The Devil Genghis Review by Gary Chaloner Plot 9/10 The sequel to "The Fortress of Solitude", featuring the rematch of Doc Savage and John Sunlight! It strikes me that Dent realised what a great villain he had in John Sunlight only after he had finished the disappointing "The Fortress of Solitude". He more than makes up for it in "The Devil Genghis". The mood of the book hits you over the head from page one, with a fast paced description of events: the linked insanity of an Eskimo and his dog, an aviator call Fogarty-Smith and finally the fiance of the book's femme fatale, Toni Lash. From there, things really get rolling with Lash's attempts to kidnap Doc and his men. By the end of the book, there are plenty of people in straight jackets, plenty of good ol' fashioned "biffo" and plenty of miles covered by Doc and the crew. The climactic battle between Doc's men and "the Genghis", high in the Himalayas, is a real thumper. Regular Characters 8/10 Of the seven regular cast members, only Long Tom and Pat do not make an appearance. Which is a pity, as Long Tom was in "Fortress". It seems a totally arbitrary call to leave him out. Johnny shines in this story as Doc's main aide. He features in a great battle alongside Doc when they are trapped in an English hotel. He ends up carrying the insane Renny out of a second story window and dropping to the road below! Ouch! Villains 10/10 John Sunlight... and with him a smart, sexy dark-haired bombshell with her own "muscle", a lowlife called Cautious and a veritable army of deadly "Asiatics". Dent really wound things up this time... ending with a full-scale mountain war! Gadgets 5/10 This adventure is pretty "low" on gadgets but pretty "full" on fast-paced action. Johnny puts his machine pistol to good use. Doc trips around in drag for a bit, but you have to like older women to appreciate it. Monk/Ham Hijinx 7/10 Monk and Ham compete for the attentions of the beautiful Toni Lash, betting on the lives of Habeas Corpus and Chemistry as to who can win her over! They find that she is more than a match for both of them. The animals just get in the way in this story, in fact they are forgotten completely for the most part, not even mentioned in a general "tidy up" at the adventure's end. Note: Chapter XV: The Rival Genghis. The scenes featuring Monk (in mongol garb), a yak and a huge flint-lock rifle, are priceless. Overall Score: 39/50 rounded up to 45/50 The 39/50 really doesn't reflect the book's strength as a Doc adventure, so I took it upon myself to score the book as a total experience. It really is one of the best Savage adventures that I've read, so I thought a much higher, across-the-board score was called for. The Devil Genghis is a devilishly good read. |