The second Doc Talos Double flip book* is a stylish revisit of classic pulp storytelling, dovetailed into the ongoing Talos Chronicle mythos.
Setting up the tales on each side of the book, we find none other than Rickie Talos (the “real-life” inspiration for Pat Savage in the pulps) in the year 1950…one year after the death of the hero pulps. Paperbacks are now all the rage, and a new publisher hoping to jump into the void left behind when the pulps were cancelled has approached Rickie to see if he can involve her in the launching of a new line of books. She meets two ghostwriters in a New York City diner, and they brainstorm together. The authors, William Dexter and R. Paul Sardanas, both love the pulps, and along with RIckie, they come up with two very different stories. William will channel classic 1930’s pulp in a novella echoing some of the best of the “good guy” Doc Savage tales, and R. Paul will round out the double book with a short story channeling the more racy, violent “bad girl” stories coming into vogue at the beginning of the ’50’s.
The first side of the book is Apocalypse Island, by William Dexter.
This novella goes right to the heart of 1930’s pulp adventure, taking inspiration from the 1933 Doc Savage story The Land of Terror. One of Doc’s mentors is murdered in horrifying fashion, by a weapon that evaporates organic matter. And this is just the beginning of a tale that plunges into fabulous mysteries, including an island in the Bermuda Triangle where time has gone mad.
One the flip side, is R. Paul Sardanas’ Island Apocalypse.
Imagine a scenario riffing from the opening scenes of the 1936 Doc Savage novel The Black Spot…a gangster/moll themed party thrown by an eccentric millionaire. In attendance at Long Island Sound’s Rat Island we find Rickie Talos herself. Everyone is expecting a good, slightly wicked time. No one is expecting the party to become a killing frenzy as all the guests are poisoned by a vengeful femme fatale, who promises an antidote only to the last man or woman standing.
This book is being done as a charitable benefit. Both authors have agreed to donate proceeds from Apocalypse Island/Island Apocalypse to The Animal League, an organization that rescues and rehomes abandoned pets, often saving them from being euthanized. For animal lovers (like Dexter and Sardanas) it is heartbreaking to think of abused, neglected or abandoned animals, and we want to do our part to help these loving creatures back to health and a forever home. Even if you decide the benefit book is not for you, we hope you’ll consider a donation of your own to The Animal League.
We are keeping the cost of the book low to encourage folks to take part in the benefit. Apocalypse Island/Island Apocalypse is a 6 x 9 paperback, 130 pages, and can be acquired for $10 plus shipping. A PDF version is available for $5. The physical book is set up in a fun rightside up/upside down flip style (you actually flip the book over to start on the other side for the second story)…the PDF version is all facing in the same direction (much less fun to have to flip a PDF on your screen and read backwards).
To get your copy, please drop an email to taloschronicle@gmail.com. We’ll get your address information, and offer several options for payment, including PayPal, check or money order.
We hope you find the book enjoyable and exciting, and thank you for helping to support this charitable cause.
*The first Doc Talos Double flip book was “Montage”, available in our bookstore