Hi Solara
That's something we intend to do when this book is slowly put together in the
last stages. However, we don't hold out much hope for obtaining permission to
"use" the original outline. But we're looking at all the possibilities. Altus
Press wants to pad the book with as much material as we can use.
Tom

--- In pulp-chat@yahoogroups.com, "Solara" <wdh_7@...> wrote:
>
> Don't presume that Dennis and family never kept the old unused Shadow story,
or would be too rigid to offer its use to anyone. Why not ask them? You never
know!
>
> --- In pulp-chat@yahoogroups.com, "fadingshadows2000" <fadingshadows40@>
wrote:
> >
> > Hi Solara,
> > It's doubtful Dennis kept any of the old outlines in his files. His family
would be too protective of them, even if they did exist. However, "Triple
Cross", the Nick Carter novel he used the outline on, should still be available
through used bookstores or abebooks.com. It would be listed under Triple Cross
by Nick Carter. If you can get through the incredible sex scenes, the story is
pretty good. I enjoyed the Belmont Shadows, but I was young and impressive at
the time I read them. I don't know how they would hold up today. Ric is
currently reading the stories, so he might have some comments on them before
long. In the meantime, Altus Press has several of my books, including From
Shadow To Superman, and will eventually publish them. We are trying to fill this
book with some more material, and may include some reprints, but I don't know
exactly what Altus has in mind at this point. Leo Margulies, the Little Giant of
the pulps, created and guided many of the pulp heroes during the 1930s & 1940s,
and after the success Leo had with the Man & Girl From U.N.C.L.E. magazines, he
attempted to create a new pulp hero in 1968, asking Dennis Lynds to write the
story. Leo planned a new magazine under the title of the new hero, like his Man
& Girl From U.N.C.L.E. magazines, but in 1968 it didn't catch on, and Dennis
hated the story he wrote. I can't reveal any more about this just yet, as we may
include the story in the reprint of From Shadow To Superman. But I will keep
everyone informed as best I can.
> > Tom
> >
> > --- In pulp-chat@yahoogroups.com, "Solara" <wdh_7@> wrote:
> > >
> > > Thanks for taking the time to write all this info. down. I'm not familiar
with the books mentioned. However, I'm very interested to learn of the
existance of an unpublished Shadow outline! It would be great if it could be
made available for everyone to see! Any ideas how to get your hands on it?
> > >
> > > --- In pulp-chat@yahoogroups.com, "fadingshadows2000" <fadingshadows40@>
wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Solara asked that I post something from my book, From Shadow To
Superman, and since Ric is going to cover the Belmont Shadows in an upcoming
Podcast, I found the following information that's in the book, which might be of
interest. Walter Gibson wrote the first Belmont Shadow book, then the series was
turned over to Dennis Lynds. I knew Dennis, and we discussed his novels before
he passed.
> > > > Tom
> > > >
> > > > Dennis mentioned that "Triple Cross", a Nick Carter - Killmaster novel
from Award Books was from an outline for the 10th Shadow planned for Belmont.
But since I never cared for the Killmaster series, I put off reading the novel
until 2008. Actually, I had tried reading some of the early stories, but just
couldn't get into them. They had tried to capture the James Bond mystique of the
period, but filled the books with so much sex, they were little more than
teenage erotica for young boys. The sex was something only a thirteen year-old
boy, who had never experienced a sexual encounter, could imagine. Completely
unreal. The series touted, "20,000,000 Books In Print!" And all I could imagine
were 20,000,000 thirteen year-old boys reading these things. Kind of like the
kung fu craze with The Destroyer, where the hero could jump off a building's
roof and land cat-like on the sidewalk thirty floors below - safely. I did read
the Destroyer stories by Will Murray, but that was because he was my friend. I
passed up the other stories in the series. In both the Destroyer and Killmaster
series, a warning should be put in the books - "Don't try this at home!" And I
refer to the sex in Killmaster and the jumping off thirty floor roofs in the
Destroyer.
> > > > Out of curiosity, I finally broke down and read the Killmaster stories
by Dennis Lynds. I knew Dennis had intimated that "Triple Cross" was from a
Shadow outline, but what about the other two: "The N3 Conspiracy", and "The
Green Wolf Connection"? I figured it was about time I checked all three stories
for their plots.
> > > > We begin with "The N3 Conspiracy", from 1974. I was amazed to find that
this story appeared to be something of a sequel to "The Shadow's Revenge". Nick
Carter is sent to Africa to kill the leader of a possible uprising, but no one
knows whom this leader is. So Nick is told to kill everyone! Well, there are
three suspects, and he goes after them. But before he can kill them, he has sex,
is captured, escapes, has sex, captured, escapes, over and over again, until the
mature reader gets tired of all the incredible sex, captures and escapes. But I
digress. We meet one of Nick's fellow agents, an ex-female Israeli commando
named Deirdre Cabot, who reminded me a lot of Maria Berger from "The Shadow's
Revenge". And then a group of mercenaries, consisting of soldiers from many
countries (shades of Cypher!) show up. Cypher wasn't in "The Shadow's Revenge",
but I'm sure that's what this group was originally supposed to be in this story.
Supposedly, Deirdre Cabot is murdered, but I'll leave it there in case you
haven't read the story.
> > > > Cypher usually works for a person, being hired for an assignment, from
a simple murder to a full-out war. That is, in most cases. However, in "The
Shadow: Destination Moon", although Cypher had a contract, they were essentially
working for itself. In this current case, the mercenaries (Cypher?) are working
for Russia (but remember, there was supposedly a "leader" behind the scenes
somewhere), and they were looking to control Africa.
> > > > Whether or not Dennis intended this plot as a Shadow in the beginning,
it certainly conforms to his Belmont Shadows in the 1960s. With the exception of
all the sex. With so many captures and escapes, I was left wondering if maybe
there had originally been others in the case (like The Shadow's agents) who were
being captured, and had to be rescued.
> > > > Overall, this story was confusing, as if hurriedly written, and
possibly based on a loose outline. But I have to admit it's the first Killmaster
story I've ever read completely through. Perhaps, that's the way they all read.
But I would like to think that just maybe, Dennis had wanted to use this plot as
a Belmont Shadow. There is something about a "Sleeping Lion", so could have been
the original title.
> > > > Next up is "The Green Wolf Connection" from 1976. In a novel that
reads, at times like "The Shadow's Revenge", and other times like "The Shadow:
Destination Moon", a small American oil company in the Middle East plans on
world dominance. With a disgraced Green Beret colonel, and Viet Nam veteran as
security chief, he is building a private army of ex American soldiers to rise up
and control the Middle East and all of its vast oil supply. This novel wasn't
hurried, or confused. It was much tighter than "The N3 Connection", but again
employs the plot elements of the Belmont Shadows. There is plenty of incredible
sex, to give those 20,000,000 teenage boys a lot of dreams.
> > > > The final story is "Triple Cross", from 1976, supposedly the plot for
the 10th Belmont Shadow. But, again, this novel is a throwback to a Belmont
Shadow: "Shadow Beware", in which a hidden power, the Blood Eagle is operating
under the auspices of a Peace Organization. In this case, it is a fanatical
group wishing to assassinate world leaders and bring peace to the world.
Strangely, they wear large rings similar to The Shadow and his agents, but these
rings flip open, showing a signet with an eagle with a snake in its mouth
beneath the stone.
> > > > This novel was also very good, tight, and moved smoothly. All three
stories had throwbacks to the Belmont Shadows, at least in reused plots. But
they left me with a couple of questions. First, Dennis told me that "Triple
Cross", the third story, which appeared ten years after the final Shadow, was
from an outline for the 10th Belmont Shadow. I don't doubt it, just curious as
to why he didn't use the outline for the first Killmaster story he wrote? Why
did it appear last? Two of the stories had definite plot connections to the
Belmont Shadows, "The Green Wolf Connection" and "Triple Cross". The first
Killmaster story, "The N3 Conspiracy" was more of a sequel than a mere
throwback. Could it have been the true outline for the 10th Belmont Shadow,
instead of "Triple Cross"? It was published in 1974, before "The Green Wolf
Connection" and "Triple Cross". Odd. Unfortunately, I never got around to asking
Dennis about this. In later years, he returned to writing Nick Carter -
Killmaster novels, but I've never read any of his later stories. I wouldn't be a
bit surprised to learn that some of the old Belmont Shadow plots resurface now
and then. I thoroughly enjoyed his Shadow novels, and the Killmaster stories
would have been great, if all those required sex scenes had been left out. They
were merely there to entice young readers. Thirteen-year-old boys, to be
specific. The stuff was laughable.
> > > > Dennis returned ten years later with four more Killmaster novels, "The
Master Assassin", "Mercenary Mountain", and "The Samurai Kill" all in 1986, and
"Blood of The Falcon" in 1987. And then in 1989, he collaborated with his wife,
Gayle Lynds on two Mack Bolan (The Executioner) novels, "Blood Fever" and
"Moving Target". There could well be others that I don't know about. I have not
read any of these. But I would be curious about the plots. I was told by a
reliable source that Dennis was churning out the Nick Carter novels before they
ceased. But I can't confirm this. I believe the series ended in 1990 or '91,
with 260 or 261 novels published. I'm sure those thirteen-year-old boys have
found something new to read by now.
> > > >
> > >
> >
>