Saturday, January 02, 2010

Secret Agent X: Monarch of Murder - Brant House (Paul Chadwick)

From the August 1935 issue of the pulp SECRET AGENT X, this fast-moving yarn opens with the Secret Agent surreptitiously boarding an ocean liner at sea that’s bound for New York. It seems that the Agent has discovered an infamous criminal known only as Dr. Marko is trying to slip into the country so he can take over all the gangs and organize them, as well as using his scientific genius to commit terrible crimes. Unfortunately, Dr. Marko is as much a master of disguise as Secret Agent X himself, so it’s going to be difficult to find him among the hundreds of passengers and crew members.

Approximately the first third of this novel is set on the ocean liner, and it’s an excellent sequence featuring the near-constant switching of disguises, whirlwind action, a couple of grisly murders, and a beautiful damsel in distress (not reporter Betty Dale for a change, although Betty does show up later and play an important part in the plot). After the boat reaches port and the action moves onto land, the story loses a little of its momentum as it turns into a more standard capture-and-escape, foil-the-villain’s-evil-plans pulp adventure. Not that that’s a bad thing, mind you. MONARCH OF MURDER still manages to be pretty entertaining all the way through.

The author behind the Brant House name in this case is Paul Chadwick, the originator of the Secret Agent X character and the primary author of the series early on in its run. With Chadwick’s work, you can usually count on plenty of action and a few scenes that are genuinely creepy, and MONARCH OF MURDER delivers on both counts. The villain’s true identity doesn’t come as a complete surprise, but it’s not telegraphed as blatantly or as early in the story as sometimes happens in these pulp hero novels.

This one is scheduled to be reprinted soon in an inexpensive edition by Beb Books. It’s one of the better Secret Agent X novels I’ve read, and if you’re a fan of the series it’s well worth reading.

8 comments:

Evan Lewis said...

Hey, James, have you seen a list of "X" authors? I have a bunch of those little squinty-eyed Hanos reprints, and want to know which ones are worth the eyestrain.

James Reasoner said...

There used to be a list of all the "X" authors on-line, but it seems to be gone now. There's also a list in THE SECRET AGENT X COMPANION by Tom Johnson and Will Murray, which is still available through Lulu. I've owned two different editions of this book and ought to pick up the new edition. It's excellent. I used to have those Hanos reprints, too, and read just about all of them. Once you got used to them, the print wasn't too bad. But my eyes were younger then, too.

Brian Drake said...

Hi, James, thanks for the review. I have one or two of the Secret Agent X stories laying around but have never found time to sit down with them.

On another note, I was at the bookstore the other night and flipped through a bunch of Longarms and am tempted to try one thanks to your favorable comments on the series. Can you point out any titles that you wrote that I can look for?

Brian Drake said...

Actually, James, don't answer that post--I tried your personal website and found the list there so I'll make a few notes and head back to the bookstore. You get a royalty on those books, right?

James Reasoner said...

Brian,
Yeah, the Longarms are royalty deals, and most of them sell well enough to earn a little. Always glad to see them earn more, though!

beb said...

This used to be on my website. It used to contain information about reprints but since it hasn't been updated in five years I removed all that.

Secret Agent X
by Brant House, a house pseudonym. Stories credited where known.
(Source: The Hero Pulp Index, Keys To Other Doors, Secret Agent X by Tom Johnson and Will Murray.)

1. The Torture Trust, Secret Agent X , Feb., 1934 (v1-1) Written by Paul Chadwick)

2. The Spectral Stranglers, Secret Agent X , Mar., 1934(v1-2) Written by Paul Chadwick
3. The Death-Torch Terrors, Secret Agent X , Apr., 1934 (v1-3) Written by Paul Chadwick
4. The Ambassador of Doom, Secret Agent X , May, 1934 (v2-1) Written by Paul Chadwick
5. City of the Living Dead, Secret Agent X , June, 1934(v2-2) Written by Paul Chadwick
6. Hand of Horror, Secret Agent X , Aug., 1934(v2-3) Written by Emile C Tepperman
7. Octopus of Crime, Secret Agent X , Sept., 1934 (v3-1) Written by Paul Chadwick
8. The Hooded Hordes, Secret Agent X , Oct., 1934(v3-2) Written by Paul Chadwick
9. Servants of the Skull, Secret Agent X , Nov., 1934 (v3-3) Written by Emile C Tepperman
10. The Murder Monster, Secret Agent X , Dec., 1934 (v4-1) Written by Emile C Tepperman
11. The Sinister Scourge, Secret Agent X , Jan., 1935 (v4-2) Written by Paul Chadwick
12. Curse of the Waiting Death, Secret Agent X , Feb., 1935 (v4-3) Written by Paul Chadwick
13. Devils of Darkness, Secret Agent X , Mar., 1935 (v5-1) Written by Paul Chadwick
14. Talons of Terror, Secret Agent X , Apr., 1935 (v5-2) Written by Emile C Tepperman
15. The Corpse Cavalcade, Secret Agent X , May, 1935(v5-3) Written by G. T. Fleming-Roberts
16. The Golden Ghoul, Secret Agent X , July, 1935 (v6-1) Written by G. T. Fleming-Roberts
17. The Monarch of Murder, Secret Agent X , Aug., 1935(v6-2) Written by Paul Chadwick
18. Legion of the Living Dead, Secret Agent X , Sept., 1935(v6-3) Written by Paul Chadwick
19. Horde of the Damned, Secret Agent X , Oct., 1935(v7-1) Written by Paul Chadwick
20.,Ringmaster of Doom, Secret Agent X , Nov., 1935 (v7-2) Written by G. T. Fleming-Roberts
21. Kingdom of Blue Corpses, Secret Agent X , Dec., 1935(v7-3) Written by Unknown
22. Brand of the Metal Maiden, Secret Agent X , Jan., 1936 (V7-4) Written by G. T. Fleming-Roberts
23. Dividends of Doom, Secret Agent X , Feb., 1936 (v8-1) Written by G. T. Fleming-Roberts
24. The Fear Merchants, Secret Agent X , Mar., 1936 (v8-2) Written by Paul Chadwick
25. The Faceless Fury, Secret Agent X , Apr., 1936 (v8-3) Written by G. T. Fleming-Roberts
26. Subterranean Scourge, Secret Agent X , June, 1936(v8-4) Written by G. T. Fleming-Roberts
27. The Doom Director, Secret Agent X , Aug., 1936 (v9-1) Written by G. T. Fleming-Roberts
28. City of Madness, Secret Agent X , Oct., 1936 (v9-2) Written by G. T. Fleming-Roberts
29. Horror's Handclasp, Secret Agent X , Dec., 1936(9-3) Written by G. T. Fleming-Roberts
30. Death's Frozen Formula, Secret Agent X , Feb., 1937(v9-4) Written by G. T. Fleming-Roberts
(continued)

beb said...

Apparently this list was longer than allowed by blogger. So divided. - beb

31. The Murder Brain, Secret Agent X , Apr., 1937 (v11-1) Written by G. T. Fleming-Roberts
32. Slaves of the Scorpion, Secret Agent X , June, 1937 (v11-2) Written by G. T. Fleming-Roberts
33. Satan's Syndicate, Secret Agent X , Aug., 1937 (v11-3) Written by G. T. Fleming-Roberts
34. The Assassin's League, Secret Agent X , Oct., 1937 (v11-4) Written by G. T. Fleming-Roberts
35. Plague of the Golden Death, Secret Agent X , Dec., 1937 (v12-1) Written by G. T. Fleming-Roberts
36. Curse of the Mandarin's Fan, Secret Agent X , Feb., 1938 (v12-2) Written by G. T. Fleming-Roberts
37. Claws of the Corpse Cult, Secret Agent X , Apr., 1938 (v12-3) Written by G. T. Fleming-Roberts
38. The Corpse That Murdered, Secret Agent X , June, 1938(v12-4) Written by G. T. Fleming-Roberts
39. Curse of the Crimson Horde, Secret Agent X , Sept, 1938 (v13-1) Written by Paul Chadwick
40. Corpse Contraband, Secret Agent X , Dec., 1938 (v123-2) Written by G. T. Fleming-Roberts
41. Yoke of the Crimson Coterie, Secret Agent X , Mar., 1939(v13-3) Written by G. T. Fleming-Roberts

James Reasoner said...

Thanks for the list! I'm going to save it on my computer right now.