They Died Twice

Doc Savage (publication order; no omnibus) #117

by Lester Dent

Doc Savage: They Died Twice

Doc is lured into a strange memory machine and learns that his father had committed a crime. To right that wrong, Doc must divulge his best-kept secret. But it lands Doc and his crew in a lost valley as captives of an ancient tribe of savages. And the sacrificial rites have begun!

Second part of Sanctum Books double volume reprint with Poison Island. Includes radio teleplay "The Valley of the Vanished" by Lester Dent and essay "Radio Bronze" by Elizabeth McLeod and Anthony Tollin.

64 pages, Paperback

First published August 22, 2012

About the author

Lester Dent (1904–1959) was born in La Plata, Missouri. In his mid-twenties, he began publishing pulp fiction stories, and moved to New York City, where he developed the successful Doc Savage Magazine with Henry Ralston, head of Street and Smith, a leading pulp publisher. The magazine ran from 1933 until 1949 and included 181 novel-length stories, of which Dent wrote the vast majority under the house name Kenneth Robeson. He also published mystery novels in a variety of genres, including the Chance Molloy series about a self-made airline owner. Dent’s own life was quite adventurous; he prospected for gold in the Southwest, lived aboard a schooner for a few years, hunted treasure in the Caribbean, launched an aerial photography company, and was a member of the Explorer’s Club.

Reviews

[Randy D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story wasn’t previewed in The Laugh Of Death, but it sounded interesting, so I chose it as "next" on the list. I have downloaded several Doc Savage stories and plan on reading them all; I never read them when they were reprinted as the Bantam editions.

They Died Twice begins in a strange manner as Renny had been missing for a week. He seemed to be caught up in an elaborate scheme involving a strange apparatus called a “memory machine.” The old science fiction adage applies here … you don’t have to believe whatever the elaborate device happens to be in a sci-fi story to enjoy reading about it; the reader can apply that observation here in They Died Twice. We know, of course, there is no such thing as a “memory machine” on the eve of 2025, as I read this story … but nevertheless, it makes for an enjoyable reading experience. Who knows, perhaps in a hundred years or so, what seems impossible in 2024 could become a reality in that future time. Monk himself mentioned that radio was considered “impossible” until it became a reality.1

In regards to the story, Renny and Doc, on separate occasions, had their memories jogged by a “mad scientist’s” so-called “gift to mankind." Naturally, the bad guys are involved as they have plans for the naïve scientist’s invention. Chapter XII has Doc's crew in the secret Valley of The Vanished in the South American country of Hidalgo with two wrecked planes and at the mercy of the bad Mayan natives who have somehow changed since their previous visits. Doc and his father’s former friend are in another plane with the bad guys en route to the valley; their objective is to steal the immense quantity of Mayan gold after they dispose of Doc and his crew.

This story was published in November of 1942, so Lester works the war restrictions that are imposed on the general public into his story, making it a contemporary offering for his readers of the day and serving as an interesting historical perspective to those of us who are reading his story 82 years later. Anyway, we know who the bad guys are and what their motive is, but there is more to the story that we don’t know, so we read on.

Eventually, we learn who the real masterminds were (there were two … one of whom we didn’t suspect) and how they met their fate. Doc solves the mystery as to why he and his crew were treated the way they were by the Mayans upon their arrival, but everything is cleared up in the end. Since everything is once again on an even keel, Doc and his crew are planning to return to New York as soon as possible. But, they will suffer a slight delay as the planes are all out of commission.

But Long Tom had the foresight to check out the shortwave radio, which will undoubtedly provide the means for their return trip back to the States. Lester thoughtfully uses this incident as a way to preview the next thrilling adventure of which Doc and his crew will eventually partake; it involves a man with the strange name of “Donkey Sam.” The title of that next adventure is The Devil’s Black Rock. The title of this story is, “They Died Twice;” I would attempt to explain why Lester chose to title Doc’s five-star rated saga in such a manner, but it might give its unique ending away … and that would spoil a good story. *****

 

1.  They Died Twice; Chapter III, p. 25

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

They Died Twice is a novelty for a Doc Savage adventure. First, it marks the third trip by Doc Savage and his aides to the Valley of the Vanished. Second, while the underlying plot is the same as the original two (Doc contending for control of the Mayan gold against greed-maddened villains), the story is different as it sees Doc faced with the revelation his father was a crook, swindling a former partner of their share of the gold brought from the valley and promised by the Mayans as part of Doc's legacy.

[Henry Lopez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly strong and entertaining tale written during the WWII era.

The previous half-dozen stories from this period are mediocre and tepid at best. (and having a strange fixation on vitamins). This story harkened to the 1930s mode, with Doc and crew dealing with a perplexing fantastic machine and a visit (his last during the pulp era) to the Valley of the Vanished.

The ending felt rushed and had none of the finesse Dent used in his earlier tales compared to the stories immediately preceding it, it's a gem.

[Jeff J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story has some logic issues but like a typical pulp novel is full of action. A mediocre Doc Savage novel is still better than most of his contemporaries.

[Ronald · Rating 3 out of 5]

read some time in 1985