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Doc Savage (Bantam) #15
Murder Melody
WHO IS DOC SAVAGE?
To the world at large, Doc Savage is a strange, mysterious figure of glistening bronze skin and golden eyes. To his amazing co-adventurers - the five greatest brains ever assembled in one group - he is a man of superhuman strength and protean genius, whose life is dedicated to the destruction of evil-doers. To his fans he is one of the greatest adventure heroes of all time, whose fantastic exploits are unequalled for hair-raising thrills, breathtaking escapes and bloodcurdling excitement.
INVASION FROM THE CENTER OF THE EARTH
It began with a series of quakes which tore huge, gaping holes in the surface of the earth. Soon the sky over the Northwest was filled with the bodies of strange floating men playing a weird melody of death. Was the world doomed? Could Doc Savage and his Fabulous Five save it from almost certain destruction? Join them as they race to the center of the earth for a titanic battle with the power-crazed leaders of a fantastic super-civilization.
To the world at large, Doc Savage is a strange, mysterious figure of glistening bronze skin and golden eyes. To his amazing co-adventurers - the five greatest brains ever assembled in one group - he is a man of superhuman strength and protean genius, whose life is dedicated to the destruction of evil-doers. To his fans he is one of the greatest adventure heroes of all time, whose fantastic exploits are unequalled for hair-raising thrills, breathtaking escapes and bloodcurdling excitement.
INVASION FROM THE CENTER OF THE EARTH
It began with a series of quakes which tore huge, gaping holes in the surface of the earth. Soon the sky over the Northwest was filled with the bodies of strange floating men playing a weird melody of death. Was the world doomed? Could Doc Savage and his Fabulous Five save it from almost certain destruction? Join them as they race to the center of the earth for a titanic battle with the power-crazed leaders of a fantastic super-civilization.
138 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1935
2 people are currently reading
149 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 - 22 of 22 reviews
December 8, 2023
Murder Melody 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
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.
William G. Bogart
Evelyn Coulson
Harold A. Davis
Lawrence Donovan
Alan Hathway
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.
October 21, 2015
I keep personal records of all the books I've ever read... mainly for a family book reading "competition" that I compete in annually. At the end of the year, on New Year's Eve, we get together as a family and add all the pages we've read for that entire year. It's a lot of fun, and keeps me reading. Well, looking back on my records, supposedly I've read this Doc Savage before. I have no recollection of reading it previously. The first Doc Savage I read was "The Devil's Playground" (book #25) from July 23-26, 1998. The second book I read was "Murder Melody" from September 16-23, 1999. So, guess what the third book was? Yes, it's "Murder Melody" again. I've now read it twice. And what did I think of it the second time? Since I don't remember reading it the first time, my views were new and fresh. I really didn't like it all that much, to be honest. It was okay. The writing was fairly poor. The story jumped around a lot and lacked a lot of detail that was needed. I liked the characters, and the adventure was highly entertaining (there's nothing like traveling to the center of the Earth), but it was the story that made me rate the book at two stars (the goodreads "it was okay" rating). I'll probably keep reading Doc Savage books. After all, they are great adventure stories.
October 5, 2025
This...was not good. About halfway through, I was asking, "why is this one paced so badly?" and also, "why are things being said more than once?"
Then I looked it up and found out this one was the first that Lester Dent had no hand in whatsoever. So, Lawrence Donovan held the reins on this one, and broke with the established formula in multiple ways.
But his greatest sin was writing a completely dull first half. Each time I returned to the book, I struggled to even remember what had happened previously. Lawrence Donovan, writing as Kenneth Robeson, just shows what a far better author Lester Dent, writing as Kenneth Robeson, really was.
Then I looked it up and found out this one was the first that Lester Dent had no hand in whatsoever. So, Lawrence Donovan held the reins on this one, and broke with the established formula in multiple ways.
But his greatest sin was writing a completely dull first half. Each time I returned to the book, I struggled to even remember what had happened previously. Lawrence Donovan, writing as Kenneth Robeson, just shows what a far better author Lester Dent, writing as Kenneth Robeson, really was.
September 17, 2018
Fun change of pace as Doc and company trace a series of earthquakes to a scientifically advanced subterranean civilization.
Feels like the kind of story Philip Jose Farmer might have written.
