Will Murray's Pulp Classics #55
The Spider #6 Audiobook
Citadel of Hell
by Norvell W. Page writing as Grant Stockbridge
Read by Nick Santa Maria. Liner Notes by Will Murray
Back in 2011 when Tom Brown asked me to pick the series that would best launch the Will Murray Pulp Classics line of audiobooks, that was an easy one: The Spider! Nothing screamed pulp action like the Master of Men.
Picking the kickoff story was not so easy, because there were so many great ones. We decided to start with Prince of the Red Looters, in which the Spider first battled the Fly. Our customers loved it and begged for more. So we recorded Norvell W. Page’s debut tale, Wings of the Black Death. Eventually, we felt the pressure to release the inaugural story, The Spider Strikes, which we did with hesitation since this it was written by R.T.M. Scott, not Page in full cry. Customer comments applauded our decision. But that one was not an origin story, merely a first adventure.
Since then, we’ve released stories from different years. With 13 exciting Spider audiobooks now in print, a new question has been raised: Where does an interested customer start if he or she is new to the Spider?
That was a puzzler. So we recorded a new release––the perfect entry point for old and new Spider fans alike.
Ripped from the March, 1934 issue of the magazine, Citadel of Hell was the sixth Spider novel Novell W. Page penned, and one of his early tours de force. It opens with a wild car chase through the canyons of Manhattan that leads to the first of several running battles in which Richard Wentworth, both in and out of his Spider disguise, takes on Red Mask and his Food Destroyers as they bring New York City to its knees through a vicious campaign of arson and starvation.
This is the novel that introduced the Depression-era character of Tito Caliepi, the hunchbacked street-corner violinist disguise that over the next year or so of the series metamorphosed into the twisted, fearsome figure of the Spider who terrorized the underworld for ten unrelenting years.
So if you’ve never listened to a Spider audiobook––even if you have––and you’re looking to jump aboard, we highly recommend Citadel of Hell, one of the great fast-moving Spider novels of 1934.
For this special occasion, we told voice actor Nick Santa Maria to crank it up and give it his all. And he sure does! This exciting audiobook also includes two short stories, “Killer’s Knout” by Anson Hatch and G. T. Fleming Roberts’ “The Standing Corpse.”
Whether you buy physical audiobooks, or simply download them, Citadel of Hell is an unforgettable excursion into the righteous madness that was the Spider, Master of Men!
#6 Citadel of Hell
by Norvell W. Page writing as Grant Stockbridge
Read by Nick Santa Maria
Chapter 1: The Flaming Death
Chapter 2: A Hint of Horror
Chapter 3: Dead to the Spider!
Chapter 4: Captured!
Chapter 5: A Tell-Tale Wound
Chapter 6: Nita to the Rescue
Chapter 7: Fangs of the Spider
Chapter 8: Battle in the Dark
Chapter 9: The Food Destroyers
Chapter 10: Out of the Frying Pan
Chapter 11: Into the Fire
Chapter 12: The Spider Falls
Chapter 13: Famine Stalks the City
Chapter 14: The Spider Goes Calling
Chapter 15: A One-Way Trap
Chapter 16: A Disguise Fails
Chapter 17: The Red Council
Chapter 18: A Deal with the Spider
Chapter 19: The Spider Strikes
Chapter 20: Condemned to the Fire
Chapter 21: A Matter of Evidence
Short Story
Killer’s Knout
by Anson Hatch
Read by Roger Price
Short Story
The Standing Corpse
G. T. Fleming-Roberts
Read by Roger Price
Will Murray is the Series Producer for Will Murray’s Pulp Classics line of Pulp Audiobooks and Pulp eBooks. Will is the author of over 50 novels in popular series ranging from The Destroyer to Mars Attacks. Collaborating posthumously with the legendary Lester Dent, he has written to date fourteen Doc Savage novels, with Skull Island, Death’s Dark Domain, Desert Demons, Horror in Gold, and The Infernal Buddha now available. For National Public Radio, Murray adapted The Thousand-Headed Man for The Adventures of Doc Savage in 1985, and recently edited Doc Savage: The Lost Radio Scripts of Lester Dent for Moonstone Books. He is versed in all things pulp.
Nick Santa Maria Nick was born early in life in Brooklyn, NY. His theatrical background is based in Comedy Improv. He was a long standing member of the late lamented Miami based, Mental Floss, where he served as head writer/composer. From there he began his career in commercials, voice-overs, TV, Film, and theatre. He has performed in many roles on the stage including his award winning turn as Nick in Over The River And Through The Woods, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, as Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, in The 25th Annual Putnam Country Spelling Bee as Mr. Panch (3-D Theatricals), Mr. Bromhead in No Sex Please, We’re British at The Norris, and as Pseudolus in, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at the Norris Theatre. Television: The Buffalo Bill Show, B.J. Stryker, and two Disney Christmas Specials. Off Broadway: Writer/Composer/Performer on Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know, Soundtrack on RCA Victor. Broadway: Vince Fontaine in Tommy Tune’s production of Grease. He also appeared in every domestic company of Mel Brooks’ The Producers, understudying everyone from Nathan Lane and Jason Alexander, to Tony Danza and David Hassellhoff. He was the original Genie in Disney’s Aladdin, a Musical Spectacular, soundtrack on Disney Records. Nick is a resident of Los Angeles and is currently writing a book about classic film comedians, Nick’s been a long time film historian, and has written several articles on the topic.
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Replies
Brilliant thanks for all this wonderful Xmas treats
Thanks Rick, hope you and your wife had a good Christmas. Larry
"The file you are trying to access is no longer available publicly."
May I add my thanks to you Rick and also my request to re-upload this interesting Audio book?
File has been re-upped on original hyperlink in main post. Thanks for letting me know about the broken link. merry Christmas Gordon and Larry!! Sorry guys brain fart, I deleted wrong file the other day. LOL ----------------------------------------------- R
Many thanks, Rick! A wonderful holiday for you and yours! :-)
Been off for a while, sucks when you can't breath! Found this and the site says it has been taken down! Bummer! Is there anyway I can get it now? And as always, THANK YOU Rick!
Great! Cheers!