Edgar Rice Burroughs: The Monster Men

"As he dropped the last grisly fragment of the dismembered and mutilated body into the small vat of nitric acid that was to devour every trace of the horrid evidence which might easily send him to the gallows, the man sank weakly into a chair and throwing his body forward upon his great, teak desk buried his face in his arms, breaking into dry, moaning sobs."
chapter 1, "The Monster Men"

(the art above is by J. Allen St. John and is from the dust jacket for the book published in 1929)

When I was 13 or 14 years old, reading an Edgar Rice Burroughs novel was one of my great pleasures. I recall that the Carson of Venus series was my first ERB books to read. It was also my first introduction to the illustrations of Frank Frazetta and the genre of science/fantasy.

If we advance about 5 years into the future, I was living in New York City at the Chelsea YMCA on 7th and 23rd(?, I think it is gone now.) Directly across the street from the YMCA was the Chelsea Hotel (of Andy Warhol fame) , a Horn & Hardart automat, two deli's, and a used book store, which was always fun to rummage through. One day I discovered a used copy of an Edgar Rice Burroughs paperback that I had never seen before. It was The Monster Men, with a creepy looking Frazetta cover. This was not the usual muscle man, maiden, monster, romantic adventure, with a heavy dose of fantasy, I had expected from Burroughs. It was worth a try. The reason I found ERB so fascinating was because of the images that I could create in my mind from reading the stories. I think it may be worth reading the book again, since I have completely forgotten what I read so long ago; and I need to recharge my fantasy imagination batteries!

From erblist.com :
The Monster Men was written early in Edgar Rice Burroughs' career during his most prolific decade. This tale, which features overtones of Frankenstein, South Seas pirate stories, and ERB's signature brand of adventure romance, is noteworthy for an expressive philosophical exploration of what makes a human being. Originally published in the November 1913 issue of The All-Story magazine under the title "A Man Without A Soul," this eighth novel by Burroughs had a working title of "Number Thirteen." The Monster Men was not published in book form until 1929 by A.C. McClurg.

Edgar Rice Burroughs created a diverse cast of characters for The Monster Men. Their adventures and travails occur in a rapid fire, often convoluted, series of separate scenes that ultimately culminate in the expected happy ending--but one with a twist!

statue: from a William Stout drawing