The Devil's Rosary: The Complete Tales of Jules de Grandin, Volume Two

I simply fell in love with Jules De Grandin and his VERY good friend Dr. Trowbridge as the two doctors fight ghosts, werewolves, satanists and foreign cults in the name of justice and goodness. These stories were written by Seabury Quinn for Weird Tales magazine between 1925 and 1951. The stories vary in quality, may have been inspired by various sources, and might not be politically correct to modern ears, (what will people think of US in fifty or a hundred years!) but it was the characters themselves I personally enjoyed so much. Jules De Grandin is a very singular individual and vastly entertaining. Jules and Dr. Trowbridge live, together, in the town of Harrisonville, New Jersey. I can only assume the town would have been completely overrun by zombies, werewolves and criminals to the point of apocolypse, were it not for the lucky chance that brought Jules there to deal with these matters. He himself might be the first to say so, for there is no lack of confidence in the little blonde French doctor and with the back-up of his companion he is able to help the local police solve many crimes, whether they originate from the mystical or the the simply depraved. I actually started reading the series of collected stories on volume two by chance but I am so excited to know so many future adventures await me! I didn't know how it would go at first, some stories are better than others, but when I read "Trespassing Souls" a tale in which a mysterious stranger arrives to revive to life a women the two doctors had just declared dead, that I knew this was going to be my new thing. P.S. The more I read these stories and the more I consider the time at which they were written I certainly think Seabury Quinn has been heavily mined and has been an inspiration to just about anything that came after him. He is more borrowed from than a borrower, I think. I have to read more about the author and his life.

Like the first edition, this is a fun collection of horror pulp stories from a once popular author. Seabury Quinn may not have the lasting fame of Robert Howard of HP Lovecraft, but he knows how to write a good tale. The layout is familiar, basically a Holmes & Watson with Jules De Grandin as Holmes (And maybe a little Poirot?) and his friend/host Trowbridge as Watson. De Grandin specializes in supernatural occurrences, and more horrific human ones. This collection has a lot of familiar horror tropes (Zombies and Mummies of a sort make an appearance), as well as human traffickers, torturers, and mystical eastern brotherhoods. A lot of tropes you know (even in the 1930s when these we written), but Quinn knows how to make a good story despite the lack of groundbreaking originality. The stories are fun reads. Some are a little formulaic (young lovers in peril show up alot), and the Trowbridge character is not nearly as interesting as Watson is (He literally sees De Grandin fight supernatural evils time after time, yet refuses to believe...). So not perfect, but still very entertaining, especially for October and autumn reading.

I am fan of pre-war pulp fiction and this takes the cake in spades. Seabury Quinn was the most popular author in Weird Tales Magazine, even more so than Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith, and these tales demonstrate why. Don't read them all at once, but stretch them out over a few weeks (they are formulaic, and can lead to a sort of "seen-one-seen-'em-all feeling). You'll enjoy the 90 year trip back in time.

The Little blond Frenchman who has so much wisdom in the outré and the bizarre! I try to just whet the appetite with my reviews, but some want a SPOILER WARNING, so here it is! This volume collects the next nineteen stories from Weird Tales, published in 1929 and 1930. Jules de Grandin may be the most famous occult detective of all time. He has a wealth of knowledge that comes from his world travels. He was a physician, a hypnotist, an expert in the occult, and a former member of the French Sûreté. Unlike Carnaki the Ghost Finder or John Silence, his skills are more universal, dealing with evil of all kinds, not just ghosts. Like Sherlock Holmes and other famous detectives, de Grandin works and lives with a companion, in this case, Doctor Trowbridge of Harrisonville, New Jersey. Doctor Trowbridge is often skeptical of the various supernatural creatures or very evil people they face. Like Doctor Watson, Trowbridge is often disparaged by his more knowledgeable partner. In this volume alone, De Grandin and Doctor Trowbridge take on: • Pirate treasure guarded by ghosts • A half-demon woman • A cursed Rosary • White Slavery • Zombies • Reanimated dead • The statue of a six-toed woman • A disfigured young lady • Catlike ghouls • A family curse • Voodoo • An Egyptian curse • A sinister mesmerizer • A cult built around a supposed God • A centuries-old curse • A strange red-haired girl • A series of inexplicable murders • An historical werewolf (Really! Look up the name!) There should be a note here that these stories appear just as they were published. Therefore they are sometimes politically incorrect. It isn’t a bad as it could have been, but some may find them distasteful. They are simply products of their time. I give this latest volume five stars plus and look forward to the next volume, The Dark Angel, scheduled for release March of 2018. Quoth the Raven…

Jules de Grandin is an amazing detective as well as a doctor. These 15 tales, written a century ago during Prohibition, are fascinating, frightening and fun. They are also rich with unique social references. Reading them was time well spent.

If you have any doubts or questions whether to purchase this collection or not, cast them off! Just do it and jump in with both the book and Audible Narration. Personally, I started with Volume One, HORROR ON THE LINKS, and as the stories progress chronologically, I found myself immensely entertained. They capture the 1920's (and early 30's) culture and reinvigorate the occult detective genre. Mulder and Scully, Holmes and Watson? Don't miss de Grandin and Trowbridge! Is Volume Three out yet????

This volume contains all the de Grandin adventures which had graced Weird Tales during 1929 and 1930. Among them, they cover a staggering range of supernatural as well as perfectly natural nasties, who are outwitted and destroyed by Jules de Grandin with flourish and panache. Yes, they do appear to be following the same hackneyed style again and again, but they are great campy tales, without any doubt. If you prefer such pulpy stories over the weak stuff being churned out these days, go ahead and enjoy.

Seabury Quinn and Agatha Christie were contemporaries. Mrs. Christie had Hercule Poirot and Mr. Quinn had Jules de Grandin. Poirot solved murders and mysteries in Britain while de Grandin solved supernatural murders and mysteries in America. Some of Quinn's supporting characters are stereotypical but none the less the stories are well thought out and enjoyable sometimes in a macabre way.

Stellt Euch mal vor, Robert E.Howard und Arthur Conan Doyle hätten einen "okkulten Detektiv" französischer Herkunft erschaffen, der jedoch in den USA lebt und wirkt, und ihm auch einen fidelen Watson in der Gestalt des Dr. Trowbridge zur Seite gestellt. Würde besagter Detektiv nicht in etwas so sprechen und agieren wie Dr. Jules de Grandin, die Schöpfung von Seabury Quinn? Sowohl der Name des Detektivs, als auch der seines Schöpfers sind heute weitestgehend vergessen, und dennnoch waren sie über mehrere Jahrzehnte der Dauerbrenner des Pulp-Magazins "Weird Tales", zu einer Zeit, als H.P.Lovecraft noch als No Name-Writer agierte, und Robert E.Howard gerade dabei war, sich einen Namen zu machen. Wer mit den Letztgenannten mehr vertraut ist, den stellt die Figur des Dr. De Grandin vor eine harte Prüfung. Seine Erklärungen sind oft zu ausschweifend (eine Reminiszenz an Sherlock Holmes), seine Vorliebe für raffinierte Mahlzeiten und Edel-Brandys mögen antiquiert wirken (damit nimmt er die Figur des Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast von Doug Preston/Linc Child um mehr als ein halbes Jahrhundert vorweg), und dennoch besitzt diese unscheinbar wirkende Person eine geradezu übermenschliche Energie, wenn es darum gilt, das Böse zu bekämpfen. Auch nehmen einige Erzählungen in ihrer (für damalige Zeiten) ungewohnt drastischen Art spätere Horror-Großtaten vorweg ("The House of Golden Masks", "The House Without a Mirror"). Fazit: Leser des modernen Horrors mögen diese Lektüre für Zeitverschwendung halten, wer jedoch mit dem oft schrullig-kauzigen Stil der "Weird Tales"-Autoren etwas anfangen kann, dem sei dieses Buch hiermit empfohlen. Zu lesen bei Dämmerlicht, mit einem Glas Brandy oder Single Malt zur Hand...

One of the most popular authors ever to publish in weird tales, and sadly neglected since. The stories may be formulaic at times, but the characters are superbly drawn and the glimpse of life in prohibition America fascinating.

Questo secondo volume raccoglie la prima parte degli anni d'oro dei racconti di Quinn su Weird Tales. anni 20-30.

The stories won't make you lose sleep but are quite readable. A cross between Sherlock and Poirot - a funny little French chap. Amusing.

Great company..very fast delivery..definately buy from them again.