Author | Lester Dent |
---|---|
Illustrator | Paul Orban |
Cover artist | Walter M. Baumhofer |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Series | Doc Savage |
Genre | Pulp Adventure |
Publisher | Street & Smith |
Publication date | October 1934 |
Media type | Pulp magazine |
Preceded by | Fear Cay |
Followed by | The Sea Magician |
Death in Silver is a Doc Savage pulp novel by Lester Dent writing under the house name Kenneth Robeson. It was published in October 1934.
It was the first Doc Savage story not to include all of his aides, due to author Lester Dent having difficulties using all six characters in every story. Only Ham, Monk and Pat appeared in Death in Silver.
The other three, less popular, main characters are described as being away on private ventures: Johnny giving a lecture in London, Long Tom experimenting on an electrical pesticide in Europe, and Renny building a hydro-electric plant in South Africa.
The original intent was that all three would become the basis of the next three novels.
Johnny's story became The Sea Magician in the next issue of Doc Savage, but this did not happen with all of them. [1]
The follow-up adventure involving Renny later became the basis for the 1991 retro novel Python Isle by Will Murray. [2]
Death in Silver was the third appearance of Pat Savage.
The Silver Death's-Heads, a gang of criminals who wear silver overalls and masks, have been committing seemingly random crimes for months. They become involved when they attack Paine L. Winthrop, a shipyard owner who has offices in the same building as Monk. When his office explodes, Monk and Ham investigate but are captured while reporting back to Doc Savage. With his other aides abroad, Doc Savage attempts to rescue them and solve the case alone. One of the first things he accomplishes is to deduce the nature of the explosion, which has eluded his aides and the police — it was caused by a three-inch shell.
Investigating the deaths of other witnesses to the attack (a fisherman on the river and an aviator flying that day) leads Doc to Winthrop's Shipyards. The Silver Death's-Heads steal some blueprints to hide their secrets while Doc runs into Winthrop's Secretary, Lorna Zane, and efficiency expert, Harry "Rapid" Pace (who has the annoying habit of repeating almost everything twice). Doc leaves Lorna with his cousin Pat at her new beauty salon/gymnasium. Harry leads the Doc to the home of Bedford Burgess Gardner (owner of Transatlantic Lines and Winthorp's chief rival) based on a comment from the gang overheard at the shipyard.
Again they run into the gang, and pick up Hugh McCoy, Gardner's Financial Relations Consultant (advising on the merger with Paine L. Winthrop's company) and Pace's rival for Lorna Zane's affections. By questioning an injured gang member, who had been poisoned by his own gang, they find that Monk and Ham are held at the "Indian's Head". Doc browses a telephone directory at an all-night drug store and picks out the "Indian Head Club". When asked he explains that its address is on the waterfront and the Silver Death's-Heads always seem to escape by the river. His deduction is correct and, through stealth and violence, he rescues his aides. They all only narrowly miss being killed when the gang demolish the club with a bomb to destroy evidence. Meanwhile, the Silver Death's-Heads kidnap Pat and Lorna from Pat's salon.
Based on a map of New York Harbor found at the club before it exploded and burned down, Doc and Monk go out onto the foggy river to investigate. Diving from the boat, Doc discovers a submerged radio-buoy at a point marked on the map. Further investigation is cut short by a shell apparently fired by an unseen submarine. Ull, the leader of the Death's-Heads (but not the "big brain" behind their plans) sets a trap for Doc with Pat and Lorna as bait. A fake snitch calls Doc with some information but is cut off by a mock attack in another all-night drug store. They make sure to leave clues, especially a trail of footprints in vaseline (from a jar "accidentally" broken in the store), to lead Doc to their hideout. Doc follows the trail using ultraviolet light (because Petroleum jelly glows under ultraviolet light) but approaches the hideout itself in disguise. He is able to penetrate the hideout and successfully avoid the traps set for him but does not manage to rescue Pat or Lorna (as they are not really there).
Moving back to the radio-buoys in the river, Doc and aides (along with Rapid Pace and Hugh McCoy) set out in the Helldiver (Doc's submarine). They follow a trail of hidden buoys out into the Atlantic where they are attacked by another submarine (the buoys are intended to guide the villains' submarine down the river to an abandoned sewer that connects to the Indian's Head Club). They are eventually boarded and Doc Savage is apparently killed (this is a common event in Doc Savage stories). The rest are taken in the villains' submarine to their base in an almost derelict rum row ship. Doc, hanging on to the side of the submarine, sneaks aboard the ship, rescues everyone, recovers a lot of stolen goods and escapes in a lifeboat. A fire he started as a diversion causes an explosion (speculated to be either from the fuel tanks or a stockpile of explosives) and the ship sinks as they leave.
The big brain behind the plot turns out to be Hugh McCoy, who was also Bedford Burgess Gardner (by using a fake beard). Ham's research showed that "Gardner" had made over $1 Billion in the past year by using the gang to kill off opponents and rivals under cover of random crimes. He would then buy out their companies and make his money through stock manipulation.
Rapid Pace, who becomes less cowardly throughout the story, ends up with Lorna Zane.
Doc Savage wears a special pocket-filled waistcoat to carry assorted useful gadgets. The gadgets used by Savage within this story are:
Doc's shoes have special soles of soft rubber to make them even more silent than normal rubber soled shoes.
Several vehicles are used by Doc Savage during Death in Silver. From his hidden garage, he drives an "expensive but unostentacious [blue] roadster", carrying a radio tracking device and radio compass (as well as an automatic transmission and almost silent engine), and an armoured truck disguised as a "shabby laundry truck" complete with fake engine noise and artificially bad suspension.
From his collection stored in the Hidalgo Trading Company warehouse Doc uses a fast, silenced Motorboat, capable of self-righting itself after capsizing with a pop-up gun and tripod. The boat is described as being considered by the navy for the basis of "a fleet of light coastal defense speedsters" (similar to an armed Motor life boat in description). Last, and also from the warehouse, Doc again uses the Helldiver submarine (first seen in The Polar Treasure, June 1933). The Helldiver has many gadgets and experimental devices built into it. In this story the principle modifications are a mechanism to release a chemical similar to squid ink, external-viewing television screens and dial-based sonic devices allowing it to successfully navigate through New York harbor, and its traffic, while submerged.
Ham and Monk both have their normal equipment of Super Machine Pistols, firing tranquillising "Mercy Bullets," and bulletproof vests. Pat Savage only uses a trick phone that sprays tear gas when spoken into.
On a few occasions, the gang make use of a combination acid/contact poison in their attempts to kill Doc Savage.
The villains use a mini-submarine, apparently based on a Japanese design recently reported in the American media. It is equipped with a three-inch cannon and strong electromagnets for mooring to other craft. Several divers from this submarine carry electric lances similar to a cattleprod with a lethal voltage (but powered by a cable connected to the submarine).
The silver costumes themselves are described as being made from cloth interwoven with metal from molten silver dollars. The full-head masks cause shadows over the eyes and mouth which resulted in the name "Silver Death's-Heads" in the first place. Although not mentioned in the text of the story, the silver costumes are apparently used because their designer, the scientist Ull, lost his fortune in the Depression speculating on silver (and believes he is entitled to get it back by force). [1]
This Doc Savage novel is set entirely in New York, including New York City, Westchester County, the rivers and coastal waters. (Most Doc Savage novels started in New York but moved to a more exotic location in the second act.)
All chronologies concur that Death in Silver transpired over a two-day period.
Death in Silver was re-published by Bantam Books in paperback in July 1968 with cover art by James Bama. [6] Its backcover blurb reads as follows:
Death in Silver was also re-published as a juvenile-market hardcover by Golden Press in 1975. [8] This edition featured cover art by Ben Otero. [9]
In 1973, Marvel Comics adapted Death in Silver as a two-part story in Doc Savage #3 and #4. The adaptation was scripted by Steve Englehart and drawn by Ross Andru, with inks by Tom Palmer. The cover for issue #3 was drawn by Jim Steranko. The first two issues of the Marvel Comics series placed Doc in a contemporary 1970s setting. With the adaptation of Death in Silver the series shifted to the original 1930s setting of the story.
Nostalgia Ventures re-published Death in Silver with The Golden Peril as a quality paperback in January 2007, with original pulp cover art by Paul Baumhofer and Robert Harris, interior illustrations by Paul Orban, and commentary by pulp expert Will Murray. [10]
A sequel entitled Doc Savage: The Arch Enemy of Evil was announced at the conclusion of the first Doc Savage film, 1975's Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze, produced by George Pal.
According to the screenplay by Joe Morhaim that was posted on the Internet, this sequel was based very loosely on Death in Silver, which also featured a deformed, German-speaking supervillain and a man-eating octopus found in the September 1937 pulp novel The Feathered Octopus.
According to contemporary news accounts, this sequel had been filmed in the Lake Tahoe area simultaneously with the principal photography for the first Doc Savage. However, due to the poor reception of the first film, Doc Savage: The Arch Enemy of Evil was never completed or released. [11]
Pulp magazines were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 until around 1955. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazines printed on higher-quality paper were called "glossies" or "slicks". The typical pulp magazine had 128 pages; it was 7 inches (18 cm) wide by 10 inches (25 cm) high, and 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) thick, with ragged, untrimmed edges. Pulps were the successors to the penny dreadfuls, dime novels, and short-fiction magazines of the 19th century.
The Wold Newton family is a literary concept derived from a form of crossover fiction developed by the American science fiction writer Philip José Farmer.
Doc Savage is a fictional character of the competent man hero type, who first appeared in American pulp magazines during the 1930s and 1940s. Real name Clark Savage Jr., he is a polymathic scientist, explorer, detective, and warrior who "rights wrongs and punishes evildoers." He was created by publisher Henry W. Ralston and editor John L. Nanovic at Street & Smith Publications, with additional material contributed by the series' main writer, Lester Dent. Doc Savage stories were published under the Kenneth Robeson name. The illustrations were by Walter Baumhofer, Paul Orban, Emery Clarke, Modest Stein, and Robert G. Harris.
The Shadow is a fictional character created by American magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator, and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by Gibson, The Shadow has been adapted into other forms of media, including American comic books, comic strips, serials, video games, and at least five feature films. The radio drama included episodes voiced by Orson Welles.
Lester Dent was an American pulp-fiction writer, best known as the creator and main writer of the series of novels about the scientist and adventurer Doc Savage. The 159 Doc Savage novels that Dent wrote over 16 years were credited to the house name Kenneth Robeson.
The Avenger is a fictional character whose original adventures appeared between September 1939 and September 1942 in the pulp magazine The Avenger, published by Street & Smith, which ran 24 issues. Five additional short stories were published in Clues Detective magazine (1942–1943), and a sixth novelette in The Shadow magazine in 1943. Decades later, newly written pastiches were commissioned and published by Warner Brothers' Paperback Library from 1973 to 1974.
G-8 was a heroic aviator and spy during World War I in pulp fiction. He starred in his own title G-8 and His Battle Aces, published by Popular Publications. All stories were written by Robert J. Hogan, under his own name. The title lasted 110 issues, from October 1933 to June 1944. Many of the novels have been reprinted by a wide range of publishers including comic books.
Tuned for Murder is the 9th pulp magazine story to feature The Avenger. Written by Paul Ernst, it was published in the May 1, 1940 issue of The Avenger magazine.
Lawrence Louis Donovan was an American pulp fiction writer who wrote nine Doc Savage novels under the pseudonym Kenneth Robeson, a pen name that was used by other writers of the same publishing house. However, there are nine Doc Savage novels duly credited to Donovan, published between November 1935 and July 1937.
Street & Smith or Street & Smith Publications, Inc., was a New York City publisher specializing in inexpensive paperbacks and magazines referred to as dime novels and pulp fiction. They also published comic books and sporting yearbooks. Among their many titles was the science fiction pulp magazine Astounding Stories, acquired from Clayton Magazines in 1933, and retained until 1961. Street & Smith was founded in 1855, and was bought out in 1959. The Street & Smith headquarters were at 79 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan; they were designed by Henry F. Kilburn.
The Mad Goblin is an American novel by Philip José Farmer. Originally released in 1970, it was one of two intertwining sequels to Farmer's previous A Feast Unknown, along with Lord of the Trees. The Mad Goblin features Doc Caliban, an analogue of Doc Savage, as the main character. The novel was later retitled Keepers of the Secrets.
Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze is a 1975 American action film starring Ron Ely as pulp hero Doc Savage. This was the last film completed by pioneering science fiction producer George Pal. It was directed by Michael Anderson, who had previously directed another big-budget adventure film, Around the World in 80 Days, the 1956 Best Picture of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
William Murray is an American novelist, journalist, short story, and comic book writer. Much of his fiction has been published under pseudonyms. With artist Steve Ditko, he co-created the superhero Squirrel Girl.
East of Samarinda is a collection of stories by author Carl Jacobi. It was released in 1989 by Bowling Green State University Popular Press. Although Jacobi is known mostly for his horror and science fiction stories, this book collects adventure stories set in Borneo and the South Seas. The collection was edited by Carl Jacobi and R. Dixon Smith. Jacobi also provides a preface and Smith wrote the introduction.
Win Scott Eckert is an American author and editor, best known for his work on the literary-crossover Wold Newton Universe, created by author Philip José Farmer, but much expanded-upon subsequently by Eckert and others. He holds a B.A. in Anthropology and a Juris Doctor.
Stephen Gould Fisher was an American author best known for his pulp stories, novels and screenplays. He is one of the few pulp authors to go on to enjoy success as both an author in "slick" magazines, such as the Saturday Evening Post, and as an in-demand writer in Hollywood.
Doc Savage was an American pulp magazine that was published from 1933 to 1949 by Street & Smith. It was launched as a follow-up to the success of The Shadow, a magazine Street & Smith had started in 1931, based around a single character. Doc Savage's lead character, Clark Savage, was a scientist and adventurer, rather than purely a detective. Lester Dent was hired to write the lead novels, almost all of which were published under the house name "Kenneth Robeson". A few dozen novels were ghost-written by other writers, hired either by Dent or by Street & Smith. The magazine was successful, but was shut down in 1949 as part of Street & Smith's decision to abandon the pulp magazine field completely.