Sun 20 Jul 2014
Reviewed by Allen J. Hubin: GEOFFREY MARSH – The Fangs of the Hooded Demon.
Posted by Steve under Authors , Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[4] Comments
Allen J. Hubin
GEOFFREY MARSH – The Fangs of the Hooded Demon. Tor, hardcover, 1988; reprint paperback, 1989.
I’ve not before encountered Geoffrey Marsh and his Lincoln Blackthorne series, of which the present The Fangs of the Hooded Demon is the fourth. Blackthorne is a tailor in New Jersey, of all things, to whom incredible experiences accrue.
If Demon is any guide, these tales are part mystery and crime, part unresolved fantasy and mysticism, with Blackthorne functioning more or less in the role of private investigator. Or maybe a land-bound Travis McGee.
Here he’s hired, or maybe forced, to track down the titular fangs, which are bejeweled false teeth with reputed powers of rejuvenation if the right ritual is used at the right time. Various aged and villainous Hollywood rejects want the fangs desperately, and the peril-around-every-corner chase leads to New York, then to Oklahoma, and finally to the oozing swamps of Georgia.
Frantic and imaginative, and I suspect quite enjoyable if your tastes run to this sort of thing.
Vol. 11, No. 3, Summer 1989.
Bibliographic Note: It is now known that Geoffrey Marsh was one of several pen names used by Charles L. Grant (1942 – 2006), a noted horror and fantasy writer whose books sometimes verged into crime fiction territory, as did the Blackthorne novels.
The Lincoln Blackthorne series (as by Geoffrey Marsh) —
1. The King of Satan’s Eyes (1984)
2. The Tail of the Arabian, Knight (1986)
3. The Patch of the Odin Soldier (1987)
4. The Fangs of the Hooded Demon (1988)
July 20th, 2014 at 4:57 pm
Charles Grant was talented and versatile writer who left us far too early. A major influence in the horror genre as both writer and editor, his humorous side came through in this series and others. Probably the greatest title ever for a book came in his Kent Montana series — 668: THE NEIGHBOR OF THE BEAST.
Some of his pen names followed a simple pattern: Geoffrey Marsh, Simon Lake, Lionel Fenn, and Timothy Boggs.
All of his work, with the single exception of the movie tie-in HUDSON HAWK (which he wrote during “the two worst weeks” of his life) are highly recommended.
July 20th, 2014 at 5:41 pm
Among my favorites of Grant’s books are those is his Oxrun Station series, though it’s been a while since I read any of them, nor have I read them all. I had to go to Wikipedia to refresh my memory of them:
“Grant wrote twelve books (eight novels and four collections of four related novellas each, with interstitial material) set in the fictional Connecticut town of Oxrun Station. … Three of these were intentionally pastiches of classic Universal and Hammer horror films, and feature a vampire, a werewolf, and an animated mummy. There is a loose continuity running through the Oxrun Station books, with characters from one novel making minor appearances in others.”
Here’s a list:
The Hour of the Oxrun Dead (1977)
The Sound of Midnight (1978)
The Last Call of Mourning (1979)
The Grave (1981)
Bloodwind (1982)
Nightmare Seasons (collection, 1982)
The Soft Whisper of the Dead (1982)
The Dark Cry of the Moon (1986)
The Long Night of the Grave (1986)
The Orchard (collection, 1986)
Dialing the Wind (collection, 1989)
The Black Carousel (collection, 1995)
The first two or three of these I’m sure I reviewed for the Hartford Courant.
July 21st, 2014 at 9:55 pm
Grant was an adult writer of horror interested in more than nauseating us. Even his X Files novelizations were fun. I read three of these Geoffrey Marsh books and they were fun though not as memorable as his Oxrun Station books.
July 21st, 2014 at 10:08 pm
David, you often have the knack of putting into words what I’m thinking without my even knowing that I am. You’ve done it again. That first sentence of yours is right on target.