The Dagger in the Sky

Doc Savage (Bantam) #40

by Kenneth Robeson (House Name), Lester Dent

Three times the dagger had appeared — destroyed — then disappeared! Three times the knife of KUKULKAN hung in the sky, two hundred feet tall, while death struck. The Man of Bronze stalks the dark secret of the blade — a quest that takes him deep into the jungle to the very edge of doom!

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

120 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 1939

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

[Hal Astell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Times were a-changin'. 'The Dagger in the Sky' was the novel in the December 1939 issue of 'Doc Savage Magazine' and that means that the war in Europe had been raging for a few months. I don't know quite how far in advance these novels were written but I've been waiting for one of the series authors to note that something was going on there and this is when it finally happened. It's not overt, just a side note a few chapters in that mentions that Germany absorbed Czechoslovakia. Instead, Lester Dent, who wore the Kenneth Robeson hat this time out, focused on an imaginary war in two imaginary countries, albeit ones that he admits in author's notes are renamed "for obvious reasons".

Other routine components are different here too. I don't think we can quite claim that the more down-to-earth plot, with a cabal of bad guys doing bad things for what they think are good reasons but which are definitely bad, is particularly new but it is a very grounded novel for a series that's featured some truly fantastic elements, from dinosaurs to lost worlds via the power of invisibility. In fact, this one's so grounded that Doc himself is given a much more human face. Early on, he leaves New York for a month of holiday, because he believes that he's becoming too much like the machine he was trained to be and he should reconnect with the masses. Later, he notices the feminine charms of Sanda MacNamara and has to choose a little more vehemently not to allow romance into his life than usual.

What's more, his aides are pretty capable this time out. I've mentioned in a number of reviews that it's frustrating to read about how talented these five men are, not just at the top of their respective fields but adventurers supreme, only for them to screw up task after task and spend most of their time being kidnapped. To be fair, everyone gets caught in this one, Doc included, but Monk knocks out a butler who was once a contender for the heavyweight crown, Long Tom and Johnny complete a successful tail and a dangerous mission is completed so well I'm definitely not going to spoil it.

But first, as they say, the mystery. There's a black stone and a wealth of black daggers that appear to be supernatural. The black stone is an ancient artefact, believed by some South American natives to be the supreme Mayan deity, Kukulkan, turned to stone, or perhaps a different evil deity who Kukulkan turned to stone. Either way, touch it and die. Literally. Sixty are dead in the fictional country of Cristobal and its curse has travelled to the States, the stone having been sold by Juan Don MacNamara, son of Cristobal's president, to Sid Morrison, antiques broker, who only makes it to the third chapter. Some black daggers appear in the sky, two hundred feet long, above such victims. Others are stabbed with black daggers to the heart, which promptly disappear.

One of those victims is Doc, whose plane ride to a month-long holiday is ended with a searing white light and a plunge to the ground, a two-hundred-foot black dagger appearing in the sky above the wreckage. That's chapter one, which is a pretty cool way to kick off a Doc Savage novel, even though, as we know, it is not the end of the Man of Bronze. Sid Morrison is stabbed with a black dagger. Juan Don MacNamara crashes his plane, the dagger showing up in the sky above him. And Henry Lee, wealthy American, finds no safety in his own home a thousand feet above Wall Street, because he's stabbed with a black dagger as well, even with seven colleagues watching him to ensure it doesn't happen.

Of course, there's a rational explanation for all of this, not that I'm going to spoil that, because this is a down-to-earth Doc Savage adventure. I did mention that, right? And everything seems to tie to the war between Hispanola and Cristobal, which nobody can satisfactorily explain. These South American states tend to get along, but there's been a couple of years worth of concentrated propaganda that's painted the people of Cristobal as the enemy of Hispanola and eventually a border skirmish grew to full-fledged war. What's more, Hispanola appears to have magically acquired substantial arms, weaponry and other military equipment to easily skew the odds into their favour.

And so, off to Hispanola go Doc, four of his aides and all seven of the incredibly rich men who constitute a syndicate involved in acquiring museum items, these latter drugged and unceremoniously dragged on board ship secretly in theatrical trunks. I should mention that this is a Swedish ship, given that America is neutral; Congress firm in that, and so any American goods travelling to a country at war must be paid for in cash only and be delivered in a boat that is not registered in the U.S. Yes, World War II had been a going concern for a couple of months at this point, but Pearl Harbor was still a couple of months away.

I don't think I need to detail the story any further than that, which is about halfway, because that's the grounding, but I will comment on a few details from later on that help to keep things realistic. Just as Doc's aides are capable here, working individually or as a team, even when Doc keeps his plans close to his chest, as he so notoriously does, the enemy aren't idiots either.

When they outwit Ham, the biggest problem in the crew this time out, they're very conscientious. They search their captives well, stripping them of even the best hidden gadgetry. Doc eventually picks up the trail, courtesy of Monk's soles - that are made of a clever chemical that gradually dissolves and is easily trackable - but doing so is just a way to allow even Doc to fall into a trap, because the bad guys figured it out. Clearly, the new Doc isn't going to be able to rely on gadgets.

Crucially, it isn't just what we see but what we don't see. After Doc is captured, he doesn't fashion some clever escape with a quick disguise or three, an approach that's always felt cheap to me. Instead, he has to be rescued, either by the good guys or the bad guys pretending to be good guys, only for Doc to have them scouted all along and so merely lets them do their thing until it's time to turn the tables. There is one disguise in this novel, which I won't spoil, but it's a really good one that has plenty of time to set up and that makes it a lot more viable than the ones Doc has conjured up in the past in a mere two shakes of a lamb's tail.

To wrap up, I'll point out that even the way things wrap up is treated differently. Doc Savage novels are notorious for their karmic endings, in which the villain of the piece is stripped of his anonymity and left to manufacture his own demise out of greed or vengeance or bitterness. That was mostly done, I think, to avoid Doc having to kill anyone, because that moral stance was enforced after the first few bloodier novels in the series. However, here, Lester Dent takes a very different tack. Doc doesn't kill anyone in this one either, but that doesn't mean that the bad guys perform that job for him. Instead, they simply get caught and Doc sends them to his famous secret "upstate college" to be reprogrammed as upright citizens. It's a mild ending but not a disagreeable one.

And so, as a Doc Savage novel, this is a mediocre one, not particularly good but not particularly bad. It merely serves as an important one, with the tone of series definitely changing. I kind of expected that a little, given that the, cough, situation in Europe, cough, didn't just go away and there had to be a point where a series set in the present day had to acknowledge a global conflict. That appears to be this book but in a relatively subtle way, with action shifted elsewhere and comments left to asides or very careful apolitical notes. Mussolini is mentioned, for instance, but only because his desk was situated far from his desk as a subtle means of establishing power over his visitors. I'm eager to see how this progresses as the series moves into 1940.

Originally posted at the Nameless Zine in September 2022:
https://www.thenamelesszine.org/Voice...

Index of all my Nameless Zine reviews:
https://books.apocalypselaterempire.com/

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

“You ain’t nothin’ but a dagger in the sky …”

Sorry, I kept imagining Doc Savage singing that to the tune of the Replacements song “Waitress in the Sky” when I read this. Don’t mind me.

Anyway, back to business. “The Dagger in the Sky” is an under-the-radar-good Doc Savage adventure to close out 1939. When a series has more than 180 novels, you learn to appreciate the subtle differences, the little things. “The Dagger in the Sky,” like “The Freckled Shark” a few issues before it, has some good moments in Doc’s evolution from detached, unbeatable pulp hero to more relatable — but still amazing — man, that went on as the series progressed. Doc is actually starting off on a vacation from his life’s work of righting wrongs and punishing evil-doers when he and his fabulous five get sucked into the events of “The Dagger in the Sky.” Doc on vacation! (Sorry Doc, the well-earned rest will have to wait.) Fascinatingly, there's this unusual nugget to explain the genesis of Doc's “first real vacation”: “Recently it had occurred to him that he might be turning into too much of a machine — becoming, in fact, as superhuman as many persons thought he was. He did not like that idea.”

In addition, the normally nearly woman-proof Doc feels yearnings for beautiful Sanda MacNamara, daughter of the president of (pseudonymous here, of course) Cristobal, a South American nation unexpectedly at war with its neighbor, Hispanola.

In “The Dagger in the Sky” seven millionaires have purchased a black stone that in superstitious legend is linked to an obsidian dagger that the supreme deity of the Mayans used to vanquish his evil foe. In the here and now, men die and a black dagger shape hundreds of feet long appears briefly in the sky, and the black knives used to kill them seem to vanish into thin air. Could these deaths be linked to the South American war?

Early on, this novel briefly resembles a locked-room mystery: How are these daggers vanishing? Later, as Doc and his crew travel to South America, the focus is on the warring nations. Along the way, Doc makes the acquaintance of Sanda MacNamara. She’s one of the best female characters to make an appearance in the series, which ran for 16 years. If Sanda doesn’t have more dialogue with Doc than any guest-babe in the series’ history, it’s close. And she’s portrayed as intelligent, strong, and highly capable — not always the case with these decorative women who grace the Doc universe. And Doc, who has vowed never to let romantic entanglements get in the way of his life’s work of fighting crime has (for him) long conversations with her, and is sort of (gulp!) smitten. Late in the tale, there’s this, a remarkable insight into Doc’s thinking at the time: “She has courage and balance, Doc thought. Better think of such things rather than of how attractive she is, how nice she would be inside a man’s arms, what her lips would be like.”

As in “The Freckled Shark” nine issues earlier, in which Doc had enjoyed himself tremendously while disguised as the boisterous, rude Henry Peace, his feelings while around Sanda mark another small turning point in humanizing the bronze man.

And though “The Dagger in the Sky” isn’t a classic Doc Savage novel, there are other nice touches, including one of Doc’s aides going in disguise for an extended period, and Doc in constant motion, spending time in the air, on the water, in prison, making escapes. Main series writer Lester Dent clearly put some time into this well-written tale. Even in solid Doc adventures, you can tell when they’ve been banged out by rote and when some care has been put into the story, and this clearly is one of the latter.

[Duane Olds · Rating 4 out of 5]

And there it is, #40 in the books. (Pun intended) This one was a quick and interesting read, a few twists that i didn't see coming but all in all not to bad.

As with all of Doc's book, this one gave us more literary gems, like:
“Say, I didn’t know this Doc Savage—or the Man of Bronze, as they call him" (Thats what the ladies call him, he's Mr. Bronze to you and me)

“He’s overrated. Hell, every celebrity is overrated!” (Yeah Taylor Swift!)

“Radio-controlled doors,” the long-faced man muttered. (Or ghost butlers, i'm not too sure which)

“Long Distance operator . . . I want to get hold of Juan Don MacNamara, son of the president of Cristobal, a South American republic. You might try Cristobal City, the capital.” (Sir, I don't tell you what kind of metal to be, don't tell me how to do my job, ok?)

“And you saw a black dagger?” “In the sky.” “How big?” (all around the planet, the sky is pretty big like that)

“You gentlemen know Doc Savage, either by personal acquaintance or by repute.” (Or by adding him as a friend on facebook)

“Trinidad.” “The island off the north coast of South America—the one where they have the
asphalt lake?” (No, Trinidad, Nevada..YES THAT TRINIDAD!)

“What the blankety-blanked swizzle-tailed blue blank blazes blank-blank do you think you are?” (First time a sailor, swearing like a sailor, censored himself)

The wealthy men stared in dumbstricken stupefaction. (Now THAT is a name for a band, Dumbstricken Stupefaction)

We also had one (insert your own joke here) line: Van Jelk's hands gave a noticable jerk

This adventure also involved the return of Superamalgamated, which was said twice and Holy cow which was said 3 times.

Look like i'm on track to hit 50 Doc Savage books. Will I accomplish it? Sure, why not....on to the next one.

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mysterious black dagger is seen hanging in the sky which then disappears as if it had never existed. Somehow, an ancient Incan black box is tied in with the mystery.

A war between Hispaniola and Cristobal is waging. A cabal if seven of the richest men in American are somehow tied into the story. The son of the strongman ruling Cristobal is missing and his daughter seeks the aid of Doc Savage.

From the very beginning, Doc is trailed and an attempt is made on his life.

This is the first time that Doc is in effected by a woman. He is distracted once or twice and has to refocus his attention. Prior to this, Dos has never had difficulty. Is the author making Doc more human like?

All five of Doc’s men are involved. Johnny, however is told to stay in New York City and await instructions if necessary. Johnny’s surprise appearance at the end shows how necessary it was for Doc’s plans. At the very end, Doc has Pat fly down a plane for Doc and crew.

A fun and satisfying read overall.

Written by Lester Dent. Originally published December, 1939.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dagger in the Sky is a "Doc Savage" novel by Kenneth Robeson. Kenneth Robeson was the house name Street and Smith Publications used as the author of their popular Doc Savage novels. 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, and W. Ryerson Johnson.
I love reading these old pulp novels from time to time. I read about 80%+ of the Doc Savage novels when I was a teenager but that was a very long time ago. I have been trying to find them again in the Bantam editions I read in my youth. I have found several of them in used bookstores and have bought several from online aftermarket bookstores.
In this one, Doc Savage and his men are in the thick of it again. The action is classic Doc Savage, filled with good old-fashioned adventure and gadgets that always seem to be there when the hero needs them. You can relax and escape for a little while. A good read in the Doc Savage series.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes it appears as a 200-foot dagger in the sky, sometimes it appears as an actual dagger in the heart of a victim. It's rumored to be connected with a cursed, ancient black stone. Doc Savage and his crew investigate and are led to South America, and a war between two countries there. It's an entertaining story -- maybe not one of my favorite Doc Savage books, but it has a great denouement and it a quick, fun read. Also, I believe this is the first time I have read about hints of sexual frustration suffered by the notoriously pure Doc Savage (the woman he is helping is apparently a real knockout).

[Robert D · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the better Doc Savage books. While attempting to take a vacation a series of events draws Doc and his crew into a mysterious adventure in two war torn South American countries. There's a bit of the mystical involved with a strange black dagger appearing in the sky whenever airplanes (involved in the story) crash. Also some of the people involved are killed by a black dagger that disappears. The gang behind the events manage to get the drop on all of Doc's men meaning that Doc is featured more prominently than in many of the adventures.

[Al Datum · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bad Doc Savage book is better than most good books. I’m not saying this book was bad, it wasn’t. But in retrospect, Doc did not do very much. I much prefer the stories where he uses his instruments and tools to outwit, global conspiracies, or explore lost islands or cities or lands.

I’d say this is probably a three star book. Not bad, but ultimately semi-forgettable (though I can never forget a Doc Savage book).

[Mark Desrosiers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very enjoyable read. The Man of Bronze stalks the secret of the blade a quest that takes him deep into the jungle to the very edge of doom! This one was a page turner, the Man of Bronze at his best. A+ from me.

[Keith B · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 for nostalgia but also because this is one of the better stories. Flows well and you can tell that Dent put some thought into this one. Polished.

[Ted · Rating 2 out of 5]

My first and last Doc Savage read.

[Jeff J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pulp novel featuring Doc Savage. The crew intervenes in a South American war. Much chaos ensues.

[Craig · Rating 5 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!

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I read so many of these it's getting hard to make a fair assessment. Plus this is one I loved as a kid when I didn't know all the twists, so it's inevitably disappointing to reread. The plot concerns a war erupting in South America, with someone equipping the Country of Evil with top munitions to crush the Country of Good. Mysterious daggers stab people then vanish, or a giant dagger materializes in the sky overhead. What still works for me is the villains' agenda
(SPOILER!!!)

Seven of America's wealthiest men are plotting to take over the good country, relocate their citizenship and business HQ there and turn it into a libertarian utopia (for them, not so good for the natives) with no regulation, no taxes, etc., etc. It's like a thriller written by Occupy Wall Street.

[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.

[Ronald · Rating 4 out of 5]

read during fall of 1969