Stories from the golden age

Detective Terry Lane is a standout homicide cop who thought he'd seen it all . . . until now. As tough as Kevin Costner as Eliot Ness of The Untouchables-and just as incorruptible-Lane has seen the darkest side of human behavior. But he's never seen a murder spree like this, targeting the wealthy, the powerful and the privileged. For the evidence is clear: the killers have not emerged from the seamy underside of the city . . . but from six feet...

Long before Captain Jack Sparrow raised hell with the Pirates of the Caribbean, Tom Bristol sailed to hell and back Under the Black Ensign. That's where the real adventure begins. Bristol's had plenty of bad luck in his life. Press-ganged into serving aboard a British vessel, he's felt the cruel captain's lash on his back. Then, freed from his servitude by pirates, his good fortune immediately takes a bad turn . . . as the pirates accuse him of murder-and...

Women. Liquor. Power. Women. Liquor. Power. That is Fanner Marston's mantra-his reason for being-and while he knows a little about the first and a lot about the second, he may well be on the verge of learning everything there is to know about the third. Power. He may, in fact, be about to uncover the key to gaining absolute control over the entire universe. The only problem is, Fanner is certifiably insane-a crazed Peter Lorre on a...

American Sailor Kurt Reid is a hothead and a hard case-a man who hits first and asks questions later. As scrappy and rough around the edges as Jimmy Cagney, it's no wonder that when the ship's captain turns up dead, it's Reid who takes the rap. Falsely accused and under the gun, Reid jumps ship and vanishes into Shanghai -only to get caught in a web of intrigue, betrayal, and murder. In a world where nothing is what it seems and everything is for...

Chee-Chalker: a newcomer to Alaska and the Klondike; an Indian word meaning one who is inexperienced or has no knowledge; a tenderfoot. Bill Norton might be new to Ketchikan but he's no tenderfoot. In fact, he's one of the sharpest FBI agents this side of the Yukon-savvy, tough and resourceful, like Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan in Clear and Present Danger. Norton's come to this rough-and-tumble town to look into a case of a missing person-his own boss-who...

Running off to join the French Foreign Legion used to be every boy's dream of action and adventure. But for Lieutenant Bill Reilly-half Irish, half American, and like Peter O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia, a Westerner at war in the desert-the dream has turned into a nightmare. And it all begins with the gruesome delivery of a severed hand. . . .The dead, gnarled fingers hold a message from the Berber chief Abd el-Ulad. He challenges the courage of...

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! The Empire State Building has vanished into thin air! Gone, too, are Grant's Tomb and Grand Central Station, and all hell is breaking loose in New York City! What's the story? One grizzled old newspaper reporter known simply as Pop-a role made for Walter Matthau-is on top of it . . . and better stay there, because his livelihood is on the line. If Pop fails to get to the bottom of the vanishing landmarks, his job will...

He's handsome. He's charming. He's a total gentleman . . . and he's totally outgunned and outnumbered. He's Michael Patrick Obañon-a role that has Antonio Banderas written all over it. Obañon's lost his inheritance-a 100,000-acre New Mexico spread-and he could lose his life if he's not careful. A ruthless band of renegades have seized his land, and he's determined to get it back.. Obañon's got one secret weapon: his fierce intelligence. He...

As daring and defiant as Kirk Douglas journeying 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, there's no stopping diver Hawk Ridley as he takes the plunge into a briny world of untold riches and danger. The Caribbean is a fortune hunter's dream, salted with the gold of galleons long ago claimed by the deep. Now Hawk's headed for the Windward Passage of Haiti to stake his claim. But a rival team has also picked up the scent, and they're willing to turn the...

Star Trek's Captain Kirk has a kindred soul in Lars the Ranger, a commander of his own star fleet. But whereas Kirk's mission is to boldly go where no man has gone before, Lars is boldly going where other men are-in a desperate attempt to save his home planet . . . Earth. He's not exploring the final frontier. He is our last hope. Earth is way past global warming. It's totally fried-an environmental disaster-and most of its inhabitants have cut out...

A charming rogue cut from the same cloth as Robert Mitchum, American engineer Dan Courtney is learning fast that it takes more than a little charm to lay the groundwork for a railroad. Particularly when the plan is to build it across some of the roughest and most dangerous territory on earth. Courtney's been hired to survey the land that would link up the Uganda Railway to the Anglo-Egyptian railroad. Running through desert, jungle and mountains,...

Forged in the hot sun and sand of the Arizona desert, Chinook Shannon is as tough as they come-as steely-eyed and tall in the saddle as Randolph Scott. But Chinook is far from home-in the north country of Montana-and facing a challenge as big as the territory itself. Following his grandfather's suspicious death, he's come to Montana to claim his inheritance-the family's cattle ranch. But the territory's crawling with bandits and bankers, and they...

Soldier, adventurer, and man of the world-with a touch of con man thrown in for good measure-Phil Sheridan is a perfect role for a young Steve McQueen. But Sheridan's world-wandering ways may soon come to a very abrupt-and violent-end . . . on the long-forgotten Indonesian island of Kamling. Falling into the hands of a bloodthirsty tribe led by the notorious slave trader known as Portuguese Joe, Sheridan discovers that there's not enough room on the...

Cast Spencer Tracy as Speed Kyle, master-builder of the hottest, fastest planes around. Then give the role of Cal Bradley, daredevil test pilot who pushes those planes to the limit, to a young hotshot like Tony Curtis. Add Grace Kelly as Speed's blond bombshell daughter who fears that Cal will go too far-and you've got a winner. And as far as Speed and Cal are concerned, winning is everything. Speed's company is bleeding cash, and they need money...

Bob Sherman has a strength of character and purpose that would make Spencer Tracy proud. But signing on to the crew of the yacht Bonito, he'll need every ounce of his strength and courage to overcome the forces arrayed against him-in Sea Fangs. He'll take on the forces of nature-a hurricane smashing into the boat off the Venezuelan coast. He'll stand up to the forces of ignorance-Bonito's incompetent captain. He'll defy the forces of corruption-the...

There are all kinds of crazy, but there's only one Yukon Madness. And Royal Mountie Tommy McKenna-a role made for Canadian-born Glenn Ford-has seen first-hand the terror that follows in its wake . . . his partner murdered and fed to a pack of wolves. But that's only a taste of the horrors to come. Bent on revenge, McKenna sets out to find the madman himself-a monster who goes by the name Itauk. He quickly finds, however, that there's only one way...

In the Arizona territory, every mountain hides a fortune-and every man fends for himself. Tim Beckdolt is as American as the frontier itself, as rangy and self-reliant as a young Jimmy Stewart. But after spending eight treacherous months digging $175,000 in gold out of Desperation Peak-all he has left is desperation. Two sadistic strangers have taken his gold, and now they want to take his life. He's on the run-the target of a Devil's Manhunt. In...

Is Greed good? The future of Earth and all of mankind may hang on that one question. And George Marquis Lorrilard-a space age ace-pilot, adventurer and fortune-hunter to rival Hans Solo of Star Wars-is just the man to answer it. The world is divided between Asia and the United Continents-two great super powers locked in eternal warfare. But the balance of power is about to shift in Asia's favor. They have developed a top-secret weapon-the cohesion...

Embittered by past failures and broken dreams, American fighter pilot David Duane believes in but one cause-his own. Europe is at war, and he'll fight it for a price, selling his deadly flying skills to the highest bidder. Just as Bogart came to Casablanca to escape his past, Duane has come to the icy white wastes of Scandinavia to wage a private war in the skies. But he's about to take off on a flight and undertake an unforgettable journey-On Blazing...

Before Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark were even a gleam in Spielberg's eye, one intrepid pilot flew out of the sky in search of treasure . . . only to find a bit of hell on earth. Captain Gordon lives like he flies-by the seat of his pants, taking on any job and all comers. Now he's bound for the forbidding mountains along the shores of the Arabian Sea, transporting a team of anthropologists on the trail of Alexander the Great. But ancient...

Lynn Taylor and his kid brother Frank may not be angels, but they're not devils, either. They're just a couple of men-two-fisted Texans who have landed on the wrong side of a corrupt lawman. And like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, they're up to their necks in trouble. Young Frank's been framed for robbery, rustling and murder, and if Lynn doesn't think fast, his brother's going to end up the guest of dishonor at a hanging party. Lynn cooks...

Meet Eddie Moran, a slightly disreputable American cooling his heels in French Morocco. And don't be surprised if the young Cary Grant comes to mind, because Eddie's as smooth as they come, one step ahead of the game…and of the police. Who's after him? Just about everybody. What's he done? A bit of everything-smuggler, revolutionary, whatever crooked little scheme will pay for his next meal or next drink. But Eddie's latest caper is one he...

Lucky Martin is a daredevil of the skies—a test pilot who lives to break the rules and push the envelope.  Sound like a perfect role for Errol Flynn?  It did to Hollywood, as Flynn was cast in the movie of the same name. Lucky's a trailblazer—flying higher and faster than any pilot out there.  His latest invention could change the face of air warfare and alter the balance of world power.  It's The Dive Bomber—a perfectly...

They call him Suicide, Smoke or simply Sudden Death. His name is Kit Gordon, and from the banks of the Mississippi to the shores of the Pacific, he is King of the Gunmen. As tall and lean and tough as a young John Wayne, Kit's about to discover that sometimes it takes more than a quick draw and a sure aim to stand up like a man. Falsely accused of murder and one step ahead of a lynch mob, Kit escapes to the next county over-and a whole new...

Vic Kennedy is in one hell of a jam. Quick-witted and sharp-tongued with Nicholas Cage's maverick sense of adventure, Vic's flown out of trouble by the skin of his teeth . . . and straight into the jaws of disaster. He chose the wrong side of a rebellion, and now the French have bid him adieu and the British have said off you go. It seems the only place that will have him is Greece. The problem with that is, as soon as the Greeks get him, they plan...