The Nyctalope on Mars (Paperback)

~ Brian Stableford (Adapter), Jean de La Hire (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Leo Saint-Clair, alias the Nyctalope, was created in 1911 by Jean de La Hire, one of France's most prolific serial writers. Gifted with night vision, hypnotic powers and an artificial heart, Saint-Clair is a fearless hero who battles colorful super-villains. His adventures, which spanned 30 years, created a template that was later adopted by such pulp heroes as Doc Savage (1933), before providing the core mythology of American comic books. In The Nyctalope on Mars (1911), Leo faces the megalomaniacal Oxus, master of the secret society of the Fifteen, who is plotting to conquer Earth from his secret base on Mars. After defeating the Fifteen, the Nyctalope must then face an ever more fearsome foe: H. G. Wells' Martians. "The Nyctalope on Mars predicted the course that popular fiction was to follow in the next 50 years." Brian Stableford.

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Hollywood Comics (June 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934543462
• ISBN-13: 978-1934543467
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,548,195 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Night Eyes of Mars, July 9, 2008

By	David L. Vineyard (Oklahoma City, OK USA) - See all my reviews

The Nyctalope on Mars (1911) by Jean de la Hire is a fast moving pulp adventure from the early years of French popular fiction which introduces la Hire's early superhero prototype Leo Saint-Clair, known as the Nyctalope because his cat like eyes can see in the dark. In addition Saint-Clair has an artificial heart which makes him virtually immortal. Although not as well known as his cousins Arsene Lupin, the Phantom of the Opera, and Fantomas, the Nyctalope is an important early figure in the development of pulp heroes such as Doc Savage and later the comic strip and comic book hero.

This book is the first in the series which ran from 1911 to 1946, with two unpublished books reprinted in the 1950's. In this one a message is recieved that the meglomanical Oxus, head of the mysterious Society of the Fifteen, has kidnaped Xaviere de Ciserat and holds her at his stronghold on Mars where he plots to conquer Earth. Leo Saint-Clair, whose father battled the Fifteen in an earlier novel by de la Hire (The Man Who Could Live Underwater), is soon off to Mars in a spaceship (eschewing the more esoteric methods employed by Edgar Rice Burroughs John Carter or Edwin Lester Arnold's Lt. Gullivar Jones for traveling to the Red Planet). There's even a crude battle in space ala Star Wars in the best tradition of space opera.

Once on Mars the Nyctalope makes short work of Oxus, but that's only the beginning of his troubles as he must prevent yet another plot ---a second invasion of Earth by H.G. Wells native Martian's from War of the Worlds! While the novel does betray its newspaper serial origins readers will appreciate this early novel of specualtion and pulp adventure adapted by British science fiction and fantasy novelist Brian Stableford with an informative inroduction, afterward, and annotated notes to add the the readers knowledge and enjoyment.

Still, it is as a first class tale of wild imagination, adventure, and an early foreshadowing of the superheroes to come where many readers will find the book of the most interest. Leo Saint-Clair, while uniquely Gallic in character, is a virtual template for the legions of heroes who followed him into the browning pages of countless pulps and comic books.

Black Coat's Press has also published The Nyctalope Versus Lucifer (1921), the second Nyctalope adventure, in their continuing effort to introduce the early figures of French popular fiction to a new audience. Fans of Alan Moore's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen may also recognise the Nyctalope from the third volume of that ongoing graphic novel series. The Nyctalope on Mars is a fascinating and entertaining read with echoes of Verne and Wells and a foreshadowing of E.E. "Doc" Smith, Leigh Brackett. Edmond Hamilton and C.L. Moore's brand of space opera as well as such mystery and supermen as Doc Savage, Batman, and the Phantom.

And remember, the Nyctalope sees what your'e doing --- even in the dark!