Tales of the Shadowmen 1: The Modern Babylon

Tales of the Shadowmen #1

by Jean-Marc Lofficier (Editor), Brian M. Stableford, Robert Sheckley

In the Paris sewers, Judex and a young Maigret battle the Frankenstein Monster. Meanwhile in Tibet, Alexander Whateley's plans to bring about the return of Yog-Sothoth are thwarted by the combined efforts of JimGrim and Robur the Conqueror. C. Auguste Dupin tackles the Black Coats with the help of Count of Monte-Cristo, and the mysterious Doctor Omega with that of Sergeant Picard. In Surrey, a young Harry Dickson teams up with the Sâr Dubnotal to expose the Werewolf of Rutherford Grange, while in the North Atlantic, Allan Quatermain and She encounter Dracula on a doomed ship. Arsène Lupin meets Lord Dunsany at a soirée and crosses path with the Phantom of the Opera in the Caracombs of Montpellier. Twenty years later, Doc Ardan has a rematch with the diabolical Doctor Natas and, in the far future, Fantômas lives again! This anthology of all-new stories, featuring Heroes and Villains from Pulp Literature, edited by JM & Randy Lofficier, combines the talents of renowned authors such as Terrance Dicks (Doctor Who), John Peel (Doctor Who, Star Trek), Robert Sheckley (The Tenth Victim), Brian Stableford (Inherit the Earth , Architects of Emortality), Alain le Bussy and Viviane Etrivert, with a new generation of gifted storytellers such as Matthew Baugh, Win Eckert, G.L. Gick, Samuel T. Payne and Chris Roberson.

Genres: Pulp, Fiction, Anthologies

388 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 31, 2005

About the author

Jean-Marc Lofficier is a French author of books about films and television programs, as well as numerous comic books and translations of a number of animation screenplays. He usually collaborates with his wife, Randy Lofficier

Reviews

[Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection of short stories featuring team ups from various French heroes, villains, detectives and monsters.
Some are just short little episodes, while others are longer stories giving us hints of the characters past, future or origins.

Like any anthology it's a bit uneven. The last story ( also the longest) was one of the weakest. It was one of those stories that tries to hard to be 'really clever' and loses sight of actually telling a good story.

Still, for someone as obsessed with victorian literature like me, all the various meetings between characters was enough fun that I was willing to cut it some slack over its weak spots.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable collection for lovers of pulp-style storytelling. A goldmine for the Wold-Newton afficionado.

[Kenneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A whole series of newly (Well, I'm late to the dance, there's fifteen or something) written crossovers of old French and Anglo Pulp Heroes. This is so in my wheelhouse and I enjoyed it tremendously. Hit just the right notes for me. I'll definitely be looking up more.