Kolchak: The Night Stalker Chronicles

What a great collection of Kolchak stories, but a group of talented writers. Most deliver hands, making each story seem like episodes from the old series. The less said about the new one, the better. I strong recommend this anthology to anyone who enjoys good, macabre tales of the supernatural.

I like this new book of short stories of the continued adventures of Kolchak. The stories are great. They are almost better than the TV series. I also like the number of stories included 26 I believe.

Kolchak is a great character, one of the best examples of what can be done with a credible protagonist in a supernatural setting. These tales pick up the character and run (along) with him. They update Kolchak (which I have mixed feelings about) and provide him with some real classics along with some very originals foes. I hope that this series sells well enough to warrant another (and another...) so long as it has the same level of quality.

Was there ever a more unlikely hero than Carl Kolchak? Or, for that matter, a more peculiar link in the well-established literary chain of "psychic detectives" such as Seabury Quinn's Jules de Grandin or Algernon Blackwood's John Silence? An unapologetically nosy, aggravatingly persistent, irredeemably rumpled little man with a Keaton-esque porkpie hat topping off a seersucker suit that had seen better days...and yet, Carl was and is indeed our hero. He was our man on the scene where all things macabre, preternatural, and downright weird were concerned, facing, at various times, a marauding robot, a perambulatory mummy, a shipboard werewolf, a subterranean dinosaur and the occasional vampire amongst other things. Kolchak's heyday was unquestionably the early 1970s, making his debut in THE NIGHT STALKER (which garnered the highest ratings of any made-for-television program up to that point), following through with another TV feature, THE NIGHT STRANGLER, and an hour-long series that lived an unmercifully short life. Although a third go-around (THE NIGHT KILLERS) was bandied about, Kolchak's career seemed to be quite moribund in the wake of his cancelled series. But in the realm of fantasy, anything is possible. Carl was duly resurrected by Moonstone to appear in a series of graphic novels for the old-timers who recalled his adventures of decades ago, updating the character in the process so as to introduce a whole new generation to his exploits. And now, we have a fully-fledged fiction anthology to savor. Each of these 26 tales can be enjoyably digested in the span of one sitting, appropriately like an episode of the series. What makes the collection work is the blatant love and familiarity that each author displays in regard to the protagonist. Or should that be plural? For not only does Carl make a return engagement, but fussy Ron Updyke, lovable Monique Marmelstein, sweet old Emily Cowles, and not least blustery boss Tony Vincenzo are on hand too. Which brings me to my favorite selection here, Shadows from the Screen, penned by Richard Valley who also happens to be an inveterate Kolchak-aholic. As the title implies, Carl must contend with a phantom actress haunting Hollywood Boulevard and surrounds. Not only does Richard (being the editor and publisher of Scarlet Street, for which I write) display a lifetime of knowledge and inspire warmly nostalgic feelings in the reader where classic film is concerned, he even manages an historical first: "outing" Updyke! Other segments take us to locations diverse as the sun-baked Arizona desert amid Native American mysticism (The Shadow That Shapes the Light by Ed Gorman and Alan Dean Starr), on location of a "Bollywood" extravaganza that quickly turns bloody (Kali's Final Cut by Adi Tantimedh), and even a sojourn to foggy Collinsport, Maine for a meeting with a certain Mr. Barnabas (Interview with a Vampire? by Mark Dawidziak). Evil wonders, ancient sorceries, and stalking monsters await our dogge

I was a little skeptical (as Carl would be) that any one would be brave enough to put these stories into print. I was blown away at the level of quality, love and respect that these "professional" fans had for my favorite show of all time. If only ABC had been smart enough to tap this particular vein, then we would have had a show on our hands that would have rivalled CSI and the X-Files. I could almost hear Darren McGavin's voice relating the lurid details of each adventure. Read the stories at least twice! I WANT A SECOND SERIES!!!!!! LET'S GO MOONSTONE! The ball is on your court. The money is in my pocket waiting for you. SCI FI channel get ready to pick up the ball to run with it.