Reviews

The Pulp Super-Fan, Michael Brown, is back with a look at volume thirteen of the Lazarus Gray series. Let’s see what he says:

Lazarus Gray is a New Pulp character from Reese (The Peregrine, Gravedigger, and other characters and works). Gray is sort of inspired by the classic pulp hero The Avenger, and has a group of associates organized as Assistance Unlimited.

Gray is located in a fictional town called Sovereign City (created by Pro Se Press publisher Tommy Hancock), and thus is part of the larger Sovereign City Project. He is also set in the same universe as Barry’s other characters, so has crossed over with them.

In addition to the current members of Assistance Unlimited — Morgan Stanley, Eun Jiwon, Samantha Grace, Abigail Cross, and The Black Terror — we will see some new additions to the group in these, as well as various guest stars. This time, each volume consists of a single novel.

Finally, in Volume 13, we have “An Adventure of Lazarus Gray With Assistance Unlimited” (did someone mess up on the title???). Here the team faces a new threat: a mummy, Rama-Memnon, and his associate, Teddy Pumpkins. They team up with Rose Dorcas, who runs an insane asylum on the outskirts of Sovereign City and had her own mad plans. They devastate Soverign City, but are stopped by AU and some new and old friends. Rama-Memnon has a connection with Princess Femi, who Lazarus and AU battled and defeated in earlier volumes. Hopefully the city can fully recover.

We meet a new superhero: Nature Boy. He’s actually a short-lived superhero from Charlton Comics, all of three issues in 1956-57. You can read them online or in a reprint by Gwandanaland Comics. In the comic, the gods of the elements saved him when he was a baby and granted him powers. But here he’s another “creation” of Project: Cicada, like The Black Terror, though with nature-based powers. So he works for them, though will probably show up in future stories. Another new character is Wynona Jones. She is well skilled with firearms, and has dealt with threats like vampires and more. She will be joining AU.

Returning is Jakob Sporrenberg, who as Eidolon had been a former member (twice) of AU, but left due to his violent nature. He rejoins AU as the less violent The Observer after his experiences here.

I’m not sure when we’ll get Volume 14. I hope it’s not a long wait. In addition, if you check his timeline, you see references to a few other works that aren’t out yet. And some that are, like the new Chronicles of Lilith.

Thanks for the detailed coverage, Michael! I don’t think you’ll have a very long wait for volume 14. It’s complete and in the queue at the always-busy Pro Se Productions publishing house.

Ray Bara, who recently reviewed volume 11 on Amazon, is back with his views on the follow-up. He gave the book five stars and titled the review “Lazarus Gray Resurrects Himself Again!” Here’s the rest of his review: “How does he do it? Barry Reese keeps kicking it up a notch with each addition to his Lazarus Gray series. This one adds the usual heaping helping of action. He then adds some new characters like Blue Fire and L’Homme Fantastique, whom I absolutely loved. LHF is enigmatic, ambiguous, and intriguing all at the same time, and is a great addition to the Sovereign landscape. Speaking of landscape, Lazarus has to return to Dread Carcosa, the unforgiving landscape where he has some unfinished business from a few volumes ago. Reese also closed up the plot twist from the last volume, thankfully allowing me to pick my jaw off the proverbial floor by explaining Lazarus’ bizarre behavior in that previous story. I also enjoyed how Kelly Gray has become a more pivotal part of Assistance Unlimited, not just a background character anymore. Reese put together an epic plot in Volume 12, with a great story, a huge cast of wonderful characters, and plenty of excitement all the way through. I’m looking forward to Volume 13 to see where he takes Assistance Unlimited next. What a great read!”

Thanks, Ray! Volume 12 was a real challenge to write – I knew the secret behind the eleventh book’s twist, of course, but I knew that revealing it had to be done just right… and I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to pull it off. I’m glad you liked the way it turned out. L’Homme Fantastique doesn’t appear in volumes 13 or 14 but I do have more ideas for him so maybe in 15…? We’ll have to see!

Thanks again, Ray!

Ray Bara posted a 5-star review of The Adventures of Lazarus Gray Volume 11. Let’s see what he had to say:

“Barry Reese and Lazarus Gray are like fine wines! Yet another killer installment in the Lazarus Gray series. Barry Reese is at the top of his game. He brings a darker tone to this one, which makes sense during the height of WWII. I love the regular and recurring characters, and I enjoyed the introduction of Lilith and her group of loyal assistants. Reese pulls out all of the stops on this one. The ending, which is more of an epilogue, is a tad disturbing, from a plot point of view, but I’ll get over it. Especially since I already have the next two volumes in the series queued up. Great job, Barry. This series keeps getting better!”

Thanks, Ray! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it — you’re definitely right that the ending was meant to be unsettling. Hopefully you’ll find the payoff for it in 12 to be worth it.