Mystery Under The Sea

Doc Savage (Bantam) #27

by Kenneth Robeson (House Name), Lester Dent

A mutilated sailor, the ruthless Captain Flamingo, and "Diamond Eve" Post lead Doc's crew to TAZ at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea, where, breathing underwater with ancient science, they find treasure beyond imagination!

Genres: Adventure, Pulp, Mystery, Fiction, Science Fiction, Action, Fantasy

120 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1936

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

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doc searches the seas for the maniac known as Taz.

Should have been a Captain Storm novel.

[AndrewP · Rating 2 out of 5]

I came across a few of these in a 1$ Bargain Bookstore. Published as a 50c Bantam books in 1968 the story was originally published in 1936.
Definitely not as good as I remember the other ones I have read. Surprisingly, this story has very little reference to technology, so it doesn't really show it's age as many books of this era do. My problem here is was that the whole plot was totally implausible.
At only 120 pages of, admittedly, tiny print this was a fast read and a nice pause between larger books.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

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!

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doc and his helpers get caught between rival seafaring factions who are on a quest to find Taz. What Taz is, is revealed toward the end of the story. This is a good, solid adventure with a bit of humor thrown in. Good entry in the series.

[Paul Pelletier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une relecture des aventures de Doc Savage et son équipe.
J’ai décidé de commencer par lui.
Pourquoi?
Je croyais me souvenir d’une bonne histoire et la couverture m’inspirais!!
Je suis content de l’avoir lu!
La fin est inattendue et bien imaginée!!
Bravo.
Je vais continuer à lire d’autres aventures, et mon prochain s’intitule: La neige rouge.

[Little Timmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Kevin Findley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Doc has to stop putting his people in charge of guarding prisoners and acting as lookouts. They fail EVERY time. I love most of these old tales, but this one was a real stinker.

Read it if you are a fan of Doc and Company.

[Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doc Savage along with Monk, Ham and Renny are mixed up between two competing groups who are looking to get at the treasure of Taz which is under sea of Caribbean.

Lester Dent was the author for this one.

[Robert D · Rating 2 out of 5]

Doc Savage and his men become involved in a strange adventure when a man tries to communicate with them and dies in the office. The man has had his mouth and tongue burned out by acid and the tendons to his hands cut. But what killed him was a case of the bends. Monk and Ham are captured by what appears to be pirates, then freed by doc and the pirates jump in the water to apparently drown. The chase is on and of course there's the mysterious female that appears to be somehow involved.

As far as Doc Savage books go this one had a few problems. Without giving away spoilers, first off Doc allowing himself and his men to be captured and held prisoner seemed a little unlikely, specifically as the men were kept unconscious for a week and then were still fit enough to operate. Secondly, the 'science' behind the sea-drug just doesn't hold up. Lastly the 'civilization' found would not have been using any English language characters so the concept of referring to the riddle/area as TAZ doesn't make any sort of sense either. I can accept many of the things in Doc Savage books with suspension of disbelief because at least the author tries to make things work scientifically or culturally, but clearly some research was lacking on this story.

[Joel Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Decades have gone by since I read a Doc Savage novel and when I picked up the Green Eagle, I was greatly disappointed since it was rather mundane and not too exciting. I began to suspect that perhaps my fond memories of the books had been just because of the cool James Bama covers.

However, Mystery Under the Sea is much more of the Doc Savage I remember. The writing is rather terse and clipped, but the imagination is unfettered. Some petty smugglers are using a chemical stew that enables them to breathe underwater. They discovered this formulation in the Lost City of Taz which is an Egypto-Mayan civilization buried beneath the waves somewhere in the Carribean Sea.

Rival thugs attempt to raid a library of lost information beneath the ocean, which includes such secrets as telekinetic electricity and other world-changing science. Sadly, it is all lost beneath the ocean when an explosion brings the library tumbling down. However, Doc does bring away the formulation for the oxygen chemical stew which he plans to provide to those who suffer from lung conditions that make it difficult to breathe.

[Robert Pickering · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doc Savage #27, Mystery Under the Sea, was a fine adventure tale. It’s been many years since I’ve read one of these pulp stories. Originally published in 1936, expect some outdated language for today. I enjoy the interactions between Monk and Ham as they debate throughout the book why sailers pants have wide bottoms.

[Dale Rosso · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Man of Bronze is drawn into the mystery of Taz because of the scrawl written by a dying sailor.

[Jeff J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pulp novel featuring Doc Savage. One of the better novels I’ve read in the series.

[Emmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sailors' pants.

[John Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid Lester Dent work, but lacks the cliffhanger craziness of the early volumes. Probably something one has to get used to when you do a deep dive into this series.

[Duane Olds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another underwater adventure. It seemed like a Doc Savage - The Abyss crossover, or Doc Savage in Thunderball. I was all on board with everything going on until the last few chapters when they are all under water and having long full paragraph conversations in either morse code or by writing in the sand.

Also, why ARE sailors pants bigger at the bottom? I actually looked it up, apparently the answer is that the flared bottoms made them easier to remove without taking off any footwear. Looks like Monk was right this time Ham.

Also the name Diamond Eve Post bothered me, it sounds like a newspaper. (All the news that's fit to print: Diamond Eve Post. Charlestons #1 news leader!)

But this adventure did give us some good lines, for example:
“We want you to tell us just how much Doc Savage knows about this business.” (enough to write a book about it, so I'd say quite a bit)

“Oh,” said Seaworthy, deceived. “See you later.” (I'll be over here if you need me, all decieved and what not)

'The hooker isn’t as deserted as she looks, by a long shot,” (Yeah!...Wait, what?)

“Huh?” Renny grunted. “What’s a moray?” (Nothing, whats a morey with you!)

'He was not easily excited or surprised or appalled.' (Not easily excited? He yells Holy Cow after every other sentence, are you sure you're not hinking of someone else?)

'Doc Savage reached the radio shack.' (*singing* The Radio Shack is a little old place where we can get together, Radio Shack baby)

“She’s sure a sassy gal,” Renny rumbled resentfully. “A good old-fashioned spanking would help her a lot.” (And I don't mind doing it for you if you, you know, need me to. Anything to help crack this case)

'PARADISE is a beach.' (you said it, it's a dirty sun of a beach)

"She sent you aboard to open the sea-cocks of our hooker," (Yeah!... Wait, what?)

It also gove us 2 (insert your own joke here) lines:
"You know just as much about women as you know about sailors' pants,"

'They decided to penetrate deeper.' (*Snicker*)

This time around our superamalgamated Count was zero again and the Holy Cow count was 14. Thats a whole lotta cow.

Oh well, on to the next one...

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really effective tale of a lost undersea civilization, some fun adventure on (and beneath) the high seas and a crackerjack plot as Doc adventures go. Not great, ultimately, but in that category of "merely" very good Doc Savage tales that don't crack the upper tier.

[Andrew Salmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A breathtaking adventure, literally! The last 40 pages of the book take place underwater. Great lost civilization, great action, a host of villains. Couldn't put it down.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid entry in the series involving a lost sunken city, a flamboyantly dressed sailor and secret formula that lets you stay under water without drowning. Not a standout, but enjoyable.

[Steven Vaughan-Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

A better than usual Doc Savage pulp adventure. It was nice to see Doc facing an opponent, a young woman, who was a match for him.

[Keith B · Rating 5 out of 5]

More gruesome of the stories. 5 for nostagia sake.

[Ronald · Rating 4 out of 5]

read some time in summer 1968

[Ronald · Rating 4 out of 5]

read some time in summer 1968