Doc Savage: The Polar Treasure

The Polar Treasure was the fourth of the Doc Savage novels. It was published in 1933. It appeared under the house name Kenneth Robeson but was in fact written by Lester Dent.

The Doc Savage novels were originally published in the pulp Doc Savage Magazine.

Doc Savage has attended a concert by famed blind violinist Victor Vail. And someone tries to kidnap the violinist, by leading him to believe he is to meet Ben O’Gard, the man who saved his life a decade-and-a-half earlier. The violinist is set on by a gang of thugs led by a sailor.

Victor Vail had been one of only two survivors when the passenger liner Oceanic, forced hundreds of miles off course, met disaster in the Arctic pack ice. That was the occasion on which Ben O’Gard saved his life. Victor Vail’s wife and daughter must certainly perished in the disaster but Vail has always clung to the belief that by some miracle they might still be alive. The loss of the Oceanic interests Doc. Officially the ship was simply lost at sea. There is no supporting evidence for Vail’s story that the ship had ended up in the Arctic but Doc is inclined to believe him.

There is also an interesting rumour about the Oceanic’s fate. Was the ship really carrying a vast fortune in jewels and bullion? That would explain much. It might even explain why two gangs of thugs (and there appear to be two gangs at work) want to get their hinds on Victor Vail. The blind violinist might, quite unwittingly, be the key to the finding of that treasure.

Doc is willing to finance an expedition to find the answers. It will be the world’s first submarine voyage beneath the Arctic icecap. A bold venture in a diesel-electric submarine but Doc has come up with some ingenious inventions that might make it possible. The submarine, the Helldiver, will also be carrying a small floatplane and that tiny aircraft will play an important part in the adventure to come. Doc will of course be accompanied by his faithful followers Ham, Monk, Johnny, Long Tom and Renny.

The story is non-stop action from start to finish. There is trouble with the crew of the Helldiver. There are conspiracies and betrayals. There will be desperate struggles for survival in the frozen Arctic wastes. There will also be aerial battles over the ice.

Doc is a fascinating example of an early pulp superhero. Dent is at pains to explain that Doc does not in fact possess any superpowers. His physical prowess is the result of an extraordinary regime of physical training. His intellectual genius is the result of intensive study. His amazing and improbably abilities (such as his ability to render men unconscious merely by touching them) all have perfectly natural explanations. Doc’s physical and mental capacities are so immense as to stretch credibility to the breaking point but he is in fact simply a man who has trained himself to an extraordinary degree.

The one flaw of the Doc Savage books is perhaps that Doc is just too perfect, but then he is supposed to have trained himself to an extent that makes him a proto-superhero.

The plot of the story is outrageous and far-fetched but that adds to the 1930s pulp feel. There are no supernatural elements or monsters (although we think at one point that there might be a monster). Doc’s extraordinary inventions do push the book into slightly science fictional territory.

The style is pulpy to an extreme but that makes it more fun.

Dent makes fine use of the harsh setting in the snow and ice and I have a particular fondness for such settings for thrillers and adventure tales.

The Polar Treasure is a wonderfully enjoyable slice of pure pulp fun and it’s highly recommended.

I’ve also reviewed the first two Doc Savage novels, The Man of Bronze and The Land of Terror as well as the 1975 movie Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze (which I also highly recommend).