Tue 11 Aug 2026
KENNETH ROBESON – Red Snow. Doc Savage #24. Bantam, paperback original; 1st printing, July 1969. Originally published in Doc Savage Magazine, February 1935.
A strange red snow that disintegrates everything in it path threatens America’s defenses and it is up to Doc Savage and his crew of assistants to find ist source, He actually gets onto the trail of Ark, the villain of the tale, because of the fear the latter’s gang has of the reputation of Doc Savage, Ark, the “scholar of evil,” is working for a foreign government to destroy national leaders while the enemy fleet is waiting off shore.
Doc is hampered by an accusation of murder by the Miami police. It does not ring true and serves only to boost the plot a little. Otherwise he has no more difficulties than usual. One witness is discovered on page 71. Note that Doc cannot tell whether or not a woman is lying!
Rating: **
August 12th, 2026 at 7:36 am
Number 38 in the Bantam reprints.
August 12th, 2026 at 5:40 pm
I used the numbering of the magazine stories taken from the Fantastic Fiction website (confirmed just now by a relevant Wikipedia page). I did not realize that they and Bantam had different numbering systems. I wonder why, but at least it’s good to know this, I think. It certainly took me long enough.
August 12th, 2026 at 11:53 am
I have read many of the DOC SAVAGE series published by Bantam, but not RED SNOW. The quality of these books vary widely from book to book.
August 12th, 2026 at 6:04 pm
I bought all of the Dox Savage paperbacks as they came out from Bantam, all the way to the end of the pulp magazine stories, and maybe a little beyond, but I don’t think I ever read more than two or three if them. This one I thought was OK, as you can see from the rating I gave it, but barely.
August 13th, 2026 at 10:39 am
Steve, sometimes the covers on those Bantam paperbacks were better than the stories inside them…
August 15th, 2026 at 11:54 pm
I’m not sure if this is a Dent story or not, but among Dent’s virtues as a writer were the ability to start with a bang and maintain action although in fairness the payoff was often a bit of a disappointment after the ride.
He tended to start off with something fantastic that seemingly had no rational solution and then gradually have Doc provide one (not always much more rational than the fantastic event in question.
When it all came together the stories were great fun, other times they were still fun, but not as satisfying.