Choke Hold

The greatest action-adventure parody takes on the cigarette industry, to hilarious effects. There is also a credible threat to the incredible men of Sinanju. The authors’ only false step is when they toss in a couple of mysteries of no surprise or consequence. I highly recommend this one, because of the first-class parody, the first-class opponents with their colorful backgrounds, and a lot of Sinanju history that is covered in the course of one novel. The characterization is as sharp as ever, especially since Warren Murphy, who co-created the series, had his hand in the writing of this novel.

The Destroyer just can’t get much better than this. This book has everything that makes up a great Destroyer adventure, action, humor, Sinanju history, and some of the best satire you can find. Not only will you read a great Destroyer attack on the tobacco industry you will read aout an ancient sinanju enemy that Remo must face. If you haven’t tried The Destroyer in a while then this is the one to pick up and reacquaint yourself.

Warren Murphy and James Mullaney's second New Destroyer published by Tor delivers on the promise of The New Destroyer: Guardian Angel and is a worthy continuation of the series. This time around, they're taking on the tobacco industry. Edgar Rawly is an eccentric villain in true Destroyer tradition: 90+ owner and CEO of Cheyenne Tobacco, lifelong smoker and fervent defender of cigarettes even as he's hacking up a lung. There's a great running gag throughout the book. Rawly keeps mentioning people (smokers all), only to have his aide tell him that they have passed away from lung cancer or emphysema. Rawly angrily snaps after each new disclosure how this must have been caused by drinking or overeating -- anything but smoking. The secondary characters -- from Mrs. Z, Rawly's equally ancient secretary to Aphrodite Janise, president of Campaign for a Smoke Free World and reluctant ally of Remo and Chiun -- are sharply drawn and fully realized characters. Choke hold also has a few of the celebrity lampoons readers have come to expect and a chapter two that takes on an issue which angers the authors (and readers too!). The relationship between Remo and Chiun has all the father-son bickering and love that we've come to expect. Smitty is his lemony self. Mark Howard, his assistant, doesn't have as much to do in this book as usual. Although he's the latest addition to CURE, I would have welcomed more of him. If you're new to the series, each book is a self-contained adventure, so there's no problem picking this one up first. Though I'd recommend buying The New Destroyer: Guardian Angel also. And scrounging eBay, sites like sinanju.ca,and used bookstores for the first 107 books plus the Destroyers that Jim Mullaney wrote for Gold Eagle, #111 through #131.