Occult Detectives, Volume 1

I have posted before on occult detectives, a sub-genre I enjoy: men (and sometimes women) who stand up against occult forces and threats, often with some knowledge and skill (though usually with just their courage and wits), and maybe sometimes specialized tools and devices. I’ve posted on several such characters and will continue to do so.'Occult Detectives' Vol. 1One book that has been too long on my “to buy” list is Airship 27‘s Occult Detectives, Vol. 1. It came out in 2014, but sadly we haven’t seen a further volume. It has four stories with different occult detectives, all of which have other stories (and volumes) of their exploits. So this is kind of a sampler of such characters. Three of them I have posted on, but these are all new (to me) stories of these characters.First up is Joel Jenkins‘ Lone Crow, a Native American shaman and gunfighter, set in the Old West, which is a pretty interesting combination. He has appeared elsewhere, and there is now a series of four volumes of his stories (three anthologies and one novel) from PulpWork Press.In this story, set in the California gold fields near San Francisco, Crow is called in by an old associate, Porter Rockwell, a Mormon gunfighter with some unusual abilities himself. Porter has come up against someone who has an evil spirit, called a kurdaitcha, protecting him (possessing him?). Their foe ups the ante when he sends men from San Francisco’s Vigilante Committee after Porter, who Porter and Lone Crow are able to defeat. But can they defeat this evil spirit who is able to literally freeze things?I was not aware of Lone Crow, and so will be looking into him further. While I’m aware of Jenkins’s work, I haven’t read as much as I’d like. Oh, and I looked up kurdaitcha. It’s a real term, but it’s not quite the same as is used here.Josh Reynolds‘ Royal Occultist, Charles St. Cyprian, and his assistant Ebe Gallowglass (who will probably succeed him), is a character I’ve posted on but haven’t read as much as I’d like.St. Cyprian is part of a long line of Royal Occultists, taking over from Carnacki (created by William Hope Hodgson) after WWI. He faces a variety of occult threats. In this one, he’s approached by a government official about a more personal problem: His soon-to-be son-in-law seems to be involved with a secret society, the Strix Society. He fears there’s more to the group than it seems, which is led by a woman named Helen Strix. St. Cyprian sees there is more to it as well and takes the case.And, well, he does, as there is more to Helen Strix than it seems. She may not be entirely human, or even human at all. And very, very old. What is her society all about? And can St. Cyprian, with the help of Gallowglass, put an end to it?As noted, I’ve read some Royal Occultist stories and posted on the first volume of what should be a complete reprinting of the stories, but sadly the second volume has been stalled for two years. Maybe Reynolds should have gone with another publisher, hint hint.I’ve also posted on Jim Beard‘s Sgt. Janus. He first appeared in collections at Airship 27 before moving to Jim’s Flinch! Books, and there have been three Sgt Janus volumes so far. I’m not sure when we’ll see the next one.This story is reminiscent of the stories in the first volume and is actually an expansion of one that was available online. Sgt. Janus isn’t like most occult detectives, in that he more helps disturbed spirits find peace in the afterlife, usually by resolving the issues they had in life. Here, he helps a man’s dead wife find peace, which hints at other things. Who is the husband’s master? Will we meet him again?Ravenwood actually appeared as a backup series in Ace’s Secret Agent X, written by Frederick C. Davis. Similar to a few other characters, Ravenwood was orphaned and raised in Tibet, gaining psychic powers, which he uses to fight evil, often occult evil. Steeger Books reprinted the original stories and Airship 27 has put out four volumes of new stories, a novel, and three collections. This time Ron Fortier gives us a story that is actually a sequel to a graphic novel he did: Daughter of Dracula, put out by Redbud Studio.Here, Marya Dracula is in the U.S. trying to get away from vampires who want her and someone close to her. Ravenwood is able to help them, with the assistance of Detective Stagg and the Nameless One. It’s a pretty good Ravenwood story.Like all of Airship 27’s books, we get a great cover showcasing all of the occult detectives, and interior artwork by Rob Davis. I always know I’ll get a good read from one of their volumes, and this didn’t disappoint. I hope at some point we get a second volume. But if you’re interested in occult detectives, this is a good introduction.

This was an absolutely wonderful book. I am a big Charles St. Cyprian fan, and that had more then a little with having me buy this, that and the fact that I am friends with two of the authors and have read several of the other two's works. The first story features a native american named Lone Crow, I think overall, and surprisingly I might ad, this was my favorite, it is very well written, and I just enjoyed every aspect of the characters. Next up is St Cyprian, it was hard not to put this one at the top, trust me, I was torn, this is all the more a testament to how good the first story was, but trust me, there is no fall off, Josh applies his usual flawless sense of story telling. Next up is Jim Beard with Sgt. Janus. Jim delivers as always, writing the story in a bit of a different style, but really sets it apart from the others, and next in the man from Airship 27, Ron Fortier delivers a great Ravenswood story which just happens to also feature a character from another book of his that I thoroughly enjoyed, nuff said, if you are a fan of occult detectives, or even if you aren't, this is a great pulpy read, do yourself a favor and get out there and read it.

Like Doctor Panic, I picked up this volume for one character in particular. Unlike Doctor Panic, that character was Sgt. Janus whose previous two Airship 27 volumes I thoroughly enjoyed. Ironically, I would say that the Charles St. Cyprian story was my favorite. This was my first encounter with the character and I have since ordered his two available novels. I would seriously hope that plans are being made to collect all of this character’s short stories, of which there seems to be a lot, in a series of anthologies. Of course I loved the Sgt. Janus story as well but, the other two stories were pretty remarkable too. Ron Fortier does a great job with Ravenwood and, while I had never encountered Lone Crow before, I might be picking up some other anthologies that feature this character. Overall, an excellent read for fans of magic based pulp heroes.

A very engaging group of stories covering a wide range of eras and styles. Typos exist but are more amusing than distracting: the real 'story' here are the delightful characters and plots. I have to go out and but a bunch of new books now to encourage these talented writers! (Too many books, not enough time!) 😁