New Pulp author Chuck Miller has created several characters, the most well-known being the Black Centipede. He has several other characters who are part of the same “universe” such as Doctor Unknown Jr. and psychic detectives Vionna Valis and Mary Jane Kelly, some of who have their series of stories, all coming from Pro Se Press.
Vionna and Mary Jane are introduced in this new trilogy of novels, the “Moriarty, Lord of the Vampires,” though many other characters appear as well. And, yes, that’s Moriarty as in Professor Moriarty, the enemy of Sherlock Holmes.
The first volume is Vionna and the Vampires. Vionna and Mary Jane are asked to help the descendant of Colonel Moran, who is being menaced by Professor Moriarty, now the Lord of the Vampires, who, along with some associate vampires, is trying to get a hold of the old Victorian mansion left to him by the Colonel. Along the way, they are helped by the ghost of Sherlock Holmes who reveals an old case of his, where he is commissioned by Moriarty to find and stop Jack the Ripper. Dracula also makes an appearance. We learn more about the origin of both Vionna and Mary Jane, as well as some of the Professor’s background.
The next volume is Black Centipede Confidential. Set in the 1930s (the first volume is set in modern times), it has Moriarty in Zenith, the home town of the Black Centipede. Here, along with several others, he is after Jack the Ripper’s Analytical Engine. Yeah, in this universe Jack the Ripper had built Charles Babbage‘s Analytical Engine, which was a proposed mechanical computer that was never built in its time. But someone has built one and we now know it works. This work is also the third in the Black Centipede series.
The final volume is Return of Little Precious. Again, set in modern times, though after the first volume, the story more focuses on Dr. Unknown Jr. and her associate, a former superhero kid sidekick. Little Precious was a duo of an 8-year-old girl and a robot that wrecked havoc across the world 11 years prior. The little girl was left catatonic on the disappearance of the robot. Now, at age 18, she is reawakening. As to Moriarty, he has recently died. But he is a vampire. Plus Dr. Unknown Jr. is a high level mage, so…
The story ends with the death of the Black Centipede and sets up for the next Black Centipede story. Hopefully we’ll see more of these characters. While a bit strange, these stories are inventive and enjoyable. You might want to read the prior Black Centipede novels (I’ve reviewed them), and some of the other characters have appeared in several short stories from Pro Se Press, so check them out as well.
