Book Review
Scimidar
by R.A. Jones
★★★★★
An adult “new pulp” novel based on a comic super-antihero that is different, audacious and well-written
I had not read the SCIMIDAR comics and graphic novels published between 1986 and 1994, but I have read and enjoyed many “new pulp” novels published in recent years by Airship 27 and I liked the previous Western novel by R.A. Jones that Airship 27 put out, COMANCHE BLOOD. SCIMIDAR is about a young woman with special mental abilities and fighting skills in a post-apocalyptic world. The title character is not really a superhero. She’s a super-antihero. Author Jones notes in an epilogue that the novel expands on the origin story told in the comics. I assume that includes the interesting first chapter, which recounts a series of amazingly plausible events that led to the post-apocalyptic world described in SCIMIDAR. Like other Airship 27 novels, this one has plenty of bloody and bloody-good action, illuminated with black-and-white spot illustrations by artist Rob Davis. Unlike most Airship 27 novels, it also has plenty of sex, which is apparently true to the original comics and graphic novels. So it’s kind of a new pulp novel for adults. I give it five stars for being different, audacious and well-written.
About the author
After retiring from 40 years of work in the realm of public policy and politics, Bob Deis now is the author of three blogs (Men's Pulp Mags, This Day in Quotes, and Quote/Counterquote) and co-edits the Men's Adventure Library series of books published by New Texture, the latest of which is POLLEN'S WOMEN: THE ART OF SAMSON POLLEN. Those books (on Amazon) feature stories and artwork from his collection of more than 5,000 vintage men's pulp adventure magazines. Bob lives near Key West with his beautiful wife, Barbara Jo, and their three dogs and five cats.
