‘The Devil You Know’

I picked up the recent New Pulp novel by Glen Held: The Devil You Know. Published by Airship 27, at first glance, it looks like a team-up with several pulp characters: Ascott Keane, Ravenwood, Secret Agent X, and a Major Steel going up against Doctor Satan. But there is more to the story, set just prior to World War II.

For those not aware of these characters, here’s a quick overview. Secret Agent X was a long-running pulp hero with his own magazine from Ace Magazines. An agent of the U.S. who fought crime, his true identity was never revealed. His love interest is Betty Dale, who also doesn’t know his true identity.

Ravenwood, also referred to as the “stepson of mystery,” was a backup series in the Secret Agent X pulp. Raised in Tibet, he has some psychic powers and is aided by the mysterious Nameless One.

Doctor Satan was a short-lived villain series that ran in Weird Tales. It was always unclear who or what he was. There he was opposed by occult criminologist Ascott Keane, aided by his love interest Beatrice Dale. Here, we are told Beatrice and Betty are cousins.

Doctor Satan is aided by Bostiff and Girse, a legless giant and a dwarf. Major Steel is another pulp character, but I honestly don’t know where he is from.

Things start off as Major Steel has been trying to contact various occult professionals for assistance. He didn’t succeed with Ravenwood, but has with Ascott Keane. However, it appears that he hasn’t been meeting with Ascott. Instead, Doctor Satan has been taking Ascott’s place. The Nazis are gathering occult items and people with occult powers. But for what goal? Is he doing this to further the Nazi cause, or is he just using them to further his own goals?

Initially, our various heroes are doing their own thing, not realizing at first that they are all coming at the same issue from different angles. Keane finds himself a prisoner of Doctor Satan, but is able to escape. Looking into matters, he and Beatrice are led to a Nazi camp on Long Island: Camp Siegfried. Yes, this was a real historical place. But soon Keane finds himself elsewhere.

Secret Agent X and Betty also look into it and aren’t so successful. Ravenwood, looking into the matter of the Nameless One going missing, gets waylaid in his search.

But soon, most of the heroes connect up with Major Steel, who has been approached by gangster Meyer Lansky. Doctor Satan is also with them, disguised as Keane, but he is soon exposed. What side will he be on? We have a major confrontation between our heroes, Doctor Satan, and the person who has been behind the missing people and items. Who will come out on top?

Overall, this was a pretty good story. If I had any complaints, it is that the occult powers of several of the characters were greatly increased over how they are in the original pulps and most new stories using them. I prefer for the most part that the characters stay true to the level of power they have in the originals, though I don’t have a problem with authors finding a better use for their abilities. But that aside, it is still a good novel. I hope we’ll see more from the author in the future.