250 people are abandoned in the Arctic wilderness at the mercy of a murderous madman. Only Doc Savage can prevent wholesale slaughter on ice. Following a gun- and bomb-blasting battle on the New York docks, the Man of Bronze and his crew face northward to smash a sinister plot — and to expose the cruel secret of a bloodthirsty foreign dictator!
Just read PERIL IN THE NORTH for the first time and thought it was terrible. It perked up in the last twenty pages or so when the adventure finally got to the Arctic. But before that there were sixty pages of dull running around New York. Doc is best in exotic climes and the books set principally in New York are among the weakest.
Why Bantam paired Peril In The North — one of the best Docs ever! — with the unblievably lame Golden Man, is a mystery lost to time. But Peril IS one of the best Docs I’ve read so far! Lots of action, a captivating mystery and a race against time! Also, towards the end, Doc and crew are tested morally. With Ham and the others held hostage in a plane under threat of being tossed out if the demands are not met, Doc and Monk are given the choice of leaving 250 people to die (and preserving their own lives) or trying to rescue them and face certain death. And in the time they are given to make that decision, Monk delivers a powerful speech:
“For some time now, we have made a business of right wrongs and punishing evildoers. It sounds kind of silly when you say it in so many words, but we haven’t found it that way. In fact, we’re proud of what we’ve done; we’re proud of Doc Savage and glad we have had the privelege of working with him. We’ve liked taking chances, and we’ve taken plenty of them. We’ve always known what we were doing. We haven’t gone into anything blindfolded. Puzzled, maybe, but never without knowing that there would be risks. We have accepted those risks as part of the game. Always in our minds, I think, has been the knowledge that we would have to accept death sometime. And I think we will do just that without hesitating. I know that’s the way I feel, and I know the others see eye to eye with me. You take Ham. Ham has insulted and browbeaten me, told my best girl the awfulest lies, and we’ve had our spats. But I wouldn’t be afraid to have Ham speak for me, even if the word was death. I know I can speak for Ham the same way. And for the others, as I say. And so I’m saying for them — we ride straight ahead! There are two hundred and fifty people yonder on the ice. We may save them, we may not. But we will try. The trouble Pat, Long Tom, Renny and Johnny and Ham are in, up there in the plane, and the trouble Doc and I are in down here, is all part of the bargain. We won’t welsh. So — and maybe I should have just said this — to hell with any trade for our lives.”
The bronze man extended a hand. There was a hint of dampness in his eyes.
“I’m glad you made that speech,” he said.
Monk snorted. “It’s what you’d have said.”
Doc nodded.
Now, if that’s not what Doc’s all about, then what is?