Weird disappearances at sea ... an empty schooner full-rigged with no signs of life on board ... on the foremast a fantastic crimson eye. A mad dictator strangles the Caribbean as the Man of Bronze penetrates the century-old curse that triggered a submarine war!

This one's lean and mean, just the way I like them. The action is all right in this one but not breathtaking. And the villain hiding amongst the heroes is poorly done. The first time he does anything suspicious, you know he's the bad guy. Having to wait to the last page to find out you were right makes for some mediocre reading. Stick this one in the middle of the pack as an average Doc adventure.

"...I'm telling you. Ever since I found out we had been saddled with the job of waylaying that bronze guy, I've had goosebumps you could hang your hat on."--one thug to another, p.75 of POISON ISLAND.
I thought that was a sweet line, showing the healthy "respect" that crooks had for Doc's abilities. This story has a lot of good things going for it. It starts out really strong, with Pat playing a big part of the first few chapters. The mystery is quickly and cleverly developed, with a few historical tie-ins about "ghost ships" that make the spookiness of the unfolding events really convincing. Things seem to slow down a bit for the middle 1/3 of the book, but pick back up to a fast pace for the last 1/3. Not a great epic of a Doc story, but it has enough enjoyable elements that I would call it a very good Doc book.