Virtual Pulp

Virtual Pulp

by Henry Brown

From medieval Europe to Reconstruction; from a post-apocalyptic future to an alien world's Dark Ages, the drums pound in adrenaline-charged unison. Strap yourself in for a wild escape from the mundane, into adventures that transcend space and time.

Allan of Barnsdale pledges loyalty to a doomed knight in exchange for inspiration to craft his tale of King Arthur...never imagining they are en route to an ambush by outlaws in Sherwood Forest.

Pick Garver returns to his hometown after the Civil War a hero to some, a turncoat to most, and less likely to be with his true love than when he left.

Three warriors from vastly different races must battle a sorcerer, an invading armada, and each other, while desperately seeking honor in a world where treachery is the norm.

Mechanic, armchair engineer and hot-dog pilot Rebble Rauser and his fellow citizens of the "Barbarian Nation" protect their sovereignty with blazing wing guns; but an old rival of Rebble's makes a surprise visit during a war in a chaotic American future.

Virtual Pulp # 1 brings you new pulp-flavored tales in different genres, combining intelligent storytelling with the imaginative adventure-lust of yesteryear.

I’m not sure technically what pulp fiction means, but to me it suggests high adventure, epic battles trimmed down to the scale of a few good men (or women too), honor and tortuous ethics and noblesouls—all of which I found in Henry Brown’s Virtual Pulp #1. In olden days I guess the tales were printed on sacrificed trees, buttoday, as the title suggests, the wood-pulp’s purely virtual. (The bookis available as a paperback, though.)

The stories in this collection are united by battle: mythic on the fantasy frontier (with shades of my old favorite Michael Moorcock); almost steampunk with mismatched airplanes in a dystopian future; historicalin the civil war; and fought with legend and chivalry in the heyday of royal England—plus the one at the end that’s unplaceable and gripping and odd. The characters are a pleasing blend of depth and surface detail, actions sketching in past or future or both with noun necessary soul-searching. Events are bigger than the people involved,and people matter more—each tale wholly different and enjoyably satisfying.

In old Britain I found myself listening too closely to the choice of words—my English ear searching for mis-steps in my native history I suppose. And in civil-war America I enjoyed learning my adopted country’s tale. But each story ends with a truly fascinating description of where it came from. Henry Brown’s research is almost as interesting as his telling. He certainly knows history, legends, and the evolution of ideas. And he knows stories.

Some of these characters leave the reader eagerly asking for more,particularly after learning that the author meant them that way.Perhaps Virtual Pulp #2 will be released soon to satisfy curiosity, or perhaps there'll be a series of tales of the Honor Triad,Rebble Rouser or the very mysterious Zombies. - Sheila Deeth

A great debut and a fun anthology of old-fashioned Pulp adventure stories with a military bent.

Henry Brown has a great love for action-adventure and serves up a varied and interesting collection of stories including:

- "The Bloodstained Defile"- A sword and sorcery tale that owes a lot to both Howard and Cook's 'The Black Company'

-"Barbarian Nation"- Listed as Post apocalypse, I would actually consider it air adventure

-"Radical Times"- Historical fiction set in Reconstruction South. Most serious of the works presented.

-"Thus Spake the Bard"- Medieval knight's tale

-"Fever Dream Nemesis"- Surreal sci-fi.

All the stories work to varying degrees. The author clearly loves historical fiction and has done his research. Nicely plotted, the variety of the stories is a great plus. You don't get the same story with different characters over and over again. Also, the author provides little notes on each story- A real personable touch.

The only thing keeping me from giving this 5 stars is they could have used a little polishing. Some of the character names seem too generic- in "Defile" I kept getting thrown out of the story by all the button-mashing, two-syllable fantasy names- Not to mention"The Cemarians". I'm sure that's an homage, but still...

. ..5 solid and entertaining adventure tales in various subgenres and a couple author notes. very much worth your time to check out.

This book is a salute to the old pulp fiction novels (Conan, Tarzan) of the past. It’s a collection of 5 stories, each set in a differenttime period. One story is a sword and Sorcery story, another PostApocalyptic, others are historical, or what if historical tales. Each tale presents likeable characters. My 2 favorite stories was The Bloodstained Defile and Barbarian Nation. The Bloodstained Defilecreated a trio of unlikely partners who in their first adventure form apartnership of sorts. Barbarian Nation presents a story post fall of America. It seems a civil war divided the country, and two opposing sides of the former military battle for survival. There is strong situations, etc. so I’d recommend this for older teens, etc. but if you are a fan of Pulp Fiction books of the past,then I think you might like it.

--Rhodes Review


About the author:

Men's fiction/military thriller writer Henry Brown has been a voracious reader for most of his life--especially the first half of it. In addition to devouring fiction of most genres, he has been a history buff from a young age, and a WWII afficinado by the age of 17. That put men's fiction, paramilitary adventure and war novels on the top of his reading list for many years. He joined the Army the summer he graduated high school and volunteered for the Airborne Infantry. Even after active duty, he dabbled in the reserves of other branches of service, and networked with elite warriors from the Army, Navy and Marines. He earned a degree in the arts, but spent most of his college elective credits on martial arts sparring classes and military history. Virtual Pulp is the fulfillment of a long-time dream, and there's plenty more where that came from.