VIC CHALLENGER – A SAVAGE PLACE
By Jerry Gill
Ann Darrow Co.
216 pgs
Writer Jerry Gill’s savage reincarnated adventuress, Victoria Custer (nickname Vic Challenger) is back in this, her ninth adventure. It’s a non-stop, high-octane story that never lets up for a second. In this outing, Vic hears about a so-called man-eating plant said to exist lost Mkodo jungles of Madagascar. Before the ink dries on her travel plans, Vic is in a small dhow sailing from the coast of Africa to the island nation.
Immediately her boat is attacked by pirated and though the entire crew is murdered, she manages to elude that fate and makes her way to land. After overcoming natural survival challenges as only she can, Vic soon reaches civilization and there outfits herself for her journey into the dangerous back-country jungles. Accompanying her is a young girl, Zarah, who has read Vic’s exploits in the international newspapers and wants to mimic her adventurous career. Once in the jungle, they encounter savage lemurs, bizarre acid producing plants, giant birds and deadly underground monsters.
As if that wasn’t enough to deal with, they soon learned they are being followed my jewel hunting mercenary named Moreau who will stop at nothing to achieve his dreams of wealth and power.
“A Savage Place” is another solid chapter in this remarkable adventure series that is so pulpish that when reading, we had to wonder if Jerry Gill wasn’t a time-traveler from the 20s. If you haven’t encountered the Queen of New Pulp yet it is high time you did.
