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Fantômas #3
Messengers of Evil
One of the most popular characters in the history of French crime fiction, Fantômas was created in 1911 and appeared in a total of 32 volumes written by the two collaborators, then a subsequent 11 volumes written by Allain alone after Souvestre's death. The character was also the basis of various film, television, and comic book adaptations. His importance in the history of crime fiction cannot be overestimated, as he represents a transition from Gothic novel villains of the 1800s, to modern-day serial killers. "In the mode reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes and his ineradicable nemesis, the virtually immortal Professor Moriarty, Inspector Juve dedicates himself to the relentless pursuit of that evil genius Fantomas. He is, as they say in petrified Paris, "Nothing. . . Everything. . . Nobody. . . Somebody." And what does he do? He "spreads terror," diabolically, craftily beyond all slashes throats of kindly old ladies; stuffs strangled British socialites into trunks; boldly robs Russian princesses in their hotel rooms; pushes witnesses off speeding trains to their deaths. Can Juve prevail against that hellish power?" --Publishers Weekly
241 pages, Paperback
First published April 20, 1911
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250 people want to read
About the author
Marcel Allain
160 books41 followersMarcel Allain (1885-1970) was a French writer mostly remembered today for his co-creation with Pierre Souvestre of the fictional arch-villain and master criminal Fantômas.
The son of a Parisian bourgeois family, Allain studied law before becoming a journalist. He then became the assistant of Souvestre, who was already a well-known figure in literary circles. In 1909, the two men published their first novel, Le Rour. Investigating Magistrate Germain Fuselier, later to become a recurring character in the Fantômas series, appears in the novel.
Then, in February 1911, Allain and Souvestre embarked upon the Fantômas book series at the request of publisher Arthème Fayard, who wanted to create a new monthly pulp magazine. The success was immediate and lasting.
After Souvestre’s death in February 1914, Allain continued the Fantômas saga alone, then launched several other series, such as Tigris, Fatala, Miss Téria and Férocias, but none garnered the same popularity as Fantômas.
The son of a Parisian bourgeois family, Allain studied law before becoming a journalist. He then became the assistant of Souvestre, who was already a well-known figure in literary circles. In 1909, the two men published their first novel, Le Rour. Investigating Magistrate Germain Fuselier, later to become a recurring character in the Fantômas series, appears in the novel.
Then, in February 1911, Allain and Souvestre embarked upon the Fantômas book series at the request of publisher Arthème Fayard, who wanted to create a new monthly pulp magazine. The success was immediate and lasting.
After Souvestre’s death in February 1914, Allain continued the Fantômas saga alone, then launched several other series, such as Tigris, Fatala, Miss Téria and Férocias, but none garnered the same popularity as Fantômas.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
September 30, 2014
The third in the Fantomas series and the third I've read; this installment struck me as more polished than the first two, and structured more like a classic mystery, with clues scattered throughout and murders and unseen villains always one step ahead of the investigators, then climaxing in a grand finale of revelation.
Throughout it relies more on hints and suggestions of psychopathy; with murders related second-hand or through news reports. There is only one murder depicted in "real time" (discounting the arranged "suicide" by gas inhalation, which felt too passive to count as murder, at least in the context of my demented expectations) but it's a good one, with a band of low-life smugglers gang-murdering a suspected fink with a series of hammer blows.
I especially found this indirectness interesting after watching the third installment of Feuillade's film immediately after finishing this book; for the film is much more explicit in some ways, with the classic black body suited and black hooded image of Fantomas making many actual appearances throughout, while in the book he's decidedly "off-stage" and if memory serves is never even described wearing the classic costume; but in other ways is less, as the death by hammer blows is omitted entirely (how disappointing!). The film also dispenses with the classic mystery qualities and focuses more on being a "cheap" thriller, in that the identity of the villain is known almost immediately and his every appearance is milked for every ounce of possible menace, while in the book his identity is not revealed until the end as a kind of shocking surprise.
The whole book hinges on one gruesome idea: that the flesh from the hand of a murdered man could be peeled off and worn like a glove, so that the fingerprints left behind at the scene would be those of a dead man. I'd say that's sufficiently gruesome.
Lucky for us decadent corpse sniffers Fantomas manages to miraculously escape the final revelation in The Corpse Who Kills to wreak more psychotic havoc in many more books.
