REH’s Steve Harrison

A minor character of Robert E. Howard‘s (1906-36) that I have wanted to read has been Steve Harrison, his hard-boiled detective who was involved in horror and weird-mystery stories.

The REH Foundation Press had published a first edition several years back, which went out of print as it was a limited edition. A new edition in their “Ultimate” series of 22 volumes is available, and these aren’t limited. Steve Harrison’s Casebook is REH Library Book #5 in the series.

Harrison is a police detective whose beat is Chinatown, especially River Street. He is described as a large man with dark hair, more Conan than the usual detective type. He’s likely to use his brawn rather than his gun to get what he needs. His stories aren’t the normal fair for most detectives, getting into weird mysteries, often with an oriental element.

I had thought, due to his use in recent works, that he was something of an occult detective, but not so. For those not aware, weird mysteries — not to be confused with weird menace — is where the threat or mystery is weird, not your standard criminal, but usually an over-the-top mad scientist or the like, or the threat is of a strange or weird nature, though the hero is usually an ordinary detective.

REH wrote nine Harrison stories, but only four were published in the pulps, in three magazines by three separate publishers in 1934 and ’36. Surprisingly, two stories appeared in the same issue, but due to the “rules” of the pulps, one appeared under one of REH’s pseudonyms. I wonder what readers thought when they read two stories with the same character by “different” authors?

The first story has Harrison dealing with a Druze who for some reason thinks Harrison is the reincarnation of an ancient foe, which leads Harrison to confront a sinister Asian mastermind, Erlik Khan, the Lord of Death, and finds who led the Druze at him. (REH’s El Borak dealt with the daughters of Erlik Khan. Is there a connection?)

Our next story, we find Harrison in a southern swamp after a Chinese man who had murdered another Chinese man. Harrison wants him not just for the murder, but to retrieve the victim’s life savings to give to his granddaughter. Along the way he is involved with voodoo, murder, and human sacrifice.

Back on his home beat, Harrison gets pulled into a strange mystery when a rich man avoids getting killed. But he had no enemies. Two others have recently been killed. In looking into it, he finds that a gang of Asians known as the Sons of Erlik (?!) are after him, and are mutilating the bodies of others. Harrison soon figures out the connection, and what they are after.

While visiting with a respected aged Chinese storekeeper, the man is killed by his pet cobra. But it wasn’t his cobra. Someone has replaced it. Can Harrison find the killer, and why the storekeeper was murdered?

Harrison is taking a rare vacation when he helps a young man who almost hits a friend with a car. The young man admits that he had been hearing voices urging him to kill his friend. When Harrison also hears it, he works to get to the bottom of it. Will he succeed before someone is killed?

The next story is actually a sequel to the first but was published (unlike the first). Harrison and an associate are being menaced by Erlik Khan. But he’s dead! Harrison saw him get killed in that first story. Maybe it’s someone else? Will they be able to figure it out and stop whoever it is? This one is an exciting story.

Harrison comes upon a local lawyer to River Street, murdered by a Chinese dagger. While he tries to figure out why the lawyer was killed and by whom, he gains a tag-alone in a would-be reporter. While this help or hinder him?

The final story, “Graveyard Rats,” is the last published Harrison story. Harrison is pulled into a case of multiple murders, all tied to revenge among a group of people. And there are rats, who make their appearance at the end once it all is revealed.

In addition to the finished stories, we get unfinished pieces and synopsis for other stories.

I am not a big fan of detective stories, but I enjoyed these because of the weird-mystery elements. Frankly, I couldn’t see REH doing a Sherlock Holmes-style mystery.

Now, some may be turned off by some of the language used, but I would remind folks to keep in mind when these stories were written. There are always good and evil people in all races, and that’s true here. Harrison goes after those who are evil, regardless of race, and helps those who deserve it, also regardless of race.

The Ultimate Editions are nice, with nice covers by Mark Wheatley. They plan 22 volumes, but I don’t know what they will contain. If they are reprinting the limited-print First Editions done earlier by the REH Foundation Press, then this series won’t be a complete reprinting of REH’s works, but lesser works.

The Ultimate Editions already include the three volumes of letters and three volumes of poetry.

I’m not sure what else will be coming out soon. But if you are interested in the works of REH beyond his better-known works, this is a series to check out.