BOOK TITLE: Created, The Destroyer ( The Destroyer #1)
ISBN: B00AJWEYYW
AUTHOR: Warren Murphy & Richard Ben Saphir
GENRE: Fiction – Thriller
NUMBER OF PAGES: 187
FORMAT: Heatbound
REVIEW BY: Shree Janani
HOW I GOT THIS BOOK: The publishers – Little Brown Book Group sent us a review copy. We thank them for the same.
SUMMARY : When you're on death row, minutes from the electric chair, and a hook-handed monk offers to save your life if you'll just swallow a simple little pill... what've you got to lose? You take the pill. Then you wake up, officially "dead," in the back of an ambulance, headed for an undisclosed location. Welcome to your new life, working for CURE, the most secret, most deniable, most extra-judicial government agency ever to exist. Only the President knows about it, and even he doesn't control it.
REVIEW:
When I signed up to review this book, I had no idea that the book is a cult classic! Little did I realise the series had just about 150 books and was also made into a movie. Thankfully I do a little research before I actually begin the book.
When the copy landed, the cover reminded me of Mario Puzo’s super hit novel, “ The Godfather”. Obviously, me being the late bloomer, realized that the two books are world apart.
The book opens with Remo Willams, the Ex-Cop being electrocuted for a crime that he didn’t commit only to escape and be recruited by an non-existent organization formed to dismantle the crux of organized crime which plagues America. The story is set in the 1970s, a period during which began this phase of political stabilization began in the States.
Remo is trained by the small and wiry Asian, Chiun who almost aims to make Remo the quintessential killing machine. Remo eventually is set on to his first mission – to kill McLeary, the man who recruited him in first place.
The plot begins with a bang only to slack midway. Thankfully, it picks up pace towards the end which prevented me from chucking the book.
The other biggest element that kept me hooked to the book is the writing style. Gosh! It’s been ages since I read a perfect tongue in cheek satire! I have a weakness for this style of writing, especially when the theme has a political implication infused with element of crime added to it.
The foreword deserves a special mention. It had me literally rolling on the floor and laughing. Please read it. I don’t want to kill the humour.
One thing that I couldn’t really get was the motive. It’s not just Remo or McLeary or Smith. It’s completely not okay to deceive the young daughter of your enemy and take her virginity only to get to her dad sans a motive.
Overall, it’s an okay read in spite of being a jackpot for satire lovers.
VERDICT: The “ Perfect” Satire which strikes a perfect balance between politics, patriotism and crime.
RATING: 3.5 on 5
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Warren Murphy (born September 13, 1933 in Jersey City, New Jersey) is an American author, most famous as the co-creator of The Destroyer series, the basis for the film Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins. He worked as a reporter and editor and after service during the Korean War, he drifted into politics.
Murphy also wrote the screenplay for Lethal Weapon 2. He is the author of the Trace and Digger series. WithMolly Cochran, he has completed two books of a planned trilogy revolving around the character The Grandmaster, The Grandmaster (1984) and High Priest (1989). Murphy also shares writing credits with Cochran on The Forever King and several novels under the name Dev Stryker. The first Grandmaster book earned Murphy and Cochran a 1985 Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original, and Murphy's Pigs Get Fat took the same honor the following year.
Some of his solo novels include Jericho Day, The Red Moon, The Ceiling of Hell, The Sure Thing and Honor Among Thieves. Over his career, Murphy has sold over 60 million books.
A few years ago, he started his own publishing house, Ballybunion, to have a vehicle to start The Destroyer spin-off books. Ballybunion has reprinted The Assassin's Handbook, as well as the original works Assassin's Handbook 2, The Movie That Never Was (a screenplay he and Richard Sapir wrote for a Destroyer movie that was never optioned), The Way of the Assassin (the wisdom of Chiun), and New Blood, a collection of short stories written by fans of the series.
He has served on the board of the Mystery Writers of America, and also has been a member of the Private Eye Writers of America, the International Association of Crime Writers, the American Crime Writers League and the Screenwriters Guild.
In April 2007, Warren returned to co-authoring The Destroyer, which is now published by Tor Books.
Murphy also wrote the screenplay for Lethal Weapon 2. He is the author of the Trace and Digger series. WithMolly Cochran, he has completed two books of a planned trilogy revolving around the character The Grandmaster, The Grandmaster (1984) and High Priest (1989). Murphy also shares writing credits with Cochran on The Forever King and several novels under the name Dev Stryker. The first Grandmaster book earned Murphy and Cochran a 1985 Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original, and Murphy's Pigs Get Fat took the same honor the following year.
Some of his solo novels include Jericho Day, The Red Moon, The Ceiling of Hell, The Sure Thing and Honor Among Thieves. Over his career, Murphy has sold over 60 million books.
A few years ago, he started his own publishing house, Ballybunion, to have a vehicle to start The Destroyer spin-off books. Ballybunion has reprinted The Assassin's Handbook, as well as the original works Assassin's Handbook 2, The Movie That Never Was (a screenplay he and Richard Sapir wrote for a Destroyer movie that was never optioned), The Way of the Assassin (the wisdom of Chiun), and New Blood, a collection of short stories written by fans of the series.
He has served on the board of the Mystery Writers of America, and also has been a member of the Private Eye Writers of America, the International Association of Crime Writers, the American Crime Writers League and the Screenwriters Guild.
In April 2007, Warren returned to co-authoring The Destroyer, which is now published by Tor Books.
PRICE: Rs.499 (Kindle Edition)
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