Throughout it relies more on hints and suggestions of psychopathy; with murders related second-hand or through news reports. There is only one murder depicted in "real time" (discounting the arranged "suicide" by gas inhalation, which felt too passive to count as murder, at least in the context of my demented expectations) but it's a good one, with a band of low-life smugglers gang-murdering a suspected fink with a series of hammer blows.
I especially found this indirectness interesting after watching the third installment of Feuillade's film immediately after finishing this book; for the film is much more explicit in some ways, with the classic black body suited and black hooded image of Fantomas making many actual appearances throughout, while in the book he's decidedly "off-stage" and if memory serves is never even described wearing the classic costume; but in other ways is less, as the death by hammer blows is omitted entirely (how disappointing!). The film also dispenses with the classic mystery qualities and focuses more on being a "cheap" thriller, in that the identity of the villain is known almost immediately and his every appearance is milked for every ounce of possible menace, while in the book his identity is not revealed until the end as a kind of shocking surprise.
The whole book hinges on one gruesome idea: that the flesh from the hand of a murdered man could be peeled off and worn like a glove, so that the fingerprints left behind at the scene would be those of a dead man. I'd say that's sufficiently gruesome.
Lucky for us decadent corpse sniffers Fantomas manages to miraculously escape the final revelation in The Corpse Who Kills to wreak more psychotic havoc in many more books.
July 13, 2024
I didn't enjoy this, but I'm not sure it is the author's fault. I may just have chosen to read it at the wrong time. I remember the previous two in the series as being rather improbable and so I found it fun to watch the detectives always one step behind Fantomas.
This was not much different except that I had a harder time following it. That, and there was also a clue about midway that pretty much told me who I should be looking out for. I don't have any others planned and I think I'll just not read any more.
This was not much different except that I had a harder time following it. That, and there was also a clue about midway that pretty much told me who I should be looking out for. I don't have any others planned and I think I'll just not read any more.
August 21, 2023
The Fantomas book "The Corpse Who Kills" is pretty great for various reasons. One, I like how 'the criminal underworld' is portrayed in the book. It has sort of a dreamy sub-culture vibe about it, where the criminals have their own set of rules - and Paris itself is part of the narrative or character as well.
Like all great pulp writing, there is a feverish quality to the narration. One murder after another - and usually in a shocking and horrible manner. One criminal gets executed by various thugs by being hammered to death one by one. And who is behind all the evil that is taking place in Paris - why of course it's Fantomas, the Lord of Crime. But does he even exist?
Fantomas is very much a terrorist who barely has an identity of any sort. He's a figure that wears a body-fitting black outfit with a mask covering his entire face. He only appears maybe twice in the book - and he is usually feared by his fellow criminals. It is almost like he's a God, a spiritual being of everything that's bad in the world. Not exactly the Devil... the devil is a playful character. This figure is pure evil, and as I wrote before I think the good needs to invent an evil being like Fantomas to focus on their fears, anxiety, etc.
For those who can, check out the Louis Feuillade film as well. It's remarkable and just as good as the books.
Like all great pulp writing, there is a feverish quality to the narration. One murder after another - and usually in a shocking and horrible manner. One criminal gets executed by various thugs by being hammered to death one by one. And who is behind all the evil that is taking place in Paris - why of course it's Fantomas, the Lord of Crime. But does he even exist?
Fantomas is very much a terrorist who barely has an identity of any sort. He's a figure that wears a body-fitting black outfit with a mask covering his entire face. He only appears maybe twice in the book - and he is usually feared by his fellow criminals. It is almost like he's a God, a spiritual being of everything that's bad in the world. Not exactly the Devil... the devil is a playful character. This figure is pure evil, and as I wrote before I think the good needs to invent an evil being like Fantomas to focus on their fears, anxiety, etc.
For those who can, check out the Louis Feuillade film as well. It's remarkable and just as good as the books.
April 11, 2025
Entertaining fantasy listening 👀🙄
This kindle ebook novel is free from Amazon
I couldn't connect with the story.
I would recommend that you give it a try 🙃🤔 2025 🐕😯
This kindle ebook novel is free from Amazon
I couldn't connect with the story.
I would recommend that you give it a try 🙃🤔 2025 🐕😯
May 6, 2012
Fantômas strikes again! The third book in the series is as nail-bitingly good as its predecessors. At certain points of the narrative, I had to cover with my hand the lower parts of the page so that I wouldn't skip ahead to see what happened. Compulsive reading!
Focussing mainly on the investigations made by the young journalist, Jérôme Fandor, into the a spate of terrible crimes, seemingly disparate but which he becomes increasingly convinced are linked by the agency of the terrible king of atrocity, Fantômas!
Fantômas is a master of disguise whose identity and history are entirely unknown. Thus, any of the characters in the story, and possibly more than one, might be Fantômas. Like Holmes's arch-enemy, Professor Moriarty, Fantômas is the spider at the centre of a web of criminality, but unlike Moriarty, Fantômas is not above getting his own hands dirty. In fact, he seems to positively relish being personally involved in the crimes he's planned (robbery, murder, bombings, torture, mutilation, and is there an oblique allusion to rape?).
Fantômas is not only a brilliantly ingenious strategist, he is also adept in hand-to-hand combat, an agile housebreaker and silent assassin. When not in disguise, his appearances are in the form of an athletic man dressed in form-fitting black and a hood showing only his piercing eyes: Fantômas the first European ninja!
The whole of this story is set in Paris and it was fun to read along with Google Maps/Street View to hand so that I could follow Fandor's hunt through the fashionable boulevards and narrow twisting alleyways. Obviously, much has changed, but many of the streets and buildings mentioned still remain, silent witnesses to the hideous crimes of Fantômas.
I do hope that more of the series appears in English translation.
Focussing mainly on the investigations made by the young journalist, Jérôme Fandor, into the a spate of terrible crimes, seemingly disparate but which he becomes increasingly convinced are linked by the agency of the terrible king of atrocity, Fantômas!
Fantômas is a master of disguise whose identity and history are entirely unknown. Thus, any of the characters in the story, and possibly more than one, might be Fantômas. Like Holmes's arch-enemy, Professor Moriarty, Fantômas is the spider at the centre of a web of criminality, but unlike Moriarty, Fantômas is not above getting his own hands dirty. In fact, he seems to positively relish being personally involved in the crimes he's planned (robbery, murder, bombings, torture, mutilation, and is there an oblique allusion to rape?).
Fantômas is not only a brilliantly ingenious strategist, he is also adept in hand-to-hand combat, an agile housebreaker and silent assassin. When not in disguise, his appearances are in the form of an athletic man dressed in form-fitting black and a hood showing only his piercing eyes: Fantômas the first European ninja!
The whole of this story is set in Paris and it was fun to read along with Google Maps/Street View to hand so that I could follow Fandor's hunt through the fashionable boulevards and narrow twisting alleyways. Obviously, much has changed, but many of the streets and buildings mentioned still remain, silent witnesses to the hideous crimes of Fantômas.
I do hope that more of the series appears in English translation.
September 12, 2023
jerome fandor i love you will you marry me
February 6, 2020
I don't know if it's due to the translation, or the authors, or my mind starting to vibe with this series, but these books are getting more fun and easier to read by each instalment.
I am perhaps a little disappointed that Fandor is the main character of this -- personally I like Inspector Juve a lot more, and it's no fun when Fantômas is hardly ever brought up except in the final chapter (because of course he was disguised as someone else throughout the story) -- but the love story between Fandor and Elisabeth was sweet, and the gore and horror was very inventive. I think I'm gonna keep reading these.
I am perhaps a little disappointed that Fandor is the main character of this -- personally I like Inspector Juve a lot more, and it's no fun when Fantômas is hardly ever brought up except in the final chapter (because of course he was disguised as someone else throughout the story) -- but the love story between Fandor and Elisabeth was sweet, and the gore and horror was very inventive. I think I'm gonna keep reading these.
May 28, 2013
Listened to the Librivox "Messengers of Evil" - not as catchy a title as "The Corpse Who Kills", if you ask me!
I was in a bad mood. A surfeit of master-criminal novels, perhaps. Whatever it was (not too fond of the reader, either), I could not get into this book. It did not interest. I wanted it to be over.
Sometimes it happens - I find myself reading a post-apocalyptic novel when I'm more in the mood for P.G. Wodehouse. Can my subsequent review be trusted? I think not.
I was in a bad mood. A surfeit of master-criminal novels, perhaps. Whatever it was (not too fond of the reader, either), I could not get into this book. It did not interest. I wanted it to be over.
Sometimes it happens - I find myself reading a post-apocalyptic novel when I'm more in the mood for P.G. Wodehouse. Can my subsequent review be trusted? I think not.
Read
April 6, 2020Best Fantomas book so far, with the logic defying twists and grisly murders taken up a further notch
November 23, 2024
This one didn't grip me like the first two. They're becoming a bit formulaic, perhaps. This one involves Fandor, the journalist friend and protege of Juve, as the main detective. Fantomas puts in an appearance but not until the very end and then, as it typical, escapes arrest. No mystery there really. The plot gets a bit tied up in everyone having an alias or secret identity or being in disguise which is fine to a point, but it does tend to get a bit distracting. A good mystery, but I think I might be done with the series.
December 19, 2024
Fantomas is still a lot of fun, but you simply have to suspend belief, and even more so the deeper you go. There's something ridiculous about the idea these main characters - Fantomas, Juve and Fandor - can appear in so many different guises *in front of each other* and never be detected. If you do that, however, the Fantomas books are ripping great stories. "Messengers of Evil" is better than "The Exploits of Juve" in that it has more: more plot, more twists, more descriptions of Paris and people
Currently reading
August 4, 2019I like the French author. This book will be the third book in the series. When I'm done, I will give a better and more concise review.
February 17, 2025
A very good take on the detective novel.
I really liked this novel which offered a very good ending one that I wasn't expecting for the time period it was set in.
I really liked this novel which offered a very good ending one that I wasn't expecting for the time period it was set in.
March 22, 2013
What I've liked most about the Fantomas series so far is their deliciously unhinged quality. Reading them alongside the almost contemporary Arsene Lupin stories, Fantomas comes across as Lupin's psycopathic alter-ego. Whereas Lupin never kills and is a gentleman thief, Fantomas revels in the most sadistic and contrived murders possible. And that's where I found *this* installment a little disappointing - it's not quite loopy enough.
The novel reads more like a drawing room English detective story, rather than the Fantomas of the first two stories. The tale also takes a long while to get going, compared to the other stories, and Fantomas' signatures only start showing over halfway through.
However, there are plenty of images that haunt you afterwards, that are classic Fantomas: a young woman drugged and then a gas pipe inserted into her sleeping mouth ready to kill her when the landlady turns on the house's gas supply first thing in the morning; a gang-land killing in which a hammer is passed around from gang member to gang member each taking turns to beat the informant to death; and most gruesomly of all, the flayed skin of a hand used as a glove to leave fingerprints incriminating "The Corpse That Kills".
All good stuff, just not quite up to the standard of the first two. Amazing that these novels were churned out at a rate of almost one a month for three years, each author writing alternate chapters.
The novel reads more like a drawing room English detective story, rather than the Fantomas of the first two stories. The tale also takes a long while to get going, compared to the other stories, and Fantomas' signatures only start showing over halfway through.
However, there are plenty of images that haunt you afterwards, that are classic Fantomas: a young woman drugged and then a gas pipe inserted into her sleeping mouth ready to kill her when the landlady turns on the house's gas supply first thing in the morning; a gang-land killing in which a hammer is passed around from gang member to gang member each taking turns to beat the informant to death; and most gruesomly of all, the flayed skin of a hand used as a glove to leave fingerprints incriminating "The Corpse That Kills".
All good stuff, just not quite up to the standard of the first two. Amazing that these novels were churned out at a rate of almost one a month for three years, each author writing alternate chapters.
October 18, 2016
Suicides that look like murders and vice versa entwine amongst baffling robberies and competing masters of disguise! In short, it's the stuff we've come to expect from this continuing series about The Prince of Crime. The title character is a painter named Dollon who is arrested for a mysterious murder, then is found dead in his cell. The corpse vanishes and his fingerprints turn up at a series of crime scenes.
Characters from “Fantomas” and “The Exploits of Juve” return, such as The Numbers Gang and Fandor, and naturally Fantomas. The resulting mystery forms a clearer, more straightforward progression then the first two books as the crimes are more logically shown to connect.
Allain and Souverstre again provide the violence, romance, and oddball mystery that distinguishes the series. Fandor, the investigative reporter, gets a lot of the active duty in this one, complete with a healthy share of escapes!
Lucky me, this is another series that hasn't let me down yet!
Also: did you know that police wagons in the 1910s Paris were known as “salad baskets”? I did not know that.
Characters from “Fantomas” and “The Exploits of Juve” return, such as The Numbers Gang and Fandor, and naturally Fantomas. The resulting mystery forms a clearer, more straightforward progression then the first two books as the crimes are more logically shown to connect.
Allain and Souverstre again provide the violence, romance, and oddball mystery that distinguishes the series. Fandor, the investigative reporter, gets a lot of the active duty in this one, complete with a healthy share of escapes!
Lucky me, this is another series that hasn't let me down yet!
Also: did you know that police wagons in the 1910s Paris were known as “salad baskets”? I did not know that.
August 18, 2011
My least favorite of the three ultra-violent, uber-surreal FANTOMAS series, and yet... there are scenes I can't get out of my head.
A gang doles out punishment to an informer... by each striking him once in the head with a hammer.
The murder of an innocent suspect in a locked jail cell. And then that body disappearing when they next open the door.
Trap doors. Secret tunnels. Magnetic floors that pull guns to the ground.
The casual placing of a gas tube in the mouth of an unconscious 18-year-old girl.
The peeling off of a man's skin to use as a body glove for a villain...
Looking forward to the 4th entry...
A gang doles out punishment to an informer... by each striking him once in the head with a hammer.
The murder of an innocent suspect in a locked jail cell. And then that body disappearing when they next open the door.
Trap doors. Secret tunnels. Magnetic floors that pull guns to the ground.
The casual placing of a gas tube in the mouth of an unconscious 18-year-old girl.
The peeling off of a man's skin to use as a body glove for a villain...
Looking forward to the 4th entry...
August 18, 2011
My least favorite of the three ultra-violent, uber-surreal FANTOMAS series, and yet... there are scenes I can't get out of my head.
A gang doles out punishment to an informer... by each striking him once in the head with a hammer.
The murder of an innocent suspect in a locked jail cell. And then that body disappearing when they next open the door.
Trap doors. Secret tunnels. Magnetic floors that pull guns to the ground.
The casual placing of a gas tube in the mouth of an unconscious 18-year-old girl.
The peeling off of a man's skin to use as a body glove for a villain...
Looking forward to the 4th entry...
A gang doles out punishment to an informer... by each striking him once in the head with a hammer.
The murder of an innocent suspect in a locked jail cell. And then that body disappearing when they next open the door.
Trap doors. Secret tunnels. Magnetic floors that pull guns to the ground.
The casual placing of a gas tube in the mouth of an unconscious 18-year-old girl.
The peeling off of a man's skin to use as a body glove for a villain...
Looking forward to the 4th entry...
December 31, 2008
Great noir detective serial from the turn of the last century. Deception, lunacy, gallows humor, intense cruelty -- this has it all. A series of murders and cover-ups leads a Parisian journalist to stalk the fabled criminal mastermind, Fantomas, in search of the story. But the always ingenious master of the criminal underground begins silently stalking him instead.
July 3, 2013
I'm a big fan of pulp, so that's what drew me to Fantomas. It was written by a tag-team duo who alternated chapters so that they could crank out the series, and it shows.
I began slowly, watched the Louis Feuillade silent serial, then was drawn back.
I began slowly, watched the Louis Feuillade silent serial, then was drawn back.
August 6, 2013
N'ayant uniquement vu que les séries télévisées et les films de Fantomas, j'ai voulu sauter sur un des livres.
Et j'ai vraiment bien aimé.
Histoire bien menée ....Rebondissements....
Il m'a bel et bien donné envie de connaitre les autres romand de Fantomas.
Et j'ai vraiment bien aimé.
Histoire bien menée ....Rebondissements....
Il m'a bel et bien donné envie de connaitre les autres romand de Fantomas.
July 26, 2011
I would have given this four stars, if not for the fact that the translation I was reading was, in many places, appallingly bad.
January 24, 2016
read SOMETIME in 2010
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews