Re-enter Fu-Manchu

Fu Manchu #12

by Sax Rohmer

The 1950s—the era of the Cold War. The USSR is poised to begin the space race by launching the Sputnik satellite, Mao Zedong rules Communist China, and the greatest global fear is of the atomic bomb.

Missing for nearly a decade, Fu-Manchu re-emerges in an attempt to wrest control of China from the accursed Communists. Nayland Smith pursues his enemy from London to Cairo to New York, determined to end his reign of terror. But there’s something amiss with Smith—something his allies need to uncover before it’s too late.

Genres: Pulp, Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Adventure, Crime

320 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1957

About the author

AKA Arthur Sarsfield Ward (real name); Michael Furey.

Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward (15 February 1883 - 1 June 1959), better known as Sax Rohmer, was a prolific English novelist. He is best remembered for his series of novels featuring the master criminal Dr. Fu Manchu.

Born in Birmingham to a working class family, Rohmer initially pursued a career as a civil servant before concentrating on writing full-time.

He worked as a poet, songwriter, and comedy sketch writer in Music Hall before creating the Sax Rohmer persona and pursuing a career writing weird fiction.

Like his contemporaries Algernon Blackwood and Arthur Machen, Rohmer claimed membership to one of the factions of the qabbalistic Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Rohmer also claimed ties to the Rosicrucians, but the validity of his claims has been questioned. His physician and family friend, Dr. R. Watson Councell may have been his only legitimate connection to such organizations. It is believed that Rohmer may have exaggerated his association in order to boost his literary reputation as an occult writer.

His first published work came in 1903, when the short story The Mysterious Mummy was sold to Pearson's Weekly. He gradually transitioned from writing for Music Hall performers to concentrating on short stories and serials for magazine publication. In 1909 he married Rose Elizabeth Knox.

He published his first novel Pause! anonymously in 1910. After penning Little Tich in 1911 (as ghostwriter for the Music Hall entertainer) he issued the first Fu Manchu novel, The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu, was serialized from October 1912 - June 1913. It was an immediate success with its fast-paced story of Denis Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie facing the worldwide conspiracy of the 'Yellow Peril'. The Fu Manchu stories, together with his more conventional detective series characters—Paul Harley, Gaston Max, Red Kerry, Morris Klaw, and The Crime Magnet—made Rohmer one of the most successful and well-paid authors of the 1920s and 1930s.

Rohmer also wrote several novels of supernatural horror, including Brood of the Witch-Queen. Rohmer was very poor at managing his wealth, however, and made several disastrous business decisions that hampered him throughout his career. His final success came with a series of novels featuring a female variation on Fu Manchu, Sumuru.

After World War II, the Rohmers moved to New York only returning to London shortly before his death. Rohmer died in 1959 due to an outbreak of influenza ("Asian Flu").

There were thirteen books in the Fu Manchu series in all (not counting the posthumous The Wrath of Fu Manchu. The Sumuru series consist of five books.

His wife published her own mystery novel, Bianca in Black in 1954 under the pen name, Elizabeth Sax Rohmer. Some editions of the book mistakenly credit her as Rohmer's daughter. Elizabeth Sax Rohmer and Cay Van Ash, her husband's former assistant, wrote a biography of the author, Master of Villainy, published in 1972.

Reviews

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book, the 12th of 14 in the Fu Manchu series, is, like number 11 ("The Shadow of Fu Manchu"), a short, minor but nevertheless compact entry in the Fu saga. This time, the Fu man attempts to wrest control of his native China from the pesky Communists who have taken his country over. The book features one of the most complex plots of any Fu Manchu novel; indeed, it can be accused of being overplotted! But what makes this book so interesting, and sets it apart from all the other books in the series, is that we don't know until the very end whether or not Nayland Smith, our eternal Fu fighter from all the previous novels, is indeed Nayland Smith OR, as has been subtly hinted, a DOUBLE that Fu Manchu has concocted via plastic surgery. Brian Merrick, the young grad student who is enlisted by Smith to help him, is in a similar quandary, never knowing what the heck is going on, and the reader shares his puzzlement. Without knowing for sure whether Smith is indeed Smith, all stability is pulled out from under us, and all characters become suspect. The book is a true mystery that keeps you guessing, the action jumping from London to Cairo to the Big Apple.

This time around, there are practically no internal inconsistencies or inconsistencies with previous volumes. Nevertheless, there are one or two goofs. At one point, FBI man Harkness tells Smith that he has 11 men on the case: 4 FBI and 9 police. Does something not add up here or is it just me? Also, the description of one of Fu Manchu's agents, Nadia Narovska, with amethyst eyes and auburn hair, sounds exactly like the character of Ardatha in several of the previous volumes. Perhaps Sax Rohmer just had a thing for red-headed women with violet eyes. In any case, this is yet another fun thriller in the Fu Manchu saga.

[Stuart Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Position available: Applicant must be exceedingly earnest, painfully naive, excessively gullible. Needs be an unattached, handsome young male, easily distracted, and able to fall in love at the drop of a hat. Apply in person at the green dumpster behind the Waffle House between the hours of 3 and 4 A.M. Bring cash." That's not exactly what the add in the London Times says, but it may as well. Brian Merrick fits the bill exactly, as the ladyfriend who showed him the add says, "It's like it's written specifically for you." Merrick is hired immediately (Surprise!) and it turns out he'll be working for an old acquaintance, Sir Dennis Nayland Smith (Surprise!).

Merrick goes to Egypt where he doesn't meet Smith for awhile, does nothing, then finally meets Smith. Nayland Smith gives him many hazardous duties, like "wait here" and "sit by the phone" and "go to lunch". Much of the book is spent trying to figure out just exactly why Merrick was hired, even to the point where Merrick himself wonders "Why was I hired? Anybody off the street could do this." Along the way he gets several clues that something is wrong, including being followed, having people lie to him about their whereabouts, people showing up where they shouldn't be. He is very suspicious for minutes at a time then gets over it and goes on about his business, which appears to be the act of smoking two packs a day.

Dr. Fu-Manchu is certainly up to something, what it is isn't exactly clear. Nayland Smith is trying to protect a scientist from the Si-Fan, and escorts him to New York to meet the President. Merrick stands around and does nothing. Fu-Manchu is his normal self, which means he invents some super futuristic thingy, orders about some minions, smokes some opium, and is totally surprised when yet again his female operatives turn out to be unreliable.

Rohmer does a good job building up the suspense concerning Fu-Manchu's plan and Merrick's part in it, but as usual the final showdown is sudden, unsatisfactory, and leaves most things unresolved.

[Carl · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 1950s - the era of the Cold War – our old friend, the insidious evil doctor Fu Manchu, returns in "Re-enter Fu Manchu,” the twelfth book in Sax Rohmer’s classic mystery series. Although a few of the Fu Manchu books are a bit "trite" in spots, and at times they certainly have the feel of the "pulp fiction" genre, they still are a delightful read. For over 100 years, the Shadow of Fu-Manchu has fallen across the world and its popular culture through the pages of literature and on movie screens. Still, Romer’s books are surprisingly well written.

In "Re-enter Fu Manchu,” it is the era of the Cold War, and the USSR is poised to begin the space race by launching the Sputnik satellite, Mao Zedong rules Communist China, and the greatest global fear is of the atomic bomb. Missing for nearly a decade, Fu-Manchu re-emerges in an attempt to wrest control of China from the accursed Communists in an attempt to once again control the world.

This entry’s plot is well-crafted; in fact, there are many places that makes it hard for the reader to guess at what's going on ~ which makes it more unpredictable and thus more enjoyable. Rohmer's creation of the sinister, evil genius, Fu Manchu, rivals Doyle's Professor Moriarty as the icon of an evil, genius, mastermind, and even today’s personification of evil – Star War’s Darth Vader. That alone should be your cue to read some of these works. 12 down and 2 more to go in Romer’s canon of Fu Manchu.

[Andy Lind · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the fifth Fu-Manchu book and to be honest, I couldn't put this one down. First of all, it is only 201 pages long (Yes, I know Goodreads says it's 320 pages, but they are wrong). Second of all, it is one of the later Fu-Manchu novels and by this time, Rohmer has become a more seasoned writer.

This story takes place in the 1950s and fascist Fu-Manchu is trying his hardest to bring about his new world order and save the world from communism. I think what makes this story so good is the fact that Fu-Manchu truly believes that what he is doing is for the greater good of humanity. Much like Darth Vader and/or Thanos, he believes that what he is doing is good and that those who are trying to stop him (primarily Nayland Smith) are misguided.

So, to rank the Fu-Manchu novels (that I have read so far) from best to worst, I would have to put them in this order...

Re-Enter
Bride
Shadow
President
Island

I hope you enjoy these classic stories as much as I do and I hope you continue to do your part in keeping pulp fiction alive.

[Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the quicker reads in the series, Re-enter Fu-Manchu keeps up a good pace that carries you right through to the end. It's fun to guess at what's going on throughout the story, although some things don't quite fully make sense by the end. The Titan Books version is also filled with typographical errors, a real shame since their editions of these novels usually have such a high quality presentation and look lovely on a bookshelf.

[David Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot is so complicated that Sir Denis Nayland Smith has a tough time explaining it to us, the protagonist is yet another lovesick naif and we don't even get the usual showdown in which Fu and Sir Denis square off and compliment each other's honor. That said, the 12th novel in the series had me in its grip regardless, so there's something diabolical going on beyond the good doctor's villainy.

[Jeane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got so confused with this story, probably the most confused I ever was with a Fu-manchu story.
I feel like it didn't have the traditional story line and was rather empty feeling, vague with what was happening and so. Probably feeling so confused didn't help. But all this didn't make it a bad story.

[Steven Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly gripping Fu-Manchu tale, possibly because a lot of it is told through the eyes of someone who's an outside to the plot, so the reader sees everything they see gets odd little clues but doesn't get to join all the dots until the end. Quite enjoyable.

[Jeff J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, Fu Manchu TRIES TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD!!!

[Peveril · Rating 2 out of 5]

Declining returns. The PoV character knows nothing and does next to nothing. Fu Manchu's (unclear) plans fail through chance and no cleverness or action by the forces of freedom are ever evident.

[Victor Gentile · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sax Rohmer in his book, “Re-Enter Fu-Manchu” Book Twelve in the Dr. Fu-Manchu series published by Titan Books brings us new adventures of Sir Denis Nayland Smith and, of course, the evil Dr. Fu-Manchu.

From the Back Cover: “Imagine a person, tall, lean, and feline, high-shouldered, with a brow like Shakespeare and a face like Satan…”

The 1950s—the era of the Cold War. The USSR is poised to begin the space race by launching the Sputnik satellite, Mao Zedong rules Communist China, and the greatest global fear is of the atomic bomb.

Missing for nearly a decade, Fu-Manchu re-emerges in an attempt to wrest control of China from the accursed Communists. Nayland Smith pursues his enemy from London to Cairo to New York, determined to end his reign of terror. But there’s something amiss with Smith—something his allies need to uncover before it’s too late.

If you really think about it Fu-Manchu is the very essence of evil. He is out for his personal gain only. And his schemes, and manipulations usually involve killings, thefts and destruction. This time up he wants to rule China rather than the communists. Nayland Smith is, once again, out to stop him. Brian Merrick is a young grad student who is enlisted by Smith to help him. And now the game begins. Adding to Fu-Manchu’s deviltry is that he created a duplicate of Nayland Smith and now no one knows, including us, if he is the real one or the plastic surgery duplicate. This ups the thriller quotient considerably as all stability is pulled out from under us and everybody becomes suspect. “Re-Enter Fu-Manchu” will keep you on the edge of your seat, flipping pages as fast as you can read them just trying to keep up with this exciting mystery thriller. As always I am really looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Titan Books. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

[Holger Haase · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the interesting aspects about the Fu Manchu series is that though Holmes always has his Watson by his side, Nayland Smith's sidekicks vary. His most famous is Dr Petrie and they easily come across as a classic Holmes/Watson team. Throughout the books, however, Petrie at times only comes up as a supporting player or vanishes altogether. As such the reader is being confronted with an array of new sidekicks.

Re-Enter Fu Manchu introduces Brian Merrick, the son of an American Senator who appears to get hired by Smith to support him in a secret mission in Egypt but soon suspects that all may not as it seems as he gets far too much remuneration for very little work.

It easily gets forgotten that though mainly identified as a villain of the earliest part of the 20th century, the classic novels were written until the late 1950s. This book is the second last in the series and was written in 1957 and as such has more modern self-dependent female characters, mentions a divided Germany, has Fu Manchu being involved with post-war Soviet Russia and features defences against atomic warfare.

A good read as always. I still have the last part of the series lying around and for next year already plan to fill all the remaining gaps in my collection. Strangely enough I have yet to read the very first ones... though I am somewhat familiar with their plots due to radio and film adaptations.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better entries I've read for two reasons. One, Nayland Smith doesn't show up until well into the novel. Don't get me wrong. I like the character, but once he's shows up, he tends to hog the spotlight. Two, and I might be remembering other books incorrectly, we get a good chunk of what's going on from Fu-Manchu's side. Not just the aftermath of events or Smith's telling us what he's up to.

[Philip Christman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though far from being Great Literature, the Fu Manchu books represent pulp adventure at its most fun. Re-enter Fu Manchu was a little better than the earlier books.

[Ronald · Rating 4 out of 5]

read SOMETIME in 2009

[Thor The Redbeard · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10