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column 018 10/33 The Sargasso Ogre column
 

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A ruthless attempt on the life of one of Doc's crew thrusts the Man of Bronze and his incomparable companions into a chilling new adventure. From the ancient, skull-lined catacombs of Alexandria to a fantastic sea of floating primitive life where they unravel the centuries-old mystery of the Sargasso, Doc Savage and his men once more pursue the perverse agents of evil!




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Note: Comments may contain spoilers.

Barry Ellis

Top notch Doc story! One of the few that leads off with direct continuity from the previous tale. Doc goes up against one of his physically toughest foes and reduces him to a sissy! SPOOKY setting on the "Sargasso Sea"! Put this one at least in the "top 20"!

- | - July 21, 2003 08:39 PM

Thomas Fortenberry

I have to agree with the above: a wonderful Doc Savage adventure. It was fascinating that these first few adventures were all linked and followed each other so tightly. But the thing I absolutely loved about this one was the way Dent portrays the Sargasso Sea. This locale became a living breathing mythic site all its own. I don't think it has ever been so portrayed, before or sense. For a young lad (when I read it) it made a deep impression and I have to still to this day shake myself out of a firmly held belief that the Sargasso Sea is not a swirling swamp in the ocean full of derelict ships and pirates. The images Dent gave us!

This is one of the most magical aspects of Dent's writings. He was always able to create and uniquely capture distant locations -- whether the a jungle like the Amazon, a desert like the Rub-al Khali, an unknown atoll, or a lost valley -- and make them into something utterly fantastic. Each location he touched he left a distinct mark that has yet to be replicated anywhere else in literature. It is like Tolkien's Middle Earth: unique, alive, dynamic, and breathtaking. His vision of lost races, secret civilizations, and strange, dangerous, and remote parts of the world is phenomenal. This version of the Sargasso Sea is one of his best "creations."

Thomas Fortenberry

- | - July 26, 2003 01:04 AM

Todd Pence

Another indisputable classic of the early Doc Savage novels. Exotic settings, a memorable villian, and one of the most dire predicaments Doc and the boys are put in. Dent even manages to throw in a "lost civilization" of sorts. And Doc is at his superhuman best in this story. One of the all-time unforgettable moments in the entire series is when he brings Monk back from the brink of death.

- | - December 16, 2003 10:53 PM

robin hughes

This was the first Doc adventure that I read and I still think that it is the best.Doc is in top form and in the first fight of the yarn catches a thrown kris in flight and returns it into the bad guy's shoulder,"wallah, the bronze devil!".Great and almost believable adventure featuring all of the Famous Five, orientalist it may be but exciting and- fun.Pity it's not written by Dent.

- | - February 25, 2004 05:05 PM

robin hughes

This was the first Doc adventure that I read and I still think that it is the best.Doc is in top form and in the first fight of the yarn catches a thrown kris in flight and returns it into the bad guy's shoulder,"wallah, the bronze devil!".Great and almost believable adventure featuring all of the Famous Five, orientalist it may be but exciting and- fun.Pity it's not written by Dent.

- | - February 25, 2004 05:06 PM

robin hughes

This was the first Doc adventure that I read and I still think that it is the best.Doc is in top form and in the first fight of the yarn catches a thrown kris in flight and returns it into the bad guy's shoulder,"wallah, the bronze devil!".Great and almost believable adventure featuring all of the Famous Five, orientalist it may be but exciting and- fun.Pity it's not written by Dent.

- | - February 25, 2004 05:06 PM

robin hughes

This was the first Doc adventure that I read and I still think that it is the best.Doc is in top form and in the first fight of the yarn catches a thrown kris in flight and returns it into the bad guy's shoulder,"wallah, the bronze devil!".Great and almost believable adventure featuring all of the Famous Five, orientalist it may be but exciting and- fun.Pity it's not written by Dent.

- | - February 25, 2004 05:06 PM

robin hughes

This was the first Doc adventure that I read and I still think that it is the best.Doc is in top form and in the first fight of the yarn catches a thrown kris in flight and returns it into the bad guy's shoulder,"wallah, the bronze devil!".Great and almost believable adventure featuring all of the Famous Five, orientalist it may be but exciting and- fun.Pity it's not written by Dent.

- | - February 25, 2004 05:06 PM

Paul Cook

Dent in top form, Doc at his best. Dent clearly had a lot of fun imagining all sorts of places Doc could go to have adventures in, and the Sargasso Sea was one of the best. But it's hard to top the opening scene of the book where Monk and Ham are killed and Doc brings them back using a cardiac needle injection. Shades of "Pulp Fiction"! Here was Doc being a doctor, of all things. My only complaint has to do with the paperback cover. Doc just seems too skinny to me. But, hey, it's a damn good book, one of the best over-all in the series.

- | - May 26, 2005 02:57 AM

Lee Dorrance

This was the very first book in my Doc Savage collection, and is by far my favorite. The way the Sargasso Sea is brought to life (albeit a fictitious one)and becomes a separate character in the story is undeniably some of the best writing in the entire series. The tale seemed entirely plausible if in fact the Sargasso Sea existed as presented. After reading the story, my curiosity got the best of me and I pulled out the encyclopedia and was somewhat disappointed when I saw pictures of the real Sargasso Sea. I wanted it to be full of seaweed and ghost ships.

This is an amazing read and I have been hooked ever since. Monk and Ham have some great interactions throughout the story. Kina La Forge has always resembled (for me at least) another famous fictional red-head, one Mary Jane Watson of Spiderman fame. Bruze is one of the better villains of the series, even Doc is surprised by and even comments to the others on Bruze's level of strength.

After finishing this one for the first time I begged my Dad to take me to the store to buy another in the series (I think it was Gold Key that published 6 hardcover novels in the 80's with the stories modified slightly for younger readers) and I soon had all six. I was unaware of the Bantam editions at the time and was very excited the first time I saw one in print and bought it right then and continued collecting the, right up through today. But none of them have ever compared to The Sargasso Ogre. Bravo Doc!

- | - June 20, 2005 10:39 AM

A Cat

This is a great Doc Savage book. I would put it in my top five list. Definitely one you should read. I have read it twice and I loved it both times. Great setting, great villains, and a great story. This one also has a very nice cover. This is one of the best.

- | - June 27, 2005 04:26 PM

Mark Carpenter

What a joy to read! Written in the "golden years" period of 1933-34, "The Sargasso Ogre" is quite simply the PERFECT Doc story. It's not a coincidence that almost everyone who has posted comments on this book considers it their all-time favorite. Dent was clearly having the time of his life. You can almost picture him banging out the glorious descriptions of the Sargasso Sea on his manual typewriter, grinning from ear to ear.

As for the story, what could be more fun than Doc duking it out with a villain named John Black Bruze amongst a sea of floating shipwrecks? Add in a society of women warriors and you get what is arguably the best book in the series.

- | - June 28, 2005 09:28 AM


   
   

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