An interesting post-World War II pulp story is H. Bedford-Jones‘ “The Uranium Pomegranates,” which was serialized in four issues of Short Stories from March and April 1946. It was cover featured for the first part, with a Fu Manchu-like character who seems to be observing a trio of others. The serial is reprinted in Adventure House‘s High Adventure #162 using that cover.
With that title and cover, one imagines various matters. Uranium is used in atomic power and atomic bombs, and this was written in 1946, shortly after the war. Is our Fu Manchu-like character trying to get uranium to threaten the world? What is going on?
As we get into the story, we discover that veteran and bond salesman Bud Harper gets mixed up in things when he receives the wrong envelope. It is meant for a young lady whose father is missing. Donna Bryan and her father had been searching in the Gobi Desert for geologic resources, discovering a unique form of uranium and other valuable resources. But her father disappeared, taken by the Japanese. But he hide the secret of the location in four pewter pomegranates.
What seems to be an adventure story set in the Gobi Desert instead turns into a detective/spy story. There are other forces after the resources. Some have her father, but don’t have the secret. There is also the mysterious Chinese Dr. John Lee involved (he’s the figure on the cover), and the Russian Muratov. And someone named Murdock. How do they all fit in? You’ll have to read and find out. Their role was not what I thought, which is what I liked about this story. It turned your assumptions on their head.
High Adventure #162 also reprinted the next-to-the-last story of Jimmie Cordie, which is currently being reprinted by Steeger Books.
As always, another great issue of High Adventure. As Steeger Books is reprinting H. Bedford-Jones, maybe at some point they’ll reprint this in their library.
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