Leonid Kaslov

Over on Amazon.com, a reader from Canada has posted a review of The Adventures of Lazarus Gray Volume Nine. Alphonse Dupuis gave the book 5 stars and said the following:

In the ninth instalment of the “new pulp” hero series “Lazarus Gray”, Barry Reese continues the storyline set up in the previous novel and concludes it with an action packed smash to the senses!

It’s Assistance Unlimited vs Murder Unlimited! The adventure may begin in Sovereign City but shifts to the mythological realm of Asgard, culminating in a final battle deep within the hollow earth with the existence of the entire world at stake!

In addition to the Black Terror & The Golden Amazon, Reese has introduced another public domain hero to the team (which I hope will return in future volumes). It would be great to see this  character’s unbreakable patriotism lending itself to the upcoming battles against fascist forces during WW2.

Reese always does his homework when introducing mythological tales and characters to his stories. The addition and handling of ancient Norse gods in this volume was well done and hints are left that we may see them return in future adventures.

Unlike Volume eight, this novel consists of one main story told throughout the book compared to a series of short stories with one central theme linking all of them together. Reese is able do both “story styles” successfully and consistently gives the reader an enjoyable pulp-style adventure.

As a fan of the Reese Unlimited imprint, I really like the mixing of original characters with public domain/pastiche characters. In saying that having Lazarus Gray joining forces with The Revenant & Ki-Gor in a Hollow Earth tale would be awesome. An uneasy Darkling/Leonid Kaslov alliance vs the evil Warlike Manchu would be a just what the doctor ordered!

Looking forward to future installments!

Thanks for the kind words, Alphonse! I’m glad you enjoyed book nine, which was one of my favorites to write. I agree that the Norse elements seemed to fit right in with the rest of the series. I like your idea for a Darkling/Kaslov team-up, as well. Definite shades of the Shadow and Doc Savage in that one! We’ll see if I can fit such a thing into my schedule.