The Slave Market of Mucar was actually written by Basil Copper, though as with all of the Avon novels the credit will be given to the Phantom's creator Lee Falk. Copper is best known for his horror stories and such. This is a particularly dark tale as it deals with slavery. It does give the reader a great look at the Bangalla Jungle Patrol of which The Phantom himself is the mysterious Commander.
The story is about a prison in which the prisoners are duped and then marched to the distant city of Mucar at which time they are sold into slavery. This secret trade is operated by the leadership of the prison in cahoots with the Arab slavers. We follow one member of the Jungle Patrol as he goes undercover to infiltrate the prison. The mysterious Phantom is furious that such vile trade persists and uses this opportunity to stop it, at least in Mucar.
As with the previous Phantom novel which detailed his origins, this one is a brisk read and the Hermes reprint of the Avon original is exceedingly well bound, and the size has been upscaled to make for ease of handling and ease of reading. As a chap who now depends on glasses to enjoy his textual pleasures, this is a detail well appreciated.
The next novel on the list is The Scorpia Menace which is the second of two novels in the series written by Copper before he hands the reins over to Ron Goulart.
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