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The Shadow Pulp #6
The Death Tower
Men of enormous wealth were being found dead under strange circumstances. The Shadow sensed a devilish plot and entered into a duel of wits with the most brilliant and diabolical doctor in the world - a man so evil no crime was beyond him!
138 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1932
3 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
About the author
Walter B. Gibson
636 books85 followersWalter Brown Gibson (September 12, 1897-December 6, 1985) was an American author and professional magician best known for his work on the pulp fiction character The Shadow. Gibson, under the pen-name Maxwell Grant, wrote "more than 300 novel-length" Shadow stories, writing up to "10,000 words a day" to satisfy public demand during the character's golden age in the 1930s and 1940s.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 14, 2021
This is the first book, I think, where the villain actually manages to give The Shadow considerable trouble. It's definitely the most we've seen of The Shadow himself. I've mixed feelings of this: the less he's actually seen, the less we hear his throughts, the more mysterious and interesting he is to me - but perhaps that's a dynamic that cannot hold on forever. With each book, more of him is revealed to us, inevitably. We've reached a tipping point here.
Bit of a clumsy Deus Ex Machina at the end, too.
Bit of a clumsy Deus Ex Machina at the end, too.
January 27, 2019
The 6th entry in “The Shadow” series, features a supervillain dude with a “Chinese Room” death chamber in the penthouse of a 40 floor apartment house. The dude has a henchman and some gangsters are working for him, and he's got a cursed sapphire!
This time we get to The Shadow through his new agent, Clyde Burke, a former newspaper man, and Mr. Clarendon, a new playboy secret identity for The Shadow. The man in black appears more frequently this time, in full costume, with an automatic in each hand. There's no Lamont Cranston at all, but Clarendon seems to serve much the same purpose. Oh! And Harry Vincent is back, getting in on the action with some disguises of his own.
The plot concerns the villainous Dr. Palermo who murders one rich guy and then goes in disguise as his victim to murder a whole other rich guy. At some point he may also have murdered a rich guy in Florida and made it look like a suicide. He comes complete with gangsters, an Arab assistant, a girlfriend, and an evil Chinese idol.
There's an autogiro, which gets a big buildup as something new and awesome (it's 1932, you guys), hypno seduction, disguises galore, disguise as The Shadow, disguise as objects, killer medical aids, a task force sent after The Shadow, people vanishing in puffs of smoke, rigged elevators, and a secret organization called The Silent Seven... which is also the title of the next book! I'm excited for that one.
In many ways, this is a sharp departure from the previous book, “Gangdom's Doom”, since we see The Shadow doing his thing more and there's less about guys in disguise gradually working against one another. In that sense, “The Death Tower” is sort of a leap forward to what the future books would end up being. I've got like 300 to go, so there'll doubtless be more points of evolution ahead.
This time we get to The Shadow through his new agent, Clyde Burke, a former newspaper man, and Mr. Clarendon, a new playboy secret identity for The Shadow. The man in black appears more frequently this time, in full costume, with an automatic in each hand. There's no Lamont Cranston at all, but Clarendon seems to serve much the same purpose. Oh! And Harry Vincent is back, getting in on the action with some disguises of his own.
The plot concerns the villainous Dr. Palermo who murders one rich guy and then goes in disguise as his victim to murder a whole other rich guy. At some point he may also have murdered a rich guy in Florida and made it look like a suicide. He comes complete with gangsters, an Arab assistant, a girlfriend, and an evil Chinese idol.
There's an autogiro, which gets a big buildup as something new and awesome (it's 1932, you guys), hypno seduction, disguises galore, disguise as The Shadow, disguise as objects, killer medical aids, a task force sent after The Shadow, people vanishing in puffs of smoke, rigged elevators, and a secret organization called The Silent Seven... which is also the title of the next book! I'm excited for that one.
In many ways, this is a sharp departure from the previous book, “Gangdom's Doom”, since we see The Shadow doing his thing more and there's less about guys in disguise gradually working against one another. In that sense, “The Death Tower” is sort of a leap forward to what the future books would end up being. I've got like 300 to go, so there'll doubtless be more points of evolution ahead.
January 24, 2011
I enjoyed it. I didn't think the villain, Dr. Palermo, was quite up to the caliber of some of the other villains in the series but he was interesting. The Shadow also seemed a bit different in this one, and I'm thinking, without going through the work of looking it up, that this one might have been written by a different writer. For one thing, the Shadow fell in love in this one, or seemed to.
December 26, 2018
The Death Tower is one of my favorite Walter Gibson books. It is gripping and horrifying, yet it ends well. Despite its cliche moments (which I had no problem with), it is quite original, perfectly capturing the personalities of a sociopath and a hero not quite under the law. I am currently re-reading it and find it just as wonderful as the first time.
February 18, 2021
A fast-paced, action-packed story! For fans of The Shadow, this one features Clyde Burke more than The Shadow's other agents. However, Harry Vincent and Burbank are also included - and Burbank is operating in the field! This had some very good plot twists and I really enjoyed reading it.
July 25, 2022
One of the better and faster paced early Shadow stories, and a return to form.
There are some plot points that I don't understand, and I don't think it has any really iconic Shadow moments other than the dramatic introduction of his , but The Shadow is quite present throughout, and we get to see him up against an enemy who really gives him a challenge.
Also, we get a very rare moment of The Shadow being genuinely shocked by what has unexpectedly transpired.
I would say that so far in the series we've seen an uneven initial trilogy that was feeling its way forward and trying to figure out the character, a fourth story that suddenly gave us a much more fleshed out and interesting character and a story with some depth, a fifth story that returned to feeling limited and not fully formed, and then this sixth installment is back on track where the fourth left off, with a Shadow who is once again a clearer presence in events. My introduction to these stories was with the later volumes, where the character was already fully formed, so my favorites among these early tales are the ones where I recognize the later Shadow I'm familiar with starting to show through.
There are some plot points that I don't understand, and I don't think it has any really iconic Shadow moments other than the dramatic introduction of his , but The Shadow is quite present throughout, and we get to see him up against an enemy who really gives him a challenge.
Also, we get a very rare moment of The Shadow being genuinely shocked by what has unexpectedly transpired.
I would say that so far in the series we've seen an uneven initial trilogy that was feeling its way forward and trying to figure out the character, a fourth story that suddenly gave us a much more fleshed out and interesting character and a story with some depth, a fifth story that returned to feeling limited and not fully formed, and then this sixth installment is back on track where the fourth left off, with a Shadow who is once again a clearer presence in events. My introduction to these stories was with the later volumes, where the character was already fully formed, so my favorites among these early tales are the ones where I recognize the later Shadow I'm familiar with starting to show through.
May 25, 2020
Dang that was good.
Dr. Palermo is a sinister psychoanalyst who murders a patient in the first chapter (guy had this really, really fabulous sapphire Palermo wanted), then disguises himself as said patient and goes and murders someone threatening to cause Palermo trouble. The police buy the disguise, but the Shadow (who doesn't appear in costume until a third of the way through) does not. However Palermo operates out of a penthouse that has deathtraps out the wazoo; he's untouchable, but he has to stay there and use henchmen to take out the Shadow. It's move, counter-move, move some more.
This would get five stars if not for the handling of Palermo's lover, a nurse. She's so in thrall that she murders a lover for him, but after the Shadow seduces information out of her, he gives her a free pass (she's paid her debt — no, I don't think so). Still this is a fun pulp thriller.
Dr. Palermo is a sinister psychoanalyst who murders a patient in the first chapter (guy had this really, really fabulous sapphire Palermo wanted), then disguises himself as said patient and goes and murders someone threatening to cause Palermo trouble. The police buy the disguise, but the Shadow (who doesn't appear in costume until a third of the way through) does not. However Palermo operates out of a penthouse that has deathtraps out the wazoo; he's untouchable, but he has to stay there and use henchmen to take out the Shadow. It's move, counter-move, move some more.
This would get five stars if not for the handling of Palermo's lover, a nurse. She's so in thrall that she murders a lover for him, but after the Shadow seduces information out of her, he gives her a free pass (she's paid her debt — no, I don't think so). Still this is a fun pulp thriller.
October 30, 2017
The Shadow's adventures were chronicled in well over three hundred pulp magazine adventures, and this one from January of 1932 was only the sixth to appear. The magazine Shadow was quite different from the radio version, and I've always preferred the radio episodes. In the written stories you can never be quite sure who's who from story to story, whereas in the audio dramas Lamont Cranston is always The Man. The Death Tower is a good, solid early case, but is set before much of the familiar magazine back-story is established. Doc Savage and The Spider and The Avenger are my favorites, but The Shadow was better known and is arguably the ultimate iconic pulp hero.
October 14, 2022
This is one of the best Shadows books -- maybe the best -- that I have read so far. It's creepy, atmospheric, and has a villain that could easily be in a noirish b-movie (I can imagine Boris Karloff or Bela Lugosi in the role).
July 8, 2023
Good early Shadow novel.
April 25, 2024
I continue to admire Gibson's craftmanship, a lot, but the ending here is too convoluted to be satisfying. Why, you'd think that guy was paid by the word.
April 15, 2025
Excellent, entertaining fast pulpy fun. Evil genius with a giant arab servant in a dangerous booby-trapped lair.
January 19, 2016
January 1, 1932
The title indicates a tower of some kind but actually there's no tower at all. There is a forty story apartment building, though. The top houses Doctor Albert Palermo, the villain of the story. He has his servant kill people sometimes,though sometimes he does the deed himself. The reason the building is called the Death Tower is because the good doctor has filled the place with loads of traps (paranoid much?).
Clyde Burke makes his first appearance, and we find out about yet another disguise the Shadow uses, that of George Clarendon. Burbank also makes an appearance. There's also an unusual female villain, Thelda Blanchet. Very strangely, she does not pay for her crimes.
The title indicates a tower of some kind but actually there's no tower at all. There is a forty story apartment building, though. The top houses Doctor Albert Palermo, the villain of the story. He has his servant kill people sometimes,though sometimes he does the deed himself. The reason the building is called the Death Tower is because the good doctor has filled the place with loads of traps (paranoid much?).
Clyde Burke makes his first appearance, and we find out about yet another disguise the Shadow uses, that of George Clarendon. Burbank also makes an appearance. There's also an unusual female villain, Thelda Blanchet. Very strangely, she does not pay for her crimes.
July 23, 2013
Excellent adventure of the Shadow! The man in black faces off against a sly criminal doctor with an affectation for the Orient and a love of money and murder. Well-written and staged, there's a lot of action and twists in this one. Definitely a bit dated, but a very fun read.
November 18, 2020
When it comes to pulp heroes there are 2 or 3 great standouts and the Shadow is one of those. The stories are fast paced and action filled. The mystery just adds to the excitement. With his army of agents to help the Shadow never lets you down for a great read. Highly recommended
April 5, 2012
Another fun read in the Shadow series.
January 12, 2013
I just love a good pulp fiction
story.
story.
June 20, 2015
I would have liked more of the Shadow in this book. I did enjoy the way the bad guy (no spoilers here!) met his fate.
December 19, 2016
Bad, formulaic writing. Simple, repetitive plots. Why do I keep reading these? I think my mind has been clouded.
Read
July 19, 2016read some time in 1985
September 10, 2016
Another fun romp with The Shadow!
May 3, 2017
What evil lies in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews