Saturday, June 20, 2009

The Revenge of the Immortal Fu Manchu




Apparently there is a new Fu Manchu novel afoot. (Wow, I haven't said that in a long time) And it takes place in the present day?

This from Coming Attractions:

Fu Manchu
Bill Maynard has announced that his recent Fu Manchu novel, THE TERROR OF FU MANCHU, is only the beginning of the Fu Manchu literary revival. There is much more to come from reprints of the original series which Al Longden, the agent for the Literary Estate, will hopefully be announcing shortly to a forthcoming Fu Manchu novel set in the 21st Century. The title of the new adventure is THE IMMORTAL DR. FU MANCHU and the author is Richard Sand.


Well, this could turn out great, or more lame than a one footed tiger. But here's what they need to avoid:
1. Nayland Smith as the Central hero. Please don't make Smith an immortal too. Leave him as a very old man who offers the main hero(s) suport from base. Sort of like his role in Master of Kung Fu.

2. Fu Manchu just wants to be at peace with the world. I don't see this one happening but I'll bring it up anyhow.

3. The hero(s) other than Smith believe that Fu Manchu and the Si-Fan are a myth. After 100+ years of operations, there should be more than enough paper work to show the Si-Fan exist. However, I'm not against the hero(s) all believing Fu Manchu's dead, and that the events of the novel are the work of a copy-cat.

Now for stuff I do want to see:

1. Fu Manchu has a large number of Islamic terror groups in the Si-Fan. Also cool would be if they're attempting to take control away from the Council of Seven so they would have full control of all the cults and other operators of the Si-Fan.

2. Jack Bauer appears briefly as an American government agent, but this one's just me wanting to see Jack interact with Fu Manchu. How about the hero(s)(from either the British or American government) bring in Jack to torture information from a captured Fu Manchu, It would truly be a titanic battle of wills. But sadly, I know this one will not happen, just a pipe-dream on my part.

Still, I'm looking forward to it and I'll order it as soon as it becomes available.

James B.

2 comments:

  1. Hi, James. As an ardent Rohmer fan myself, I'm looking forward to reading Richard's book, too. I can tell you that Nayland Smith does not appear so that's one you can cross off your list. Here's hoping my second book, THE MARK OF FU MANCHU (set between Rohmer's two WWII-era titles) is next on the list.

    Best,

    William Patrick Maynard

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  2. Fu fans,I am the author of "The Immortal Fu Manchu".It takes place now,largely in New York City.The Devil Doctor's foes are Lucas Rook,ex-NYPD(from my award-winning mystery series)and Dr.Mei-Zhen "Pearl"Varker,quantum physicist,who is of course,a beauty.The Dali Lama is the target in his Doc Martens.
    Anybody wants a copy of one of the Lucas Rook series so you'll know who Fu's up against,let me kmow.Richard Sand

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