13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wow. It's back and about time!, May 11, 2007
This review is from: The New Destroyer: Guardian Angel (Destroyer #146) (Mass Market Paperback)
After years of suffering through what can only be generously deemed as amateur and uninspired writing with obsession on all things squid, the Destroyer has finally returned to it's roots. Remo, Chiun and Smith out to save the good old USA. The relationship between Remo and Chiun was a cornerstone of the series - the humor, ever evolving father-son bond, and the bickering - is back.
Also back is the bizarre arch-villain the series was so well known for, a returning nemesis and some political incorrectness (I'd like to see more, but in today's even stranger than Destroyer fiction world, the book would probably be burned, or banned, or fed to a squid.)
If you are a Destroyer fan, don't skip this book - it's a truly a rebirth of the series. New to the series? Well, it's the New Destroyer #1, so obviously a great place to start. The book is about the same length as the earlier Destroyers, and can easily be consumed in a single evening (or over a week at stop lights...)
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
His name was Murphy, and he's back to Remo, May 15, 2007
This review is from: The New Destroyer: Guardian Angel (Destroyer #146) (Mass Market Paperback)
His name was Remo, and Warren Murphy is back to writing him.
As long time fans of the Destroyer series know, Warren Murphy and Dick Sapir created the character. After their partnership amicably broke up, Murphy remained for a while as primary writer, eventually passing on the character to a series of authors of greater and lesser ability. Some, like Will Murray and James Mullaney, met with fan acclaim. Others did not. Now, as of Guardian Angel, Murphy is back, co writing with Mullaney.
So, does he still have it?
The best Destroyers have always been almost as much political and pop culture satires as action novels, with sacred cows on the right and left enthusiastically skewered. Murphy and Mullaney remember that, turning in a plot that takes shots at both sides in the current debate over illegal immigration. Remo faces a worthy but only human foe, a nice change from the recent string of toe-to-toe super-villains, and a fair number of the plot points and characters of the last dozen or so novels that some fans objected to are moved out of continuity.
More Specifically -
* Mark, the fourth man in Cure and Smith's second assistant, is retconned as having never had psychic powers. This gets rid of the Death of the Dutchman plot arc, as well as moving Smith back away from his growing acceptance of and reliance on the paranormal. Mark's established incredible detective skills are explained as a highly specific form of genius.
Sarah is gone, along with her family legacy of pulp style adventurers. Smith is no longer stymied by a security risk he can't control.
The Lovecraft story arcs from the last few books never happened. Neither did the Inner Earth story arcs.
Remo's defiance of Smith over Remo's daughter, a natural mistress of Sinanju, never happened, and the developing Kali story arc will likely not play out.
Remo's were-tiger children are gone from continuity as well, at least for now.
Remo is firmly established as speaking only two languages, English and Korean.
Some fans will be very happy with the changes. I have mixed feelings on them myself. I liked the story arcs that have been dropped, and I liked the pulp and occult elements that were being brought more to the surface of the series. On the other hand, Mark and Sarah did mean more time with the camera away from Remo and Chiun, and a neutered Smith relying on his psychic assistant was much less interesting than the Grey Ghost of old. Murphy, Sapir, Murray, and Mullaney all have an established history of keeping the paranormal elements of the series somewhat more subtle than they've been in the last few books as well, and I can see why Murphy and Mullaney would like to move back to that style.
So, again, do Murphy and Mullaney still have it? Yes, yes they do. Guardian Angel is a solid return to the old school Destroyer, delivering grins along with the action. Fans of the series should enjoy it.
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