Review: Gruesome & grisly, shudder-filled & TERRIFIC!!!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 31, 2013
This is one terrific Megapack. It's exactly as the publisher describes it, so there should be no unpleasant surprises (though it does contain many PLEASANT ones). Everyone knows in advance not to expect it to contain so-called "great" works of literature, nor should anyone take umbrage at the level of political incorrectness; you were forewarned.What IS surprising, however, is just how well-written many of these lurid works actually are. These guys sure knew how to tell a story! Despite being paid-by-the-word in a profession where quantity often trumped quality, many pulp authors proved to be talented and creative wordsmiths who were particularly adept at masterfully manipulating the English language to create thrilling tales--all the while tallying and, whenever possible, increasing their word count to boost their profits (which is why colorful, descriptive adjectives abound). Such padding could easily yield inferior results (and very often did), but in the hands of a skillful writer, a truly fanciful, entertaining and well-constructed story could still emerge--as many of the authors in this delectable collection of grisly tales so vividly demonstrate.Named for the inexpensive, low-grade, wood-pulp paper on which they were printed in the magazines that originally published them, these 25 pulp pieces are particularly remarkable inasmuch as the compilers of this collection deliberately sought tales with outrageously provocative titles. A great title, of course, is no guarantee the story to which it is attached will be equally as good (and oftentimes a powerful title was deliberately created to disguise an otherwise weak tale), but in the case of this Megapack, most of the stories really ARE equal to their titillating titles. It should also be noted that this set contains no pastiches by modern-day, pulp-author wannabes. There are no counterfeits here; these are all the real thing, the bulk of them having been written in the 1930's.I thoroughly enjoyed this bargain-priced collection featuring more than a few stories being sold individually in the Kindle Store for the same price (or more!) as this entire set. This is definitely one Megapack that should make any connoisseur of pulp fiction squirm with terror and delight. (And if you're not already a fan, it might just make you one.)