048 09/37 The Feathered Octopus

Posted by on Sep 13, 1997 in 1937, bama, Bantam 037-048, harris, nanovic, novel, pulp | 8 comments

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Lured into a trap by a bogus appeal to his sense of goodness, Doc Savage saw a dangerous plot to gain control of all the world’s airlines. But the monstrous financial manipulator High Lar, his wife Lo Lar and their gang hadn’t counted on the superhuman strength and cunning of the Man of Bronze to uncover their evil plan!


  • Tom O’Carroll

    “The Feathered Octopus” was the firat Doc that I ever read (around 1970-71). I still like the story, as it is a typical all out -you-don’t-know who-the bad-guy-is epic, with a good sideline – Jonny & Long Tom fighting for Lam Benbow’s (the adventure’s babe) affection. It has a good villan, exotic locals, plenty of action, and good gadgets. What more could you ask?

  • http://docsavage.info Chuck Welch

    I enjoyed this one. The pace was quick and the characters interesting. I do have to say I wasn’t impressed with the villan. Seeing Johnny and Long Tom mix it up instead of Monk and Ham was a nice touch.

  • http://www.pulprack.com/ Duane Spurlock

    The first half was nicely paced, and I liked the fact that Johnny and Long Tom got more “face time” in this novel than in most adventures. In effect, they took over the Monk and Ham pairing for the first half of the story. But after Doc and Monk and Ham re-entered the tale, Johnny and Long Tom again took almost back-stage roles — even Renny saw more action in the second half of the story than the geologist and the electrical wizard! A fun adventure, but the second half just didn’t hold up as well as the first half, which was a pretty strong opening for a Doc novel.

  • Andrew Salmon

    I enjoyed this one. Doc fighting the octopus was so good I would have liked it to go a bit longer. I agree with the other comments that taking a break from Monk and Ham added a new spin to this tale. Johnny and Long Tom don’t often get moments to shine as characters. And the names High Lar and Lo Lar! Campy Doc fun. Two thumbs up!

  • Mark Carpenter

    “The Feathered Octopus” is a pleasant surprise. Written in a real slump period that included the twin horrors “Devil on the Moon” and “The Sea Angel,” Dent totally breaks free of his usual Doc formula and delivers a unique and effective thriller. Doc being held captive for the entire first half of the book makes for some very interesting story dynamics: fuller development of Long Tom as a character, more face time for Renny, Pat’s brilliant little strategy for finding Doc. I was surpised how much I enjoyed this. You will, too.

  • Todd Pence

    A mixed bag. Others have it right about this one, the second half doesn’t hold up to the first. I thought it was kind of uncharacteristic of Doc to walk into the villians trap at the opening of the book the way he did, Doc is usually much more wary than that and takes more precautions. Especially the weird setup when he got to the house should have put him on his guard that something wasn’t right.
    Also, by halfway through the book, it is blatantly obvious who the real identity of the “Feathered Octopus” is, seeing as how he’s the only availible candidate.

  • Scott Kimball

    Awesome cover! A very good story, too. I have an ocean theme to the decor of my bathroom, so I did an enlargement of this cover and put it up.

  • Michael Bloom

    This was a very good story, I agree. However, there seems to be an entire action sequence missing from the Bantam paperback version (I don’t have the pulp) where Doc is rescued by his buddies.

    If this is so, I anticipate Will Murray and Anthony Tollin restoring the missing parts when they reprint it.

    The Bantam reprints that came out the same year as THE FEATHERED OCTOPUS often have multiple typos and continuity glitches.