Language English Publication date September 1939 Followed by Castle of Crime Publisher Street & Smith Media type Pulp magazine | Series The Shadow Preceded by The Crime Ray Originally published September 1939 Genre Adventure fiction Country United States of America | |
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Similar Walter B Gibson books, Other books | ||
The Golden Master (1939) is a pulp novel featuring The Shadow written by Walter Gibson under the house name Maxwell Grant. This was the 182nd Shadow story and it was published in The Shadow Magazine Vol. 31, No. 2 on 15 September 1939.
Contents
It has the first appearance of the hero's archenemy Shiwan Khan, and deals with a scheme by Khan to conquer the world by hypnotizing arms manufacturers.
Plot summary
Shiwan Khan, heir to Genghis Khan, is in the United States to steal military technology in order to build his own army with the intent of conquering the world. He hypnotises Paul Brent of Globe Aircraft through the electronic lights of a nearby billboard. He orders him to create a larger production run of aircraft than originally intended, with the excess being sent on to Shiwan Khan. By similar methods, he also acquired engines and weapons.
The Shadow enters the story when Shiwan Khan attempts to dispose of Paul Brent. Working with Brent, The Shadow eventually tracks his opponent to his base of operations and apparently kills him when his escape plane crashes into the river.
Publication history
The Golden Master was submitted 13 February 1939 and saw print in the pulp magazine The Shadow Magazine on 15 September of the same year.
The story was republished in the hard back book The Shadow and the Golden Master published in 1984 by Mysterious Press. This book also contained a second Shiwan Khan story, Shiwan Khan Returns. In addition to the standard edition, there was also a signed and numbered limited edition of 250 copies in a slip cover.
Characters in The Golden Master
Shiwan Khan is a direct descendant of Genghis Khan. As a youth, he travelled to Lhasa, Tibet and studied with the monks. However, while trying to later use his knowledge to help the people of Mongolia, he began to feel a lust for power and set out to rule the world as a new Khan.
He operates from the lost underground city of Xanadu, beneath the Sinkiang. He has access to the treasures of Kublai Khan and has been trained by the Tibetan monks to use telepathic powers - "the power of the distant mind." He can also appear invisible to most people by staying completely still and suspending his "action of thought."
Other media
The Golden Master was part of the basis for the 1994 film The Shadow which featured Shiwan Khan as the villain (played by John Lone).