The Spider, Master of Men! #50: Master of the Flaming Horde

by Grant Stockbridge, Norvell W. Page

The spider, a pulp favorite for 60 years, returns in a rapid fire adventure. “The Spider Master Of Master of the Flaming Horde” reprint 2001 of the pulp original from 1937 by Grant Stockbridge. An insidious weapon guts the city with fire, and Richard Wentworth, alias the spider, follows a smoldering trail of charred flesh and mortar to a foreign consulate. Also includes four additional stories and Doc Turner and the Crimson Coffin by Arthur Leo Zagat; Death O’Clock Joy-Ride by Wayne Rogers; The Web by Christopher R. Yates; and Deadly Foes of the Spider “The Devil.” Bold Venture Press uses good quality paper, glossy heavy cardstock covers, fresh typeset, and faithful reproductions of the original illustrations.

Paperback

First published November 1, 1937

About the author

Pen Name asociated with the pulp hero The Spider.

Reviews

[Jeff J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pulp novel featuring The Spider. Flame Men are torching Manhattan. Nita is in jeopardy! Much chaos ensues.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the fiftieth pulp adventure of The Spider and his pals, and originally appeared in November, 1937. It was written by Norvell W. Page (who wrote the vast majority of the stories) under the Grant Stockbridge house name. It's not among the best of The Spider chronicles, as it's formatted more like a standard mystery than an apocalyptic adventure. The sidekicks are out of the action pretty much from the start, except for Nita van Sloan (Richard Wentworth's answer to Margot Lane), of course, and the guys with flame-proof suits don't seem up the usual level of villainous threat. This edition does include the very nice original illustrations and two short stories that appeared in the magazine, apparently both part of series. The first is a Doc Turner story by Arthur Leo Zagat, another well-known pulp writer, and the second is a Brother Henry story by Wayne Rogers which was odd and not as well-written and just a little too Horatio Algerish for my taste.

[Ronald · Rating 3 out of 5]

read some time in 1993