Doc Savage Vol. 22: Mystery Under The Sea & The Red Terrors

Doc Savage Sanctum Editions #22

by Kenneth Robeson (House Name), Lester Dent, Harold A. Davis

The greatest superhero of the pulp era investigates the ancient mysteries of Atlantis in two thrilling undersea adventures by Lester Dent writing as "Kenneth Robeson." First, Doc Savage journeys to the Caribbean in search of the lost underwater city of Taz to solve a "Mystery Under the Sea," with three never-before-published chapters (totaling more than 6,000 words) restored from Dent's original manuscript. Then, the Man of Bronze and his Iron Men discover a sunken fortress populated by amphibious "Red Terrors." This classic reprint showcases the classic color pulp covers by Walter Baumhofer and Emery Clarke, and reprints all the original interior illustrations by Paul Orban. Historical commentary is provided by Will Murray, author of seven Doc Savage novels. (Sanctum Productions) Softcover, 7x10. B&W

Genres: Pulp

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

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

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished reading Mystery Under the Sea. When I was in high school and college, I read the Bantam reprints of the Doc novels as soon as they were published. Several years ago, I decided to read them in the order they were originally published back in the 30s and 40s, however, I only made it through about the first 30 or so. I have continued this sporadically in recent years, reading Murder Mirage a few months ago. Mystery Under the Sea is next in line. I happened to have one of the Sanctum reprints that includes Mystery plus The Red Terrors. This volume actually had a restored version of Mystery that included more than 7000 words that were edited out of the original publication. It also contained an article about Lester Dent and some of his sources for the novel. Also discussed how Red Terrors became a sequel to Mystery Under the Sea.

In Mystery, a mutilated man who has been burnt with acid makes his way to Doc's headquarters but dies before he can tell them anything. Even so, Doc and his crew are soon on the trail of modern-day pirate Captain Flamingo and ruthless heiress Diamond Eve Post, racing to the Caribbean to claim the lost science of TAZ, ancient outpost of Atlantis. This one seemed to take a long time to get going. The novel was more than half over before Doc and his crew eventually get kidnapped and on to the lost city. Some interesting features of the novel include use of a substance that makes it possible to go under water without breathing. The restoration also included the first mention and explanation of Doc's "flea run", the pneumatic escape system mentioned in later novels. Overall, I liked this one better than the last couple of Doc's I read that were written by authors other than Lester Dent. I'll read The Red Terrors at a later date.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished the first half of this double volume that collects Doc Savage tales about adventures beneath the seas. Like a lot of lost civilization tales there are mysteries and hints of arcane knowledge, but the world doesn't necessarily change by the end of the story because it's in the nature of the tale to make the reader wonder but let them remain comfortable. The world doesn't really change — but it could — and it could be so much better if these mysteries from the past are any indication.