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Pulp Masters
Six masters of pulp fiction at its most powerful and suspenseful best -- John MacDonald, James M. Cain, Donald Westlake, Lawrence Block, Mickey Spillane, and Harrington Whittington -- distinguish this new anthology compiled by the award-winning editors of its two popular predecessors, American Pulp and Pure Pulp. Like them, Pulp Masters culls its tales -- in this case, six classic novelettes and one complete novel -- from the golden age of magazine fiction in the first half of the twentieth century. The writers included in this volume in time emerged as giants in the field of crime fiction, and the stories in this volume demonstrate why. Their voices fresh, their talents raw and original, with novelettes like "Ordo," "Stag Party Kill," "The Embezzler," and "Everybody's Watching Me," Westlake, Block, Cain, and Spillane both heralded and shaped the crime story as we know it today. So did "the King of the Paperback Original" -- Harrington Whittington -- represented here by the novel based on his pulp short story "So Dead, My Love."
432 pages, Paperback
First published June 19, 2001
3 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
About the author
Ed Gorman
469 books119 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Edward Joseph Gorman Jr. was a prolific American author and anthologist, widely recognized for his contributions to crime, mystery, western, and horror fiction. Born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Gorman spent much of his life in the Midwest, drawing on that experience to set many of his novels in small towns. After working over two decades in advertising, political speechwriting, and industrial filmmaking, he published his first novel, Rough Cut, in 1984 and soon transitioned to full-time writing. His fiction is often praised for its emotional depth, suspenseful storytelling, and nuanced characters. Gorman wrote under the pseudonyms Daniel Ransom and Robert David Chase, and contributed to publications such as Mystery Scene, Cemetery Dance, and Black Lizard. He co-founded Mystery Scene magazine and served as its editor and publisher until 2002, continuing his “Gormania” column thereafter. His works have been adapted for film and graphic novels, including The Poker Club and Cage of Night. In comics, he wrote for DC and Dark Horse. Diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2002, he continued writing despite his illness until his passing in 2016. Critics lauded him as one of the most original crime writers of his generation and a “poet of dark suspense.”
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Edward Joseph Gorman Jr. was a prolific American author and anthologist, widely recognized for his contributions to crime, mystery, western, and horror fiction. Born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Gorman spent much of his life in the Midwest, drawing on that experience to set many of his novels in small towns. After working over two decades in advertising, political speechwriting, and industrial filmmaking, he published his first novel, Rough Cut, in 1984 and soon transitioned to full-time writing. His fiction is often praised for its emotional depth, suspenseful storytelling, and nuanced characters. Gorman wrote under the pseudonyms Daniel Ransom and Robert David Chase, and contributed to publications such as Mystery Scene, Cemetery Dance, and Black Lizard. He co-founded Mystery Scene magazine and served as its editor and publisher until 2002, continuing his “Gormania” column thereafter. His works have been adapted for film and graphic novels, including The Poker Club and Cage of Night. In comics, he wrote for DC and Dark Horse. Diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2002, he continued writing despite his illness until his passing in 2016. Critics lauded him as one of the most original crime writers of his generation and a “poet of dark suspense.”
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 14, 2018
Five novellas and one novel are presented here in a single volume and, I think, are a good representation of the classics of pulp fiction. Stories included:
The Embezzeler by James M. Cain
Ordo by Donald E. Westlake
Stag Party Girl by Lawrence Block
College-Cut Kill by John D. MacDonald
Everybody’s Watching Me by Mickey Spillane
So Dead My Love by Harry Whittington
All of these are stand-alone stories so no need to worry about reading a story from the middle of a series. There are no John Dortmunder or Matthew Scudder or Bernie Rhodenbarr or John Keller or Travis McGee or Mike Hammer stories in this collection. However, if you are new to pulp fiction and you’re reading any of the authors in here for the first time, it is likely you will feel the need to pick up other books by them and get to know these series characters.
All of the authors are also well known, but so prolific that it is likely most readers will not have come across these particular stories before. The one exception might be Harry Whittington, who may not be quite as much of a house-hold name but the fact is that he was perhaps the most prolific of all the golden age paperback crime authors, known as "The King of the Paperbacks" writing most of them during the pinnacle of the original paperback boom in the 1950's. His contribution to this book is the only full novel included (although still a shortish novel).
All of the stories presented here were worthy choices and I really enjoyed all of them, with the one exception of the Spillane piece (and the reason for only four stars instead of five from me). That one just didn’t pull me in very well, a problem I’ve had with some of his other work. I read this book over time, reading one story and then switching to three or four other books before returning for the next. That way, I kept my palette clean, so to speak, and was always eager to jump into the next one.
The Embezzeler by James M. Cain
Ordo by Donald E. Westlake
Stag Party Girl by Lawrence Block
College-Cut Kill by John D. MacDonald
Everybody’s Watching Me by Mickey Spillane
So Dead My Love by Harry Whittington
All of these are stand-alone stories so no need to worry about reading a story from the middle of a series. There are no John Dortmunder or Matthew Scudder or Bernie Rhodenbarr or John Keller or Travis McGee or Mike Hammer stories in this collection. However, if you are new to pulp fiction and you’re reading any of the authors in here for the first time, it is likely you will feel the need to pick up other books by them and get to know these series characters.
All of the authors are also well known, but so prolific that it is likely most readers will not have come across these particular stories before. The one exception might be Harry Whittington, who may not be quite as much of a house-hold name but the fact is that he was perhaps the most prolific of all the golden age paperback crime authors, known as "The King of the Paperbacks" writing most of them during the pinnacle of the original paperback boom in the 1950's. His contribution to this book is the only full novel included (although still a shortish novel).
All of the stories presented here were worthy choices and I really enjoyed all of them, with the one exception of the Spillane piece (and the reason for only four stars instead of five from me). That one just didn’t pull me in very well, a problem I’ve had with some of his other work. I read this book over time, reading one story and then switching to three or four other books before returning for the next. That way, I kept my palette clean, so to speak, and was always eager to jump into the next one.
December 27, 2023
From that fantastic team of Ed Gorman & Martin Greenberg.
Currently reading
July 4, 2015"Embezzler" by James M. Cain is precisely what one would expect from the title of this book. A twisted crime noir plot, masterfully laid out. It's a bank heist story; an inside job.
"Ordo," by Donald E. Westlake (aka Richard Stark), on the other hand, is an odd choice. It's about a sailor who reconnects with his unmemorable first wife, who mysteriously transformed herself into a movie star. This story was first published in 1977, and Westlake didn't start publishing until the late 1950's (as far as I know). But it's a truly great story, with an interesting plot and characters. This is the first Westlake story I've read, and based on the quality, I believe that he fully deserves the cult status that he has achieved.
"Stag Party Girl" was my first sampling of Lawrence Block's work. It's a decent, well-written story, but nothing special. This one is a straight murder mystery, and as far as I'm concerned, that's a strike against it. I'm not terribly fond of the "whodunnit" mold of story-telling.
"College-Cut Kill" is, again, a straight-up "whodunnit." The background is series of suspected murders on and around a college campus in Florida. I'm unable to finish it. The characters are cardboard and of no interest whatsoever.
I may set this book aside for a while. It's possible I'll never come back to it. Ah well, it was worth it for the discovery of Donald E. Westlake! I might take a stab at the Mickey Spillane story, I've never read any of his work, either.
"Ordo," by Donald E. Westlake (aka Richard Stark), on the other hand, is an odd choice. It's about a sailor who reconnects with his unmemorable first wife, who mysteriously transformed herself into a movie star. This story was first published in 1977, and Westlake didn't start publishing until the late 1950's (as far as I know). But it's a truly great story, with an interesting plot and characters. This is the first Westlake story I've read, and based on the quality, I believe that he fully deserves the cult status that he has achieved.
"Stag Party Girl" was my first sampling of Lawrence Block's work. It's a decent, well-written story, but nothing special. This one is a straight murder mystery, and as far as I'm concerned, that's a strike against it. I'm not terribly fond of the "whodunnit" mold of story-telling.
"College-Cut Kill" is, again, a straight-up "whodunnit." The background is series of suspected murders on and around a college campus in Florida. I'm unable to finish it. The characters are cardboard and of no interest whatsoever.
I may set this book aside for a while. It's possible I'll never come back to it. Ah well, it was worth it for the discovery of Donald E. Westlake! I might take a stab at the Mickey Spillane story, I've never read any of his work, either.
February 27, 2016
This is a book that is over 400 pages long, containing stories from pulps that dealt with crime. There are six stories, including one by Mickey Spillane, one of the better known writers of crime fiction. Each story has a one-page or so piece on the particular author of that story.
Want to read
October 31, 2014Picked this up for a couple of quid in my local British Heart Foundation earlier. Woo Hoo !
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews