089 08/37 Ost

Posted by on Aug 6, 1997 in 1937, Bantam 085-096, harris, larkin, nanovic, novel, pulp | 6 comments

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By night, a fabulous city floats like a phosphorescent fantasy over the watery waste of the Pacific. The awestruck sailors who witness this miraculous sight find themselves gifted suddenly with superhuman powers. But by morning the phantasm — and its magic — have mysteriously vaporized. Stranger still, why are a certain crime kingpin and beautiful but ruthless heiress fascinated by the unearthly event? To come up — alive –with an answer, the Man of Bronze will need all his incredible cunning and towering strength. (Bantam renamed this novel: “The Magic Island”)


  • Andrew Salmon

    I enjoyed this one. What struck me was the familiar style. This one had the tone of someone sitting you down and telling you a tale. It moved slowly and was dull in parts but the tone set it apart. Also, the fabulous five, especially Monk, were portrayed more as Doc’s equals than as “his” men. I liked this since the five are always shown as being men of ability and talent in their respective fields. Although many of the stories TELL us that Doc does not view the five as his subordinates, Ost/The Magic Island SHOWED them as equals. Not a great Doc but a good one.

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

    I found “Ost” to be one of the few excellent Docs of the late 1930s. It moves right along, taking the reader to an exotic local (with a great take on the strange city trope common to pulp fiction) and is filled with blue men chasing Doc and his pals. No one likes the paperback cover. Doc is too old, but the city is captured correctly. I’ve read this book about three times and while it’s not of the caliber of the novels of 1933-1935, it still can please.

  • Steve Hartle

    Still trying to understand why Bantam changed the title???..Ost just seems so much better…”The Magic Island”…stupid name…I appreciate Bantam’s reprinting effort…(I would never have met Doc without it), but they sure screwde up alot!

  • Scott Kimball

    I found the writing to be a bit odd in this one…can’t really put my finger on it…just something was a bit off. Had some enjoyable elements and definitely worth reading, but not a top tier Doc story by a long shot.

  • Scott Kimball

    I found the writing to be a bit odd in this story…can’t really put my finger on it…but something just wasn’t quite right. There are a lot of good elements in this story, but it is definitely not a top-tier Doc adventure.

  • http://DocSavageOrganised Richard Cording

    I have to disagree with Paul about the cover — it’s great! This was actually one of the only Docs I ever bought brand new ( over here in New Zealand hardly any bookstores carried the latest Bantam Docs; usually I found them second hand at book exchanges and the like ), and I found this cover quite a refreshing change from the recent spate of Vallejo covers. It was almost like going back to the best of Pfeiffer. The story… very enjoyable and Doc on top of his form! As a rule, I’m not a great fan of the “lost civilization” Doc Savage yarn but this one grabbed me from the start. It’s been 30 years exactly since I read it, but I still remember it with fondness. Four stars.