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Monster Aces #1
Monster Aces
They Don't Just Hunt Monsters - They Destroy Them
Having selflessly abandoned their identities, their pasts and their futures, the Monster Aces are all that stand between humanity and the fell creatures that lurk in the shadows. Four men and one woman use their amazing abilities as a team to scour the globe for monsters and bring an end to their unholy existence - whatever the danger, whatever the cost. Through five thrilling tales crafted by some of heroic fiction's most engaging authors you will ride alongside the Aces on the trail of monsters both classic and new. No environment is too severe nor too remote for these adventurers to seek their prey and destroy them forever. The team, led by a mysterious military veteran, uncover evil in mysterious European villages, in dark forests and fetid swamps, in ancient rivers and on the high seas...monsters are everywhere, but so too are the Monster Aces. Concept creator Jim Beard is joined by writers Ron Fortier, Barry Reese, and Van Plexico for a new twist on the classic monster stories of yore, a unique melding of horror and driving pulp action that will thrill and chill you.
Having selflessly abandoned their identities, their pasts and their futures, the Monster Aces are all that stand between humanity and the fell creatures that lurk in the shadows. Four men and one woman use their amazing abilities as a team to scour the globe for monsters and bring an end to their unholy existence - whatever the danger, whatever the cost. Through five thrilling tales crafted by some of heroic fiction's most engaging authors you will ride alongside the Aces on the trail of monsters both classic and new. No environment is too severe nor too remote for these adventurers to seek their prey and destroy them forever. The team, led by a mysterious military veteran, uncover evil in mysterious European villages, in dark forests and fetid swamps, in ancient rivers and on the high seas...monsters are everywhere, but so too are the Monster Aces. Concept creator Jim Beard is joined by writers Ron Fortier, Barry Reese, and Van Plexico for a new twist on the classic monster stories of yore, a unique melding of horror and driving pulp action that will thrill and chill you.
7 pages, Audible Audio
First published November 1, 2012
About the author
Jim Beard
93 books24 followersJim Beard became a published writer when he sold a story to DC Comics in 2002. Since that time he's written official Star Wars and Ghostbusters comic stories and contributed articles and essays to several volumes of comic book history. His prose work includes SPIDER-MAN: ENEMIES CLOSER, an original novel; co-editing and contributing a story to PLANET OF THE APES: TALES FROM THE FORBIDDEN ZONE; a story for X-FILES: SECRET AGENDAS; GOTHAM CITY 14 MILES, a book of essays on the 1966 Batman TV series; SGT. JANUS, SPIRIT-BREAKER, a collection of pulp ghost stories featuring an Edwardian occult detective; MONSTER EARTH, a shared-world giant monster anthology; and CAPTAIN ACTION: RIDDLE OF THE GLOWING MEN, the first pulp prose novel based on the classic 1960s action figure. Jim also currently provides regular content for Marvel.com, the official Marvel Comics website.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 27, 2017
In a world full of human beings who are worse than the worst monstrosity mankind could think of, Jim Beard tries to rekindle the Hammer & Universal horrors, in these well-executed new pulp tales.
"Hunting the Monster Aces" outlines the concept, and reminds us of the old-fashioned charm associated with hunting monsters. Then come the stories.
1. "The Devil's Clutch" by Jim Beard sets up the tone nicely, with a story full of suspense, fear, action, intrigue, and pathos.
2. "The Swamp People" by Barry Reese: sentimental, and rather flat I'm afraid.
3. "The River of Deceit" by Van Allen Plexico: a taut, atmospheric, grim, and yet very humane story. Loved it.
4. "The Ghoul" by Ron Fortier: Predictable, but still liked it considerably, despite the timeline appearing rather incongruous in terms of whatever we could glean from other stories so far.
5. "Hand of The Monster" by Jim Beard: Simply awesome, and the most enjoyable monster mash of recent times.
Overall, if you like New Pulp, this book is essential. Otherwise, it's recommended.
"Hunting the Monster Aces" outlines the concept, and reminds us of the old-fashioned charm associated with hunting monsters. Then come the stories.
1. "The Devil's Clutch" by Jim Beard sets up the tone nicely, with a story full of suspense, fear, action, intrigue, and pathos.
