046 08/36 The Midas Man

Posted by on Aug 9, 1996 in 1936, bama, Bantam 037-048, baumhofer, nanovic, novel, pulp | 5 comments

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Riches beyond the wealth of kings were within the evil grasp of The Midas Man. His very thoughts were worth criminal millions — no man could escape his evil device. But he hadn’t counted on the power for good of Doc Savage!


  • Andrew Salmon

    Brothers and Sisters, this one is what Doc’s all about!! Great action! Twists and turns! And a mystery that IS a mystery. No lame explanation at the end. Johnny and Ham get to bust heads and move the story forward. Monk and Doc have words at the end. Even a great description of how Doc’s brain works: “This guy thinks like chain lightning.” A great Doc all around! I highly recommend it.

  • Paul Rocconi, MD

    Had to post a comment on this one. Was lucky a few years back and managed to buy the original James Bama oil painting for the cover. The original painting has even greater detail than you would expect from the book cover. The publishers also have altered the color tones slightly. The green hues of Doc are true and the background blends with a more cohesive tone. Apparently the editors added the “yellow” to everything but doc to make him stand out more but in the process lost some of the detail of the background.

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

    This has one of the best Bama covers and is one of the quickest reads in the series. It’s straight action, virtually non-stop, and has a great science fiction gadget at its core. Great fun!

  • Mark Carpenter

    This one was a real disappointment. The title, cover art and promo blurb promised a much more interesting villain than the story actually delivered. Although this was written by Dent, it sure doesn’t feel like it. He was a master at getting readers instantly interested in a story, but the first 100 pages of “The Midas Man” are nothing but Doc, Monk and Ham trading shots with a bunch of faceless hoods in various houses across New Jersey. Dent was also known for
    creating terrific “world-threatening” devices for his villains, but the Midas Man’s gadget isn’t even used until the last part of the book and even then it’s to get stock market tips. Yawn.

    Oh well, in a series of 181 novels, I guess he had the right to phone it in once and a while.

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

    This is one of the better Docs of 1936. The story is rather light, but it zips along. It’s true that the mind-reading device isn’t used to the extent that it might have been used, but it’s a Dent story, and in 1936 that means a lot, particularly since it’s in the midst of a bunch of stinkers.