Doc Savage - The Infernal Buddha by Kenneth Robeson (Will Murray)

Will Murray does it again with this installment of Doc Savage’s continuing adventures. This time Doc’s team only includes Monk, Ham, and Renny along with Doc himself as they find themselves drawn into an adventure in the South Seas. Seems there is a Buddah-shaped artifact of some kind, possibly delivered to Earth in a meteor, that has the horrific effect of sucking the moisture out of everything nearby.  Living beings are reduced to dried husks in seconds. It is not known if there are any limits so, theoretically, if this thing were to be unleashed ala Pandora’s Box, it might well suck up all water on the planet.

Definitely a job for Doc Savage!

This was another wonderful adventure from the pen of Will Murray. Probably my favorite of his that I’ve read so far even though he is content to let the science behind the artifact remain vague. The adventure takes them among 1940’s era Malay pirates and we even get to see Doc going undercover as a swashbuckling scourge of the South Seas pirate captain himself. Awesome! But at the same time, the terrible nature of the artifact leads Doc to one of his most challenging adventures ever. Rarely have I seen Doc so vulnerable and even unsure of himself as he confesses to have been in the final pages. This brings an extra edge to the story; it’s just not good to have a completely invulnerable hero.

Good setting, good characters for Doc and team to work with (or against), a good peril to be dealt with, and a good plot with plenty of action that keeps the pages turning. Everything I want in a Doc Savage yarn.

Doc Savage - Death's Dark Domain by Will Murray

Another fine Doc Savage adventure written by the inestimable Will Murray. This one features Long Tom more than most Doc adventures and it’s nice to see him get a major role for a change. This book is best read after reading The Fortress of Solitude from the original series run. The fate of John Sunlight from that novel looms over this one, mostly in regards to his having stolen a number of diabolical weapons and devices from Doc’s arctic workshop. Now it seems possible that one or more of them have found their way into the hands of two opposing countries in the Balkans, each of whom are intent on claiming a strip of land between the two and are not hesitant to use these unusual weapons.

Neither Renny nor Johnny make appearances in this one, both being off on projects of their own. Doc’s cousin, Pat Savage, only barely makes an appearance, just long enough to be exposed to anthrax and be thrust into quarantine and miss all the fun. So, it’s just Doc, Monk, Ham, and Long Tom who find themselves facing a variety of weird menaces including a bunch of invisible hairy cyclopes, vampires, unexplained patches of extreme blindness-rendering darkness, and hordes of aggressive giant leathery-winged bats. A nice assortment of other characters round out the cast and we are kept guessing as to who is really who they say they are and which are trying to get away with something. All the gadgets and seat-of-your-pants escapes that you hope for in a Doc novel are here. Perilous adventure abounds.

One of my least favorite parts of the original Doc Savage books are the endless squabbles between Monk and Ham. It just gets so repetitive and annoying. I think Will Murray feels the same. Of course, he must leave in the banter between the two and indeed, channeling Lester Dent seems to come second nature to him. But he really ratchets up the imagination when it comes to their insults and actually makes them fun to read. 

Looking forward to more of these Wild Adventures.

Doc Savage - The Red Terrors by Kenneth Robeson (Lester Dent/Harold Davis)

A sailor on a ship in the South Atlantic eats an apple contaminated with diphtheria and infects the rest of the merchant vessel’s crew. One passenger, a deep-sea diver, tries to survive by diving into the water with his suit on, only to experience something incredible. We readers aren’t privy to exactly what that is until much later in the novel, but a clue is provided in the form of a torn piece of red suit material.

Meanwhile strange attacks are occurring in New York City involving red humanoids. And then word reaches Doc Savage's headquarters of a criminal doctor getting dragged off his ship by another red creature. But when Long Tom and Renny go missing, and then Johnny is severely injured (two broken legs and a broken arm!) Doc pulls out all the stops to get to the bottom of whatever’s going on. Doc, Monk, and Ham follow the trail that leads them to an extraordinary under-the-sea civilization, a civilization connected to one they’ve discovered before in Mystery Under The Sea, published two years previously in 1936.

This is the 67th Doc Savage novel to be published (number 83 in Bantam edition order). It was co-written by Lester Dent and Harold Davis. The year was 1938 and the yearning for technological adventure was in full swing. The Doc Savage novels have always been on the cutting edge of technology, thanks to creator and primary author, Lester Dent who liked to have Doc using all the latest gear. Frequently, he used items that weren’t even in existence yet, projecting what would be logical advancements in the near future. In this novel, however, the tech speculation goes beyond mere projection and into pure fantasy. While some explanative science is provided for how the humans can live and breathe under water using pills and a specialized gas, today's readers must really suspend their disbelief and just go with it. 

Putting that observation aside, this was a fun entry in the Doc Savage series. Lots of action sequences but balanced with a straightforward mystery plot. No Scooby-Doo ending this time; the bad guys and the good guys are identified early on with no double-crossing to be found. The real focus here is on the underwater society and how it developed and operates despite the obvious barriers. Good pulpy fun. And the Boris Vallejo cover art on the Bantam edition doesn't hurt.

Doc Savage: Spook Hole by Kenneth Robeson (Lester Dent)

Originally published in August 1935, this was the 30th Doc Savage story to be let loose upon the world. (Bantam has it as number 70 while the Sanctum reprints list it as number 43). Relatively speaking this falls much nearer the beginning of the series than the end and was written by the series’ creator, Lester Dent. 

Overall, this is more of a straight mystery adventure without as many potentially supernatural occurrences (or even the perception of such), as most Doc novels. The real mystery throughout most of the book is, “What exactly is Spook Hole?” What is it? Where is it? Why are so many people interested enough to kill for it? 

All but one of Doc’s crew makes an appearance in this one (another indicator of it falling in the first half of the series).  Even Doc’s cousin Pat Savage gets in on the action, as if you could keep her out of the fray once she’s gotten a whiff of an adventure to be had. One of Doc’s aides spends most of the novel undercover, but I won’t spoil that by naming names. 

The novel spends a bit too much time spinning its wheels in the first half, with various individuals or groups chasing after one another and trying to avoid Doc and friends. This is still fun reading because a lot of “Docisms” are on display such as various disguises, infiltrations, 86th floor lab break-ins, Monk/Ham insults, the upstate criminal college, and gadgets galore. However, it fails to advance the plot much. When we finally get around to Spook Hole, the plot develops nicely, and the guest character build-ups pay off. The final McGuffin reveal was a little under par but that’s OK. These books aren’t really about that anyway. The story does feature one of my favorite character names in the entire Doc Savage series: Hezemiah Law. Whether or not he is a good guy or a bad guy…well, you’ll have to read the book to find out.

The Mystic Mullah (Doc Savage) by Kenneth Robeson (Lester Dent)

First published in 1935, the 23rd Doc Savage novel (as originally published – number 9 in the Bantam paperback order) opens with two mysterious strangers from the fabled Asian Kingdom of Tanan arriving in New York City, seeking Doc Savage's aid. They are being hunted by some sort of supernatural “soul slaves” on behalf of an entity known as the Mystic Mullah. They need Doc’s help to save their country.

The Mystic Mullah itself seems to be a mysterious and monstrous floating face which can speak and warn of dire threats. It uses strange ghostly “soul slaves” that look like floating snakes to attack, causing horrible burns or snapping necks. It’s a creepy foe to be sure but we readers know Doc will get to the bottom of it and discover who is behind the mysterious moniker of the Mystic Mullah. Lots of action permeates the novel. We have Doc’s machine pistols, Russian spies, Doc’s skin-bleaching trick, Doc in disguise, and plenty of fisticuffs. All five of Doc’s aides are present for this one, and all of them get captured at one point or another. We also get to see the team travel to Asia and the Kingdom of Tanan. It's always a treat to see them in action in an exotic locale.

Interestingly, pulp writer Richard Sale started ghost writing this novel based on an outline by Lester Dent but removed himself from the project after receiving criticism from Dent. So Lester Dent wrote it himself. Many fans believe, consequently, that Dent worked extra hard on it to make sure it was a good one. Could be. I certainly enjoyed it and would rank it among the top 20 Doc Savage novels.

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.

The Thousand-Headed Man (Doc Savage) by Kenneth Robeson (Lester Dent)

The 17th Doc Savage novel, (as originally published, and 2nd in the Bantam publishing order) has long been a fan favorite, frequently listed among the top 10 and even on top 5 lists. And it's no surprise considering the avalanche of pulp adventure that lies within. 

The plot revolves around an explorer who’s gone missing somewhere in the jungle forest of Indochina while searching for a strange cult. Originally published in 1934, the novel takes full advantage of “Yellow Peril” themes that had become popular with the Fu Manchu novels, making use of a mysterious Chinaman character named Sen Gat who prides himself on his incredibly long fingernails. Ultimately, it’s a race between Sen Gat and Doc Savage to see who can discover the secrets behind what appears to be an all-too-real Thousand-Headed Man.  The novel has all you could ask for in a pulp adventure story including a lost civilization in a mysterious land, perilous plane rides, river boat adventure among crocodile infested waters, an attractive yet desperate girl who needs help rescuing her father, and plenty of twists and turns. All five of Doc’s aides participate and are actually useful this time out with their individual skills, especially Monk and his chemistry expertise.

For me, this was a nostalgic re-read. I can remember the summer after the sixth grade when my family moved to a new town. I was filled with trepidation. My older brother and I had no friends yet so when we discovered the first dozen or so Doc Savage paperbacks in the local bookstore, we bought them all. It turned out to be a pretty good summer after all.