The E. Hoffmann Price Spicy Adventure MEGAPACK ™: 14 Tales from the Spicy Pulp Magazines! Read online

  Table of Contents

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  The MEGAPACK™ Ebook Series

  INTRODUCTION, by Darrell Schweitzer

  SATAN’S DAUGHTER

  PIT OF MADNESS

  THE WALKING DEAD

  EVERY MAN A KING

  REVOLT OF THE DAMNED

  CRYSTAL CLUES

  NIGHT IN MANILA

  MURDER SALVAGE

  TRIANGLE WITH VARIATIONS

  SCOURGE OF THE SILVER DRAGON

  DRINK OR DRAW

  SHE HERDED HIM AROUND

  YOU CAN’T FIGHT A WOMAN

  SHORT-CUT TO HELL

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  The E. Hoffmann Price Spicy Adventure MEGAPACK™ is copyright © 2014 by the Estate of E. Hoffmann Price. All rights reserved.

  * * * *

  The MEGAPACK™ ebook series name is a trademark of Wildside Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

  * * * *

  “Satan’s Daughter” originally appeared in the January, 1936 issue of Spicy Mystery Stories. “Pit of Madness” originally appeared in the April, 1936 issue of Spicy Mystery Stories. “The Walking Dead” originally appeared in the November, 1935 issue of Spicy Mystery Stories. “Every Man a King” originally appeared in the November, 1943 issue of Speed Adventure Stories. “Revolt of the Damned” originally appeared in the June, 1938 issue of Double-Action Gang. “Crystal” originally appeared in the August, 1936 issue of Spicy Detective Stories. “Night in Manila” originally appeared in the October, 1935 issue of Spicy-Adventure Stories. “Murder Salvage” originally appeared in the April, 1941 issue of Spicy Detective Stories. “Triangle with Variations” originally appeared in the August, 1935 issue of Spicy Detective Stories. “Scourge of the Silver Dragon” originally appeared in the December, 1935 issue of Gold Seal Detective. “Drink or Draw” originally appeared in the December, 1943 issue of Speed Western Stories. “She Herded Him Around” originally appeared in the February, 1941 issue of Spicy Western. “You Can’t Fight a Woman” originally appeared in the November, 1943 issue of Speed Adventure. “Short-Cut to Hell” originally appeared in Six-Gun Western, April 1950.

  *

  Published by:

  Wildside Press, LLC.

  www.wildsidepress.com

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  E. Hoffmann Price was one of the “Weird Tales Circle” that included H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, and Clark Ashton Smith. In fact, he was the only person to meet both Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft in person. (He once shook my hand and said, “You’re now one handshake away from Robert E. Howard.”)

  The stories collected here span multiple genres: detective, western, adventure, and fantasy. The one thing they have in common (aside from some mildly titillating content) is the sure voice of a born storyteller. Once you start reading an E. Hoffmann Price story, you won’t put it down.

  The introduction by Darrell Schweitzer, which leads off the collection, provides a lot more information on Ed’s work for the “Spicy” magazines...though quite tame by modern standards, they were considered quite risque in their day.

  Enjoy!

  —John Betancourt

  Publisher, Wildside Press LLC

  www.wildsidepress.com

  ABOUT THE SERIES

  Over the last few years, our MEGAPACK™ ebook series has grown to be our most popular endeavor. (Maybe it helps that we sometimes offer them as premiums to our mailing list!) One question we keep getting asked is, “Who’s the editor?”

  The MEGAPACK™ ebook series (except where specifically credited) are a group effort. Everyone at Wildside works on them. This includes John Betancourt (me), Carla Coupe, Steve Coupe, Shawn Garrett, Helen McGee, Bonner Menking, Colin Azariah-Kribbs, A.E. Warren, and many of Wildside’s authors…who often suggest stories to include (and not just their own!)

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  Do you know a great classic science fiction story, or have a favorite author whom you believe is perfect for the MEGAPACK™ ebook series? We’d love your suggestions! You can post them on our message board at http://movies.ning.com/forum (there is an area for Wildside Press comments).

  Note: we only consider stories that have already been professionally published. This is not a market for new works.

  TYPOS

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  INTRODUCTION, by Darrell Schweitzer

  E. (for Edgar) Hoffmann Price (1898-1988) was truly one of the grand old men of the pulps, who sold his first story to Droll Stories in 1924 but rapidly made a name for himself in Weird Tales for such tales as “The Stranger from Kurdistan” and the swashbuckling Pierre D’Artois series. A man with far more worldly and cross-cultural experience than the usual pulp writer, he was able to create authentically exotic backgrounds better than most. He had been a soldier in the U.S. Cavalry in the Philippines and was a veteran of World War I. He graduated from West Point in 1923 with, among other things—particularly useful for a writer of action stories—practical knowledge of horsemanship, the use of sword and pistol, and military tactics.