Ghosts of The Jackal is the second volume with Jonathan W. Sweet‘s New Pulp hero, The Red Jackal. I had previously read the first volume, Enter the Jackal. Sweet has done several pulp reprint anthologies and a pair of nice Beginner’s Guide to Pulp Fiction books through his Brick Pickle Media that I have reviewed here.
Full disclosure, as with the first volume, I was provided with a review copy.
The author is from the Twin Cities area (Minneapolis and St. Paul), and has set this hero in the same location, as well as woven in real history of the 1930s. After each story, we get a brief note about these elements. I think that really adds to the stories, and it’s an element I like to see with many New Pulp authors who set their characters in other parts of the country, especially the areas where they live. Not every pulp hero needs to be in New York.
Our hero, the Red Jackal, is in the mode of other pulp heroes (as well as some comicbook heroes). He is really Blake Randolph, who runs his family enterprises that include a newspaper and radio station in the area. There are only a small number of associates who know his identity, including a police lieutenant. Most people do not even know the Red Jackal exists.
This time we get an prelude which gives some idea of how these stories came about, with a relative of the Jackal, who has recently passed away in 2019, telling his story. The prelude makes some interesting hints. What was the chance that he gave up? If Blake Randolph was fighting in Europe during WWII, does this mean the Red Jackal was also operating there at the same time? And if he remained in Europe after the war, again was he still operating as the Red Jackal, and if so when did he stop? The rest of the volume gives us two stories.
The first story has two parts: one set in 1929, and the other in 1934, both dealing with the same foe. In 1929, a touring company putting on the play Dracula (yes, before it was a movie, it was a play, with Bela Lugosi playing the part of Dracula in the play in some areas of the country) and is in the area. But it appears someone is killing young women in each town they visit as the play closes. And the manner of their death mimics a vampire. Is there a vampire, or just someone who thinks they are? And in the world of the Jackal, there is both weird science and the occult, so is this foe a vampire or something else due to science?
This story is neat in several ways, as we meet more of the Jackal’s circle of associates that provide him information, as well as add another element to the character. A lot about the play and one of the actors is actually true. And I find vampires, like zombies, tiresome at this point, so the use of them was well done here.
The second story centers around an unfinished Edgar Allan Poe story, which a complete version has been found. This has lead to several deaths, as certain parties hope to sell it to a well-heeled collector in the Twin Cities. The Jackal comes into it with a past associate, a female detective and mystery woman, The Black Wraith, shows up looking for help. We get hints of previous adventures they had. Another good story.
In addition, we get a reprint of the Edgar Allan Poe of that unfinished story, “The Light-house.” Yes, it really exists, and some have tried to finish it.
It’s another great volume with this new character. We are promised a third, The Jackal Strikes. I hope we see a return of The Black Wraith, but it doesn’t need to be in the next volume.
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