlantis where they must confront an ancient mystery from the stars… Drawing on diverse sources such as Jules Verne’s The Barsac Misison, H. Rider Haggard’s She and Allan, Guy d’Armen’s Doc Ardan (who has been called the “French Doc Savage”), J.-H. Rosny âiné’s L’étonnant voyage de Hareton Ironcastle, Pierre Benoit’s L’Atlantide (The Queen of Atlantis), and Philip José Farmer’s own “monomyth,” “Iron and Bronze” hearkens back the classic SF adventure pulps of the 1920s and ’30s.

Also in this edition, Christopher Paul Carey pens an insightful foreword explaining how IRONCASTLE ties into the "Farmerian Monomyth," and Win Scott Eckert provides a short afterword covering Farmer’s “surprising embellishments” related to the Wold Newton Family.

This book is available in a Trade Paperback and Signed Hardcover Limited Editions (signed by Stableford, Carey, and Eckert). The hardcover features a leatherette cover with gold foil stamping and custom printed color end papers—a high quality collectible in the tradition of Meteor House’s prior limited edition hardcovers. We’re taking preorders now and both editions will ship in June 2022.

• The trade paperback edition is $23 (plus shipping).
• The signed hardcover limited edition is $65 (plus shipping).
• Or you can buy them together for only $83 (plus a further discount with combined shipping)!

Merci beaucoup to Fabrice Mundzik at the J.-H. Rosny blog for promoting our new forthcoming edition of IRONCASTLE!

“This translation (or rather 'retold', sometimes even the term 'embellishment' is used) by P.-J. Farmer deserves to be... translated into French! I haven't changed my mind, this version of Philip José Farmer is simply excellent!!!"

"In addition to the novel by J.-H. Rosny, Meteor House has the good sense to add an introduction by Brian Stableford, 'Iron and Bronze: A Hareton Ironcastle and Doc Ardan Adventure', by Christopher Paul Carey and Win Scott Eckert, as well as an afterword by Win Scott Eckert.... 'De Fer et de bronze' ('Iron and Bronze') is in my Top 10 of the best literary tributes to J.-H. Rosny!"

Meteor House 2021 Releases Unboxing Video - The Monster on Hold | The Man Who Met Tarzan | It's Always Darkest

 Meteor House 2021 Releases Unboxing Video

The Monster on  Hold | The Man Who Met Tarzan | It's Always Darkest

Review roundup - TARZAN: BATTLE FOR PELLUCIDAR

 

Anthony R. Cardno

John Allen Small

Madeline "Mac" Gange

Derek McCaw

Audible (audio book) reviews

Edgar Rice Burroughs Podcast #16: Tarzan: The Battle for Pellucidar, Part 1

Edgar Rice Burroughs Podcast #17: Tarzan: The Battle for Pellucidar, Part 2

The Monster on Hold - Trade paperback cover reveal

Catching up on blogging, I realized I announced the wonderful cover reveal for the Signed Hardcover Limited Edition of The Monster on Hold by artist Mark Wheatley back in February, but I neglected to post here about the fantastic Trade Paperback cover by Doug Klauba when it was revealed back in May. 

Oops! Here it is, in all its glory,

Philip José Farmer worked on The Monster on Hold, the fourth novel in his Secrets of the Nine series, in the 1970s and ’80s, but never completed it or any other works in the series. Using Farmer’s partial manuscripts and copious notes, Win Scott Eckert, co-author with Farmer of The Evil in Pemberley House, has at long last completed the novel.

They were known simply as the Nine. Grim and ancient rulers who discovered the key to eternal life thirty-thousand years ago, and ever since have held the world secretly in thrall. These dark manipulators control the destinies of billions, including the formidable Doc Caliban, Champion of Justice. Once, Doc had been their servant and had shared their secrets. Now, appalled by their tyranny, he and his half-brother, Lord Grandrith—bastard son of Jack the Ripper—have turned against the Nine, daring to challenge their centuries-old supremacy.

In the eighteenth century, the Nine had been faced with a similar revolt and, in desperation, summoned a thing from another dimension—a thing with the power to touch the subconscious and cause nightmares. And that thing—Shrassk—was held in abeyance in a deep cavern complex below New England.

Now, Shrassk and her Children have awakened.

Caliban, suffering from recurring nightmares in which he sees somebody much like himself—and who in these visions seems to be dreaming of Caliban—gathers his closest allies for a final showdown. Together with longtime associates Pauncho Van Veelar and Barney Banks, and his titian-haired cousin, Trish Wilde, whose superhuman skills match his own, Doc descends deep into the subterranean complex to confront an infinite evil, the unspeakable dweller lurking at the threshold between two universes…

Featuring an introduction by Bronze Gazette editor Chuck Welch, The Monster on Hold is available in a Trade Paperback (featuring cover art by Doug Klauba) and a Signed Hardcover Limited Edition (featuring a wraparound jacket by Mark Wheatley). Each edition also includes interior artwork by both artists. The hardcover will be signed by Win Scott Eckert, Chuck Welch, Doug Klauba, and Mark Wheatley!

The book is due out in the fall of 2021.

Pre-order The Monster on Hold

GENTLEMEN PREFER DOMINO LADY

In a long overdue blog update, I'm happy to note that my Sax Rohmer-tinged tale, "Dame Sinestre," featuring a team-up with pulp heroes the Green Ghost and the Domino Lady, has been reprinted in the anthology Gentlemen Prefer Domino Lady, Moonstone Books, 2021, edited by David Boop and Kim Perisin, with cover art by Alex Innocenti.

It first appeared in the collection Green Ghost: Declassified.

Pick up your copy direct from Moonstone Books!

The Monster on Hold - Preorder & Cover Reveal!

Philip José Farmer worked on The Monster on Hold, the fourth novel in his Secrets of the Nine series, in the 1970s and ’80s, but never completed it or any other works in the series. Using Farmer’s partial manuscripts and copious notes, Win Scott Eckert, co-author with Farmer of The Evil in Pemberley House, has at long last completed the novel.

Today, publisher Meteor House announced the two cover artists. Douglas Klauba is doing the Trade Paperback cover and Mark Wheatley is doing the Signed Hardcover Limited Edition cover. And here is a look at the front (only) of the hardcover wraparound artwork by Mark Wheatley!

They were known simply as the Nine. Grim and ancient rulers who discovered the key to eternal life thirty-thousand years ago, and ever since have held the world secretly in thrall. These dark manipulators control the destinies of billions, including the formidable Doc Caliban, Champion of Justice. Once, Doc had been their servant and had shared their secrets. Now, appalled by their tyranny, he and his half-brother, Lord Grandrith—bastard son of Jack the Ripper—have turned against the Nine, daring to challenge their centuries-old supremacy.

In the eighteenth century, the Nine had been faced with a similar revolt and, in desperation, summoned a thing from another dimension—a thing with the power to touch the subconscious and cause nightmares. And that thing—Shrassk—was held in abeyance in a deep cavern complex below New England.

Now, Shrassk and her Children have awakened.

Caliban, suffering from recurring nightmares in which he sees somebody much like himself—and who in these visions seems to be dreaming of Caliban—gathers his closest allies for a final showdown. Together with longtime associates Pauncho Van Veelar and Barney Banks, and his titian-haired cousin, Trish Wilde, whose superhuman skills match his own, Doc descends deep into the subterranean complex to confront an infinite evil, the unspeakable dweller lurking at the threshold between two universes…

Featuring an introduction by Bronze Gazette editor Chuck Welch, The Monster on Hold is available in a Trade Paperback (featuring cover art by Doug Klauba, coming soon) and a Signed Hardcover Limited Edition (featuring a wraparound jacket by Mark Wheatley). Each edition also includes interior artwork by both artists. The hardcover will be signed by Win Scott Eckert, Chuck Welch, Doug Klauba, and Mark Wheatley!

The book is due out in the fall of 2021.

Order The Monster on Hold

Tarzan: Battle for Pellucidar - Now Shipping!

From my colleagues at Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.:

The first batch of orders for Tarzan: Battle for Pellucidar by Win Scott Eckert is on its way! The limited Collector’s Edition is selling fast, so place your orders now while we still have copies. We’ve gotten a LOT of preorders for the novel, so we’ll be shipping them out through next week. Get your own copy here!

Summary of details (with more extensive info behind the link above:

• Collector’s Edition hardcover
• Regular hardcover
• Softcover
• ebook (Kindle and Nook)
• Audible audio book
• Audio book on CD
• 5-star advance reviews on Goodreads
• Superb wraparound cover by Chris Peuler
• Map of Pellucidar by Mike Wolfer
• Novelette: Victory Harben: Clash on Caspak by Mike Wolfer

Tarzan: Battle for Pellucidar - now available for preorder!

Tarzan: Battle for Pellucidar, crossing over two of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ greatest creations, Tarzan and the Pellucidar/Inner World series (At the Earth’s Core, etc.), was announced for preorder yesterday (September 1, ERB’s birthday) and while it is a standalone adventure, it also advances a four-novel “super-arc” in the recently announced canonical Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe. 

My novel is the second release, following Matt Betts’ Carson of Venus: The Edge of All Worlds, which was released last spring and is doing gangbusters.

Check out the beautiful cover art by Chris Peuler!

Here is the official announcement:

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT IN HONOR OF EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS’ BIRTHDAY!

Now available for preorder: TARZAN: BATTLE FOR PELLUCIDAR by Win Scott Eckert—the new novel in the ERB Universe’s Swords of Eternity super-arc—will be available in paperback, hardcover, and a limited hardcover Collector’s Edition (books expected to ship this Fall). Includes the bonus novelette “Victory Harben: Clash on Caspak” by Mike Wolfer.

Exclusive ERB Universe trading card offer only with preorder directly from ERB, Inc.! 

• Preordering information

• EdgarRiceBurroughs.com blog post, including video interview with me about the book

The Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe - Swords of Eternity super-arc launches!

The Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe (ERBU) is a series of all-new canonical tales expanding Edgar Rice Burroughs' worlds of wonder and adventure! 

Several prior authorized "classic" novels have already been declared canonical in terms of the ERBU (Tarzan and the Valley of Gold by Fritz Leiber and Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time by Philip José Farmer), and now the new Swords of Eternity super-arc—a series of canonical standalone novels and stories which also combine to tell a larger tale—is launching!

Everything Is Connected!

edgarriceburroughs.com/carson-of-venus-edge-of-all-worlds/

Swords of Eternity Super-Arc

A mysterious force hurls inventor Jason Gridley and his protégé Victory Harben across space and time, bringing them face to face with heroes and heroines of unparalleled courage and ability—Carson Napier, Tarzan, John Carter, and more. With the help of their intrepid allies, Jason and Victory will uncover a plot both insidious and unthinkable—one that threatens to tear apart the very fabric of the universe!

————

The first issue of the comic book miniseries Carson of Venus: The Eye of Amtor—including part one of “Pellucidar: Dark of the Sun”—hit comic book stores on February 12, 2020! Order here!

————

Now available for preorder!

Carson of Venus: The Edge of All Worlds by Matt Betts—the first novel of the ERB Universe’s Swords of Eternity super-arc—is available for preorder in paperback, hardcover, and a limited hardcover Collector’s Edition (books ship in April). Exclusive ERB Universe trading card offer only with preorder directly from ERB, Inc.!

————

Swords of Eternity Super-Arc:

• “Pellucidar: Dark of the Sun” written by Christopher Paul Carey - novelette (available in Carson of Venus: The Edge of all Worlds—AND the same story appears in comic format in the three-issue miniseries Carson of Venus: The Eye of Amtor)
• Carson of Venus: The Eye of Amtor written by Mike Wolfer and Matt Betts - comic miniseries from American Mythology (click to order)
• Carson of Venus: The Edge of All Worlds - novel written by Matt Betts (April 2020)
• Tarzan: Battle for Pellucidar - novel written by Win Scott Eckert (click to preorder now, forthcoming Fall 2020)
• John Carter of Mars: Gods of the Forgotten - novel written by Geary Gravel (forthcoming 2021)
• Victory Harben: Fires of Halos - novel written by Christopher Paul Carey (forthcoming 2021)

Foreword to the new edition of THE SON OF TARZAN - "The Korak Conundrum"

Announcing the historic launch of the EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS AUTHORIZED LIBRARY™! 

Very pleased to have contributed a foreword to the new edition of THE SON OF TARZAN - "The Korak Conundrum."

Order the first four Tarzan® volumes now, books shipping in mid-December. Limited-time offer BLACK FRIDAY SALE: 4 books for the price of 3! 

Another HUNT THE AVENGER review

Big thanks to Dave Brzeski for his review of my recently-released Hunt the Avenger!

The money quote: "Pulp adventure seems to be back – if it ever really went away – in a big way in recent years, what with several independent publishers now specializing in the field. It can’t be denied that this has again led to quite a few pretty bad books, but the best of these ‘new pulp’ authors combine the elements of the best classic pulp fiction that made its authors so successful with somewhat more technical writing skill – if only because they have rather more time to devote to it. Win Scott Eckert absolutely nails this combination. Eckert is an absolute master of capturing the style of the pulps and the historical details and language of the era, while being an exceptionally good modern writer."

Dave Brzeski's review

Order Hunt the Avenger

New review of HUNT THE AVENGER

New review of Hunt the Avenger by John Small of the Johnson County Sentinel.

"Eckert's writing is first-rate, evoking the slam-bang action and occasionally purple prose of the character's original pulp-era exploits while bringing a modern sensibility that ought to attract younger readers just getting acquainted with the classic hero." 

More reviews on Goodreads

Hunt the Avenger by Win Scott Eckert, with stunning cover art by Malcolm McClinton, is NOW SHIPPING direct from Moonstone Books in two editions: 

• An exclusive, signed  limited edition (with a black & white frontispiece sketch of the Countess on the signature page) “UNMASKED” hardcover, featuring gorgeous Ellen Patrick—the Domino Lady—sans mask!

ORDER HARDCOVER

• A “MASKED” softcover, with Ellen wearing her trademark black domino mask!

ORDER SOFTCOVER

Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe - Philip José Farmer’s Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time

My partners and I at Meteor House were so thrilled when Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. announced at the ERB panel at San Diego Comic-Con on July 19, 2019 that certain previously published authorized Burroughs novels by other writers—specifically Philip José Farmer’s Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time and Fritz Leiber’s Tarzan and the Valley of Gold—are considered official canonical novels in terms of the Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe™ (ERBU), that we immediately asked ERB, Inc. if we could add the ERBU logo to our next printings of Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time.

With an enthusiastic “yes” from ERB, Inc. in response, we quickly ordered a new run of hardcovers which we’ll have on hand at PulpFest 2019 / FarmerCon XIV this week—August 15 through 18—in Cranberry (Pittsburgh) PA. 

Softcovers won’t have the new logo until we sell through our current stock, and ebooks will be updated with the new logo shortly after PulpFest. A new first hardcover edition of Leiber’s novel is also just out, published by ERB, Inc. and Christopher Paul Carey, Director of Publishing at ERB, Inc. will have copies on hand at PulpFest.

Tarzan Lives!

Trademarks Edgar Rice Burroughs®, Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe™, and Tarzan® owned by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. The Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe™ logo is a trademark of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Used by permission.

Tarzan: Battle for Pellucidar - Book 2 of the Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe Super-Arc!

The Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe was announced at the Burroughs panel at San Diego Comic-Con on July 19, 2019!

THE FIRST UNIVERSE OF ITS KIND

A century before the term “crossover” became a buzzword in popular culture, Edgar Rice Burroughs created the first expansive, fully cohesive literary universe. Coexisting in this vast cosmos was a pantheon of immortal heroes and heroines—Tarzan of the Apes®, Jane Clayton™, John Carter®, Dejah Thoris®, Carson Napier™, and David Innes™ being only the best known among them. In Burroughs’ 80-plus novels, their epic adventures transported them to the strange and exotic worlds of Barsoom®, Amtor™, Pellucidar®, Caspak™, and Va-nah™, as well as the lost civilizations of Earth and even realms beyond the farthest star. Now the Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe expands in an all-new series of canonical novels written by today’s talented authors!

EdgarRiceBurroughsUniverse.com

ERBUniverse.com

San Diego Comic-Con 2019: Tarzan, John Carter,

and the Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe

Some people say that San Diego Comic-Con is the convention that Jack Kirby built. I’m sure that a lot of other creators had a hand in the source material that inspired this crazy pop culture event, but if we are being completely honest, this is the house, the con, and the community that Edgar Rice Burroughs inspired.

That’s right, a line can be drawn from almost every superhero, science-fiction or fantasy icon that is celebrated at this very circus right back to Burroughs’ pulp creations of John Carter of Mars and Tarzan of the Apes. 

These days this pop culture history is mostly glossed over and rarely mentioned, but for many of us, Friday is Burroughs Day at Comic-Con, the day of ERB, Inc’s rollout of everything new coming down the pike in the Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe, as today’s panel revealed is the actual name of the brand going forward. 

The Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe will feature upcoming novels based on Burroughs’ worlds and characters, but with cohesive new stories that will expand on the original tales and be a part of official canon. 

The new books will be authored by talented storytellers and will be connected by what is being called “The Super-Arc.” 

Book one will be written by Matt Betts and will be called Carson of Venus: The Edge of All Worlds. 

The second book will be Tarzan: Battle for Pellucidar, written by Win Scott Eckert. Mister Eckert was present at the panel and promised his tale would include the Ape Man fighting WWII Nazis riding dinosaurs. 

Book number three will be John Carter of Mars: Gods of the Forgotten, written by Geary Gravel. 

Book four will introduce a new character, Victory Harben, in a tale called Victory Harben: Fires of Halos, written by Christopher Paul Carey, who is also spearheading the book series as ERB, Inc’s new Director of Publishing.

NERDVANA

Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Video Games, News & Reviews

TARZAN: BATTLE FOR PELLUCIDAR

by Win Scott Eckert

The Lord of the Jungle returns to the Earth’s core on a mission to stop the Nazis from obtaining a powerful superweapon. But when the ape-man’s murderous adversaries partner with Pellucidar’s routed reptilian overlords, can Tarzan prevent the conquest and enslavement of all humanity in both the inner and outer worlds?

WIN SCOTT ECKERT is the legacy author of science-fiction Grand Master Philip José Farmer’s Patricia Wildman series, as well as the coauthor with Farmer of the upcoming Doc Caliban novel, The Monster on Hold. Eckert’s other professional credits include authorized tales of Zorro, the Phantom, Honey West, the Avenger, and the Green Hornet.

Additional Information

It was also announced that certain previously published authorized Burroughs novels by other writers—specifically  Philip José Farmer’s Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time and Fritz Leiber’s Tarzan and the Valley of Gold—while not a part of the new Super-Arc, are considered official canonical novels in terms of the Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe (ERBU). A new first hardcover edition of Leiber’s novel is soon forthcoming, published by ERB, Inc., while I was very pleased to take the editorial lead in bringing to fruition the first hardcover edition of Farmer’s novel for Meteor House in 2018 (also available in trade paperback and ebook):

hardcover/trade paperback direct from Meteor HouseKindleNook

*San Diego Comic-Con photos courtesy Ric Bretschneider

PulpFest 2019...and me!

I'm pleased to announce that after much back and forth, I will be attending PulpFest 2019 in August, and will have copies of Hunt the Avenger (published by Moonstone Books) on hand!

On Saturday, August 17, from 1:30 – 2:30 PM, I'll be signing Hunt the Avenger. If you've already preordered a copy, please bring it with you and I'll be happy to personally inscribe it (even if you already bought one of the signed limited edition hardcovers). Of course, if you want to pick up a copy from me there, that's fine as well. I will have softcovers and hardcovers–probably more softcovers.

Immediately thereafter, 3:15 – 4:30 PM, I'll be joining top notch writers (featuring John Bruening, Christopher Paul Carey, Craig McDonald, and William Patrick Murray) on a panel on Contemporary Pulp: Writing Genre Fiction moderated by authorized Fu Manchu continuation author William Patrick Maynard.

That evening, 7:45 – 8:25 PM, I'll be on the FarmerCon XIV panel: Farmer of the Pulps: A Harvest of Influences (featuring Jason Aiken, Christopher Paul Carey, and Garyn G. Roberts Ph. D., with Paul Spiteri moderating).

I hope to see you there!

• PulpFest site
• Full PulpFest schedule

DEDICATION to HUNT THE AVENGER

Dedication to Hunt the Avenger (a moonstonebooks.com exclusive release—not available anywhere else!)

For Howard Hopkins.

While other pulp luminaries dissected Doc Savage and The Shadow, Howard turned his attention to becoming the world’s leading expert on The Avenger—and then generously shared his dream of penning new authorized tales with other writers, myself included…and then generously edited and shepherded into print this writer’s first licensed tale, with advice and direction that was at once kind and firm—for Howie knew his stuff.

He is greatly missed.

ORDER THE HARDCOVER

ORDER THE SOFTCOVER

HUNT THE AVENGER—a "fix-up" novel!

Definition of a "fix-up" novel...and why it matters.

AUTHOR’S NOTE to Hunt the Avenger (a moonstonebooks.com exclusive release—not available anywhere else!)

My first published Avenger story, “Death and the Countess,” featured what I thought at the time was a throwaway line mentioning a prior adventure with the Domino Lady. I went on to pen two more Avenger tales that actually featured team-ups with the saucy pulp heroine.

• “Death and the Countess,” The Avenger Chronicles (2008)
• “Happy Death Men,” The Avenger: The Justice, Inc. Files (2011)
• “According to Plan of a One-Eyed Trickster,” The Avenger: Roaring Heart of the Crucible (2013)

I was very happy with how the trilogy turned out, and yet it was clear that the three tales were meant to be read together as a whole—not separated by several years as each anthology was subsequently released. A proper reading required the stories to be collected in one volume.

Too, the trilogy always felt a bit imbalanced, with socialite Ellen Patrick—the Domino Lady—only making her “on camera” debut in the second tale. With that in mind, I set out to write the prequel to “Death and Countess,” showing the actual first meeting between Richard Benson and Ellen Patrick. This took a lot of careful planning and review of the timeline (excerpted at the conclusion of Hunt the Avenger) to ensure the continuity lined up—including featuring the black-haired, normal-skinned Benson, as he appeared in the final twelve original pulp novels and Ron Goulart’s twelve Avenger novels from the 1970s (as well as an additional short story by Goulart in 2008’s The Avenger Chronicles).

Throwing caution to the wind, I also decided to remedy the dangling plotlines left by prior scribe Goulart. I penned a fifth tale to wrap it all up in a bow, with the two new stories matching the word count of the original three tales.

The resulting pentalogy should be read together as one saga…Hunt the Avenger!

I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed the journey!

Win Scott Eckert

January 2019

ORDER THE HARDCOVER

ORDER THE SOFTCOVER

Now Taking Pre-Orders ... Hunt the Avenger!

Now Taking Pre-Orders — Shipping Direct from Moonstone Books in July 2019
(a moonstonebooks.com exclusive release—not available anywhere else!)

Out of tragedy, a hero is born! In the roaring heart of the crucible, steel is made. In the raging flame of personal tragedy, men are sometimes forged into something more than human.

A figure of ice and steel, Richard Benson is an avatar of vengeance—a chilled impersonal force of justice masking a cold genius and nearly supernatural power behind a face as white and still as arctic frost. His pale eyes, like a polar dawn, only hint at the terrible force evildoers heedlessly unleashed the day they created…The Avenger!

In the annals of Justice, Inc.’s battles against spies, crooks, and killers, only one malefactor has escaped The Avenger’s clutches not once, but twice—Baron Ulrich Blau-Montag, the half-man, half-machine known as the Iron Skull! 

But when Benson and his cohorts partner with the mysterious and saucy Domino Lady to hunt down the demented half-robot, and go on to clash with other supervillains, such as the Nazi spy Werner Konrad and a diabolical weapons dealer known as the Countess, a frightening pattern emerges…are they the creatures of a hidden puppetmaster?

And is Benson the hunter?

Or the prey?

Hunt the Avenger

* * * * *

Hunt the Avenger by Win Scott Eckert, with stunning cover art by Malcolm McClinton, is NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER, shipping direct from Moonstone Books in July 2019 in two editions: 

• An exclusive, signed limited edition (with a black & white frontispiece sketch of the Countess on the signature page) “UNMASKED” hardcover, featuring gorgeous Ellen Patrick—the Domino Lady—sans mask!

ORDER HARDCOVER

• A “MASKED” softcover, with Ellen wearing her trademark black domino mask!

ORDER SOFTCOVER