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June 16, 2005

The Talking Devil


The Talking Devil
Review by Gary Chaloner

This one's a real ripper. Doc's brain operation gets exposed and he gets framed as being the mastermind behind an intricate plot that involves his patients and the bleeding of funds from wealthy companies.

A fantastic premise, as I always thought Doc's brain ops and the upstate hospital itself where a very weak link in his armour. There's no way he could keep his amazing operation a secret for too long. Some master criminal or crim's relative out for revenge (whatever) would surely stumble across Doc's drastic method of rehabilitation sooner or later.

The Talking Devil of the title is a small doll that supposedly "talks" to Sam Joseph, dear friend and office manager to millionaire Montague Ogden. Ogden brings in Doc to diagnose Joseph and eventually operate on Joseph's cerebral fibroma. From there, the story twists and turns in a snappy tale of murder, kidnapping, mindgames and biffo.

I didn't think I'd enjoy this book as much as I did. The reason? Doc is portrayed as very human, not a perfect superhero that's called in to clean up the mess after everything has gone off the rails. The villain does outfox Doc (for a while) and it's because of this that Doc's actions hold more weight. He's involved in the story on a personal level.

All in all, a very enjoyable Doc adventure. Recommended.

Major Gripe: Nothing major, though I'm always dissappointed when only four of the five Doc aides are present in an adventure. This time Johnny is omitted. No Pat either.

Favorite Scene: Monk and Doc attack a derelict paddle steamer where hostages are held — Monk has a great stomping set-to with a bad guy on a tree used as a gangplank!

Rating: 8/10

Posted by Chuck Welch on June 16, 2005 10:27 PM | | Comments (0)

Resurrection Day



Resurrection Day
Review by Gary Chaloner

Who would you have resurrected from the dead for the good of mankind today? You have only one chance... one choice: Lincoln? Edison? Newton? A much loved and missed relative perhaps?

This is the problem facing Doc and his crew -- and when you throw in the interference of a superb master criminal (General Ino) and his mild-mannered-but-maniacal number two (Proudman Shaster), you have a fantastic premise for a Doc adventure.

After finding a way to resurrect a human body from the dead, Doc lets his intentions be known to the general public and asks for their choice in who the subject should be. The whole United States joins in the event, with Doc's headquarters being surrounded by thousands of people to witness the proceedings.

Things get even more interesting when Ino decides to go head-to-head with Doc in an attempt to gain a fortune. A brave man indeed. Brave -- or insane.
But not as insane as his deputy, Proudman Shaster, who, while very aware of the dangers in trying to out-fox the Man of Bronze -- goes along for the ride anyway. These two characters develop into a pair of the most fascinating -- even likable -- villains I have read in a Doc adventure.

Shaster leaves a grisly trail of headless bodies and bodiless heads all through the proceedings -- from London and New York to Arabia and Egypt. And to top things off, most of the adventure's desert climax features Doc's aides running around buck naked after having their clothes ripped from them by murderous Arab thugs!

All of the brothers are in this adventure, as are Habeas Corpus and Chemistry. Pat is not mentioned. Despite the lack of a pretty face, though, I enjoyed Resurrection Day; a great deal. It has everything you would want in a Doc tale.

Major Gripe: I can't help wondering what Doc would have said to the American people after his return to New York. He must have used up a few favors, that's for sure.

Favorite Scene: A shoot out between Doc and his men and General Ino's thugs outside the Hidalgo Trading Company while a confused mummy wanders amongst the carnage! Ha!

Rating: 9/10



Posted by Chuck Welch on June 16, 2005 10:29 PM | | Comments (0)

Violent Night



Violent Night
(The Hate Genius)
Review by Gary Chaloner


Plot 4/10

Pat Savage fans rejoice!
Another great idea wasted. I put it down to the tough time contraints put on Dent by his editors... but this story isn't a Len Deighton or Jack Higgins! It does feature a very extended starring role by Pat. So if that rings your bell, then maybe there's something here that will salvage a below average yarn.

Regular Characters 5/10

Besides Doc, Monk and Ham feature alongside Pat. Doc is very subdued in this story; more caught up in the importance of his mission than what's happening around him.

Villains 3/10

Well... Adolf would have to be the ultimate enemy for Doc to battle. It fizzles to nothing here. What a waste. The bulk of the story involves German agents, Allied agents and double agents swapping resumes at gunpoint in a search for Pat's old six-shooter. It does get tedious after awhile. Even the identity of the fleeing Adolf is a bit ho-hum when it finally comes.

Gadgets 1/10

Airplane's feature in this story. As does a wristwatch. Do they count?

Monk/Ham Hijinx 2/10

Nothing much as far as classic stuff here. M & H just follow Doc around in this one, giving support and supply info where needed. They're introduction (involving Pat) is fun, though.

Overall Score: 15/50

This one, I thought after reading the back cover blurb, could be fantastic! It wasn't. Only read it if you HAVE to. Violent Blight.

Posted by Chuck Welch on June 16, 2005 10:29 PM | | Comments (1)

The Devil Genghis



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.

Posted by Chuck Welch on June 16, 2005 10:31 PM | | Comments (0)

The Fortress of Solitude



The Fortress of Solitude
Review by Gary Chaloner

Plot 6/10
Potentially, the premise of this book could have been fantastic. But after reading it for the first time just the other day, I was VERY disappointed with how the plot was handled.
Rogue villain John Sunlight stumbles onto Doc's secret hideaway in the Arctic then commences to do deals with two warring Balkan powers to sell off some of Doc's dubious inventions. Doc finds out and tries to stop the madman. The opportunities to flesh out Doc's guilt over his inventions being used for evil is never capitalized upon.


Regular Characters 8/10
Monk, Ham and Long Tom assist Doc in this adventure. The scenes with Long Tom and Ham escorting one of the female characters in a plane are very entertaining. I've always enjoyed Long Tom's contributions to the sagas. Two points taken away represent Renny and Johnny.

Villians 8/10
John Sunlight. Need I say more? The two points lost were for names of two of the female baddies: Titania and Giantia. Give me a break.


Gadgets 7/10
Not my favorite part of the Doc mythos, so my score is average. The fact that they figure as the main plot motivation helps the score. Doc uses his usual tricks of make-up and disguises, but it's his dread weapons of destruction in the Fortress that sends a chill down the spine.

Monk/Ham Hijinx 6/10
Fairly subdued this time around. They get worked over by two huge women and are separated for the bulk of the adventure. Monk sticks with Doc for most of the action.

Overall Score: 35/50
As I stated above, a great premise wasted. After the build up from other Doc fans about The Fortress of Solitude and John Sunlight's debut, it turned out to be a Fortress of Disappointment.

Posted by Chuck Welch on June 16, 2005 10:32 PM | | Comments (0)

November 10, 2005

Doc Savage Discussion

Welcome to the temporary home for the Doc Savage Discussion Group. Please take a minute to make a comment to answer a couple of questions....

A) How many Doc novels do you want to discuss a month? 1, 2, or 3?

B) Are you interested in starting at a certain date and following them in order?

C) Are you interested in reading from a sub-set of the novels? (Example: For November read any Donovan penned novel.)

D) Is this site ok to make comments or would you prefer I setup an email list?

I purpose we decide by Thursday and announce it to the group. To keep the newsgroup from getting confused I'll make a place for the discussion here (or set up a new group...depending on what everyone prefers...)

Posted by Chuck Welch on November 10, 2005 1:13 AM | | Comments (13)

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