Acid Rock

The Destroyer #13

by Warren Murphy

Vickie Stoner knows some things. Things that could put a number of very wealthy, very influential men in prison if she testifies about what she knows. At least one of those wealthy, influential men would prefer that she not, and has offered one million dollars to the first assassin to silence her. Vickie just wants to pop some pills, expand her mind and bed the lead singer of Maggot and the Dead Meat Lice. Which makes her a hard girl to keep safe. The FBI certainly can't seem to do it. Set a thief to catch a thief, so the saying goes; set the Destroyer (and Chiun) to catch an assassin.

Remo Williams is The Destroyer, a seemingly unremarkable beat cop recruited—through highly unorthodox methods—by a secret government law-enforcement organization. Trained to become the most deadly assassin, Remo is America's last line of defense against mad scientists, organized crime, ancient undead gods, and anything else that threatens the Constitution. An action-adventure series leavened with social and political satire, the Destroyer novels have been thrilling readers worldwide for decades.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Action, Adventure, Mystery, Espionage, Pulp

175 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 20, 2013

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

[George K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Φεστιβάλ θανάτου", εκδόσεις ΒΙΠΕΡ.

Βαθμολογία: 7/10

Δέκατο τρίτο βιβλίο της σειράς με ήρωα τον Εξολοθρευτή Ρέμο, είναι και το δέκατο τρίτο που διαβάζω. Από πέρυσι τον Απρίλιο είχα να διαβάσω κάποιο βιβλίο της σειράς και η αλήθεια είναι ότι μου έλειψε η όλη παλπ αίσθηση που αφήνουν οι ιστορίες των Ρίτσαρντ Σαπίρ και Γουόρεν Μέρφι.

Λοιπόν, τι έχουμε εδώ: Μια νεαρή κοπέλα γίνεται στόχος διαφορετικών επαγγελματιών εκτελεστών, μιας και υπάρχει "ανοιχτό συμβόλαιο" για την πάρτη της, αξίας ενός εκατομμυρίου δολαρίων. Η κοπέλα αυτή γουστάρει να κάνει παρέα με διάφορα φρικιά, να τρέχει σε συναυλίες και φεστιβάλ πίσω από ροκ συγκροτήματα, να μαστουρώνει και να... "κάνει κρεβάτι". Αυτή η κοπέλα όμως ξέρει διάφορα πράγματα υψίστης σημασίας και έτσι η Υπηρεσία είναι υποχρεωμένη να στείλει τον Εξολοθρευτή Ρέμο και τον Κορεάτη δάσκαλο του Σιναντσού Τσιουν, με σκοπό την προστασία της και την ανακάλυψη των υπευθύνων που κρύβονται πίσω από το "ανοιχτό συμβόλαιο"...

Μέσα στις υπερβολές και την τρέλα της, αυτή η ιστορία μου φάνηκε αρκετά πιο ψυχαγωγική και διασκεδαστική από την προηγούμενη, και σίγουρα είναι από τις καλές της σειράς μέχρι στιγμής. Ουσιαστικά ισχύει ότι και με τα προηγούμενα δώδεκα βιβλία: Περιπέτεια, βία, κυνηγητά, ξύλο, έντονη ειρωνική και σατιρική διάθεση απέναντι σχεδόν στα πάντα, πολιτικά εντελώς μη ορθές καταστάσεις, ολοζώντανες περιγραφές σκηνών δράσης και φοβερή 70's ατμόσφαιρα.

Η αλήθεια είναι ότι πέρασα τόσο καλά, που θα μπορούσα να βάλω στο βιβλίο ακόμα και τέσσερα αστεράκια. Όμως έτσι θα αδικούσα άλλα βιβλία και δεν το θέλω. Όπως και να'χει, χαίρομαι που με περιμένουν δεκάδες ακόμα βιβλία της σειράς στην βιβλιοθήκη μου...

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 4 out of 5]

This time Remo and Chiun go head-to-head with another House of Assassins as they struggle to keep a witness from falling victim to an open contract on her head. The witness is the daughter of a multi-millionaire business man who has decided to turn state’s evidence on her father because he tried to keep her from chasing down an acid rock star (named Maggot) whom she wants to have sex with. For most of the novel her sex, drugs, and rock and roll mindset makes her two dimensional, although there is just a touch of added personality given to her by the end of the book.

Most of the fun in the novel comes from seeing what another House of Assassins—this one with a six-hundred-year-old-history—looks like. And Remo, for possibly the first time in the series, really seems to understand what it means to be a member of a thousands-of-years-old house of assassins. This is a good addition to the early series.

If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.

[Glen Engel-Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m up to number 13 in this series and it’s hit its stride in both style and theme. The two main characters—Chiun, Master of Sinaju, the oldest and deadliest group of hired assassins, and his western pupil Remo, ex-policeman who was framed for murder, supposedly electrocuted, then erased from all databases—are the superheroic duo of the series, who don’t quite get along with each other or their patron “emperor” Dr. Harold Smith. The plot is all about a young girl with dirt on her father who has gone to the authorities with evidence of an illegal activity which has garnered her a contract on her head for which our (anti)heroes must protect her, leading to a series of attempted killings, etc. Nothing special there, although the body count in this book is handled quite loosely in comparison to a few of the others.

By this time in the series, however, the point was less about Chiun and Remo’s activities and more about whatever subject the authors chose to satirize. In this case, it was rock music, and more particularly, heavy metal. The young girl is a libertine who is focused on “balling” Maggot of the band Maggot and the Dead Meat Lice who appear on stage in white suits festoned with raw pieces of meat. I don’t know how old Murphy and Sapir were, but they (and their perceived audience for these books) were likely older, conservative men who didn’t care for that kind of music. At the same time, these books can also subversively undercut that “get off my lawn” attitude with some pointed barbs at the staid conservatism of the period.

It’s a fairly solid entry in the series, but not worth seeking out if you aren’t reading these as historical documentation of the period.

[Dan Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

When an open contract on the life of a witness in an upcoming federal trial draws the attention of mobsters and assassins, it's up to Remo and Chiun to find her and protect her. And find her again and protect her. And find her *again* and protect her, since the drugged-out teenage rock groupie proves to be an elusive quarry for both The Destroyer and her other pursuers. An above average installment of the popular mens action series pokes at everything from the rock festival scene (complete with an Alice Cooper-esque megastar), professional football and disc jockeys, highlighted – as always – by the interplay between Remo and Chiun. While the first half of the book is just okay things pick up steam once the assassins start closing in and it's up to our heroes to save the day.

[Bobby H · Rating 4 out of 5]

While it had more secondary characters than the earlier books it worked out ok. The interaction between Remo and Chiun is fun. 3.75 stars out of 5. Would have given it 4.25 stars but could not get past a . 25 revolver with a safety or a . 38 revolver with silencer. But that is my own personal pet peeve.

[Jeff J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remo suspends his assassin duties in this story to serve as bodyguard for a groupie of a hard rock band. Fun setting for a Destroyer novel.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great way to start 2021

Another great read in the Destroyer series. I really enjoy the action and humor in these tales. Well done sir!

[Art Ringler · Rating 5 out of 5]

these books are great, they are dated but just like Conan set in the 50-70's

[Balkron · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Rating Scale:
1 Star - Horrible book, It was so bad I stopped reading it. I have not read the whole book and wont
2 Star - Bad book, I forced myself to finish it and do NOT recommend. I can't believe I read it once
3 Star - Average book, Was entertaining but nothing special. No plans to ever re-read
4 Star - Good Book, Was a really good book and I would recommend. I am Likely to re-read this book
5 Star - GREAT book, A great story and well written. I can't wait for the next book. I Will Re-Read this one or more times.

Times Read: 1

One of the first series I read consistently. This series and the Executioner series are responsible for my love of reading and stories.

Characters - Looking back to my younger reading days, I loved Remo Williams and thought he was one of the coolest characters in history. I still think Remo is a good character. Unique in a number of ways even today.

Story - The stories are average and fairly typical. Bad guys going to kill or hurt, Remo is going to kill them first (no way he is going to die not with Chuin as his teacher). Not much in creativity but it really worked for me as a male teenager. I started learning Judo and Karate partly because of Remo.

Overall - I started reading these when I was 16. I enjoyed them up until about age 19. My tastes changed from Military intrigue to Fantasy / SciFi. I would recommend reading these especially for younger males.

NOTE: I am going to rate these all the books in this series the same. Some of the stories are a bit better or a bit worse but I can't find one that I would rate a 2 or 4.

[Bryan457 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The U.S. government has a case against a very important man in an illegal deal with Russia. The chief witness has to be protected but she has a knack for disappearing. Remo has to protect her but first he has to find her, over and over again.

Favorite tidbits: Remo keeps losing the person he is supposed to protect. Remo tries out for the Atlanta Eagles and injures much of the team. Remo uses the alias Abraham Lincoln. Chiun replaces all SONY marks with Made in Korea. Remo whistles “Whistle While You Work” as he kills people.

Warning, sex and graphic gory violence.

[Patrick Hayes · Rating 3 out of 5]

An average adventure for Remo and Chiun. More heavy on the comedy than the action. Things got a little one note as the book delved into the world of the rock groupie. I could have done with less of that and more Remo. The baddies were various assassins, with the final one being very interesting: even Chiun knew whose House this individual belonged to, so that made me sit up and pay attention. Fun at times, but overall left me yearning for something more than satire.

[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. The team must protect a star witness in a spy case against the Soviets. Recommended

[Zora]

Once upon a time, a boyfriend I can barely remember demanded I read a dozen of these , for he loved the series. Not unlike the boyfriend, they were entirely forgettable except for this one, and I have remembered this one mostly because of the name of the band: Maggot and the Dead Meat Lice. As it was penned in 1972, before punk, it comes off as quite prescient.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remo and Chiun are tasked with protecting a drug addled teen from various assassins. This one is interesting because of the variety of characters introduced. There is not single villain but rather multiple quirky assassins each with their own methods and personality.

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite of the series.

[Carl · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in '73, this men's adventure novel has Remo and Chiun protecting a teen girl from an open murder contract.

[Geoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good early book by the authors.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best in the series but a quick read and as always some enjoyable action set pieces

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this hack series faithfully for years. Now I hear a movie (another move) is in the works. Not a bad read, And emojis a sympath tic character

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do not get between Chiun and his TV soaps.

[Miralinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Римо и Чиуну приходится охранять вечно обдолбанную свидетельницу от наемных убийц.