The Friends of Fu Manchu [Kindle Edition]

Richard Russell (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The beginnings of the sub-genre of villainy at the turn of the nineteenth century a compendium of bad guys from gentleman jewel thieves to serial killers all introduced before 1911.

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 529 KB
• Publisher: Sangraal, Inc.; First edition (May 7, 2009)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00292BUC4
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #536,065 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Stuff you never knew, August 22, 2010

By 

Heather "brooklyn girl" (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Friends of Fu Manchu (Kindle Edition)

I think this is a good starter for those people who are into any mystery, adventure and horror. Often the villains of these classical stories have been over-looked and forgotten. What modern readers fail to realize is the fact that many of our current fiction is based upon these original works. It really gives you an insight into the modern villain. It also becomes apparent these old villains are the basis and origin for new ones. An interesting history lesson in our literature. Of course though, any villain is fun and this books makes them even more fun!

4.0 out of 5 stars Villains from the past, May 24, 2009

By 

Kurt G. Schumacher "Grey" (Broomfield, CO USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Friends of Fu Manchu (Kindle Edition)

I like adventure, mystery and horror stories, and am particularly interested in this kind of fiction from the late 1800's through the 1940's. So I was excited to find "The Friends of Fu Manchu".

When you think of villains from this era. Professor Moriarty and Fu Manchu come to mind right away. But there were others, and many of them are all but forgotten. So slip into your Inverness coat and meet some of the evil masterminds of a century ago.

This book introduces us to an unlucky seven of them: Madame Sara, A. J. Raffles, Horace Dorrington, Dr Nikola, Colonel Clay, Arsene Lupin, and Fantomas.

Raffles and Lupin fall into the category of the "gentleman thief". They don't steal for money, but for the adventure of it. And if they can deprive someone of unsavory character of riches that they don't deserve, or solve a crime, all the better. In "To Catch a Thief", Raffles pits himself against another thief who is pilfering the riches of the upper class. In "The Black Pearl", Lupin recovers (for himself) a fabulous black pearl, and solves the murder of its former owner.

The "gentleman thieves" operate outside the law, but they are very likable fellows. If you like contemporary thieves like the ones in the "Ocean's Eleven" movies, you should enjoy these two rascals.

The rest of the villains in the book aren't nearly as nice. Madame Sara holds an innocent girl in her power in "The Blood-Red Cross", and threatens to ruin her chance for happiness. In "The Case of Janissary", Horace Dorrington is a despicable character who helps a friend prevent someone from doping his race horse... but uses the situation to further his own evil goals.

Colonel Clay hoodwinks a nobleman in "The Episode of the Mexican Seer". The authorities figure out how the swindle was done, but are powerless to apprehend him. And Fantomas invades "Princess Sonia's Bath", torments the woman, makes off with her money and makes his escape.

The Dr Nikola story, "A Bid for Fortune". is the longest, and takes up most of the book. Unfortunately, I found it to be the most unsatisfying. Nikola is one of the few of these unscrupulous characters that I had heard of before buying this book, and I was looking forward to "meeting" him.

However, as long as the story is, Nikola appears in relatively few pages. He is always behind the scenes, manipulating the plot. But for most of the story he stays in the background.

I would have preferred the editor to have chosen another story where Nikola was more prominent, and perhaps added another story with another villain. I really wanted to see more of the mastermind himself. I'll have to look for more of his stories.

In fact, I'll be on the trail of Raffles, Lupin and Fantomas as well. I really enjoyed the samples of their adventures in this book. And if I see the others, I'll pick up their stories as well.

Be forewarned, these are not your current, fast-paced mysteries with lots of sharp dialog. The writing style is much more formal, sometimes to the point of being stilted. But this was a different time, and speech and manners were different. If you like Doyle's style in the Sherlock Holmes stories, you'll be right at home here.