Lots of great sic-fi ideas and first rate banter between the famous five.
Feels like the kind of story Philip Jose Farmer might have written.
Lots of great sic-fi ideas and first rate banter between the famous five.
May 15, 2016
I enjoy pulps and I especially enjoy Doc Savage, but this one is just awful. There's nothing interesting about it, and most of the "science" is unbelievable. It's poorly written with no charm or wit of the other books in this series. It just doesn't feel right and that's because it isn't written by Lester Dent, who wrote a good chunk of these novels under the house name of Kenneth Robeson. This was written by Lawrence Donovan. You'd do well to pass on this one if you're reading the Doc Savage series.
November 15, 2018
possibly read in winter 1967
February 20, 2025
The last Doc Savage novel I read was CZAR OF FEAR. In my review I praised it for being a little more down to earth than many of Doc's other Pulp adventures. Well, MURDER MELODY, my latest random Doc selection, sprints to the other end of the pulp, sci fi spectrum; This one is outlandish, to say the least. We join Doc and a smattering of his crew in media res, chasing after mysterious, silver-garbed assailants through the foggy nighttime trails of Stanley Park in Vancouver, BC (A thrill for me as that was my backyard for many years). The writing in these opening chapters is great. The reader is right alongside Doc, examining the various clues and piecing together hints of what transpired before his arrival in the park. The evil Zoro-Men, it is revealed, are positively laden with amazing gadgets; Electro-magnetic belt buckles, anti-gravity control boxes and, of course the dreaded death flutes. Before we can process any of this Doc is airborne, piloting his amphibious airplane over Burrard Inlet in hot pursuit of the enemy (The original story was published a year before the construction of the Lions Gate Bridge. Its absence here is notable). Doc spends a little time in North Vancouver dealing with obstinate police sporting cockney accents(?) before he's off again, heading North after a mysterious signal. A series of double crosses by a beautiful mystery woman results in Doc and the gang being held prisoner aboard a research vessel off the coasts of the Aleutian Islands.
Unfortunately, it's around this point that the story gets rickety beneath its own weight. Apparently, this tale was penned by someone other than the immortal Lester Dent and it begins to show just past the midway chapters. Doc and his crew spend long passages as either prisoners or honoured guests aboard various vessels, including a crystalline rocket ship that traverses through earth, air and water with equal ease. Doc Savage is always at his best when he is on the move, driving the action forward. Here, he is in repose for far too long while being given an extensive tour of Earth's deepest strata and introduced to a magnificent Inner Earth kingdom. As much I love a good Inner Earth Kingdom, by the time Doc leaps back into action it becomes clear that he is more in danger of being a guest star in his own adventure than of failing to defeat the sinister Zoro-Men.
All that being said, this really is a fun pulpy sci fi romp and I do recommend it. Just be aware that, despite a cracking good first half, it does feel less like a classic Doc Savage adventure and more like the author attempting to attach his own serial fantasy world-building onto the popularity of the Doc Savage brand. It may not be to your taste but it is interesting to join Doc on one of his more outlandish adventures if only for the sake of comparison.
Unfortunately, it's around this point that the story gets rickety beneath its own weight. Apparently, this tale was penned by someone other than the immortal Lester Dent and it begins to show just past the midway chapters. Doc and his crew spend long passages as either prisoners or honoured guests aboard various vessels, including a crystalline rocket ship that traverses through earth, air and water with equal ease. Doc Savage is always at his best when he is on the move, driving the action forward. Here, he is in repose for far too long while being given an extensive tour of Earth's deepest strata and introduced to a magnificent Inner Earth kingdom. As much I love a good Inner Earth Kingdom, by the time Doc leaps back into action it becomes clear that he is more in danger of being a guest star in his own adventure than of failing to defeat the sinister Zoro-Men.
All that being said, this really is a fun pulpy sci fi romp and I do recommend it. Just be aware that, despite a cracking good first half, it does feel less like a classic Doc Savage adventure and more like the author attempting to attach his own serial fantasy world-building onto the popularity of the Doc Savage brand. It may not be to your taste but it is interesting to join Doc on one of his more outlandish adventures if only for the sake of comparison.
November 28, 2025
What strikes you about Kenneth Robeson’s Murder Melody isn’t what it is, but what it does. Pick up any Doc Savage novel and you’re entering a contract: there will be adventure, exotic locales, a mystery that spirals down to something’s center (here, literally the Earth’s, where political intrigue bubbles beneath our feet like geological unconscious).
Doc Savage himself is admirably flat. Not a character so much as a principle of organization, a way of moving through narrative space. Yet the world moves around him with genuine velocity. There’s something about the architecture of these books, some trick in their assembly, that feels both clumsy and mysteriously effective. Later practitioners would find smoother mechanisms, learn to hide the gears better. But there’s an honesty in these earlier attempts that becomes, in its own way, charming.
What we’re really looking at is a document of a moment when popular fiction was working out its basic grammar. The story entertained me thoroughly right up until it ended. And perhaps that’s the real achievement: creating momentum that carries you through despite its one-dimensional hero. The adventure isn’t about Doc Savage; he’s merely the formal requirement that allows the adventure to exist at all.
Doc Savage himself is admirably flat. Not a character so much as a principle of organization, a way of moving through narrative space. Yet the world moves around him with genuine velocity. There’s something about the architecture of these books, some trick in their assembly, that feels both clumsy and mysteriously effective. Later practitioners would find smoother mechanisms, learn to hide the gears better. But there’s an honesty in these earlier attempts that becomes, in its own way, charming.
What we’re really looking at is a document of a moment when popular fiction was working out its basic grammar. The story entertained me thoroughly right up until it ended. And perhaps that’s the real achievement: creating momentum that carries you through despite its one-dimensional hero. The adventure isn’t about Doc Savage; he’s merely the formal requirement that allows the adventure to exist at all.
March 15, 2022
This was an underwhelming effort written by Lawrence Donovan under the house pseudonym Kenneth Robeson. All of the Doc Savage adventures were written by Kenneth Robeson. Lawrence Donovan has Monk acting very unMonk like. Donovan has tagged Monk with the exclamation of “dag-Donnie!” He also has Monk acting suspiciously toward the woman who is the most beautiful woman they have ever seen. Even more beautiful than the most beautiful woman they’ve ever seen from the last adventure. Another aspect has Johnny, the archeologist, discussing the chemical make up of the crystals in the earth they are traveling through without any input from Monk, the actual chemist. He more realistic would have been if Monk had joined in with the discussion. Ah, but it is pulp fiction, not literature. The tone and feel of this book was different than the usual Doc Savage sagas. The difference was not for the better.
August 22, 2019
Earthquakes, bodies floating in mid-air, and a mysterious letter summoning Doc Savage to the Northwest begin this adventure that takes the good Doc and his men on an adventure that leads to an underground kingdom. This story would have worked very well as a movie serial of the 1930s.
October 11, 2017
Good Doc adventure.
May 4, 2024
A pulp novel featuring Doc Savage. Another lost empire is discovered. Much chaos ensues.
September 25, 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!
April 28, 2023
And there we have it, #15 down.
Sorry, but I did not care for this one at all. It was ok, but felt like a Flash Gordon/Doc Savage crossover without Flash Gordon. The best way I can describe it is by Monk - "Dag-gonit! Nothing makes any sense! I'm beginnin' to get sick of the ways things are turnin' out!" Me too dude, me too.
But inside I did discover these Gems, like:
'The whistles of the farries hooted wildly.' (And the Wildly hooted farries.)
'Lack of gravity made him appear like a small, stuffed sausage drifting in mid-air.' (This is on his Tinder bio)
'Doc's stomach muscles contracted until nearly all of his vital organs were forced into the cavity of his upper ribs.' (Yep, that always happens to me too after I eat Taco Bell)
'Women had no part in his life. He didn't even pretend that he understood them.' (Me too doc, me too)
'Clearly the weird music of the flutes on this occasion had been of the lethal variety.' (Yo man, that variety you be fluttin' is something lethal!)
'Zoro and a few of his men were jubilating.' (You're supposed to take the pan off the fire when they start jubilating! Now they're all burnt!)
We also had one (insert your own joke here) gem: 'Some mysterious attraction held him close to the Hindu.' (Isn't that an Elton John song - Hold me closer to the Hindu?)
For those playing Doc Savage Bingo, you can mark off your superamalgamated Count at just 2, but I also did a 'By the great hornspoon' Count which ended up 5 1/2 as well as a 'Dag-gonit' Count which beat them all out at 24.
Now that Doc has gone up against silver men from space what is next for the man of bronze? Guess I'm gonna find out, Oh well; On to the next one....
Sorry, but I did not care for this one at all. It was ok, but felt like a Flash Gordon/Doc Savage crossover without Flash Gordon. The best way I can describe it is by Monk - "Dag-gonit! Nothing makes any sense! I'm beginnin' to get sick of the ways things are turnin' out!" Me too dude, me too.
But inside I did discover these Gems, like:
'The whistles of the farries hooted wildly.' (And the Wildly hooted farries.)
'Lack of gravity made him appear like a small, stuffed sausage drifting in mid-air.' (This is on his Tinder bio)
'Doc's stomach muscles contracted until nearly all of his vital organs were forced into the cavity of his upper ribs.' (Yep, that always happens to me too after I eat Taco Bell)
'Women had no part in his life. He didn't even pretend that he understood them.' (Me too doc, me too)
'Clearly the weird music of the flutes on this occasion had been of the lethal variety.' (Yo man, that variety you be fluttin' is something lethal!)
'Zoro and a few of his men were jubilating.' (You're supposed to take the pan off the fire when they start jubilating! Now they're all burnt!)
We also had one (insert your own joke here) gem: 'Some mysterious attraction held him close to the Hindu.' (Isn't that an Elton John song - Hold me closer to the Hindu?)
For those playing Doc Savage Bingo, you can mark off your superamalgamated Count at just 2, but I also did a 'By the great hornspoon' Count which ended up 5 1/2 as well as a 'Dag-gonit' Count which beat them all out at 24.
Now that Doc has gone up against silver men from space what is next for the man of bronze? Guess I'm gonna find out, Oh well; On to the next one....
January 25, 2009
I can't begin to relate the technical flaws: the murderers play flutes that have 'auditory chemicals' affecting those who listen. Et cetera.
The book at least goes for broke with detailing a lost civilization below the Earth's surface. It turns out that all we know about plate tectonics is wrong; the world is entirely hollow, and within the empty sphere lies a peaceful and advanced civilization powered by magnetic plates charged by all the lightning strikes in the outer world. What they did before they had electricity is unexplored.
All of this would be really cool except for the entirely formulaic delivery. Doc Savage and his crew are just minding their business when they're summoned someplace by a mysterious message and suddenly a set of high-tech commandos start chasing them. This is the usual: the bad guys want to capture Doc so that he won't get involved (a bizarre chain of logic that never seems to work out for the bad guys. Ever.) The good guys want to contact him for assistance. Ninety percent of the book is burned in this way until they actually get under the surface, and then the chase continues.
The book at least goes for broke with detailing a lost civilization below the Earth's surface. It turns out that all we know about plate tectonics is wrong; the world is entirely hollow, and within the empty sphere lies a peaceful and advanced civilization powered by magnetic plates charged by all the lightning strikes in the outer world. What they did before they had electricity is unexplored.
All of this would be really cool except for the entirely formulaic delivery. Doc Savage and his crew are just minding their business when they're summoned someplace by a mysterious message and suddenly a set of high-tech commandos start chasing them. This is the usual: the bad guys want to capture Doc so that he won't get involved (a bizarre chain of logic that never seems to work out for the bad guys. Ever.) The good guys want to contact him for assistance. Ninety percent of the book is burned in this way until they actually get under the surface, and then the chase continues.
February 9, 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.
May 31, 2014
Doc goes up against alien invaders from inside the hollow earth in the most SF of all his adventures (anti-gravity, flying rockets, sonic death-attacks, super-magnetism, you name it). Pinch-hitting author Lawrence Donovan is a bit stiffer in style than regular writer Lester Dent, and this spends too much time lecturing on the amazements of the inner-earth culture. Probably 2.5 stars
July 10, 2011
Not ghost written by Lester Dent. Ghost written by someone else and the engagement I showed as a result was apparent.
June 21, 2012
Doc adventure set right here in Vancouver. Gotta love it! This one is often maligned, but I enjoyed it.
January 19, 2014
Good read in the Doc Savage series.
December 1, 2014
I thought this book was great adventure 5/5
July 7, 2016
5 stars for nostalgic sake.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews