Three Times a Corpse

Doc Savage (publication order; no omnibus) #162

by Kenneth Robeson

150 pages, Paperback

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

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great opening scene in which a couple of lowlifes fake an attempt on Doc Savage's life to send him off on a fool's errand. Instead he catches them and begins investigating the person who hired them. Not to mention Lucky the female gambler and all the corpses that pile up (including one who's apparently killed three different ways). A forgettable McGuffin behind it all, but a fun yarn.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another post-World War II non-supersaga Doc adventure. What it does well is establish the characters who are not Doc and his crew (Monk and Ham, doing next to nothing here). Doc is portrayed more as a private investigator/troubleshooter and the lack of his gadgets stretches out a confrontation that Doc could have resolved by himself in the "old" days.

It doesn't help matters that I'm reading these at the same time as I'm rewatching the Indiana Jones movies, which are heavy on action. Lester Dent's writing is good and readable, but Doc is not Indiana Jones in these later tales.

[Ronald · Rating 2 out of 5]

Note to self: This finishes my reading of the original Doc Savage novels(approximately 182) by Lester Dent and others. People want to salvage a boat from the war. Starting date approximate.

[Rich Meyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun entry into the Doc Savage pulp series, this is another from the last part of the illustrious adventurer's published career, in which he was portrayed as a more normal, more fallible man. That's well and good, but unfortunately the author also was a bit fallible, pulling together all the plot points at the end a little too quickly and even forgetting to address the situation of the lone female character, a high-stakes gambler who might've made a good occasional foil/sidekick if that sort of thing would've been allowed back in the forties. Still, it was an enjoyable read, just not on a par with the best Doc Savage adventures.