I should’ve been born in the time of pulp magazines when Doc Savage and The Shadow ruled the shelves. Running home with my latest August Derleth, Henry Kuttner, or titles like “Lagoda’s Heads” would’ve been a thrilling experience. Alas, I was born too late and had to buy reprints. However, my guess is George Lucas did run home with pulp magazines under his arm and today we have a certain ophidiophobic (fear of snakes) archeologist embedded in pop culture, Mr. I. J.
Recently, I spotted Brina Williamson’s Merona Grant and the Lost Tomb of Golgotha on a reading list on Amazon. The fantastic cover harkens back to the great adventure movies of all time, including a film involving “lost arks.” As you can imagine, I purchased it immediately, and it secured a spot as the next book on my reading list. I could not wait to start reading it. Could. Not. Wait.
A few chapters in, I knew I had acquired a well-plotted novel with interesting characters. The book was all-sorts of pulpish joy. I was concerned it would be too much like a Professor Jones adventure as it was similar to the beginning of the first movie. I’m happy to report this book follows its own trajectory.
Merona Grant, self-proclaimed adventuress, is hired to find the lost thirty silver pieces of Judas he received for the betrayal of Jesus Christ. Legend surrounds where the silver ended up. A wealthy aristocrat, a dog sidekick, a doctor from Australia (but not from the outback), and a linguist who helps bring them together join forces when a map to Judas’ tomb is discovered. Merona, in desperate need of money, brings in a pilot who…gads…happens to be the only man in the pack of treasure-seekers. Before you can say “H. Rider Haggard,” bullets and chase scenes ensue. Following that, our heroes fly away (with not one but two cliffhangers in the air) and start following a unique map to the (deep announcer voice) Lost Tomb of Golgotha. There are puzzles and traps galore before they reach the tomb. Unlike in the Bible where Golgotha means “Place of the Skull” for a certain reason, the Golgotha in this novel is a literal skull-shaped place.
Characters are fleshed out more than in a typical pulp adventure story. Merona is no Indiana despite her pugilistic and gun skills, her trademark adventurer’s special “weapon”, and her affinity for her hat. She has a rich backstory and a ruthless manner of which Dr. Jones would not approve. She shares with most heroes a dogged determination and insightful nature which serves her well in this adventure. Her team’s dynamic make for snappy dialog and exciting scenes.
The writing is top-notch and contains just enough description to enliven the story but not too much to bog down the narrative. The settings, which I don’t want to give away, are exotic and on-the-mark for this type of story. The plot devices are imaginative and the way characters deal with them realistic. The enemies are sufficiently menacing, although I wish the final main encounter had lasted a bit longer. Everything you hope for in a novel like this is delivered with enough imagination to fill two books instead of one. The reader will not be disappointed.
I want to highlight three elements of Merona Grant and the Lost Tomb of Golgotha. The first is if you’re going to write an adventure novel, you have to have good pacing. This novel, over 400 pages, rarely lagged. What made Raiders such a classic movie was the breathtaking sequences, each topping the one preceding it. The same is true here. The pacing is excellent and the cliffhangers are not the typical “A car raced toward them.” The heroes are in real danger and they realistically solve their problems. The second is the snappy dialog of Merona. She has some of the best witticisms I’ve read in a long time. An example occurs when a pug-ugly comes to threaten her to pay a debt and informs her her time is up. Her reply? “Oh please. You’re not the “time’s up” kind of guy…No, I’d peg you as more of a first or second warning goon, which means I have at least a month before the real threats start.” I noted at least ten instances when I laughed out loud and the eleventh, a reference to where Merona grew up, is a classic. And the last highlight, but not least, is the author is also the illustrator. The novel comes with sketches throughout which absolutely drew me in and brought the story alive. I refrained from flipping through the illustrations before I read the story. It was hard, but I’m glad I did because it was a delight each time I came across a sketch.
Remember how I said at the beginning that I wanted to hold a pulp novel in my hands and have the fun a young person may have had in the 1930s? This novel will indeed give you that experience. If you remotely enjoy the pulp fiction of yesteryear, or want an adventure story stuffed with thrills, pick up Brina Williamson’s Merona Grant and the Lost Tomb of Golgotha. You won’t regret it.
All images Copyright (c) Brina Williamson