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The Master Mystery
The Master Mystery
Book Excerpt
as a response in the presence of Locke which was not inspired in his own society. He hurried her into the library.
It was as though the entrance of Paul and Eva had been preconcerted. The partners, in their dispute, stopped and turned as the young people entered and moved over to a divan. Balcom lowered his voice and plucked at Brent's sleeve as he nodded toward the couple.
"I could trust you better if they were married within a week," suggested Balcom.
Brent recoiled, but Balcom affected not to notice.
"Then I will believe that you are dealing fairly with me," he emphasized.
Brent studied a moment, then nodded assent. Balcom extended a cold, commanding hand and the partners shook hands.
Outside, Locke had paused, about to enter the library. The pause had been just long enough for him to hear--and it was a blow to him. He watched, dazed, as the two older men walked over to the younger couple; then he turned away, heart sick.
"My dear," began Brent, as he patted
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The is not a good book. In fact, it is a bad book.
In fact, the way to enjoy reading this is not as to read it as a book but to regard it as an interesting relic of the American silent film. This is a novelization of a film serial starring Harry Houdini. The serial was released at leat twice, once under the original name and once as "The Houdini Serial". It has all of the elements one would expect of a silent screen serial. Numerous chapters, each ending with either the hero or the heroine facing apparantly inescapable doom. The plot is drawn from the then current concerns of the newspapers: the original target of the villain is a corporation which buys patents from inventors, not with the intention of producing and marketing the invention, but to keep it off the market. The "Master" of the title is aparently an automaton with artificial intelligence. The hero, not surprisingly in Reeve novel is an intrepid scientist; not surprisingly for a Houdini movie, he is also an escape artist.
After reading this book, one could almost reproduce the original script, by putting a diagram to the left of each descriptive paragraph and "Story board" above each (rare) line of dialogue.
In fact, the way to enjoy reading this is not as to read it as a book but to regard it as an interesting relic of the American silent film. This is a novelization of a film serial starring Harry Houdini. The serial was released at leat twice, once under the original name and once as "The Houdini Serial". It has all of the elements one would expect of a silent screen serial. Numerous chapters, each ending with either the hero or the heroine facing apparantly inescapable doom. The plot is drawn from the then current concerns of the newspapers: the original target of the villain is a corporation which buys patents from inventors, not with the intention of producing and marketing the invention, but to keep it off the market. The "Master" of the title is aparently an automaton with artificial intelligence. The hero, not surprisingly in Reeve novel is an intrepid scientist; not surprisingly for a Houdini movie, he is also an escape artist.
After reading this book, one could almost reproduce the original script, by putting a diagram to the left of each descriptive paragraph and "Story board" above each (rare) line of dialogue.
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