Another Throwback Thursday for you my faithful readers... both of you! I dug into the archives and pulled out this review that I did for a magazine that does reprints of the old Doc Savage Pulp stories. I honestly don't remember who or what I wrote this for so the blog seems like a good place for it.
This is a bit different review for me. I’ve always been a big fan of the old pulp
novels of the 1930s and especially fond of the Doc Savage character. When I
found that a company called Nostalgia Ventures had started reprinting some of
the stories that appeared in the old magazines and novellas I had to get my
hands on a couple to check out.
Volume 13 reprints a couple Doc Savage stories. The first
one is Brand of the Werewolf. This story finds Doc Savage and his friends
heading to Canada to visit one of the few living members of Doc’s family. But
on the train trip to the remote location attempts are made on the lives of
Savage’s companions and he is framed for killing the conductor! These are
merely roadblocks trying to keep Savage from making it to his vacation. Unbeknownst
to him some criminals are up to no good near his cousin’s cabin and will do
anything to prevent his arrival. This includes murdering anyone that gets in
their way. Eventually Doc and his men arrive and unravel a mystery that
involves some buried treasure.
The second story in the book is called Fear Cay. This one
finds Doc being attacked on the streets of New York by some criminals. Savage
is too clever for them and soon gets away, but not before figuring out that
some larger organization had hired them to assassinate him. It might have
something to do with the person trying to reach him regarding a mysterious
organization called Fountain of Youth, Inc. Before you know it they are flying
off to the keys off Florida in search of a mysterious island that may or may
not hold the secret of eternal youth. Toss in some flesh-eating ants, lots of
gunplay, and a 130-year-old man and you are in for some fun.
I really enjoyed both of these stories. There is just
something that I really enjoy about these old adventure stories that make them
unlike anything being done today. Perhaps it is nostalgia, but they are fun. I
will say that the dialogue, language, and general writing style might be a bit
much for a new reader. But stick with it and once you get used to it the stories
flow nicely. These old pulp adventures are a blast and inspired so many of today’s
biggest movies/characters that it is worth checking them out.
Volume 13 also includes a nice write up connection the
stories (they both feature Doc Savage’s female cousin Pat), as well as a cool
bit about the radio adaptation of Fear Cay in the 1980s by NPR. There is also a
small one-page autobiography about the writer responsible for both stories,
Lester Dent. So not only do you get some great stories, but you get to learn a
bit about the character of Doc Savage and the history behind the stories. I
will warn you that these pulp stories can be an acquired taste, but if you have
read them before or want to try them then I do recommend checking out Volume 13
of Doc Savage. For more information on
this on the other nifty products from Nostalgia Ventures head over to http://www.radioarchives.com/
© Copyright 2018 John Shatzer
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