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Matthew Henson and the Ice Temple of Harlem
MATTHEW HENSON AND THE ICE TEMPLE OF HARLEM is the first in a new exciting retro rollicking adventure series from 2021 Munsey Award-nominee Gary Phillips. This re-imagined pulp novel follows the Doc Savage-style adventures of the first black man to reach the North Pole ―Matthew Henson. The tail end of the Roaring 20s. Harlem. Hired by controversial spiritual leader Daddy Paradise to retrieve his adult daughter who has been kidnapped, adventurer Matthew Henson does just that. Then he must safeguard the two until the firebrand can deliver a momentous speech at a mass rally. Henson must employ all his survival skills to fulfill his task―skills that kept him whole in forbidden jungles, across Asia, and in sub-zero ice storms when he first reached the North Pole. Henson’s charge brings him face-to-face with such illustrious characters as gangster Dutch Schultz, who's looking to muscle out numbers racket boss Queenie St. Clair, and famed inventor Nikola Tesla who is using his electrical acumen to surveil plutocrats. Henson’s pal Bessie Coleman, America’s first black aviatrix lends a hand as well. With a death ray zeroing in on him, he races against the clock to save lives, and keep a mysterious and powerful meteor fragment he brought back from the Arctic years ago out of the hands of monied evil-doers. Set against the intellectual, artistic and political firmament that was the Harlem Renaissance, THE ICE TEMPLE OF HARLEM re-imagines explorer Matthew Henson in the style of Doc Savage and Indiana Jones. The one the Inuit adopted as their own and considered the best example of those from the distant South.
320 pages, Paperback
Published November 17, 2020
8 people are currently reading
92 people want to read
About the author
Gary Phillips
200 books231 followersGARY PHILLIPS has been a community activist, labor organizer and delivered dog cages. He’s published various novels, comics, short stories and edited several anthologies including South Central Noir and the Anthony award-winning The Obama Inheritance: Fifteen Stories of Conspiracy Noir. Violent Spring, first published in 1994 was named in 2020 one of the essential crime novels of Los Angeles. He was also a writer/co-producer on FX’s Snowfall (streaming on Hulu), about crack and the CIA in 1980s South Central where he grew up. Recent novels include One-Shot Harry and Matthew Henson and the Ice Temple of Harlem. He lives with his family in the wilds of Los Angeles.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 20, 2024
A fun pulp adventure! Matthew Henson, a real person reimagined for the story, fits into the mold of self-assured adventure hero like a glove.
To the author’s immense credit, he balances the tension of portraying the race relations of the 1920’s in an accurate way, without allowing it to become a focus of the story (and integrating it suitably into the plot).
I’m excited to follow Matthew Henson on his next expedition!
To the author’s immense credit, he balances the tension of portraying the race relations of the 1920’s in an accurate way, without allowing it to become a focus of the story (and integrating it suitably into the plot).
I’m excited to follow Matthew Henson on his next expedition!
September 27, 2022
Enjoyed it, but I must admit I wanted more action.
October 5, 2020
An old-style pulp adventure updated for modern sensibilities, starring real historical figure Matthew Henson, the Arctic explorer, in the title role.
The author has done a lot of research on the period, and it shows - too much. He's constantly dropping names of contemporary celebrities and bits of researched background that aren't germane to the story. Just because the research well is deep is no reason to make the reader drink from the bucket; it needs to mean something. Some other historical figures are given small parts, though, not just observed in passing - Nikola Tesla, aviatrix Bessie Coleman, gangster Dutch Schultz, and others.
Having done all that research, he then ignores a few historical facts for the purposes of his story. It's set in the early 1920s, at which point Henson was in his late 50s and married to his second wife, but in this version he is (apparently) much younger, and single.
The story is fine, moving along well (despite the research dumps - they are, at least, brief), with lots of action, plenty of threats, high stakes, and fantastical McGuffins. The character reflects on his life a bit in between the action, and if he doesn't come to any real conclusions, at least the thought was put in.
The point of view mostly seems like close third person, following the protagonist and giving us his thoughts and experiences, but occasionally it wanders to someone else for a scene or part of a scene.
I had an advance review copy from Netgalley, and I am skeptical that the many, many, many copy-editing issues can be fixed before publication - most of the common issues (punctuation, homonyms and near-homonyms, dangling modifiers), but a lot more of them than I usually see, even pre-publication.
If you can ignore those and just enjoy the ride, it's a decent pulp adventure with an overlay of history that makes the Harlem Renaissance come to life for a modern audience.
The author has done a lot of research on the period, and it shows - too much. He's constantly dropping names of contemporary celebrities and bits of researched background that aren't germane to the story. Just because the research well is deep is no reason to make the reader drink from the bucket; it needs to mean something. Some other historical figures are given small parts, though, not just observed in passing - Nikola Tesla, aviatrix Bessie Coleman, gangster Dutch Schultz, and others.
Having done all that research, he then ignores a few historical facts for the purposes of his story. It's set in the early 1920s, at which point Henson was in his late 50s and married to his second wife, but in this version he is (apparently) much younger, and single.
The story is fine, moving along well (despite the research dumps - they are, at least, brief), with lots of action, plenty of threats, high stakes, and fantastical McGuffins. The character reflects on his life a bit in between the action, and if he doesn't come to any real conclusions, at least the thought was put in.
The point of view mostly seems like close third person, following the protagonist and giving us his thoughts and experiences, but occasionally it wanders to someone else for a scene or part of a scene.
I had an advance review copy from Netgalley, and I am skeptical that the many, many, many copy-editing issues can be fixed before publication - most of the common issues (punctuation, homonyms and near-homonyms, dangling modifiers), but a lot more of them than I usually see, even pre-publication.
If you can ignore those and just enjoy the ride, it's a decent pulp adventure with an overlay of history that makes the Harlem Renaissance come to life for a modern audience.
August 12, 2020
I just finished reading "Matthew Henson and the Ice Temple of Harlem", in which author Gary Phillips takes a real-life, yet overlooked, multi-skilled, world class adventurer and places him in the eye of a pulp-hero-storm story.
In real life, Matthew Henson spent 18 years on eight expeditions with explorer Robert Peary: one to Nicaragua, and seven to the Arctic, where Henson may have been the first man to reach the North Pole. Henson had excellent navigation skills, spoke a number of local Inuit languages and learned to drive dog sleds as the Inuit did.
So, in many ways, it was not much of a stretch to cast Henson in a Doc Savage-like mold within a pulp story. But Phillips does much more than just place Henson in a fantastic adventure, he simultaneously grounds his character in a story set during the social, artistic and intellectual flowering of the Harlem Renaissance in 1920s New York City. Henson is well-known and liked in his community, yet he also has to deal with the very real social prejudices against Black citizens in early twentieth-century New York. Gary Phillips skillfully balances fantastic elements of the story with the everyday life of people in this engaging and stimulating tale.
Along the way, Phillips populates his story with a fascinating crew of characters and cameos, some historical and a couple from the pulp literature of the period, while at the same time moving the plot along at a steady pace. Someone needs to option the film rights to this book, interest Idris Elba in playing Matt Henson, and save me a seat at the theater. Meanwhile, I look forward to Gary Phillips’ next Matthew Henson pulp adventure.
In real life, Matthew Henson spent 18 years on eight expeditions with explorer Robert Peary: one to Nicaragua, and seven to the Arctic, where Henson may have been the first man to reach the North Pole. Henson had excellent navigation skills, spoke a number of local Inuit languages and learned to drive dog sleds as the Inuit did.
So, in many ways, it was not much of a stretch to cast Henson in a Doc Savage-like mold within a pulp story. But Phillips does much more than just place Henson in a fantastic adventure, he simultaneously grounds his character in a story set during the social, artistic and intellectual flowering of the Harlem Renaissance in 1920s New York City. Henson is well-known and liked in his community, yet he also has to deal with the very real social prejudices against Black citizens in early twentieth-century New York. Gary Phillips skillfully balances fantastic elements of the story with the everyday life of people in this engaging and stimulating tale.
Along the way, Phillips populates his story with a fascinating crew of characters and cameos, some historical and a couple from the pulp literature of the period, while at the same time moving the plot along at a steady pace. Someone needs to option the film rights to this book, interest Idris Elba in playing Matt Henson, and save me a seat at the theater. Meanwhile, I look forward to Gary Phillips’ next Matthew Henson pulp adventure.
February 3, 2022
It's an unheard of two 5 stars day for me.
This was a wonderful read (or, in my case, listen, as I found it in the Plus catalogue on Audible). The author crammed a metric tonne of historical figures and events into a relatively short story without it feeling overdone or hokey.
I have a great love of that very specific genre of mystery which involves fictionalized accounts of historical figures solving crimes (often with a fantastical element). This is a fine example. It's also got a real pulpy vibe, almost like those old time radio dramas. Instead of Lamont Cranston, though, our hero is the titular Matthew Hanson, a real life explorer who was the first man to reach the North Pole (though Robert Peary stole his thunder).
His fictionalized version moonlights as a Shadow-like character, but the focus of this story relates to his time in the Arctic. There's a ray gun involved. Because of course there is. And mobsters and The Cotton Club and Nichola Tesla and a fantastic cast of characters.
The pacing was great, the plotting was solid, overall it was a great soundtrack to my work shift.
This was a wonderful read (or, in my case, listen, as I found it in the Plus catalogue on Audible). The author crammed a metric tonne of historical figures and events into a relatively short story without it feeling overdone or hokey.
I have a great love of that very specific genre of mystery which involves fictionalized accounts of historical figures solving crimes (often with a fantastical element). This is a fine example. It's also got a real pulpy vibe, almost like those old time radio dramas. Instead of Lamont Cranston, though, our hero is the titular Matthew Hanson, a real life explorer who was the first man to reach the North Pole (though Robert Peary stole his thunder).
His fictionalized version moonlights as a Shadow-like character, but the focus of this story relates to his time in the Arctic. There's a ray gun involved. Because of course there is. And mobsters and The Cotton Club and Nichola Tesla and a fantastic cast of characters.
The pacing was great, the plotting was solid, overall it was a great soundtrack to my work shift.
January 2, 2021
An action romp through Renaissance Harlem, crashing through windows, fighting bad white guys, and encountering the great figures of Harlem art and literature with superhero Matt Henson of North Pole discovery fame. Was the real Matthew Henson this tough, attractive, and accomplished? Who cares? He was certainly an amazing person, the first one to find the North Pole. Whether or not he found a priceless, deadly space artifact on his travels and went on to battle evil capitalists, the U.S. government, and gangster Dutch Schultz, it makes a great story.
The book did need one more run past a good copy editor. Normally that would irritate me beyond endurance, but I was having too much fun to stop reading.
The book did need one more run past a good copy editor. Normally that would irritate me beyond endurance, but I was having too much fun to stop reading.
March 19, 2021
An entertaining and gripping mix of alternate history and pulp fiction that kept me hooked.
I liked the mix of historical and fictional characters, the world building and the tightly knitted plot.
It's the first book I read by this author and won't surely be the last.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
I liked the mix of historical and fictional characters, the world building and the tightly knitted plot.
It's the first book I read by this author and won't surely be the last.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
December 17, 2020
Creative Black History
Matthew Henson is richly and humanly imagined in this entertaining mystery Weaving together history with fantasy makes for an excellent novel for middle school students on up
Matthew Henson is richly and humanly imagined in this entertaining mystery Weaving together history with fantasy makes for an excellent novel for middle school students on up
July 8, 2020
Fun, pulpy read. Lots of Black History I didn't know. Phillips definitely knows history, pulp, and Old Time radio. If you like pulp and adventure, this is a great book to get into.
January 29, 2023
One of the most thrilling reads lately.
Brilliant genre stylings, a wonderful character ensemble.
Brilliant genre stylings, a wonderful character ensemble.
January 15, 2022
Fun read with nods to history throughout.
June 16, 2025
The real-life explorer of the North Pole, Matthew Henson, becomes a pulp action hero in this rollicking adventure yarn. A mysterious meteorite that Henson recovered from Greenland becomes the key to a death ray that gangster Dutch Schultz intends to use to eliminate his opposition to taking over the Harlem numbers racket from Stephanie St. Clair.
Merging New Pulp with the fascinating milieu of the Harlem Renaissance was a great idea, and I usually love it when an author does their research and peppers their action story with accurate references to the people, locations, and mores of the time. Having fun while learning is great. Except I wish Phillips had done some more research. As far as I can tell, he's got the story set in 1928 (from a reference to the upcoming election of Herbert Hoover). This is two years after the death of one of his main real-life characters, the famed black aviatrix, Bessie Coleman. It's also five years before the release of the MG J2 automobile the guest Jimmy Dale, The Gray Seal, drives. Bessie Coleman's experimental airplane is named after Skathi, a moon of Saturn, even though that moon wasn't discovered until 2000. Oh, and how exactly would you sabotage a plane so that it would crash by removing the contact points from its ignition switch---think it through. There are also a lot of typos, grammatical mistakes, misspellings, and other proofreading errors. Writing is hard work. This needed another month of research and several more passes through the hands of a competent proofreader/editor.
Merging New Pulp with the fascinating milieu of the Harlem Renaissance was a great idea, and I usually love it when an author does their research and peppers their action story with accurate references to the people, locations, and mores of the time. Having fun while learning is great. Except I wish Phillips had done some more research. As far as I can tell, he's got the story set in 1928 (from a reference to the upcoming election of Herbert Hoover). This is two years after the death of one of his main real-life characters, the famed black aviatrix, Bessie Coleman. It's also five years before the release of the MG J2 automobile the guest Jimmy Dale, The Gray Seal, drives. Bessie Coleman's experimental airplane is named after Skathi, a moon of Saturn, even though that moon wasn't discovered until 2000. Oh, and how exactly would you sabotage a plane so that it would crash by removing the contact points from its ignition switch---think it through. There are also a lot of typos, grammatical mistakes, misspellings, and other proofreading errors. Writing is hard work. This needed another month of research and several more passes through the hands of a competent proofreader/editor.
November 11, 2020
Highly entertaining pulp fiction - Matt Henson is a Doc Savage for the Harlem Renaissance.
I suppose this qualifies as alternate history: Henson is himself a historical figure (of considerable accomplishment), as are other principal characters, and the story is set in a well-researched 1920's Harlem populated with historical and fictional characters. The action moves quickly - it's mostly straight adventure with gee whiz technology and touch of science fiction - with a plot complicated by a large cast of semi-good, semi-bad, and downright evil forces operating with and against each other. Henson is an engaging, resourceful hero, anchored by the everyday decency and bravery of the Black residents of Harlem, who consistently and quietly aid Henson in his quest.
I suppose this qualifies as alternate history: Henson is himself a historical figure (of considerable accomplishment), as are other principal characters, and the story is set in a well-researched 1920's Harlem populated with historical and fictional characters. The action moves quickly - it's mostly straight adventure with gee whiz technology and touch of science fiction - with a plot complicated by a large cast of semi-good, semi-bad, and downright evil forces operating with and against each other. Henson is an engaging, resourceful hero, anchored by the everyday decency and bravery of the Black residents of Harlem, who consistently and quietly aid Henson in his quest.
August 22, 2023
A fun books - great mix of real and alternate history, I love the idea of transforming Matthew Henson into a noir pulp hero. The conceit works well in general, some of the execution could be a bit tighter (as could the book production - couldn't tell if this was printed on demand, but there were a few slipups).
I'd honestly rate this a 3.5 stars, but that's not an option for Goodreads - but happy to bump it up to 4 in hopes of a sequel - perhaps with more Zora Neale Hurston in it. She'd make a natural ally for Henson in his adventures!
I'd honestly rate this a 3.5 stars, but that's not an option for Goodreads - but happy to bump it up to 4 in hopes of a sequel - perhaps with more Zora Neale Hurston in it. She'd make a natural ally for Henson in his adventures!
February 9, 2021
Wow. I don't know how this book made it to publication in its current form. There were multiple errata on every page that were very distracting - misspellings, typos, horrible grammar, syntax, you name it. But it was a mediocre story clumsily told, so there's that.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews