I am the prototype Doc Savage fan. I have been reading them since I was a young teenager in the mid to late sixties. The 1930's pulp stories were made for early teenagers from that period. I have read all 182 originals, including the discovered Lester Dent 1948 cold war "The Red Spider." I believe in the Walter Baumhofer covers, not to say that I don't like Bantam books, James Bama covers, or the Will Murray stories. In fact, I love them more because they took it to a new level.
How do I feel about the new James Patterson and Brian Sitts's novel, "The Perfect Assassin: A Doc Savage Thriller," which came out on November 15, 2022? First, I will break down the story in my biased opinion.
The title sucks and miss leads you, and the title is not a traditional 1930's style title.
I almost threw the book away at the halfway mark. It broke one of my golden rules. It introduced a character family member of Doc Savage that was not ever mentioned in the previous 182 pulp stories. Pat Savage, her father, and so were Doc's father and mother were mentioned many times throughout the series. You do not make up a new relative. That is why this book cannot be in Doc Savage canon. You do not change his story. You may create a new Doc story; however, you cannot change his original canon.
It was hard to read past that. I am glad that I continued to read.
Now for the good news. Ninety-five percent of the story is good and sometimes very good. The book is 316 pages long. Lester Dent wrote each chapter in the pulp style that leaves it's you with a Cliff hanger, and so does this book. It read more like a thirties pulp style. It is twice as long as Doc's original stories, but it reads fast with something happening with action in each chapter. Will Murray's books were more like a traditional-style novel.
Other good news, Patterson/Sitt's this is not a story about the original Doc Savage, as it is totally about his Great-grandson. Doc is not in this book, nor is his aids. It does talk about Doc's history.
With the exception mentioned about the new relative… whoever researched did a great job. The story makes you understand that the original Doc was not about his gadgets; it was about the superhero that was Doc Savage. Bantam Books had on the back cover, Who Is Doc Savage?
"To the world at large, Doc Savage is a strange, mysterious figure of glistening bronze skin and golden eyes. To his amazing co-adventurers — the five greatest brains ever assembled in one group — he is a man of superhuman strength and protean genius, whose life is dedicated to the destruction of evil-doers."
All of this is explained and taken to a new level of understanding. Doc Savage's greatest asset was how he became this superhero. His training. I did like the pig's head in this training… He was raised by scientists and made to be like this. He was Captain America before Captain America. He was Superman before Superman. He was the first. I won't ruin this, so you must read the story.
One more plus. The Code is brought into this story.
THE CODE OF DOC SAVAGE.
Let me strive, every moment of my life, to make myself better and better, to the best of my ability, that all may profit by it. Let me think of the right, and lend all my assistance to those who need it, with no regard for anything but justice. Let me take what comes with a smile, without loss of courage. Let me be considerate of my country, of my fellow citizens, and my associates in everything I say and do. Let me do right to all, and wrong to no man.
You have to read the story and see how this fits into it.
I will continue to read more of Doc Savage's great-grandson stories if James Patterson and Brian Sitts's write them. However, ask a canon expert before you write them.
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![The Perfect Assassin: A Doc Savage Thriller by [James Patterson, Brian Sitts]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41kaU4pRPJL._SY346_.jpg)
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Quick assassin novel. True to JP form
Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2022
⚠️Trigger Warnings⚠️ Kidnapping, loss of a child, murder, death of parentSo I have to say, and y’all will probably think I’m weird…I LOVE the font and formatting for this book. Plus SHORT CHAPTERS. Book format heaven. ❤️❤️❤️Ok onto more important substantive things…here we go, that actual review.The book grabbed me right away. Eww, that despicable bet early on with the twins…it’s scary to know there are people in the world capable of this. (NO SPOILERS - you’ll have to read it).The pig head training exercise made me wanna vomit so heads up on that lol. It’s a short part of the book though.I loved all of the training exercises and learning where Meed actually came from. I also liked seeing Dr. Brandt Savage before who he was by the end of the book.I really liked the electricity between Meed and Savage. Their relationship had a nice genuine vibe to it. I’m excited to see where their story will go in the next installment of this new series.
Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2022
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