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Chris Kalb, who runs the excellent Web site , said that if he were pitching The Spider franchise in Hollywood, he might say, "He's a superhero. Trapped in a horror film. Directed by John Woo." After reading The City Destroyer, I think that's a great description. The Spider is a contemporary of iconic '30s pulp superheroes and vigilantes like Doc Savage and The Shadow, there are a lot of macabre undertones and a pervading sense of doom, and the frequent gunplay defies both logic and physics.

If I were specifically pitching The City Destroyer to Hollywood, I'd say, "Richard Wentworth, a.k.a. 'The Spider,' is a 1930s version of Jack Bauer from 24, except that he operates independently and is also a master of disguise." The villain in The City Destroyer, "The Master," has created a "steel eater" that can bring down even the mightiest skyscraper, as well as ocean liners, trains, automobiles, firearms, and bank vaults. This novel takes place in New York, and a lot of scenes are difficult to read in the 21st century without thinking back to September 11, 2001. The Master's gangland cronies use the steel eater to collapse not only the "Sky Building" (a thinly disguised Empire State Building), but also the "Plymouth Building" (the Chrysler Building), Grand Central Station, and the Brooklyn Bridge. (Those last two apparently didn't need pseudonyms.) Needless to say, The Spider goes after The Master with the kind of ruthless determination any pulp superhero would when faced with villainy that thinks nothing of murdering thousands to make a profit.

Norvell Page, who wrote more Spider novels than anyone else did under the name "Grant Stockbridge," is a master of action and atmosphere, if not internal consistency. This is hack and slash, penny-a-word writing, but it's consistently fun and action-packed.