2. "The Swamp People" by Barry Reese: sentimental, and rather flat I'm afraid.
3. "The River of Deceit" by Van Allen Plexico: a taut, atmospheric, grim, and yet very humane story. Loved it.
4. "The Ghoul" by Ron Fortier: Predictable, but still liked it considerably, despite the timeline appearing rather incongruous in terms of whatever we could glean from other stories so far.
5. "Hand of The Monster" by Jim Beard: Simply awesome, and the most enjoyable monster mash of recent times.
Overall, if you like New Pulp, this book is essential. Otherwise, it's recommended.
June 17, 2021
This is a fine collection of short stories that pays tribute to the pulp magazines. Set in the 1920s, it records the adventures of five people who seek out monsters threatening humanity and destroy them. Each short story is written by a different author, but they all managed to keep the feeling of the group intact. It reminded me a lot of Doc Savage and his crew. There is no scientific genius among the Monster Aces, but they each have their specialty and the camaraderie between the men and one woman worked well.
An advantage to the short story format is that you don’t have to commit to long reading times. This is especially helpful when you are listening to the book in audio format while running errands in your car as I did. They’re good stories. I will definitely read the sequel collection.
An advantage to the short story format is that you don’t have to commit to long reading times. This is especially helpful when you are listening to the book in audio format while running errands in your car as I did. They’re good stories. I will definitely read the sequel collection.
July 7, 2025
Four excellent New Pulp authors take on a shared world anthology. The Aces are monster hunters patterned on the A-Team. The Cap'n loves it when a plan comes together. The hulking Digger is the combat engineer of the team. Joker is the face of the group, using his handsome charm to disuade the hostile locals, while Gats is the weapons master. A mysterious girl named Trill pops up to lend aid when least expected. Most of the stories focus on the moral ambiguity of the Cap'n's Ahab-like relentless pursuit of the inhuman and the manifest humanity of some of the monsters. There is a second volume available, and I'm looking forward to reading it.
Note: There are some editing problems. Most egregious is that the table of contents in my Kindle edition is from some other book!
Note: There are some editing problems. Most egregious is that the table of contents in my Kindle edition is from some other book!
February 17, 2024
A collection of short stories, with a central theme, following four men known as Aces, chasing monsters around the globe.
November 20, 2012
Things that go bump in the night.
Monster Aces, a new book by four of the best and most well-known authors in New Pulp is a just released book of tales concerning an oft forgotten or downplayed area of pulp fiction, Monsters. Creatures that frighten us with their unknown powers and lack of humanity. Things that are out of the norm and seemingly only of nightmares that play out behind closed eyelids. Horrifying beings that no sane man would ever want to encounter let alone seek out or hunt.
And yet that is exactly what the Monster Aces do. They hunt out and seek to destroy those things that go bump in the night. The Monster Aces are a team of four people with a fifth unofficial member (Sixth if you count the pilot of their boat, who never sees action.) The mysterious grey haired man known only as The Cap’n is their leader. Digger is their strong man and hand to hand fighter as well as stealth expert, or commando. Gats is a weapons master and marksman, always armed with more then a few guns, a steady hand and perfect eye. Joker rounds out the main team. He’s the smooth talker. The one who soothes the crowds nerves as well as gets the ladies notice wherever he goes. He is the group’s mouthpiece or public affairs officer. He deals with the aspects of their missions others can’t. The last member of the team is an unofficial one. Her name is Trill. She’s a small, pretty girl with certain psychic abilities that are not clearly determined, but her usefulness is always welcome, even begrudgingly so as it is most of the time, by The Cap’n.
The Monster Aces travel the globe in search of Monsters that seek to destroy mankind for whatever reasons, be they hunger for human flesh, or the simple reason to do evil for its own sake.
Within this tome you will find five stories featuring the Monster Aces facing off against different creatures. All horrifying in one way or another. Jim Beard, (Also known as the author of ‘Sgt. Janus’, and ‘Captain Action’) the series creator has two stories within this volume, the first one and the last. There is also one story each by Barry Reese (‘The Rook’, ‘Lazarus Grey’) , Van Allen Plexico (‘Hawk’, ‘The Sentinels’) and Ron Fortier (‘Captain Hazard’, ‘The Pulptress’, ‘Brother Bones’ etc.) each lend their unique voices to the Monster Aces collection with tales of things that go bump in the night.
Each tale is well crafted and draws you into the almost mythical world of the late 1930’s where each story takes place. Each story has its own flavor, its own unique account of what goes on in the monster hunters lives. It’s hard to pick a favorite as all are engrossing and, as you would expect with a word like “Monster” in its name, fun. But for me the last two stories stood out as ‘true’ monster tales and were to me at least the most memorable. The last simply because it featured two very familiar monsters in a never before seen situation that brought a smile to my face while reading it.
That being said though, there are no clunkers in this volume. Each tale has more then enough fun factor within its pages to lock the reader in for the full ride. It is an excellent book focused on a different genre then most of New Pulp usually is. The concept alone makes giving this a read more then worthwhile.
Special mention to Ron Fortier’s “The Ghoul” story for the use of a Brough Superior Motorcycle as Trill’s mode of transportation. Being a motorcycle enthusiast and instructor myself I got a big kick out of that scene.
Monster Aces, a new book by four of the best and most well-known authors in New Pulp is a just released book of tales concerning an oft forgotten or downplayed area of pulp fiction, Monsters. Creatures that frighten us with their unknown powers and lack of humanity. Things that are out of the norm and seemingly only of nightmares that play out behind closed eyelids. Horrifying beings that no sane man would ever want to encounter let alone seek out or hunt.
And yet that is exactly what the Monster Aces do. They hunt out and seek to destroy those things that go bump in the night. The Monster Aces are a team of four people with a fifth unofficial member (Sixth if you count the pilot of their boat, who never sees action.) The mysterious grey haired man known only as The Cap’n is their leader. Digger is their strong man and hand to hand fighter as well as stealth expert, or commando. Gats is a weapons master and marksman, always armed with more then a few guns, a steady hand and perfect eye. Joker rounds out the main team. He’s the smooth talker. The one who soothes the crowds nerves as well as gets the ladies notice wherever he goes. He is the group’s mouthpiece or public affairs officer. He deals with the aspects of their missions others can’t. The last member of the team is an unofficial one. Her name is Trill. She’s a small, pretty girl with certain psychic abilities that are not clearly determined, but her usefulness is always welcome, even begrudgingly so as it is most of the time, by The Cap’n.
The Monster Aces travel the globe in search of Monsters that seek to destroy mankind for whatever reasons, be they hunger for human flesh, or the simple reason to do evil for its own sake.
Within this tome you will find five stories featuring the Monster Aces facing off against different creatures. All horrifying in one way or another. Jim Beard, (Also known as the author of ‘Sgt. Janus’, and ‘Captain Action’) the series creator has two stories within this volume, the first one and the last. There is also one story each by Barry Reese (‘The Rook’, ‘Lazarus Grey’) , Van Allen Plexico (‘Hawk’, ‘The Sentinels’) and Ron Fortier (‘Captain Hazard’, ‘The Pulptress’, ‘Brother Bones’ etc.) each lend their unique voices to the Monster Aces collection with tales of things that go bump in the night.
Each tale is well crafted and draws you into the almost mythical world of the late 1930’s where each story takes place. Each story has its own flavor, its own unique account of what goes on in the monster hunters lives. It’s hard to pick a favorite as all are engrossing and, as you would expect with a word like “Monster” in its name, fun. But for me the last two stories stood out as ‘true’ monster tales and were to me at least the most memorable. The last simply because it featured two very familiar monsters in a never before seen situation that brought a smile to my face while reading it.
That being said though, there are no clunkers in this volume. Each tale has more then enough fun factor within its pages to lock the reader in for the full ride. It is an excellent book focused on a different genre then most of New Pulp usually is. The concept alone makes giving this a read more then worthwhile.
Special mention to Ron Fortier’s “The Ghoul” story for the use of a Brough Superior Motorcycle as Trill’s mode of transportation. Being a motorcycle enthusiast and instructor myself I got a big kick out of that scene.
March 20, 2013
Not as exciting as I would have hoped. The writing style just wasn't for me.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews