026 10/34 Death in Silver

Posted by on Oct 31, 1994 in 1934, bama, Bantam 025-036, baumhofer, nanovic, novel | 11 comments

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An awesome legion of master criminals launch a devastating series of raids that set the entire east coast of America aflame. Skyscrapers explode, ocean liners disappear, key witnesses are kidnapped and brutally murdered as the holocaust rages. In a desperate race against time Doc Savage attempts to discover the true identity of the twisted brain who rules the silver-costumed marauders — while the mysterious Ull and his army of hooded assassins move closer to their grim objective of world domination!


  • Barry Ellis

    One of THE greatest Doc stories. Gadgets and intrigue abound! The “Helldiver” rebuilt and ready to rumble! Quirky Dent characters! This one has it all!

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

    I actually read the Marvel Comics version of this tale first–and loved it. But the paperback proved elusive for many years (this was before the internet made it much easier to get a hold of these things!)After reading the book I was blown away. One of the best early Docs easily.

  • Andrew M. Bowen

    There were some things I dislike about this one.
    Lorna Zane and Pat Savage don’t get much action. My opinion is that if the ladies don’t get to do much, Dent & Co. should have written them out and given more time to Doc and the Fabulous Five. You don’t have to have a heroine in every saga.
    Speaking of which, I wish Ham and Monk had gotten more action.
    Like Doc, I found myself very annoyed by Rapid Pace’s mode of speech, although his final bemusement over becoming brave was pretty amusing.
    On the other hand:
    The underwater fight scenes at the end were utterly fantastic. I reread this recently and I was blown away by Dent’s imagination.
    I liked the idea of a gang using a submarine to commit a crime.
    Ham seemed like a real attorney when he explained the complicated financial fraud.
    That was a great death trap in the mansion. One of these days, I intend to use something similiar in one of my dungeons.
    Overall rating: At least four stars on my five-star scale.

  • DOC THOMPSON

    PRETTY GOOD-LOOKING TO CREATE MY DOC SAVAGE TYPE CHARACTER-COLONEL FATE

  • Jeff Spain

    Great Doc novel. Non-stop action, underwater combat, the “Helldiver”, murder by a 3 inch deck gun. This is filled with action and Pat Savage is thrown in as well.

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

    This is, I believe, the first Doc that doesn’t make use of all five aides though Pat Savage is in it. It’s mostly high-pitched action with the eerie silver death’s heads and great underwater action. I think this would have made a great movie since the villains are costumed and the deaths are particularly grisly. One of the best.

  • Mark Carpenter

    Even though there are no exotic weapons or locations in it, “Death in Silver” has always been a favorite of mine.
    It’s a prime example of Dent’s ability to write terrific action scenes

  • Lee Dorrance

    Another favorite of mine, Death in Silver really shows the depth of Dent’s imagination. I always felt this one would make a great motion picture. From the violent and mysterious thugs in the silver outfits to the epic battle underneath the waters surrounding Manhattan, this is Doc at his finest.

    One point of continuity, however. In one part of the story Doc removes a villain’s wristwatch and replaces his own with it. In prior stories, Dent has made an effort to point out how Doc always seems to know the exact time of day, despite never wearing a watch.

  • Michael Bloom

    Man! This is as good as it gets!

    This adventure is nearly pure Doc, with Monk & Ham mostly on the sidelines,and the other three ‘aids’ off tending to business elsewhere in the world. Even the obligatory gorgeous dame spends most of her time off camera, so to speak.

    The action scenes are amazing – described elsewhere on this page. DEATH IN SILVER would make a great Doc film.
    Sam Raimi, take note!

    James Bama has been quoted as saying this Bantam cover painting is one of his two favorites – along with DUST OF DEATH.

  • Carcosa

    James Bama has said he felt this was his finest Doc cover, which always surprised me…

  • http://DocSavageOrganised Richard Cording

    Like Howard above, I came to this yarn via the Marvel Comics adaptation. I knew the moment I read it that I just HAD to find the novel! It took me the best part of 26 years – and the wait was well worth it. By far one of the best of the entire canon that I have so far read. Doc was perfect in this one, the consumate adventure hero. About the cover… probably Bama’s least impressive effort for me. Doc looks slightly out of proportion and the Silver Death’s-Heads look like something out of a humor magazine, not the fear-inspiring bad guys that the text describes. Even Marvel made them seem more threatening! How do I rate this novel….? 5 stars, no question about it!