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Tales of the Red Panda

Tales of the Red Panda: The Android Assassins

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The third volume of this loving tribute to the classic "Hero Pulps" of the 1930s and 40s, Tales of the Red The Android Assassins is a roller-coaster of non-stop action as our heroes set out to thwart two hidden menaces, one set to take over their city, the other to tear it down brick by brick!

Like the classic adventure tales of the Pulp fiction era that inspired them, the Tales of the Red Panda novels are stand-alone stories within the larger continuity of the the series and Decoder Ring Theatre's long-running audio drama series "The Red Panda Adventures". New readers will catch on at once, and fans of the series will take special delight. If you love classic adventure stories, mystery men, pulp fiction and golden age superheroics, you won't want to miss Tales of the Red The Android Assassins!

Nook

First published August 6, 2010

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Gregg Taylor

212 books48 followers

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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
22 reviews
September 14, 2014
If you are a fan of Decoder Ring Theatre's "Red Panda Adventures" audio drama, this is a wonderful expansion of that fantastic world. If you've never heard of the Red Panda, this is a fun, pulp-inspired tale os super heroics the likes of which are rarely seen these days.

Inspired by the likes of the Shadow, the Spider, the Green Hornet and other Golden Age Mystery Men, the Red Panda and his sidekick the Flying Squirrel have to defend 1930s Toronto against Captain Clockwork's evil machines.

Part super hero story, part mystery, all fun. An excellent throwback to the days of the pulps, when anything you could imagine was possible (static shoes, electric knuckles, retractable gliding membranes) and fun, exciting stories were the priority. Highly recommended.
Profile Image for E. James.
9 reviews
December 7, 2023
Gregg Taylor is the best superhero fiction writer I've encountered in my exploration of the genre. As a comic and superhero fan for the last thirty years I've yet to encounter anyone who so perfectly writes and characterizes their heroes the way he does.

You'll get more out of this book if you listen to his Red Panda audio drama series, but even as a standalone this book is a 10 out of 10.
Profile Image for Barry Haworth.
722 reviews11 followers
August 13, 2025
The latest released of the Red Panda novels from Gregg Taylor and Decoder Ring Theatre is another enjoyable story of the adventures of the Red Panda. Enjoyable as ever, but I felt this one strays a little from the more usual fare in that the death toll among innocent bystanders is a lot higher than usual.
Profile Image for Gautam.
32 reviews1 follower
August 30, 2014
Another great Red Panda Adventure with all the right ingredients. Gregg Taylor perfectly blends the nostalgic tropes of the classic pulps and movie serials with a modern super heroic storytelling sensibility. The flirtations banter of Red Panda and the Flying Squirrel has a playful innocence that is the emotional core of the entire series.

This novel also brought to the fore Captain Clockwork, a Red Panda villain most often only mentioned than seen/heard. As with the last two novels, this story had the room to further develop the roster of agents in the Red Pandas network against crime. Just like the romantic plot of the Red Panda Adventures the agents are just as much a draw as the plot and the action.

If you are a lover of the Red Panda then this is another fun outing for the character and the world started in podcast land and growing to books and comics.
Profile Image for Ryan.
Author 1 book39 followers
December 29, 2010
I'm noticing an alliterative theme in the menaces in the Tales of the Red Panda series - the Crime Cabal, the Mind Master, and now the Android Assassins. It's a nice touch, and just one of the ways that Taylor hearkens back to the radio serials that Red Panda is based on.

In a sense this is more of the same Red Panda adventures, but given how much I enjoy those adventures, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I've gotten used to the third-person narration, which was never poorly done but just wasn't what I was used to in the first book. Taylor is setting the novels back in the earlier days of the Panda and Squirrel relationship, which is understandable, but I'm a big fan of the "modern" relationship that it takes away from my enjoyment a little bit.
Profile Image for Daniel Dreibelbis.
3 reviews
December 13, 2010
it's good old fashioned thirties and forties style pulp magazine type fiction - with a few twists. Even those familiar with the characters from Gregg's popular Decoder Ring Theatre podcast (and if you haven't heard them, why not?)will enjoy some of the new twists in this imaginative tale of Depression era Toronto beset by saboteurs and megalomaniac supervillians - and of how the Terrific Twosome of The Red Panda and the Flying Squirrel strive to put down the menace to their fair city. Some characters hinted at in the stories are fleshed out into three dimensions, and the mystery is so good that you'll literally only tell by the end who is guilty!
238 reviews17 followers
June 19, 2013
Ok... confession time, I'm a big fan of the Decoder Ring Radio podcasts starring this duo of Toronto-based superheroes. While I would never call these books great literature, they are a ton of fun, easy quick reads, and I look forward to the next book in the series (hopefully there will be a next book).

To other fans of the podcasts, be aware that these stories take place early in the adventures - this particular one involves Captain Clockwork - and while the characters in the book don't know who he is, the readers if they are listeners as well will, and will remember his ultimate fate. Also, it was kind of neat to see the ancestors of "John Doe".

Profile Image for Bcoghill Coghill.
1,016 reviews24 followers
November 6, 2012
I have been listening to and enjoying Gregg's podcast for many years. I am more a fan of Black Jack Justice but enjoy RP just fine. I will continue buying Gregg's books and listen to the podcast so long as I have ears to listen and eyes to see.
I live near Canada and have many relatives who stayed in the Great White North rather than moving to the U.S. I suspect that several are super heroes.
16 reviews
April 7, 2015
Gregg's books seem to be the dessert of books for me. They're enjoyable, and I can't stop reading once I get started. On the other hand, no matter how fun it is, I need to pick up something more substantial next.

Nevertheless, there will be rereads! Yes, indeed.

There are a few typos, but only the lack of a table of contents bothered me.
Profile Image for Ray.
94 reviews7 followers
June 12, 2012
Not quite as good as the other two Tales of the Red Panda books, but still very good. The Red Panda and the Flying Squirrel are great throwbacks to the pulp heroes of yesteryear, with a tongue-in-cheek irreverent nod of the cap to those pulps. I love this series and hope Taylor continues it.
16 reviews
November 21, 2012
3rd installment of the Red Panda novels and if you liked the first two, you'll definitely want this one too. Even if you didn't like the first two, get this one anyway. Features some new characters that have now made it into the free online audio show as well. Tank Brody is the man.
Profile Image for Jeremy.
11 reviews
September 21, 2013
Gregg Taylor does a great job of crafting a story and weaving great dialogue to bring to life the masked capper hero and heroin of the Red Panda and his side kick Kit. The witty banter between the two makes for a great secondary story as well.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews

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