Chadzilla ROARS!!! (The Official Blog of Chadwick H. Saxelid, Writer)

The Destroyer #39: Missing Link - by Warren Murphy

Bobby Jack Billings, the beer guzzling brother-in-law (and obvious parody of then-President Jimmy Carter's younger brother Billy), has disappeared during a "clandestine" meeting with a group of Libyans who were seeking to change the United States government's policy of refusing to sell plutonium to their country.  That is not good.  The only potential clues found at the last known whereabouts of the "Missing Link" (the code name the Secret Service uses to identify the drunkard) are two pieces of metal: one a small gold Star of David, the other a small iron swastika.  That is just plain weird.

What is a the President to do? Send out the Destroyer to find Bobby Jack, of course...

Missing Link is the shortest and slightest Destroyer adventure that I have read in quite some time.  The book is only 172 pages and the gaps between chapters are huge.  But it also the laugh-out-loud funniest Destroyer story that I have had the pleasure to read in quite some time.  One that is completely unencumbered by any and all unpleasant racial stereotypes, which certainly helps.  I still have a bit of a sour taste in my mouth from the one-two punch of reading Mugger Blood and Chained Reaction.

Despite its brevity Missing Link is filled with generous amounts of violence and comedy, which in a Destroyer novel can be the same thing.  Remo is so good at what he does and those who he dispatches are such cartoonish characters that, more often than not, the whole thing reads as slapstick.  But unlike Power Play the ending to Missing Link is solid and does not feel rushed or contrived.  It also had me laughing out loud, which was a wonderful way to close out a fairly busy weekend.

The Destroyer #36: Power Play - by Richard Sapir & Warren Murphy

Wesley Pruiss and his bestiality themed sex magazine Gross (a thinly veiled parody of Larry Flynt and his sex magazine Hustler) have moved to Middle America to set up an entirely different kind of industry, Solar Power.  This infuriates the Oil Industry, who do not take kindly to having their monopoly on the energy market challenged.  When someone attempts to kill Pruiss Harold Smith sends in Remo and Chiun to protect the pornographer from harm.

Nothing is what it seems and things get a little out of hand.

Could you expect anything else from a Destroyer novel?  Well, after reading the racist one-two punch of Mugger Blood and Chained Reaction, I have to admit that I cracked open Power Play with more than a little trepidation about any African-American characters that would be unfortunate enough to appear in the book.  Those politically correct fears were ill-founded, though, and the book was the brisk mix of snarky (and somewhat off color, no pun intended) satire and (literally) bone crushing violence that I had fallen in love with back when I first read Profit Motive and Bay City Blast.

While Power Play does not reach the entertainment level of the latter novels, it did serve as a distinct and refreshing return form over the former books.  It is also one of the adventures that makes the reader truly understand Chiun's frustration with his oafish (and beloved, though Chiun would NEVER admit to it) student.  My only complaint is that the final reveal and confrontation are really rushed.  Other than that, nothing.  It's a great way to spend an afternoon lost in a quick as a breeze read.

The Destroyer #34: Chained Reaction - by Warren Murphy & Richard Sapir

Remo quits CURE, for good.  He is tired of killing and, although Chiun disagrees with this, believes it to be both wrong and anti-American.  All that changes, however, when the brother of an old acquaintance is kidnapped by a militant group of "Southern idiots" that are eager to reinstitute slavery.  Remo makes an extremely reluctant return to his old ways in order to save the day and make things right again for America.

As sweet and refreshing as this fast paced tonic of comedy and carnage was to read, it did not completely rinse away the bad aftertaste of Mugger Blood.  The primary reason for that being the same racist attitude that infused Mugger Blood runs through this book as well.  It is not nearly as blatant as it was in Mugger Blood, but it was still far too enthusiastic in its "politically incorrect" humor not too keep me from questioning just how the author(s) of this series entry viewed African-Americans.

Nonetheless, Chained Reaction contains some rousing set pieces: the entirety of the opening chapter, the scene where Remo has to use his Sinanju skills in order for a Ginsu style kitchen utensil to work, and Chiun's blistering rage when he witnesses the brutal treatment of the new slaves.  Longtime fans are sure to enjoy it, while I can only recommend reading either Profit Motive or Bay City Blast over this one for the series newcomers, or The Destroyer series curious.  Those two are just comedy gold.

The Destroyer #30: Mugger Blood - by Warren Murphy & Richard Sapir

I have read enough novels in The Destroyer series to know that its satire can not only be politically incorrect, but that its predominant political viewpoint is an ultra-conservative one.  I have no problem with either, really.  I think the former is fundamentally necessary, as boundaries should always be pushed, sensibilities offended, toes squashed and some noses tweaked.  As for the latter, it is healthy to be challenged and I am old enough, and have grown wise enough, to know that it is oft times better to simply agree to disagree, and just walk away.  As long as I am entertained, it is all good; and The Destroyer series is very entertaining.  Even when it pushes the boundaries to the breaking point and crosses into territory that can offend; and that is precisely what happens in Mugger Blood.

To be blunt, the book is racist.

Whether or not the authors (and series creators) Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir are racist themselves is a debate for people who actually know (in the case of the late Richard Sapir, knew) them.  Art has a way of getting away from its creator(s) and becoming something that is both a representation of its creator(s) and something that is completely and utterly unlike its creator(s).

The edition that I read has an introduction by Murphy that briefly touches on the novel's possible genesis and how, after a lengthy list of all the ethnic groups that had been satirized or lampooned in the twenty-nine books that preceded Mugger Blood, that it was this particular book that some readers complained about.  Chiun himself then chimes in, dismissing the claims of racism and then explaining that all races are inferior to Koreans, and that all Koreans are inferior to the residents of the city of Sinanju, and that even the residents of Sinanju are inferior to the residents of the House of Sinanju.

Come to think of it, all are inferior to the single most glorious resident of the House of Sinanju.  All hail the Master of Sinanju!

While the one-two punch of serious discussion and satirical dismissal of the allegations of racism show that the authors have, at the very least, taken the comments about Mugger Blood seriously, by the midpoint of the novel, I was wincing, shaking my head and thinking/muttering, "Mythical-God, is this book racist!"

The set-up is straight forward, an elderly German woman is tortured to death in her Bronx home.  Well, there has to be some kind of brutal atrocity to capture the attention of CURE and to get Remo's ire up, yes?  Afterward, the building the unfortunate woman had been living in is demolished and all the rubble carted away for examination by the CIA.  Smitty then sends Remo and Chiun into the Bronx to find the alleged "super-weapon" that the Super Powers That Be believe to have been hidden inside the woman's home.  Also sneaking around are some Russian agents, one of which seems to be a dry run for the gun happy vigilante in Bay City Blast.  So far, so good.  In this area alone the book is a typical Cold War era Destroyer novel.

But then the corrupt Reverend Josiah Wadson (a parody of Al Sharpton) and the various street gangs that have taken over the Bronx and turned it into what looks like a bombed out war zone arrive to muddy the narrative waters with politically incorrect satire and biting social commentary.  That there were valid points to be found in both the satire and commentary is beside the point, for the racial stereotyping is so broad, and the lack of counterbalance so notably absent, that it seems as if all African-Americans are being made to appear as if they are nothing more than sub-literate animals that label any and all that confront or question their behavior as racist.  If Murphy and Sapir had taken a moment to show one person struggling to overcome the toxic war zone that the Bronx had become (to get an idea of just how bad it was, go out and rent the films Wolfen and Fort Apache, The Bronx, both were set and filmed in and around the kind of neighborhood that Mugger Blood takes place) then the book would not have left such a sour taste in my mouth.  But Murphy and Sapir did not do that, and Mugger Blood is a lesser reading experience because of it.

The Destroyer #14: Judgment Day - by Warren Murphy & Richard Sapir

With so many clandestine investigative tendrils snaking throughout the country, it was only a matter of time before someone took notice of CURE's intelligence gathering operations.  That someone is T.L. Broon, president-chairman of the board of IDC, a corporation that has grown beyond simply manufacturing computers and designing computer programs.  Seeing the mysterious intelligence gathering done by CURE as a threat to IDC's growing power, Broon assigns Blake Corbish, a thirty-seven year old vice president with a hungry, and quite ruthless, eye on a senior vice presidency, to find out what CURE is doing and how best to turn it into an IDC operation.

Corbish succeeds in learning the what of CURE by kidnapping and torturing Dr. Harold Smith, supposed director of Folcroft Sanitarium, CURE's cover operation.  But Corbish never really understands the why of it.  Since it will not profit him in any way, he decides a change and restructuring of CURE's operations are in order.  But Corbish has made one very deadly mistake.

He did not kill Dr. Harold Smith. 

A few weeks back I was listening to a podcast, I think it was Dead Central's Dinner For Fiends, where a host commented that she read so many books in a year (over two hundred, I believe) that she had a habit of forgetting what books she had read and wound up rereading a lot of them.  I don't go through nearly that many (but I do think that I go through about a hundred or so in a year, give or take a handful) but it was bound to happen that I would inadvertently crack open a book that I had read before.

Judgment Day was that book.  How can it be that, with something like 200 plus Destroyer novels floating around new and used bookstores, I managed to revisit one that I visited years ago?  What are the odds of that?  At least I did not have a particularly strong memory of the book (save for a gag where Remo spends fifteen minutes trying to kill a man, because he wastes fourteen of them laughing at his sorry excuse for a defense) and could approach it with a fresh pair of eyes.  Now that I have finished it, I can see why I didn't have any strong memories of the book.  There isn't anything memorable about it.

The cast is lacking in colorful characters and outlandish action set-pieces.  In what at first appears to be an odd move, Remo and Chiun step out of the limelight and allow Dr. Harold Smith to take center stage.  Smith is not a colorful character.  Not unless you consider having a "lemony" voice to be colorful.  But he shows himself to be a very tough nut and, when need be, a man of action willing to get his hands dirty to get the job done.

Consider also the fact that this is only the fourteenth book in the series.  So it seems fitting that Murphy and Sapir would take a little time to let their readers get to know Smith and his family on a slightly more personal level.  While Smith is clearly no replacement for Remo and Chiun, and this book sorely needed more of them in it, he is as every bit as irreplaceable as they are, in his own unique way.  That is something that Blake Corbish is far too late in realizing.

The Destroyer #10: Terror Squad - by Richard Sapir & Warren Murphy

A strange, new breed of terrorist threat has arisen in the world; common thugs that nonetheless manage to act like the well trained soldiers they are not during their attacks.  Remo and Chiun are dispatched to eradicate the threat and race against the clock to do so before an Anti-terrorist Conference is held at the United Nations...

This early Destroyer adventure (America's Favorite Action Series!) is a far more gritty and grim outing than the tongue in cheek and over the top romps that I am used to reading.  The book almost lost me with the opening rape scene (note to the authors, women DO NOT find themselves reluctantly enjoying getting violated sexually) that culminates in the brutal murder of an infant.  Yuck.  Then there was the blatant racism during Remo's torture and murder of a trio of Black Militant hijackers.  The sequence is played far too straight for me to buy as satire and, yet again, I found myself questioning whether or not I should even bother finishing the damn book.

Well, I did manage to finish Terror Squadand I have to say that, despite my misgivings early on, I wound up enjoying the second half far more than the first.  By the novel's end I was glad that I decided to work my way through the rough spots, for there was just enough of the humor that got me hooked on the series to sweeten the book to the level of tolerable.  Another thing that made suffering the book's unpleasant sections a tad easier was the high quality of the bickering between Remo and Chiun.  Whenever these two begin snapping at each other, whatever is happening around them becomes irrelevant and the back and forth quickly turns into something that reads like an Abbott & Costello routine.  The father/son dynamic between Remo and Chiun is nicely handled as well.  It was more than a bit touching to see just how much the two cared for and about each other, although one would never dare admit it to the other.

I can only recommend this entry to the most dedicated of Destroyer fans.  Newcomers and/or any first time readers would be better off reading something along the lines of Bay City Blast or Profit Motive, two entries I enjoyed far more than this one.

The Destroyer #25: Sweet Dreams - by Warren Murphy & Richard Sapir

Professor William Westhead Wooley (the unintended irony, since the book was written in the late 70s, of the character's initials being WWW is rather stunning) has invented a dream machine that completely reinvents television.  This machine, dubbed the "Dreamocizer" by Wooley, allows its user to create and control whatever images play across the television screen.  With fantasy fulfilling programming like that, who needs books, movies, or television?  Everybody, including Dr. Harold W. Smith, the head of CURE, sees a unique potential for this invention.  Smith sees its potential as a tool of interrogation, a Mafia don sees its potential for peddling smut, and the broadcasting industry sees its potential for ending their ability to generate income.  Everybody wants the Dreamocizer, for one reason or another, and more than a few are willing to kill for the chance to get/destroy it.

That's when Remo and Chiun get involved.

Sweet Dreams (Destroyer, No 25) is the first Destroyer novel that I have read in over twenty years and, even though this particular entry is thirty years old, I was pleased to find that, despite its age, the book managed to retain a certain degree of freshness.  The book could have been written today, as is, and it would not read as an old-fashioned thrill ride.

Briskly paced, yet surprisingly light in the action department (I've read far more violent, not to mention funny, Destroyer novels) Sweet Dreams manages to slip in a serious message about letting ones dreams control ones actions.  Remo himself is not immune to such temptations, for he has became tired of living an anonymous life in one hotel room after another.  He is introduced in a sour mood, yearning for something that will give his now hollow life some kind of substance.  He decides a home would be nice and begins to pester Smith for one.  He then spends a great deal of time daydreaming about getting this house, instead of focusing on the task at hand, which is defending Professor Wooley's life.

But a meaningful message does not a good novel make.  I cracked open Sweet Dreams expecting a lot of action and humor, because that is what I remembered most clearly about the Destroyer novels I had read so many years ago.  The book's rather serious tone, not to mention the rather clumsy changes in Wooley's characterization as the story unfolds, caught me off guard.  Another thing that did not sit well with me was just how cold and uncaring Remo and Chiun were about any and all that crossed their path.  Murphy and Sapir seem to notice this and make a somewhat successful effort at bringing out some compassion in the duo for the book's finale.

With such a lengthy amount of time between reading Destroyer novels, I cannot say how well it compares to those that I have read, or to any of the other one hundred plus books in the series.  But my slight disappointment wasn't enough to make me to regret all the Destroyer novels I recently purchased.  I fully intend to read and review those, as well.  Every writer has an off book, after all.