Months ago I was emailing back and forth with Kevin Cook and he mentioned that he was thinking about getting rid of a couple of his Lost Race novels, because they were duds and he’d never read them again.
Now, I am under the impression that Kevin has a complete collection of Lost Race novels — certainly of the original vintage era — so I disputed for a moment the concept of dumping any. A complete collection is a research tool, something you could donate to a library when you’re finished with it. The more complete, the better.
So what if a novel in the group sucks? Of course some of them will suck.
It’s like collecting San Francisco Mysteries. Doesn’t matter if the book is good, bad or indifferent, what matters is A) it is a mystery of some stripe, and B) is set at least in part in San Francisco.
Ultimately, of course, I told Kevin to do as he would — his collection to dispose of as he will.
I’ll bet, though, the items he was thinking of dumping weren’t autographed. That would add up to a whole new equation, would it not?
For Autograph Hound Super-Sunday Kevin kicks us off with a signature in a Lost Race novel he assures us is not a dud.
Among his holdings Kevin says, “I have a copy of the special ‘Autograph Edition’ of Wings of Danger by Arthur A. Nelson.
“The novel has to be one of the two or three finest Lost Race novels ever written.
“Vikings in central Africa.
“Apparently a big favorite with Robert E. Howard fans.
“Weird thing is that his novel was so well written, but he apparently never authored another book. His byline appears once in Adventure and not in any other known pulps.
“Plus, Vikings in central Africa — outside the usual parameters for Lost Race fiction, but he pulled it off perfectly.”
This novel saw original publication under the title “The Adventurers” in Adventure in 1915, and is easily available to read in the Altus Press Lost Race Library. You know, if you feel like checking out Vikings in Africa and sinking into a book Kevin Cook has no plans on dumping.
