The Men Who Smiled No More

Doc Savage (Bantam) #45

by Kenneth Robeson (House Name), Lawrence Donovan

It started with a senseless murder. Then it spread — all over New York men were becoming robot-like automatons without emotions. The Man of Bronze went into action. But even Doc Savage was stricken helpless before he solved the terrifying menace of The Death’s Head Grin!

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

138 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 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

[Tobin Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, this one was different! This book comes across as a real outlier in the series so far. Almost forty books in, this one shakes things up a bit.

It's very obvious this was not a Lester Dent-written tale.

There's no traveling the world. The overall scope is much smaller, no grand plans for world takeover this time, which, to be honest, is refreshing for a change. Pat Savage is back and, while she's still mostly someone to be saved, overall, she has a lot more to do in this one than usual, which is also a plus. And finally, shockingly, we actually get a scene from Doc Savage's point of view, which, after all these adventures, personally struck me as mindblowing, despite how much it was underplayed.

I know a few are not happy with the different direction and the obvious change in personalities of some of the regulars, but overall, this one felt fresh, something I haven''t felt with Doc in a long time.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Men Who Smiled No More is a "Doc Savage" novel by Kenneth Robeson. Kenneth Robeson was the house name used by Street and Smith Publications as the author of their popular Doc Savage novels. 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
I love reading these old pulp novels from time to time. I recently came across five of them in a used book store and snapped them up. I read about 80%+ of the Doc Savage novels when I was a teenager but that was a very long time ago. As things would have it this is the very first Doc Savage novel I ever read.
In this one Doc Savage and his men are in trouble again when they run afoul of a group of men who seem to make anyone they come into contact into mindless automatons. It will be the most difficult case to date for Doc Savage to solve. The very lives of his five men and his cousin Pat are at stake!

[Ronald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Men lose signs of emotions and diamonds abound in a bleaker Doc adventure than usual. Pat even is affected, not to mention Doc. Watch out for Poison Fish! All the gang is involved in this one, written by Laurence Donovan.

[Lady · Rating 2 out of 5]

This adventure was not written by Lester Dent, but by one of the fill in authors, and boy, it shows. Characters are wildly out of character -- granted, that is a major plot point, but Doc is written so badly he seems like a completely different character -- the scope and setting are tiny and poor, and the plot is so hurried and loose that it's not even fun to read. The only saving grace is Pat Savage's agency; she has a good deal to do, behaves intelligently, and for once is the last rather than the first character to be kidnapped. I cut pulp fiction a lot of slack, but this is one of the poorest efforts in the oeuvre.

[Duane Olds · Rating 3 out of 5]

This adventure was weird, like 'what the hell is going on and how did anyone think of this' weird.

It's weird how they are describing SMILING TONY but stating facts about Doc, like halfway through it they were like, "Forget this, this guy is boring, let's talk about Doc more." By the spelling of their speech, I'm not sure if these shoe shiners are Italian or the Mario Brothers. So dude throws a guy under a subway car and the cop just walks up all calm like. So, not only does Doc do brain surgery on the bad guys but he sends them off to an island to work in his nitrate mine? Am I the only one who thinks this is strange?
Having the poison fish labeled 'Poison Fish' made me think of the old 60s Batman tv show and how everything he had was labeled.

As usual, we did get some literary gems, like:-----------------------

"SMILING TONY" TALLIANO was the first to quit laughing. (Wow, that was a short book.)

"You look-a like-a da funeral, Tony!" (Yeah well you talk-a like-a you need-a spellcheck)

"While in this condition, he can neither laugh nor cry." (Thus he had become one of the men who smiled no more.. Dun, dun dunnnn!)

The inspector in charge of the homicide detail was courteous. (Robert Courteous, was his name, but his friends called him No smile)

Monk didn't look as if he had a spoonful of brains. (BURN!)

At this time, not far distant in another skyscraper, (in a Galaxy far, far away...)

"Maybe he got a bump on the bean," (He couldn't have, he didn't finish his lunch, and he's having burritos)

"What the hell's been going on up here in the hills?" (That's what I want to know too, what the hell is going on in this book?!?)

Or "black light" (A new zero calorie soda from Jack Black)

Something had suddenly mended his affliction of being stupidly emotionless. (Isn't that a song by Aerosmith?)

It also gave us a few (Insert your own joke here) moments:-----------------------

"Just like that! It looks like he's gone off his nut!"

He raised himself to an erect position.

Running his hands over the man's huge figure


Well, no word count this time so I guess it's on to the next one.....

[Keith B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not just 5 for nostalgia. This was one of the better written ones (although slightly complex fo a Doc novel).

Great for it's inclusion/prediction of man-made diamonds and use of the eye as a unique "fingerprint".

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Doc adventure read in the 70s

[Arlomisty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great Doc Savage book!

[Kendal · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice non-Lester Dent, with all the Five and Pat Savage.

[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!

[Tim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Beware: written by Lawrence Donovan. It's another improbable, erratic, sporadically imaginative, inconsistent tale from our infamous part-time Doc ghoster that reads as if it were written in an afternoon. Donovan centers an astounding amount of the action around a damned duck pond, with folks running/wandering willy-nilly all over the freakin' place. What the hell? The title of this one doubles as a description of its readers upon finishing the tale.

[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.

[Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This adventure deals with Doc and his whole crew chasing the mystery of emotionless men. Somehow, diamonds are mixed up in this caper. Even Patricia is in on the action as well as Habeus. All of the action occurs in NYC and Long Island. Doc’s plane escapes destruction in this book but not his fish tank, oh well.

Lawrence Donovan authored this unsettling book which as published April, 1936.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good one. At the start a couple of men are afflicted by a mysterious force that reduces them to emotionless zombies. Before long, Doc's men are affected too. It's a creepy gimmick, and one of Lester Dent's better mysteries as the villain's agenda isn't obvious until the finish.

[Normand Kosztko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always entertaining adventure y love Doc Savage , y read Doc Savage all my live .