007 04/34 The Monsters

Posted by on Apr 30, 1994 in 1934, bama, Bantam 001-012, baumhofer, nanovic | 11 comments

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The breeding ground was a walled castle completely covered over with a huge electrified net. Inside were the scum of the earth, gathered from the prisons of the world, transformed into invincible giants. Now they were ready to ravage the world — unless Doc Savage and his mighty crew could stop them.


  • http://docsavage.info Chuck Welch

    Does anyone know why Bama updated Baumhofer’s painting for The Monsters? He didn’t seem to copy any of the other pulp covers.

  • Barry Ellis

    One of my favorite Docs! Them pinheads scared the bejabbers out of me when I was a kid!

  • http://www.howardhopkins.com Howard Hopkins

    I think in this novel Lester Dent really hit his stride. It’s nearly a perfect example of all that was great about the series, and even evokes and emotional content. The “monster” pushing up through the floor in the mansion has to be one of the most frightening in the series.

  • Gary

    Pretty eerie build up, but the unfortunate Monsters could have been “fleshed out” a little more! And how on Earth could Doc keep all the mayhem a secret, even in the 30′s? 9.5/10.

  • Todd Pence

    Yet another winner among the early Doc stories, well-plotted and well-written by Dent. On a side note: the Batman comic book later ripped off this story with the very first issue under the Batman title in 1940 called “Dr. Hugo Strange and the Mutant Monsters”. It has a plot virtually identical to this Doc tale.

  • http://www.paulcook-sci-fi.com Paul Cook

    I would like to echo Howard Hawkins’ comment about the monster pushing up through the floor. I read this book when I was about 16 and even though I knew (from the cover) what the monsters were, I pretended that I was in Doc’s shoes (and the shoes of his aides) when they confronted this menace . . . and it scared the hell out of me. I also liked the scene when the monsters were tearing up Doc’s airplane that was on the shore of the lake in the middle of the night. This was one of the best science fiction Doc adventures that Lester Dent wrote. He was truly inspired. This is a book I’d recommend to anyone new to Doc.

  • Mark Carpenter

    “The Monsters” is a sturdy, competent Doc adventure

  • Lee Dorrance

    Like some of the previous posters, I felt the monsters could have been described in a little more detail. Other thatn the fact that they dwarfed Doc and were able to tear apart planes and houses, nothing much is mentioned about exactly how big they were. The best guess one can make is when they destroy the mansion while Doc, Monk & Ham look on. Are they actually as large as the cover(s) depict? We never really know. The Marvel comics adaptation of the novel around 1972 showed them being fairly large beings, so maybe this is one mystery that Dent decided to leave up to the imagination of the reader.

    Aside from the minor rant above, a top-notch adventure!

  • Heather

    All I can say is Mr. Ellis and Mr. Hopkins I AGREE.

  • Ignatz

    One of the creepiest of the early stories, and a foray into something more like horror and science fiction than  the usual Doc.  I found the pace of much a little off, but the finish was jus terrific.

    It reminded me of Tod Browning’s Freaks, and I wonder if Dent saw the movie?

  • Richard Cording

    This novel, along with FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE and THE DEVIL GENGIS are the ultimate holy grails for me in the Doc Savage series. As with DEATH IN SILVER, I first encountered THE MONSTERS as a Marvel comic. Sadly, I have as yet to find it….