Crossover Cover: Happy Forever

 

In this story by Simon R. Green, professional thief Gideon Sable is hired by the father of a former lover to rescue her from a house where Time stands still. The father asks Gideon if he really stole the Hand of Eibon. Gideon finds many references to the house in books about unusual places such as Undertowen, the world below. Eibon is from Clark Ashton Smith’s Cthulhu Mythos stories. London Undertowen is from Green’s Secret Histories novel For Heaven’s Eyes Only and his Ghost Finders novel Spirits from Beyond. It bears noting that following the events of this story another thief assumes the identity of Gideon Sable, acting as the protagonist of a series of novels by Green, which have crossovers of their own.

This crossover is one of over a thousand covered in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, coming this summer from Meteor House! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover Cover: Moonbreaker

 

Are you an Arthur Conan Doyle fan?

Then you may enjoy this entry in Simon R. Green's Secret Histories series, which has a nod to Professor Challenger, among other crossovers!

For more information, be sure to purchase a copy of my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3 when Meteor House publishes it! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover of the Week

Summer 2021

WHAT SONG THE SIRENS SANG 

A man calling himself Smith offers Gideon Sable and his lover Annie Anybody a stone that he says contains the last echoes of the sirens’ song. The stone is then stolen by Switch It Sally, the wife of crew member Lex Talon, aka the Damned, who was forced to do it by her abductor, a collector known as Coldheart. Gideon says the original Gideon Sable, whose name he assumed after his disappearance, specialized in stealing the kind of things others couldn’t, including jewels from the crown of the man who would be king. In disguise, Gideon and Annie visit Honest John’s Magical Emporium and World of Wonders, where the password of the day is “Swordfish.” Gideon and Annie pilfer Honest John’s Secret Stash, which includes Tom Pierce’s grimoire, which Gideon realizes transported several people to Widdicombe Fair, rather than an old grey mare doing so; the cocoon of a death’s-head were-moth; a pop-up edition of the Necronomicon; and Dracula’s skull, as well as the smaller skull of Dracula when he was a boy, which Gideon is skeptical about. Gideon and Annie have stolen Honest John’s swag for their own shop, Old Harry’s Place, which they inherited from the previous owner and the store’s namesake. Gideon says some of the stacks that used to fill up Old Harry’s went back so far he worried he’d end up in Narnia. Gideon says the rock has a special presence, like the Maltese Falcon or the last of the Anglo-Saxon Crowns. Gideon, Annie, and Lex visit Murray the Mentalist, whose other personae include Madame Osiris. Murray tells them to recruit Polly Perkins, a werewolf whose tracking talents will come in handy. Murray says he will transport the foursome to Seattle, where Coldheart is based, through the Low Road, the path the dead use to take them from this world to the next. Gideon says the Hagges are always watching the Low Road. 

Novel by Simon R. Green. The man who would be king is a reference to Rudyard Kipling’s story of the same name and its title character, Daniel Dravot. The use of “Swordfish” as a password is a nod to the Marx Brothers film Horse Feathers. Tom Pierce (or Pearce) is from the Devon folk song “Widecombe Fair.” The death’s-head were-moth is a nod to the film The Blood Beast Terror. The Necronomicon is the most infamous tome in H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. Dracula needs no introduction. Narnia is from C. S. Lewis’ novels. The Maltese Falcon is from Dashiell Hammett’s titular detective novel. Madame Osiris and the Hagges are from Green’s Secret Histories novel Live and Let Drood. Polly Perkins was the alias used by a disguised elf in Green’s Nightside novel The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny. Presumably, the elf took the name from the real Polly. The Low Road first appeared in Green’s Ghost Finders series. 

This crossover writeup is one of hundreds included in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, which will be published by Meteor House! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover Cover: Night Fall

 

Are you a fan of Simon R. Green's books?

Then you may enjoy this finale for two of his series, the Secret Histories novels and the Nightside books, with plenty of connections to his other works and other fiction from various media!

For more information, be sure to pick up a copy of my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3 when Meteor House publishes it! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover of the Week

December 25, 2003
DR. DOA 
Eddie Drood and Molly Metcalf go after the assassin known as Dr. DOA, who has poisoned Eddie. Appearing or mentioned are: the Wood Between the Worlds; Strangefellows bar, in the Nightside; the Walking Man; the Adventurers Club; Shadows Fall; the Unholy Grail; Baron Frankenstein; Castle Frankenstein; Dead Boy; Larry Oblivion; the Ghost Finders; tanna leaf; a woman with something moving inside her back; a woman smoking a cigarette through a hole in her throat; Cthulhu; Shoggoth’s Old Peculiar; Black Heir; Persecution Psmith; the Necronomicon; the Book of Eibon; the Mysteries of the Wurm; Harry Fabulous; Dorian Gray; Martian red weed; MI Thirteen; a Maltese falcon; the Organization; the Hydra’s teeth; and Hadleigh Oblivion. 
Novel by Simon R. Green. The Wood Between the Worlds is from C. S. Lewis’ The Magician’s Nephew. Strangefellows bar, the Walking Man, the Adventurers Club, the Unholy Grail, Dead Boy, Larry and Hadleigh Oblivion, and Harry Fabulous are from Green’s Nightside series. Shadows Fall is from Green’s novel of the same name. Baron Frankenstein and Castle Frankenstein are from Mary Shelley’s novel. The Ghost Finders are the subject of another series of novels by Green. Tanna leaves are from Universal Studios’ Mummy film series. The woman with something moving inside her back is Karen Tandy from Graham Masterson’s novel The Manitou. The thing inside her back is Misquamacus, originally from August Derleth’s The Lurker at the Threshold. The woman smoking through a hole in her throat may be Juno from the movie Beetlejuice. Cthulhu, shoggoths, the Necronomicon, the Book of Eibon and the Mysteries of the Wurm are from the Cthulhu Mythos. Shoggoth’s Old Peculiar is from Neil Gaiman’s story of the same name. Black Heir and the Organization are from Green’s Ishmael Jones Mysteries series. Persecution Psmith, an immortal Puritan adventurer, is a thinly veiled version of Robert E. Howard’s Puritan hero Solomon Kane. Matthew Baugh also portrayed Kane as long-lived in his story “The Heart of the Moon.” Dorian Gray is from Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. Martian red weed is from H. G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds. MI Thirteen is the CU version of the British intelligence organization of the same name in the Marvel Comics Universe. The Maltese Falcon is from Dashiell Hammett’s classic detective novel. The Hydra’s teeth are from the movie Jason and The Argonauts. 
This write-up is one of hundreds included in my book Crossovers Expanded: A Secret Chronology of the World Volume 3, to be published by Meteor House! All three volumes are AUTHORIZED companions to Win Scott Eckert's Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World Volumes 1 and 2!

Crossover Covers: Agents of Light and Darkness

John Taylor is hired to find the Unholy Grail from which Judas Iscariot drank at the Last Supper. Appearing or mentioned are: the Street of the Gods (the Street of the Gods is from Green’s Hawk and Fisher novellas Winner Takes All and The God Killer); description theory bombs (a reference to description theory from Warren Ellis’ comic book Planetary, which takes place in an AU); one of Baron Frankenstein’s more successful creations (one of the many Frankenstein Monsters); Leo Morn and winter wine (from Green’s Drinking Midnight Wine); the Testimony of Grendel Rex (Grendel Rex is a member of the Drood family turned into a self-proclaimed god in Green’s Secret Histories novels); Shadows Fall and the Warriors of the Cross (from Green's Shadows Fall); copies of the Maltese Falcon (from Dashiell Hammett's novel, of course); a crate marked Antarctic Expedition 1936: Do not open until the Elder Ones return (from H. P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness, although that story actually takes place in 1929–1930 rather than 1936); and Grendel’s Bane (Beowulf’s sword from the epic poem, bringing Beowulf into the CU).

Crossover Cover: Ghost of a Dream

The field agents of the Carnacki Institute investigate a haunting at an abandoned theater that is up for renovation. Julien Advent, the Apocalypse Door, the Droods, and Area 52 are mentioned, and Alistair Gravel appears. The Carnacki Institute is named after the title character of William Hope Hodgson’s Carnacki the Ghost-Finder. The Apocalypse Door was destroyed by the Drood family in Green’s Secret Histories novel From Hell with Love. Julien Advent is from Green’s Nightside novels; he is meant to be adventurer Adam Adamant, from the television series Adam Adamant Lives! The Area 52 referred to in Green’s work is located in the Antarctic, and thus is probably meant to be the same one seen in the Image Comics miniseries of the same name. Alistair Gravel is probably meant to be a relative of combat magician William Gravel from Warren Ellis’ comic Gravel.

Crossover Cover: From a Drood to a Kill

Eddie Drood takes action when his beloved, Molly Metcalf, is abducted by the Powers That Be to take part in the Big Game. Appearing or mentioned are: the Merlin Glass, the London Knights; MI 13; the London Knights, Kayleigh's Eye, the Nightside, Saint Jude's Church, Strangefellows, Walker, Dead Boy, the Night Times, Castle Inconnu, Harry Fabulous, John Taylor and Shotgun Suzie, and the Hawk's Wind Bar and Grill (all from Green's Nightside series); Area 52 (probably the same one seen in the titular Image Comics miniseries); an old 1930s Hirondel (the same fictional car driven by Simon Templar, the Saint); Queen Mab (from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet); King Oberon and Queen Titania, and Puck (from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream); the original Fantom of the Paris Opera (from Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera); Charlotte Karstein, the Wilderness Witch (possibly a relative of Carmilla Karnstein from J. Sheridan Le Fanu's vampire tale "Carmilla"); Castle Frankenstein (from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and its many adaptations and sequels); the Ninteen Sixties Black Beauty (from the 1960s Green Hornet television series); a shocking pink Rolls-Royce (Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward's car, FAB 1, from the Supermarionation show Thunderbirds, which takes place in the 2060s; presumably the Droods acquired the car through time travel, and possibly dimensional travel as well); the only occasionally successful Lotus submersible (from the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me); Julien Advent (from the Nightside books, but a thinly-veiled version of the title character of the television series Adam Adamant Lives!); Shadows Fall, Bruin Bear and the Sea Goat, and Old Father Time (from Green's novel Shadows Fall); the Carnacki Institute and Catherine Latimer (from Green's Ghost Finders series); Deathstalker (the protagonist of another series of novels by Green, which take place in an alternate future); Jason Royal (a thinly veiled version of the main character of the British television series Department S and Jason King); Lady Gaea (aka Gayle), Carrys Galloway, the Waking Beauty, and Bradford-on-Avon (from Green's novel Drinking Midnight Wine); the Doormouse and his House of Doors (from the Nightside series, though the Doormouse is a member of a group of hippies turned into mice first seen in Drinking Midnight Wine); Robot Archibald (meant to be Robot Archie, who appeared in the British weekly comic book Lion); knock-off Hyde (Dr. Henry Jekyll's formula from Robert Louis Stevenson's novel, used as a drug); Martian Red Weed (from H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds); and smoked black centipede meat (from William S. Burroughs' novel Naked Lunch.)

Crossover Cover: Property of a Lady Faire

Eddie Drood seeks out the Lady Faire, an omnisexual being created by Baron Frankenstein later in his life. This Baron is a member of the family seen in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein and its many continuations. Also appearing or mentioned are: Harry Fabulous, the Nightside, the Painted Ghoul, the London Knights, Kayleigh's Eye, Strangefellows, Dead Boy, Sinister Albion, John Taylor, the Griffin, Hadleigh Oblivion, Rossignol, Ms. Fate, and Larry Oblivion (all from the Nightside series); Dagon, Cthulhu, and the Plateau of Leng (all from H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos); MI13 (the CU version of the branch of British intelligence seen in the Marvel Universe); the Doormouse’s shop (from the Nightside books, though the group of hippies-turned-mice the Doormouse belongs to first appeared in Green's novel Drinking Midnight Wine); Shadows Fall (from Green's novel of the same name); Carcosa (from Ambrose Bierce's short Story "An Inhabitant of Carcosa"); Lud’s Gate (from Green's Ghost Finders novel Spirits from Beyond); old Carnacki (from William Hope Hodgson's Carnacki the Ghost Finder); stuffed baby Morlock (from H.G. Wells' The Time Machine); the Deep School (from Manly Wade Wellman's John Thunstone stories); Jimmy Thunder, God for Hire (from Drinking Midnight Wine); the Bride of Frankenstein (from the titular Universal horror film); and “something from the Black Lagoon" (a reference to another Universal horror film, Creature from the Black Lagoon, and its sequels.)

Crossover Cover: Casino Infernale

Eddie Drood and Molly Metcalf try to bring down the Shadow Bank, a mysterious conspiracy that bankrolls the evil schemes of villains. Appearing or mentioned are: Kayleigh’s Eye, the London Knights, Dead Boy, the Nightside, John Taylor, and Jacqueline Hyde (from Green's Nightside series); J.C. Chance, the Carnacki Institute, Natasha Chang, and the Crowley Project (from Green's Ghost Finders series); Bruin Bear and the Sea Goat and Shadows Fall (from Green's novel Shadows Fall); Bradford-on-Avon (the fictionalized version of the real town seen in Green's novel Drinking Midnight Wine); the Traveling Doctor, who said that bow ties are cool (the CU version of the Doctor of Doctor Who fame); a triffid (a CU version of the plant seen in John Wyndham's apocalyptic science fiction novel The Day of the Triffids); the Brotherhood of the Vril (a reference to the Vril from Edward Bulwer-Lytton's The Coming Race); the Little Lord (from Green's Hawk and Fisher novellas); and the Elder Gods (from Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, of course.)

Crossover Cover: Spirits from Beyond

I am currently reading the fourth book in Simon R. Green's Ghost Finders series, and so far there have been a few crossovers. The Drood family (from Green's Secret Histories series) and the Nightside are mentioned. At one point, the Carnacki Institute field agents visit the Institute's Secret Libraries. The Empty Librarian, so called because he appears to be a talking empty suit, tells them that the Libraries' Index, which is bigger inside than out, was made by the Traveling Doctor. In Green's fiction, the Traveling Doctor is the name used to refer to Doctor Who. Among the items in the libraries are the Siggsand Manuscript (from William Hope Hodgson's Carnacki stories, although there it's spelled "Sigsand"), a single marble finger (from E. Nesbit's story "Man-Size in Marble"), a brass mezzotint (possibly a reference to M.R. James' story "The Mezzotint"), and the Sword Sacnoth (from Lord Dunsany's "The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth.")

Crossover Cover: The Dark Side of the Road

Ishmael Jones, an alien posing as a human, works for a group called the Organization, which investigates the bizarre. Ishmael’s boss the Colonel invites him to his family’s mansion for Christmas Eve, but when Jones gets there, the Colonel is dead. In the 1980s, Ishmael and another guest, Alexander Khan, worked for Black Heir, a group specializing in handling alien affairs. Jones remembers detonating a nuclear device in the Plateau of Leng. Black Heir is mentioned in two of Green’s Secret Histories novels, Live and Let Drood and Property of a Lady Faire. It is unknown whether Black Heir is connected to Black Air, mentioned in Green’s The Spy Who Haunted Me, or Dark Heir, mentioned in his novel Ghost of a Dream. The Plateau of Leng is from the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Both these connections place Ishmael Jones in the CU.