Posted by
DMCourt on Thursday, November 01, 2007 6:46:30 PM
The second book in The New Destroyer series was published Tuesday, October 30th.
I was privileged to obtain an Advance Review Copy. 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 a Destroyer fan and you're on this page, you're probably
buying it already. 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 Guardian Angel also. And scrounging Amazon Sellers, eBay, and used bookstores for the first 107 books plus Jim Mullaney's 111 through 131.