Remo and Chiun meet Fu Manchu and Bruce Lee (no, really)
SEVERE SPOILERS AHEAD
But I can't help it. Ready?
From January 1991, number 83 in the long running "Destroyer' series, this specific book is notable to pulp fans mostly because its villain is a version of Fu Manchu (and his henchman is an analog of Bruce Lee as Kato!). Created by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir, the Destroyer books feature a wizened Korean uber-assassin named Chiun and his American wiseguy student Remo-- both are masters of Sinanju (the sun source of all martial arts) which not only is a system of techniques but also a means of tapping into a higher Chi power that enables superhuman feats (long before 'The Force' was heard of). The first fifty or so novels in the series are unique and fascinating, but (in my opinion anyway), the books went downhill after that. They're still readable and a good deal of fun, but much of the initial charge has worn off. SKULL DUGGERY was written by Will Murray, known to us all as a true scholar of the pulps and author of many informative articles (as well as the seven New Adventures of Doc Savage).
SKULL DUGGERY is initially concerned with a mysterious box an expatriate Chinese student has been guarding, despite sinister attempts to retrieve it. Caught up in the situation, Remo and Chiun make their ways to Outer Mongolia, where each seperately raises a force of Mongol warriors to locate the treasure of Genghis Khan and possibly cause a general revival of Mongol hordes looting Asia. As in most Destroyer books, there is plenty of wild action and amusing surprises, as well as the ongoing relationship between student and teacher (the real reason this series remains so appealing).
Early on, we discover that Chiun (like his father and grandfather before him) had worked as assassins for Fu Manchu. In the books by Sax Rohmer, where the Masters of Sinanju had been at their trade*, clumsy dacoits had been substituted by the author. ("Imagine a Chinese named Fu Manchu," Chiun scoffs. We discussed elsewhere, particularly in TEN YEARS BEYOND BAKER STREET, the meaning of that war name.)
The real delight is in the first part of the story as Remo deals with an Asian man in a black chafffeur's uniform, wearing a black half-mask, driving a black limo which can spray green anesthetic gas. The chaffeur takes Remo on twice and actually defeats him in unarmed combat (pretty startling, if you have read any of the Destroyer books). The chaffeur wears a small lapel button that reads BRUCE LEE LIVES. There is some mystery as Remo trails the black limo to a house where he finds a white convertible inexplicably parked in its place. (By this time, fans of the 1966 GREEN HORNET series are reading with enormous grins on their faces).
There is also the strange presence of the chaffeur's master, whose presence Remo (who can literally hear other people's heartbeats) can't detect. and who seems to leave footprints facing the wrong way. Well. By this time, Chiun has abruptly disappeared without explanation and Remo is close to having a conniption seizure. Most of the book then concerns our favorite incarnation of Shiva making his way to Mongolia in search of Chiun, becoming known as the 'white tiger' as he rather easily gathers an army of followers. Finally, the foursome of Remo, Chiun, Fu Manchu and Kato gather for the inevitabl bloodbath.
It's a pleasant surprise to find the villains treated with respect. In the earliest books in the series, Murphy and Sapir usually inflicted some mockery on guest stars, with the sarcasm meter cranked way up (as in BAY CITY BLAST, with the analogs of the Executioner and Death Merchant, or the other scene where Remo meets three stooges intended to be James Bond, Hercule Poirot and Mr Moto). No, the villain here is an impressive figure, genuinely two hundred and fifty years old, his heart beating only once a minute. Known here as Wu Ming Shi, the Nameless One, he has managed to neutralize Chiun for decades by keeping kidnapped children from the village of Sinanju hostage. The two ancient Asian masterninds deal with each other warily (but of course, since it is a Destroyer book, you might expect Chiun to hold the final trick up his kimono sleeve).
As for Kato, here known as Sagwa, he's explained as being a bodyguard of Wu who took advantage of his master's long absence to become a star in kung fu movies. When the Nameless One returned, he faked Sagwa's death and made him wear the Kato outfit as a punishment. (This incidentally explains the rash of Bruce Lee sightings which still occasionally turn up around the world). As a longtime Lee fan, I'm glad he's not shown as a mere punching bag for Remo but a serious opponent. For some reason, Sagwa is depicted as mostly using the White Crane style (while Lee originally was a Wing Chun guy), but he is described as knowing many styles. And, since in the Destroyer universe, Sinanju is far above any rivals, he also has some Sinanju skills taught to him by Niuhc, Chiun's renegade former pupil.
To be honest, I was unhappily expecting the story to show Fu Manchu and Kato as clowns or unworthy foes, but Will Murray presented them with consideration and affection. I dropped the Destroyer books somewhere around number sixty or so, and wasn't impressed by the one or two later ones I sampled. But I intend to pick up a few more that Murray wrote and give the series a second try. I understand there's a book where Chiun mentions Cthulhu--"the sleeping dragon at the bottom of the sea" -- or something like that. That definitely sounds interesting....
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*Considering that the dacoits are foiled frequently, it seems doubtful that the Masters of Sinanju were handling all the assignments. I'd hate to see Nayland Smith pull a gun on Chiun.