Forgotten Books: CONAN AND THE EMERALD LOTUS by John C. Hocking (1995)

When I posted some Conan pastiche covers earlier this week (HERE), James Reasoner called my attention to this one by Mr. John C. Hocking, which I had never read.

I’ve been struggling of late to find a book I really enjoy. The Sun Also Rises didn’t fill the bill. Neither did Anna Karenina or Philip Jose Farmer’s The Dark Heart of Time. Brian Wynne (Garfield’s) The Bravos was better, but didn’t quite scratch my itch.

But after riding with Conan on his quest to eradicate the Emerald Lotus, I’m finally back in the groove. This is a thoroughly enjoyable romp through the Hyborean Age. The only bad news is that this is Mr. Hocking’s only published Conan novel.

The back cover shouts TRAPPED IN A WEB OF WIZARDRY!, and that’s a fair description of the story. Conan finds himself tangled in the affairs of three sorcerers (one good, one bad and one very bad) and needs every bit of his courage, strength an skill to fight his way out.

The trouble starts when a two-bit Stygian sorcerer stumbles upon the secret of the Emerald Lotus and is suddenly possessed of more power than all the wizards of the Black Ring combined. The Emerald Lotus gives its users great power, but is also the most addictive and malignant of drugs. The Stygian uses it to enslave two Khemish rivals, and our man Conan gets caught up in the three-way battle.

What sets Conan and the Emerald Lotus above the Sword & Sorcery herd is Mr. Hocking’s ability to bring each character vividly alive and allow them to interact and change. The real story here is not sword vs. sorcery, but of people with differing agendas and  opposing wills. I particularly enjoyed the growing - and very genuine - friendship between Conan and mute Khitan warrior who accompanies him and two lissome ladies (one a sorceress and the other just lissome) into the dreaded Stygian desert.

The author makes no attempt to ape the style of Robert E. Howard, but what flows from his pen (or word processor) seems naturally suited to the Conan's world. And somehow he manages to make the implausible magic spells seem possible. As a bonus - and I was especially pleased by this one - he does not resort to making Conan do battle with a giant snake.

According to Wikipedia, Mr. Hocking “spent two years writing a second Conan novel, Conan and the Living Plague, under contract with Conan Properties, which was ‘sufficiently pleased with the book that they wanted to use it to attract a new publisher for Conan and try to break into hardcover.’ Publication of it and a third Conan novel Hocking had started were canceled due to a change in ownership of Conan Properties.”

Damn. That’s too bad. But after nearly twenty years, Conan’s popularity is as strong as ever, and it seems high time for the property owners to consder a new round of original novels. We can only hope. (And if some future publisher decides to reissue Emerald Lotus, they're welcome to use this blurb: Kicks Anna Karenina's butt!)

Meanwhile, John Hocking has not been idle. He was co-editor of the 2007 crime anthology Detroit Noir, and won the 2009 Harpers Pen Award for Sword and Sorcery fiction for his story “The Face in the Sea,” from Black Gate 13. And, if this photo is any indication, he's been eating quesadillas.

More Forgotten Books at pattinase. Next week, the Forgotten Books links will appear right here on the Almanack. Y'all come back, now.

Pulp Gallery: SPICY DETECTIVE (1934)

Ogle earlier Spicy Detective covers HERE.

BASIL WOLVERTON Comic Gallery: Weird Tales of the Future (1952-53)

Overlooked Films: PERRY MASON solves The Case of the Curious Bride (1935)

I haven’t read this book in a coon’s age, so can’t say how faithful the film is. But this movie, the second in the series, is at least more faithful to Gardner’s vision than the first, The Case of The Howling Dog (reviewed HERE).

Perry’s sprawling law firm, with its herd of associates and score of secretaries, is gone. This time we see only his private office, with Della guarding the gates. Filling in for Paul Drake is a pug called Spudsy, played by Allen Jenkins (Sgt. Holcomb in the first film), who provides both investigative services and comic relief. With Warren William in the lead, though, comic relief is not really necessary. He keeps his tongue planted firmly in-cheek, and wields it freely. Paul Drake is paid a little lip-service, just so viewers know the filmmakers were aware of him. On the phone with Spudsy, Perry calls him Mr. Drake, to which Spudsy responds, “You know I don’t like to be called Mr. Drake.”

Perry makes eyes at his new Della.

I was perfectly happy with Helen Trenholme as Della in Howling Dog, but was equally pleased with Claire Dodd in this one. Warren William seems able to generate chemistry with all of his female co-stars.  D.A. Claude Drumm, tormented by Perry in the first movie, is strangely absent from this one.

The film opens on San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, looking much the same as it does today (or at least last year, when I was there), with Perry picking out lobsters. In a distinctly uncanonical move, this movie depicts Perry as a gourmet cook - and one of the best in the world (the writers borrowing from Nero Wolfe, perhaps?). As Perry tears around town in his roadster, we’re treated to many familiar views of the hills, the streets and the Bay.

The pre-murdered Flynn.

One of Perry’s old girlfriends turns up, recently married, worried that her previous husband may be less dead than she thought. This makes her a “curious bride.” She’s right, of course, but only temporarily. Her ex promptly turns up defunct, and she’s suspect number one.

Like many movies of the period, this one found a way to include a dance hall number. Perry and Spudsy pay a visit to a burlesque theater, where one of the suspects sings, accompanied by a bevy of scantily-clad dancers.

Unlike Howling Dog, this was directed by Michael Curtiz, who was responsible for two of my top ten favorite films - Captain Blood and The Adventures of Robin Hood, and such runners-up as Casablanca, The Sea Hawk and Santa Fe Trail. And like four of those films, Curious Bride includes an appearance by Errol Flynn. I saw his name in the credits, so I was watching for him, but didn’t spot him until the last five minutes. The reason: He played the murder victim, and we didn’t see him alive (in flashback) until the killer finally confessed.

Curious about the rest of this week's Overlooked Films? Find them at Sweet Freedom.

Paperback Gallery: THE SHADOW (Bantam 1969)

Comic Gallery: THE LONE RANGER Painted Covers (1952)

More Ranger covers HERE.

Conan of Pastichia (Robert Jordan style)

1982

1983

1984

See more Conan pastiche covers HERE.

Forgotten SPICY DETECTIVE Stories: Dan Turner - Hollywood Detective in "Veiled Lady"

It would seem that at least a zillion adventures of Dan Turner, Hollywood Detective have been reprinted over the past forty-odd years. But I'm pretty sure there are still a few hold-outs, and "Veiled Lady" might be one of them.

Actually, Dan's total number of adventures probably lies somewhere between two and three hundred (I think), not counting the comic book stories. His pulp career lasted sixteen years, which pales next to Race Williams' thirty-two year run, but for sheer number of stories, Dan was the busiest hardboiled detective of time. He was also the only hardboiled dick to get his own pulp magazine.

"Veiled Lady" appeared in the October 1937 issue of Spicy Detective. For more free Dan Turner adventures, I suggest you pay extended visits to PulpGen.com (HERE) and Munseys.com (HERE).

This post is dedicated to Misters Art Scott and Richard Robinson, who assisted in mysterious ways.

Experience more Forgotten Books at pattinase!