DOC SAVAGE and The Desert Demons by Will Murray (2011)

This is a very cool book on several levels.

First, of course, it’s a new Doc Savage adventure - the first since 1993 - and it’s a corker.

But for hardcore Doc fans like me, it’s a special treat because it furthers the legacy of both Lester Dent and James Bama.

Will Murray

The driving force behind The Desert Demons, the guy now wearing the Kenneth Robeson shoes, is long-time Doc expert Will Murray. But for this one, Will had a lot of help from Lester Dent. So much so, in fact, that this should really be considered a Murray-Dent collaboration.

In a revealing Afterword (exclusive to the deluxe hardcover edition), Murray explains how this novel came to be, and it's fascinating stuff. Delving deep into Dent’s papers, he discovered unpublished scenes, and even whole chapters, written and discarded from earlier Doc adventures, primarily Red Snow and The Derrick Devil. Combining those chapters with ideas and springboards from several other Dent stories, Murray was able to craft an all-new story that’s as close to a new Dent Doc as we’re ever likely to get.

A second Afterword (also only in the hardcover), details the Bama connection, as told by cover artist Joe DeVito. As a result of painting the covers for Will Murray’s seven Doc originals published by Bantam in the early 90s, DeVito became friends with James Bama himself. When the call came to produce new covers for this Altus Press revival, Mr. Bama (now in his 80s and still a Doc fan) provided him with photos of his long-time Doc model, Steve Holland. So the Doc gracing the cover of The Desert Demons is the real deal, in the much-admired Bama tradition.

Lester Dent

The story pits Doc and the gang against a boiling blood-red cloud that descends on California, enveloping buildings, vehicles, and even people. When the cloud vanishes, everything it touched is the color of sun-bleached bone, and quickly disintegrates into a white powder. All five of Doc’s aides are on hand for this one, and cousin Pat plays an important role too. I never got enough of Pat in the original series, and hope to see more of her in the next six books.

An added attraction is that much of the action revolves around the Hollywood film industry of 1936. Fun stuff. I especially enjoyed having Monk decked out in cowboy duds and riding a cayuse. And when the action moves to California, we get to see Doc battle an alligator à la Davy Crockett or Jim Bowie.

Bottom Line: You don’t want to miss this kickoff of the WILD Adventures of Doc Savage.