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The Destroyer #16
Oil Slick
The Middle Eastern state of Lobynia had been supplying oil to the U.S.A. for years, but when Colonel Baraka takes over from the king after a coup, there is a change of policy - and the cut-off of oil threatens the whole American economy. Baraka has big plans - but they bring him big trouble. First there is Remo, whose brief is to get the oil flowing again before American industry grinds to a halt. And then there is Chiun, Remo's Korean friend and teacher. Chiun's family holds a centuries-old contract to protect the kings of Lobynia - and Chiun takes his responsibilities very seriously...
156 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
42 people are currently reading
109 people want to read
About the author
Warren Murphy
295 books124 followersWarren 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 11, 2013
Definitely not for everyone, but I am PROUD to be a die hard Destroyer fan. I read these in my teens, they were extremely rare and hard to come by in the UK, and recently discovered the full series (150 books-ish) on amazon and just had to get them.
Do not confuse this with the film Remo unarmed and dangerous, its based on these books but is not a true reflection of the series.
The basics of the entire series is Chuin as a master of the ultimate martial art and a master assassin. Remo as his apprentice, and works as a super secret enforcement arm for the US government for scenarios where the constitution fails. Then the Ultimate martial art allows the two practitioners to perform super human feats including avoiding bullets and ripping apart tanks. Then there is the satire. The humour. The constant tongue in cheek. Whilst killing, often in humorous graphically displays of childishness, scores of gun men, they casually have little spats at each other, argue over whose turn it is too steam the rice, or if fish should be included, almost paying little attention to the gun battle and multiple killings they make. The reaction to this casual disregard by the victims is between total disbelief, outright terror and baffling confusion and is most often absolutely hysterical.
In a way it pokes fun at books like bond, but also at whatever is popular on TV at the time, plus politics, plus everything and anything it can think of. But also at itself.
Its light hearted, over the top violent, never takes itself seriously, and full of both action and humour.
In this book The evil Sinanju master Nuihc is masterminding a trap for Chiun and Remo. Basically he was trained in the same martial arts as Remo and in there first encounter is a better practitioner of the art than Remo, and definitely wants to kill him, if not both of them, so it adds a bit of danger for our superhero's. Especially as Sinanju laws prevents Chuin from just killing him and making it all moot. I won't give spoilers away but this makes this one of the better ones in the series.
Do not confuse this with the film Remo unarmed and dangerous, its based on these books but is not a true reflection of the series.
The basics of the entire series is Chuin as a master of the ultimate martial art and a master assassin. Remo as his apprentice, and works as a super secret enforcement arm for the US government for scenarios where the constitution fails. Then the Ultimate martial art allows the two practitioners to perform super human feats including avoiding bullets and ripping apart tanks. Then there is the satire. The humour. The constant tongue in cheek. Whilst killing, often in humorous graphically displays of childishness, scores of gun men, they casually have little spats at each other, argue over whose turn it is too steam the rice, or if fish should be included, almost paying little attention to the gun battle and multiple killings they make. The reaction to this casual disregard by the victims is between total disbelief, outright terror and baffling confusion and is most often absolutely hysterical.
In a way it pokes fun at books like bond, but also at whatever is popular on TV at the time, plus politics, plus everything and anything it can think of. But also at itself.
Its light hearted, over the top violent, never takes itself seriously, and full of both action and humour.
In this book The evil Sinanju master Nuihc is masterminding a trap for Chiun and Remo. Basically he was trained in the same martial arts as Remo and in there first encounter is a better practitioner of the art than Remo, and definitely wants to kill him, if not both of them, so it adds a bit of danger for our superhero's. Especially as Sinanju laws prevents Chuin from just killing him and making it all moot. I won't give spoilers away but this makes this one of the better ones in the series.
June 30, 2022
The shortest of the three Destroyer novels, proper, that I've read, and better for it.
Appallingly racist, as usual, with offensive stereotypes deployed against Arabs, Jews, the French, and American liberals[1][2] (not that, as an American liberal, those upset me). But the two improvements are that much of the information for the first two has been cribbed from John le Carré books (which is smart in that if you're going to steal, steal from somebody good), and it rolls. Once a certain point is reached, it's tough to put the book down.
___________________________
[1] "If liberals love people in large masses, [that] is the price they pay [in order] to hate people individually." 2 points, there: I had to clean it up. As with most semi-clever things in these books, a good editor could have added some clarity. Also, I'm not sure he's wrong, or right. It's an interesting idea. I've highlighted a few other lines to give an idea of the prose, both good and bad.
[2] Mind, the book is also largely about the villainy of the oil companies, so it's definitely coming from what is now a leftist position. Of course, in the seventies, "oil companies good" was not the pillar of Republicanism that it is today.
Appallingly racist, as usual, with offensive stereotypes deployed against Arabs, Jews, the French, and American liberals[1][2] (not that, as an American liberal, those upset me). But the two improvements are that much of the information for the first two has been cribbed from John le Carré books (which is smart in that if you're going to steal, steal from somebody good), and it rolls. Once a certain point is reached, it's tough to put the book down.
___________________________
[1] "If liberals love people in large masses, [that] is the price they pay [in order] to hate people individually." 2 points, there: I had to clean it up. As with most semi-clever things in these books, a good editor could have added some clarity. Also, I'm not sure he's wrong, or right. It's an interesting idea. I've highlighted a few other lines to give an idea of the prose, both good and bad.
[2] Mind, the book is also largely about the villainy of the oil companies, so it's definitely coming from what is now a leftist position. Of course, in the seventies, "oil companies good" was not the pillar of Republicanism that it is today.
February 8, 2021
The thing that stood out most strongly to me in this novel was that I liked the nominal villain. He’s a colonel who has managed a successful coup in his fictional country, driving out a hereditary monarch, and is now trying to make life better for his people. Unfortunately, the oil companies, the industrialized nations, and even his own subordinates and people appear determined to frustrate him at every point. So nothing is changing despite his honest efforts to provide good government. As if that isn’t bad enough, he has also unintentionally run afoul of Sinanju. It seems that there is an ancient legend that Sinanju would protect the latest descendent of the ousted monarchy, and Chiun, is determined to uphold Sinanju’s end of the bargain. But even that is not the real problem, because Chiun’s original student, Nuihc, also knows the legend and is determined to use it to destroy Remo and Chiun.
This novel has all the usual satirical fun of the Destroyer series, plus plenty of action, and a very interesting conflict over who will be reigning master of Sinanju. I liked it a lot.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
This novel has all the usual satirical fun of the Destroyer series, plus plenty of action, and a very interesting conflict over who will be reigning master of Sinanju. I liked it a lot.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
December 22, 2022
"The country can't run on 3 dollar a gallon gas"
How the times have changed, just looked it up and at the moment that is abkut the price of gas, it also says that it is way to expensive to take oil out of shale.
How the times have changed, just looked it up and at the moment that is abkut the price of gas, it also says that it is way to expensive to take oil out of shale.
August 21, 2019
Fun novel with Remo “Goldberg” taking on the Arab despot of an oil-rich country in the Middle East. No challenge.
May 30, 2023
After being disappointed with #15, I found this one enjoyable. It brought back a recurring villain. Saw more emphasis on Chiun in this one. Read it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 6, 2015
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.
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.
August 6, 2014
Another freebie from the library's discard bin, and frankly my biggest memory of Remo Williams (aka The Destroyer) is the Fred Ward, Joel Grey, and Kate Mulgrew movie. I could not get Joel Grey's voice as Chiun out of my head while reading this short novel. I know the series was created at the start of the 1970s "men's adventure boom" and outlasted most of its peers because the writers began to play up the satire and humor.
The satire is definitely present in this book. There is banter between Chiun and Remo. The satire is obvious, and it is aimed at a broad range of targets (like a good Mel Brooks movie). The targets include, knee jerk liberals, Arab nations and Arab unity, U.S. economic and foreign policy, bureaucrats, oil companies, greed, and I know I'm leaving something out.
For a book representing the "men's adventure" genre (think a lot of gun porn and violence)the majority of the tome is talking heads. I don't have a problem with that because 1) it works, and 2) I've seen enough bad action movies to have my fill of gun porn and violence (unless its a god action movie like Red which was fun).
If you're looking for something a little different, and a laugh or two, in your action reading give this a try if you find it cheap in a used book store.
The satire is definitely present in this book. There is banter between Chiun and Remo. The satire is obvious, and it is aimed at a broad range of targets (like a good Mel Brooks movie). The targets include, knee jerk liberals, Arab nations and Arab unity, U.S. economic and foreign policy, bureaucrats, oil companies, greed, and I know I'm leaving something out.
For a book representing the "men's adventure" genre (think a lot of gun porn and violence)the majority of the tome is talking heads. I don't have a problem with that because 1) it works, and 2) I've seen enough bad action movies to have my fill of gun porn and violence (unless its a god action movie like Red which was fun).
If you're looking for something a little different, and a laugh or two, in your action reading give this a try if you find it cheap in a used book store.
June 24, 2010
Nuihc, #3
A bloodless coup in the Middle Eastern state of Lobynia deposes the king and cuts of oil supplies to America. To find away around this shutoff, an American scientist devises a revolutionary new process to extract oil from the ground. When he has the scientist assassinated, the new leader of Lobynia buys himself a double dose of trouble. First there is Remo, sent to get the oil flowing again, and second is Chiun, whose family has an ages-old contract to protect the king of Lobynia. Once there Remo finds the evil Sinanju master Nuihc masterminding a trap for Chiun and himself.
Excellent book, bringing back archenemy Nuihc.
Warning, sex and graphic gory violence.
A bloodless coup in the Middle Eastern state of Lobynia deposes the king and cuts of oil supplies to America. To find away around this shutoff, an American scientist devises a revolutionary new process to extract oil from the ground. When he has the scientist assassinated, the new leader of Lobynia buys himself a double dose of trouble. First there is Remo, sent to get the oil flowing again, and second is Chiun, whose family has an ages-old contract to protect the king of Lobynia. Once there Remo finds the evil Sinanju master Nuihc masterminding a trap for Chiun and himself.
Excellent book, bringing back archenemy Nuihc.
Warning, sex and graphic gory violence.
February 9, 2016
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. This book chronicles the 3rd meeting with the renegade master of Sinanju, Nuihc. Recommended
November 16, 2015
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
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews