I finally got the most recent Lazarus Gray book, volume seven, from Barry Reese. Unlike past books, this one is a novel. And it’s a big event, as it brings together all the members of Assistance Unlimited to deal with a persistent foe.
Lazarus Gray is a New Pulp character from writer Reese (The Peregrine, Gravedigger, and other works). Gray is sort of inspired by the classic pulp hero The Avenger.
Gray has setup a group similar to The Avenger’s called Assistance Unlimited. He is located in a fictional town called Sovereign City (created by Pro Se Press publisher Tommy Hancock), and is part of the larger Sovereign City Project. He is also set in the same universe as Barry’s other characters, so has crossed over with them.
As noted, in addition to the current members of Assistance Unlimited — Morgan Stanley, Eun Jiwon, Samantha Grace, and Black Terror — we have former members Eidolon and Abigail Cross coming back (tho Abigail kind of came back in the last volume to oversee Gray’s prison). They are needed because they are facing a big threat. Someone is trying to summon The King in Yellow. For those not aware, this is a sinister character from the writings of Robert W. Chambers that has been used with other horror and weird fiction works.
At the end, a long-standing foe is defeated, but there is set up for future stories.
Now, with this latest Lazarus Gray work done, I’m not sure what’s next. I would like to see a printed book with the Dark Gentleman. And I really want to see the final Gravedigger work. In Reese’s updated chronology, I see a work titled The Second Book of Babylon. But it looks like we’ll be getting another Lazarus Gray novel (volume eight is already in the chronology, and will deal with the birth of Gray’s kid), and a novel that teams up Reese’s characters with AC Comics’ Nightveil (that Pro Se Press has just put out in a prose collection).
