Dangerous Games

The Destroyer #40

by Warren Murphy

The Olympics promise to be a rare relaxation in the tensions between the States and Russia, until a racial purist decides to punish America's multi-racial track-and-field team. The Americans, Russians, and Germans are confident that they can stop this racial terrorism until a bomb explodes in the super-secure Olympic village, killing two Russian security guards just before the torch is lit. As the threats come racing in, CURE's agents Remo and Chiun put on their running shoes and join the U.S.'s Olympic team.

Enlisting the aid of a beautiful and flexible Indian gymnast, Remo and Chiun race to track down the terrorists who vow to permanently disqualify America's track-and-field squad. But when the terrorists turn on Remo and Chiun, it's a sprint to the finish for CURE's agents to keep the Olympic torch aflame.

ABOUT THE
Sentenced to death for a crime he didn’t commit, ex-cop Remo Williams is rescued from the electric chair and recruited by a secret government organization as an assassin, targeting criminals who are beyond the law. Remo’s trainer is a curmudgeonly old Korean named Chiun, whose mastery of the terrifyingly powerful martial art of Sinanju makes him the deadliest man alive.

The winning combination of action, humor, and mysticism has made the Destroyer one of the best-selling series of all time. With more than 150 books and over 50 million copies sold worldwide, the Destroyer has been praised by the LA Times as “flights of hilarious satire,” and gave birth to the mythology of the brash young Westerner taught by an ancient, inscrutable master.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Action, Adventure

140 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite Destroyer novels. A terrorist group has threatened to kill all of the American athletes at the Moscow Olympic Games in 1980. (Yes, I know that the U.S. didn’t attend those games, but this book was obviously written before Jimmy Carter made that decision.) The Soviets will not let the U.S. send security teams to accompany their athletes, so Harold Smith, head of CURE, sends Remo and Chiun. To get there, Remo has to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team and the only challenge for him here is to not perform too well—because as the heir to the mysteries of Sinanju, Remo could make the Olympic athletes in every sport look like toddlers coming out onto the field.

So on one level it was just a lot of fun watching Remo try not to perform too well, but there are a couple of great subplots involving a jealous athlete and a young gymnast who intrigues Remo enough to help her excel at her art in a way she never before imagined. Then there is Chiun who wants Remo to win so he can get endorsement deals. And there is also the not insignificant problem of stopping a terrorist organization from killing all the Americans at the games. Suffice it to say, that this was one of the best of the series and I enjoyed every page of it.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating 3.5

A better than average entry in the series mainly due to the humourous banter between Remo and chiun when talking about the Olympic medals Chiun wants to win and then be recognised on the tv world wide was entertaining I found.
The actual mission itself was quite pedestrian and nothing that hadn’t been seen before in the series.
So overall an good read but probably only for fans of the series.

[Marko · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slightly better than its predecessor, Dangerous Games is still part of a weaker phase in the series. A very straight-forward story with the usual twists and turns. Unfortunately, the series seems to suffer from the absence of Sapir and even Remo's and Chiun's skills seem to change from book to book to serve the story. Not a must read at all and the same is true for the series until book 44.

[Jeff J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

#40 in the Destroyer series. Terrorists threaten the 1980 Olympics. Much chaos ensues.

[Rob Griffin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book. Remo goes to the Olympics.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even sillier than the average Destroyer novel, and I assure you that it is very silly indeed.

But there is a kernel of something interesting about sport (and the Olympics), and this is in the middle of the Golden Age of Destroyer prose, so it's a very quick read.

As occasionally happens in these books, you can tell Sapir or Murphy visited the ostensible (Eastern European) location shortly before writing, or at least watched an engaging documentary about it, and wanted to get all of his/their ideas about that nation on paper. Which is an approach with both pluses and minuses.

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the big men's adventure series from the 70's than ran an impressive 145 books. The series while an adventure/action story is also full of satire toward much of the mainstream fads and icons of the time. An interesting main character and the sarcastic mentor makes this a funny action/adventure read. Threats have been made against the athletes at the Moscow Olympics and CURE must protect them. Recommended

[Tony Hinde · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved all these books as a young man... the very epitome of power fantasies. Sadly they've not aged well. Let me just say that this series would probably be embraced by the American right, if they ignored the occasional jibe aimed at corrupt oligarchs.

One aspect that still holds joy, is Chun's unassailable world-view. He's totally deluded about the world and yet his skills allow him to brush away any aspects of reality that conflict with his opinions. Hilarious!

[Bert Edens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yeah, most Destroyer books are formulaic to some extent, but that predictability is part of their charm. from Chiun's attempts to acquire fans and fortune to his bickering with Remo and trying to apply as much guilt as possible to Remo and even a love interest for Remo. It's predictable but always a fun read and satirical commentary on political events of the time. Never disappointed.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much like the others.