Customer Reviews

Final Reel (Destroyer #116)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have been a fan of the books since the beginning and have seen the series go through some high and low times. The series is definately back on track after a few rather disappointing attempts. The author catches all the elements that make the Destroyer series one of the best including a dead-on characterization of Remo, Chuin, & Harold W Smith. Couple this with a satirical plot that pokes fun at politics and Hollywood, and you have an entertaining book that will keep you turning the pages well into the night.

I do have to admit that I was also rather concerned with the lack of a synopsis for the next upcoming Destroyer book on the inside of the back cover. There was a period before when such omens often preluded to a lost contract or a change in a publisher. I hope this is not the case and that when the end does come that they end the series the right way.

I have not been a fan for a long time, but I have to admit, the books are growing on me. There was a peroid of very bad books but the trend is on the way up. I hope to enjoy the series for a while to come.

I'm not sure what book the other reviewer here read but the book I read is the FUNNIEST of the recent Destroyers. The Hollywood satire is some of the best since Murphy quit doing them. Remo is as dumb as ever and doesn't even know when an army has invaded America and Chuins visit to Hollywood is worth all the gold in Sinanju! (Chuin would obviously disagree about this). Read this book and decide for yourself!

Having been a fan of the Destroyer since I picked up #33 (I think the best one ever) in the mid '70s, I've collected every single issue from the first on. So, I feel somewhat connected to this series.

Number 116 was a big disappointment. The copyright page list "special thanks to James Mullaney for his contribution". It certainly reads like it was written by someone new, someone without a true grasp of the characters.

First, Chuin was completely out of character, berating Remo with such lines as "Duh!". His whole personality was off. If I tried to visualize someone saying his lines, it didn't seem like a little Oriental with a huge ego, it read more like some pompous upper-crust snob (maybe one of the British spies from The Source).

Remo was not the Remo of the series. This one thinks and uses multi-syllable words. He knows where small countries are, and can converse on the relative strengths of their armys.

Most disturbing however, is the lack of a synopsis of #117 on the inside of the back cover. Each previous issue has had a teaser for the following issue. This one, sadly titled 'The Final Reel', has an ad for a Mack Bolan book! I hope I'm reading too much into that. Having read 116 issue (plus the Assasin's Handbook) I'd hate to see this grand and glorious series end with a whimper like #116.

I recieved this issue of the Destroyer series as well as the next book Deadly Genes for Christmas. I had not read the Destroyer for a number of years and I was happy to find everything just as I left it. There were times when I actually laughed out loud while reading, much to the annoyance of my wife who had to get to work early the next morning. I am greatly looking forward to restarting my collection. (And a special note to He Who Gallantly Throttles the Universe, please forgive me for ever thinking to abandon your awesomeness Oh Chiun the Magnificent! This humble servent to your mightiness will not stray again!)

I have read almost all of the books in this series and this one is nowhere near the best. Compared to the early books, this one is pale and weak. The plot might have been OK for 100 or 150 pages, but there's at least 150 pages of boring filler material in this one; besides, a very similar idea was used in another book not so long ago. Although slightly better than some of the other recent editions, the satire is still strained and unfunny. The characters are reduced to caricatures who exercise their "trademark" behaviors too often, like Remo absently rotating his wrists or Smith's grey suit. Lastly, the racial and scatological jokes are the product of laziness and a severe underestimation of the readers. I love the Destroyer series, but I am finding myself more and more disgusted by the low quality of the current books.

A short time ago, I had my doubts about the future of the Destroyer series. I have been a fan since the early days of the books in 1971 and have followed it through several author changes so when Will Murray left the books I thought things would continue well with a new author. Well, things didn't continue well and I was afraid the series would end until Gold Eagle found James Mullaney. He has brought the Destroyer back to life and with #116, Final Reel, he has Remo and Chiun saving the world while making Hollywood look like the idiot haven of the planet. There is great action in this book. The plot has Remo, Chiun, and Smitty at a stalemate with a dying sultan who wants to bring the US to its knees. There is also the great satire that marks most good Destroyer adventures. I actually laughed out loud at several scenes in the book, something I seldom do. I don't know if I would call this is Mullaney's best book yet, since all of his have been very good, but it is certainly a lot of fun to read.

I have read the Destroyer series since book 1, this one is a stinker