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The Complete Tales of Jules de Grandin #3
The Dark Angel
The third of five volumes collecting the stories of Jules de Grandin, the supernatural detective made famous in the classic pulp magazine Weird Tales.
Today the names of H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, August Derleth, and Clark Ashton Smith, all regular contributors to the pulp magazine Weird Tales during the first half of the twentieth century, are recognizable even to casual readers of the bizarre and fantastic. And yet despite being more popular than them all during the golden era of genre pulp fiction, there is another author whose name and work have fallen into Seabury Quinn.
Quinn's short stories were featured in well more than half of Weird Tales 's original publication run. His most famous character, the supernatural French detective Dr. Jules de Grandin, investigated cases involving monsters, devil worshippers, serial killers, and spirits from beyond the grave, often set in the small town of Harrisonville, New Jersey. In de Grandin there are familiar shades of both Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, and alongside his assistant, Dr. Samuel Trowbridge, de Grandin's knack for solving mysteries—and his outbursts of peculiar French-isms (grand Dieu!)—captivated readers for nearly three decades.
Collected for the first time in trade editions, The Complete Tales of Jules de Grandin , edited by George Vanderburgh, presents all ninety-three published works featuring the supernatural detective. Presented in chronological order over five volumes, this is the definitive collection of an iconic pulp hero.
The third volume, The Dark Angel , includes all of the Jules de Grandin stories from "The Lost Lady" (1931) to "The Hand of Glory" (1933), as well as "The Devil's Bride", the only novel featuring de Grandin, which was originally serialized over six issues of Weird Tales . It also includes a foreword by Darrell Schweitzer and an introduction by George Vanderburgh and Robert Weinberg.
Today the names of H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, August Derleth, and Clark Ashton Smith, all regular contributors to the pulp magazine Weird Tales during the first half of the twentieth century, are recognizable even to casual readers of the bizarre and fantastic. And yet despite being more popular than them all during the golden era of genre pulp fiction, there is another author whose name and work have fallen into Seabury Quinn.
Quinn's short stories were featured in well more than half of Weird Tales 's original publication run. His most famous character, the supernatural French detective Dr. Jules de Grandin, investigated cases involving monsters, devil worshippers, serial killers, and spirits from beyond the grave, often set in the small town of Harrisonville, New Jersey. In de Grandin there are familiar shades of both Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, and alongside his assistant, Dr. Samuel Trowbridge, de Grandin's knack for solving mysteries—and his outbursts of peculiar French-isms (grand Dieu!)—captivated readers for nearly three decades.
Collected for the first time in trade editions, The Complete Tales of Jules de Grandin , edited by George Vanderburgh, presents all ninety-three published works featuring the supernatural detective. Presented in chronological order over five volumes, this is the definitive collection of an iconic pulp hero.
The third volume, The Dark Angel , includes all of the Jules de Grandin stories from "The Lost Lady" (1931) to "The Hand of Glory" (1933), as well as "The Devil's Bride", the only novel featuring de Grandin, which was originally serialized over six issues of Weird Tales . It also includes a foreword by Darrell Schweitzer and an introduction by George Vanderburgh and Robert Weinberg.
468 pages, Hardcover
First published April 3, 2018
95 people are currently reading
271 people want to read
About the author
Seabury Quinn
289 books55 followersBest know as an American pulp author for Weird Tales, for which he wrote a series of stories about occult detective Jules de Grandin. He was the author of non-fiction legal and medical texts and editor of Casket & Sunnyside, a trade journal for mortuary jurisprudence. He also published fiction for Embalming Magazine, another mortuary periodical.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 24, 2018
4.5 stars.
May 27, 2021
The book contains a novel (The Devil's Bride), a novella-length tale (The Ghost Helper) and nine short stories. All of them feature the indefatigable occult action hero Jules de Grandin, where he takes on all sorts of supernatural villains and beasties. Once upon a time these tales were immensely popular, catering to the imagination of an entire generation of Americans. They had shaped popular media, apart from creating cast-iron stereotypes for most of such stories and characters.
Unfortunately, I found them very-very dated.
Casual racism and misogyny can be disregarded as 'sign of times'. But even the stories made me mystified as to how and why they had become so popular. Also, the French expressions inserted into the narratives by de Grandin would have made Hercule Poirot go green.
If you feel nostalgic about such stuff, go get 'em. Otherwise, it would be advisable to stick to Hammer and Amicus films. Belive me, they are a LOT more fun.
The book has been superbly produced, with brilliant editiorial inputs. That earns one extra star from me.
Unfortunately, I found them very-very dated.
Casual racism and misogyny can be disregarded as 'sign of times'. But even the stories made me mystified as to how and why they had become so popular. Also, the French expressions inserted into the narratives by de Grandin would have made Hercule Poirot go green.
If you feel nostalgic about such stuff, go get 'em. Otherwise, it would be advisable to stick to Hammer and Amicus films. Belive me, they are a LOT more fun.
The book has been superbly produced, with brilliant editiorial inputs. That earns one extra star from me.
November 16, 2023
Another great collection of de Grandin tales! Even includes the sole novella, The Devil's Bride. Peak de Grandin here!
August 3, 2023
First off, there is a thirty minute introduction, some of which is repeated in other volumes. There is some bashing of Quinn's work by HPL, who has gained in popularity while Quinn who was more popular when first published has faded from the public sphere. There is a lot of background information, including the fact that Quinn's stories, and the Grandin stories in particular, helped Weird Tales Magazine survive the Great Depression. Overall, it makes the case for reading these little known, enjoyable stories.
This is an okay collection of Grandin stories, probably only for Grandin fans. I preferred the first volume to this collection. There is definitely a dated fear of others, meaning those not of European ancestry. But there is not a total contempt for these people as in some stories of this age. The exoticism is used to fuel the supernatural aspects. Unlike the first volume, I would suggest taking this one in small bites.
The Lost Lady, 3 stars. The eurocentrism is rather overwhelming in this one, with Cambodians as the strange 'others'. This odd tale of kidnapping, a strange Corsican Brothers kind of magic, and unusual likenesses felt like a weak addition to this series.
'The Ghost Helper', 4 stars. With de Grandin's help, can a ghost help protect her family. Not many surprises, but a fun ghost story.
Satan's Stepson, 3.5 stars. This had a lot of really good bits, but also parts that lagged. Good editing could have made this very good. A Russian woman serving as an ambulance driver during WWI in France is forced into a marriage with a loathsome Russian who is reminiscent of a vampire, but is an entirely different Russian creature, a kallikantzaros, which is a unique antagonist.
The Devil's Bride, 2.5. There is a satanic cult, kidnappings murders, crucifixions, damsels in distress, and a global cast of quite strange characters. There is just too much in this story, it just kept going and going.
The Dark Angel, 3. Though there aren't any surprises in this story, it is a solid entry in the Grandin stories. A town is plagued by what appears to be a devil that is killing off sinners. Once more de Grandin gets to spread his romantic streak to a pair of young lovers as we learn more of de Grandin's tragic romantic past.
The Heart of Siva, 2.5. Some Hindus take offence at a play that portrays the Hindu gods. No real mystery here.
The Bleeding Mummy, 2 stars. An interesting tale with a supernatural twist.
The Door To Yesterday, 3 stars. A mixed bag, at times racially insensitive and alternately sympathetic. A curse, a giant white snake, a rebellion, brutality, hereditary memories, and revenge.
A Gamble In Souls, 2.5 stars. Twin brothers and the woman they both want have lives that are inextricably linked. Throw in a supernatural rescue and Grandin's weakness for lovers who are separated.
The Thing in the Fog, 2.5 stars. A werewolf story, with a couple of young lovers and an ex-boyfriend.
The Hand Of Glory, 2 stars. Rather long for what you get.
This is an okay collection of Grandin stories, probably only for Grandin fans. I preferred the first volume to this collection. There is definitely a dated fear of others, meaning those not of European ancestry. But there is not a total contempt for these people as in some stories of this age. The exoticism is used to fuel the supernatural aspects. Unlike the first volume, I would suggest taking this one in small bites.
The Lost Lady, 3 stars. The eurocentrism is rather overwhelming in this one, with Cambodians as the strange 'others'. This odd tale of kidnapping, a strange Corsican Brothers kind of magic, and unusual likenesses felt like a weak addition to this series.
'The Ghost Helper', 4 stars. With de Grandin's help, can a ghost help protect her family. Not many surprises, but a fun ghost story.
Satan's Stepson, 3.5 stars. This had a lot of really good bits, but also parts that lagged. Good editing could have made this very good. A Russian woman serving as an ambulance driver during WWI in France is forced into a marriage with a loathsome Russian who is reminiscent of a vampire, but is an entirely different Russian creature, a kallikantzaros, which is a unique antagonist.
The Devil's Bride, 2.5. There is a satanic cult, kidnappings murders, crucifixions, damsels in distress, and a global cast of quite strange characters. There is just too much in this story, it just kept going and going.
The Dark Angel, 3. Though there aren't any surprises in this story, it is a solid entry in the Grandin stories. A town is plagued by what appears to be a devil that is killing off sinners. Once more de Grandin gets to spread his romantic streak to a pair of young lovers as we learn more of de Grandin's tragic romantic past.
The Heart of Siva, 2.5. Some Hindus take offence at a play that portrays the Hindu gods. No real mystery here.
The Bleeding Mummy, 2 stars. An interesting tale with a supernatural twist.
The Door To Yesterday, 3 stars. A mixed bag, at times racially insensitive and alternately sympathetic. A curse, a giant white snake, a rebellion, brutality, hereditary memories, and revenge.
A Gamble In Souls, 2.5 stars. Twin brothers and the woman they both want have lives that are inextricably linked. Throw in a supernatural rescue and Grandin's weakness for lovers who are separated.
The Thing in the Fog, 2.5 stars. A werewolf story, with a couple of young lovers and an ex-boyfriend.
The Hand Of Glory, 2 stars. Rather long for what you get.
October 27, 2018
The Dark Angel by Seabury Quinn
Please give my Amazon review a helpful vote - https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-re...
Given that this is a collection of 1920s-era Pulp fiction, I was totally surprised by how good these stories were.
According to the introduction, the author Seabury Quinn was a prolific writer of "weird" pulp fiction for Weird Fiction. Apparently, there were only a few volumes during the 1920s that didn't feature a story by Quinn about his character, Jules de Grandin. (Apparently, Quinn took Jules' last name from his middle name.)
There is no doubt that these stories are dated. They feature toe-curling racism, that is almost hilarious in its casual, unintended, offhanded offensiveness. Nonetheless, Quinn was a good writer. He was a lawyer who edited trade journals and wrote pamphlets on mortuary law. Throughout these books, I was kept busy noting words that I had never or rarely seen.
The stories feature Jules de Grandin and his Watsonish side-kick, Dr. Townsend. Jules is French, small, carries a deadly little pistol in a holster under his left armpit, knows virtually everything about everything, and has an unlimited appreciation for his own genius and skill. I am not sure if he was patterned on Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirer or vice versa, or both were patterned on a stereotype of a French man.
Jules and Dr. Townsend live in Harrisonburg, New Jersey, which seems to be as much a hotbed for supernatural mysteries as Cabot Cove was for intricate murders. Invariably, the pair are brought into a mystery, chase after it, with Jules eventually solving it. Sometimes the mystery has a Scooby-Doo feel to it; other times, it involves something truly supernatural.
The plots are probably the weakest part of the story. At times, it seems that they don't exactly hold together, even as Jules explains everything at the end, but the plot problems are made up for with character and humor. Quinn was turning out a lot of these stories, and while he might not be able to come up with reliable plots, his characterization of Jules as a pompous, self-assured rooster, with badly translated French and American expressions were reliably humorous.
The introduction recommended not reading all these stories in one sitting. I think that is good advice. Like reading Sherlock Holmes, letting the stories sit a bit, reading another book, perhaps, before returning, helps maintain the freshness of Quinn's characters and writing style.
Please give my Amazon review a helpful vote - https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-re...
Given that this is a collection of 1920s-era Pulp fiction, I was totally surprised by how good these stories were.
According to the introduction, the author Seabury Quinn was a prolific writer of "weird" pulp fiction for Weird Fiction. Apparently, there were only a few volumes during the 1920s that didn't feature a story by Quinn about his character, Jules de Grandin. (Apparently, Quinn took Jules' last name from his middle name.)
There is no doubt that these stories are dated. They feature toe-curling racism, that is almost hilarious in its casual, unintended, offhanded offensiveness. Nonetheless, Quinn was a good writer. He was a lawyer who edited trade journals and wrote pamphlets on mortuary law. Throughout these books, I was kept busy noting words that I had never or rarely seen.
The stories feature Jules de Grandin and his Watsonish side-kick, Dr. Townsend. Jules is French, small, carries a deadly little pistol in a holster under his left armpit, knows virtually everything about everything, and has an unlimited appreciation for his own genius and skill. I am not sure if he was patterned on Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirer or vice versa, or both were patterned on a stereotype of a French man.
Jules and Dr. Townsend live in Harrisonburg, New Jersey, which seems to be as much a hotbed for supernatural mysteries as Cabot Cove was for intricate murders. Invariably, the pair are brought into a mystery, chase after it, with Jules eventually solving it. Sometimes the mystery has a Scooby-Doo feel to it; other times, it involves something truly supernatural.
The plots are probably the weakest part of the story. At times, it seems that they don't exactly hold together, even as Jules explains everything at the end, but the plot problems are made up for with character and humor. Quinn was turning out a lot of these stories, and while he might not be able to come up with reliable plots, his characterization of Jules as a pompous, self-assured rooster, with badly translated French and American expressions were reliably humorous.
The introduction recommended not reading all these stories in one sitting. I think that is good advice. Like reading Sherlock Holmes, letting the stories sit a bit, reading another book, perhaps, before returning, helps maintain the freshness of Quinn's characters and writing style.
November 17, 2024
This was a $2 deal on Amazon. I had already read the first volume of the paranormal adventures of Dr Jules de Grandin & his dimwit companion Dr Trowbridge. I skipped the 2nd volume because there was no deal.
Pulp fiction at it's finest. These stories were written in the 20s & 30s. Casual racism, misogynistic horror shenanigans in the "quiet, sleepy" town of Harrisonville, NJ.
Every story has a young, beautiful, nubile NAKED young woman de Grandin must save from a satanic cult of some kind.
There's a full length novel included in this that's a chore to slog through. "The Devils Bride"
I gave it 3 stars because most of the stories are entertaining. Probably not something I'll ever read again.
Pulp fiction at it's finest. These stories were written in the 20s & 30s. Casual racism, misogynistic horror shenanigans in the "quiet, sleepy" town of Harrisonville, NJ.
Every story has a young, beautiful, nubile NAKED young woman de Grandin must save from a satanic cult of some kind.
There's a full length novel included in this that's a chore to slog through. "The Devils Bride"
I gave it 3 stars because most of the stories are entertaining. Probably not something I'll ever read again.
May 17, 2018
Volume three of this great series!
Jules de Grandin was an occult detective in the same vein as Carnacki the Ghost-Finder and John Silence. The stories were published in Weird Tales, a 1930’s and 1940’s pulp magazine that also featured the stories of HP Lovecraft (Cthulhu Mythos) and Robert E Howard (Conan.)
De Grandin is a Frenchman, small and blond haired with tiny feet. He is irascible and totally convinced of his own importance. He appears to be expert in any type of monster hunting, from vampires to ghosts. He knows strange lore from many lands, having actually lived for a time in such far-flung locations as Laos and Tibet.
As a detective, he is a former member of the French Sûreté. The stories in this book happen to feature a colleague of de Grandin, the diminutive Inspector Renouard.
According to an official list of Jules de Grandin stories, there is perhaps enough left for one more volume. I’m looking forward to it. I want to touch briefly on each tale. I try to give no spoilers, but a warning here soothes the folks who fear them!
• “The Lost Lady” features a villain very much in the vein of Fu Manchu!
• “The Ghost Helper,” asks the question of love beyond the grave…
• “Satan’s Stepson” deals with a woman attacked by a Russian named Konstantin—who was just recently executed by firing squad!
• “The Devil’s Bride” is a novel-length story that was published in its own paperback. A group of satanic worshipers wants to make a young woman their personal gift to the devil. I give this story the honor of being “Best in Book!”
• “The Dark Angel” features a murderer stalking the night who appears to be an angel from hell…
• “The Heart of Siva” deals with a play that features the Hindu god Siva. Death and horror ensue…
• “The Bleeding Mummy” features the unwrapping of a mummy, a late 19th century-early 20th-century pastime. This one is different…
• “The Door to Yesterday” is about a family whose death mystery might lie in their past…
• “A Gamble in Souls” features identical twins, an inheritance, and a lady…
• “The Thing in the Fog” features a dark shape in the mist…
• “The Hand of Glory” features a devilish device. Made from the left hand and hair of a condemned murderer after execution, the Hand of Glory is a powerful artifact that laughs at locks and holds people captive!
I give this latest volume of chills and thrills five stars plus!
Quoth the Raven…
Jules de Grandin was an occult detective in the same vein as Carnacki the Ghost-Finder and John Silence. The stories were published in Weird Tales, a 1930’s and 1940’s pulp magazine that also featured the stories of HP Lovecraft (Cthulhu Mythos) and Robert E Howard (Conan.)
De Grandin is a Frenchman, small and blond haired with tiny feet. He is irascible and totally convinced of his own importance. He appears to be expert in any type of monster hunting, from vampires to ghosts. He knows strange lore from many lands, having actually lived for a time in such far-flung locations as Laos and Tibet.
As a detective, he is a former member of the French Sûreté. The stories in this book happen to feature a colleague of de Grandin, the diminutive Inspector Renouard.
According to an official list of Jules de Grandin stories, there is perhaps enough left for one more volume. I’m looking forward to it. I want to touch briefly on each tale. I try to give no spoilers, but a warning here soothes the folks who fear them!
• “The Lost Lady” features a villain very much in the vein of Fu Manchu!
• “The Ghost Helper,” asks the question of love beyond the grave…
• “Satan’s Stepson” deals with a woman attacked by a Russian named Konstantin—who was just recently executed by firing squad!
• “The Devil’s Bride” is a novel-length story that was published in its own paperback. A group of satanic worshipers wants to make a young woman their personal gift to the devil. I give this story the honor of being “Best in Book!”
• “The Dark Angel” features a murderer stalking the night who appears to be an angel from hell…
• “The Heart of Siva” deals with a play that features the Hindu god Siva. Death and horror ensue…
• “The Bleeding Mummy” features the unwrapping of a mummy, a late 19th century-early 20th-century pastime. This one is different…
• “The Door to Yesterday” is about a family whose death mystery might lie in their past…
• “A Gamble in Souls” features identical twins, an inheritance, and a lady…
• “The Thing in the Fog” features a dark shape in the mist…
• “The Hand of Glory” features a devilish device. Made from the left hand and hair of a condemned murderer after execution, the Hand of Glory is a powerful artifact that laughs at locks and holds people captive!
I give this latest volume of chills and thrills five stars plus!
Quoth the Raven…
August 8, 2020
In the forward to this book the editors advise not to try and read this book like any other book, straight through from beginning to end over a short period of time. They were right. I tried that, got about half way through and like a clog in a bathroom sink, stopped up. Stopped up with the style, the verbage and the sameness of the mood. You've got to remember this was written as a serial, small segments coming out periodically to a group of willing, mostly young adult readers who found this as their only source of weirdness in the 1930's. It was just much for me it digest in the 2020's.
So I slowed my pace and tried to read only one story at a time, over an extended period of time. After I finished that story I would read another book or two before coming back to it. That worked much better. The desire to go back into that weird world became an easier trip and more enjoyable.
If you're looking for Lovecraftan type tales, Quinn is the author you're looking for. Long descriptions of everything, historical background in every story, a shrewd little French detective who has the necessary knowledge in his hip pocket to pull out and solve a case. There is a formula to the madness you'll recognize pretty early and you'll either accept it and go on with the book or realize the stories are without real purpose on the human condition and give it up early. I suffered through to the end, even though it took three and one half months to do so. One note: Beware the "glory hand".
So I slowed my pace and tried to read only one story at a time, over an extended period of time. After I finished that story I would read another book or two before coming back to it. That worked much better. The desire to go back into that weird world became an easier trip and more enjoyable.
If you're looking for Lovecraftan type tales, Quinn is the author you're looking for. Long descriptions of everything, historical background in every story, a shrewd little French detective who has the necessary knowledge in his hip pocket to pull out and solve a case. There is a formula to the madness you'll recognize pretty early and you'll either accept it and go on with the book or realize the stories are without real purpose on the human condition and give it up early. I suffered through to the end, even though it took three and one half months to do so. One note: Beware the "glory hand".
March 13, 2022
The Lost Lady
https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tal...
The Ghost-Helper
https://archive.org/details/WeirdTale...
Satan's Stepson
https://archive.org/details/WeirdTale...
The Devil's Bride
1: https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tal...
2: https://archive.org/details/WeirdTale...
3: https://archive.org/details/WeirdTale...
4: https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tal...
5: https://archive.org/details/WeirdTale...
6: https://archive.org/details/WeirdTale...
The Dark Angel
https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tal...
The Heart of Siva
https://archive.org/details/WeirdTale...
The Bleeding Mummy
https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tal...
The Door to Yesterday
https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tal...
A Gamble in Souls
https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tal...
The Thing in the Fog
https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tal...
The Hand of Glory
https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tal...
https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tal...
The Ghost-Helper
https://archive.org/details/WeirdTale...
Satan's Stepson
https://archive.org/details/WeirdTale...
The Devil's Bride
1: https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tal...
2: https://archive.org/details/WeirdTale...
3: https://archive.org/details/WeirdTale...
4: https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tal...
5: https://archive.org/details/WeirdTale...
6: https://archive.org/details/WeirdTale...
The Dark Angel
https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tal...
The Heart of Siva
https://archive.org/details/WeirdTale...
The Bleeding Mummy
https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tal...
The Door to Yesterday
https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tal...
A Gamble in Souls
https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tal...
The Thing in the Fog
https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tal...
The Hand of Glory
https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tal...
November 10, 2018
Though Seabury Quinn isn't often recalled as fondly as his fellow Weird Tales writers HP Lovecraft and Robert E Howard, he certainly did have a penchant for turning a poetic phrase:
pg. 463, 1st paragraph, Hand of Glory: The wind soughed dolefully through the broken arches of the nave and whistled with a sort of mocking ululation among the rotted cross-beams of the transept.
The wine-bibbing protagonist of the tales, Dr. Jules deGrandin takes a hard line against supernatural menaces of all sorts:
The Hand of Glory, page 460, last paragraph: "Today foolish people think of witches as rather amiable, sadly misunderstood and badly persecuted old females. That is quite as silly as the vapid modern belief that fairies, elves and goblins are a set of well-intentioned folk. The truth is that a witch or wizard was--and is--one who by compact with the powers of darkness attains to power not given to the ordinary man, and uses that power for malevolent purposes."
The Devil's Bride is the longest of all the stories included herein and not quite as focused as the other tales, however ending in satisfactory style with a climactic Satanic sacrifice which is foiled by de Grandin, his frequent companion Dr. Trowbridge, and a brigade of machinegun-toting allies.
This is the third in a five book series which collects all the de Grandin tales.
pg. 463, 1st paragraph, Hand of Glory: The wind soughed dolefully through the broken arches of the nave and whistled with a sort of mocking ululation among the rotted cross-beams of the transept.
The wine-bibbing protagonist of the tales, Dr. Jules deGrandin takes a hard line against supernatural menaces of all sorts:
The Hand of Glory, page 460, last paragraph: "Today foolish people think of witches as rather amiable, sadly misunderstood and badly persecuted old females. That is quite as silly as the vapid modern belief that fairies, elves and goblins are a set of well-intentioned folk. The truth is that a witch or wizard was--and is--one who by compact with the powers of darkness attains to power not given to the ordinary man, and uses that power for malevolent purposes."
The Devil's Bride is the longest of all the stories included herein and not quite as focused as the other tales, however ending in satisfactory style with a climactic Satanic sacrifice which is foiled by de Grandin, his frequent companion Dr. Trowbridge, and a brigade of machinegun-toting allies.
This is the third in a five book series which collects all the de Grandin tales.
May 12, 2025
It’s best to take your time with these stories and do at most one a day. De Grandin is a very likable character whose’s no nonsense attitude can be quite fun. He is always sure of himself but in a way that doesn’t feel annoyingly narcissistic. His arrogance is a part of his charm.
There are several moments where his bravery is on full display. When first seeing a werewolf instead of cowering his first instinct is to shoot it in the head, and during a satanic ritual he marches up to the chief devil worshiper, threatens him, and tricks the assembled people that he is magic user who is about to punish them.
These are fun pulp stories that are great for fans of the supernatural.
There are several moments where his bravery is on full display. When first seeing a werewolf instead of cowering his first instinct is to shoot it in the head, and during a satanic ritual he marches up to the chief devil worshiper, threatens him, and tricks the assembled people that he is magic user who is about to punish them.
These are fun pulp stories that are great for fans of the supernatural.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 26, 2018
They Just Get Better and Better!
I really enjoy these books, and I am looking forward to the next one. I wasn't going to pre-order, but I guess I will. I can't imagine that Quinn wrote these just as pot-boilers. Clearly he enjoyed writing them, and I have checked everything put forth as fact and found it all correct as far as was known when he was writing. Many writers of that time were totally lazy as to research, and it's refreshing to see good homework. I do my homework when I'm writing, and I expect other writers to do the same.
I really enjoy these books, and I am looking forward to the next one. I wasn't going to pre-order, but I guess I will. I can't imagine that Quinn wrote these just as pot-boilers. Clearly he enjoyed writing them, and I have checked everything put forth as fact and found it all correct as far as was known when he was writing. Many writers of that time were totally lazy as to research, and it's refreshing to see good homework. I do my homework when I'm writing, and I expect other writers to do the same.
December 17, 2022
Quinn wrote stories for the pulp magazine Weird Tales about his doctor/occult detective Jules de Grandin from 1925-1938, and while his tales are creative they are also rife with the racism and societal assumptions of that era. I’ve read 4 of the 11 stories thus far, stretched out while I enjoyed other novels to echo the serialized nature of their original publication, but I need to take a break from their casual nasty stereotypes and de Grandin’s ridiculous pseudo-French-isms.
July 16, 2018
Such Stuff as Pulps Are Made On
This latest volume is composed of several novellas and one novel of ever indefatigable Jules De Grandin with a mixture of crime and supernatural. Or as the Frenchman is wont to say, "superphysical." Whatever. We're dealing with ghosts, ghouls, werewolves, and Satanic worshipers. Still, a lot of fun to be read.
This latest volume is composed of several novellas and one novel of ever indefatigable Jules De Grandin with a mixture of crime and supernatural. Or as the Frenchman is wont to say, "superphysical." Whatever. We're dealing with ghosts, ghouls, werewolves, and Satanic worshipers. Still, a lot of fun to be read.
dnf
December 2, 2022After 3 books, the stories are all samey, but the reason I stopped reading has to do with my eyes and ebooks. Just one thing about Jules De Grandin or his author, the french is horrible, sometimes it doesn’t make any sense! At least when Poirot speak french it is correct, I guess it has to do with this being pulp and not meant for a french speaking audience at the time.
November 21, 2021
More Jules de Grandin mysteries...
See my review of volume one for the background, everything in that review applies to this volume. The writing and story-telling improved in Vol 2 and Vol3 over the earliest stories. I enjoyed it enough that I'm sure I'll move on to Vol 4 and Vol 5 next.
See my review of volume one for the background, everything in that review applies to this volume. The writing and story-telling improved in Vol 2 and Vol3 over the earliest stories. I enjoyed it enough that I'm sure I'll move on to Vol 4 and Vol 5 next.
September 30, 2019
Does this guy ever get boring...NO.
July 28, 2022
Good source of material for pulp adventures. Needs to be read or listened to in bites otherwise it's just a little to tideous. Still a good acquisition to my library.
May 17, 2023
I can see why this was called pulp fiction. Written in a completely different time with a very different audience in mind.
April 17, 2024
This volume leans a bit heavily on evil cultists, but it's still entertaining.
September 14, 2019
For sheer sadistic, entertainingly nasty detail, it would be impossible to top The Devil's Bride. It's surely the epitome of the Weird Tales type.
June 17, 2025
Quinn's stories continue to improve. The casual racism in some stories, all too common during the years of their writing, is jarring, but a reminder of the progress we've made since.
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