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The Destroyer #21
Deadly Seeds
Remo Williams and the incredible Korean, Chiun, battle a diabolical industrialist who has devised a way to kill more people than any war has yet done.
180 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
About the author
Warren Murphy
303 books126 followersWarren 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
May 23, 2017
His name was Remo and the hot Newark night offended him, and the smells from the alley where rats scratched inside open garbage cans filled his senses with decay and the occasional street lights cast more glare than illumination.
Sometimes it's the simplest villains that are the most effective in the Destroyer series, and in this case, it doesn't get simpler than corporate millionaire sociopath (is there any other kind?) James Orayo Fielding. Content on squishing bugs (as he sees people) on a small and diplomatic scale, a terminal diagnosis of leukemia inspires him to crank his sadism up to eleven with a diabolical plan to personally create a plague capable of wiping out millions under the guise of solving world hunger.
If that isn't bad enough, not only does Fielding con Remo into believing his con, but paranoid mobster Johnny "Deuce" Deussio is beginning to suspect that there is a secret government organization out there trying to stop organized crime, and his snooping around the edges of CURE, as well as putting hits out on Remo, only complicates matters further.
For an old-school fan of the Destroyer novels like myself, this is the kind of straight-forward plot that made the series what it was in the early days. No fantastic sci-fi elements or mystical subplots, just crazy Bond villains and ruthless gangsters. Remo spends some time obsessing over being without a home, and considers abandoning CURE with Chiun, but this has more to do with providing a story arc for a reoccurring character then it does with challenging a plot structure that had yet to become stale so early in the series. One of my personal favorites of the series.
Sometimes it's the simplest villains that are the most effective in the Destroyer series, and in this case, it doesn't get simpler than corporate millionaire sociopath (is there any other kind?) James Orayo Fielding. Content on squishing bugs (as he sees people) on a small and diplomatic scale, a terminal diagnosis of leukemia inspires him to crank his sadism up to eleven with a diabolical plan to personally create a plague capable of wiping out millions under the guise of solving world hunger.
If that isn't bad enough, not only does Fielding con Remo into believing his con, but paranoid mobster Johnny "Deuce" Deussio is beginning to suspect that there is a secret government organization out there trying to stop organized crime, and his snooping around the edges of CURE, as well as putting hits out on Remo, only complicates matters further.
For an old-school fan of the Destroyer novels like myself, this is the kind of straight-forward plot that made the series what it was in the early days. No fantastic sci-fi elements or mystical subplots, just crazy Bond villains and ruthless gangsters. Remo spends some time obsessing over being without a home, and considers abandoning CURE with Chiun, but this has more to do with providing a story arc for a reoccurring character then it does with challenging a plot structure that had yet to become stale so early in the series. One of my personal favorites of the series.
March 26, 2018
3.5*
Not the best entry in the series I have read so far, but still a good fun read.
Not the best entry in the series I have read so far, but still a good fun read.
February 10, 2016
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. The team must protect a new type of genetically altered grain that could stop world hunger. Recommended.
February 12, 2021
The secret organization CURE has been at work trying to save the American government from crime and corruption for twenty books now and in this novel we learn that their greatest feat was bringing down Richard Nixon in the Watergate scandal. Apparently, Nixon’s activities were not unusual for sitting presidents, but thanks to CURE, his crimes were exposed and hopefully no future president will do it again.
But that is what you might call the routine work that CURE carries out. Remo and Chiun are only brought in for emergencies and this time the crisis involves a threat to the world’s food supply. Mentally, Remo has never been the sharpest knife in the drawer, and this time that causes serious problems. Remo mistakenly believes that the bad guy is the good guy and starts helping him out of his desire to “do some good”. As if that isn’t bad enough, other bad guys hire a bunch of ninjas to go after Remo and Chiun. Many times Chiun has bragged that Sinanju is the “sun source” of all the martial arts and that none of the others can stand against it. In this book, he’s going to get the chance to prove it.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
But that is what you might call the routine work that CURE carries out. Remo and Chiun are only brought in for emergencies and this time the crisis involves a threat to the world’s food supply. Mentally, Remo has never been the sharpest knife in the drawer, and this time that causes serious problems. Remo mistakenly believes that the bad guy is the good guy and starts helping him out of his desire to “do some good”. As if that isn’t bad enough, other bad guys hire a bunch of ninjas to go after Remo and Chiun. Many times Chiun has bragged that Sinanju is the “sun source” of all the martial arts and that none of the others can stand against it. In this book, he’s going to get the chance to prove it.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
September 26, 2026
I enjoyed half of the book immensely.
A multimillionaire realizes he has months to live and decides to crush as many "bugs" that he has contempt for, so he has a plan to kill about a quarter of the world's population. How so is something I won't spoil. This character doesn't appear enough in the book, but he is a wonderfully twisted villain. Remo gets called in to investigate the death of someone involved with the stock market. This launches him and Chiun into an investigation that gets the attention of mobsters. This is when the book dropped in appeal for me. These characters are horribly written, and I felt no threat from them. There's also an interesting ending for the villain, not seen in previous Destroyer books.
I thought this book was just "okay."
A multimillionaire realizes he has months to live and decides to crush as many "bugs" that he has contempt for, so he has a plan to kill about a quarter of the world's population. How so is something I won't spoil. This character doesn't appear enough in the book, but he is a wonderfully twisted villain. Remo gets called in to investigate the death of someone involved with the stock market. This launches him and Chiun into an investigation that gets the attention of mobsters. This is when the book dropped in appeal for me. These characters are horribly written, and I felt no threat from them. There's also an interesting ending for the villain, not seen in previous Destroyer books.
I thought this book was just "okay."
February 16, 2019
Fun entry in the Destroyer series involving fast-growing grain that messes with the world economy. A well-timed Monty Python reference was remarkable in that it the book must have been written shortly after the series started airing in the United States.
August 4, 2019
2 1/2 stars.
November 26, 2019
As usual, a short read, and also fast.
November 9, 2021
I agree with other reviews, A bit sub-par for this series.
June 28, 2010
Rich multimillionaire is dying of a rare disease and decides to wipe out everyone on the planet. He is going to do it with his new grain which can mature from seed to harvest in one month.
The plot on this one is so-so. There was no real threat, even though Remo is easily fooled by the bad guy. It is however really funny, full of the humor and character interaction that make this series so fun.
Favorite tidbits: The antagonist fools Remo into thinking he is a great humanitarian. Remo and Chiun become equal partners Chiun takes credit for successes and blames Remo for failures. Chiun becomes upset that the daytime soaps have become so violent. Remo tries to give his boss a heart attack; he convinces a woman in a hotel go up to Smitty , the head of CURE, their super-secret organization and say, “Hello, Dr. Smith. I've read about you. All my friends have read about you.” Chiun tells some pool hustlers, “You have heard... that no matter how good you are, there is always someone better. I am that person.”
Warning, sex and graphic gory violence.
The plot on this one is so-so. There was no real threat, even though Remo is easily fooled by the bad guy. It is however really funny, full of the humor and character interaction that make this series so fun.
Favorite tidbits: The antagonist fools Remo into thinking he is a great humanitarian. Remo and Chiun become equal partners Chiun takes credit for successes and blames Remo for failures. Chiun becomes upset that the daytime soaps have become so violent. Remo tries to give his boss a heart attack; he convinces a woman in a hotel go up to Smitty , the head of CURE, their super-secret organization and say, “Hello, Dr. Smith. I've read about you. All my friends have read about you.” Chiun tells some pool hustlers, “You have heard... that no matter how good you are, there is always someone better. I am that person.”
Warning, sex and graphic gory violence.
July 8, 2013
One of the weaker early Destroyer efforts that I've read. The main villain isn't very engaging or threatening so the action is padded with a mobster who is on the trail of Remo and CURE. Some good scenes -- especially Chiun in a seedy pool hall -- make up for some of the duller stretches. Complaints aside it's still an enjoyable read and I blew through it in a couple sittings on the beach.
January 27, 2017
I love a simple supervillain plot.
Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir offering. Suitable for teens and adults. A villain is dying and decides to kill a billion people. Sort of like a mass shooter who wants to shoot a 150 people. Remo kills some people and chiun saves the rest.
Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir offering. Suitable for teens and adults. A villain is dying and decides to kill a billion people. Sort of like a mass shooter who wants to shoot a 150 people. Remo kills some people and chiun saves the rest.
May 27, 2012
perhaps the most dissapointing entry to theseries so far.
February 24, 2014
A dangerous villain puts to action a scheme to sabotage the world's food supply. Remo and Chiun must save the day.
May 21, 2021
Deadly Seeds
The book was fast paced. The action was good. It kept you in the edge of your seat all the way through the book.
The book was fast paced. The action was good. It kept you in the edge of your seat all the way through the book.
January 14, 2022
another great one
This is yet another terrific story. Filled with action, the two end up saving the world from a true menace. I won’t say anymore.
This is yet another terrific story. Filled with action, the two end up saving the world from a true menace. I won’t say anymore.
July 26, 2016
Классно проведенное время.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews