069 05/34 The Mystery on the Snow

Posted by on May 31, 1994 in 1934, Bantam 061-072, baumhofer, nanovic, pfeiffer | 8 comments

3405.jpg 069.jpg


In one of his most important adventures, the Man of Bronze journeys north to Canada, and in her magnificent wilderness solves a billion-dollar riddle: Who or What has committed murder — and worse! — to possess the secret of the miracle called Benlanium?


  • Andrew Salmon

    Although this one was not a classic Doc, I enjoyed it because it took place in Canada. Reading the bad French-Canadian accents, and the references to Toronto made it memorable for this Canuck. It is the third one I’ve read that’s set in Canada and I hope there are more. This one featured a somewhat interesting story and features a couple of gruesome torture scenes involving Renny and one of the guest leads. Also, Renny, Long Tom and Johnny have a bit more to do than just be kidnap bait for Doc, Monk and Ham. All in all, a perfect example of the average Doc.

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

    I’d give this a grade of “B” or perhaps a “B-”. I thought that it was a pretty good straight-forward adventure and Dent really conveyed how cold it actually was for Doc and his men. I didn’t at all like the Fred Pfeiffer cover though some fans do like it. (I’m one of the few, I think, who actually liked several of the Pfeiffer covers, though it took a few years for me to appreciate them.)

  • Dan Cameron

    I had mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, it comes across as a genuine mystery, giving clues to the reader as to the identity of the villain. Also, there were some genuine twists thrown in that I definitely did not see coming. The only let-down was how Stroam’s disguise was revealed as a character not introduced until late in the final third of the book!
    I also have to say that Midnat D’avid is one of the toughest (and probably most stubborn) women Doc’s come across since Pat Savage!

  • Lee Dorrance

    Coming on the heels of what I consider to be a classic Doc adventure, Mystery on the Snow was somewhat of a letdown. A good mystery but the ending seemed a little rushed to me, as if Dent were on a deadline and had to quickly wrap it up in order to make publication

  • Michael Bloom

    After reading this competent thriller (but nothing special) I noticed that the next-released novel was THE KING MAKER, which was ghosted. Dent appeared to put this one together quickly, as he was probably in a rush to get out of New York and into a sailing or exploring adventure somewhere else.

    Once again, the cover painting gives away the key plot point. Shame on you Pfeiffer!

  • Mark Carpenter

    Not one of my favorites. Solid action but none of the bizarre twists, villains or death machines that make classic Docs so fun.
    This is an early book and Dent was starting to codify his story formula

  • Ignatz

    I found this one rather enjoyable.  It’s one of the few times the identity of the villain surprised me; I like Arctic locales; I thought Midnat D’avis was one of the best females, and should have been used again; I also believe it’s the first story where Johnny’s idiosyncracy of using huge words appears.  One thing that threw me is that the last Chapter is titled “Habeas Does a Bit” – and Habeas doesn’t even appear in the chapter, in fact his fate is left as a loose end.  I suspect that some editions have a slightly longer ending.

  • http://DocSavageOrganised Richard Cording

    The first Doc I ever read, way back in August, 1973! Along with the Marvel Comics adaptations which were appearing at the time, MYSTERY made me a life-long Doc fan. Funnily enough, this story is pretty low-key for a Doc yarn and therefore a good place for any earnest Doc-seeker to begin. Just imagine the thrills to be discovered in the other higher-paced adventures! Highly recommended!