Before he became a master of science fiction, Jack Williamson was a master of pulp adventure. He’s becoming forgotten these days, especially much of his early work.  It doesn’t help that most of his books are not available in electronic format. Haffner Press collected all of his short fiction in a ten volume set. They’re pretty much out of print except for a couple of limited editions of the later volumes.

Williamson started writing for the pulps in 1928. His last novel was published in 2005. He passed away in 2006.  I’ve always wanted to attend the Williamson Lectureship in Portales. It’s within driving distance, but the day job has always interfered.

But I digress. There’s a clear difference in Williamson’s early work compared to his later novels. As he said in the Tamerlane Press edition of Golden Blood (still available for a reasonable price online) as well as the introduction to the Phantasia Press edition of The Reign of Wizardry (also still available), these were works he probably wouldn’t be able to write as an older writer. (I’m paraphrasing here, of course.)

Golden Blood was first serialized in Weird Tales after being rejected by Argosy. If there is an electronic version, I’m not aware of it. It got the cover twice, with both covers painted by J. Allen St. John.St. John also did the interior illustrations shown below.

The first cover, from the April 1933 issue, is a near classic image in the field of fantasy art.  Williamson had an opportunity to buy the painting at the time the story was published but had to decline due to lack of funds.

There have been two paperback reprints, one with a cover by Ed Emshwiller at the bottom of the post. The other was a large print edition from Lancer. My favorite cover is the one with the giant tiger on it.

Again, I digress.

Golden Blood is a lost world story in the classic vein, the type we don’t see much of any more. I thoroughly loved it.

Price Durand is bored and seeking adventure when he joins an expedition to plunder a lost city in the Arabian desert. The Arabian Peninsula was still something of a blank spot on the map in those days.

Jacob Garth is putting together the expedition, and he’s come across some intriguing information. According to an account Garth has unearthed, there is a city on a peak in the center of a valley. The inhabitants of the city are pure, living gold.

Garth wants the gold for himself. He’s equipped the expedition with a variety of firearms as well as a couple of tanks. Joining them is a Bedouin sheik and his followers. They set out across the desert, following a series of skulls set on posts.

As they travel, one day they see a mirage in the sky, a huge tiger  with a golden man and woman on its back. The men feel as if the golden people can see them.

Trouble soon arises. It takes the form of a lone rider.

Not wanting to make their presence known, they capture the rider, only to discover a beautiful young woman, who is named Aysa. Garth has promised the girl to Joao de Castro, who captained the boat that brought them to Arabia. De Castro is a nasty piece of work. When Durand objects to this agreement, Garth tells him that white man’s laws don’t apply where they are. Durand responds that they are still white men and should observe the laws. De Castro and Garth will have none of it.

So Durand rescues the girl.

They manage to escape to an oasis surrounded by a ruined city. Aysa and Durand take shelter there, but they don’t stay safe long. It turns out the golden man and woman, as well as the tiger they rode, are real. It’s not long before Aysa is kidnapped. She was fleeing her village where she had been selected to be given as tribute to the golden man, Malikar. He doesn’t like to be thwarted, and he wants her back.

Malikar is the priest of a cult that worships a giant golden snake. The woman with him, Vekyra, is the priestess. Malikar is about to throw her over for Aysa. Vakyra knows this and isn’t pleased.

Aysa told Durnad he was the reincarnation of Malikar’s greatest enemy, Iru. While in the city, they find Iru’s weapons. She believes he is fated to overthrow Malikar and Vakyra.

One of the members of the snake cult kidnaps Aysa. Durand has to get her back before Malikar can turn her into a golden woman. To do so, he has to get into the city on the peak where Malikar and Vakyra live along with the members of the snake cult. And avoid Garth’s army int he process.

That’s all I’m going to say about the plot. Golden Blood has a lot of pulp elements.  Beautiful women. Lost cities. Fearsome monsters (the giant tiger and the giant snake). A dash of super science. Oh, and did I mention, beautiful women?

Golden Blood was tons of fun. I heartily recommend it. By today’s standards, it’s not a long book. The chapters are short. Check it out.

I’m going to be looking at more of Williamson’s works.  My plan is to post about “Wolves of Darkness”, The Reign of Wizardry, and Darker Than You Think.  I might also go back and reread The Legion of Space series.

I’m also going to read more lost world fiction this year, as much as I can work in. That’s a genre that’s perfect for pulp sensibilities. Unfortunately, there’s not much demand for it anymore. Progress and exploration had caused it to fall out of favor. While I’m all for progress and exploration, I also like a good last world yarn.