Review: ‘Grottos of Chinatown’

“Grottos of Chinatown: The Dorus Noel Stories” is an interesting collection of short stories by Arthur J. Burks.

Burks was, during his time, very prolific pulp author. But today he’s not very well known today, I think due in part to the fact that he worked in many genres, and never had an outstanding story or set of stories. He seldom did continued stories, and this collection is one of the few he did do.

This collection is put out by Off-Trail Publications. In addition to the Dorus Noel stories, we get a great introduction on Burks and Dell’s All-Detective Magazine, which is where these stories appeared. The in-depth introduction adds a great deal of value to this volume. The artwork from the stories is also included. Dorus was never a cover feature of the magazine, but a few covers are shown in the introduction.

The series ran for 11 short stories in All-Detective from 1933-34. All-Detective was an interesting, if short-lived, magazine. It ran several other series, including the tail end of the Major Lacy/Amusement, Inc. series (see my earlier posting on this one) and the Nib Holloway series that introduced the first Doctor Death. All-Detective would be replaced by a Doctor Death magazine, with the new version of that character.

Dorus Noel is a secret agent for the police, located in Chinatown. We learn that he had lived previously in China, and understands the culture. He was recruited by someone (we never learn who), and only contacts that person by phone. No other policeman knows that Dorus is a police agent.

In the first story, we met Dorus and learned that while in China, he opposed a sinister leader known as Chu Chul, The Cricket. Chu is almost a Fu Manchu-like character. He is thought dead, but returns in the first story to plague Dorus. He appears to be killed in that story.

In the second story, Dorus is then threatened by The White Wasp, who is Chu’s daughter. But for some reason, the daughter does not kill Dorus, and leaves the country.

In the third story, Chu returns, and Dorus kills him, only to discover that it was just an actor and that Chu is still alive. Sadly, Chu does not return in any of the further stories. In each, Dorus goes up against some weird crime or threat in Chinatown, sometimes dealing with another new fiend.

It’s unfortunate that Chu Chul never returns. You wonder if this character was fully the idea of Burks or his editors.

The work that Dorus Noel does is very dangerous, as he is often losing his Chinese “houseboy” in the first few stories.

Tom Johnson has written a further Dorus Noel story, that brings back both Chu Chul and The White Wasp, and puts a finale on the series. It can be found in “Echoes 30,” published by Altus Press.

If you like detective stories that are unusual, and are a fan of Fu Manchu-like characters, check this series out. You won’t be disappointed.