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Doc Savage (Bantam) #26
Death In Silver
THE SINISTER LEAGUE OF THE SILVER DEATH'S-HEADS
An awesome legion of master criminals launch a devastating series of raids that set the entire east coast of America aflame. Skyscrapers explode, ocean liners disappear, key witnesses are kidnapped and brutally murdered as the holocaust rages. In a desperate race against time Doc Savage attempts to discover the true identity of the twisted brain who rules the silver-costumed marauders-while the mysterious Ull and his army of hooded assassins move closer to their grim objective of world domination!
An awesome legion of master criminals launch a devastating series of raids that set the entire east coast of America aflame. Skyscrapers explode, ocean liners disappear, key witnesses are kidnapped and brutally murdered as the holocaust rages. In a desperate race against time Doc Savage attempts to discover the true identity of the twisted brain who rules the silver-costumed marauders-while the mysterious Ull and his army of hooded assassins move closer to their grim objective of world domination!
134 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1934
5 people are currently reading
123 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 - 28 of 28 reviews
May 30, 2024
Death in Silver 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.
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.
July 21, 2021
Doc goes against a gang called the Silver Death's Heads -- so named because they dress in silver costumes with silver masks that make their heads resemble skulls -- who are murdering and causing mayhem, directed by a mysterious boss. This is a good, fast-paced adventure -- another that would have made a great movie serial back in the day.
August 5, 2014
This is the best Doc Savage novel of the 20 I've read so far. Fast paced, tightly written and full of peril for Doc, Monk, Ham and Pat. Johnny, Renny and Long Tom don't appear in this one, a first for the series, and the never-ending argument between Monk and Ham really never materializes. This story could be filmed as a period piece or translated to modern day and be an absolute blockbuster! For once, Doc is trapped and none of his fantastic gadgets or brilliant schemes are working. The Silver Death's Head gang seems to anticipate his every move. IMHO the best of the series so far.
April 29, 2025
This one was a more claustrophobic adventure, almost as though Doc Savage had suffered a budget cut.
Instead of spanning the globe and ending up in a more exotic location, this one never leaves the New York/New Jersey locale. And, it also cut out Renny, Long Tom, and Johnnie altogether, though it did once again bring in Pat Savage long enough to be captured and spend the bulk of the novel off stage. Seriously, Pat Savage is sorely underused in this series.
Still, for all that, it was a fun one, and Doc got caught off guard a couple of times. But overall, this one was different enough from the previous nineteen that I had to go check to see if it had been penned by Lester Dent. It had. So I'm wondering if there might have been a bit of writer fatigue going on.
Instead of spanning the globe and ending up in a more exotic location, this one never leaves the New York/New Jersey locale. And, it also cut out Renny, Long Tom, and Johnnie altogether, though it did once again bring in Pat Savage long enough to be captured and spend the bulk of the novel off stage. Seriously, Pat Savage is sorely underused in this series.
Still, for all that, it was a fun one, and Doc got caught off guard a couple of times. But overall, this one was different enough from the previous nineteen that I had to go check to see if it had been penned by Lester Dent. It had. So I'm wondering if there might have been a bit of writer fatigue going on.
December 31, 2021
Another Doc Savage mystery in which Pat is part of, although she is basically held hostage for much of the book. In this book, only Monk and Ham are with Doc in his quest to crack the mystery of the men in silver. I wasn’t particularly enamored with this book. Not a very good DocSavage saga in my opinion. We do learn that Doc has set Patricia Savage in a high end beauty parlor in New York City.
Ronny, Long Tom and Johnny are in Europe on profession related business. Johnny is in England for scientific conferences and will lead into the next book, The Sea Magician.
Ronny, Long Tom and Johnny are in Europe on profession related business. Johnny is in England for scientific conferences and will lead into the next book, The Sea Magician.
June 1, 2025
This is an old book from the days of pulp fiction and dime novels. It was copyrighted in 1934. However, Doc Savage is a fascinating character, a prose interpretation of a comic-book hero, a superhuman figure akin to Superman, the Green Hornet, and Captain America during World War II.
In this thrilling adventure of murder, corruption, submarines, and costumed villains in silver suits with silver death's-head masks. It is as fun as a modern Marvel Movie, but with a distinctive 1930's vibe.
In this thrilling adventure of murder, corruption, submarines, and costumed villains in silver suits with silver death's-head masks. It is as fun as a modern Marvel Movie, but with a distinctive 1930's vibe.
May 1, 2020
This one comes from undoubtedly the best year for Doc Savage magazine, 1934, so you'd expect it to be good. And it certainly is, an early appearance by Doc's beautiful cousin Pat, some nefarious silver-clad bad guys and some underwater adventure helping make this an excellent tale. It's not quite in the very top group of Doc adventures, but it's solidly in the next set.
October 4, 2017
Another good Doc Savage adventure.
February 26, 2020
Pulp novel featuring Doc Savage and his crew. Started out slow but the undersea battle at the end was pretty tense. Not one of the better adventures.
May 8, 2020
I enjoyed this Doc Savage story. Kept me guessing who the Big Boss was right up to the end of the book. Lots of Doc action!
June 23, 2020
3.5 / 5
October 7, 2022
Just Doc, Monk and Ham this go round but nearly no stop to the action once we start. Not surprised that this was the book that they planned for the sequel to Ely's film version.
December 19, 2023
Pure pulp from a bygone era. Simple entertainment, don't read too much into it.
October 17, 2013
Doc Savage is a very unique individual. With his bronze skin, off-the-scale intellect, and strength to match, he has dedicated his life to rooting out all forms of evil. His adventures were also an important part of 1930s pulp fiction, which is where this novel was first published.
New York City has seen its share of crime waves, but this is different. This time, the perpetrators are a group of people who wear identical head to toe silver suits, including silver masks that cover their entire heads. They are able to rob an armored car, or kill someone who knows too much, and make a clean getaway. The police have no idea who, or where, they are. The city is in an uproar.
Usually, Doc has five assistants, each of them an expert on their own, to help him in his never-ending battle against evil. This time, three of them are overseas, and the others, Ham and Monk, spend part of the book being kidnapped. Doc survives several assassination attempts; the gang's leader knows never to underestimate Doc Savage. The story shifts to the bottom of the East River in Manhattan, where a battle takes place between the occupants of a couple of submarines.
A certain shipping company has a record of getting close to a competitor, interested in a merger. Suddenly, the other owner suffers an "untimely demise," or the other company suffers a severe financial setback, allowing it to be taken over. As this novel opens, another shipping company owner, whose shipyard was used for a secret purpose, gets cold feet, and tells "Mr. Big" that he is going to the police. Moments later, his office, with him in it, is destroyed by a massive explosion.
This one is pretty good. I can easily see this novel serialized over three or four months in a pulp magazine, right next to a science fiction, detective, or sports pulp magazine. For those who appreciate such literature, this has plenty of action, and is worth checking out.
New York City has seen its share of crime waves, but this is different. This time, the perpetrators are a group of people who wear identical head to toe silver suits, including silver masks that cover their entire heads. They are able to rob an armored car, or kill someone who knows too much, and make a clean getaway. The police have no idea who, or where, they are. The city is in an uproar.
Usually, Doc has five assistants, each of them an expert on their own, to help him in his never-ending battle against evil. This time, three of them are overseas, and the others, Ham and Monk, spend part of the book being kidnapped. Doc survives several assassination attempts; the gang's leader knows never to underestimate Doc Savage. The story shifts to the bottom of the East River in Manhattan, where a battle takes place between the occupants of a couple of submarines.
A certain shipping company has a record of getting close to a competitor, interested in a merger. Suddenly, the other owner suffers an "untimely demise," or the other company suffers a severe financial setback, allowing it to be taken over. As this novel opens, another shipping company owner, whose shipyard was used for a secret purpose, gets cold feet, and tells "Mr. Big" that he is going to the police. Moments later, his office, with him in it, is destroyed by a massive explosion.
This one is pretty good. I can easily see this novel serialized over three or four months in a pulp magazine, right next to a science fiction, detective, or sports pulp magazine. For those who appreciate such literature, this has plenty of action, and is worth checking out.
April 28, 2023
Another Doc Savage submarine adventure, except this time he's going up against a bunch of tin woodsman impersonators. It was a pretty good adventure except that the repeating dude, Rapid Pace, seemed like a D list Dick Tracy character and was really pointless to the story, even Doc was getting annoyed with him.
This adventure did give us some good lines, such as:
'The archer was not a large man—if he was a man.' (But he was..or was he?...He was, i'm just kidding...or was I?)
'He was shorter than Ham, who was not tall, and he was also scrawny, with thin arms and gnarled legs.' (so it was Danny DeVito?)
'He had a stupid face, anyway;' (no, YOUR face is stupid)
"Blast me, you're lightning in chains!" (just like my sister Alice, she's in chains too)
'He simply found the fellow's neck and grasped the back of it with corded fingers.' (So Doc gave him the Vulcan death grip? )
'A rather square, stupid face was revealed.' (No, YOUR face is stupid)
'His complexion was as perfect as a woman's' (Hey! that's not funny, a perfect womans complexion killed my dad!)
'From the hallway came a sound reminiscent of buckshot being poured on a taut bed sheet' (Yeah... Wait, what?)
"Why, you--" The other tried to find a word bad enough. ' (let me get my dictionary and I'll get back to you)
As well as the (insert your own joke here) line: 'They surrendered quickly to Doc's metal probe.'
This go around the Superamalgamated count was zero again, and the Holy cow count came out to 8.
Oh well, on to the next one.
This adventure did give us some good lines, such as:
'The archer was not a large man—if he was a man.' (But he was..or was he?...He was, i'm just kidding...or was I?)
'He was shorter than Ham, who was not tall, and he was also scrawny, with thin arms and gnarled legs.' (so it was Danny DeVito?)
'He had a stupid face, anyway;' (no, YOUR face is stupid)
"Blast me, you're lightning in chains!" (just like my sister Alice, she's in chains too)
'He simply found the fellow's neck and grasped the back of it with corded fingers.' (So Doc gave him the Vulcan death grip? )
'A rather square, stupid face was revealed.' (No, YOUR face is stupid)
'His complexion was as perfect as a woman's' (Hey! that's not funny, a perfect womans complexion killed my dad!)
'From the hallway came a sound reminiscent of buckshot being poured on a taut bed sheet' (Yeah... Wait, what?)
"Why, you--" The other tried to find a word bad enough. ' (let me get my dictionary and I'll get back to you)
As well as the (insert your own joke here) line: 'They surrendered quickly to Doc's metal probe.'
This go around the Superamalgamated count was zero again, and the Holy cow count came out to 8.
Oh well, on to the next one.
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!
July 4, 2021
A pretty typical Doc Savage tale. A criminal genius has gathered a gang and created bullet proof garments and gas masks. The gang is running roughshod through New York and the police can't stop them. Doc Savage enters when Monk and Ham are kidnapped by the gang. Being a criminal genius the leader thinks he can outsmart and trap Doc Savage.
There's some interesting 'scientific' twists in the tale. I'm not sure how much of what they did was available in 1934 so some of the 'science' is probably speculative. The ending seemed rushed but was a bit predictable.
There's some interesting 'scientific' twists in the tale. I'm not sure how much of what they did was available in 1934 so some of the 'science' is probably speculative. The ending seemed rushed but was a bit predictable.
February 10, 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.
August 25, 2010
This is another one that I listened to on my Kindle during my long commute. I thought it was pretty good, although like many of the Doc Savage books it ties up a little too neatly at the end. Considering how many times Doc has to rescue his compatriots, like Monk and Ham, you wonder why he keeps them around.
October 17, 2013
An excellent entry in the series as Doc and Co. go up against the Silver Death's Heads, a group of killers garbed in silver bullet-proof outfits, and their sinister boss Ull. A clever plot, some good lines and a lot of action make this one a winner.
December 1, 2016
Good, clean old-fashioned fun. Kenneth Robeson (really Lester Dent) succumbs to the temptation to trim down Doc's unwieldy "fabulous five" to the most vivid two (Monk and Ham) and the result is a more compact than usual adventure.
August 20, 2009
Fun, but pretty typical Doc adventure is given an extra boast by the 'Legion of Silver'. They are cool bad guy, both visually and as a foe of Doc's.
September 14, 2014
A fun read. It brought back a lot of memories from childhood.
January 23, 2016
reread this SOMETIME in 2011
July 7, 2016
Elements of domestic terrorism even in 1930's literature. Kind of a Holmes'ian story. (Which would make sense according to Philip Jose Farmer).
December 16, 2013
Simple quick read, good entry in the Doc Savage series.
Read
September 29, 2016read Death in Silver some time in summer 1968
January 18, 2017
read in summer 1968
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews