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ePulp Sampler Vol 1
Get ready to explore strange worlds, visit forgotten pasts, and delve into parallel histories. Prepare to encounter an eclectic mix of heroes walking the line between life and death. Duck as Rurik's blade carves demons in the Celtic landscape of dark fantasy. Witness the Dead Reckoner, a battlefield ghost looking for absolution in a weird war tale. Face Nazi occupation of USA with Wild Marjoram in an alternate history. Race through the Great Depression on an errand of mercy with Pandora Driver, a noir superheroine. Fly across the universe with the Skyracos in a retro sci-fi adventure.
This action packed ePulp anthology unleashes 5 new tales inspired by the pulp magazines of the 1920s - 1940s. They are not for the faint of heart. Things will get intense and stuff on these pages can't be unread. But whether you're a nostalgian, dieselpunk, pulp fan, sci-fi and fantasy aficionado, or ebook spelunker, there's something in this collection for you to explore. However, I suggest you sample them all.
This action packed ePulp anthology unleashes 5 new tales inspired by the pulp magazines of the 1920s - 1940s. They are not for the faint of heart. Things will get intense and stuff on these pages can't be unread. But whether you're a nostalgian, dieselpunk, pulp fan, sci-fi and fantasy aficionado, or ebook spelunker, there's something in this collection for you to explore. However, I suggest you sample them all.
162 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 17, 2013
15 people are currently reading
134 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 5, 2013
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This anthology takes a looks at classic pulp and comic book archetypes from five different perspectives. Each character defines their space in the book and each story can stand alone.
Rurik is a giant bronze age Barbarian who roams the wastelands where Conan could have dwelled. The descriptions are visceral and gritty.
Dead Reckoner is a disembodied spirit who arrives in WWI and looks into the shadows where Weird, Creepy or Eerie magazines once lurked. It has a poetic quality to it.
Wild Marjoram is a blond haired blue eyed mechanic trying to fix things with Chicago gangsters in an alternate timeline of WWII. There is a lot of clever character interplay.
Pandora Driver is a Batgirl gone bad and running down villains on the streets of a Noir City. The plot reveals keep this story moving.
Skyracos looks into the far reach of space to spot a pair of armored Rocketeers or 1940s Ironmen fighting alien insects. This story is all action and blood flies.
This anthology is hosted by a presence named Kilroy. He is a cross between Stan Lee's soapbox and Rod Serling of Twlight Zone Fame. His tidbits are practically a sixth story and very light in contrast to the others.
This anthology takes a looks at classic pulp and comic book archetypes from five different perspectives. Each character defines their space in the book and each story can stand alone.
Rurik is a giant bronze age Barbarian who roams the wastelands where Conan could have dwelled. The descriptions are visceral and gritty.
Dead Reckoner is a disembodied spirit who arrives in WWI and looks into the shadows where Weird, Creepy or Eerie magazines once lurked. It has a poetic quality to it.
Wild Marjoram is a blond haired blue eyed mechanic trying to fix things with Chicago gangsters in an alternate timeline of WWII. There is a lot of clever character interplay.
Pandora Driver is a Batgirl gone bad and running down villains on the streets of a Noir City. The plot reveals keep this story moving.
Skyracos looks into the far reach of space to spot a pair of armored Rocketeers or 1940s Ironmen fighting alien insects. This story is all action and blood flies.
This anthology is hosted by a presence named Kilroy. He is a cross between Stan Lee's soapbox and Rod Serling of Twlight Zone Fame. His tidbits are practically a sixth story and very light in contrast to the others.
December 2, 2017
I had high hopes for these unknown authors, but only John Picha turned out to be salvageable. Since this is free on Google Play Books, I urge you to check it out and skip to the Pandora Driver story. It is spooky and has a campy feel but a feel good ending. It's truly well-written.
As for the rest of the stories, I didn't read the story about the war ghost since it didn't interest me. And I read the others, but not entirely, since their writing wasn't nearly thrilling enough. They also had some errors. The Rurik story's premise is salvageable, but its second half ends up spoiling the tension it set up with the gladiator story line. I wish it was just a tongue-in-cheek barbarian tale that had problems resolved by an interesting character, not a stoic character going through a landscape.
As for the rest of the stories, I didn't read the story about the war ghost since it didn't interest me. And I read the others, but not entirely, since their writing wasn't nearly thrilling enough. They also had some errors. The Rurik story's premise is salvageable, but its second half ends up spoiling the tension it set up with the gladiator story line. I wish it was just a tongue-in-cheek barbarian tale that had problems resolved by an interesting character, not a stoic character going through a landscape.
September 29, 2017
The 2 last stories are the best. Overall not too good writing.
September 23, 2013
With a spirited refreshing writing style, “Kilroy” introduces ePulps Sampler with language that shines like Chernobyl then breaks in between each story to touch base with the reader, acquainting him with the previous story’s writer, and introducing the next crafted tale, the likes of: Rurik of the Demonwatch by Russ Bopp; Dead Reckoning by Matthew J. Davies; Wild Marjoram: The Pill by N.R. Grabe; and John Picha's Pandora Driver: Blind Luck; and Skyracos: Set Adrift. Not least is the magnificent Art Deco cover art, an achievement in itself, with similar title cutouts inside the eSampler book. Fire up your Kindle or mud straw tablet or skywriter or however you auto-entertain.
Russ Bopp glories in the visual nuances of the English language in Rurik of the Demonwatch, unleashing a shotgun avalanche of images and sound. At times his language meshes mellifluously in the alliterative style of Swinburne—“a scarlet scar serpentines down his right arm”. In Matthew J. Davies’ Dead Reckoner, if the anti-hero didn’t have bad luck, he would have no luck at all. That’s the fate of A. Jones as he is ripped from one harrowing combat to another due to a Zulu curse, which might be fine if he was victorious. But Jones has the misfortune of dying each time only to come back to life in another time and place. In Wild Marjoram, N.R. Grabe’s blonde blue-eyed Marj can’t get enough of I want to be alone time away from armed German house-guests that just refuse to leave…New York. Riveting, and riveted with bullets. In John Picha’s Pandora Driver: episode Blink Luck, we glimpse shades of the mysterious Cincinnati killer of the 30’s with heroine Pandora tracking the killer in stead of Elliot Ness. Picha’s serial Skyracos: Set Adrift, rounds out the eSampler selection as two armor-suited Skyracos hammer home their objections to a world invaded by six-legged giant insects. Charge your flight-packs and grab your bug-spray and read Picha’s classic epulp.
Russ Bopp glories in the visual nuances of the English language in Rurik of the Demonwatch, unleashing a shotgun avalanche of images and sound. At times his language meshes mellifluously in the alliterative style of Swinburne—“a scarlet scar serpentines down his right arm”. In Matthew J. Davies’ Dead Reckoner, if the anti-hero didn’t have bad luck, he would have no luck at all. That’s the fate of A. Jones as he is ripped from one harrowing combat to another due to a Zulu curse, which might be fine if he was victorious. But Jones has the misfortune of dying each time only to come back to life in another time and place. In Wild Marjoram, N.R. Grabe’s blonde blue-eyed Marj can’t get enough of I want to be alone time away from armed German house-guests that just refuse to leave…New York. Riveting, and riveted with bullets. In John Picha’s Pandora Driver: episode Blink Luck, we glimpse shades of the mysterious Cincinnati killer of the 30’s with heroine Pandora tracking the killer in stead of Elliot Ness. Picha’s serial Skyracos: Set Adrift, rounds out the eSampler selection as two armor-suited Skyracos hammer home their objections to a world invaded by six-legged giant insects. Charge your flight-packs and grab your bug-spray and read Picha’s classic epulp.
September 10, 2016
There aren't many people writing really imaginative, idea-driven pulp-influenced fiction these days, so this anthology of came as a very happy surprise. Starting off with some appropriately bloody Sword and Sorcery (Rurik of Demonwatch) and ending in 1940's-era retro sci-fi (Skyracos), these stories cover the gamut of the great pulp genres. There's a very fascinating alternate history story by female author "N.R. Grabe" filled with not-always-bad gangsters fighting WWI, which is still raging (on the east coast of the USA). Her lead character, "Wild Marjoram", is one of the most compelling characters in the book. Another WWI-era story, "Dead Reckoner", captures some of the horrors surrounding the battle of Passchendaele with authority and a very brisk pace. Two of the best are by author John Picha. They are "Pandora Driver" and "Skyracos." The two stories really couldn't be more different and this definitely marks Picha as a true "writes all genres" pulp author. "Pandora Driver" is a gun-weilding female masked hero in her mystery car, a heroine with a social conscience. The story resonates with the impressive period details that properly inform period stories like "Mad Men" and "Sky Captain." Actually, "Pandora Driver" reminded me of a more complex "Green Hornet" and was my favorite story of the anthology. Close behind it, "Skyracos" was a very inventive and unique high-action story taking place off-world (on the planet Centrus), It involves a secret mission being undertaken by two winged warriors fighting a mysterious foe, one not yet completely understood. Classic pulp-science fiction, written well before humans even made it into orbit, has a wonderful "anything's possible" technological naivety, and "Skyracos" manages to capture this sensibility very well indeed. It echoes "Buck Rogers" and "Flash Gordon." Overall, fans of truly imaginative, no-holds-barred pulps will want to support this anthology, and I hope for more in the near future!
July 10, 2014
This is a small collection of five New Pulp stories offered as a sampler pack for readers. Obviously, the hope is that upon reading these short stories you will want to no more about the characters and/or follow the authors. As such this collection is a mixed bag.
The first story, Rurik of the Demonwatch: Arena of Death by Russ Bopp,has a promising title character but as one reads it becomes more and more disappointing. While the story moves along quickly and is interesting enough if overly formulaic. It is obvious that the author was in desperate need of an editor for this story as there are numerous typos and grammatical errors. As second draft of this story might have been a winner but this unpolished work seems ill fit in a sampler volume designed to draw readers.
Dead Reckoner by Matthew J. Davies is the story of a Zulu cursed soldier named Axamander and is better written than the first story with few issues with grammar or spelling. The author does an excellent job setting the mood and his description of war in the trenches of World War I rings true. The dialogue moves the story along nicely.
N.R. Grabe's Wild Marjoram: The Pill is an interesting Noir tinted story with several twists that make it difficult to talk about in detail without giving too much away. Suffice it to say that this story is the gem of the collection.
The final two stories; Pandora Driver: Blind Luck and Skyracos: Set Adrift, both by John Picha, were both decent stories and did not suffer from the problems of the first.
Overall this is definitely worth a look. Most collections or samplers are uneven in quality and this one is no exception. I recommend that folks give this FREE sampler a try - if you like pulp you are bound to enjoy one or more of the stories.
The first story, Rurik of the Demonwatch: Arena of Death by Russ Bopp,has a promising title character but as one reads it becomes more and more disappointing. While the story moves along quickly and is interesting enough if overly formulaic. It is obvious that the author was in desperate need of an editor for this story as there are numerous typos and grammatical errors. As second draft of this story might have been a winner but this unpolished work seems ill fit in a sampler volume designed to draw readers.
Dead Reckoner by Matthew J. Davies is the story of a Zulu cursed soldier named Axamander and is better written than the first story with few issues with grammar or spelling. The author does an excellent job setting the mood and his description of war in the trenches of World War I rings true. The dialogue moves the story along nicely.
N.R. Grabe's Wild Marjoram: The Pill is an interesting Noir tinted story with several twists that make it difficult to talk about in detail without giving too much away. Suffice it to say that this story is the gem of the collection.
The final two stories; Pandora Driver: Blind Luck and Skyracos: Set Adrift, both by John Picha, were both decent stories and did not suffer from the problems of the first.
Overall this is definitely worth a look. Most collections or samplers are uneven in quality and this one is no exception. I recommend that folks give this FREE sampler a try - if you like pulp you are bound to enjoy one or more of the stories.
July 29, 2013
This ePulp Sampler rapidly transports us from the gladiatorial arenas of a fantasy wasteland to the blood-red seas of the distant planet Claous, but it makes the journey feel almost effortless. In passing, it touches down on the battlefields of World War One, pauses momentary on the mean streets of an alternative Chicago and makes a swift whistle stop in Citadel City.
I cracked open this Sampler in search of more of John Picha's Pandora Driver series, with its crusading, worker's heroine, but I enjoyed my detours to Russ Bopp's Robert E. Howard-inspired Rurik fantasy, N.R. Grabe's post-gender gangster tale and Mathew Davies' time-hopping journey into the trenches. Thrown in for good measure, is tale from John's Skyracos rocketeer adventures, an always welcome diversion.
Volume 1 of this EPulp Sampler is a pleasant throwback to the golden days Weird Tales, and brings back fond memories of reading under the covers by flashlight, trying to squeeze in just one last page... Keep up the good work!
I cracked open this Sampler in search of more of John Picha's Pandora Driver series, with its crusading, worker's heroine, but I enjoyed my detours to Russ Bopp's Robert E. Howard-inspired Rurik fantasy, N.R. Grabe's post-gender gangster tale and Mathew Davies' time-hopping journey into the trenches. Thrown in for good measure, is tale from John's Skyracos rocketeer adventures, an always welcome diversion.
Volume 1 of this EPulp Sampler is a pleasant throwback to the golden days Weird Tales, and brings back fond memories of reading under the covers by flashlight, trying to squeeze in just one last page... Keep up the good work!
December 18, 2013
Heroines not Hostages
It is refreshing to find strong, independent women taking care of business instead of playing hostages or arm candy in pulp stories. The two heroines featured in this ebook, Pandora Driver and Wild Marjoram, are not to be toyed with.
It is refreshing to find strong, independent women taking care of business instead of playing hostages or arm candy in pulp stories. The two heroines featured in this ebook, Pandora Driver and Wild Marjoram, are not to be toyed with.
November 24, 2014
A collection of short stories that range from alternative history (wild marjoram) to conan the barbarian type to future alien battles. Most of these stories were very short and yet creative and interesting.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews