He Could Stop the World

Doc Savage (Bantam) #54

by Kenneth Robeson (House Name), Lawrence Donovan

The world was imperiled by a terrifying, malevolent force that had the power to change men's minds. Even Doc Savage's own men willingly deserted him when struck by the waves of the Mind Changing Monster. High in the Sierras, he lived in an incredible fortress-- ruthless, omnipotent, preparing to rule the world. But he hadn't reckoned on the superhuman powers of the Man of Bronze.

Genres: Adventure, Pulp, Fiction, Mystery, Action, Science Fiction, Fantasy

140 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 1937

About the author

Kenneth Robeson was the house name used by Street and Smith Publications as the author of their popular character Doc Savage and later The Avenger. Though most Doc Savage stories were written by the author Lester Dent, there were many others who contributed to the series, including:

William G. Bogart
Evelyn Coulson
Harold A. Davis
Lawrence Donovan
Alan Hathway
W. Ryerson Johnson

Lester Dent is usually considered to be the creator of Doc Savage. In the 1990s Philip José Farmer wrote a new Doc Savage adventure, but it was published under his own name and not by Robeson. Will Murray has since taken up the pseudonym and continued writing Doc Savage books as Robeson.

All 24 of the original stories featuring The Avenger were written by Paul Ernst, using the Robeson house name. In order to encourage sales Kenneth Robeson was credited on the cover of The Avenger magazine as "the creator of Doc Savage" even though Lester Dent had nothing to do with The Avenger series. In the 1970s, when the series was extended with 12 additional novels, Ron Goulart was hired to become Robeson.

Reviews

[Jeff J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly weak entry in the pulp series featuring Doc Savage. It's almost as if the author had a backlog of clever plot devices he chose to burn off all at once.

[Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh. That was my reaction. It started out intriguing. Some kind of a stratospheric ship that disappeared and is assumed lost somehow. Johnny is aboard that stratospheric ship and is assumed lost. But then the story turns away from this beginning and really doesn’t mention this stratospheric ship again. It doesn’t play a role in the rest of the story. A pity.

Doc and long Tom are working the case in NYC. A new weapon is used against people that hypnotizes them and the follow the will of “the master.” Monk and Ham are on the West Coast before traveling east to Denver where they are captured. They are captured because for some reason, they are traveling without their machine pistols! Pat and a beautiful girl (are there any other kind) are captured. Pat is described as having blonde hair!?! Wtf Lawrence? But Habeus is now describe sir Lawrence as being an Arabian hog. He finally got with the program.

The one frustrating feature is that the bad guys easily defeat Doc’s security features of his headquarters. It’s literally a joke how easily his offices are penetrated, ransacked, items destroyed and people kidnapped. Really?

Another silly plot point is that Walther is ten feet tall and yet he easily fits in Doc’s plane. Granted, he is laying down. But how many planes would be designed with that much extra space?

Doc’s newest airplane is now capable of traveling at 400 mls per hr.

Doc and all of his men, except for Renny who is in Japan, are pulled in to the story. Even Pat is part of the plot.

This book was published July 1937 and was authored by Lawrence Donovan.

[Davec426913 · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am almost convinced that this novel was written as a spoof - a mockery, an irreverent mish mash of every Doc Savage novel that went before it.

(Spoilers)

How about a fantastical futuristic airship? Got it! But if one is good, why not two? A vastly larger airship hanging around in the wings.
How about...

Gigantic men? Got it. But one type of gigantic men isn't enough, let's have a second, completely unrelated way of making people look like giants.
AND
A magical hypno-ray that can reach anywhere in the world and target a single person.
AND
A death ray, that turns people into ash. And can reach anywhere instantly.
AND
A fantastical secret city built of fantastical materials.
AND
A glowing red mist that affects men's minds.
AND
A spontaneous volcanic eruption (that seemed to serve no other purpose than dramatic effect.)
AND
A super futuristic (magical) energy source that can power anything - and see, hear and strike anywhere, any time.


Did the author miss ANY of the Doc Savage tropes?

I wasn't well-written either. In many passages the sentences were so short (like, four words) and disjointed that I wondered if it had been written by a child - or an AI.

[Mark Harris · Rating 2 out of 5]

A half dozen promising science-fiction elements unsatisfyingly presented and mostly unexplained. Should be great to have rocket ships, atom-smashing “supercosmic waves” from the stratosphere, a secret city in the mountains, rays that change people into giants, rays that flip a person’s views and opinions 180 degrees, a death-dealing blue vapor that turns people to white ashes, but it’s not. Also Pat Savage is thrown in for no good reason. Obviously Lester Dent did not write this one; Lawrence Donovan did.

[Tim · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love the Doc Savage tales, but the adventures not written by Lester Dent sometimes can be painful. This one isn't quite the straight-on kick to the nuts some of the Laurence Donovan-penned novels are, but it's close — maybe a careless, grazing knee to the sack. It's outlandish, nonsensical and of course badly written, but the overall idea has a certain bombastic panache.

[John Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

A messy Doc NOT written by Lester Dent that feels like a bunch of note/treatments for future novels mashed together. However, I enjoyed the chapter set in Denver because it gave me the 1937 perspective and description of my capitol city. Your mileage may vary.

[Keith B · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 for nostalgia.

One of the more fantastic (as in fantasy) Sci-Fi novels. Perfect for it's time though!

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first Doc Savage story appeared in 1933 and the series ran in pulp and later digest format into 1949. Bantam reprinted the entire series in paperback with wonderful, iconic covers starting in the 1960's. Doc was arguably the first great modern superhero with a rich background, continuity, and mythos. The characterizations were far richer than was common for the pulps; his five associates and their sometimes-auxiliary, Doc's cousin Pat, and the pets Chemistry and Habeas Corpus, all had very distinctive characteristics and their byplay was frequently more entertaining that the current adventure-of-the-month. The settings were also fascinating: Doc's Fortress of Solitude, the Hidalgo Trading Company (which served as a front for his armada of vehicles), and especially the mysterious 86th floor headquarters all became familiar haunts to the reader, and the far-flung adventures took the intrepid band to exotic and richly-described locations all over the world. The adventures were always fast-paced and exciting, from the early apocalyptic world-saving extravaganzas of the early days to the latter scientific-detective style shorter works of the post-World War Two years. There were always a few points that it was difficult to believe along the way, but there were always more ups than downs, and there was never, ever a dull moment. The Doc Savage books have always been my favorite entertainments... I was always, as Johnny would say, superamalgamated!

[Little Timmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the pulp era heroes few stand out above the crowd, Doc Savage is one of these. With his 5 aides and cousin he adventures across the world. Fighting weird menaces, master criminals and evil scientists Doc and the Fab 5 never let you down for a great read. These stories have all you need; fast paced action, weird mystery, and some humor as the aides spat with each other. My highest recommendation.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5, really. This story is impressively epic—giants, burning snow, mind control, disintegration, a mad scientist plotting to become a benevolent world dictator—but reading the series in sequence, it's too obvious how much it borrows from Laurence Donovan's previous Haunted Ocean and Men Who Smiled No More.