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Sâr Dubnotal Vs Jack The Ripper
From the haunted castles of ancient Brittany to the mist-shrouded streets of Whitechapel, from the palaces of Marseilles and Tunis to the back alleys of Montmartre, Sâr Dubnotal, the Great Psychagogue, his disciple Rudolph, his medium the beautiful Gianetti Annunciata, and his trio of assistants, Frank, Frejus and Otto, pursue the beautiful but deadly Countess Azilis de Treguilly and her Svengali-like master, the evil, sadistic hypnotist Tserpchikopf, Prince of Crime, Master of the Chessmen, who turns out to be none other than ... Jack the Ripper! Published anonymously in 1909 in a series of French pulp magazines, the Sâr Dubnotal series features one of the first superheroes of the supernatural. Like John Silence, Carnacki and Simon Iff, Sâr Dubnotal mixes modern science with occult spells and ancient mysticism, all in a horror-fraught atmosphere of grisly murders and vengeful wraiths.
Some scholars believe they were written by Norbert Sevestre.
Some scholars believe they were written by Norbert Sevestre.
- GenresOccult Detective
360 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 2, 2023
This book is a testament to how Black Coat Press brings you classic literature that you simply can't find anywhere. Sâr Dubnotal is an early example of a "superhero," before the days of illustrated comics, that appeared in serialized adventures in French magazines from 1909 to 1910. These stories have never before been presented in book form, and some stories are considered lost. The five novellas presented here were translated by Brian Stableford from photocopies obtained from the Bibliothèque Nationale.
The series ran for much longer than 5 stories, but for this book, Stableford compiled the ones that had more or less a stable continuity all involving a particular villain.
Stableford is always brutally honest in his introductory remarks, and here is no exception. He straight out says the writing is terrible. "Thanks for spending money on our book! It's shite!"
But in this case, I think he's a little hard on the original French writer, whoever they were. These stories were written anonymously and likely improvised quickly and dictated rather than carefully crafted. But honestly, the prose flows pretty well, though I don't know how much of this is thanks to Stableford's "adaptive" translation. I also did suspend my brain a bit so I didn't notice a lot of plot holes.
Some of these are genuinely thrilling, while others not so much. The main thread involves the cat and mouse games between Sâr Dubnotal and a supervillain, who is a master hypnotist and murders people in surprisingly graphic ways for the time period. This earns the bad guy the moniker of "Jack the Ripper" in Whitechapel. Damn, and I was convinced all this time the Ripper was Walter Sickert.
A strange narrative choice involves the fact that the reader never really gets to meet the antagonist. He always sort of appears "off-screen," or we hear his voice from another room, or he is in disguise. Therefore, much of the interaction is indirect or simply told to us via exposition. That kept a sense of mystery about whether the villain was man or force, but it got tiresome over five novellas, because you almost felt like Sâr Dubnotal was chasing windmills. You could never connect with why Sâr Dubnotal was so obsessed with catching this criminal, since he was not with the police. Since we don't have a chance to understand the motivations of the villain, or even really to see him, he didn't feel like as much of a threat as he should have been.
But overall I think it is worth checking out this rare treat, especially if you are into early horror, literature rarities, and the history of superheroes.
The series ran for much longer than 5 stories, but for this book, Stableford compiled the ones that had more or less a stable continuity all involving a particular villain.
Stableford is always brutally honest in his introductory remarks, and here is no exception. He straight out says the writing is terrible. "Thanks for spending money on our book! It's shite!"
But in this case, I think he's a little hard on the original French writer, whoever they were. These stories were written anonymously and likely improvised quickly and dictated rather than carefully crafted. But honestly, the prose flows pretty well, though I don't know how much of this is thanks to Stableford's "adaptive" translation. I also did suspend my brain a bit so I didn't notice a lot of plot holes.
Some of these are genuinely thrilling, while others not so much. The main thread involves the cat and mouse games between Sâr Dubnotal and a supervillain, who is a master hypnotist and murders people in surprisingly graphic ways for the time period. This earns the bad guy the moniker of "Jack the Ripper" in Whitechapel. Damn, and I was convinced all this time the Ripper was Walter Sickert.
A strange narrative choice involves the fact that the reader never really gets to meet the antagonist. He always sort of appears "off-screen," or we hear his voice from another room, or he is in disguise. Therefore, much of the interaction is indirect or simply told to us via exposition. That kept a sense of mystery about whether the villain was man or force, but it got tiresome over five novellas, because you almost felt like Sâr Dubnotal was chasing windmills. You could never connect with why Sâr Dubnotal was so obsessed with catching this criminal, since he was not with the police. Since we don't have a chance to understand the motivations of the villain, or even really to see him, he didn't feel like as much of a threat as he should have been.
But overall I think it is worth checking out this rare treat, especially if you are into early horror, literature rarities, and the history of superheroes.
