Note from Doc Talos author/contest judge R. Paul Sardanas: Daryl Morrissey, creator of the huge Refractions in Bronze project, displays his virtuosity in the world of a renowned 20th century adventurer, as well as his fascination for the untold stories from the youth of the man who would come to be known as Doc. In this tale, we are given the delightful experience of the first meeting between a particularly bright young man and an erudite professor with a voracious penchant for (to use uncharacteristically small descriptives)…big words.
Comment from author Daryl Morrissey: When, after a hiatus of some thirty years, I returned to Doc Savagedom, I was delighted to find that there was a core fan-base that was keeping the flame alive, and the Code in their hearts – and even adding to the Savage legend with fanzines and fan fiction, pastiches and Facebook groups. And I wondered if, after all this time, there was a place for me to do my own small part to add to the magic. Nearly every Doc Savage novel has a brief reference to Doc’s unusual upbringing, his intense multidisciplinary studies with world experts – and I tried to imagine what that must have been like, for both the mentors and young Clark Savage. Doc’s past is a mansion with scores of closed doors, and in the pulp stories we are never really allowed more than a glimpse of the foyer. This is my attempt to crack the door into at least one of those hidden rooms.
Additional note: If you are interested in submitting fiction to the Summer 2021 contest (first prize is a Bantam Doc Savage paperback Czar of Fear first edition, signed by James Bama) you can read the contest guidelines HERE.
Doc Talos 