The Condor

The Shadow Pulp #80

by Walter B. Gibson

Genres: Pulp

68 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 1935

About the author

Walter 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.

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who read The Condor when it originally hit the newsstands in 1935 had to wonder what "Maxwell Grant" was thinking as one of The Shadow's agents appears lost within the first few chapters, and readers were surely forced to tear through the story find find out whether Harry Vincent, proxy hero from the first story, The Living Shadow, had gone the way of early agent Claude Fellows, who was lost in one of the early novels, Gangdom's Doom.

Modern readers have the disadvantage of knowing the answer, as Vincent is one of The Shadow's main agents, but there's still the question of what actually happened in those early pages, and Walter B. Gibson does a good job in revealing the truth at the same time that The Shadow and Cliff Marsland take center stage in battling against supercrook The Condor. Before Harry makes his reappearance, Marsland is allowed to shine, and as yet I haven't read many stories that featured him, so it was a good story for that reason alone. Add to that some plot points that I didn't expect, and The Condor was an excellent read.

[Ronald · Rating 3 out of 5]

titular character is pretty much the only interesting thing

[Little Timmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

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