Here's a unique new take on Houdini fiction.
Out West With Houdini by Robert M. Fells finds the Handcuff King in action in the Old West! Here's a description:
Young lawyer Arthur Jeffries travels out west in the 1890s to locate some fortunate individuals who are unaware they have inherited wealth. Finding them is easy but extricating them from jail or worse seems impossible. That is, until Arthur meets an unknown magician named Houdini who reveals the secrets of mind reading, handcuff escapes, disappearing from a locked trunk, and the Indian Fakir Mind Control. Arthur puts this knowledge to good use on behalf of his clients.
Before you think this is pure fantasy, know that Houdini lived at the time when there was still an American frontier. During his struggling years of 1891-1900, he certainly would have played towns still populated by cowboys and frontier types.
Purchase
Out West With Houdini at
Amazon.com (U.S.) and
Amazon.co.uk (UK). The book is available as a paperback and for Kindle.
That cowboy riding the horse on the left side of the illustration is staring at Harry's buns. Wasn't he the cowboy from The Village People?
ReplyDeleteThe cover does suggest a very strange scenario.
ReplyDeleteJohn, thanks very much for your kind words. Re the cover photo, it's actually two photos, both courtesy of the Library of Congress. The scene in the corral was originally produced in an early color process circa 1900. I merely boosted the color saturation a bit. The image of Houdini is of course a famous one in b/w that I added color, then blended into the cowboy scene. I doubt that such a scene ever occurred in real life but I can guarantee that it doesn't occur in my story either. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteBob Fells