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Sexton Blake Library Anthologies #2
Sexton Blake and the Master Crooks
As brilliant as Sherlock Holmes. As daring as James Bond. Sexton Blake, the adventuring detective, is back again!
Murderers, Conmen and Thieves
A new breed of villain has risen, possessed of extraordinary intellect and violence. Only the brilliant mind and courage of Sexton Blake, scourge of the criminal world, can stop them, in these three classic stories, collected together in one volume for the first time.
From the streets of London to the catacombs of Paris, join Blake as he pits his wits against bank robbers, impostors and kidnappers, duels with swords, and pursues his foes by any means necessary.
Contains The Case of the Man in Motley by George N. Philips (1919) · Prince Pretence by Jack Lewis (1921) · The Wonder-Man's Challenge by Edwy Searles Brooks (1921)
Murderers, Conmen and Thieves
A new breed of villain has risen, possessed of extraordinary intellect and violence. Only the brilliant mind and courage of Sexton Blake, scourge of the criminal world, can stop them, in these three classic stories, collected together in one volume for the first time.
From the streets of London to the catacombs of Paris, join Blake as he pits his wits against bank robbers, impostors and kidnappers, duels with swords, and pursues his foes by any means necessary.
Contains The Case of the Man in Motley by George N. Philips (1919) · Prince Pretence by Jack Lewis (1921) · The Wonder-Man's Challenge by Edwy Searles Brooks (1921)
430 pages, Paperback
Published June 23, 2020
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26 people want to read
About the author
Mark Hodder
74 books523 followersBritish author living in Valencia, Spain.
Burton & Swinburne Novels:
THE STRANGE AFFAIR OF SPRING-HEELED JACK (Winner of the Philip K. Dick Award 2010)
THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE CLOCKWORK MAN
EXPEDITION TO THE MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON
THE SECRET OF ABDU EL YEZDI
THE RETURN OF THE DISCONTINUED MAN
THE RISE OF THE AUTOMATED ARISTOCRATS
Other Novels:
A RED SUN ALSO RISES
THE SILENT THUNDER CAPER
A DARK AND SUBTLE LIGHT
Novels in Collaboration with Michael Moorcock:
CARIBBEAN CRISIS/VOODOO ISLAND
THE ALBINO'S SECRET (forthcoming)
THE ALBINO'S HONOUR (forthcoming)
THE ALBINO'S EYE (forthcoming)
As Editor:
SEXTON BLAKE AND THE GREAT WAR
SEXTON BLAKE VERSUS THE MASTER CROOKS
SEXTON BLAKE'S ALLIES
SEXTON BLAKE ON THE HOME FRONT
SEXTON BLAKE'S NEW ORDER
Burton & Swinburne Novels:
THE STRANGE AFFAIR OF SPRING-HEELED JACK (Winner of the Philip K. Dick Award 2010)
THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE CLOCKWORK MAN
EXPEDITION TO THE MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON
THE SECRET OF ABDU EL YEZDI
THE RETURN OF THE DISCONTINUED MAN
THE RISE OF THE AUTOMATED ARISTOCRATS
Other Novels:
A RED SUN ALSO RISES
THE SILENT THUNDER CAPER
A DARK AND SUBTLE LIGHT
Novels in Collaboration with Michael Moorcock:
CARIBBEAN CRISIS/VOODOO ISLAND
THE ALBINO'S SECRET (forthcoming)
THE ALBINO'S HONOUR (forthcoming)
THE ALBINO'S EYE (forthcoming)
As Editor:
SEXTON BLAKE AND THE GREAT WAR
SEXTON BLAKE VERSUS THE MASTER CROOKS
SEXTON BLAKE'S ALLIES
SEXTON BLAKE ON THE HOME FRONT
SEXTON BLAKE'S NEW ORDER
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
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October 29, 2020I've been wanting to read some Sexton Blake for a while but given the variety of authors (jobbing work) and likely landmines of pulp awfulness, I haven't known where to start. Rebellion have reprinted a curated set of Sexton Blake stories in order to dig out the best ones and remove some of the more glaring racist epithets, so that's handy. (Still lots of stuff modern readers will find offensive, needless to day.)
Obviously the stories are complete derivative tosh (the the intro points out, hilariously, that though Sexton Blake is the cleverest detective and best fencer and also a doctor and a super cunning genius who knows everything, he never actually manages to *catch* any master crooks because they always have to escape for sequel reasons.) And boy howdy a modern adaptation would have fun with Tinker, the Cockney Robin character who matters more than life itself to Blake for unspecified reasons, uh huh. Still, what's not to like about our hero fencing with a disgraced aristocrat master criminal on a ledge over a vat of molten metal, or being trapped in the Paris Catacombs by a master of disguise. Good fun for a 1920s pulp value of good.
I did not like the rather cheesy 'character interview' device used for the introductions, and would have got a lot more from a more conventional style with some actual information.
Obviously the stories are complete derivative tosh (the the intro points out, hilariously, that though Sexton Blake is the cleverest detective and best fencer and also a doctor and a super cunning genius who knows everything, he never actually manages to *catch* any master crooks because they always have to escape for sequel reasons.) And boy howdy a modern adaptation would have fun with Tinker, the Cockney Robin character who matters more than life itself to Blake for unspecified reasons, uh huh. Still, what's not to like about our hero fencing with a disgraced aristocrat master criminal on a ledge over a vat of molten metal, or being trapped in the Paris Catacombs by a master of disguise. Good fun for a 1920s pulp value of good.
I did not like the rather cheesy 'character interview' device used for the introductions, and would have got a lot more from a more conventional style with some actual information.
March 26, 2025
Read this as homework for reading some Michael Moorcock. All I knew of Sexton Blake was that he was a "detective", so I was expecting mysteries, but he's a crime-fighter rather than a mystery-solver.
As far as old pulpy adventure stories about fighting crime go, these are okay. There's nothing particularly compelling about Sexton Blake as a character, or about his assistant Tinker, and very little compelling about the "master crooks" he faces in these stories. Rupert Waldo, the "Wonder-Man" of the final story, is probably the most interesting of the three.
As far as old pulpy adventure stories about fighting crime go, these are okay. There's nothing particularly compelling about Sexton Blake as a character, or about his assistant Tinker, and very little compelling about the "master crooks" he faces in these stories. Rupert Waldo, the "Wonder-Man" of the final story, is probably the most interesting of the three.
December 19, 2020
Three stories featuring Blake’s greatest longrunning adversaries. All well chosen, exciting examples to introduce newcomers to the villains Zenith, Waldo and Jack Kestrel.
Not as dramatic and emotional as volune one of this series, ‘Allies’, but rather the more typical nonstop action and detection of Sexton Blake’s crimefighting in the UK. I was particularly impressed with the way extended knockdown fistfights were described in the Zenith tale - descriptive, inventive, succinct and exciting.
Not as dramatic and emotional as volune one of this series, ‘Allies’, but rather the more typical nonstop action and detection of Sexton Blake’s crimefighting in the UK. I was particularly impressed with the way extended knockdown fistfights were described in the Zenith tale - descriptive, inventive, succinct and exciting.
December 21, 2022
Three thrilling adventures originally published in 1919 and 1921. The stories rely on pace rather than depth but are still fun reads on a Winter's day.
There's some fun to be had in speculating how the stories would have panned out if this, that or other circumstance gone the other way, though invariably the results would have been a more convoluted story that wouldn't have met the needs of the intended audience. (The rope in the catacomb is a particularly rich source of speculation.)
There's some fun to be had in speculating how the stories would have panned out if this, that or other circumstance gone the other way, though invariably the results would have been a more convoluted story that wouldn't have met the needs of the intended audience. (The rope in the catacomb is a particularly rich source of speculation.)
January 30, 2022
3.5. Sexton Blake's print career ran from 1893 on into the 1960s, partly on the strength of memorable villains (much as I'd heard, Blake himself is rather colorless). In this collection he takes on Zenith the Albino; Leon Kestrel the Master Mummer; and Waldo the Wonder-Man, all supervillains of various types. Surprisingly, while Blake thwarts all three of them, all three get away to strike again.
This was enjoyable though it didn't give me any great urge to read more of Blake.
This was enjoyable though it didn't give me any great urge to read more of Blake.
June 28, 2022
Nice intro to Blake, but I don't agree with censoring the stories. Anybody reading these today knows what to expect. Also, considering the massive amount of stories, this is a slim compilation. Perhaps there should be a phonebook size collection like those Mysterious Press pulp volumes.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews