Review of Nostalgia Ventures pulp reprint #13. Doc Savage teams up with his beautiful cousin in the Lester Dent novels that introduced the character of Patricia Savage. First, the Man of Bronze and his Iron Crew investigate the murder of Doc's uncle. The only clues, a strange ivory cube and the mysterious "Brand of the Werewolf," set them on the trail of an ancient mystery. This pulp reprint includes a fascinating essay by historian Will Murray about the origins of Patricia Savage, but I really wish Murray would stop offering theories in between facts and giving readers the false impressions that such theories are facts. He's a gifted writer but the way he words his sentences you have to seek the underlying meanings. I suspect this is not as much the fault of Murray as it is with editor Anthony Tollin, who has repeatedly done this in other pulp reprints and magazine articles.
The second story gives you the impression that George Lucas wanted to reprise the hoard of man-eating ants sequence in "Fear Cay" for his recent movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls. After a failed kidnapping attempt, Doc and Pat Savage travel to the West Indies and encounter flesh-eating ants and a 130-year-old man on the strange island called "Fear Cay."
This collector's item pulp reprint features the classic color pulp covers by Walter Baumhofer, interior illustrations by Paul Orban, and historical articles by Will Murray. A biography in the back about Lester Dent looks familiar and I keep thinking it was reprinted from another pulp reprint in the series.
By the way, these early volume numbers are available for low prices. Don't spend the full $12.95 cover price or subscribe to the series like a magazine, which the publishing company offers. Seriously, if you shop around you can get them for about $8 or $9. If there was only one pulp reprint, I would say buy it at any price. But when there are more than fifty Doc Savage reprints available, every little bit helps.
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