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Dragon in the Snow
September, 1936 - A ghost ship, a missing adventurer, and a mysterious artifact draw humble pulp-fiction writer Sid Friedman into a web of exotic intrigue... and otherworldly terror. With a rallying cry of "What would Doc Savage do," Sid and his band of improbable heroes follow a trail of evil from the concrete canyons of New York to the hidden peaks of a fabled land. But with each step, they fall deeper into the clutches of the greatest fiend since Fu Manchu himself! Forrest Dylan Bryant's debut novel continues the pulp tradition with an entertaining blend of two-fisted action, wry humor, and old-school science fiction thrills.
- GenresFantasy
254 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2009
About the author
Forrest Dylan Bryant
4 books9 followersForrest Bryant wears a lot of hats, both literally and figuratively. Also bow ties.
His love affair with pulp storytelling began at the movies, then blossomed after a chance encounter with a Doc Savage novel in college. Twenty years would elapse before he tried his own hand at writing pulp, but his debut novel, Dragon in the Snow , established a mix of thrills, period atmosphere, and winking humor that is fast becoming his trademark. Forrest’s short fiction, ranging from sci-fi to gangster noir, has been picked up for anthologies from Pro Se Press and Airship 27.
His love affair with pulp storytelling began at the movies, then blossomed after a chance encounter with a Doc Savage novel in college. Twenty years would elapse before he tried his own hand at writing pulp, but his debut novel, Dragon in the Snow , established a mix of thrills, period atmosphere, and winking humor that is fast becoming his trademark. Forrest’s short fiction, ranging from sci-fi to gangster noir, has been picked up for anthologies from Pro Se Press and Airship 27.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 8, 2017
Before there was “Indiana” Jones, there was “Doc” Savage, finding adventure in strange cultures and faraway places. There was always death and danger and often weird relics and fantastic treasures. Bryant book is, according to my GR friend Bobby Underwood, a salute to this genre and, specifically, Doc Savage.
According to the cover, our hero is a pulp fiction writer, Sid Friedman. Sid likes weaving stories out of intriguing news items but his isn’t adverse to making his name in the realm of speculative fiction. His contacts reach into all walks of life in the New York metro region. Because of an almost chance encounter with a beautiful daughter of a famous archeologist, he and his friends will become part of a bold and desperate attempt to avoid an Asian shaman’s plan for world domination.
If you step off with Sid on this adventure, you will find out what a dragon stone is and how the mythical land of Shangri-La becomes the goal of Sid’s team.
When I say, Sid’s team it is a misnomer. Sid isn’t Doc Savage. The closest he comes is asking the question: “What would Doc Savage do?” Sid may lack certain skills but he doesn’t lack for courage. He helps assemble the group that will take on the Black Dragon.
The team consists of:
Sid
Rosie Esterhaszy - NYC nurse and Sid’s girlfriend
Harold “Hank” Martin – former cop, and friend of Sid
Baroness Angelica de Rothburg – daughter of the missing adventurer Baron Franz de Rothburg
Sonny – former NYC cabbie and now chauffeur to the Baroness
Professor Phillip James Armbruster – of Princeton University and leading expert in “pansyncretic technometry”
Capt. Owen Doyle – former Army Corps of Engineers and now, in retirement, an inventor
And later
Bartholomew St. Cyr – Shanghai-based author of a book concerning magical relics and Shangri-La
Djali – devoted to St. Cyr
There are plenty of fantastic artifacts from the “dragon stones” to the “amulet of Ando Chee” to the flying dragons. There are the mythical Chenggi and the powerful Shadow Order. And behind them all the brilliant and devious Wo Then-Liang, known as the Black Dragon and ruler of Shangri-La
This book is written according to the formula popular in the 1930s-40s in theaters and radio. Each episode in the “serial” had a cliffhanger where you had to wonder whether one or more of the heroes would survive their peril. Bryant successfully captures this atmosphere and provides an entertaining page-turner. I am pleased to report that this modern version contains less of the extreme stereotypes of race and gender than were found in those originals.
According to the cover, our hero is a pulp fiction writer, Sid Friedman. Sid likes weaving stories out of intriguing news items but his isn’t adverse to making his name in the realm of speculative fiction. His contacts reach into all walks of life in the New York metro region. Because of an almost chance encounter with a beautiful daughter of a famous archeologist, he and his friends will become part of a bold and desperate attempt to avoid an Asian shaman’s plan for world domination.
If you step off with Sid on this adventure, you will find out what a dragon stone is and how the mythical land of Shangri-La becomes the goal of Sid’s team.
When I say, Sid’s team it is a misnomer. Sid isn’t Doc Savage. The closest he comes is asking the question: “What would Doc Savage do?” Sid may lack certain skills but he doesn’t lack for courage. He helps assemble the group that will take on the Black Dragon.
The team consists of:
Sid
Rosie Esterhaszy - NYC nurse and Sid’s girlfriend
Harold “Hank” Martin – former cop, and friend of Sid
Baroness Angelica de Rothburg – daughter of the missing adventurer Baron Franz de Rothburg
Sonny – former NYC cabbie and now chauffeur to the Baroness
Professor Phillip James Armbruster – of Princeton University and leading expert in “pansyncretic technometry”
Capt. Owen Doyle – former Army Corps of Engineers and now, in retirement, an inventor
And later
Bartholomew St. Cyr – Shanghai-based author of a book concerning magical relics and Shangri-La
Djali – devoted to St. Cyr
There are plenty of fantastic artifacts from the “dragon stones” to the “amulet of Ando Chee” to the flying dragons. There are the mythical Chenggi and the powerful Shadow Order. And behind them all the brilliant and devious Wo Then-Liang, known as the Black Dragon and ruler of Shangri-La
This book is written according to the formula popular in the 1930s-40s in theaters and radio. Each episode in the “serial” had a cliffhanger where you had to wonder whether one or more of the heroes would survive their peril. Bryant successfully captures this atmosphere and provides an entertaining page-turner. I am pleased to report that this modern version contains less of the extreme stereotypes of race and gender than were found in those originals.
September 8, 2014
As per the requirements I need to firstly say that I got this book through Goodreads First Reads.
I love pulp books, I love books that are full of bigger than life characters, ridiculous scenarios, globetrotting books, edge of your seat action, I even like the stereotypes, I love pulp. Doc Savage, John Carter, Tarzan, Conan the list goes on, they are the no holds barred, no rules needed to follow action adventure books that accompanied my childhood. That's why when I found this book on goodreads and the tagline "What would Doc Savage do?" I was very intrigued:
World: The world is great, it's colorful, lush, bigger than life and stupidly ridiculous. The globetrotting aspect of all the local and the adventure on trains and planes is awesome, this is what pulp is about, the serial nature of it where there is an action scene almost every chapter it's fun and it's ridiculous and that's great.
Story: The story's pace is face and the tension feels like you are riding a coaster and that's a good thing, balls to the wall action. However, I did find the start to be a bit slow and I would have liked the action sequences to be written a bit more frantic, but that's a writer's choice and style. I find that this book is actually better read not in one sitting but rather chapter by chapter serial style, that way the book and the style of writing is allowed to breath and the pulpy nature able to seep into it more. I will commend Bryant on the villain as in any good pulp book a villain will make or break the story, given that I found Sid a bit boring as a leading man (below) a villain was needed to make it interesting and it did.
Characters: Honestly, I was not really hooked by the characters, unlike Doc Savage and John Carter, I did not really immediately empathize with Sid, I did not also have the feeling that "wow he's awesome and badass" which I find to be really a staple of the pulp genre, therefore his journey was not really interesting to me, the people around him were fun and choked full of pulpy cliches (in a good way) but I never got into Sid...and I think that's the biggest flaw in the book.
It was a fun read, it was pulpy, it was ridiculous, globetrotting, a great villain all the things you want in pulp fiction, however the character of Sid really knocked a star off my enjoyment of the book, maybe in subsequent books I will learn to enjoy him...but we shall see.
Onward to the next book!
I love pulp books, I love books that are full of bigger than life characters, ridiculous scenarios, globetrotting books, edge of your seat action, I even like the stereotypes, I love pulp. Doc Savage, John Carter, Tarzan, Conan the list goes on, they are the no holds barred, no rules needed to follow action adventure books that accompanied my childhood. That's why when I found this book on goodreads and the tagline "What would Doc Savage do?" I was very intrigued:
World: The world is great, it's colorful, lush, bigger than life and stupidly ridiculous. The globetrotting aspect of all the local and the adventure on trains and planes is awesome, this is what pulp is about, the serial nature of it where there is an action scene almost every chapter it's fun and it's ridiculous and that's great.
Story: The story's pace is face and the tension feels like you are riding a coaster and that's a good thing, balls to the wall action. However, I did find the start to be a bit slow and I would have liked the action sequences to be written a bit more frantic, but that's a writer's choice and style. I find that this book is actually better read not in one sitting but rather chapter by chapter serial style, that way the book and the style of writing is allowed to breath and the pulpy nature able to seep into it more. I will commend Bryant on the villain as in any good pulp book a villain will make or break the story, given that I found Sid a bit boring as a leading man (below) a villain was needed to make it interesting and it did.
Characters: Honestly, I was not really hooked by the characters, unlike Doc Savage and John Carter, I did not really immediately empathize with Sid, I did not also have the feeling that "wow he's awesome and badass" which I find to be really a staple of the pulp genre, therefore his journey was not really interesting to me, the people around him were fun and choked full of pulpy cliches (in a good way) but I never got into Sid...and I think that's the biggest flaw in the book.
It was a fun read, it was pulpy, it was ridiculous, globetrotting, a great villain all the things you want in pulp fiction, however the character of Sid really knocked a star off my enjoyment of the book, maybe in subsequent books I will learn to enjoy him...but we shall see.
Onward to the next book!
September 9, 2014
This novel contains all the necessary ingredients for pulp fiction: the beautiful rich girl (why are the rich always so beautiful?); the feisty and honest working girl; the geek; batty academic geniuses; faithful servants; the gentle giant – but not so gentle to the wrongdoers; and, of course, evil incarnate.
It's such a long time since I read any of this sort of fiction that I enjoyed the book. It's an easy read and has pace which keeps you turning the page. There's no doubt of the ending – or is there? The baddies are always going to lose, if only temporarily, but doubt is sown in the last few pages about the ultimate fate of the one who wants to control the world. No doubt the sequel is already forming on the computer monitor.
I don't think this novel has a lot new for those really into the pulp fiction genre (then again, how would I know?) but I think its worth the effort for those who just dip into any and all genres in order to know what's out there. I'm not too sure how Shangri-la was able to survive but as it's just a figment of the imagination does that matter?
Goodreads First Reads winner.
It's such a long time since I read any of this sort of fiction that I enjoyed the book. It's an easy read and has pace which keeps you turning the page. There's no doubt of the ending – or is there? The baddies are always going to lose, if only temporarily, but doubt is sown in the last few pages about the ultimate fate of the one who wants to control the world. No doubt the sequel is already forming on the computer monitor.
I don't think this novel has a lot new for those really into the pulp fiction genre (then again, how would I know?) but I think its worth the effort for those who just dip into any and all genres in order to know what's out there. I'm not too sure how Shangri-la was able to survive but as it's just a figment of the imagination does that matter?
Goodreads First Reads winner.
August 31, 2014
The book is pretty much what is on the jacket cover. No real surprises, which is completely in line with the pulp genre. Even still there is plenty of mystery and plot twists. A cast of fairly flat characters also fits the genre and the plot pushed along with plenty of action rounds out the book. All in all, a fun read harkening back to the pulp. There are definite echoes of Indiana Jones especially the travel scenes where I definitely see the red line moving across the map in my head as I read.
I like that the main character (well, the POV bounces a lot, but Sid, the first guy you hear from) is not a hero by nature. His archetype is the writer that dreams and that feels pretty cool somehow. It is his love for the genre that sparks the initial plot almost.
I would happily read another by My Bryant.
I like that the main character (well, the POV bounces a lot, but Sid, the first guy you hear from) is not a hero by nature. His archetype is the writer that dreams and that feels pretty cool somehow. It is his love for the genre that sparks the initial plot almost.
I would happily read another by My Bryant.
November 12, 2014
"Dragon in the Snow" was a fun throw-back to the pulp magazines of old. At times, the adventure reminded me of Indiana Jones, and the main villain of Ming the Merciless. The main character was everything you would expect a pulp detective to be: plucky, amusing, and smart. I particularly liked his catch phrase, 'What would Doc Savage do?' Perhaps my only qualm with the book is that I wanted more depth from the characters: to feel that they were more than tongue-in-cheek archetypes. That said, "Dragon in the Snow" is a fun, fast-paced read that will please any fan of the pulp genre.
July 8, 2014
A really, really fun read. I want another one!
December 5, 2014
A fun little read, reminds me a lot of the golden age of science fiction writing, without the racism of that time and without the utterly fearless heros......worth a look!
September 7, 2014
Action adventure set in the era Indiana Jones and the Mummy movies were set in. Great.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews