High Adventure once was a popular genre with many pulp magazines providing markets for writers like Edgar Rice Burroughs, Alistair MacLean, and Talbot Mundy. Sadly, those magazines are gone. But thanks to Otto Penzler, we have an 874-page tome of adventure stories to delight us. Penzler takes a thematic approach by group stories in groups like “Sand and Sun” and “Island Paradise.” If you’re a fan of adventure stories, you’ll enjoy this massive collection.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
SWORD AND SORCERY
The Golden Snare Farnham Bishop and Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur
The Devil in Iron Robert E. Howard
The Mighty Manslayer Harold Lamb
The Seven Black Priests Fritz Leiber
MEGALOMANIA RULES
The Master Magician Loring Brent
The Most Dangerous Game Richard Connell
The Man Who Would be King Rudyard Kipling
The Wings of Kali Grant Stockbridge
MAN VS. NATURE
The White Silence Jack London
Sredni Vashtar Saki
The Seed from the Sepulcher Clark Ashton Smith
Leiningen versus the Ants Carl Stephenson
The Sea Raiders H. G. Wells
ISLAND PARADISE
Hell Cay Lester Dent
Off the Mangrove Coast Louis L’Amour
The Golden Anaconda Elmer Brown Mason
Shanghai Jim Frank L. Packard
The Python Pit George F. Worts
SAND AND SUN
The Soul of a Turk Achmed Abdullah
Peace Waits at Marokee H. Bedford-Jones
Nor Idolatry Blind the Eye Gabriel Hunt
The Soul of a Regiment Talbot Mundy
Snake-Head Theodore Roscoe
Suicide Patrol Georges Surdez
A Gentleman of Color P. C. Wren
SOMETHING FEELS FUNNY
After King Kong Fell Philip Jose Farmer
Moonlight Sonata Alexander Woollcott
GO WEST, YOUNG MAN
The Caballero’s Way O. Henry
Zorro Deals with Treason Johnston McCulley
Hopalong’s Hop Clarence E. Mulford
FUTURE SHOCK
The Girl in the Golden Atom Ray Cummings
To Serve Man Damon Knight
Armageddon—2419 A. D. Philip Francis Nowlan
I SPY
Woman in Love Geoffrey Household
MacHinery and the Cauliflowers Alistair MacLean
Wheels Within Wheels H. C. McNeile
A Question of Passports Baroness Orczy
Intelligence Rafael Sabatini
YELLOW PERIL
The Copper Bowl George Fielding Eliot
The Hand of the Mandarin Quong Sax Rohmer
IN DARKEST AFRICA
The Green Wildebeest John Buchan
The Slave Brand of Slegman Bin Ali James Anson Buck
Fire L. Patrick Greene
Hunter Quatermain’s Story H. Rider Haggard
Bosambo of Monrovia Edgar Wallace
Black Cargo Cornell Woolrich
Tarzan the Terrible Edgar Rice Burroughs
Otto did a good job of selecting THE BLACK LIZARD BIG BOOK OF BLACK MASK STORIES so maybe I’ll check this one out. I like the list of authors.
THE BIG BOOK OF ADVENTURE STORIES has something for everyone, Jeff.
I’ve never been particularly keen on the High Adventure genre, and it’s surprising how many of these stories I’ve encountered, mostly in teenage years. But I do think Otto’s stretching the boundaries of the theme to the limit, just to get good stories in. I mean, Sredni Vashtar, come on! The whole story takes place in a proper English house with a garden, and there is no onstage action at all (apart from the buttering of toast!). Not quite the pulse-pounding excitement you find in the likes of Leningen Versus the Ants.
Otto was more constrained when he edited THE BIG BOOK OF BLACK MASK STORIES, Art. In THE BIG BOOK OF ADVENTURE STORIES, he cast his net really wide.
Likewise, “To Serve Man” is not an adventure story even in the way that many of Knight’s best satires are (“Babel II” or “You’re Another” certainly qualify thus).
And there are also better Sakis to have chosen, as Art Scott notes. Looks like it could be fun book, nonetheless.
THE BIG BOOK OF ADVENTURE STORIES is a bargain, Todd. It even includes a complete novel: TARZAN THE TERRIBLE!
Unfortunately too tall for the paperback shelves, the only place an incoming book will fit. Besides, I’ve read probably half, maybe more, and there are others that I have in some other collection or anthology, so as interesting as the idea of having this one is, I’ll skip.
Like you, Rick, I’ve read many of the stories in this collection. But there are plenty I haven’t read and for the price, I found it a bargain.
Cool. I hadn’t seen this book come out, since I mostly look out for what’s new in the mystery/detection genre, but I have a big soft spot for old-style adventure stories. (Data point: I’ve seen “Raiders of the Lost Ark” about 20 times.) And I’m I right in assuming that Penzler has included original pulp-magazine illos and has had the book typeset in a pulp-like two-column format, as he did with the “Big Book of Pulp” and the Black Mask collections? That’s a great idea (one that was well executed in those latter tomes).
You would be right, Mike. Otto kept the format that worked so well in his previous “Big Book” collections: two-columns and illos.
I think Otto’s doing a great job with all these books. My copy of Big Book of Adventure Stories arrived yesterday. Can’t wait to start reading it. I hope Otto’s got more of these massive volumes in store. What a pulp library he’s building for us.
You’re right about Otto doing a great job, Ed. Not only are these great collections, but the cost of these massive tomes is reasonable!
Ed makes a good point.
Ed always makes good points, Rick.
Yow. I need this.
You sure do, Evan. Buy it before it goes out-of-print!