The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu: Being a Somewhat Detailed Account of the Amazing Adventures of Nayland Smith in His Trailing of the Sinister Chinaman (New Millennium Library) [Paperback]

Sax Rohmer (Author)

Book Description

Series: New Millennium Library | Publication Date: February 22, 2001

The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu is the first title in the famous series of "Yellow Peril" novels published by English writer Sax Rohmer, aka Henry Sarsfield Ward (1883-1959), between 1913 and 1959. The novel, like its many sequels, pits the "evil genius" of the Far East against the British Duo, Denis Nayland Smith and his sidekick Dr. Petrie.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

<DIV>is the pseudonym of Arthur Sarsfield Ward (1883-1959) who found literary fame as the author of the famous Dr. Fu Manchu stories, the first in 1913 and the last in 1957.</DIV> --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (February 22, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583483276
• ISBN-13: 978-1583483275
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #642,286 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Exciting, Action-packed, and Chilling Romp of Pulpiness, January 16, 2006

By 

Ian Fowler (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu (Dover Mystery Classics) (Paperback)

When Nayland Smith, late of Burma, arrives on the London door-step of his friend (and our narrator) Dr. Petrie (no first name given), he reveals that he is in pursuit of a singularly evil man, "tall, lean, and feline, with a brow like Shakespeare and a face like Satan," who has come to spearhead the Yellow Peril conspiracy against the White race: the insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu.

Thus begins "The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu" (known as "The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu" in its native England) the first of a series of famous and infamous tales of one of the most famous super-villains in pulp fiction. Sax Rohmer's Fu-Manchu is evil personified: brilliant, ruthless, with a variety of weapons in his arsenal, murdering without a second thought. He is also a fictional face on an irrational, ambiguous prejudice, the Asian hordes waiting to enslave Europe and the United States. And through a series of events, Smith and Petrie (characters deliberately reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson) thwart this sinister villain, with mixed success.

As other reviewers have noted, Rohmer's work incorporates the racism prevalent in the society of the days. Taken from that prospective, "The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu" is really nothing more than a curious artifact of a less enlightened time. The modern reader has to accept that reality, or they will never be able to appreciate the book beyond that level.

And that would be a shame, for setting aside the racism, Rohmer is a good storyteller. In particular, Rohmer has a knack for atmosphere. There's a creepiness that hangs over the novel, as Fu-Manchu employs various bits of weirdness to carry out murders, including insects, poison gases, and spooky men who climb walls and howl in the night. Rohmer knows exactly what adjective use to describe Smith and Petrie's mounting horror at each new gimmick Fu-Manchu employs, creating some legitimate tension. A scene where Smith tells Petrie to run for his life is quite gripping, perhaps because it is so easy to imagine oneself in that position. Rohmer also has a strong sense for action, as our heroes find themselves in various physical fights, gun battles, and explosions. This aspect of Rohmer's writing certainly helps, since his dialogue is of the overwrought Victorian dime novel variety (naturally), and the character development is enough to make the plot work, but no more than that. Also, while the plot is entertaining, it's episodic, so don't expect too many twists or turns, or any real sophistication in the narrative. It's simply Smith and Petrie running to this event and that event, trying to thwart Fu-Manchu.

It's hard to be objective about this book and this character. On the one hand, Fu-Manchu is a great and scary villain. On the other hand, Fu-Manchu represents the ability to be completely racist without rationality. Ultimately, I think simply enjoying the ride while acknowledging the realities of this series is the pragmatic approach. For, the first novel is an exciting, action-packed, and chilling romp of pulpiness that is completely enjoyable.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "A Gentleman to see you, Doctor.", June 25, 2005

By 

Johnny Heering "trivia buff" (Bethel, CT United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu: Being a Somewhat Detailed Account of the Amazing Adventures of Nayland Smith in His Trailing of the Sinister Chinaman (New Millennium Library) (Paperback)

This book introduces the characters and begins the course of events that sustain the first three novels of the series. Nayland Smith, Special Commisioner, having detected signs of organized insurgency in the Far East, surprises his good friend Dr. Petrie one quiet evening in London. He astounds the good doctor with tales of Eastern terrors and intrigue revolving around the figure of a mysterious Chinese doctor named Fu-Manchu, the evil genius at the center of a plot to subjugate the white races to oriental domination. As the plot unfolds, we, along with these two stout-hearted Englishmen, encounter many of Dr. Fu-Manchu's terrifying agents, including numerous representatives of mysterious Asiatic strangler cults, and frequent evidence of the Doctor's evil genius in the shape of the deadly drugs he has produced and the lethal bugs, apes and fungi he has bred. We also move in and out of opium dens, subterranean passageways, and loathsome dungeons in the very heart of the modern metropolis and in the peaceful bosom of the English countryside. The irresitibly seductive Egyptian slave girl Karamaneh, Fu-Manchu's most dangerous creature, completes the cast of characters. To reveal more, at this point, would be to spoil the pleasure and the surprise of the reader's first encounter with the thrilling and enchanting world of Dr. Fu-Manchu.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Wiles of the Devil Doctor, Fu-Manchu., July 2, 2006

By 

New Age of Barbarism "zosimos" (EVROPA.) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu (Dover Mystery Classics) (Paperback)

_The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu_, republished by Dover Publications, is an American edition of the first book of Sax Rohmer (a pseudonym for the author Arthur Sarsfield Ward (1883-1959)), published in America as _The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu_ (1913) and in England as _The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu_. Sax Rohmer (a pseudonym meaning "blade roamer") published these stories of a Chinese criminal mastermind in magazines in America and England before cobbling them together into book form as they appear here. These stories detail the exploits of the devil doctor, Dr. Fu-Manchu, a criminal mastermind of Chinese extraction, and part of the Young China movement, seeking to destroy the white race. Fu-Manchu is described as "Imagine a person, tall, lean, and feline, high-shouldered, with a brow like Shakespeare and a face like Satan, a close-shaven skull, and long, magnetic eyes of the true cat-green. Invest him with all the cruel cunning of an entire Eastern race, accumulated in one giant intellect. . . . Imagine that awful being, and you have a mental picture of Dr. Fu-Manchu, the yellow peril incarnate in one man." In the book, Fu-Manchu heads a Chinese criminal organization and operates behind the front of opium dens and uses dacoits as henchmen. The story is based upon many of the stereotypes about the Chinese people popular at the time, regarding them as cunning and nefarious, and the imminent threat of the "Yellow Peril" against the white race and is certainly unlikely to please the politically correct. Fu-Manchu makes use of many secret means to attack his foes, including the Zayat kiss, the call of Siva, and deadly elixirs which enable him to control life and death, as well as fungal extractions which allow for him to cause madness. Fu-Manchu also makes use of a beautiful Arabian (Oriental) slave girl, Karamaneh, who serves him so as to prevent him from harming her helpless brother Aziz. The heroes of the story include the narrator Dr. Petrie and Nayland Smith, recently returned from Burma and an active servant of king and country. The story mostly takes place in and around London and the Thames river, while the heroes try to capture the mad doctor and prevent him from doing further harm. However, the doctor always escapes their grasp. Dr. Petrie ends up falling under the spell of the beautiful Karamaneh and will attempt to aid her so she can finally free herself and her brother from the devil doctor. As the heroes track the doctor as he murders and causes mayhem, they must fear for their lives as he follows them closely with his evil dacoit henchmen. This story is a fairly interesting one which shows us a picture of the Orientals as seen by an Englishman of the late Nineteenth Century. The character of Dr. Fu-Manchu and the mystery surrounding him will appear again and again in all the writings of Sax Rohmer. He remains a classic villain and his exploits provide an entertaining yarn for those who read of them.