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Pulp Heroes - More Than Mortal
More Than Mortal is an epic adventure spanning two centuries in time and linking the incredible lives of history's most popular Victorian Age adventurers of the 1800's with the greatest action heroes of the Pulp Era and an assortment of well-known, real-life figures. In this completely original action-adventure story, four champions of justice, Doc Titan - The Ultimate Man, Darkness - The Master of Shadows, Guardian - Steel and Ice Justice, and Scorpion - The Deadliest Man Alive, are brought together for the first time to battle a deadly threat and save the Earth and mankind from absolute destruction. The story also features famous fictional characters from Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Around the World in 80 Days, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly's Frankenstein, Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Professor Challenger series, Chester Hawks' Captain Hazzard, H. Rider Haggard's Allan Quatermain, J.H. Rosny's Ironcastle, John W. Campbell's Who Goes There?/Thing from Another World, Philip Wylie's Savage Gentleman and Gladiator, and many more. Pulp Heroes - More Than Mortal is a fast-paced chronicle about relationships between humorous and entertaining characters. It's a story about daring adventure. About fathers and sons. Unexpected storyline twists. Secrets revealed and more secrets exposed. The passing of the heroic baton. It's about how everyone is linked in some way and how actions in the past affect the present. It's not about their abilities that show who these heroes are; it's about the choices they make. Above all, it's an action-packed thrill ride. And, most importantly, it's a story about great adventure heroes and heroines.
432 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2008
5 people are currently reading
231 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 8, 2020
I "won" this book on Goodreads many many many years ago, back when I bothered entering the giveaways and would enter a giveaway for anything. I remember it came with a bunch of postcards advertising it and other books the author had written, and I believe a note from the author asking for a review. Well, probably ten or more years later, I can't believe I finally read this whole thing. And, even more unbelievably... sort of... enjoyed it?
Objectively, I understand it's not good. For one thing, there are WAY too many characters, and too many unnecessary coincidences abounding. Every character is a "homage" (i.e. ripoff) of a classic pulp hero and they each come with their assorted baggage of supporting characters. With the exception of a handful of them (Kong and Bart's lively bickering come to mind) the rest are completely forgettable and unnecessary. Heck, I don't even think "The Darkness" (The Shadow) really needs to be in here. The Sentry (Captain America) absolutely adds nothing but a set up to Avengers #4, and I read that recently enough to still get flashbacks. The characters are reintroduced over an over again in a repetitive manner, and we are told the same back stories over and over. Every one of them is at least 7 feet tall, immaculately dressed, and a crack aviator or engineer or both.
You could look at this novel as fan fiction if you're generous or plagiarism if you're not. I think another reviewer called it a pastiche, and that's fair. I'm not sure what, if anything, is actually "new" in here (I even caught dialogue from the show thirtysomething of all things copied verbatim). Sometimes the copying is clever, but most of the time it's just copying. The author doesn't even TRY to make the Black Skull not the Red Skull. I've never read The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen or Farmer's World Newton Family books but those seem to be particular influences. At least Reinagel is kind enough to list the things he's ripped off at the back of the book. The last half relies a bit too much on characters regurgitating Wikipedia articles (although I did learn some things about the start of World War I to be honest).
All gunfire (when there actually is a too-rare action scene) is compared to "angry steel hornets." There seems to be an awful lot of rocket launchers floating around for 1945 but I can forgive the numerous historical inaccuracies. What I can't forgive is the arbitrary time of day given in each chapter, which only leads to confusion (i.e., Pam Titan reaches someone on the radio at 4:00 AM and the guy doesn't even mention she woke him up?)
And yet... most self-published books I've read have certain obvious flaws in them that make them just completely, totally... uninspired, for lack of a better word. Their pacing and writing sucks. Word for word, the writing isn't bad here. There's a ton of bad pacing (plotwise, I can only compare it to A Hard Ticket to Hawaii or any other number of Andy Sidaris movies, only without the girls) but I was impressed with how over and exhaustively ambitious the whole thing was- it truly is trying to make some sort of pastiche of a billion different characters and plots from pulp and classical literature (much like Frankenstein, who also appears in here). There's the Illuminati and Daddy Issues and Jack the Ripper and Rasputin and Tarzan and Sherlock Holmes and a killer virus and a immortality formula and even Indiana Jones. The author's enthusiasm for his influences and his love for his characters (the clones of these influences) shows. And while the end result isn't exactly original, I can't honestly say I didn't find it sort of entertaining.
I guess the author's enthusiasm went a surprisingly long way, as did his ability to write decent dialogue and, if not exactly mastering pacing, at least knowing when to cut to a new scene. I guess too I found the regurgitation of facts and familiar stories soothing to the soul. I sort of miss these characters and this world now. The fake pulp covers throughout, promising a whole universe of other adventures, were also inspiring.
Objectively, I understand it's not good. For one thing, there are WAY too many characters, and too many unnecessary coincidences abounding. Every character is a "homage" (i.e. ripoff) of a classic pulp hero and they each come with their assorted baggage of supporting characters. With the exception of a handful of them (Kong and Bart's lively bickering come to mind) the rest are completely forgettable and unnecessary. Heck, I don't even think "The Darkness" (The Shadow) really needs to be in here. The Sentry (Captain America) absolutely adds nothing but a set up to Avengers #4, and I read that recently enough to still get flashbacks. The characters are reintroduced over an over again in a repetitive manner, and we are told the same back stories over and over. Every one of them is at least 7 feet tall, immaculately dressed, and a crack aviator or engineer or both.
You could look at this novel as fan fiction if you're generous or plagiarism if you're not. I think another reviewer called it a pastiche, and that's fair. I'm not sure what, if anything, is actually "new" in here (I even caught dialogue from the show thirtysomething of all things copied verbatim). Sometimes the copying is clever, but most of the time it's just copying. The author doesn't even TRY to make the Black Skull not the Red Skull. I've never read The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen or Farmer's World Newton Family books but those seem to be particular influences. At least Reinagel is kind enough to list the things he's ripped off at the back of the book. The last half relies a bit too much on characters regurgitating Wikipedia articles (although I did learn some things about the start of World War I to be honest).
All gunfire (when there actually is a too-rare action scene) is compared to "angry steel hornets." There seems to be an awful lot of rocket launchers floating around for 1945 but I can forgive the numerous historical inaccuracies. What I can't forgive is the arbitrary time of day given in each chapter, which only leads to confusion (i.e., Pam Titan reaches someone on the radio at 4:00 AM and the guy doesn't even mention she woke him up?)
And yet... most self-published books I've read have certain obvious flaws in them that make them just completely, totally... uninspired, for lack of a better word. Their pacing and writing sucks. Word for word, the writing isn't bad here. There's a ton of bad pacing (plotwise, I can only compare it to A Hard Ticket to Hawaii or any other number of Andy Sidaris movies, only without the girls) but I was impressed with how over and exhaustively ambitious the whole thing was- it truly is trying to make some sort of pastiche of a billion different characters and plots from pulp and classical literature (much like Frankenstein, who also appears in here). There's the Illuminati and Daddy Issues and Jack the Ripper and Rasputin and Tarzan and Sherlock Holmes and a killer virus and a immortality formula and even Indiana Jones. The author's enthusiasm for his influences and his love for his characters (the clones of these influences) shows. And while the end result isn't exactly original, I can't honestly say I didn't find it sort of entertaining.
I guess the author's enthusiasm went a surprisingly long way, as did his ability to write decent dialogue and, if not exactly mastering pacing, at least knowing when to cut to a new scene. I guess too I found the regurgitation of facts and familiar stories soothing to the soul. I sort of miss these characters and this world now. The fake pulp covers throughout, promising a whole universe of other adventures, were also inspiring.
November 29, 2010
This book is an obvious labour of love, to create an epic pulp hero novel, teaming up 4 of the major pulp heroes (and hints of several others).
And I think overall the author succeeded.
Here, he has his takes on four major pulp heroes: Doc Savage (Doc Titan), The Shadow (The Darkness), The Avenger (The Guardian), and The Spider (The Scorpion), plus their aides & assistants. The author also ties in the Wold Newton concept of Phillip Jose Farmer, to create the backdrop to the story, weaving in various heroes and characters from earlier fiction. We see analogues of Tarzan, Captain America (and his 2 main Nazi villains the Red Skull and Count Zemo), Captain Lucifer and even the Angel Detective. Further, he uses the names of various people from pulp fiction for the names of minor characters. At times one wonders what the basis of certain characters. (is there a background story to Skull Island/Wilder Island that I'm missing? Or the assistanct to Doc Titan's father, or the real identity of the Black Skull).
Also, like many pastiches, the characters are not exact copies. There are differences from the main 4 characters to the originals. Some may be intentional, some may be the author isn't able to capture the style of the original authors.
Overall, I enjoyed this work. I really look forward to seeing the 2 followup novels. One looks to be a teamup between pastiches of Fu Manchu and Shiwan Khan, and the second looks to be a sort of sequal to this one.
Now, some criticisms. One big problem for a work like this, where almost all the characters are either pastiches of other characters OR whose name is based on a creator, is you sometimes wonder if a particular character IS based on another, but that you aren't familiar with the original one and not getting it. The next problem is with the artwork. The artwork is VERY nice, but it too modernistic. It really doesn't invoice the style or feeling of the pulps of the 30s & 40s. Tying with that, is that the garb of the main characters doesn't match what would be worn in that time period. Again, too modern.
And I think overall the author succeeded.
Here, he has his takes on four major pulp heroes: Doc Savage (Doc Titan), The Shadow (The Darkness), The Avenger (The Guardian), and The Spider (The Scorpion), plus their aides & assistants. The author also ties in the Wold Newton concept of Phillip Jose Farmer, to create the backdrop to the story, weaving in various heroes and characters from earlier fiction. We see analogues of Tarzan, Captain America (and his 2 main Nazi villains the Red Skull and Count Zemo), Captain Lucifer and even the Angel Detective. Further, he uses the names of various people from pulp fiction for the names of minor characters. At times one wonders what the basis of certain characters. (is there a background story to Skull Island/Wilder Island that I'm missing? Or the assistanct to Doc Titan's father, or the real identity of the Black Skull).
Also, like many pastiches, the characters are not exact copies. There are differences from the main 4 characters to the originals. Some may be intentional, some may be the author isn't able to capture the style of the original authors.
Overall, I enjoyed this work. I really look forward to seeing the 2 followup novels. One looks to be a teamup between pastiches of Fu Manchu and Shiwan Khan, and the second looks to be a sort of sequal to this one.
Now, some criticisms. One big problem for a work like this, where almost all the characters are either pastiches of other characters OR whose name is based on a creator, is you sometimes wonder if a particular character IS based on another, but that you aren't familiar with the original one and not getting it. The next problem is with the artwork. The artwork is VERY nice, but it too modernistic. It really doesn't invoice the style or feeling of the pulps of the 30s & 40s. Tying with that, is that the garb of the main characters doesn't match what would be worn in that time period. Again, too modern.
August 7, 2015
I enjoyed the story, tho one choice of the author to combine some historic literary not-so-good characters into the back story of one rather well known good character was unsettling. I think he pulled it off reasonably well, but I personally don't like buying it :/
As for the book, entertaining and while not a stay-up-all-night-to-finish read, it became a must-get-back-to-every-day read. some famous personages were well used and some famous literary pulp characters were well recreated and written. it's a big book, much longer than any individual tale of such characters, but that's what happens with an ensemble cast...sorta like the Avengers movies.
I will most likely read the third book, Sanctuary Falls, as well.
As for the book, entertaining and while not a stay-up-all-night-to-finish read, it became a must-get-back-to-every-day read. some famous personages were well used and some famous literary pulp characters were well recreated and written. it's a big book, much longer than any individual tale of such characters, but that's what happens with an ensemble cast...sorta like the Avengers movies.
I will most likely read the third book, Sanctuary Falls, as well.
December 16, 2013
A story of breathtaking ambition that remarkably lives up to its intent. Be prepared to lose some sleep because you won't put it down.
September 29, 2020
Wayne Reinagel took on quite an amazing challenge with this book: combining not only four of the great heroes of the era of the Pulps, but also characters of Victorian era fiction, comic books, and real history into a cohesive narrative.
And you know what? It works really well.
I don't know if you're as much of a fan of the Pulp era of fiction as I am, but for whatever reason the era of heroes like Doc Savage, the Shadow, the Spider, and more just fascinates me. I love the concept of heroes who are self-made, and the Pulps are full of them.
This book is a true homage to these characters and the wild, weird adventures that they experienced throughout their heyday. And Reinagel's knowledge of these characters is amazingly vast - he works references to prior adventures that they experienced, the casts of characters that peppered their adventures (including the teams that surrounded them), and the real feel of their adventures into this amazing work.
Some people criticize the book for "copying" the original heroes and their entourages, but to me a great deal of the fun is figuring out which characters are being re-imagined in the book.
Perhaps the one criticism I have is that occasionally the book is a bit TOO character-heavy. You frequently find yourself flipping back to the beginning of the book, where the author lists the characters and their teams, to figure out who's who. I can see that this would be very cumbersome in an e-book, but with a physical copy it wasn't a huge deal.
On the other hand, the experience of being dropped into a world where adventures with the characters have happened in the past and you're just in the latest episode can be very entertaining.
To sum up: this book is a clear labor of love. If you're a fan of comic books like Dynamite Comics and their homages to the pulp heroes, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Planetary, and similar works, the this will be right up your alley.
And you know what? It works really well.
I don't know if you're as much of a fan of the Pulp era of fiction as I am, but for whatever reason the era of heroes like Doc Savage, the Shadow, the Spider, and more just fascinates me. I love the concept of heroes who are self-made, and the Pulps are full of them.
This book is a true homage to these characters and the wild, weird adventures that they experienced throughout their heyday. And Reinagel's knowledge of these characters is amazingly vast - he works references to prior adventures that they experienced, the casts of characters that peppered their adventures (including the teams that surrounded them), and the real feel of their adventures into this amazing work.
Some people criticize the book for "copying" the original heroes and their entourages, but to me a great deal of the fun is figuring out which characters are being re-imagined in the book.
Perhaps the one criticism I have is that occasionally the book is a bit TOO character-heavy. You frequently find yourself flipping back to the beginning of the book, where the author lists the characters and their teams, to figure out who's who. I can see that this would be very cumbersome in an e-book, but with a physical copy it wasn't a huge deal.
On the other hand, the experience of being dropped into a world where adventures with the characters have happened in the past and you're just in the latest episode can be very entertaining.
To sum up: this book is a clear labor of love. If you're a fan of comic books like Dynamite Comics and their homages to the pulp heroes, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Planetary, and similar works, the this will be right up your alley.
July 22, 2014
Cool book cover, awesome pictures, great font & writing style. A very well written trek through time early super hero (Doc Titan (Ultimate Man), Darkness (Master of Shadows), Guardian (Steel & Ice Justice), Scorpion (Deadliest Man Alive)action-packed adventure, suspense-filled fantasy book. It was very easy to read/follow & never a dull moment from start/finish. No grammar errors, repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of frightening & unique scenarios & an enormous amount of characters to keep track of. A book you won’t want to put down. This would make a great Quinton Taritino type movie or mini TV series. A very easy rating of 5 stars for this book.
Thank you for the free book & all the awesome Pulp cards
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)
Thank you for the free book & all the awesome Pulp cards
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)
May 23, 2014
Pulp heros is a great read from beginning. Anyone who enjoys comic books will find this book remarkable. If I didn't read so many different books I wouldn've finished this book sooner. Illustrations are good. The entire is highly entertaining and Modern Marvels was the same way. If you pick this book up and start reading you will finish it because its that entertaining.
March 31, 2014
Although this subject matter is not my first choice in reading material, I enjoyed Pulp Heroes More Than Mortal. The book is well written and beautifully illustrated. Interesting characters, very detailed. I especially found the Historical Timeline fascinating....especially since this is not my usual genre. Kudos to Mr. Reinagel for a job well done.
April 21, 2014
When the book Pulp heroes More than Mortal came I couldn't wait to read it since I've always been a cannot the pulps even though they were far before my time. It did not disappoint at all it was a thrill a minute and cliffhangers at every turn. I loved the characters and the artwork in the book. I'm looking forward to other volumes and writings by Wayne Reinagel. Two thumbs way up.
May 10, 2014
I received this book for free through Goodreads first reads.
fantastic reading and beautiful illustrations, this book will entrance you and make you lose some sleep. Epic.
fantastic reading and beautiful illustrations, this book will entrance you and make you lose some sleep. Epic.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews