The Complete Cases of Seekay

by Paul Ernst, Will Murray (Introduction)

The cases he takes up are often bizarre and grotesque, but no more so than this anonymous private investigator Seekay’s entire face is covered by a mask of pink celluloid, with only his “burning black eyes” visible to those who come into contact with him—and who almost invariably are unnerved by the experience, whether friend or foe. Collecting the entire series, written by the writer of The Avenger, Paul Ernst. With an introduction by Will Murray.

Genres: Occult Detective

194 pages, Paperback

Published July 12, 2018

About the author

Paul Frederick Ernst was an American pulp fiction writer. He is best known as the author of the original 24 "Avenger" novels, published by Street & Smith under the house name Kenneth Robeson.

He "[took] up fiction writing in his early twenties." Credited by pulp-expert Don Hutchison as "a prolific manufacturer of potboilers-made-to-order," his stories appeared in a number of early Science fiction and fantasy magazines. His writing appeared in Astounding Stories, Strange Tales and Amazing, and he was the author of the Doctor Satan series which ran in Weird Tales from August, 1935. His most famous work was in writing the original 24 The Avenger stories in the eponymous magazine between 1939 and 1942.

When pulp magazine work began to dry up, Ernst "was able to make a painless transition into the more prestigious "slick" magazines, where his word skill earned him higher financial rewards." As of 1971, he was "still active as a writer," including penning "Blackout" for the July 1971 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine. He died in Pinellas County, Florida.

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_...]


Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Paul^Ernst

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of stories of a weird detective without a face. Some say he's a "prototype" for The Avenger from Justice, Inc., but I don't really buy into this "prototype" stuff.

The stories are really pretty good, with a weird menace sort of vibe. You can see why the feature didn't quite catch on, but you can see why it's remembered.

A great collection. Maybe some Neo-pulp author will pick up the property.

[John Botkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author of this work is better known for his longer run with the pulp character, the Avenger. However, Seekay is a pretty interesting creation who clearly influenced other stories and characters in comics and movies (e.g., the Question). Yet, Paul Ernst only wrote five Seekay stories; this book collects them all. Each story reflects the essentials of the pulp genre – quick pacing, violent death, and tough characters. It’s also part of the strange or weird fiction genre, so story elements includes something bizarre or grotesque as well. The only other pulp magazine I’ve regularly read to give a comparison to is the Shadow. Seekay stories are much shorter, thus having less complicated plots. However, the mystery behind Seekay and his missing face (yep, you read that right!) gives him a similar dramatic weight as the Shadow. The stories are well written, with a few interesting twists. (Although the last story was a bit predictable.) Overall, if you like the pulp genre, these will be entertaining.