The Time Terror & The Talking Devil

Doc Savage Sanctum Editions #55

by Kenneth Robeson (Illustrator), Lester Dent, Will Murray (Contributor)

Doc Savage enters an Arctic abyss where dinosaurs and prehistoric humans coexist to uncover the secret of The Time Terror. The Talking Devil and a botched brain surgery by the Man of Bronze threaten Doc's secret Crime College. This edition also features a Doc Savage radio thriller by Edward Gruskin, The Skull Man, and historical essays by Will Murray and Anthony Tollin.

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Kenneth Robeson was the house name used by Street and Smith Publications as the author of their popular character Doc Savage and later The Avenger. Though most Doc Savage stories were written by the author Lester Dent, there were many others who contributed to the series, including:

William G. Bogart
Evelyn Coulson
Harold A. Davis
Lawrence Donovan
Alan Hathway
W. Ryerson Johnson

Lester Dent is usually considered to be the creator of Doc Savage. In the 1990s Philip José Farmer wrote a new Doc Savage adventure, but it was published under his own name and not by Robeson. Will Murray has since taken up the pseudonym and continued writing Doc Savage books as Robeson.

All 24 of the original stories featuring The Avenger were written by Paul Ernst, using the Robeson house name. In order to encourage sales Kenneth Robeson was credited on the cover of The Avenger magazine as "the creator of Doc Savage" even though Lester Dent had nothing to do with The Avenger series. In the 1970s, when the series was extended with 12 additional novels, Ron Goulart was hired to become Robeson.

Reviews

[John Peel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The later Doc Savage adventures, on the whole, aren't as good as the earlier ones, but these two late offerings are pretty decent. in "The Time Terror", Doc finds another of those endless hidden civilizations, this time with a bit of a twist as it is inhabited by an odd assortment of monsters. And in "The Talking Devil", Doc himself is the target of an elaborate frame-up that will put an end to his career.

[Kevin Dumcum · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The Time Terror” was a fun lost-world adventure.

“The Talking Devil” was an interesting examination of the moral ambiguity around Doc’s Crime College.

“The Skull Man” radio script was absolutely reprehensible and even though it was added as a space filler, it brings down the overall average.

[Karl · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Time Terror" (2 stars). Doc and his team are drawn into a complex scheme and find themselves in a world of prehistoric creatures. The story was overly contrived and it unfortunately dives deep in war-time anti-Japanese sentiments. Doc's "All men are created equal" speech does soften the racism a little.

"The Talking Devil" (3 stars). Doc faces corrupt businessmen plotting against him and his reputation. This one was interesting for its exploration of 1940s-style media framing and public opinion. The ethics of how Doc Savage fights crime is challenged but ultimately not seriously questioned. To my modern eyes, Doc’s private method of “reforming” criminals is morally ambiguous to say the least.

I liked the cover art. Nothing quite like a toothy dinosaur-ish thing gazing menacingly at the hero.