The Argosy Library, Series IX

On Black Friday weekend 2020, Steeger Books put out their next two sets of “Argosy Library” volumes, Series VIII and IX. I covered Series VIII in another posting, so here is Series IX.

As always, we get 10 books of great, and sometimes overlooked, fiction that appeared in the early pulps. We get some stand-alone works, as well as volumes of various sub-series.

Most are taken from the pulps started by Frank A. Munsey, who converted his fiction magazines to pulp paper and reduced their price, making them more profitable. He published the well-known Argosy magazine, which got its start in the late 1800s, and several other popular magazines such as All-Story and Flynn’s Detective Fiction Weekly.

Series IX consists of:

• The Python Pit: The Complete Adventures of Singapore Sammy, Vol. 2 by George F. Worts
• A Queen of Atlantis: The Saga of Monella, Vol. 2 by Frank Aubrey
• Four Corners, Vol. 2 by Theodore Roscoe
• The Stuff of Empire: The Complete Adventures of Bellow Bill Williams, Vol. 2 by Ralph R. Perry
• Galloping Gold: The Complete Tales of Sheriff Henry, Vol. 4 by W.C. Tuttle
• Jades and Afghans: The Complete Adventures of Cordie, Soldier of Fortune, Vol. 3 by W. Wirt
• The Ledger of Life: The Complete Cabalistic Cases of Semi Dual, the Occult Detector by J.U. Giesy and Junius B. Smith
• Minions of Mercury by William Gray Beyer
• White Heather Weather by John Frederick (Frederick Faust)
• The Fire Flower and Other Adventures: The Jackson Gregory Omnibus

George F. Worts may be better known for Peter the Brazen, but another South Seas adventurer he has is Singapore Sammy. We get the second volume of the Singapore Sammy stories. I think we’ll get one or two more volumes to complete this series. Less fantastical than Peter the Brazen, Sammy is on a quest to find his father and obtain his grandfather’s will. And the fortune he was promised.

British author Frank Aubrey wrote many works, several under pseudonyms. The Monella trilogy is interesting, and A Queen of Atlantis is the second. But it’s not a sequel, but a prequel set in the Sargasso Sea. And of the trilogy, it’s the only part that showed up in the pulps, in Argosy.

From the prolific Theodore Roscoe, we get the second and final set of gothic mysteries set in the New York town of Four Corners.

The adventures of South Sea pearler Bellow Bill is said to be an inspiration for Doc Savage. Here we get the second volume with the next eight stories. I think there will be one or two more volumes of this series.  I reviewed the first volume, so this should be another good set of stories.

W.C. Tuttle provided a long series of humorous Westerns in the tales of Sheriff Henry, and we get the fourth volume with two more novels.

I was hoping for another volume of adventures with Jimmie Cordie and his solder of fortune friends from W. Wirt, and we get a third volume with three more tales. By title, it looks like one will take them to Central America, which would be an interesting change from Asia. There should be two more volumes, but there is also a two-volume hardbound deluxe “Complete Cordie” set with all the stories as well.

Semi Dual is an unusual occult detective by J.U. Giesy and Junius B. Smith. After starting to reprint the series from the beginning, Steeger Books has switched to skipping around. The Ledger of Life is actually the final serial with this character. So I’m not sure what we’ll see next from this character, or how many more volumes are planned.

The Mark Nevin series (also known as the Omega series) by William Gray Beyer is set in the far future when Mark Nevin awakens from a long sleep and is trying to rebuild civilization with the help of the mysterious Omega. This is the third of four novels.

From Frederick Faust, better known as Western author Max Brand, we get a different story in White Heather Weather. This is a swashbuckling tale set in 17th-century England and appeared under his John Frederick pseudonym.

Jackson Gregory (1882-1943) was a prolific author in the pulps, including the Munsey pulps, writing mainly westerns and detective stories. This first Omnibus reprints a trio of works by him, all from All-Story Weekly in 1916-18.  Sadly, I don’t know what kind of stories they are other then adventures.

As always, there are several volumes here I will be getting and doing reviews of soon. Bellow Bill and Jimmie Cordie I especially look forward to. Others I may get later on. Look for those reviews soon.