An interesting serialized novel I obtained is The Red Road to Shamballah by Perley Poore Sheehan (1875-1943) and published by Black Dog Books.
Serialized in Thrilling Adventures over 1932-33, this reads as what I would imagine a Talbot Mundy-style novel would be (never having read Mundy).
American Pelham Rutledge Shattuck has lived in Asia most of his life. He knows many languages and is able to move more or less freely. But politics of the times causes problems. The Russians are expanded their influence, as are the British. He sometimes finds himself unwelcome in some areas as different sides think he’s on the other.
But things change when a monk bestows on Shattuck the legendary sword of Kubla Khan! He takes the name of Shadak Khan, or “Captain Trouble,” to usher in a new age and prepare the way for the new King of the World who will bring a new age of peace. He is joined by Champala, a half-Tibetan, half-American Buddhist monk named John Day, and Juma, a Kirghiz robber chief who had previously taken in Shattuck. They serve as his close assistants.
Soon he is finding a lost city in the Gobi desert, gaining the aid of the Agharti who live underground, and is leading a growing army.
As this is a serialized novel, each “chapter” more or less stands on its own as a story, many of which have Shattuck going up against a new foe in seeking his goal: the evil “Green Shiver,” the dangerous Spider Tong, Fang the Terrible, and more. The ending may not be what you expect, but works.
I’m not sure how much of this work is based on any real legends or stories, or if it’s mainly made up by Sheehan. Most of the place names are real, and I would hope the bits of language are as well. While he was a mildly successful pulp writer from the teens to the 1930s, most of his works have not been reprinted in book form other than some of his other serialized work, the very short-lived pulp hero Doctor Coffin. He was also a scriptwriter, with many of his movies based on his pulp fiction. It would have been nice to see some kind of biographic work on him in this volume.
But if you like fun high adventure set in 1930s Asia, this one is pretty enjoyable.
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