Ravenwood - The Complete Series

Back in October of 2013, I started watching a new television show called Ravenswood.  It was spin-off of the already running Pretty Little Liars show, but Ravenswood was darker and moved into supernatural territory, which is what caught my interest (no, I never watched Pretty Little Liars - not my kind of show).  In any event, I absolutely loved the show, got all caught up in the stories and characters, and BAM - when he last episode aired on February 4, 2014, the news came out that the show had been cancelled!  UGH - I was ticked off, to say the least, because the show did not resolve all the stories (although I read later that some of the characters moved on to Pretty Little Liars to give some closure).   I have kept an eye out, hoping that the show would come out on DVD, but it never has.  The reason I say all of this is because during my time of searching for any DVDs or books of the show, I happened across this particular book.  I had not realized there was a pulp character of a similar name as the TV show, and since this book contained all of the stories written of the character back in the day, I bought it.

Now, here we are are about four or five years later, and I have finally gotten around to reading Ravenwood: The Complete Series.  Obviously, the book has nothing whatsoever to do with the television show, and the only similarity is the supernatural element to both.  This Ravenwood is the name of a private investigator (and Ravenwood is his only name, as the stories never reference any first name) who grew up under the tutelage of Oriental philosophies, studying the teachings of Yoga, and learning from his mentor, known only as the Nameless One.  Ravenwood is gifted with an unusual insight that not only provides visions (for which he often comes to the Nameless One for clarity in understanding), but he seems to have an uncanny sixth sense of know where he is needed, when he is needed, and who needs him before even they do!  What is truly unique about these stories is that in each instance, there appears to be some kind of supernatural enemy seeking to destroy someone Ravenwood is trying to help, but in every instance, Ravenwood, with the help of his own supernatural insight, proves the culprit to be as human as you and me.

Ravenwood was created and written by Frederick C. Davis, who was quite the prolific author of pulp stories back in the day - from Operator #5 to Hazzard to Moon Man to numerous others.  His character of Ravnwood, Stepson of Mystery (yeah, not really sure what the whole "stepson" is supposed to mean) appeared in only five stories in the pulp magazine Secret Agent "X" (March, April, June, August, and October 1936 issues), and this book collects all five of those stories.  Each story has five chapters, the this collection introduces each story with a short blurb that I have to wonder whether it was used to advertise the tales back when they were originally published.  And honestly, after reading them, I'm surprised the character did not endure longer.  The stories are well written, are extremely creepy in their own way, provide some very intriguing mysteries, and are definitely filled with plenty of action.  It seems the stories have every element a fan of pulp fiction would enjoy - but, for whatever reason, poor Ravenwood disappeared after this fifth story was published in October 1936.

"Murder Shrine" features a cursed Buddha that holds a secret treasure.  Someone is trying to get their hands on that treasure, but people are dying from an ancient curse surrounding the sealed idol.  "Pawn of the Serpent" involves a case of stolen identity, a deadly blackmail scheme, and a mysterious handshake of death associated with the venom of a deadly mamba snake.  "Crucibles of the Damned" deals with a cursed graveyard, a double-crossing criminal intent on stealing a fortune in gold, a missing husband, and the mysterious deaths of anyone who dares go into the cemetery of doom. "Master of the Living Dead" finds Ravenwood investigating a tragic accident, a missing director, a mystical beetle, and a man who is determined to find the secret of returning life to the dead.  And last, but not least, "The Phantom Juggernaut" tells the tale of a deadly car with no driver that seems to have set its sights on one particular family, killing them off one by one, and Ravenwood has only a short time to find a way to stop the juggernaut before it kills again.

A cursed Buddha ... a handshake of death ... a cursed cemetery ... bringing the dead to life ... and a car without a driver ... all of these seem to be supernatural or mystical in nature, with no possible explanation; yet, Ravenwood manages to sift through all of the unseen and untold and discover the truth of what is really going on and who is creating these manufactured horrors.  The stories are thoroughly engaging and fun to read, and the only thing I drawback I can mention is that each story recites Ravenwood's origin (of how, as a young boy with is parents over in the mountainous crags of Burma, near the forbidden Tibet, his father saved the Nameless One from an attacking tiger, so the Nameless One vowed to always protect his family; when his parents died from a ravaging plague, the Nameless one came to claim the young boy and teach him; as an adult, Ravenwood returns to the States, and the Nameless One follows, forever bound to his ward...) in the same manner, often in the same words.  I realize this was likely done so that a new reader who picked up an issue of Secret Agent "X" for the first time could know how Ravenwood gained his mystical insight, but reading the stories one after another like I did in this collection, it became a bit repetitive and detracted a bit from the stories.  Otherwise, I can say in all honesty that I loved the stories (and can imagine this as a television series - the stories hold up over time and could be placed in modern times just as easily as they are in the 1930s).

The cover art used for this collection is rather odd, to say the least.  I can't imagine this was ever actually used for any Ravenwood art; rather, it appears to be a rip-off of the Phantom of the Opera art (if you go online and look for Phantom art, you will see the Phantom is drawn pretty much identical to the evil villain portrayed on this cover).  Not sure where the publisher got this art, as there is absolutely no credit given for the cover artist or from where the art was reproduced.  There is, however, on the inside a frontis piece of pencil and ink art that provides an image from one of the stories ("Crucibles of the Damned" - once again, no credit given to the artist or where the art is taken from), leaving me to wonder if the original pulp stories had illustrations to go along with the prose stories, or if this drawing was specifically done by someone for this collection.

Fans of mystery, supernatural, or both will definitely enjoy these tales - highly recommend!

RATING:  9 small, leather-bound books ragged with age out of 10 for suspenseful supernatural stories that will definitely keep you turning page after page!