Review of the Doc Savage novel Murder Melody

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Sour Note

A review of Murder Melody by Lawrence Donovan

By Rogers Cadenhead

There's unmistakable charm in the storytelling form of a pulp novel, with its staccato writing, outlandish plotlines, constant cliffhangers and blissfully uncomplicated heroes.

Almost none of this charm is present in the Doc Savage novel Murder Melody, originally published by Street & Smith Publications in 1935 and reprinted by Bantam Books 32 years later.

Doc Savage, a bronze-skinned scientist/adventurer who was an inspiration for Indiana Jones, is one of the most distinctive and popular heroes to come out of pulps. He was created by legendary pulp writer Lester Dent under the pseudonym "Kenneth Robeson."

Murder Melody was written by Lawrence Donovan instead of Dent, and it's widely considered by pulp fans to be one of the worst Doc Savage stories every written. On the alt.fan.doc-savage Usenet newsgroup, Mark Shaw states:

I remember tossing Murder Melody down in disgust when I finished it, as I'd been unsatisfied with the whole book. It just didn't feel right. Even as a kid, I could tell when it wasn't a "true" Doc adventure. Nowadays, I tend to be a bit more forgiving of such things, but back then, I was incensed that this novel had obviously NOT been written by "Kenneth Robeson."

The novel puts Doc Savage and his co-adventurers in the middle of a nefarious plot by poreless, silver-hued men who can levitate and play deadly flute music -- hence the title. These plotters, who are called ``Zoromen,'' are either aided or opposed by a woman named Lanta who has sent a mysterious message to Doc, asking him to travel to Stanley Park in Vancouver and predicting earthquakes in the area.

Doc Savage and the readers spend most of the book in the dark about the Zoromen and Lanta, learning only that they have strange powers and are engaged in some kind of conflict.

For the first 11 chapters of the 20-chapter book, Donovan reveals almost nothing about the otherworldly characters opposing Doc Savage. As a result, the first half of the book is an arduous read, following Doc and his cohorts in fights against the Zoromen waged for no known purpose.

As you might expect from low-brow fiction penned seven decades ago, there are some decidedly unenlightened views about race and gender in the book. At one point, Doc's associates Johnny and Monk are accosted by Zoromen pretending to be Hindu laborers:

Somewhat dirty turbans enwrapped their greasy black hair. Their faces were the dull mahogany hue of the Hindu.
Hindus, being British subjects, perform much of the labor in British Columbia. These two dark-skinned men had come from the vicinity of a lumber mill. ...

Johnny's face and the mahogany countenance of the Hindu holding him danced before Monk's uncertain vision.
Monk attempted to direct Johnny.

"Push the greasy Indian under!" he shrilled.

Monk, one of the world's most brilliant industrial chemists, continues to describe these attackers as "greasy Hindus" long after learning they were disguised Zoromen -- making his racist remarks not only inappropriate but entirely misplaced.

There's also an unforgettable moment after Lanta makes a comment about electricity that impresses Doc Savage:

Princess Lanta showed open admiration for the bronze man's profound conclusions.
"That is correct," agreed Princess Lanta. "Probably my father, King Lumos, will need to inform you of little. Your companions are astounded. They do not understand what we are able to command. This should not disturb them. After all, you control vast electrical force on the earth's surface. You have learned to apply it in many wonderful ways. Yet your most learned scientists have never been able to define exactly what electricity consists of."
Doc Savage nodded. He said nothing. Never before had he encountered a woman who could think so clearly.

The treatment of women in the book is one of the funniest things about it -- women are beautiful and desirable, but Doc Savage is far too busy saving the world to take much heed of them. He also thinks they're neither bright nor useful in the most important pursuit of life, heroic adventure.

It's a line of thinking straight from the "no girls allowed in our treehouse" phase of boyhood, a time before puberty has arrived and cooties are a sufficient barrier between the genders.

As someone who unfortunately picked Murder Melody as the first Doc Savage book to read, I'm curious about how far this sexism is taken in other books. If he's as chaste as this book makes him appear, it's a hilarious difference from today's oversexed action heroes. I'm reminded of the 1980 movie Ffolkes, in which Roger Moore played a government operative who openly dislikes women, a humorous departure from the Bond movies he was starring in during those years.

Unintentional comedy is about the only thing to take from Lawrence Donovan's novel. Though there are a few scattered moments that are memorable, such as Doc Savage and crew sailing through solid rock into a giant undiscovered sea of oil, the long-delayed payoff to the mystery of the Zoromen isn't worth the effort to get there.

The plot also left some completely bewildering moments unresolved in the end. One character surprises everyone by trying to slit someone's throat, and the motive for this murderous act is never explained.

As a first-time Doc Savage reader, I hope Murder Melody is the worst story about the character. Otherwise, the book matching that description is still out there waiting for me to choose it, and that's a much scarier prospect than a race of fatal floating flautists.

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