What do a coral reef, a purse, a fat man, and two captivating women have in common? As Doc Savage soon discovers, the perilous answer lies at a Bahamas fortress — in the hands of the most vicious cut-throats in captivity.
Founded the Hidalgo Trading Company (1997) and The Flearun Discussion Group (1999). Chuck currently serves as Editor for the Bronze Gazette.
(The Doc Savage novel synopsis are courtesy of Bantam Books or Altus Press.)
King Joe Cay reads like a Travis McGee novel by John D. MacDonald (who would soon be publishing his first short stories in Doc Savage Magazine in 1947). Doc is nothing more than a private detective sent on a case of following a woman to an island called King Joe Cay and a bunch of modern-day pirates. It’s a fairly creepy and unpleasant story and doesn’t seem at all like Doc Savage. In fact, this story seems like a rather ordinary adventure story Dent may have written outside of the Doc Savage books and he may have just changed a few elements in the story manuscript to apply to Doc. Not Dent at his best, or Doc either, for that matter.
Chris Jarocha-Ernst
on August 11, 2009 at 4:21 pm
I agree with Paul Cook’s surmise that this may have been a Dent detective story rewritten into a Doc adventure. For one thing, Doc’s history with Charlotte d’Alaza seems out of character.
That said, it’s a pretty good detective story and, while not one of my favorite post-war Docs, still a solid middle-tier adventure.
King Joe Cay reads like a Travis McGee novel by John D. MacDonald (who would soon be publishing his first short stories in Doc Savage Magazine in 1947). Doc is nothing more than a private detective sent on a case of following a woman to an island called King Joe Cay and a bunch of modern-day pirates. It’s a fairly creepy and unpleasant story and doesn’t seem at all like Doc Savage. In fact, this story seems like a rather ordinary adventure story Dent may have written outside of the Doc Savage books and he may have just changed a few elements in the story manuscript to apply to Doc. Not Dent at his best, or Doc either, for that matter.
I agree with Paul Cook’s surmise that this may have been a Dent detective story rewritten into a Doc adventure. For one thing, Doc’s history with Charlotte d’Alaza seems out of character.
That said, it’s a pretty good detective story and, while not one of my favorite post-war Docs, still a solid middle-tier adventure.