A weapon of incredible hypnotic power has fallen into evil hands. Doc Savage must uncover the secret of the paralyzing peril — or face a fiery death at sea.
The Bantam cover of this novel reuses a part of the artwork from the Bantam edition of “The Phantom City.”
This one had its moments. Some good action and interplay between the characters. However the ‘mystery’ wasn’t that mysterious and the climax somewhat weak. An average Doc all around.
This was actually the first Doc I ever read, since Omni 1 was the first Doc book I ever owned. Although I didn’t finish it a the time. I wouldn’t recommend it as an introduction to the series. Although well plotted and exciting in its own right with an interesting central plot element, it is not written with very much oomph.
This was the book that started it for me. I borrowed a copy of the Doc omnibus from my friend when I was staying at his cottage and could never find the will to put it down. Call me weird, but Doc Savage has gotten me interested into reading in ways Harry potter couldn’t!
The plot was intriguing with a mysterious weapon and strange, seemingly supernatural, creature called the all-white elf. I never say it coming at the end their and I just have to say that it was the best of the four books in that Omnibus!
Just read this one from Omnibus #1 (a friend of mine found about 20 Doc books at a yard sale, and sent me the omnibus editions). This was my second original Doc story (the first was Cold Death a few years back).
Anyway, a quick read over the weekend, but I enjoyed it. The conclusion is a little pat and not very action-packed, but the build up to the finale is quite nice. I liked the juxtaposition of the fantastical idea of a "white elf" with the scientific methods of Doc and his crew. Some neat gadgets from the Doc as well. Not a bad adventure all told.