Forgotten Son

Legacy #1

by Warren Murphy, Gerald Welch

For over five thousand years, there were always three binding rules for all Masters of Sinanju: 1) Payment is always in gold. No checks. 2) There is only one Master and one pupil. 3) No woman will ever be trained in Sinanju.

Sunny Joe Roam will throw the last two rules out the window in order to fulfill his tribe's oldest commitment. He will train both Stone Smith and his half-sister Freya Williams in the deadly art of Sinanju, ushering in a new era for the tribe. But will the lethal brother-sister duo be enough to help their new boss Benjamin Cole stop the Great Mexican Ninja Army from invading the southwestern United States?

180 pages, Paperback

First published November 21, 2012

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

[Dan Foster · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would like to rate this book a little higher, as there is some really fun material here if you are a fan of "The Destroyer" series. Stone and Freya are great characters, the origin of the Tribe of Sinanju is a lot of fun, and the introduction of the evil anti-CURE is neat. My only problem was the political humor. Not the humor itself; the original series had plenty of biting satire directed at the politicians and events of their day. That original humor though was always connected to the narrative. The "Liz Worn" subplot here barely ties to Sinanju at all, and in no way connects to Stone and Freya's story. The result is a number of distracting chapters that pull you away from the far more interesting main plot. As such, it feels like the two plots were written separately and artificially combined rather than having satire organic to the story. I do plan to keep reading the series in hopes that this problem is not repeated in further volumes. The Destroyer deserves a good continuation; the Stone/Freya story is just that and very welcome to this long time fan.

[Marko · Rating 1 out of 5]

One would hope that a series that attempts to follow up on the original Remo/Chiun stories would make a better job of it. But, unfortunately, this story has way too many weaknesses. First, it takes almost a third of the book to find out what the Sinanju Tribe in Arizona is and how it relates to the Sinanju village in North Korea where Chiun is from (perhaps this can be found out in the original series, but I've only read it up to number 54 or so). Second, the story has a completely unnecessary political satire subplot that has nothing to do with the main narrative. The political satire is not only extremely weak but it also hearkens back to the worst early Remo/Chiun stories with ultra-right-wing attitude, which would be best forgotten. Later Remo/Chiun stories were still satirical of politicians, but usually in a more politically balanced manner.

Also, I'm more forgiving of writers mixing up machine guns with assault rifles (or machine pistols) in old books, but not in new ones. If you are writing about guns, please make sure that you know what you are talking about.

The heroes show a little promise but are not really fleshed out enough. The "I am Shiva, the destroyer..." bit is a bit unnecessary and clearly included only to show that the female hero is the true heir of Remo (which makes me hope that her brother will be killed off soon enough).

[Blaine Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading The Destroyer series in 1972 when I was stationed in Germany. I bought every book in the series as soon as they came out. I love the world of Sinanju. Though both Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy are no longer with us, I am happy that Gerald Welch is carrying the torch. I am also happy that I discovered this series. I can't wait to read more about Remo's children. This was a fulfilling opening chapter!

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick read and fairly entertaining. I’m not familiar with the original series, but I’ll probably check it out. The satirical subplot with the politician was absurd and unnecessary to the story, but maybe it ties into the main plot in future books? I liked it enough to give the next book in the series a try.

[Paul Berner · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's really a different take on the Remo Willaim destroyer series. I am just getting started in the books. Untill I can read more of the books I'll let you know as time progresses. From what I read in the first book, the series should be a hit.

[DOUGLAS J BERRY · Rating 5 out of 5]

The young practice an old profession.

Warren Murphy and Gerald Welch offering. Suitable for teens and adults. The new generation is taking over even though Remo, Chiun and Smitty are still alive. A group is trying to ship a box into America, cure recruits new agents to oppose it.

[john garten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fair not a bad book cheesy

Good book this book could use something not sure what mabby more with remo or just more connection to the original books

[Benjamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not Remo, but a new awesome.

Quick, fun, sarcastic and action packed. What more do you want?
Maybe Chuin but this is just starting. We'll see if he's needed.

[Donald · Rating 5 out of 5]

a nice spinoff of the Destroyer series. Great idea using Remo's kids.

[Bud · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up reading the Destroyer series, so it's great to see Remo's children continuing the tradition of Sinanju. Loved it!

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting YA book, lots of action.

[Andrew · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried to listen to this book on audible but there was music under every word. This is distracting and the music isn’t that good. I tried and failed, a disappointment as I loved the original destroyer series in the seventies. It a clear miss.

[Jordan Buchanan]

Very whimsical like the original series. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. The two main characters should play well off each other as brother and sister with different levels of abilities. The Nation of Sinanju is a bit different from the original. I hope to see some cross over. I only read about 30 of the original Destroyer series but I plan to go back to it. I will read more of this. Quick and enjoyable read for anyone looking for action, adventure and whimsy. Don't take it too seriously. The Master of Sinanju wouldn't.

[Ralph L Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Legacy- A Review- Book One- Forgotten Son
Legacy is a great new series by Warren Murphy and Gerard Welch featuring Remo Williams (The Destroyer) son and daughter. I vaguely remember his daughter Freya from many years ago, but his son, ‘Stone’ I have no recollection of. Be that as it may, ‘Forgotten Son’ is a novel about both offspring of the greatest master of Sinanju and their quest given to them by a man named Ben Maugaine, who is a former Mossad agent. Whether he knows it or not, Ben has been ‘hired’ by Smith, Remo’s superior in CURE to run a new offshoot of that organization. He is basically Stone and Freya’s handler.
Stone is an Ex-Seal team member who has finally started his Sinanju training, though I question how serious he is about it, since he has not given up smoking. Freya on the other hand is dead serious about it and only fifteen years of age. He grandfather, Remo’s father, Bill ‘Sunny Joe’ Roam, has trained her since Remo left her with him some time ago. She is much further along with her training then Stone is and shows it throughout the novel. Also, much of the story takes place on the Sinanju Indian reservation.
This book has all of the biting political commentary that I love about the Destroyer books, as well as the fantastic action. Remo and Chiun DO appear, but only as background characters and never actually have speaking parts within this story. It’s all about Stone and Freya.
Even more interesting is the debut of a new enemy, a group claiming to be centuries old and actually to be behind the workings of everything in the world, all aiming the world towards their own goals. A sort of ‘super Illuminati’, who claim that they actually controlled that group as well. They make for an exceptional opponent that I hope will be around for a while.
Everything worked here, especially considering what this book is, which is an origin story for an all new hero and heroine. I’m actually looking forward to seeing Stone’s training over time in this series.
Bill Roam was a forgotten character for me and it was nice to see him again with such a starring role in this series.
All in all this series is off to an excellent start and it gives me something else to read. The Destroyer series will always be my number one choice, but this new series is an absolutely welcome addition. If only I could remember who Stone’s mother was, or when he was introduced before this, that’s the only issue I had with this story.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Legacy series is a spin-off from the long running DESTROYER series.

CURE has a new arm set up to deal specifically with terrorism. It's leader is Ben Cole, a former Mossad agent. He's answerable to Smith only. He has two enforcement arms, Stone Smith, retired Navy SEAL, and Freya, a just turned sixteen year old blond.

And both of them are the children of Remo Williams, with different mothers, and both were trained by Sunny Joe Roam, leader of the southern Arizona Indian tribe known as Sinanju. The ancestor of that tribe was one of a pair of identical twin Korean brothers. Since there could only be one Master of Sinanju at a time, one brother had struck out from Korea in the sixteen hundreds on a boat, landing on the Southwestern coast of America where he was made welcome by one tribe, beginning to train his son after the chief was murdered by rival tribes, assuming command and taking one as a wife.

Sunny Joe Roam is the current leader. And he's also the biological father of Remo Williams.

Though much younger than Stone, Freya is more fully trained in Sinanju because Stone, while learning, clings to his SEAL training and the use of weapons. He also smokes.

In this first book, the pair deal with a Mexican drug cartel trying to slip something into this country, some sort of weapon. Instigating it is a shadowy organization called VIGIL, one that stretches back for centuries, one intent on controlling the world.

This series shows promise, building on things revealed in early Destroyer novels and has some of that same sarcastic look at today's world, with thnily disguised looks at some real world people.

I look forward to the next novel coming soon.

[Bcoghill Coghill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a long time reader of the The Destroyer books and only quit when the contractors writing the books became so poor, around number 100. It is fun to read the stories of the children of Remo. (I named my son Remo.)
I have a feeling sort of like when I read the "Left Behind" series. I enjoy the adventure and suspense but the philosophy is crap. How can the author represent the heroes as patriots when they are against most everything the USA is today. They despise the elected President, the Supreme Court and hold the Congress in contempt. They think the citizens are in general free loading, lazy dullards.
Of course, the Destroyer books have always been thus but now they are shrill and their longing for a time in the USA which never existed. The authors reverence for documents is much like the "Left Behind" series, a mis-reading or at least unusual reading of documents; the Bible or the Constitution.
Anyhow, they are good fun if not taken seriously.

[Eric Troup · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this book. It's not more adventures with Remo and chiun, but it's the next best thing. Like most "series pilots," this book has a tall order set before it: set up the characters and the premise, and also manage to tell a compelling story: The authors accomplished these tasks with flying colors, although I have to wonder how this would read for someone who's never read the Destroyer series. I've already started the next book in the series. I'm really hoping Remo and Chiun might make guest appearances in later installments. They are shown as being present in certain scenes, but we never actually see any characters interacffing with them, so to me, that doesn't count. In any case, I heartily recommend this book to anyone, but especially to fans of the Destroyer series, or of the film Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins.

[Lawrence Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was just an 'ehh' read. It was my first First Reads book so I was looking forward to it and was initially surprised at how short (fewer than 200 pages) it was, which turned out to be the best thing about it. I never really got into the story, but as the chapters are really short (usually only a couple pages), I continued reading just to finish; but the short chapters also made it difficult to care about the characters or get any back story, and the secondary characters felt like filler that disappeared midway through the book and nothing really changed. Had this been longer I most likely wouldn't have finished reading it but since its short, as are the chapters, I just looked forward to finishing it. However, there were some interesting parts such as the background, international group working to control the world.

[Ryder2k · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first in a new companion series to The Destroyer is a terrific new story featuring Remo's children, Stone (Winston) and Freya in their first assignment for a newly created team to stop terrorism from crossing our southern boarder. Stone, as an ex-seal, is not really into the whole Sinanju thing but Freya has been embracing it since early childhood. Together they manage to stop the Mexican Ninja's and take down one of the biggest crime lords south of the border. All in all a refreshing and satisfying book and I highly recommend it.

[James Hein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure about this one. I have read all the Destroyer series, even the rubbish ones after Murphy stopped writing them.

I'm, not sure how much Murphy contributed to this one but there are flashes of the old series in places. Not as good as the first in the original series but it may turn out OK. Certainly better than just about everything after book 100 in the Destroyer series.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Welcome back to the guardians of Sinanju!

[Eric Troup · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not Remo and Chiun, but it's the next best thing. I look forward to reading more books in the series; in fact, I've already started book too.

[Toddball · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Reminds me of the Destroyers early days.

[Ray]

I read the Destroyer series when it first came out. The first twenty or so were entertaining. The stories went off in a different direction then what I was looking for. I gave up reading them a short time after that. I have reread the first two as it had been forty years or more too refresh my memory of them. Still an entertaining read but gets off track a lot.