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Doc Savage (Bantam) #188
Flight into Fear
In this first adventure of Doc Savage, he is targeted for assassination by the Kremlin and fated for a confrontation with a nemesis more violent and vicious than any he has faced before, the Man of Bronze must evade a faceless executioner known only as The Red Widow - a mistress of disguise and empress of pain, as well as a soul-devouring human spider prepared to strike without warning. #1 Death Sentence #2 War Talk #3 Unwelcome Welcome #4 Moonwinx #5 Bronze Man #6 Unpleasant Discovery #7 Arrest #8 Moonwinx, Actual #9 The Useful Widow #10 Rendezvous in Evanger #11 Two Black Sheep #12 A Wall Closing In #13 Violence for Breakfast #14 Passenger Unknown #15 Dark Encounter #16 The Shortening Rope #17 The Bottom Fell Out #18 Flight #19 Journey Into Mystery #20 Tundra Turmoil #21 Kill a Red Widow #22 The Moon Winked Back
Audio CD
First published February 1, 1993
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87 people want to read
About the author
Kenneth Robeson
915 books134 followersKenneth 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
March 4, 2017
Taking a hero and depriving of all their tropes is an idea that has a long history and works to the current day. Think of Iron Man III with Tony Stark's simple conclusion, "You can take away my house, all my tricks and toys. One thing you can't take away...I am Iron Man."
This book does something similar with Doc Savage. His secret gadgets and super amazing vehicles are gone as are his awesome team of partners, yet what's left isn't Doc Savage. Doc Savage, the Bronze Man of the 1930s who is almost other worldly in his bearing and has a very precise way of speaking has become a walking series of hard boiled clichés. Some of this can legitimately be blamed on him going undercover as a hard boiled criminal named Banner as part of his espionage mission, but Doc's entire personality and bearing has changed so has the character's practically unrecognizable.
He's on a mission behind enemy lines during the Cold War and his whole charade as Banner has been to set up this mission which he almost doesn't go on, which is understandable given who accompanies him. Instead of Ham and Monk, Doc is saddled with two annoying and unlikable security agents. The senior and more annoying agent is Dryden, a good man once (or so the narrator tells us) until one mission behind enemy lines, he's now a lush. Breckenridge is younger and unbelievably immature for the job he holds. Both are whiny, insufferable, and make the entire mission far more difficult than it needs to be.
So why is Doc on this mission anyway? A genius with almost unlimited financial resources and his own fortress of solitude could probably do far better for his country during the Cold War than playing cloak and dagger with a drunk and a wet behind his ears younger agent. In addition, due to Doc's striking appearance, he requires more make than a movie Batman villain to not stick out. So he's not the best top secret operative. The thing is that Doc has a contract out on him by the Soviet government and the person who is set to carry out the contract is the sinister Red Widow, a figure that strikes terror in both Doc's heart and Dryden's. Given all that Doc has faced, the idea that there's someone who absolutely strikes terror in Doc's heart is actually a brilliantly. It's just not well-executed. It's emphasized too many times. They only meet twice and they never have that true full on confrontation. Plus, the way the Widow plot is resolved isn't really satisfying.
The pacing on this is slow. It seems to take forever to get out of New York City after interminable conversations and they spend far too much time on the boat. The action picks up but it's more than 80% through the book before it finds a good pace.
But it does find its pace and there are some good moments. While Doc's confrontation of Paul Poltov in the Bar was a bit of character, it was really fun. When they did finally leave the boat, it was exciting. Plus the book was written by Will Murray which means that even when the book was bad, it had moments when it felt like it was so bad, it's good.
So bottom line, if you're looking for a book that feels like Doc Savage, this isn't for you. If you want something that's ridiculously over the top with how bad it is with a few good action bits thrown in, you might enjoy it.
This book does something similar with Doc Savage. His secret gadgets and super amazing vehicles are gone as are his awesome team of partners, yet what's left isn't Doc Savage. Doc Savage, the Bronze Man of the 1930s who is almost other worldly in his bearing and has a very precise way of speaking has become a walking series of hard boiled clichés. Some of this can legitimately be blamed on him going undercover as a hard boiled criminal named Banner as part of his espionage mission, but Doc's entire personality and bearing has changed so has the character's practically unrecognizable.
He's on a mission behind enemy lines during the Cold War and his whole charade as Banner has been to set up this mission which he almost doesn't go on, which is understandable given who accompanies him. Instead of Ham and Monk, Doc is saddled with two annoying and unlikable security agents. The senior and more annoying agent is Dryden, a good man once (or so the narrator tells us) until one mission behind enemy lines, he's now a lush. Breckenridge is younger and unbelievably immature for the job he holds. Both are whiny, insufferable, and make the entire mission far more difficult than it needs to be.
So why is Doc on this mission anyway? A genius with almost unlimited financial resources and his own fortress of solitude could probably do far better for his country during the Cold War than playing cloak and dagger with a drunk and a wet behind his ears younger agent. In addition, due to Doc's striking appearance, he requires more make than a movie Batman villain to not stick out. So he's not the best top secret operative. The thing is that Doc has a contract out on him by the Soviet government and the person who is set to carry out the contract is the sinister Red Widow, a figure that strikes terror in both Doc's heart and Dryden's. Given all that Doc has faced, the idea that there's someone who absolutely strikes terror in Doc's heart is actually a brilliantly. It's just not well-executed. It's emphasized too many times. They only meet twice and they never have that true full on confrontation. Plus, the way the Widow plot is resolved isn't really satisfying.
The pacing on this is slow. It seems to take forever to get out of New York City after interminable conversations and they spend far too much time on the boat. The action picks up but it's more than 80% through the book before it finds a good pace.
But it does find its pace and there are some good moments. While Doc's confrontation of Paul Poltov in the Bar was a bit of character, it was really fun. When they did finally leave the boat, it was exciting. Plus the book was written by Will Murray which means that even when the book was bad, it had moments when it felt like it was so bad, it's good.
So bottom line, if you're looking for a book that feels like Doc Savage, this isn't for you. If you want something that's ridiculously over the top with how bad it is with a few good action bits thrown in, you might enjoy it.
December 5, 2021
This was as far from a Doc Savage characterization that I have ever read. The story takes place after World War II, and has Doc once again working for the US government. This time to try and transport a top secret radio apparatus into Russia. Will Murray created this through a heavily edited unpublished work from Lester Dent, and it was not a manuscript intended to feature Doc Savage.
Reasons why it just doesn't work as a Doc Savage novel are many. First off, the author repeatedly tries to display/show/represent Doc Savage as being scared of a female Russian assassin that is out to get him. Second, Doc's physical prowess is significantly diminished in combat, endurance, and general athletic ability. Third, rather than have any of his five companions with him he has two members of a US government agency with him. And it seems Murray tries to imbue these two agents with some of the traits of Doc's normal companions but also to make them woefully inadequate in spite of them supposedly being experienced spies.
Reasons why it just doesn't work as a Doc Savage novel are many. First off, the author repeatedly tries to display/show/represent Doc Savage as being scared of a female Russian assassin that is out to get him. Second, Doc's physical prowess is significantly diminished in combat, endurance, and general athletic ability. Third, rather than have any of his five companions with him he has two members of a US government agency with him. And it seems Murray tries to imbue these two agents with some of the traits of Doc's normal companions but also to make them woefully inadequate in spite of them supposedly being experienced spies.
February 8, 2022
I love the classic Doc Savage novels: the thrill of adventure, the heart-stopping cliffhanger chapter endings, the original Man of Bronze bravado. Unfortunately, this entry to the series has none of these qualities. The "adventure" is actually pretty dull, consisting of Doc Savage in a ridiculous disguise nursemaiding two whining U.S. Government agents on a trip to Russia, the cliffhangers are more like "curb-hangers" at best, and Doc Savage himself is portrayed as nervous, fearful, and a mere shadow of his larger-than-life self. Granted, much of the story, Doc is pretending to be someone else, so his true personality doesn't shine, but even in the moments where he has the opportunity to be himself, his charm and confidence does not surface. I feel that the writers for this installment really do not understand the character of Doc Savage, and wrote this as a poor spy novel with highly unlikable heroes and colorless villains. I'll dive back into the original stories of Doc from now on, and pass on the newer attempts at a pulp fiction fixture.
November 23, 2016
Despite having one of the best covers of the Bantam paperback series, this is not a very good Doc Savage novel in the traditional sense. It's an entertaining espionage story, but just doesn't have the right feel of the rest of the series. Will Murray rewrote an unpublished spy novel that Lester Dent wrote as a late-in-the-game solo Doc adventure. It's not a bad story in and of itself, but is of only peripheral interest to long time fans.
December 23, 2018
Not a true Doc Savage story but a Lester Dent espionage story re-worked to be a DS adventure. Doesn't cut it.
November 2, 2018
This is the first volume of a new audio series of Doc Savage novels and sadly it is a mixed bag of potential and problems. On the good side, the reader is quite good and the novel focuses exclusively on Doc Savage. I have never been a big fan of Doc’s companions who mostly seem to fill the role of comic relief, so I was pleased by the opportunity to focus solely on Doc. That Doc was acting undercover as a brutish and not particularly bright thug named Banner didn’t, in and of itself, reduce this pleasure as it seemed a mechanism for making Doc act even more cleverly than usual as he sought to maintain his character without actually crippling or murdering anyone.
The set up of the novel is that the U.S. government has asked Doc to help them solve a problem (the nature of which he does not immediately know) and in preparation he has assumed the Banner disguise and spent months establishing the character in Russia and Eastern Europe. He is willing to do this in part because the Soviet Union has put a price on his head and sent their best assassin, a woman called the “Red Widow” to kill him. The reader is quickly convinced that Doc is terrified of this assassin, which is such an un-Doc-like response that it immediately made her seem extremely dangerous.
Doc’s problems really begin when he returns to the U.S. to receive his assignment and is so troubled by the unprofessional manner of the government operatives who control the project that he decides it is in his best interests to withdraw from the assignment. This causes panic and outrage among the government agents and in an attempt to convince Doc to stay on the job, Doc is brought to meet the head of the organization even though his subordinates know he is stinking drunk and broken after an encounter of his own with the Red Widow some months past. This is where the novel begins to break down. Doc is a genius who also has uncommonly good common sense. While the details of the superior’s encounter with the Red Widow are never given, it certainly seems a reasonable assumption that she broke him and he is now working for the Soviets. Yet Doc agrees to journey secretly into Russia carrying secret radio equipment with both the alcoholic superior and the indiscreet subordinate accompanying him.
For the next third of the novel, the plot goes to hell. Doc discovers that the ship they are traveling on is crewed secretly and entirely by a Soviet crew. Why this crew doesn’t just confiscate the boxes of radio equipment and capture Doc and his companions is unclear. Why Doc would be so foolish as to tempt an alcoholic with a crate of Irish whiskey (which he says is medicine for reindeer bites) is also unfathomable. Why he would let the drunken alcoholic then try to take control of the ship single-handedly is even more perplexing. Why the ship’s crew doesn’t then kill, or imprison, Doc and his companions for having penetrated their disguise and attempting mutiny…well you get the point. The whole middle of the book makes no sense what-so-ever. And is especially frustrating that the drunk and his subordinate blame Doc for everything they themselves caused to go wrong.
After this things get somewhat better as Doc attempts to salvage the mission. If you can make it through the middle, you’ll probably enjoy the end. These story was enjoyable, but if I didn’t already like Doc Savage and have a couple dozen of the original series novels and his comic books under my belt, I probably would give this a lower rating.
The set up of the novel is that the U.S. government has asked Doc to help them solve a problem (the nature of which he does not immediately know) and in preparation he has assumed the Banner disguise and spent months establishing the character in Russia and Eastern Europe. He is willing to do this in part because the Soviet Union has put a price on his head and sent their best assassin, a woman called the “Red Widow” to kill him. The reader is quickly convinced that Doc is terrified of this assassin, which is such an un-Doc-like response that it immediately made her seem extremely dangerous.
Doc’s problems really begin when he returns to the U.S. to receive his assignment and is so troubled by the unprofessional manner of the government operatives who control the project that he decides it is in his best interests to withdraw from the assignment. This causes panic and outrage among the government agents and in an attempt to convince Doc to stay on the job, Doc is brought to meet the head of the organization even though his subordinates know he is stinking drunk and broken after an encounter of his own with the Red Widow some months past. This is where the novel begins to break down. Doc is a genius who also has uncommonly good common sense. While the details of the superior’s encounter with the Red Widow are never given, it certainly seems a reasonable assumption that she broke him and he is now working for the Soviets. Yet Doc agrees to journey secretly into Russia carrying secret radio equipment with both the alcoholic superior and the indiscreet subordinate accompanying him.
