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Doc Savage (Bantam) #95
The Red Spider
Doc smuggles himself into Moscow on his most daring mission yet! The Man of Bronze tangles with a deadly military secret, some sinister Soviets, and — most dangerous of all — a heroine of the Russian underground who is as treacherous as she is beautiful.
122 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
99 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 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 30, 2015
Slightly different Doc tale, with him more as a Cold War spy than a righter-of-wrongs. Typically awesome Doc story nonetheless. My only real problem with the latter day Doc Savage stories is the reduced "screen time" for Renny, Long Tom, and Johnny. Other than that, you wouldn't know this one wasn't published for decades after Doc's first pulp run. Check this one out.
November 5, 2020
This was written for late in the original series (under the title "In Hell, Madonna"), accepted, then rejected after a new editor thumbed down political stories; it lay in limbo until published in the late 1970s. The plot concerns Doc and his team trying to learn if the USSR has an a-bomb; they get assistance from a brother and sister who hope that Doc's intervention will push out one of Stalin's trusted agents, thereby allowing them to rise in the ranks (a self-interested attitude that's probably more interesting than if they were fighting for freedom). I'm a little unclear what getting proof of the USSR's bomb research is supposed to do — it's shocking news from the American viewpoint but decades later it doesn't seem that remarkable.
In general, the Cold War aspect dates poorly. And while it's a competent spy thriller it's not particularly good as a Doc Savage novel.
In general, the Cold War aspect dates poorly. And while it's a competent spy thriller it's not particularly good as a Doc Savage novel.
May 1, 2021
Five stars, partly because this is "historical." Kenneth Robeson (Lester Dent) wrote it in 1948, when the Cold War was just getting started. But it was a "lost" manuscript for many years, finally discovered and published for the first time in 1979. It's a decent story, and fascinating that Robeson/Dent wrote so many Doc Savage novels. He must've set his typewriter on fire at times.
October 15, 2016
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!
January 3, 2015
Finished the middle-third of the Sanctum reprint of Terror Wears No Shoes, The Red Spider and Return From Cormoral over lunch this afternoon. Another thriller from the early days of the Cold War, with Lester Dent ahead of everyone else, sending Doc Savage into the heart of Soviet Russia to find evidence about the Soviet Union's early A-bomb program.
Tight writing with effective characterization. Some might complain about Doc being humanized, but it is an interesting change, one I appreciate more now than when I first read this book back in 1979. I'm better able to appreciate Dent's writing today and what he's doing, filling the Superman tights and cape he crafted in the early 1930s adventures with a real live human being. He's making Doc someone readers could identify; they could put themselves into Doc's jodhpurs, torn shirt and leather boots now. He wasn't a knight in shining armor. He was an average joe, albeit one who exercised every day from birth to become a hero. But still someone we could become as well, specifically because he was human. Well-prepared, but still human.
Tight writing with effective characterization. Some might complain about Doc being humanized, but it is an interesting change, one I appreciate more now than when I first read this book back in 1979. I'm better able to appreciate Dent's writing today and what he's doing, filling the Superman tights and cape he crafted in the early 1930s adventures with a real live human being. He's making Doc someone readers could identify; they could put themselves into Doc's jodhpurs, torn shirt and leather boots now. He wasn't a knight in shining armor. He was an average joe, albeit one who exercised every day from birth to become a hero. But still someone we could become as well, specifically because he was human. Well-prepared, but still human.
March 27, 2016
The "lost adventure rescured from obscurity" tagline of the "The Red Spider" in the Bantam Books edition just about made me cream my pants back in 1979. Holy crap! A tale intented for publication in 1949, the last year of Doc Savage Magazine, but never published! Add in Will Murray's intro stating that this is a "high-water mark in the series" or words to that effect, and you had one pumped-up teen on your hands.
"The Red Spider" is good, as the later, much more realistic and generally more sophisticated Doc stories go. Here, Doc takes on the Russians in a tale that's sort of a Cold War precursor. Doc became far more prone to mistakes and was far less of a physical superman as the tales went on, of course, and here he's brittle and flawed, which may be a shock for those used to the 1930s mental and physical marvel that was Doc. Still, this is a good (though far from a high-water mark) adventure that was worthy of seeing the light of day 30 years after it was written.
"The Red Spider" is good, as the later, much more realistic and generally more sophisticated Doc stories go. Here, Doc takes on the Russians in a tale that's sort of a Cold War precursor. Doc became far more prone to mistakes and was far less of a physical superman as the tales went on, of course, and here he's brittle and flawed, which may be a shock for those used to the 1930s mental and physical marvel that was Doc. Still, this is a good (though far from a high-water mark) adventure that was worthy of seeing the light of day 30 years after it was written.
May 25, 2015
Yes, Doc is fallible and he makes a few mistakes in this book, but that's not why I gave it two stars. In fact, it's odd that the afterward lauded this book as being well written when the plot is incredibly simple and even the adventure felt trite. Most of the detective work takes place before Doc even arrives and he's astonished at how well Monk and Ham have done. So there's not much mystery. Other than being a quick and easy read, there isn't much to say for this book. It's primary interest is as a curiosity, since it was the lost manuscript. Otherwise, it would have just fallen into the standard realm of his other later adventures.
November 29, 2015
The final original Doc Savage pulp novel by Lester Dent (a.k.a. Kenneth Robeson) is also one of the more well-written adventures of the character. Doc and his team infiltrate Soviet Russia to get information from one of Stalin's right-hand men, and then have to get out again. The tale wasn't released as one of the original pulp magazine, having to wait about thirty years for publication. It was definitely worth the wait and is an excellent coda to a classic series of one of the original "super-heroes" of American culture.
September 19, 2014
Sometimes I miss the cold war, espionage novels haven't recovered from the collapse of the Soviet Union. While I still prefer the earlier Doc Savage novels, where he saved the world from a series of improbable villains, I'll make an exception in this case. It helps that it is technically the last of the original Doc Savage novels, written in 1948 but never published due to the cancellation of the magazine. It finally saw print as a Bantam paperback in 1978.
March 3, 2016
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.
December 27, 2007
read 06.01.85
May 26, 2016
originally read this in 1988
May 7, 2016
reread some time in 1992
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews