In combination with the launch of The New Destroyer, brand-new novels continuing this bestselling, action-packed series, Forge is publishing this omnibus of three of the definitive Destroyer novels. Hand-picked by co-creator and co-author Warren Murphy, these three novels serve as both a revisit to the golden age of the series and a great introduction to what Remo Williams and his Sinanju master, Chiun, have been up to for the past thirty years. Included
The Chinese Puzzle
The US President calls upon the service of Remo and Chiun to smash an Asian conspiracy that could lead to a US-China confrontation . . . if the superhuman weapon of destruction fails, it could mean the end of the USA.
The Slave Safari
There is a secret only Chiun knows. America has committed a sin against him he cannot pardon -- and he will not even share it with Remo Williams, the Destroyer, whom he has taught all his skills and loves as a son. Deep in Africa, countless feuds that have blazed for many centuries are quickly being resolved by death and massacre. A massive conspiracy is unearthed surrounding the centuries-old slave trade, and only Remo can unravel it.
The Assassin's Playoff
After a brutal fight in the streets of New Jersey, Remo and Chiun find themselves in battle after battle. Their arch-enemy and fellow assassin, the Maestro of Mayhem known as Nuihc, is hoping to knock out his competition. It all comes to a boil in Chiun's hometown in North Korea as the Destroyer finds himself in a fight to the death.
Warren Murphy was an American author, most famous as the co-creator of The Destroyer series, the basis for the film Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins. He worked as a reporter and editor and after service during the Korean War, he drifted into politics.
Murphy also wrote the screenplay for Lethal Weapon 2. He is the author of the Trace and Digger series. With Molly Cochran, he completed two books of a planned trilogy revolving around the character The Grandmaster, The Grandmaster (1984) and High Priest (1989). Murphy also shares writing credits with Cochran on The Forever King and several novels under the name Dev Stryker. The first Grandmaster book earned Murphy and Cochran a 1985 Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original, and Murphy's Pigs Get Fat took the same honor the following year.
His solo novels include Jericho Day, The Red Moon, The Ceiling of Hell, The Sure Thing and Honor Among Thieves. Over his career, Murphy sold over 60 million books.
He started his own publishing house, Ballybunion, to have a vehicle to start The Destroyer spin-off books. Ballybunion has reprinted The Assassin's Handbook, as well as the original works Assassin's Handbook 2, The Movie That Never Was (a screenplay he and Richard Sapir wrote for a Destroyer movie that was never optioned), The Way of the Assassin (the wisdom of Chiun), and New Blood, a collection of short stories written by fans of the series.
He served on the board of the Mystery Writers of America, and was a member of the Private Eye Writers of America, the International Association of Crime Writers, the American Crime Writers League and the Screenwriters Guild.
Come for the awesome fight scenes as Destroyer slaughters villains from around the world. Stay for the banter between him and his ancient soap opera-loving teacher, the Master of Sinanju.
The first one didn't really grab my attention until the dojo fight at the end, but from there I was hooked, and would happily read another 3.
I used to read The Destroyer pulp novels in my teens as a light read between the otherwise brick-like books that I loved at the time. As I remembered it, Remo Williams and his mentor in the secrets of an ancient martial art, Chiun, offered me many a laugh and hilarious moment.
As such, when the opportunity arose to read The Best of the Destroyer - three of the original pulp stories chosen by one of the Remo authors, Warren Murphy - I went for it and read the stories back-to-back. To my surprise the stories still felt entertaining and they even included much deeper analysis of world problems than I remembered (racism, corruption, violence etc.). The three included stories are all very different from each other, which works to introduce even new readers to the width and span of Remo stories.
Overall, I was hooked to the stories and I feel an urge to find and read some of the other old stories as well.