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All-New Wild Adventures of Doc Savage #21
Doc Savage: Mr. Calamity
TWO DOC SAVAGE ADVENTURES IN ONE VOLUME!
Prospecting in the Wyoming badlands, Patricia Savage spies a man swimming in circles––high in a cloudless sky! After he falls to his death, the dead swimmer is discovered soaked to the skin. Who is he? How did he manage to swim through thin air?
These are the questions Pat sets out to answer when her cousin, the famous scientist-adventurer Doc Savage, diagnoses her account as a hallucination caused by altitude sickness. But when the bronze-skinned girl vanishes, the Man of Bronze is forced to take action.
From the Bighorn Mountains to Devil’s Tower, Doc Savage and his mighty crew race against time to avert an impending tragedy created by a nebulous devil in human form who calls himself Mr. Calamity.
BONUS NOVEL: A letter from Doc’s long-dead father presents him with a life-changing challenge that brings him to The Valley of Eternity….and the Man of Bronze does the unthinkable: he ditches his loyal aides in favor of his cousin, Patricia––the only one who can help him succeed in the most perilous quest of his entire career.
Prospecting in the Wyoming badlands, Patricia Savage spies a man swimming in circles––high in a cloudless sky! After he falls to his death, the dead swimmer is discovered soaked to the skin. Who is he? How did he manage to swim through thin air?
These are the questions Pat sets out to answer when her cousin, the famous scientist-adventurer Doc Savage, diagnoses her account as a hallucination caused by altitude sickness. But when the bronze-skinned girl vanishes, the Man of Bronze is forced to take action.
From the Bighorn Mountains to Devil’s Tower, Doc Savage and his mighty crew race against time to avert an impending tragedy created by a nebulous devil in human form who calls himself Mr. Calamity.
BONUS NOVEL: A letter from Doc’s long-dead father presents him with a life-changing challenge that brings him to The Valley of Eternity….and the Man of Bronze does the unthinkable: he ditches his loyal aides in favor of his cousin, Patricia––the only one who can help him succeed in the most perilous quest of his entire career.
- GenresMystery
593 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 8, 2018
14 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
Kenneth Robeson
918 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 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 15, 2018
Mr. Calamity is actually a double barreled Doc Savage adventure, as it includes a second bonus volume, The Valley of Eternity. (In a way this might be considered a tip of the hat to the Bantam reprints of Doc's adventures, which were republished as "double novels" for a while.) We are going to look at each book separately, which may make this one incredibly long review. Let's begin:
Mr Calamity
I have never been a big fan of Westerns-they are just not my cup of tea-but there is something about the image of Doc Savage on horseback in the Wyoming badlands with a Stetson perched on his head I find appealing. Pat Savage (Doc's cousin) is a guest of Long Tom Roberts, who has inherited a remote piece of property. Long Tom wants to use the solitude to conduct his electrical experiments. Pat wants to prospect and hunt up a gold claim. When Pat sees a man fall to his death after he is mysteriously witnessed swimming in the sky, she is forced to call in her cousin Clark Savage Jr. One of the things I enjoyed about this adventure was the total absence of Monk and Ham. Both are immensely popular characters in the Doc Savage series (I love these guys) but as a result they are arguably overused. In Mr. Calamity we get to see Pat, Long Tom, Renny and Johnny instead, characters who do not get the spotlight as often. Monk and Ham are on an ocean liner bound for England (page 316) and thus unavailable. We get treated to quite a tangled web of intrigue in Mr. Calamity, featured dueling villains, mule rustling, a surprise Big Bad, attempted lynching, and the partial negation of gravity. (This is not a spoiler-look on the cover. Long time readers of this series will recognize what is causing this phenomenon immediately but I am not spilling the beans here.)
So where does this novel fall in the Soc Savage chronology? Long time readers of these reviews will know this is a game I love to play. Recently I have learned there are numerous timelines and resources available regarding this very subject. However I don't have access to those. What I do have is my battered copy of Phil Farmer's Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life with my notes penciled in, my common sense, and my less than encyclopedic or photographic recollections of all the Doc Savage novels I have read. So I am doing the best I can, and here goes: Author Will Murray scatters a number of clues throughout Mr. Calamity for the (hopefully astute) reader to find. Highlights: We are told on page 48 that the month is September. Murray describes a field of Indian paintbrushes as being in bloom, and that particular flower does bloom in that month. Pat is described as being in her twenties, and we know her birthday falls sometime in 1914. World War Two has yet to occur-we only reference the First World War or "The Big Scrap" (pages 74 and 54, respectively.) The events of Brand of the Werewolf and Repel AKA The Deadly Dwarf are referenced and both adventures take place "several years ago" or "a few years back" though not necessarily the same number of years. Werewolf takes place in 1932 while Repel takes place in 1936. (Also Six Scarlet Scorpions is referred to, an adventure I believe occurred in June of 1937.) So we are pretty much forced to put this adventure in September of 1940. The action in Poison Island starts in September 4th, 1938- there is just not time for the events of Mr. Calamity to occur in that year. A similar situation exists regarding the events of The Golden Man which take place in September of 39. 1937 is negated as not enough time has passed after the events of Repel (1936, remember?) to make those events occur "a few years back." There appears to be a sweet spot between The Headless Men and Peril in the North in which to place Mr. Calamity. The moon is full during Mr. Calamity-a quick check of meteorological records shows that occurs around the 16th of September. So that is when the action starts-mid September 1940.
The Valley of Eternity
The Valley of Eternity is so chock full of references to previous adventures it is hard to keep track of them all. This novel not only features Pat Savage and all the members of the Fabulous Five (Monk Mayfair, Ham Brooks, Renny Renwick, Long Tom Roberts and Johnny Littlejohn) but there is a cameo featuring Habeus Corpus and Chemistry, Monk and Ham's pets, who are also beloved characters. We also see the return of a few additional "old friends" I won't name-readers who are familiar with the series will be able to tell who I am talking about just from the title of the book. In this novel we see Doc engage in perhaps his most dangerous quest ever. Valley gives us something a lot of the other Doc Savage novels never do-characterization. Remember most of the original pulps were written as rapidly as possible, and their focus was on action. Here we have the luxury of being able to focus on other things-there is room for more character development and we are privy to Doc's internal monologue, and we get to learn some very interesting things. None of which am I going to tell you, of course. Whether by accident or design Will Murray has been building up to this novel for a while-this novel builds off events that take place in Phantom Lagoon and The Secret of Satan's Spine. We know World War Two has ended and Bonampak has recently been discovered-that discovery takes place in 1946. The action begins on Doc's birthday which is November 12, 1901. So we can slot this in between The Disappearing Lady and the Death Lady, November 1946, which puts it appropriately enough near but not at the end of Doc's original set of recorded adventures. Doc is obviously feeling the yoke of his own mortality here-he pays a visit to The Hidalgo Trading Company (the launch point for many a Doc Savage adventure) and we find things are getting a little dusty and neglected. Doc is in his mid forties at this point and has survived innumerable perils but he is starting to if not regret then reexamine his life choices. I have no idea if Will Murray is going to continue to write these, but if this was the last new Doc Savage adventure we see, The Valley of Eternity was a great high note to go out on.
Mr Calamity
I have never been a big fan of Westerns-they are just not my cup of tea-but there is something about the image of Doc Savage on horseback in the Wyoming badlands with a Stetson perched on his head I find appealing. Pat Savage (Doc's cousin) is a guest of Long Tom Roberts, who has inherited a remote piece of property. Long Tom wants to use the solitude to conduct his electrical experiments. Pat wants to prospect and hunt up a gold claim. When Pat sees a man fall to his death after he is mysteriously witnessed swimming in the sky, she is forced to call in her cousin Clark Savage Jr. One of the things I enjoyed about this adventure was the total absence of Monk and Ham. Both are immensely popular characters in the Doc Savage series (I love these guys) but as a result they are arguably overused. In Mr. Calamity we get to see Pat, Long Tom, Renny and Johnny instead, characters who do not get the spotlight as often. Monk and Ham are on an ocean liner bound for England (page 316) and thus unavailable. We get treated to quite a tangled web of intrigue in Mr. Calamity, featured dueling villains, mule rustling, a surprise Big Bad, attempted lynching, and the partial negation of gravity. (This is not a spoiler-look on the cover. Long time readers of this series will recognize what is causing this phenomenon immediately but I am not spilling the beans here.)
So where does this novel fall in the Soc Savage chronology? Long time readers of these reviews will know this is a game I love to play. Recently I have learned there are numerous timelines and resources available regarding this very subject. However I don't have access to those. What I do have is my battered copy of Phil Farmer's Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life with my notes penciled in, my common sense, and my less than encyclopedic or photographic recollections of all the Doc Savage novels I have read. So I am doing the best I can, and here goes: Author Will Murray scatters a number of clues throughout Mr. Calamity for the (hopefully astute) reader to find. Highlights: We are told on page 48 that the month is September. Murray describes a field of Indian paintbrushes as being in bloom, and that particular flower does bloom in that month. Pat is described as being in her twenties, and we know her birthday falls sometime in 1914. World War Two has yet to occur-we only reference the First World War or "The Big Scrap" (pages 74 and 54, respectively.) The events of Brand of the Werewolf and Repel AKA The Deadly Dwarf are referenced and both adventures take place "several years ago" or "a few years back" though not necessarily the same number of years. Werewolf takes place in 1932 while Repel takes place in 1936. (Also Six Scarlet Scorpions is referred to, an adventure I believe occurred in June of 1937.) So we are pretty much forced to put this adventure in September of 1940. The action in Poison Island starts in September 4th, 1938- there is just not time for the events of Mr. Calamity to occur in that year. A similar situation exists regarding the events of The Golden Man which take place in September of 39. 1937 is negated as not enough time has passed after the events of Repel (1936, remember?) to make those events occur "a few years back." There appears to be a sweet spot between The Headless Men and Peril in the North in which to place Mr. Calamity. The moon is full during Mr. Calamity-a quick check of meteorological records shows that occurs around the 16th of September. So that is when the action starts-mid September 1940.
The Valley of Eternity
The Valley of Eternity is so chock full of references to previous adventures it is hard to keep track of them all. This novel not only features Pat Savage and all the members of the Fabulous Five (Monk Mayfair, Ham Brooks, Renny Renwick, Long Tom Roberts and Johnny Littlejohn) but there is a cameo featuring Habeus Corpus and Chemistry, Monk and Ham's pets, who are also beloved characters. We also see the return of a few additional "old friends" I won't name-readers who are familiar with the series will be able to tell who I am talking about just from the title of the book. In this novel we see Doc engage in perhaps his most dangerous quest ever. Valley gives us something a lot of the other Doc Savage novels never do-characterization. Remember most of the original pulps were written as rapidly as possible, and their focus was on action. Here we have the luxury of being able to focus on other things-there is room for more character development and we are privy to Doc's internal monologue, and we get to learn some very interesting things. None of which am I going to tell you, of course. Whether by accident or design Will Murray has been building up to this novel for a while-this novel builds off events that take place in Phantom Lagoon and The Secret of Satan's Spine. We know World War Two has ended and Bonampak has recently been discovered-that discovery takes place in 1946. The action begins on Doc's birthday which is November 12, 1901. So we can slot this in between The Disappearing Lady and the Death Lady, November 1946, which puts it appropriately enough near but not at the end of Doc's original set of recorded adventures. Doc is obviously feeling the yoke of his own mortality here-he pays a visit to The Hidalgo Trading Company (the launch point for many a Doc Savage adventure) and we find things are getting a little dusty and neglected. Doc is in his mid forties at this point and has survived innumerable perils but he is starting to if not regret then reexamine his life choices. I have no idea if Will Murray is going to continue to write these, but if this was the last new Doc Savage adventure we see, The Valley of Eternity was a great high note to go out on.
June 25, 2018
This volume contains two new Doc Savage stories, Mr. Calamity and The Valley of Eternity. Mr. Calamity is by far the longer of the two. (Too long, in my opinion.) It's set in the American West and features the return of the substance from the original adventure Repel. I believe it's the first adventure to lack both Monk and Ham; Pat and the other three members of the Fab Five are on hand, and I enjoyed reading it. The Valley of Eternity is my favorite of the Doc stories in my relatively-recently-read memory. Pat and the whole gang are on hand, as are lots and lots of the iconic characters and places and gimcrackery from the whole run of the series. The story begins on Doc's birthday and the whole thing is pretty much a trip down memory lane (with footnotes even!). The plot isn't terribly convincing, but it's a whole lot of nostalgic fun.
March 29, 2018
While certainly not a bad novel, "Mr. Calamity" is one of the weaker Kenneth Robeson tales penned by Mr. Murray. The pacing is a bit sluggish, the villain(s) really not all that memorable, and the surprise reveal at the end... unsurprising. Still, it incorporates elements from a classic Doc adventure of the 1930s in a logical fashion. More importantly Will Murray GETS these characters. He captures their voices and personalities with unfailing accuracy and anything he writes with the Savages and the Amazing Five is going to be enjoyable regardless of the story framework they happen to be a part of. As for "The Valley of Eternity" it also remains true to Lester Dent's vision but still takes the series in a very different direction which undoubtedly gives Doc the greatest challenge of his eventful life. The comedic elements presented here flow naturally from the story's premise and make this a terrifically entertaining read. Highly recommended.
March 13, 2018
The long-awaited new novel, with the addition of a second!
Mr. Calamity was announced last year and has finally been released! This latest addition to the adventures of Clark Savage, Jr. is a tale highly to be honored and a must read for all fans of the Man of Bronze!
As Mr. Calamity opens, Long Tom Roberts has inherited a small ranch in the badlands of Wyoming. Deciding it is the perfect remote location for his electrical experiments; Long Tom moves in and hires a foreman named Laramie. Not that a foreman is needed since the ranch has only one cow!
Pat Savage shows up at Long Tom’s door which doesn’t exactly make his day. Pat wants to use the ranch as a base for her prospecting. Long Tom is edgy, but he allows Pat her way.
There is a gang operating in the area that is stealing mules. The problem has reached a breaking point, and Long Tom and Pat find themselves nearly lynched, shot at, and even kidnapped. Pat even finds time to be placed in jail!
Pat watches in horror as a man is spotted swimming in midair near the stratosphere! His desperate moves are similar to a man trying not to drown! When his body eventually crashes back to earth, it is accompanied by a deluge of water—from a cloudless sky. He is very, very dead…
Then there is the strange man hanging around the area. Dressed in a laughable green jacket, he calls himself Mr. Calamity. When he fires a shot from his ancient shotgun all hell breaks loose. Something has been discovered and death is a long tip of falling up…
I found this book incredible! Will always puts so much action and adventure into his novels, and this one is no exception. He as has woven together so many villains who might be behind the Mr. Calamity crimes that discovering the truth is a real joy!
One thing I love about Will’s Doc Savage novels is his detail in research concerning the locale where the adventure takes place. For example, in this novel, there is mention of coal seams burning out of control. They are really there in the badlands of Wyoming.
To Will personally, I got a kick when Long Tom grabs the medical kit for Doc Savage and the kit contains Mercurochrome! I used to look like an ad for the stuff all summer back in the late 60’s!
The Valley of Eternity
Anyone familiar with Doc Savage’s backstory will recall how his father had him raised by teams of scientists and instructors. Even Doc has stated that he didn’t have much in the way of a childhood. He had very few friends. He was also totally ignorant of women. He has very few contacts in the original pulp magazines. When he does have to interact with the female of the species, to call him awkward is putting it mildly…
Then on Doc’s birthday, his father’s lawyer shows up with a letter. It seems that the elder Savage isn’t finished trying to interfere in Doc’s life. The letter tells Doc it is time to marry!
Both novels were terrific! I give them both five stars plus!
Quoth the Raven…
Mr. Calamity was announced last year and has finally been released! This latest addition to the adventures of Clark Savage, Jr. is a tale highly to be honored and a must read for all fans of the Man of Bronze!
As Mr. Calamity opens, Long Tom Roberts has inherited a small ranch in the badlands of Wyoming. Deciding it is the perfect remote location for his electrical experiments; Long Tom moves in and hires a foreman named Laramie. Not that a foreman is needed since the ranch has only one cow!
Pat Savage shows up at Long Tom’s door which doesn’t exactly make his day. Pat wants to use the ranch as a base for her prospecting. Long Tom is edgy, but he allows Pat her way.
There is a gang operating in the area that is stealing mules. The problem has reached a breaking point, and Long Tom and Pat find themselves nearly lynched, shot at, and even kidnapped. Pat even finds time to be placed in jail!
Pat watches in horror as a man is spotted swimming in midair near the stratosphere! His desperate moves are similar to a man trying not to drown! When his body eventually crashes back to earth, it is accompanied by a deluge of water—from a cloudless sky. He is very, very dead…
Then there is the strange man hanging around the area. Dressed in a laughable green jacket, he calls himself Mr. Calamity. When he fires a shot from his ancient shotgun all hell breaks loose. Something has been discovered and death is a long tip of falling up…
I found this book incredible! Will always puts so much action and adventure into his novels, and this one is no exception. He as has woven together so many villains who might be behind the Mr. Calamity crimes that discovering the truth is a real joy!
One thing I love about Will’s Doc Savage novels is his detail in research concerning the locale where the adventure takes place. For example, in this novel, there is mention of coal seams burning out of control. They are really there in the badlands of Wyoming.
To Will personally, I got a kick when Long Tom grabs the medical kit for Doc Savage and the kit contains Mercurochrome! I used to look like an ad for the stuff all summer back in the late 60’s!
The Valley of Eternity
Anyone familiar with Doc Savage’s backstory will recall how his father had him raised by teams of scientists and instructors. Even Doc has stated that he didn’t have much in the way of a childhood. He had very few friends. He was also totally ignorant of women. He has very few contacts in the original pulp magazines. When he does have to interact with the female of the species, to call him awkward is putting it mildly…
Then on Doc’s birthday, his father’s lawyer shows up with a letter. It seems that the elder Savage isn’t finished trying to interfere in Doc’s life. The letter tells Doc it is time to marry!
Both novels were terrific! I give them both five stars plus!
Quoth the Raven…
March 16, 2018
“Another Exciting Adventure of The Man of Bronze”
In “Mr. Calamity” Long Tom Roberts has inherited a ranch in Wyoming. Not a particularly large one. But it does have a milk cow and some horses, and a crusty old foreman to go with it. Pat Savage learns that there might be gold and jade hidden in the mountains in Wyoming, and decides to become a guest of the Circle Bolt Ranch, even if it does irritate the famous electrical genius. For Long Tom is at the ranch to work on electrical experiments, and doesn’t want to be bothered.
In the meantime, Pat is doing some prospecting when she meets a fellow named Hud who’s on his way to a swimming hole. Later, she sees Hud swimming in circles in the sky, then see’s him fall out of the sky. Discovering his broken body, she rides into town and calls the ranch to get Long Tom as a witness to everything. She has a mystery to solve. Unfortunately, things start happening fast. The body disappears, and Long Tom is almost hanged by men wearing flour sacks over their heads, and Pat encounters a funny little guy who shoots at her with a double-barreled shotgun. When she awakes, her horse has a broken leg and they are high up a mountain where there were no paths for her or the horse.
With all the weirdness, it’s time she called her cousin, Doc Savage to help her solve the mystery. Wow, I don’t know if it’s just that I haven’t read a Doc Savage in a long time, or they are just getting better all the time, but this one captured me from the beginning and wouldn’t let me go. This is definitely one of my favorites. It has great mystery, good action from start to finish, and great supporting characters, including a couple of cowgirls who sling lead before asking questions.
“The Valley of Eternity” is the second novel in this huge volume. It is definitely different. In fact, I’ve heard from some that they didn’t like this story, but I found it a fun romp, even if it was unlike most Doc Savage adventures. Doc receives a letter from his father long after his death, telling his son that he needs to marry and sire a son to carry the Savage name forward. This throws Doc for a loop, and he starts dating, which causes riots and legal problems, then he gives his detective a list of names of women he’s known in the past that might be suitable mates. While this is going on he receives word from the Valley of The Vanished that the last shipment of gold is on the way, and there will be no more to help him in his battle to save the world from evil. This requires a quick trip to see what’s what, and he takes Pat with him, after all there is lovely Monja waiting for him in the Valley of the Vanished. And Pat is going to play matchmaker. The hi-jinx of the situation is what this story is about. No great adventure, but I think Doc fans will enjoy it. I know I did. Highly recommended.
In “Mr. Calamity” Long Tom Roberts has inherited a ranch in Wyoming. Not a particularly large one. But it does have a milk cow and some horses, and a crusty old foreman to go with it. Pat Savage learns that there might be gold and jade hidden in the mountains in Wyoming, and decides to become a guest of the Circle Bolt Ranch, even if it does irritate the famous electrical genius. For Long Tom is at the ranch to work on electrical experiments, and doesn’t want to be bothered.
In the meantime, Pat is doing some prospecting when she meets a fellow named Hud who’s on his way to a swimming hole. Later, she sees Hud swimming in circles in the sky, then see’s him fall out of the sky. Discovering his broken body, she rides into town and calls the ranch to get Long Tom as a witness to everything. She has a mystery to solve. Unfortunately, things start happening fast. The body disappears, and Long Tom is almost hanged by men wearing flour sacks over their heads, and Pat encounters a funny little guy who shoots at her with a double-barreled shotgun. When she awakes, her horse has a broken leg and they are high up a mountain where there were no paths for her or the horse.
With all the weirdness, it’s time she called her cousin, Doc Savage to help her solve the mystery. Wow, I don’t know if it’s just that I haven’t read a Doc Savage in a long time, or they are just getting better all the time, but this one captured me from the beginning and wouldn’t let me go. This is definitely one of my favorites. It has great mystery, good action from start to finish, and great supporting characters, including a couple of cowgirls who sling lead before asking questions.
“The Valley of Eternity” is the second novel in this huge volume. It is definitely different. In fact, I’ve heard from some that they didn’t like this story, but I found it a fun romp, even if it was unlike most Doc Savage adventures. Doc receives a letter from his father long after his death, telling his son that he needs to marry and sire a son to carry the Savage name forward. This throws Doc for a loop, and he starts dating, which causes riots and legal problems, then he gives his detective a list of names of women he’s known in the past that might be suitable mates. While this is going on he receives word from the Valley of The Vanished that the last shipment of gold is on the way, and there will be no more to help him in his battle to save the world from evil. This requires a quick trip to see what’s what, and he takes Pat with him, after all there is lovely Monja waiting for him in the Valley of the Vanished. And Pat is going to play matchmaker. The hi-jinx of the situation is what this story is about. No great adventure, but I think Doc fans will enjoy it. I know I did. Highly recommended.
June 19, 2018
Hard to believe this is the 22nd Wild Adventure of Doc Savage by Will Murray! Will has taken great pains to remain true to the series, keeping the original early 20th Century setting, and filling in gaps in the original saga, nearly always using elements provided by Lester Dent (AKA Kenneth Robeson). Mr. Calamity is set in Wyoming near where Lester Dent grew up, and has an unusual cast: Doc's cousin Pat plays a very prominent role, and Monk and Ham, who, to be sure, can get quite tiresome, are missing. The "McGuffin" of the tale (look at the cover, it's no spoiler to say it has something to do with anti-gravity) is carefully tied into earlier Doc canon. Will's stories have gotten longer than the usual pulp novel, but he keeps the plot under pretty tight control, perhaps more so than Dent, whose plots would turn on a dime, sometimes confusingly. Mr. Calamity is an entertaining entry into the Doc saga.
But wait, there's more! The Valley of Eternity rounds out the volume. Maybe a little shorter than a pulp Doc, this is a gem of a story. To be honest, this is unexplored territory. Doc, on his circa 45th birthday gets a letter from his long-deceased father, held by his father's lawyer until this event. I think to give away more of the plot would be to spoil too much. This is late, post-war Doc, and like most of the late Doc, digest stories, this is more psychological than the early pulp Doc. Here Doc gets into an unexpected situation that I really did not know how he was going to get out of. Let's just say that the whole Doc Savage enterprise is threatened in a way it never was before. I read this story on Father's Day, which was fitting. Doc always had Daddy issues, what with his unusual upbringing. In this story, his father presents him with a challenge never faced before. I think this is a story that Phillip José Farmer might have imagined, but give credit to Will Murray. He manages to bring the Doc saga back to its beginnings, while exposing a unsuspected human vulnerability in Doc.
Both tales are highly recommended to Doc Savage fans.
But wait, there's more! The Valley of Eternity rounds out the volume. Maybe a little shorter than a pulp Doc, this is a gem of a story. To be honest, this is unexplored territory. Doc, on his circa 45th birthday gets a letter from his long-deceased father, held by his father's lawyer until this event. I think to give away more of the plot would be to spoil too much. This is late, post-war Doc, and like most of the late Doc, digest stories, this is more psychological than the early pulp Doc. Here Doc gets into an unexpected situation that I really did not know how he was going to get out of. Let's just say that the whole Doc Savage enterprise is threatened in a way it never was before. I read this story on Father's Day, which was fitting. Doc always had Daddy issues, what with his unusual upbringing. In this story, his father presents him with a challenge never faced before. I think this is a story that Phillip José Farmer might have imagined, but give credit to Will Murray. He manages to bring the Doc saga back to its beginnings, while exposing a unsuspected human vulnerability in Doc.
Both tales are highly recommended to Doc Savage fans.
February 2, 2024
Excellent Double Feature, with Mr. Calamity as a sequel to Repel, and then a nice little return to the Valley of Eternity and reunion with Monja. Mr. Calamity’s only major flaw is the same as all the other Murray versions---it overstays its welcome. The Lester Dent formula works best at novella length. But the Valley of Eternity brings the series to a satisfying full-circle conclusion of sorts. In the second novel, I got the feeling that Doc had begun to outgrow his extended adolescence and was ready to move on to a more grown-up life.
This will most likely be the last of the Will Murray Doc Savage pastiches, at least for the next four years. In 2028, unless the powers that be alter the copyright laws again, Doc will enter the public domain, and Murray can pick up again if he chooses sans his corporate overseers. Condé Nast has assigned the James Patterson factory and author Brian Sitts to bring a version of the character into the contemporary world. If they can establish a new version of the character, they can still control and thus monetize that version. They are doing the same sort of thing with The Shadow. But these characters are all about nostalgia. Hardly anyone except corporate bean counters wants a new version of these characters. We want more of the versions we grew up with. The New Pulp community will certainly return these characters to their proper milieu soon, and I hope Will Murray will be leading the way.
This will most likely be the last of the Will Murray Doc Savage pastiches, at least for the next four years. In 2028, unless the powers that be alter the copyright laws again, Doc will enter the public domain, and Murray can pick up again if he chooses sans his corporate overseers. Condé Nast has assigned the James Patterson factory and author Brian Sitts to bring a version of the character into the contemporary world. If they can establish a new version of the character, they can still control and thus monetize that version. They are doing the same sort of thing with The Shadow. But these characters are all about nostalgia. Hardly anyone except corporate bean counters wants a new version of these characters. We want more of the versions we grew up with. The New Pulp community will certainly return these characters to their proper milieu soon, and I hope Will Murray will be leading the way.
March 18, 2018
I thoroughly enjoyed this and feel it is one of the best new Doc Savage adventures. The main story, "Mr Calamity", features a reappearance of the mysterious anti-gravity substance known as "Repel", first seen in "The Deadly Dwarf". The second story, "The Valley of Eternity", is actually quite humorous and sees Doc threatened by an awful fate he has always avoided up until now - marriage!!!! It is also good to see that Doc's cousin, Pat Savage, gets a major share of the action - she is in fact quite central to the plots of both stories.
March 14, 2018
Double Doc Dynamite!
Two of my favorite Doc Savage novels of recent years, one a modern Western adventure (and a sequel to one of the true Doc classics), the other an emotional story where the Man of Bronze confronts his greatest enemy: his own heart. Highest recommendation.
Two of my favorite Doc Savage novels of recent years, one a modern Western adventure (and a sequel to one of the true Doc classics), the other an emotional story where the Man of Bronze confronts his greatest enemy: his own heart. Highest recommendation.
July 22, 2018
or, the return of Repel. Interesting concept of people going up into the sky, seemingly on their own. Long Tom has a ranch out West where these goings are occurring. This is longer than the usual ones, and is teamed up with a shorter novel, "The Valley of Eternity."
April 4, 2023
Doc must find a bride but might lose his wealth. Good adventure yarn along with Valley of Eternity
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