Modern Pulp Fiction Book Recommendations from the 21st Century
What is Pulp Fiction?
For the unenlightened amongst you (kidding, stop crying), Pulp Fiction is not just a Tarantino movie (good lord, that is all that comes up in a search these days). Pulp fiction is both a genre and a type of book or magazine otherwise known as "the pulps".
Or is it a type of book hosting a particular genre?
These fiction publications had their glory days from the late 19th century to around the middle of the 20th century (something like the 1890's to the 1950's). Why were they called pulps you may ask? If you are reading this blog, then there is a good chance you already know, but for the occasional passerby I will tell you!
They were named for the cheap ass paper they were printed on. Wood pulp paper as opposed to the fine glossy paper of the "better" periodicals of the day. Those were referred to as "glossies" or "slicks" according to good ol' Wikipedia. Pulps were cheap and made for the working man. They offered a nice little escape from the harshness of reality. This is why I like to read them!
Within the crumbly, roughhewn pages of the Pulp magazines resided wild and whimsical tales featuring great heroes, damsels in distress, and horrendous and evil villains. Many such remain as the clichés we see today and many more have been buried for their archaic portrayal of race and gender. These works of fiction often featured lurid and alluring cover art of scantily clad women being threatened by some force of evil with the hero coming to the rescue.
Left: A prime example of a Pulp Magazine, complete with scantily clad maiden, bad guy, and hero.
The writers were paid by the word, even though the stories were short, they cranked out a lot of them. Pulps also did not pay so much per word as other literary options, so there were many authors that got their start in the pulps. Or they were established authors that needed a quick pick me up in their financials, so they cranked out a jungle adventure or space alien invasion.
You may have heard of one or two pulp authors over the years. For example, Edgar Rice Burroughs and his most famous work, Tarzan. How about Robert E. Howard and Conan the Barbarian? We know the characters, but many don't know the authors and where they came from.
Sure, Pulp Fiction stories are not literary masterpieces to be talked about in literature classes in college, but they were entertaining and easy. No abstract concepts or hidden messages here.
Just action, sex, and violence.
What more could you want?
Pulp Genres
- Adventure
- "Lost World" These are my personal favorites!
- Detective/Mystery
- Gangster
- Romance
- Sword and Sorcery
- Westerns
- Science Fiction
- Sports
- War
- Horror/Occult
- "Spicy/Saucy" Yeah, take a guess what's in these ones...the internet wasn't always a thing.
Pulp Fiction Today
The true age of Pulp has sadly passed away, but is it gone? Yes and no. Sure the pulpy goodness of monsters and maidens is not printed on cheap pulp paper anymore, but it can be found digitally. With the rise of self-publishing and platforms like Kindle Direct Publishing, pulp style adventures are available on the cheap. Just like the magazines of yore.
A simple search on Amazon will yield a bevy of thrilling tales, but you take a gamble with their quality. Some people don't hire an editor...or cannot afford one. There are some gems out there, especially if you don't take the plots or impossibility too seriously. I recommend the author Greig Beck for a mixture of horror, sci-fi, lost worlds, and monsters.
Recommendations of a Pulpy nature
The following novels are recommendations for modern pulp-like stories, which I have personally read, printed as trade paperbacks or eBooks. This is not a book review, some of these may not be particularly good, so give them a try if you want. Remember, one man's trash is another man's treasure. Or, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Fury from the Tomb by S.A. Sidor
Mummies, grave-robbing ghouls, hopping vampires, and evil monks beset a young archaeologist, in this fast-paced Indiana Jones-style adventure
Saqqara, Egypt, 1888, and in the booby-trapped tomb of an ancient sorcerer, Rom, a young Egyptologist, makes the discovery of a lifetime: five coffins and an eerie, oversized sarcophagus. But the expedition seems cursed, for after unearthing the mummies, all but Rom die horribly. He faithfully returns to America with his disturbing cargo, continuing by train to Los Angeles, home of his reclusive sponsor. When the train is hijacked by murderous banditos in the Arizona desert, who steal the mummies and flee over the border, Rom – with his benefactor’s rebellious daughter, an orphaned Chinese busboy, and a cold-blooded gunslinger – must ride into Mexico to bring the malevolent mummies back. If only mummies were their biggest problem…
If you enjoyed this novel, then check out the author's other Pulp like works, including:
The Beast of Nightfall Lodge
Cult of the Spider Queen: An Arkham Horror Novel
Captain Moxley and the Embers of the Empire by Dan Hanks
An ex-Spitfire pilot is dragged into a race against a shadowy government agency to unlock the secrets of the lost empire of Atlantis...
In post-war 1952, the good guys are supposed to have won. But not everything is as it seems when ex-Spitfire pilot Captain Samantha Moxley is dragged into a fight against the shadowy US government agency she used to work for. Now, with former Nazis and otherworldly monsters on her trail, Captain Moxley is forced into protecting her archaeologist sister in a race to retrieve two ancient keys that will unlock the secrets of a long-lost empire - to ensure a civilization-destroying weapon doesn't fall into the wrong hands. But what will she have to sacrifice to save the world?
Arena of Souls: A Brock Stone Adventure by David Wood
In 1931, an assassin's bullet nearly claims Brock Stone's life on the day he returns to claim his inheritance. Inside his grandfather's secret library, Stone finds a map to a lost island in the center of the Bermuda Triangle! Joined by his sometimes girlfriend, investigative reporter Trinity Page, and childhood friends, mechanical genius Alex English and ex-boxer Moses Gibbs, Stone embarks on a rollicking adventure sure to thrill fans of Indiana Jones, Dane Maddock, and The Rocketeer!
This book was the authors successful attempt to emulate the original pulp style and ambiance. I think David Wood succeeded in his attempt as well as doing a little modernization to the art. After all, a lot has changed in society since the heyday of the Pulp Novel.
If you enjoyed the first one, check out the sequel: Track of the Beast: A Brock Stone Adventure
What about the good old stuff?
The printed word is still out there, nestled amongst the yellowing and dusty stacks within the shadowy confines of used bookstores and thrift shops. Those destined to read them will seek them out while risking life and limb on the decaying concrete streets of yesterday. Take a trip into the adventures of the past and go on your own journey to one of these stores in your neck of the woods. You will be surprised by what you will find, and you will be supporting small business and the environment. When I travel to a new place, I seek out the local bookstores (among other things to do) in order to peruse their secrets. Everyone is different.
For a more in depth look at the classic Pulp magazines and for more detailed information, in the form of essays, check out:
In this modern age of the interwebs and bright blinding screens, there still exist trade paperbacks, the original Pulp replacements. After the 1950's, cheap paper back novels, comic books, and television replaced the Pulp Magazine and the world become a poorer place. Especially considering the cost of printing and paper.
Again, I encourage you to visit the used bookstore down the street and dig in, because you never know what you might find.
If you would like to see my own attempts at recreating some pulpy goodness, then click HERE and HERE and HERE....anywhere!
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