For the next third of the novel, the plot goes to hell. Doc discovers that the ship they are traveling on is crewed secretly and entirely by a Soviet crew. Why this crew doesn’t just confiscate the boxes of radio equipment and capture Doc and his companions is unclear. Why Doc would be so foolish as to tempt an alcoholic with a crate of Irish whiskey (which he says is medicine for reindeer bites) is also unfathomable. Why he would let the drunken alcoholic then try to take control of the ship single-handedly is even more perplexing. Why the ship’s crew doesn’t then kill, or imprison, Doc and his companions for having penetrated their disguise and attempting mutiny…well you get the point. The whole middle of the book makes no sense what-so-ever. And is especially frustrating that the drunk and his subordinate blame Doc for everything they themselves caused to go wrong.
After this things get somewhat better as Doc attempts to salvage the mission. If you can make it through the middle, you’ll probably enjoy the end. These story was enjoyable, but if I didn’t already like Doc Savage and have a couple dozen of the original series novels and his comic books under my belt, I probably would give this a lower rating.
January 19, 2018
Flight into Fear is one of a series of "new" Doc Savage novels written by Will Murray in the 1990s. Murray writes with the full permission of Lester Dent's estate. He is the acting literary agent for the estate. Many of his novels are based on unfinished works and outlines from Dent himself. Flight into Fear is supposed to be a rewrite of a 1952 work "The Red Lady".
I've seen the criticism of Murray's novels that the Doc character is not "the real Doc Savage". This feeling is abundant in Flight, but to be fair, Doc spends the entire novel in the character of an alias he has created for the mission, Banner. Banner is a brute--a ruthless mercenary who doesn't hesitate to transcend any boundaries that Doc is known for. I believe that both Murray--and Doc!--take advantage of this persona to take liberties and explore normally-hidden aspects of the character.
That being said, I didn't find the effect very convincing. Much of the dialog is clumsy, contrived, and mostly directionless. Banner, rather than just being a more brash version of Doc, frequently loses control of the situation but one never gets the sense that it is Doc's ingenuity that recovers.
The hardest part of the story for me to accept is how implausibly incompetent, petty, and immature the Special Security men are that Doc inexplicably agrees to escort into Soviet Russia at the height of the Cold War. These are supposed to be "the best of the best" at the spy game, but they come across as buffoons--not just flawed people.
The one aspect of the story I found interesting is the ham (amateur) radio angle. While not completely technically plausible, the connection between ham radio operators, the Special Security officer Peter Breckenridge's dream of retiring on his ham shack-equipped yacht, and the "secret weapon" that is the focus of the mission leaves a few interesting moments for someone familiar with ham radio. The gadget, codenamed "Moonwinx", is supposed to be a jamming-resistant early warning system that works by bouncing signals of the moon (what hams call EME--Earth-Moon-Earth).
The story ends a bit more strongly than expected given it's meandering climb, but overall it is neither a satisfying Doc book nor a satisfying spy thriller that happens to borrow the "Doc Savage" name.
I've seen the criticism of Murray's novels that the Doc character is not "the real Doc Savage". This feeling is abundant in Flight, but to be fair, Doc spends the entire novel in the character of an alias he has created for the mission, Banner. Banner is a brute--a ruthless mercenary who doesn't hesitate to transcend any boundaries that Doc is known for. I believe that both Murray--and Doc!--take advantage of this persona to take liberties and explore normally-hidden aspects of the character.
That being said, I didn't find the effect very convincing. Much of the dialog is clumsy, contrived, and mostly directionless. Banner, rather than just being a more brash version of Doc, frequently loses control of the situation but one never gets the sense that it is Doc's ingenuity that recovers.
The hardest part of the story for me to accept is how implausibly incompetent, petty, and immature the Special Security men are that Doc inexplicably agrees to escort into Soviet Russia at the height of the Cold War. These are supposed to be "the best of the best" at the spy game, but they come across as buffoons--not just flawed people.
The one aspect of the story I found interesting is the ham (amateur) radio angle. While not completely technically plausible, the connection between ham radio operators, the Special Security officer Peter Breckenridge's dream of retiring on his ham shack-equipped yacht, and the "secret weapon" that is the focus of the mission leaves a few interesting moments for someone familiar with ham radio. The gadget, codenamed "Moonwinx", is supposed to be a jamming-resistant early warning system that works by bouncing signals of the moon (what hams call EME--Earth-Moon-Earth).
The story ends a bit more strongly than expected given it's meandering climb, but overall it is neither a satisfying Doc book nor a satisfying spy thriller that happens to borrow the "Doc Savage" name.
September 17, 2020
I haven't read a Doc Savage book in many years so was excited to read this one but it was disappointing. It really was a novel written for another main character but then copied in Doc Savage's name. Doc Savage is the original superhero, trained from birth to excel physically, intellectually and mentally. The character in this book displays none of these traits. Doc Savage has trained in eastern philosophies and meditations so that he is able to ignore minor pains and distractions. The character in this book is constantly aware of how his muscles ache, how cold he is and is about as coordinated as the next man.
If you ignore the fact that it's not Doc Savage, the story is self is passable.
If you ignore the fact that it's not Doc Savage, the story is self is passable.
September 20, 2025
Amusing and pulp fiction but entertaining to a point. I loved the Doc Savage books in my youth. I thought they made great summer reading. Doc was as I remembered him but some of the other characters were very unrealistic. Even so, worth listening to.
December 26, 2018
A great, new Doc Savage adventure... celebrating Doc's 60th anniversary!
Read
August 13, 2020Doc Savage
October 1, 2021
Terrible. Like picking up a radio serial in the middle of the season. None or fun characters surrounding Doc as in the early ones; he's not a science, just a thug stronger than the others.
December 31, 2015
Doc Savage Flight into Fear expanded edition by Kenneth Robeson
***Possible Spoilers, so be warned!***
The Second World War is over, and the Russians have quickly gone from our allies to our bitter enemies. Doc Savage has been undercover for some time in the character of Banner, an extremely tough mercenary. He has built up a reputation for Banner as a ruthless man who might do anything. He has spent time in the Scandinavian countries and inside the USSR itself, one time escaping from one of Stalin’s infamous work camps.
Now, the USSR has placed a death sentence on Doc Savage and has a operative on his trail, a woman named Anna Gryahznyi. This woman is called “The Red Widow” and tales of her cruelty are so vile that even Doc cannot repress a shiver of fear. She is relentless, deadly, and a master of disguise.
Doc is certain he has already met her when a female agent is found sliced to bits. Doc has met a woman that seemed to be Eva Baker, the brutally murdered agent. He knows now that had she really known he was Doc Savage and not Banner the mercenary he would be dead. It shakes him.
Now he is on assignment to help two agents, Peter Breckinridge and Arthur Drayden smuggle Project Moonwinx into Russia. The way is filled with more danger than the three men know. People who claim to be helping are really hindering, their boat captain, a man named Paul Poltav who has had dealings with Banner before, goes past their destination. An extra passenger has came aboard during a routine stop that makes Banner and company fear that Anna Gryahznyi is now aboard.
Escaping the boat along with Nina Kirkguard, the co-captain, the group heads into the Urals with Poltav on their tail.
They face the ice and snow of the Russian tundra, the tender mercies of the native Nenet people, the guns of Poltav and company, and when things simply cannot get any worse—they do. Brushes with Soviet Work Camps nearby, an ambush in the snow, agents of Moscow hidden among the Nenet—what else could possibly go wrong?
The pace is fast and furious. This new addition addresses questions left by the first book and ups the menace rate exponentially.
There is a traitor among them…and somebody is going to die because of that betrayal. Will this stop Project Moonwinx before they can even get the antenna together and in operation?
I gave this book five plus out of five stars.
Quoth the Raven...
***Possible Spoilers, so be warned!***
The Second World War is over, and the Russians have quickly gone from our allies to our bitter enemies. Doc Savage has been undercover for some time in the character of Banner, an extremely tough mercenary. He has built up a reputation for Banner as a ruthless man who might do anything. He has spent time in the Scandinavian countries and inside the USSR itself, one time escaping from one of Stalin’s infamous work camps.
Now, the USSR has placed a death sentence on Doc Savage and has a operative on his trail, a woman named Anna Gryahznyi. This woman is called “The Red Widow” and tales of her cruelty are so vile that even Doc cannot repress a shiver of fear. She is relentless, deadly, and a master of disguise.
Doc is certain he has already met her when a female agent is found sliced to bits. Doc has met a woman that seemed to be Eva Baker, the brutally murdered agent. He knows now that had she really known he was Doc Savage and not Banner the mercenary he would be dead. It shakes him.
Now he is on assignment to help two agents, Peter Breckinridge and Arthur Drayden smuggle Project Moonwinx into Russia. The way is filled with more danger than the three men know. People who claim to be helping are really hindering, their boat captain, a man named Paul Poltav who has had dealings with Banner before, goes past their destination. An extra passenger has came aboard during a routine stop that makes Banner and company fear that Anna Gryahznyi is now aboard.
Escaping the boat along with Nina Kirkguard, the co-captain, the group heads into the Urals with Poltav on their tail.
They face the ice and snow of the Russian tundra, the tender mercies of the native Nenet people, the guns of Poltav and company, and when things simply cannot get any worse—they do. Brushes with Soviet Work Camps nearby, an ambush in the snow, agents of Moscow hidden among the Nenet—what else could possibly go wrong?
The pace is fast and furious. This new addition addresses questions left by the first book and ups the menace rate exponentially.
There is a traitor among them…and somebody is going to die because of that betrayal. Will this stop Project Moonwinx before they can even get the antenna together and in operation?
I gave this book five plus out of five stars.
Quoth the Raven...
August 22, 2014
I generally enjoy Will Murray's Doc Savage novels very much, but have to say that this one was largely a disappointment. I suppose that Doc was arguably in character in this book, but he certainly wasn't the Doc that I enjoy reading about. He spends most of the book practically disabled by fear of an enemy he's never met, frequently uses guns without worrying about them overmuch, is less than effective in combat, and worst of all is frequently unprepared or ineffective. And for a guy who has a fortress of solitude practically at the pole, he sure spends a lot of time complaining about the cold.
May 3, 2016
This may have been developed from an original Lester Dent script, but it was not what I expected from a Doc Savage book. It could have been any adventure story - there was no "Doc Savage" to this story at all! In addition, no mention at all of his colleagues, which is not altogether unheard of, but the combination of no use of Doc's powers and no friends totally failed to meet my expectations.
I read the first 60 or so Doc Savage books in the Bantam series and have seen a lot of variation, but this was waaayyy outside of that realm. If you are a true Doc Savage fan, give this one a pass.
I read the first 60 or so Doc Savage books in the Bantam series and have seen a lot of variation, but this was waaayyy outside of that realm. If you are a true Doc Savage fan, give this one a pass.
February 25, 2018
I started this story because I love the Doc Savage tales, I can tell it was from the latter days of Dent's stories when his publisher was requiring Doc's personality to be changed from what it originally was. I don't like the changes at the end, Doc always had his feelings under control and to me this is not the Doc I grew up enjoying. I continued with it because it was better than no Doc Savage tale at all that I had not read. I feel that this would have been a very good story if not for the publisher's meddling with a good thing.
August 2, 2022
When is a Doc Savage story not a Doc Savage story? When it was not written about him but his name is placed in the story a crazy number of times. Doc is never sleepy, cold, scared, unsure, or a poor planner yet here in Flight of Fear he is all those things. This story was originally planned as a post Doc Savage thriller featuring a character called Banner. Murray dusted off the story and made it a little more Doc like but not really enough. It is a solid spy thriller just not a Doc Savage story.
April 26, 2023
silly, over-pulpy, boring, Cold War mess
Who is the deadly Red Widow, and why does she have everyone shaking in their boots? Doc Savage/ Banner and a couple of very annoying allies are on a mission into the Soviet Union. Plot and writing are downright bad. Can't recommend this to anyone. A rare 1-star read for me. Didn't like this in the least!
Who is the deadly Red Widow, and why does she have everyone shaking in their boots? Doc Savage/ Banner and a couple of very annoying allies are on a mission into the Soviet Union. Plot and writing are downright bad. Can't recommend this to anyone. A rare 1-star read for me. Didn't like this in the least!
February 14, 2020
Sub-par execution of a sub-par spy story. I love pulp adventure and I don't ask it to be a literary masterpiece, I just ask that it not be boring. This didn't meet that low bar for me. I was really over it and just wanted it to be done by the time it was finished.
August 11, 2015
A different kind of Doc Savage story, as born out by the afterword. Still, a good take by Will Murray of Doc from the later novels.
May 3, 2016
read some time in 1993
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews