By Win Scott Eckert (Kindle ebook ed. 2014)
I grabbed this book last year right after reading The Evil in Pemberley House [LINK],
but only just, on a whim, set out to read it.
I don’t have a whole lot to say about it. With the permission of the Philip Jose Farmer
estate (who share the copyright), Eckert takes the baton to continue the
adventures of “Doc Savage’s” daughter on her own in the 1970s. He does so very ably, even more than the
first volume managing to reproduce the feel of “Kenneth Robeson’s” (Lester Dent’s)
1930s pulp prose. A continuing mystery,
referred to but undeveloped in this novel, is what exactly became of the Man of
Bronze and his wife themselves – doubtless being saved as a subplot running
through future adventures.
The plot is pretty
standard Doc Savage fare – a deafening
howl accompanies the transmutation of persons and objects into crimson glass
which then shatters to pour forth scarlet smoke in the form of a yowling jaguar,
striking first individuals to inspire terror which paves the way for an
extortionate threat to the global economy.
Pat and a small (but obviously to grow) band of companions are drawn
into the crisis, first through her new England-based Empire State
Investigations and then on behalf of Her Majesty’s Secret Service. I’ll say no more than that, other than that
since this is part of the Wold Newton
universe connections with the wider pulp, Victorian, and pop-culture world of
literature abound – it’s well worth reading for yourself. And I have quite a bit less hesitation in
recommending this novel than its predecessor [q.v.]
which bore much heavier the stamp of PJF with regard to sexual perversion,
which is only really hinted at in these pages.
Personally, I’m thankful for that – it’s one reason I delayed so long in
actually reading this novel. I doubt I’ll
let the next installment, whenever it appears, lie unread for so long. All in all, this was a quick, light read,
much like the 1930s pulps themselves.
And sometimes that’s just what the old boy needs.
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