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Fu Manchu #16
The Fires of Fu Manchu
A scientist has disappeared and the knowledge and information he has can end the war in Europe or end the WORLD. It depends on who ends up getting the suitcase he had with him. Not only do the English want it back, but they wish to keep it out of the hands of both the Germans AND Dr. Fu Manchu. So, of course, the military get Nayland Smith on the case. With his friend Dr. Petrie he must find the scientist, Professor Brooker, stop the Si Fan from getting the secret of the Midnight Sun, and even deal with a Zeppelin.
Who will end up with the secret? A secret that could destroy a city over night, with all the millions inside!
A delight to read and a fast page turner!
Who will end up with the secret? A secret that could destroy a city over night, with all the millions inside!
A delight to read and a fast page turner!
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 30, 2018
It's 1917 and Dr. Fu-Manchu decides he needs to intercede in the Great War. Not to aid either side, but to prolong it. A British scientist has disappeared in Egypt and Nayland Smith has been called from Burma and impressed into the Army because an anonymous man said the words "Fu-Manchu" before losing his memory. The missing scientist has a briefcase chained to his wrist that British Military Intelligence must have. Nayland Smith, brevet Colonel, along with his friend Dr. Petrie, search up and down the length of the Nile in a race with Dr. Fu-Manchu and Imperial Germany for a secret that could end the War. They fight against military secrecy and incompetence, Burmese stranglers, crazed Arab bandits, and the German Air Force. They engage in piracy and burglary, and encounter Fah Lo Suee at her most psychotic. Fu-Manchu, who in the last novel had perfected the use of Sound Navigation and Ranging, now proves to be the master of Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. And rockets. Also, he has a minotaur.
Cay Van Ash was a lifelong friend of Sax Rohmer and wrote this work with the consent of Rohmer's wife. He has a good knowledge of Rohmer's style and takes pains not to interfere with canon. He also has a detailed knowledge of Egypt which he shows off to excess. Much time is spent mentioning obscure Egyptian places and probably half the book is spent describing the difficulty in traveling by train, motorcar, donkey, camel, sailboat, motorboat, and on foot. It's possible that every hotel frequented by Europeans in 1917 between Cairo and Aswan in named.
It's a good mystery with many twists, and the characters are depicted honestly. It has the flaws of many pastiches. Van Ash makes frequent references to the events of previous novels to prove he knows what he's talking about while Rohmer referred to earlier works mostly obliquely, and a man writing about 1917 in 1987 is just going to lack the verisimilitude of someone writing about the same period while living there. But Fu-Manchu remains honorably evil, the story moves along nicely, the plot twists, turns, and even reverses to good effect, and the whole thing concludes with an unsatisfactory climax normal to all of Sax Rohmer's Fu-Manchus.
Cay Van Ash was a lifelong friend of Sax Rohmer and wrote this work with the consent of Rohmer's wife. He has a good knowledge of Rohmer's style and takes pains not to interfere with canon. He also has a detailed knowledge of Egypt which he shows off to excess. Much time is spent mentioning obscure Egyptian places and probably half the book is spent describing the difficulty in traveling by train, motorcar, donkey, camel, sailboat, motorboat, and on foot. It's possible that every hotel frequented by Europeans in 1917 between Cairo and Aswan in named.
It's a good mystery with many twists, and the characters are depicted honestly. It has the flaws of many pastiches. Van Ash makes frequent references to the events of previous novels to prove he knows what he's talking about while Rohmer referred to earlier works mostly obliquely, and a man writing about 1917 in 1987 is just going to lack the verisimilitude of someone writing about the same period while living there. But Fu-Manchu remains honorably evil, the story moves along nicely, the plot twists, turns, and even reverses to good effect, and the whole thing concludes with an unsatisfactory climax normal to all of Sax Rohmer's Fu-Manchus.
August 10, 2016
It's 1917 and WWI is in full swing. Dr. Petrie is practicing medicine in Egypt. Then Nayland Smith appears; Dr. Fu Manchu is back and only Smith and Petrie can solve the mystery of the Midnight Sun and prevent the evil Dr. Fu Manchu from destroying the world. A magnificent text that brings Sax Rohmer's original characters back to life. Fans of Rohmer's series will love this novel. It's also a great introduction for those new to the Fu Manchu series.
December 13, 2015
fun. Nothing particularly impressive here, but still fun. Unfortunately, Fu Manchu is a lot less imposing than in the Sax Rohmer books, but that probably couldn't be helped with a different author and different age. Still fun.
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March 19, 2017One of those period "guilty pleasure" books. Van Ash was a contemporary of Rohmer and did the best post-Rohmer version of the characters. Fun stuff.
May 13, 2016
read some time in 1991
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews