The Shadow Unmasks

The Shadow Pulp #131

by Maxwell Grant (Pseudonym), Walter B. Gibson

For the first time in his long career as a master crime-fighter, The Shadow thrusts aside his veil of mystery. Not under one of his many aliases, but in his true identity, The Shadow reveals himself. In this battle against the underworld, the unfathomable past of the man known as The Shadow is finally exposed. Narrated by Kevin T. Collins, Mark Boyett, Jonathan Todd Ross, Marc Vietor, Richard Poe, Joe Barrett, Susannah Jones, David Marantz, Nick Sullivan, Jay Snyder, Scott Aiello, Gabriel Vaughan, Richard Ferrone, Kevin Pariseau, LJ Ganser, Jonathan Davis, and a full cast.

Genres: Pulp

Paperback

Published August 1, 1937

About the author

Maxwell Grant was a pseudonym often used by Walter B. Gibson to write stories of "The Shadow".

Reviews

[Malum · Rating 3 out of 5]

So The Shadow is running around borrowing Lamont Cranston's identity (they are two different people in this one) when the real Cranston makes national headlines by getting injured in a plane crash overseas. As Cranston is now in two places at once, the Shadow needs a new identity quick! To make matters worse, he is hot on the trail of a group of murderous gem thieves.

This story started out strong, but kind of petered out hallway in. The worst offender here is that we get yet another Shadow origin story. I hate these because (besides the fact that they change all the time) I prefer my Shadow a bit more enigmatic.

This leads to the next problem. After The Shadow assumes a new identity (apparently his real identity...at least until the next retcon) his alter ego takes over the story and the Shadow takes a back seat.

Still, there is some pulpy fun and wicked gunplay to be found here.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another of Walter Gibson's pulp novels featuring The Shadow to get the multicast treatment. With sound effects and music, this plays like a modern version of an old time radio show. This particular story is one of the most famous in the entire Shadow run as readers finally learn who The Shadow really is. This was very well done. I certainly hope these productions of classic pulp stories continue. While the material must be considered within the the framework of the time it was originally produced, the adventures are great fun. Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow (and Audible) knows!

[John Botkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Longtime readers will know that The Shadow is not Lamont Cranston, but he uses Cranston‘s life as a secret identity that allows him access to high society. The opening hook of the book is that the real Cranston, who was on vacation in Europe, is injured in a plane crash. Suddenly, the Shadow’s secret identity won’t work anymore! As the story unfolds, his true identity and history is revealed, adding another layer of depth to his mythos. This brings the overall story up from three stars to four stars.

[Dennis Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Shadow Unmasks by Maxwell Grant is a step backward. It is better than Partners of Peril in a lot of ways, but worse in others. Other books have been old timey before, but this one leans too much into tropes that were rather disappointing. Asians in service of a Chinese person are called Mongols, the Chinese laundromat runner speaks in broken English, and the Shadow's true identity is the living white god of a Guatemalan native tribe. Disappointment upon disappointment. The plot is pretty okay, the characters are okay, the combination of Shark and Hanshu is an interesting enough duo to keep the story flowing, and their scheme was pretty well thought out, but the lazy lean into embarrassingly offensive tropes detracts from what could have been some genuinely interesting reveals about The Shadow. The duo also have more success than I thought they should have, but that's neither here nor there. The ending twist could have been done better as well. More than a little disappointing.

[John McDonnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read.

[Carl Palmateer · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable crime drama with a Shadow far better than the one from the movie. I did find it interesting that for allegedly lower material the vocabulary was better than much that is written today.

[Jeff J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pulp novel featuring the Shadow. The Shadow’s alibi is compromised. Much chaos ensues.

[Mark Golden · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story was written in 1937. The depiction of Asians, indigenous and South American peoples (not to mention women, African Americans, Irish Americans, Italian Americans ... really ANYONE other than male, white Anglo-Saxon protestants) here, in movies of the time, in literature high AND low, reflects the prevailing social norms of the times in which they are written and for the audience they were written for.

Deplorable as they are, it would be unrealistic to expect popular entertainment of its time to reflect prevailing and more enlightened social norms of nearly a century later. SO READER BEWARE: if you are going to avail yourself of such artifacts in time, it comes at the cost of enduring an accurate (and shameful) reflection of the prevailing attitudes of the times in which they were written (and the times in which the stories are set.)

That may be disqualifying to many modern readers, but if you can read past it, the Shadow is among the best written entries from the pulp era.

[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

[Ronald]

read some time in 2014