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Doc Savage (Bantam) #39
Doc Savage: World's Fair Goblin
Doc Savage: World's Fair Goblin is #39 in The Fantastic Adventures of Doc Savage Series.
301 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1969
1 person is currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
Kenneth Robeson
919 books134 followersKenneth 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 26, 2022
Easily one of my favorites in the series. This was a juicy, fascinating adventure story set during the World's Fair. The writing was really on point, the characters were funny, the action was intense and exciting, and while I had several guesses as to the "real story" behind what happened, I was delighted to see that I was completely wrong.
Lots of great action with Monk and Ham in this one, and while she's only got a little screen time, cousin Pat does make an appearance.
An excellent tale that had me laughing, cringing in horror, and constantly turning the page.
Lots of great action with Monk and Ham in this one, and while she's only got a little screen time, cousin Pat does make an appearance.
An excellent tale that had me laughing, cringing in horror, and constantly turning the page.
September 12, 2016
Lester Dent is the author behind most of the early Doc Savage yarns but this time the “Kenneth Robeson” story is penned by William G. Bogart, a successful pulp writer in his own right. In fact this is the first of 14 Doc Savage novels he would write. He was also a prolific writer of short stories for the pulps. Many were used as backup stories to fill out issues of Doc Savage, The Shadow, and The Avenger among others. He is perhaps best known for his hard-boiled private eye stories featuring Johnny Saxon.
This particular novel was written for the 1939 New York World’s Fair and published in conjunction with that spectacular event. It’s a rather unique Doc Savage novel in that the entire story takes place in that single locale, rather than the usual multiple exotic locations approach. Overall, the plot was OK but lacked the panache of most of the Lester Dent plots. This is most evident in the rather banal nature of the “goblin” but I thought the weird mystery was pretty well done. Besides Doc, we get some of his aides in this one: Monk and Ham (as always) as well as Long Tom and even Doc’s cousin, the lovely Pat Savage. Monk and Ham have a bit more creativity than usual in their insults towards one another but this comes at the expense of the others, especially Pat Savage who does little more than act as a damsel in distress this time around.
Regardless of who writes them, I always find a Doc Savage novel to be a quick read but soothing in times of real-life stress. I can’t ask for much more than that.
This particular novel was written for the 1939 New York World’s Fair and published in conjunction with that spectacular event. It’s a rather unique Doc Savage novel in that the entire story takes place in that single locale, rather than the usual multiple exotic locations approach. Overall, the plot was OK but lacked the panache of most of the Lester Dent plots. This is most evident in the rather banal nature of the “goblin” but I thought the weird mystery was pretty well done. Besides Doc, we get some of his aides in this one: Monk and Ham (as always) as well as Long Tom and even Doc’s cousin, the lovely Pat Savage. Monk and Ham have a bit more creativity than usual in their insults towards one another but this comes at the expense of the others, especially Pat Savage who does little more than act as a damsel in distress this time around.
Regardless of who writes them, I always find a Doc Savage novel to be a quick read but soothing in times of real-life stress. I can’t ask for much more than that.
February 25, 2016
Of all the pulp era heroes few stand out above the crowd, Doc Savage is one of these. With his 5 aides and cousin he adventures across the world. Fighting weird menaces, master criminals and evil scientists Doc and the Fab 5 never let you down for a great read. These stories have all you need; fast paced action, weird mystery, and some humor as the aides spat with each other. My highest recommendation.
May 1, 2023
I'm gonna be honest here, this one just didn't do it for me. It seemed like too many things were happening and too many characters seemed to be popping up and it became confusing. I had no idea what was going on and still couldn't tell you.
But even with me having a hard time keeping up with Docs adventure, he did give us some literary gems, such as:
Doc Savage was to give a series of demonstrations of ultramodern surgical skill. (what the hell kind of World Fair is this?)
There did not seem to be anything chasing him. (except for the goblin)
"What the devil is this all about?" he queried. (i'm 20 pages into this thing and I want to know too!)
He was Adam Ash (Arthur Arron Amsterdam Adam Armour Ant Ash to his friends)
the corridor lurker (Or Mr Lurker to you)
IT was Monk. (No, IT is an evil clown. Monk is a guy)
It's at least eight feet tall and strong as a bull. (Or it was a strong 8 foot tall bull, I'm not really sure)
"This," he said flatly, "will sure get Doc Savage's goat." (You have Docs cousin AND his goat!?)
Ham, this mystery is gettin' me. (Me too, what the hell is going on here!)
"Now we're gonna find out about that steel cylinder!" (you mean that Mountain Dew can?)
And it did give one (insert your own joke here) line:
They likewise halted stiffly.
As for our Superamalgamated count, that came out to a zero along with our 'Holy Cow' count.
However Shill Burns was said a total of 31 times just so you wouldn't forget it.
Oh well, #40 here I come! On to the next one....
But even with me having a hard time keeping up with Docs adventure, he did give us some literary gems, such as:
Doc Savage was to give a series of demonstrations of ultramodern surgical skill. (what the hell kind of World Fair is this?)
There did not seem to be anything chasing him. (except for the goblin)
"What the devil is this all about?" he queried. (i'm 20 pages into this thing and I want to know too!)
He was Adam Ash (Arthur Arron Amsterdam Adam Armour Ant Ash to his friends)
the corridor lurker (Or Mr Lurker to you)
IT was Monk. (No, IT is an evil clown. Monk is a guy)
It's at least eight feet tall and strong as a bull. (Or it was a strong 8 foot tall bull, I'm not really sure)
"This," he said flatly, "will sure get Doc Savage's goat." (You have Docs cousin AND his goat!?)
Ham, this mystery is gettin' me. (Me too, what the hell is going on here!)
"Now we're gonna find out about that steel cylinder!" (you mean that Mountain Dew can?)
And it did give one (insert your own joke here) line:
They likewise halted stiffly.
As for our Superamalgamated count, that came out to a zero along with our 'Holy Cow' count.
However Shill Burns was said a total of 31 times just so you wouldn't forget it.
Oh well, #40 here I come! On to the next one....
August 17, 2023
I enjoyed the book because of the action in the book. However, the science behind the events was unbelievable and nonsensical. At least for this day and age. Maybe for the times around 1939 they were more believable. Even the reveal of the bad guy is a bit ham handed. The closing integration between Mink and ham is was entertaining, in my opinion.
The story takes place, from beginning to end, in the New York City World’s Fair. Renny and Johnny are not in this story. Doc, Mink, Ham and Long Tom must investigate the strange occurrences that take place at the World’s Fair. Including the appearance of a huge goblin. Pat again puts in an appearance, looking for action. Until she is captured and held hostage for most of the book. Of course! Just once I would love to see Doc and Pat work together to solve a case. Oh well.
Written by Harold A. Davis and Lester Dent and produced blushed April 1939.
The story takes place, from beginning to end, in the New York City World’s Fair. Renny and Johnny are not in this story. Doc, Mink, Ham and Long Tom must investigate the strange occurrences that take place at the World’s Fair. Including the appearance of a huge goblin. Pat again puts in an appearance, looking for action. Until she is captured and held hostage for most of the book. Of course! Just once I would love to see Doc and Pat work together to solve a case. Oh well.
Written by Harold A. Davis and Lester Dent and produced blushed April 1939.
June 30, 2017
Great entry in the Doc Savage series, Doc and his men go up against an eight foot giant at a worlds fair. I always enjoy Lester Dent's versions of the Doc Savage tales.
April 18, 2016
"Worlds Fair Goblin" is a notable Doc Savage adventure in that its action takes place entirely at the same site — the 1939 New York Worlds Fair — and as pinch-hitting "Kenneth Robeson" William Bogart's first stab at writing a Doc yarn. It was written, of course, before the Fair took place so it could be published during its run.
It's a decent tale, and as ardent Doc fans know, that's all we ask of the adventures not written by Lester Dent. The handling of the cast is pretty sure-handed, a sign that the Doc brain trust at Street & Smith probably had their hands in this one a lot.
In "Worlds Fair Goblin," an eight-foot, hairy creature seems to be menacing fairgoers for some nefarious purpose. Doc Savage, already giving a surgery demonstration at the Fair, is in the right place at the right time. As mentioned, every second of this tale takes place on the Worlds Fair grounds. Bogart doesn't make as much use of the Fair atmosphere and crowds as he could have. Much of the adventure takes place in underground passages or after hours at night or inside the huge ball-shaped Perisphere, which sits next to the three-sided spear of the upthrust Trylon, the Fair's signatures. It would have been more fun to get the throngs involved to a greater extent.
The novel certainly isn't great, but it's pretty good. The early action, with the first appearance of the "thing" as it abducts some folks and blows shit up, shines. The book only runs off the rails at the end, when it's as if one of the wilder auxiliary Kenneth Robesons such as Harold Davis or Laurence Donovan got hold of it, and things get chaotic and odd and unlikely.
"Worlds Fair Goblin" is worth reading, though, a decent addition to the Doc Savage canon that, at least a little bit, takes us inside some New York history from way back.
It's a decent tale, and as ardent Doc fans know, that's all we ask of the adventures not written by Lester Dent. The handling of the cast is pretty sure-handed, a sign that the Doc brain trust at Street & Smith probably had their hands in this one a lot.
In "Worlds Fair Goblin," an eight-foot, hairy creature seems to be menacing fairgoers for some nefarious purpose. Doc Savage, already giving a surgery demonstration at the Fair, is in the right place at the right time. As mentioned, every second of this tale takes place on the Worlds Fair grounds. Bogart doesn't make as much use of the Fair atmosphere and crowds as he could have. Much of the adventure takes place in underground passages or after hours at night or inside the huge ball-shaped Perisphere, which sits next to the three-sided spear of the upthrust Trylon, the Fair's signatures. It would have been more fun to get the throngs involved to a greater extent.
The novel certainly isn't great, but it's pretty good. The early action, with the first appearance of the "thing" as it abducts some folks and blows shit up, shines. The book only runs off the rails at the end, when it's as if one of the wilder auxiliary Kenneth Robesons such as Harold Davis or Laurence Donovan got hold of it, and things get chaotic and odd and unlikely.
"Worlds Fair Goblin" is worth reading, though, a decent addition to the Doc Savage canon that, at least a little bit, takes us inside some New York history from way back.
September 25, 2016
The first Doc Savage story appeared in 1933 and the series ran in pulp and later digest format into 1949. Bantam reprinted the entire series in paperback with wonderful, iconic covers starting in the 1960's. Doc was arguably the first great modern superhero with a rich background, continuity, and mythos. The characterizations were far richer than was common for the pulps; his five associates and their sometimes-auxiliary, Doc's cousin Pat, and the pets Chemistry and Habeas Corpus, all had very distinctive characteristics and their byplay was frequently more entertaining that the current adventure-of-the-month. The settings were also fascinating: Doc's Fortress of Solitude, the Hidalgo Trading Company (which served as a front for his armada of vehicles), and especially the mysterious 86th floor headquarters all became familiar haunts to the reader, and the far-flung adventures took the intrepid band to exotic and richly-described locations all over the world. The adventures were always fast-paced and exciting, from the early apocalyptic world-saving extravaganzas of the early days to the latter scientific-detective style shorter works of the post-World War Two years. There were always a few points that it was difficult to believe along the way, but there were always more ups than downs, and there was never, ever a dull moment. The Doc Savage books have always been my favorite entertainments... I was always, as Johnny would say, superamalgamated!
May 23, 2016
Written by William Bogart from a Lester Dent outline (Dent being the name behind Kenneth Robeson), this ties in to the then current New York World's Fair, which must have been a great hook for people at the time. Amidts the wonders of the Perisphere and the Trylon, an eight-foot-tall brute is kidnapping people, part of a scientist's secret plane to create a superman. Except there's more to it than that ... Not great art but fun and fast-moving.
October 13, 2009
One of the weaker Doc Savage books. Shame as the World's Fair is an amazing setting.
Despite a great title, the 'goblin' is not a strong foe and the book staying in one place means that Doc and company spend alot of time just running in circles.
A rare let down from one of my favorite series.
Despite a great title, the 'goblin' is not a strong foe and the book staying in one place means that Doc and company spend alot of time just running in circles.
A rare let down from one of my favorite series.
February 27, 2012
I love Doc Savage.
November 16, 2016
read during summer 1969
November 23, 2010
A lesser entry in the series. Readable but the villian was definitely weak.
June 21, 2012
One of my all-time favorite Doc adventures! And how about that unbelievably good cover?
April 27, 2017
The scene opens at the 1939 World's Fair where Doc is performing a groundbreaking surgery, two people have gone missing, and Professor Martin Uppercue frantically runs from seemingly nothing. And then the Goblin shows up.
Of course, Doc immediately investigates and soon Long Tom, Monk, Ham, and Patricia Savage are all embroiled in a mad adventure.
Unfortunately, Pat Savage makes an appearance only to be taken captive and not seen again until the end. She needn't have been written in at all since she's captured along with Kay Uppercue and one maiden in distress would have sufficed.
As with most Doc books, there are occasional bouts of bad writing, but the most egregious example comes on p. 62 (Ballantine edition) when Monk hesitates trying to pronounce the word "fluoresce." He's supposed to be a brilliant chemist! Sometimes the writer, in this case guest author William Bogart, goes too far trying to give Monk and Ham something to squabble about.
While Bogart does have some fun with the World's Fair, mostly involving the iconic Perisphere and Trylon, it does seem that he under utilizes the event itself; a bit of a missed opportunity.
A fun little adventure, not the best, not the worst, but kind of nice that all of the events take place in one locale as a change of pace from their usual globetrotting.
Of course, Doc immediately investigates and soon Long Tom, Monk, Ham, and Patricia Savage are all embroiled in a mad adventure.
Unfortunately, Pat Savage makes an appearance only to be taken captive and not seen again until the end. She needn't have been written in at all since she's captured along with Kay Uppercue and one maiden in distress would have sufficed.
As with most Doc books, there are occasional bouts of bad writing, but the most egregious example comes on p. 62 (Ballantine edition) when Monk hesitates trying to pronounce the word "fluoresce." He's supposed to be a brilliant chemist! Sometimes the writer, in this case guest author William Bogart, goes too far trying to give Monk and Ham something to squabble about.
While Bogart does have some fun with the World's Fair, mostly involving the iconic Perisphere and Trylon, it does seem that he under utilizes the event itself; a bit of a missed opportunity.
A fun little adventure, not the best, not the worst, but kind of nice that all of the events take place in one locale as a change of pace from their usual globetrotting.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews