Art by Theodoric S. Taylor
One of the lesser-known works from cult sci-fi author George O. Smith. Mr. Smith never quite made it to stardom with his writing but was a favorite contributor to several pulp magazines, namely Astounding Science Fiction in the 1940s. Later in the 1970s and 1980s his works would see a resurgence in popularity as they started to be reprinted in paperback. Tales such as Venus Equilateral, The Fourth “R”, and Fire in the Heavens became cult favorites among enjoyers of underground planetary fiction.
George O. Smith was also a member of the Trap Door Spiders. A literary mannerbund of fiction writers, creatives, and intellectuals nested in old New York City. It was described as a veritable “drinking and arguing club” for alumni such as L. Sprague de Camp, Lin Carter, and Isaac Asimov. A group of bros originally formed the Trap Door Spiders so they could hang with their friend without his wife whom they hated.
“With one shot to clear his name, space pilot Charles Farradyne is sent to infiltrate a galactic enterprise that deals in a salacious narcotic called Hellflower. An intoxicant that drives women mad with lust. A vintage sci-fi action romp from the planetary pulp pages of Startling Stories from the early 1940s.”
Hellflower isn’t a grand masterpiece that changed the world. But it’s a cool obscure yarn loaded with action, conspiracy, and sci-fi weirdness. Also, lots of sexy ladies. The dialogue in it adds to the fun. Because it was written in the 1940s, the characters all sound like old timey mobsters. It’s a lot of fun and very based.
Here’s an excerpt from a salty half-star review written by a triggered feminist:
This one might be my first 10/10 on the yikes meter. This book has it all, sexual assault, drugging women, completely selfish motives, unprovoked violence, false rape claims, and casual misogyny. And that’s all from the “hero”! You have to go beyond him to get to the blackface. This book subverts the “make out with alien as soon as you discover it” trope by just revealing one of the already made out with sexy ladies is actually an alien. Women only exist as sexy ladies (but not dangerous) or moms and schoolteachers. Both sexy ladies repeatedly throw themselves at the hero. Like, they do nothing else at all, just always after him. The only slight “moral” choice the hero makes is not reciprocating the drug fueled sexual advances. The hero is also, somehow, isn’t affected by the drugs that a woman can’t resist. I had to go back to check and see if men were immune. Nope, he’s just too cool to let drugs stop him.
For the record, this review is completely hysterical. It’s just good ol’ vintage bro fiction. We would never publish some kind of psycho rape fantasy or smut. But at the end of the review, she still has to admit that the action rules.
The half star is for a few brief moments of “sci-fi action” that were fun to read.
We had some issues releasing this earlier in the year so you can find the Ebook in The Obelisk archives. Unfortunately, we don’t have it available in the shop yet but it is available on Amazon in the USA. Get a copy of Hellflower today!