The Roar Devil — he shook the earth. He stopped all sound. He had a vast organization of desperate criminals at his command. Now the good citizens of Powertown were terrorized. At any moment the Roar Devil might strike again. They sent for the only person whose cunning and skill could defeat him — the Man of Bronze.
This one just didn’t do it for me. The mystery was alright but the pacing was much too slow. Also, the tone was somewhat juvenile. It was good to see Johnny grab more of the spotlight. All in all, a mediocre offering. Not Doc at his best. Well, they can’t all be gems.
This one doesn’t seem to end up on anybody’s favorites list but it does on mine. I found the premise of the novel pretty eerie and intriguing and the lead woman very competant and engaging.
I was lucky enough to buy this in pulp form before the paperback came out (in 1968) and found the novel rather light-weight but strangely funny in places. Perhaps it was my mood, but I really thought the female protagonist in this book was jerking Doc and his aides around most of the time. I also liked the terror weapon here. Though a similar weapon is used in The Man Who Shook The Earth, this weapon deadened all sound and there were times where the book became truly scary. Light, but fun.
The Roar Devil! He shook the earth with explosives! He stopped all sound so you wouldn’t hear his explosives! He didn’t do anything else! He also had a hotel with some henchmen in it. All the citizens of Powertown sat waiting for the Roar Devil, so they got Doc Savage. That’s about all, except one thing. A girl named Retta Kenn. She tags along all the time, annoying Doc, and then at the end, she rescues him! She is certainly the best element in this book.
A quick summary of the story: A guy who causes noiseless earthquakes is on the loose. The boys (with the exception of Long Tom) take turns getting captured. Doc comes to town and saves the day. The End.
Not the best Doc adventure but definitely not the worst either but probably leans more toward the latter. The earthquake gimic seemed a bit rehashed and the conclusion just wasn’t that fulfilling.
Alas, I agree with the majority of the good folk above. This one bit! You would think that it was published in Dent’s slump year of 1940, rather than in one of his best years. Even the hideous MURDER MELODY I enjoyed more! And that awful cover…! Boris never quite got Doc like Bama did. Even Pfeifer drew the Bronze Man more arrestingly ( take a look at the striking cover of MURDER MIRAGE, for instance ) Okay, so Pfeifer always seemed to portray Doc with a huge chest, in contradiction to the text descriptions, but he still managed to capture that essence of sheer physical power that Doc exuded. After reading this turkey, I rather felt it was a shame that the Roar Devil never added Doc and the Fabulous Five to his list of victims….
I liked this story… I have forgotten some details, so I need to re-read it, but I recall being grabbed by the beginning, when a deaf girl had a thug held at gunpoint, and wanted him to write what he was saying, and he lost his patience with her, and yelled “I got your number!” She told him “Write it!” and he yelled back “You’re working for the Roar Devil!”
I don’t know why that sticks with me, but it does…
Steve
I really enjoyed The Roar Devil, and once again I am in the minority because I really like this cover by Boris.