May 3, 2019
Do you enjoy reading thrillers that are well crafted, tightly plotted, and keep you guessing whodunnit right up to the final page? If so, Sâr Dubnotal is definitely NOT the detective hero for you. The novellas in this collection are a heap of late C19th pulp nonsense: the set-ups are ridiculous, the characters outlandish, the action sheer grand guignol, and the prose such a deep shade of purple it'll make your eyeballs itch. The plots make so little sense that even the translator throws up his hands in despair in a series of increasingly exasperated footnotes. I loved every minute.
September 3, 2011
Sâr Dubnotal vs Jack the Ripper collects five of the twenty Sâr Dubnotal stories published in French pulp magazines in 1909. The stories were published anonymously and the identity of the author has never been definitively established.
Sâr Dubnotal was one of the first fictional superheroes. The stories combine gothic, supernatural, adventure and crime elements in a trashy but entertaining blend.
Sâr Dubnotal, also known as the Great Psychagogue, is a master of the art of psychognosis. He has studied occult philosophies under a noted eastern yogi and has developed his psychic abilities to a supremely high level. His powers have earned him a vast fortune and he now devotes his life to investigating crimes involving the occult and generally battling evil. He has a team of assistants and disciples and he can call on aid from a powerful yogi who has had himself buried alive but who can leave his earthly body at will.
The five stories in this volume form a connected series. A remote Breton house has been the scene of what appears to be a haunting. It’s a haunting of fairly recent origin, and the most obvious culprits are the old Comte de Trégully or his son Jean. Both died in slightly questionable circumstances. If murder was involved it would explain why the deceased spirit’s is haunting the house. But what of the current owner of the house, Jean’s widow, the Comtesse Azilis de Trégully?
Sâr Dubnotal soon becomes convinced that the evil hypnotist Tserpchikof is the prime mover in evil events that occurred in the past, and in further evil events that are even now being planned. The overheated plot will eventually embrace a vast criminal conspiracy known as the Chessmen, the mystery of the Flying Dutchman, and Jack the Ripper!
This is another publication from Black Coat Press translated by Brian Stableford. He provides his usual fascinating introduction. The Sâr Dubnotal tales are not exactly great literature and are in fact chaotic and occasionally completely incoherent in construction. They’re not exactly models of literary style either. As Stableford explains, however, they are a significant step in the development of popular fiction. They’re a very early example of the superhero genre, and they’re an interesting blend of crime and gothic fiction, of detective story an supernatural thriller.
And despite their flaws they’re fairly entertaining. Worth a look for anyone with an interest in early pulp fiction.
Sâr Dubnotal was one of the first fictional superheroes. The stories combine gothic, supernatural, adventure and crime elements in a trashy but entertaining blend.
Sâr Dubnotal, also known as the Great Psychagogue, is a master of the art of psychognosis. He has studied occult philosophies under a noted eastern yogi and has developed his psychic abilities to a supremely high level. His powers have earned him a vast fortune and he now devotes his life to investigating crimes involving the occult and generally battling evil. He has a team of assistants and disciples and he can call on aid from a powerful yogi who has had himself buried alive but who can leave his earthly body at will.
The five stories in this volume form a connected series. A remote Breton house has been the scene of what appears to be a haunting. It’s a haunting of fairly recent origin, and the most obvious culprits are the old Comte de Trégully or his son Jean. Both died in slightly questionable circumstances. If murder was involved it would explain why the deceased spirit’s is haunting the house. But what of the current owner of the house, Jean’s widow, the Comtesse Azilis de Trégully?
Sâr Dubnotal soon becomes convinced that the evil hypnotist Tserpchikof is the prime mover in evil events that occurred in the past, and in further evil events that are even now being planned. The overheated plot will eventually embrace a vast criminal conspiracy known as the Chessmen, the mystery of the Flying Dutchman, and Jack the Ripper!
This is another publication from Black Coat Press translated by Brian Stableford. He provides his usual fascinating introduction. The Sâr Dubnotal tales are not exactly great literature and are in fact chaotic and occasionally completely incoherent in construction. They’re not exactly models of literary style either. As Stableford explains, however, they are a significant step in the development of popular fiction. They’re a very early example of the superhero genre, and they’re an interesting blend of crime and gothic fiction, of detective story an supernatural thriller.
And despite their flaws they’re fairly entertaining. Worth a look for anyone with an interest in early pulp fiction.
April 28, 2019
This is an absolute romp, featuring a psychic detective locked in ongoing combat against a bloody hypnotist. These linked stories have been taken from a longer sequence of 20 pulps concerning Sâr Dubnotal, the Great Psychagogue, and they're a great joy.
Full marks to Black Coat for their ongoing work in rescuing and translating this stuff. This volume is probably the poorest proofread Black Coat title I've read - proper pulp attitude to churning it out, I hope - but put up with that, because the absolute joyous hokum of the content more than makes up for it.
Full marks to Black Coat for their ongoing work in rescuing and translating this stuff. This volume is probably the poorest proofread Black Coat title I've read - proper pulp attitude to churning it out, I hope - but put up with that, because the absolute joyous hokum of the content more than makes up for it.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews