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Fu Manchu #11
The Shadow of Fu-Manchu
Dr Morris Craig’s transmuter weapon is so effective that whoever holds it wields power over every nation in the world, and so Dr. Fu-Manchu is desperate to gain control of it. Helped – or hindered – by his startlingly beautiful secretary, Camille Navarre, and Sir Denis Nayland Smith, Dr. Craig must prevent his weapon from falling into the hands of the Devil Doctor...
190 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1948
9 people are currently reading
127 people want to read
About the author
Sax Rohmer
488 books124 followersAKA 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 6, 2018
Morris Craig is developing a power source/weapon that is more powerful than the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima. Naturally, he is building this potential city killer in a laboratory on the 40th floor of an office building in the center of Manhattan. His machine has gained the attention of the governments of the U.S., the U.K., the U.S.S.R., and Dr. Fu-Manchu. Sir Dennis Nayland Smith is tasked with rooting out the spy in Dr. Craig's lab and thwarting Fu-Manchu especially. If you've read Murder on the Orient Express then you know who the spy is. All that is left is for Craig to finish his machine. Which he will do any day now. Very soon. Before the weekend surely. Everyone is waiting, and everyone is trying with varying success to steal the technology as soon as it is developed. Finally, Craig finishes the machine. Or the formula, anyway. It still won't work until he can build a working Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator, so we wait for that.
There's a lot of sneaking around and safe cracking and general thievery, but little is accomplished as their is nothing to steal until Craig finishes. Fu-Manchu commits far fewer murders than normal, and Nayland Smith is captured and escapes certain death far fewer times than normal. Smith doesn't even have a regular sidekick this time, though Craig does fill some of the requisite fields by being totally besmitten by a beautiful young girl with questionable loyalties. To alleviate his tedium Fu-Manchu opens an office doing psychoanalysis for neurotic upper class housewives. And he builds a monster from left over body parts.
Rohmer seems to be trying something new here. He moves away (but not too far away) from his regular formula. Nayland Smith operates alone. The fast paced action and multiple death traps are replaced by surveillance and a nerdy love story. Long paragraphs describe Manhattan as a person, blithely unaware of its imminent danger. The plot is a long buildup that goes on too long. But some things remain the same. The end comes suddenly and is wholly unsatisfying, as usual. Fu-Manchu is efficient and clever, and fools his targets with his mastery of languages and makeup. His organization is thorough and ubiquitous, and in the end his motives prove to be almost alien. My favorite part is the fact that Nayland Smith completely dismisses the MacGuffin. In the beginning he doesn't understand or even care what Craig is building, only that Fu-Manchu wants it and that is enough for him. Too bad that for much of the novel neither Smith nor Fu-Manchu are the focus of attention.
Readable, not bad, just doesn't compare well to the other Fu-Manchus.
There's a lot of sneaking around and safe cracking and general thievery, but little is accomplished as their is nothing to steal until Craig finishes. Fu-Manchu commits far fewer murders than normal, and Nayland Smith is captured and escapes certain death far fewer times than normal. Smith doesn't even have a regular sidekick this time, though Craig does fill some of the requisite fields by being totally besmitten by a beautiful young girl with questionable loyalties. To alleviate his tedium Fu-Manchu opens an office doing psychoanalysis for neurotic upper class housewives. And he builds a monster from left over body parts.
Rohmer seems to be trying something new here. He moves away (but not too far away) from his regular formula. Nayland Smith operates alone. The fast paced action and multiple death traps are replaced by surveillance and a nerdy love story. Long paragraphs describe Manhattan as a person, blithely unaware of its imminent danger. The plot is a long buildup that goes on too long. But some things remain the same. The end comes suddenly and is wholly unsatisfying, as usual. Fu-Manchu is efficient and clever, and fools his targets with his mastery of languages and makeup. His organization is thorough and ubiquitous, and in the end his motives prove to be almost alien. My favorite part is the fact that Nayland Smith completely dismisses the MacGuffin. In the beginning he doesn't understand or even care what Craig is building, only that Fu-Manchu wants it and that is enough for him. Too bad that for much of the novel neither Smith nor Fu-Manchu are the focus of attention.
Readable, not bad, just doesn't compare well to the other Fu-Manchus.
October 22, 2019
8/10. One of the better stories about Fu Manchu. Good thriller!
February 24, 2025
I'll be honest after the absurdity of the last book (which had Voodoo zombies and pet Marmosets) I didn't really find this one to be so thrilling. It plays out like a standard entry in the series, minus the charm from some of the earlier books. All the secondary characters were boring but we follow them so much, which is probably why I didn't gravitate to it compared to something like Drums or Mask. We get another rotation of Nayland Smith's partner, but like I've said before the only one I really care about is Dr. Petrie, who hasn't been seen since the fifth entry.
The ubiquitous Sir Dennis Nayland Smith makes his appearance but is unforgivably relegated to a tertiary presence, reacting to the rest of the inanity with some much needed va-va-voom! His scenes were arguably the best in an otherwise dull cast. On the plus side we do get to see an even greater emphasis on the Devil Doctor himself, and how over the course of his continued devilry he has been acting on good faith, as his loyalties are changing from Western colonisation to Western salvation through working against the Soviet Communists that threaten to bring the world to its knees if a new chemical weapon, more dangerous than the atomic bomb, should fall into their hands. It's a great hook, but unfortunately I didn't really get a lot from it since I did not care about any of the characters involved, particularly the designer himself Morris Craig who is just an all round dandy with no real personality other than to react to Smith's wild claims of Oriental subterfuge.
Next to President this might be my least favourite book so far, its just a rehash of certain elements from that and the last book, three stories in a row which have been set in Mahnattan - and apparently it danced on because it's mentioned about 8 or 9 between every other chapter - so it just feels very one note. But I am coming to the end of the series where the sequel is another early Cold War start and hopefully it raises the stakes a bit!
The ubiquitous Sir Dennis Nayland Smith makes his appearance but is unforgivably relegated to a tertiary presence, reacting to the rest of the inanity with some much needed va-va-voom! His scenes were arguably the best in an otherwise dull cast. On the plus side we do get to see an even greater emphasis on the Devil Doctor himself, and how over the course of his continued devilry he has been acting on good faith, as his loyalties are changing from Western colonisation to Western salvation through working against the Soviet Communists that threaten to bring the world to its knees if a new chemical weapon, more dangerous than the atomic bomb, should fall into their hands. It's a great hook, but unfortunately I didn't really get a lot from it since I did not care about any of the characters involved, particularly the designer himself Morris Craig who is just an all round dandy with no real personality other than to react to Smith's wild claims of Oriental subterfuge.
Next to President this might be my least favourite book so far, its just a rehash of certain elements from that and the last book, three stories in a row which have been set in Mahnattan - and apparently it danced on because it's mentioned about 8 or 9 between every other chapter - so it just feels very one note. But I am coming to the end of the series where the sequel is another early Cold War start and hopefully it raises the stakes a bit!
March 7, 2019
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 the Black & White movie screens of yesteryear. Sax Rohmer has created one of the world's iconic, super intelligent villains in Fu-Manchu. "The Shadow of Fu-Manchu” is the eleventh novel in this series, first published during the 30’s and soon after Old Time Radio brought the Doctor’s exciting stories to radio in 1939 as serials. Although I really enjoy all of Sax Rohmer's Fu-Manchu stories, this one is a little weaker than some of the prior stories. Regardless, the series is surprisingly well written.
World War II has ended and the United States is locked in a Cold War with the Eastern Bloc world ~ The Red Menace. It’s the time of “duck under your desk” and the Atomic Bomb! It’s the time of mutually assured mass destruction and Bomb Shelters. Yet, there is another weapon being built; Dr. Morris Craig has developed an energy weapon with the potential for unlimited destruction, and whoever controls it could tip the balance of global power. Spies are everywhere, and so is our good Doctor.
Sax Rohmer wrote the Fu Manchu stories between 1912 and the late 1950's. 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. Rohmer's work also appears to bridge the mystery genre from Holmes to Christie's Poirot and Bigger's Charlie Chan books. If you enjoy the “old masters” as Doyle’s Holmes, Horning’s Raffles (the Gentleman Thief), Christie, and others, you really need to try the Fu Manchu series.
World War II has ended and the United States is locked in a Cold War with the Eastern Bloc world ~ The Red Menace. It’s the time of “duck under your desk” and the Atomic Bomb! It’s the time of mutually assured mass destruction and Bomb Shelters. Yet, there is another weapon being built; Dr. Morris Craig has developed an energy weapon with the potential for unlimited destruction, and whoever controls it could tip the balance of global power. Spies are everywhere, and so is our good Doctor.
Sax Rohmer wrote the Fu Manchu stories between 1912 and the late 1950's. 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. Rohmer's work also appears to bridge the mystery genre from Holmes to Christie's Poirot and Bigger's Charlie Chan books. If you enjoy the “old masters” as Doyle’s Holmes, Horning’s Raffles (the Gentleman Thief), Christie, and others, you really need to try the Fu Manchu series.
January 23, 2018
By this point in the series, Fu Manchu and Sir Denis Nayland Smith, while locked in opposition, are so respectful of each other's talents, and such men of honor, they're almost old friends. When Sir Denis is strapped down in captivity, Fu takes a seat on a crate out of deference. And in attempting to foil the communists from seizing the mighty "transmuter," the devil doctor is practically the savior of mankind. Oh, Fu, we hardly knew ye.
October 19, 2017
Just to get my yearly challenge on track .
October 19, 2017
Just read to cope up with my yearly book read challenge and this one was infront of the bookshelf. Not my favorite genre though!
September 8, 2019
Once again, Fu Manchu TRIES TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD!
March 13, 2022
Really good one, so exciting!
January 13, 2023
One of the better Fu-Manchu stories (probably because it was written later and takes place after World War II has ended).
March 11, 2017
In this novel, Fu-Manchu, more than an evil master, is practically one of the good guys!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 22, 2011
This book, the 11th of 14 in the Fu Manchu series, is a short and minor entry in the Fu saga, but nonetheless a compact and suspenseful one. In many of the previous books, the Fu man sets his sights on a scientific genius and designs to either kidnap him, steal his invention or kill him in a macabre manner. This action is usually given a chapter or two and takes the form of an unusual episode in the larger scheme of the plot.
This time around, the entire book is concerned with Fu's plans regarding Dr. Morris Craig's new energy weapon. While the weapon's ultimate use is never really spelled out, it seems to be some kind of disintegrator that can also be used as a potential source of limitless energy. This is the type of book that can be called a whodunnit,as well as a howdunnit and a whydunnit; all of the characters can be viewed as suspects. Even the characters that we are pretty sure are "good guys" can be guilty of misdeeds, given the Fu man's powers of hypnosis and mind control. Thus, the reader is unsure till the very end of the book why people do what they do and act the way they act. Who is the British agent? Who is the Russian agent? Who is the secret FBI agent? You get the idea. The Fu man's main goal in this book seems to be to thwart the Communists from getting control of Dr. Craig's energy weapon; thus, he comes off a little more sympathetically than in some of the other entries in the series. The action this time takes place in the Big Apple and in a country estate in the Connecticut countryside. The estate scene is a very suspenseful sequence indeed. The book also features a memorable character named M'goyna, a Turkish zombie who is more gorilla than man. He is one of Fu's more remarkable henchmen. Also featured is a Sevillian torture chair that lowers a skull-crushing canopy onto the occupant; one of the Dr.'s more grisly inducements.
The book contains fewer inconsistencies than others in the series. I did notice some things that bothered me, however. The author often refers to Fu Manchu speaking sibilantly, but often this will happen when the sentence Fu has just spoken contains no "s" or "sh" sounds at all! How can this be? Also, in one point of the book, Nayland Smith, our eternal Fu fighter, says that Fu's drug for paralyzing the speech muscles wears off with time. He says that Fu told this to him. However, we are never shown Fu saying this, and indeed, when Smith was thus paralyzed, he needed an antidote injection to counteract the effects of the drug! It also doesn't make sense that {WARNING: SPOILER AHEAD} Fu Manchu has already possessed the prototype of Craig's invention for many years. Why hasn't he taken over the world decades ago, with an invention such as this? But quibbles aside, I feel that any fan of fast-paced action, with a tinge of sci-fi and mystery thrown in, will enjoy this short but fun entry in the Fu series.
This time around, the entire book is concerned with Fu's plans regarding Dr. Morris Craig's new energy weapon. While the weapon's ultimate use is never really spelled out, it seems to be some kind of disintegrator that can also be used as a potential source of limitless energy. This is the type of book that can be called a whodunnit,as well as a howdunnit and a whydunnit; all of the characters can be viewed as suspects. Even the characters that we are pretty sure are "good guys" can be guilty of misdeeds, given the Fu man's powers of hypnosis and mind control. Thus, the reader is unsure till the very end of the book why people do what they do and act the way they act. Who is the British agent? Who is the Russian agent? Who is the secret FBI agent? You get the idea. The Fu man's main goal in this book seems to be to thwart the Communists from getting control of Dr. Craig's energy weapon; thus, he comes off a little more sympathetically than in some of the other entries in the series. The action this time takes place in the Big Apple and in a country estate in the Connecticut countryside. The estate scene is a very suspenseful sequence indeed. The book also features a memorable character named M'goyna, a Turkish zombie who is more gorilla than man. He is one of Fu's more remarkable henchmen. Also featured is a Sevillian torture chair that lowers a skull-crushing canopy onto the occupant; one of the Dr.'s more grisly inducements.
The book contains fewer inconsistencies than others in the series. I did notice some things that bothered me, however. The author often refers to Fu Manchu speaking sibilantly, but often this will happen when the sentence Fu has just spoken contains no "s" or "sh" sounds at all! How can this be? Also, in one point of the book, Nayland Smith, our eternal Fu fighter, says that Fu's drug for paralyzing the speech muscles wears off with time. He says that Fu told this to him. However, we are never shown Fu saying this, and indeed, when Smith was thus paralyzed, he needed an antidote injection to counteract the effects of the drug! It also doesn't make sense that {WARNING: SPOILER AHEAD} Fu Manchu has already possessed the prototype of Craig's invention for many years. Why hasn't he taken over the world decades ago, with an invention such as this? But quibbles aside, I feel that any fan of fast-paced action, with a tinge of sci-fi and mystery thrown in, will enjoy this short but fun entry in the Fu series.
July 2, 2015
Sax Rohmer in his book, “The Shadow of Fu-Manchu” Book Eleven 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…”
World War II has ended. The United States is locked in a Cold War with the Eastern Bloc. It’s the time of mutually assured destruction, yet the atomic bomb isn’t the only weapon to fear. And the Soviets have another enemy with whom to contend.
Fu-Manchu
Dr. Morris Craig has developed an energy weapon with the potential for unlimited destruction—whoever controls it could tip the balance of global power. The quest for Craig’s invention once again brings Fu-Manchu to New York City, his mission to prevent the Communists from acquiring the device. But who can keep it out of the hands of the Devil Doctor himself?
Dr. Morris Craig has developed a new energy weapon, a kind of disintegrator that can also be used as a potential source of limitless energy. And now the game begins. Not only does Fu-Manchu want it for himself he also does not want anyone else to have it. “The Shadow of Fu-Manchu” is a thriller as almost everyone’s life is in great peril. Mr. Rohmer writes in a breathless style that will keep you on the edge of your seat, flipping pages as fast as you can read them just trying to keep up with a runaway roller coaster ride story. There is plot, action, a cliffhanger, out of danger, more plot, more action then another cliffhanger all throughout the book. This is one super exciting book. “The Shadow of Fu-Manchu” is the perfect read to get your adrenalin going and root for the good guys to conquer a menace that is almost supremely evil. This is a high-octane series and I am so glad that Titan Books is bringing the whole series back. 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.”
From the Back Cover: “Imagine a person, tall, lean, and feline, high-shouldered, with a brow like Shakespeare and a face like Satan…”
World War II has ended. The United States is locked in a Cold War with the Eastern Bloc. It’s the time of mutually assured destruction, yet the atomic bomb isn’t the only weapon to fear. And the Soviets have another enemy with whom to contend.
Fu-Manchu
Dr. Morris Craig has developed an energy weapon with the potential for unlimited destruction—whoever controls it could tip the balance of global power. The quest for Craig’s invention once again brings Fu-Manchu to New York City, his mission to prevent the Communists from acquiring the device. But who can keep it out of the hands of the Devil Doctor himself?
Dr. Morris Craig has developed a new energy weapon, a kind of disintegrator that can also be used as a potential source of limitless energy. And now the game begins. Not only does Fu-Manchu want it for himself he also does not want anyone else to have it. “The Shadow of Fu-Manchu” is a thriller as almost everyone’s life is in great peril. Mr. Rohmer writes in a breathless style that will keep you on the edge of your seat, flipping pages as fast as you can read them just trying to keep up with a runaway roller coaster ride story. There is plot, action, a cliffhanger, out of danger, more plot, more action then another cliffhanger all throughout the book. This is one super exciting book. “The Shadow of Fu-Manchu” is the perfect read to get your adrenalin going and root for the good guys to conquer a menace that is almost supremely evil. This is a high-octane series and I am so glad that Titan Books is bringing the whole series back. 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.”
June 24, 2010
Although the highly-knowledgeable used bookstore owner who sold me this vintage mystery assured me not only was Sax Rohmer one of the greats and Shadow of Fu Manchu one of his greatest, I found the characterization to require a certain amount of help from the reader to make it actually work.
Brilliant, gorgeous, redheaded knock-out British spy (and we do hear a whole lot about what a gorgeous redheaded knock-out she is, although the fact that she's brilliant is just kind of thrown in there for authenticity, since she does actually have to have a fairly difficult job to appear at all) falls desperately in love with the geeky protagonist just because, well, he's there?
Yeah, Sax Rohmer. YOU WISH.
My favorite thing about this book is that Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo apparently gave their least-favorite character, Gunvald Larsson, a liking for Rohmer.
Brilliant, gorgeous, redheaded knock-out British spy (and we do hear a whole lot about what a gorgeous redheaded knock-out she is, although the fact that she's brilliant is just kind of thrown in there for authenticity, since she does actually have to have a fairly difficult job to appear at all) falls desperately in love with the geeky protagonist just because, well, he's there?
Yeah, Sax Rohmer. YOU WISH.
My favorite thing about this book is that Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo apparently gave their least-favorite character, Gunvald Larsson, a liking for Rohmer.
February 7, 2017
One of the great pulp villains, Fu-Manchu sets about thwarting an attempt by Russian spies (as well as US and British agents) to get a new source of great power in their attempt to conquer the world. The Yellow Menace against the Red Menace of the late 1940's. One of the later books in the series. I'd never read any Fu-Manchu previously, but it turned out to be quite enjoyable.
June 6, 2016
Fun old suspense novel. I'd heard of the Dr. Fu Manchu novels but never read one until now. I found this one at a thrift shop. I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for the others now. Mystery, intrigue, shadowy figures, stalwart heroes, evil villains... love it.
January 25, 2016
read SOMETIME in 2009
April 8, 2017
Around this time in the series Fu Manchu had started to become something like a veritable anti-hero. You may condone his methods but in the eyes of many he had the right goals by weeding out the dangers of communisms. Also featuring probably one of the most easily distracted scientists ever put to paper and a range of easily quotable lines from the as ever reliable Sax Rohmer.
Just two Pyramid editions left for me to unearth. If only International shipping rates were not so crazy.
Just two Pyramid editions left for me to unearth. If only International shipping rates were not so crazy.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews