A review by gengelcox
Chinese Puzzle by Warren Murphy, Richard Sapir

adventurous funny fast-paced

3.0

With book 3, the Destroyer series found its voice by finally bringing Chiun along for the ride. This book establishes pretty much all the major tropes used by the series afterward: the son/little father relationship between Remo and Chiun, the legend of Shinaju and its night tigers, and the antagonism between Shinaju and China. 

It’s not a surprise that the depictions of Nixon and Kissinger are favorable. These books, intended to be racked next to Marc Bolan and other pulp military books, are conservative in nature. What is surprising is how nuanced the treatment of race is. Although there are many stereotypes used, Murphy and Sapir slipped in some ringers in an attempt to sway their white male audience that not all X are like X.

The fact that Remo and Chiun are indestructible is just another aspect of this series’ real inspiration: the world of comics. They are superheros without capes, meant to bring justice to the world. Of course, the way they do it is very anti-heroic, similar to Marvel’s The Punisher, who would have likely done well as a pulp action-adventure book star.