Doc Savage Omnibus #8

Doc Savage (Bantam) #156-159

by Kenneth Robeson

The Mental Monster
A ruthless master criminal with the horrifying power to read men’s minds becomes Doc’s greatest challenge — and he’ll need every ounce of his muscle and brain power to fight … and survive!

The Pink Lady
A terrified young lady tries desperately to contact Doc Savage, but she’s burned to a crisp in a hotel lobby before she can reach him — thus launching Doc on one of his strangest escapades ever!

Weird Valley
A man who has found the secret of eternal life is murdered, and Doc’s search for the truth leads to a hidden valley deep in Mexico — where eternal life awaits some, and death awaits Doc!

Trouble on Parade
In Maine on business, Doc is mysteriously warned by everyone to leave if he values his health. Soon, Doc finds himself behind bars on trumped up charges. Forced to escape to prove his innocence, Doc travels to a secret cove that harbors a gang of bloodthirsty cutthroats, none of whom wish him good health!

Genres: Fantasy, Pulp

407 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

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

[Craig]

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!