Pulp Magazine Authors and Literature Fans discussion

I'm a little behind but here's the Hunt discussion thread for our May read (one of them.)

I started reading this a few minutes ago. The beginning reminded me of the beginning of the Temple of Doom a little.

When I started this book, I was deeply unimpressed (which was why I removed my vote for it in the poll). Bits of writing like a pistol "aimed between her ample breasts" and "Men cursed, women screamed, and vice versa" had me cringing, and some of the action seemed moronic, like when Hunt reacts to the waiter's pulled gun by STEPPING IN FRONT OF IT and saying a (not very) witty line, rather than actually taking action to deal with the sudden unexpected threat. Yes, quite a bit of pulp fiction is bad in this way, but I'm a believer in modern visits to pulp land at least attempting to tell great adventure stories while eschewing the low points of some predecessors.

But, I pressed on, and I was ultimately glad I did. The book's an enjoyable enough little adventure, and if you like this sort of thing (as I do), this is the sort of thing you'll like. It's not an overwhelming read, not a real page turner, its characters are all very basic, the writing and plot are workmanlike...but it's fun and I may pick up another Hunt book in the future (though the fact that each book will have a different writer complicates the issue, as the next book could soar way above this one, or be a piece of utter crap).

I'm sad to say I'm not sold on the series the way I'd hoped to be, as I'd hoped it'd be a must-read I could count on for a regular pulp fix.

Tim
www.DocWilde.com

The next one is written by Charles Ardai so I'm definitely snagging it.

I just joined this group and i wonder if this is May group read and which one is for June ? Is it The CL Moore's book ?

Mohammed wrote: "I just joined this group and i wonder if this is May group read and which one is for June ? Is it The CL Moore's book ?"

For the May read, you have your choice between Hunt at the Well of Eternity or The Monster Men by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Or both, if you want.

Mohammed, the books on the group's "currently reading" shelf aren't necessarily common reads; I just put the Moore book, Northwest of Earth, on there some time ago so it wouldn't look so barren --I knew at least one group member was currently reading it, which as I understand it is the criteria of eligibility for that shelf. :-) Just now, I added Hunt at the Well of Eternity and The Monster Men --though they don't show when you first access the group page; you have to click on the "more books this group is currently reading" link.

Ah now i understand. I was gonna get Northwest Smith book anyway even befor i knew of this group so i thought what luck it is that people are reading it as group.

The Monster Men ? is that John Carter book or Tarzan ?

I have only A Princess of Marsh by him.

Minor Potential Spoiler Alert.

News stories about Gabriel Hunt have been referencing Indiana Jones more often than Doc Savage, but believe me, this is Doc Savage through and through. The writing style feels almost identical to the early Doc Savage novels, which is basically a good thing if you like that. That writing is a bit clunky to start with -- and I agree with Tim's comment that the hero is boneheaded at times when it comes to action and self-preservation. But once the plot gets going -- which is pretty damn fast -- it clips along at breakneck speed and comes to a satisfying conclusions. None of the twists and turns caught me off-guard, but that's hardly the point here. The hero is likable enough, the overall idea is solid, and with the authors lined up to contribute to the series, it's almost guaranteed to get even better as it goes along. I'd recommend it.

Gabriel Hunt definitely has some Doc Savage in him. The Well of Eternity could have easily been a Doc Savage story. While I like Doc, I've always found his crew a little annoying and unnecessary. Thankfully, Hunt doesn't have a team other than his brother. Not yet, anyway.

Mohammed, the Goodreads description of The Monster Men isn't very detailed, but I'd say it's neither a Tarzan nor John Carter novel. It appears to be a stand -alone.

Personally, Dan, I always hated Doc's crew, too. But I don't think I want to see another 20 books with just Gabriel Hunt on adventures and no other recurring characters except his brother. The fact of a crew makes it easier for the story not to bog down with the same old, same old... but then again, most crews are pretty annoying. Tom Swift's is a perfect example -- both Jr. and Sr. If Hunt does get a crew, I hope they're more likable than Doc's or Tom Swift's crew. And not too A-Team.

Oops! I'd completely forgotten about this thread, and didn't see it before I posted my comment yesterday on another thread --though if it had been a snake, it would have bit me. :-) My bad!

This does, though, tip the scale for me regarding our earlier debate about whether or not to organize our discussion threads into folders. If we had all the threads relating to common reads in one folder, for instance, I wouldn't have missed this one. So, I'm going to organize some folders over the next few days, and I'd suggest we try them out for a month or so. After that, I'll create a poll, and we can all vote on whether or not we want to keep them. The majority will rule, and I can easily remove them if that's what you all decide. Does that sound fair enough?

Makes perfect sense to me!

Werner wrote: "Oops! I'd completely forgotten about this thread, and didn't see it before I posted my comment yesterday on another thread --though if it had been a snake, it would have bit me. :-) My bad!

Th..."