The Awful Egg (Doc Savage) by Kenneth Robeson (Lester Dent)

The 88th novel in the Doc Savage series (#92 by Bantam publication order) is representative of the later Doc stories, published during the WW2 years. This one was the second published in 1940 and features a plot that hints at the kind of fantastic elements from earlier novels but reveals itself to have a much more mundane plot. Perhaps the publisher wanted more realism by this time in the face of the growing war as well as to better match up to the competition.

But no matter, this book has most of the “Doc’isms” I hope for including appearances by all of Doc’s five aides. (But no Pat Savage in this one, alas). The plot features what appears to be the discovery of a dinosaur egg, with a Little one still alive inside and about to chip its way out. Even Johnny, master archeologist and geologist is convinced of its authenticity. But when the egg is stolen Doc and his crew must chase down the mystery before it eats its way through man and beast. 

The plot quickly turns from a dinosaur hunt to a murder and stolen gold plot but it was another fun read. It’s written by the creator, Lester Dent and not one of the handful of ghost writers working on the series in the 1940s.