Dr. Satan [The Weird Exploits of Dr. Satan #1]

by Paul Ernst

Straight from the Pages of Weird Tales: The Uncensored Adventures of Pulp's Weirdest Villain! You won't believe the thrills await you as you read about the sinister exploits of Doctor Satan, the world's weirdest criminal. Doctor Satan makes crime pay beyond the dreams of avarice, swimming to power with utter disregard for others, striking down those in his path cruelly, ruthlessly, inexorably, and weirdly. He is no ordinary villain, but is truly the Master Mind of crime, possessing scientific knowledge and power that make him unique among all the so-called "master minds" of fiction. He well merits the sobriquet of Doctor Satan. But he is opposed by another mind in many ways equal to his own: Ascott Keane, criminologist par excellence, known even to his intimate friends as only a millionaire playboy. Keane has turned to tracking down crime for the same reason that Doctor Satan has turned to committing crime: for the thrill of the game. Whether Doctor Satan is preying on rich men in Wall Street, or ruthlessly spreading panic terror in Hollywood, or striking the winter tourist influx at Miami with ghostly death, we know that you will be fascinated with the harrowing adventures of Doctor Satan and Ascott Keane. As the editor of Weird Tales wrote, "Each of these stories is a genuine weird tale, eery. uncanny and permeated with an icy breath of horror like a cold breeze from the tomb."

Genres: Horror

161 pages, Nook

About the author

Paul Frederick Ernst was an American pulp fiction writer. He is best known as the author of the original 24 "Avenger" novels, published by Street & Smith under the house name Kenneth Robeson.

He "[took] up fiction writing in his early twenties." Credited by pulp-expert Don Hutchison as "a prolific manufacturer of potboilers-made-to-order," his stories appeared in a number of early Science fiction and fantasy magazines. His writing appeared in Astounding Stories, Strange Tales and Amazing, and he was the author of the Doctor Satan series which ran in Weird Tales from August, 1935. His most famous work was in writing the original 24 The Avenger stories in the eponymous magazine between 1939 and 1942.

When pulp magazine work began to dry up, Ernst "was able to make a painless transition into the more prestigious "slick" magazines, where his word skill earned him higher financial rewards." As of 1971, he was "still active as a writer," including penning "Blackout" for the July 1971 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine. He died in Pinellas County, Florida.

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_...]


Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Paul^Ernst

Reviews

[Andy Lind · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is pulp fiction at it's finest. With that being said, I am going to let you know that if you are expecting a Shakespearian, operatic, classic work of literature, you have picked up the wrong book.

Ernst writing style is fast-paced with little detail, long paragraphs of dialogue, and lots of action.

Doctor Satan is a masked villain who dresses up like the devil and uses magic spells to blackmail his victims and is constantly being chased by private detective Ascott Keane and his beautiful "secretary that is more than a secretary" Beatrice Dale.

If you are looking for a book that is easy-to-read with fast-paced tales and lots of action, then this is your book. Otherwise, stay away from Doctor Satan.

[Tony Ciak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great first story of a series of stories, very weird...Loved It !!!