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Doc Savage (Bantam) #77
The South Pole Terror
What was the fabulous treasure Velma Crale had discovered in the South Pole? And why was Cheaters Slagg willing to kill to keep her from talking? The Man of Bronze and his five aides give chase all the way to the bottom of the world — and are nearly sunburned to death!
137 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 1936
90 people want to read
About the author
Kenneth Robeson
913 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 - 15 of 15 reviews
November 29, 2024
In keeping with the ”terror theme” in some of these Doc Savage thrilling adventures, I chose another story with “terror” in its title … The South Pole Terror; and this one has a terrible beginning … fifteen bodies were found on a private yacht drifting aimlessly in the Long Island Sound; two people were hideously murdered, thirteen were murdered by some other type of weapon such as a toxic gas, and one was presumably thrown overboard. And there was one more murder of the hideous type in the story … Doc Savage has been blown to bits in his own laboratory. Apparently, the mob is heavily involved in all this murder and mayhem, as it has succeeded in ”knocking off” its chief adversary, Doc Savage … but did they?
The scene shifts to London where Johnny and Renny are attending an academic function; they receive a mysterious cablegram instructing them to drop everything and board a fast steamer to New York in an attempt to learn what they can about a man named Thurston H. Wardhouse. They do so even though the ship sailed thirty minutes prior; they hitched a ride on a seaplane and boarded the ship, and within a few minutes, learn of Doc’s death from the ship's captain. As they are nearing their destination, the weather turns ungodly hot, and “all hell” breaks loose on the ship, in the same manner as occurred on the yacht that was adrift off the coast of New York.
Doc reenters the story in Chapter VI and wastes no time attempting to solve the problems at hand. I won’t go into the further details of the story as I don’t want to play the role of a spoiler; however, a few hours later, the crew, minus Long Tom are bound for Antarctica. They arrived a few hours later and immediately set about the business at hand. After a few difficulties comprising several days, Doc and his crew solve the mystery of the South Pole terror and neutralize the bad guys; the two leaders are eliminated by the pursuance of their own greed.
The South Pole Terror was written by Lester Dent instead of a substitute writer; this story was of higher caliber than some of the others that were farmed out to the contract help in that it has an abundance of “science” thrown in; Lester was trained as a telegraph operator in a technical school before he became an author, thus he had a technical education. He was impressed by science and technological development and incorporated a great deal of technological innovation into his Doc Savage stories. Lester rushed his explanation of the story's plot in the final chapter, but in keeping with the fast pace of the story, it seemed like the logical thing to do. Doc and Thurston H. Wardhouse, the inventor of the apparatus that was responsible for the terrible heat, explained the “ins and outs” of the situation to the crew.
And with that being said, the loose ends are tied up, and another five-star Doc Savage thriller comes to an exciting close. *****
The scene shifts to London where Johnny and Renny are attending an academic function; they receive a mysterious cablegram instructing them to drop everything and board a fast steamer to New York in an attempt to learn what they can about a man named Thurston H. Wardhouse. They do so even though the ship sailed thirty minutes prior; they hitched a ride on a seaplane and boarded the ship, and within a few minutes, learn of Doc’s death from the ship's captain. As they are nearing their destination, the weather turns ungodly hot, and “all hell” breaks loose on the ship, in the same manner as occurred on the yacht that was adrift off the coast of New York.
Doc reenters the story in Chapter VI and wastes no time attempting to solve the problems at hand. I won’t go into the further details of the story as I don’t want to play the role of a spoiler; however, a few hours later, the crew, minus Long Tom are bound for Antarctica. They arrived a few hours later and immediately set about the business at hand. After a few difficulties comprising several days, Doc and his crew solve the mystery of the South Pole terror and neutralize the bad guys; the two leaders are eliminated by the pursuance of their own greed.
The South Pole Terror was written by Lester Dent instead of a substitute writer; this story was of higher caliber than some of the others that were farmed out to the contract help in that it has an abundance of “science” thrown in; Lester was trained as a telegraph operator in a technical school before he became an author, thus he had a technical education. He was impressed by science and technological development and incorporated a great deal of technological innovation into his Doc Savage stories. Lester rushed his explanation of the story's plot in the final chapter, but in keeping with the fast pace of the story, it seemed like the logical thing to do. Doc and Thurston H. Wardhouse, the inventor of the apparatus that was responsible for the terrible heat, explained the “ins and outs” of the situation to the crew.
And with that being said, the loose ends are tied up, and another five-star Doc Savage thriller comes to an exciting close. *****
June 20, 2017
5 for nostalgia. Straight up action story with some hard Sci-Fi (with a few errors.. even for the times). They got the speed of light wrong 186,000 miles PER SECOND not minute!!!! For the record though, Renny got it wrong and it might have just been politeness that kept Doc from correcting him.
January 6, 2025
The South Pole Terror 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.
June 16, 2025
3.75. Maybe I'm just in a terrible mood, but this came under the heading might as well read it to finish it.
Bought for the title, added to the polar shelf, but man the pulp novel showed through in this..
First hes dead for half the book, then our intrepid hero isn't dead, then he's cracked the case before everyone else, then half the people are hidden or dead.
Honestly, this book can be summed up by " we split the gang back up" and also " ew girls are icky". The group is separated for ... pretty much all of the book. So we get to wonder at them individually... and then Doc Savage saves each of the day and their friendship. Id be pretty pissed if my coworker asked my help and revealed he had the solution all along. Repeatedly.
The casual racism and sexism prevails in true 1930s fashion. This seems like the pulp office was just down the road from the offices of Little America 1 and just picked those guys brains for ideas. They get something right, and the idea of the ozone layer turned into a weapon again seems prescient.
A pulp book. I finished it.
Bought for the title, added to the polar shelf, but man the pulp novel showed through in this..
First hes dead for half the book, then our intrepid hero isn't dead, then he's cracked the case before everyone else, then half the people are hidden or dead.
Honestly, this book can be summed up by " we split the gang back up" and also " ew girls are icky". The group is separated for ... pretty much all of the book. So we get to wonder at them individually... and then Doc Savage saves each of the day and their friendship. Id be pretty pissed if my coworker asked my help and revealed he had the solution all along. Repeatedly.
The casual racism and sexism prevails in true 1930s fashion. This seems like the pulp office was just down the road from the offices of Little America 1 and just picked those guys brains for ideas. They get something right, and the idea of the ozone layer turned into a weapon again seems prescient.
A pulp book. I finished it.
April 29, 2025
Doc Savage is perfect in everything he does all the time. He does not make mistakes he just pretends to make them. He is also incredibly strong, smart, resourceful, and the best fighter. The guy has no faults so it becomes hard to root for him or get absorbed in the story. He’s going to win it’s just a question of when.
Monk and Ham were some of the highlights as there constant jibbing at each other made for some funny moments.
I definitely understand why a lot of pulp was looked down on at the time, after reading this.
Monk and Ham were some of the highlights as there constant jibbing at each other made for some funny moments.
I definitely understand why a lot of pulp was looked down on at the time, after reading this.
July 10, 2025
Something is causing great heat waves, weird weather, and group insanity, and Doc Savage means to find out why. The baddies try to pin it all on the Doc but he eludes the police and follows them to the Antarctic. There he discovers the baddies running a secret mining operation which uses cosmic rays to melt the ice cap and allow them to mine the land underneath.
March 12, 2017
Good adventure story as expected. Not terribly dated.
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!
August 3, 2023
This was one of the better Doc Savage adventures that I have read. The story kept me engaged and intrigued throughout. Doc’s gang of five adventurers follow along and are captured and escape while Doc attempts to solve the mystery. Starting in NYC, they travel to Connecticut before going south to Antarctica for the finale. As usual, Doc loses an expensive seaplane and a very expensive dirigible along the way.
Doc and his crew are hunted by the police and the FBI. The FBI have arrest warrants for Doc and his men and are blamed for the mysterious sun and heat as well as the deaths that have resulted. This is odd due the fact that Doc and his men have honorary captains ranks with the NYC police. No reason is given for the sudden distrust. Nor is this conundrum resolved by the end of the book. The issue is left hanging, forgotten by the author. That being said, it was still an interesting saga as a Doc Savage adventure yarn.
All five of Doc’s associates are along for the ride.
Lester Dent was the author of this book which was originally published October 1936.
Doc and his crew are hunted by the police and the FBI. The FBI have arrest warrants for Doc and his men and are blamed for the mysterious sun and heat as well as the deaths that have resulted. This is odd due the fact that Doc and his men have honorary captains ranks with the NYC police. No reason is given for the sudden distrust. Nor is this conundrum resolved by the end of the book. The issue is left hanging, forgotten by the author. That being said, it was still an interesting saga as a Doc Savage adventure yarn.
All five of Doc’s associates are along for the ride.
Lester Dent was the author of this book which was originally published October 1936.
February 29, 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.
January 6, 2015
More like 3.5 stars. A lively one as a ship full of madmen sunburned to death is found drifting in New York harbor and a boobytrap apparently kills Doc in the first chapter. Things move fast from there until we get to the South Pole at the climax.
August 24, 2010
I love these old Doc Savage stories!
June 24, 2014
One of the best Doc Savage pulp novels with super-science, airships, exotic locales, and nasty baddies.
June 17, 2016
Another quick and easy to read adventure of Doc and his five friends. A Mysterious package, an explosion, death by heat, and accusations of murder.
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August 12, 2016read some time in 1982
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews