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The Wild Adventures of the Spider #1
The Doom Legion
When a weird meteor crashes in the heart of Central Park on Halloween night, its uncanny light attracts the attention of Richard Wentworth––alias The Spider!
Investigating, the millionaire criminologist encounters a maelstrom of madness in the making. Drawn, too, are two sinister figures from the past––international master criminals who join forces to harness the power of the pulsing meteorite.
Alone, The Spider confronts his greatest challenge, but he is not alone this time. For the unholy power of the meteorite draws James Christopher, alias Operator 5, and another government agent from the past, known only as G-8….
Together, this heroic trio must battle a pair of powerful adversaries intent on harnessing and unleashing the malevolent power of the Green Meteorite. But how can they work together when one of them is branded an outlaw?
Investigating, the millionaire criminologist encounters a maelstrom of madness in the making. Drawn, too, are two sinister figures from the past––international master criminals who join forces to harness the power of the pulsing meteorite.
Alone, The Spider confronts his greatest challenge, but he is not alone this time. For the unholy power of the meteorite draws James Christopher, alias Operator 5, and another government agent from the past, known only as G-8….
Together, this heroic trio must battle a pair of powerful adversaries intent on harnessing and unleashing the malevolent power of the Green Meteorite. But how can they work together when one of them is branded an outlaw?
362 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 23, 2018
29 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
Will Murray
684 books74 followersWill Murray is an American novelist, journalist, and short-story and comic-book writer. Much of his fiction has been published under pseudonyms. Will is the author of over 50 novels in popular series ranging from “The Destroyer” to “Mars Attacks”. Collaborating posthumously with the legendary Lester Dent, he has written to date nine Doc Savage novels, with “Desert Demons” and “Horror in Gold” now available. For National Public Radio, Murray adapted “The Thousand-Headed Man” for “The Adventures of Doc Savage” in 1985, and recently edited “Doc Savage: The Lost Radio Scripts of Lester Dent” for Moonstone Books. He is versed in all things pulp.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 7, 2020
There were some fun things in this book that I enjoyed, but I really -wanted- to like it a whole lot more than I actually did. It's a three-way team-up story, with Richard Wentworth, The Spider, being joined by Jimmy Christopher, Operator 5, and the never-named-in-his-own-time hero G-8. G-8 was a World War I spy and flying ace who starred in 110 novels by Robert J. Hogan, so having him appear in this Spider book twenty years after the end of the War seemed problematical to me at best. Operator 5 was the lead character in his own pulp magazine that lasted for 48 issues; he started out as a government agent but spent most of his career in the company of his many family members leading military actions against armies which had conquered the U.S. They were alternate history military science fiction stories and so were obviously not in any way related to the world in which The Spider existed. Team-ups are cool and fun when they make sense, but the trio in this book didn't make any more sense than teaming up Conan with Deadpool and Luke Skywalker. The plot seemed forced, too. The three heroes and their friends and the two dastardly villains are in just the right place at the right time when a meteor lands in Central Park on Halloween. The meteor emits green radiation which causes people to turn into zombies who shoot fire out of their eyes. The good guys decide it's an incurable condition (without any apparent testing), and spend the rest of the book shooting any green-eyed victim they see in the brain. Too many coincidences and not enough logic! There are some good exploits and fun interactions and interesting bits (I particularly liked Richard Wentworth's tingling spider-sense!), but this one just wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be.
September 21, 2018
This is the kind of book pulp fans dream about: A team-up starring three front-rank heroes – The Spider, Operator 5 and G-8.
Will Murray, as I’m sure you know, has already brought us two meetings between Doc Savage and The Shadow as well as King Kong mash-ups with both Doc and Tarzan, all from the modern-day pulp factory known as Altus Press. And now comes The Doom Legion, bringing together the top three do-gooders of the Popular Publications universe.
The Spider gets top billing here, and rightly so, being the most revered and reprinted of the three. Why is that? Well, he (aka Richard Wentworth) has the coolest outfit and the most eccentric personality. He also has a capable faithful Indian companion—a Sikh name Ram Singh, a fearless significant other who would (and often nearly does) lay down her life for him, and a solid ally in Police Commissioner Weston—who unofficially knows supports his crusade as a crimefighter.
Operator 5 of the Secret Service (aka James "Jimmy" Christopher) is a bright-eyed young straight arrow, pure of heart and mind, with a reporter girlfriend who is undoubtedly a virgin (just as Richard Wentworth's paramour is undoubtedly not). He operates as a lone wolf, with occasional contact with his equally straight arrow superior, Z-7.
G-8, the Flying Spy of WWI, is now known as Captain George Gate (G-ate, get it?), is a man in search of camaraderie. Pals Bull Martin and Nippy Weston from his old squadron are not mentioned here, and though he tries a little banter with Operator 5, the Secret Service ace seems immune to humor.
Will Murray brings these three together and swats them with three fistfuls of trouble. 1) A meteor slams into Central Park, turning people and animals into killing machines. Heat beams shoot from the eyes of those infected, melting and killing everything in their path. 2) The Spider’s old nemesis The Dictator shows up seeking revenge, and armed with a new dastardly plan. And 3) G-8’s wartime enemy The Steel Mask returns (seemingly) from the dead determined to finish G-8 and raise any kind of cain he can.
It takes a lot of juggling to keep all those balls in the air at once, but Will proves up to the task. The deviltry and heroics are non-stop, and all the characters ring true to their roots. Especially interesting is the dynamic between Operator 5 and The Spider. The straight arrow of the Secret Service is too anal to have truck with a notorious vigilante, and tries to shut him out of the action. But you know The Spider. He’s an irresistible force, and even an object as immovable as Operator 5 is unable to slow him down.
The result is a riotous romp through New York City, leaving a trail of dead citizens. Most of these meet grisly ends, but this being a hero pulp epic, it’s all in good fun. You’ll want to read this, of course. And you’ll want to alert for hat tips to pulpsters, such a drive by of Steeger School (named, natch, for Harry Steeger, editor of Popular Publications, home of Dime Detective and the three heroes of this adventure).
Please keep this stuff coming, Mr. Murray (as if you had to be asked)!
Will Murray, as I’m sure you know, has already brought us two meetings between Doc Savage and The Shadow as well as King Kong mash-ups with both Doc and Tarzan, all from the modern-day pulp factory known as Altus Press. And now comes The Doom Legion, bringing together the top three do-gooders of the Popular Publications universe.
The Spider gets top billing here, and rightly so, being the most revered and reprinted of the three. Why is that? Well, he (aka Richard Wentworth) has the coolest outfit and the most eccentric personality. He also has a capable faithful Indian companion—a Sikh name Ram Singh, a fearless significant other who would (and often nearly does) lay down her life for him, and a solid ally in Police Commissioner Weston—who unofficially knows supports his crusade as a crimefighter.
Operator 5 of the Secret Service (aka James "Jimmy" Christopher) is a bright-eyed young straight arrow, pure of heart and mind, with a reporter girlfriend who is undoubtedly a virgin (just as Richard Wentworth's paramour is undoubtedly not). He operates as a lone wolf, with occasional contact with his equally straight arrow superior, Z-7.
G-8, the Flying Spy of WWI, is now known as Captain George Gate (G-ate, get it?), is a man in search of camaraderie. Pals Bull Martin and Nippy Weston from his old squadron are not mentioned here, and though he tries a little banter with Operator 5, the Secret Service ace seems immune to humor.
Will Murray brings these three together and swats them with three fistfuls of trouble. 1) A meteor slams into Central Park, turning people and animals into killing machines. Heat beams shoot from the eyes of those infected, melting and killing everything in their path. 2) The Spider’s old nemesis The Dictator shows up seeking revenge, and armed with a new dastardly plan. And 3) G-8’s wartime enemy The Steel Mask returns (seemingly) from the dead determined to finish G-8 and raise any kind of cain he can.
It takes a lot of juggling to keep all those balls in the air at once, but Will proves up to the task. The deviltry and heroics are non-stop, and all the characters ring true to their roots. Especially interesting is the dynamic between Operator 5 and The Spider. The straight arrow of the Secret Service is too anal to have truck with a notorious vigilante, and tries to shut him out of the action. But you know The Spider. He’s an irresistible force, and even an object as immovable as Operator 5 is unable to slow him down.
The result is a riotous romp through New York City, leaving a trail of dead citizens. Most of these meet grisly ends, but this being a hero pulp epic, it’s all in good fun. You’ll want to read this, of course. And you’ll want to alert for hat tips to pulpsters, such a drive by of Steeger School (named, natch, for Harry Steeger, editor of Popular Publications, home of Dime Detective and the three heroes of this adventure).
Please keep this stuff coming, Mr. Murray (as if you had to be asked)!
October 22, 2018
Pulp-tastic Sunday sort of stretched into Monday, but that's okay. This week's pulp-y offering was The Doom Legion by Will Murray, which featured one of my favorite pulp characters, The Spider. I like The Spider (AKA Richard Wentworth) because he has no special powers, like The Shadow, and he is not a superman like Doc Savage. Wentworth is just a determined and driven human being. The Spider is often shot, stabbed, bludgeoned, defenestrated, electrocuted, etc and he usually faces overwhelming odds. In The Doom Legion he is joined by two other pulp heroes, G8 and Operator 5. I know much less about these two characters-I have never read an Operator 5 story, and I've only read one G8 novel, which was so poorly written I was barely able to finish it. I cannot really comment on how well Will writes these characters-I can say he does a good job with Wentworth and his supporting cast, and that works as this is primarily a Spider novel to begin with. Entertaining.
August 25, 2018
“Author Scores Another Hit”
A month after Machines-guns Over The White House, and almost twenty years after WWI, Herr Stahlmaske and Count Carmine Calypsa show up at a Halloween costume ball where Richard Wentworth and Nita Van Sloan are in attendance. Stahlmaske is after his old helmet from WWI, while Calypsa wants to kill Police Commissioner Stanley Kirkpatrick. Neither villain is aware of each other yet. Before anything can happen a green radioactive meteorite crashes into Central Park and starts turning people into zombies. Calypsa and Stahlmaske join forces and use the terror caused by the zombies for their own purposes.
Jimmy Christopher, Secret Service Operator 5, is assigned to the case, while Diane Elliot covers the situation for her paper. Z-7 is also present. Captain George Gate, better known as the WWI Master Spy G-8, is assigned by G-2 out of Mitchell Field. Alas, poor G-8. Twenty years after WWI he is still a captain in the Army Air Corps. I would think he should be a general by now, or at least a colonel, but he remains a lowly captain in G-2. Ronald Jackson and Ram Singh are also present, but this story revolves around The Spider, Operator 5, and G-8, as they battle Stahlmaske and Calypsa.
Typical of The Spider series, New York is devastated with thousands killed as the zombies turn others into the mindless dead. Buildings are burnt to the ground; police must kill police, as they become walking dead men. In the meantime no one can get close to the green meteorite without turning into a zombie, so it remains in Central Park pulsing out its deadly rays. Highly recommended.
A month after Machines-guns Over The White House, and almost twenty years after WWI, Herr Stahlmaske and Count Carmine Calypsa show up at a Halloween costume ball where Richard Wentworth and Nita Van Sloan are in attendance. Stahlmaske is after his old helmet from WWI, while Calypsa wants to kill Police Commissioner Stanley Kirkpatrick. Neither villain is aware of each other yet. Before anything can happen a green radioactive meteorite crashes into Central Park and starts turning people into zombies. Calypsa and Stahlmaske join forces and use the terror caused by the zombies for their own purposes.
Jimmy Christopher, Secret Service Operator 5, is assigned to the case, while Diane Elliot covers the situation for her paper. Z-7 is also present. Captain George Gate, better known as the WWI Master Spy G-8, is assigned by G-2 out of Mitchell Field. Alas, poor G-8. Twenty years after WWI he is still a captain in the Army Air Corps. I would think he should be a general by now, or at least a colonel, but he remains a lowly captain in G-2. Ronald Jackson and Ram Singh are also present, but this story revolves around The Spider, Operator 5, and G-8, as they battle Stahlmaske and Calypsa.
Typical of The Spider series, New York is devastated with thousands killed as the zombies turn others into the mindless dead. Buildings are burnt to the ground; police must kill police, as they become walking dead men. In the meantime no one can get close to the green meteorite without turning into a zombie, so it remains in Central Park pulsing out its deadly rays. Highly recommended.
August 14, 2019
I am a fan of the pulps since I found a Doc Savage novel at a Stuckey’s on a long family road trip, and the fact that Will Murray is continuing the adventures of some of the more famous characters has been a welcome development. In the novel “The Doom Legion”, Murray brings together The Spider, Operator 5 and G8 (without his Battle Aces) to fight a pair of foes from both G8 and The Spider’s past.
The story starts with a bang as a meteor that causes people to become mindless monsters who can shoot fire from their eyes, and the pair of past foes find a way to use this to their advantage, bringing The Spider, Operator 5 and G8 together to stop their plan. Like any good pulp novel, once the action starts, it never lets up. Car chases, fights, growing danger, and death defying escapes fill the pages rapidly.
Also, like any good Spider story, the death count is massive as New Yorkers are turned into monsters, buildings burn to the ground, and bullets fly constantly. This is better written than the original pulps while still keeping the feel and drive of those old magazines. Murray knows how to write action in such a way that it carries you along through the twists and turns.
This novel works as an excellent introduction to these classic characters as well as an example of why the “blood and thunder” pulps still fire the imagination years after they folded. Highly recommended for fans of pulp fiction and slam bang adventure stories.
The story starts with a bang as a meteor that causes people to become mindless monsters who can shoot fire from their eyes, and the pair of past foes find a way to use this to their advantage, bringing The Spider, Operator 5 and G8 together to stop their plan. Like any good pulp novel, once the action starts, it never lets up. Car chases, fights, growing danger, and death defying escapes fill the pages rapidly.
Also, like any good Spider story, the death count is massive as New Yorkers are turned into monsters, buildings burn to the ground, and bullets fly constantly. This is better written than the original pulps while still keeping the feel and drive of those old magazines. Murray knows how to write action in such a way that it carries you along through the twists and turns.
This novel works as an excellent introduction to these classic characters as well as an example of why the “blood and thunder” pulps still fire the imagination years after they folded. Highly recommended for fans of pulp fiction and slam bang adventure stories.
June 6, 2019
Another "wild adventure," written by Will Murray, this one not concerned with Doc Savage or The Shadow, but focused instead on The Spider and two other pulp action heroes from the first half of the 20th Century -- G-8 and Operator 5.
This one was a tough read. I've had it for a while and struggled to find any rhythm that would drive me through the narrative. That is, until I read a few more of the pulps featuring The Spider, most recently the reprints put out by Altus Press. Those helped me gain an appreciation for the character, and the difficult balancing act Murray had to accomplish paying homage to this pulp character (as well as the two other featured players).
The book accomplished one thing. It made me want to read more Spider adventures and to give the other two pulp heroes a turn as well. The pulp era was a time when anything was possible, and Murray continues that tradition with his original novels.
This one was a tough read. I've had it for a while and struggled to find any rhythm that would drive me through the narrative. That is, until I read a few more of the pulps featuring The Spider, most recently the reprints put out by Altus Press. Those helped me gain an appreciation for the character, and the difficult balancing act Murray had to accomplish paying homage to this pulp character (as well as the two other featured players).
The book accomplished one thing. It made me want to read more Spider adventures and to give the other two pulp heroes a turn as well. The pulp era was a time when anything was possible, and Murray continues that tradition with his original novels.
November 16, 2018
Very fun read, at least for pulp fans. Unlike Doc Savage books, of which I have read all, I have read just a fraction of Spider, Operator 5, and G-8 novels, mostly due to lack of availability. However I always enjoyed the insane apocalyptic mayhem of the Spider stories (very much on a different level from Doc), the War and Peace of the pulps "Purple Invasion" series involving Operator 5, and G-8's bizarre WWI antics. As usual Will Murray is able to emulate the style of these stories perfectly, and manages to bring these heroes together into one terrific tale. As a bonus, the hardcover copy of the book that I purchased includes a related short story involving the Secret 6. So if you are a fan of any of the above mentioned characters, bizarre super-villains, weird menace, or pulp fiction in general, this book will be right up your alley.
March 8, 2021
Solid Spider novel. In fact, I think this might be Murray's strongest story that I have read to date. It felt more in line with the stories of the past. I particularly enjoyed the books pacing. It never slowed down. I enjoyed the rapid fire speed of the story. I also enjoyed The Spider, Richard Wentworth as well as Operator 5 and G-8. I thought the use of three major characters fit with the seriousness of the situation before them. I look forward to reading the follow up, Fury in Steel.
September 13, 2018
Another fast paced and entertaining book from the always excellent Will Murray.
June 30, 2023
First novel in the Spider revival from Will Murray.
August 12, 2024
The perfect pulp crossover starring three of the most iconic pulp heroes of the time in a action packed, comic book-style style against two fantastic villains. It's got zombies, comets, planes, masked megalomaniacs, city chases and so much more. One of my favourites
January 30, 2023
Good Pastiche
This is a pastiche of "The Spider" and similar pulp novels published during the 30s and 40s. Mr. Murray has done a very good job, but I think that the other two books in the series are somewhat better than this one. Regardless, all the books in the series will delight anyone who likes pulp fiction.
This is a pastiche of "The Spider" and similar pulp novels published during the 30s and 40s. Mr. Murray has done a very good job, but I think that the other two books in the series are somewhat better than this one. Regardless, all the books in the series will delight anyone who likes pulp fiction.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews