RE-ENTER FU MANCHU (April 27, 2002) From 1957, this is the second to last Fu Manchu book by Sax Rohmer, and it's mostly rather tired and mechanical. His writing is more polished and smooth than in the first few books so long earlier, but that wild enthusiasm and feverish energy is gone. Rohmer had been sitting at the typewriter with the Devil Doctor looking over his shoulder for almost fifty years at this point. In the final adventure, EMPEROR FU MANCHU, he transferred the scene to China itself, putting the Doctor on his own turf and having Nayland Smith the undercover fugitive-- this at least gave that book some freshness. The first half of RE-ENTER drags along with as much agonizing listlessness as one of Fu Manchu's tortures. This book would have worked much better at a tight length of maybe sixty pages, because toward the end, it does kick into gear with some real surprises and a climactic scene that captures the old spark. But then, this was a paperback original and Rohmer almost certainly had a set number of pages to deliver. I always felt Rohmer was at his best in short, tight stories. A bland young wealthy playboy named Brian Merrick agrees to work with Nayland Smith on a vague mission, and is shuffled about to Cairo and New York, where nothing much happens and we have to sit through it not happening. Merrick has two gorgeous mysterious women who keep popping up unexpectedly to tantalize him, but nothing much happens with them either (drat!). Despite the fact that we know one of them is a slave of Fu Manchu, she develops a steamy crush on the young hunky man. WHY can't Fu Manchu find a female agent who is cold-blooded and professional enough to get the job done!? Over the decades, both Smith and Fu Manchu see their proteges immediately start flirting with each other and ruin their elaborate plans. You almost expect to see the British hero and Chinese mastermind shake their heads sadly and say to each other, "These kids today...." Still, Rohmer always throws in enough color and imaginative twists that his books are never a total loss. Here we find the Doctor early on dealing with a traitor who has absconded with the longevity elixir. Gray and cold, almost lifeless, Fu Manchu is within a few hours of death ("his resemblance to the mummy of the long dead Pharaoh Seti I was uncannily increased") but his minions return with the serum just in time. For all his forceful presence and authority, Fu Manchu's life is always hanging by a thread and he knows that sooner or later, the efficacy of the elixir will fail him. It's enlightening that the Doctor sees himself as the world's only hope for lasting peace. He has a real Messiah complex along with all his other quirks. While he usually gives Smith some grudging admiration for tenacity and intuition, Fu Manchu here delivers his biggest compliment to his lifelong adversary- "Had the real Nayland Smith been my ally instead of my enemy, I should sit today on the throne of an empire greater than Rome ever knew." Working reluctantly with the Soviets (for whom he has neither respect nor trust), the Doctor seems to have stepped down a bit from his old world-conquering prime. He's working on the mundane level of one of the better James Bond villains. (You know, do you suppose that the Tong which Doctor No berayed and robbed could have been the Si-Fan?) Early on, our favorite mastermind has a snit when some mysterious individual's nose will have a slight scar and almost immediately we meet Sir Denis Nayland Smith-- with a strip of surgical plaster across his nose. Hmmm...long time readers will mentally snap their fingers at this not-too subtle clue.

"The Eyes of Fu Manchu" (June 28, 2003) From 1957, where it appeared in the English newspaper THIS WEEK, this is one of a trio of short stories Sax Rohmer turned out toward the end of his (and Fu Manchu's) career. I don't know how I missed "The Eyes of Fu Manchu" when I was working through the saga a while back, but there's not much to recommend it. Certainly, there are no new revelations about either the Devil Doctor or Nayland Smith. If any part of the series had to be jettisoned, this would be a good choice. On the other hand, there's nothing actually wrong with the story. It reads much like the opening chapter of a full Fu Manchu book and it's easy to imagine the characters going on to further chases and intrigues for another hundred-odd pages. (Maybe they did and it just wasn't chronicled.) We start in Paris where a young American scientist named Gregory Allen has been giving a presentation on his new theories about prolonging human life. Who should come bristling in but our old friend Sir Denis Nayland Smith, still a buncle of hyperactive nerves, still rushing about the world in his struggle against his born true loveenemy. Sure enough, he warns Gregory that Fu Manchu is in Paris and probably interested in the researcher's work. Feh, says Gregory to himself, thinking Fu Manchu is about as real a threat as Snidely Whiplash. On a liner back across the Channel, Gregory falls in with a charming young auburn-haired artist who introduces herself as Mignon. Of course, he's smitten like a sixth grader with his first crush. (Sax Rohmer heroes more than make up for all the lack of romance other pulp characters show.) Before you know it, she's turning up in his hotel room, tearfully doping his booze and turning him over to her fiendish employer. Fu Manchu hasn't changed a bit since we last saw him, he's still kidnapping scientists to be his slaves and he thinks Gregory is a good catch. There's some emotional threats and defiance and Nayland Smith on his way like an old bloodhound leaping through the woods. Disappointingly, the not-so-good Doctor obligingly leaves just as Smith crashes in. Huh? It reads exactly as if Rohmer had suddenly said, "Oh the hell with this" and wrapped it all up. That's about it. I can't help but think that Sax Rohmer could have expanded this into a new book without much trouble but by this time, what was once a thrill had become a chore. In the 1959 book EMPEROR FU MANCHU which was his last, he put a little spark back into the work by having Smith pursuing Fu Manchu on his own turf in Communist China. As it happens, that book ends with Smith finally obtaining a copy of the Si-Fan membership and declaring that he now can end the menace forever. It's a natural place to end the series. Perhaps some writer may come along in a conection with a new Fu Manchu movie and jumpstart things up again with the adventures of Nigel Smith carrying on his uncle's work, but I'd be content to let the existing thirteen books stand as they are. (Along with Cay Van Ash's excellent TEN YEARS BEYOND BAKER STREET, of course.)

"The Word of Fu Manchu" (Oct 2, 2001)               From 1957, this is a very slight ten-page story featuring Dr Fu Manchu and Sir Denis Nayland Smith in a brief skirmish that would have worked well as a chapter in an early book.            This vignette was first published in a supplement to the British newspaper THIS WEEK, and later reprinted in the Edgar Wallace Mystery Magazine in 1966 (perhaps tied in with the Hammer films starring Christopher Lee as Fu Manchu?). Along with three other short Fu Manchu tales and a number of unrelated stories by Sax Rohmer, it was featured in the March 1976 DAW paperback THE WRATH OF FU MANCHU, which is where it could be most easily found by enthusiasts.                Sax Rohmer was the pen name used by Arthur Sarsfield Ward, and in my reviews of the Fu Manchu books, I think it will be best to refer to the author as Rohmer, to avoid confusion. Unlike the Doc Savage novels, where 'Kenneth Robeson' was mainly Lester Dent, but also other writers, there was only one Sax Rohmer. (how true...)                There are really no references in "The Word of Fu Manchu" to help date this story, and as in many of the books, it could take place as well in 1920 as 1960. This rather dreamlike state of timelessness is usually an asset, as it's easily to visualize the action in that era between the World Wars where so much great adventure was set.          In this story, Sir Denis Nayland Smith is first met while driving his Jaguar much too fast, en route to the scene of the mysterious death of an agent of his, Kenealy. Although he must have been born around the early 1880s, Smith still has that crisp, dark hair with a touch of grey at the temples. His prolonged vigor and virility hint that either he helped himself to a dose of Fu Manchu's elixir vitae or (more probably) that the Devil Doctor himself injected some into Smith while the Englishman is a prisoner, for his own subtle but frankly twisted reasons. [On further reflection, it seems more likely that it was Fah Lo Suee who may have slipped Smith a few hits of her father's elixir, just in case the Englishman started to respond to her charms.]            The late Sergeant Jack Kenealy of the CID has been found dead in a classic locked room, doors and windows fastened from the inside. The man's body has a strange rigid quality which is odd, since he has not been dead long enough for rigor mortis to have set in. Dr Abel, the police surgeon, muses, "The man might have been struck by lightning." (a-ha, a clue!)          It turns out that Kenealy has been infiltrating the infamous Si-Fan, that global conspiracy that ranks with the Illuminati, SPECTRE and the Men In Black in keeping worried minds around the world up late at night. In his possession is an odd metal disc, token of membership.            An exotic Eurasian beauty, Nadia Rostov, makes her attempt to weasel the disc from Smith and Malcolm but gets nowhere. A big factor in the continuing success of the Fu Manch books is the sensual, suggestive temptations of beautiful if untrustworthy women. Generations of teen-aged boys have gotten worked up and overheated while reading the loving, detailed descriptions of these exotic vixens. It's an integral part of the series' appeal. Most pulp heroes would be either be embaressed or unresponsive to these Mata Harians (?) but Rohmer's characters are human enough to get all hot and bothered.            Soon enough, as Smith settles in, back in his flat in Whitehall Court (complete with a manservant and a strong odor of tobacco) to muse over the disc, he receives a visitor. Fu Manchu himself pops up casually enough and requests the Si-Fan disc, Smith pulls a revolver, and the Chinese mastermind reveals the secret of the token which Malcolm is holding...                      The relationship between Smith and Fu Manchu is the basis on which the entire series rests. As much as they battle each other in their plots and counterplots, the two somehow always seem to stop short of a simple killing stroke. The reluctant but powerful relationship between the true-blue British hero and the nerfarious Asian supercriminal is in some strange way, a friendship. The oddest thing to a modern reader may be the way they each regard their promises as inviolate once given, to the point often of absurdity. It seems likely that they use this to keep the game going that they love so much, whether than admit it or not.          In its brevity, "The Word of Fu Manchu" is competently plotted and builds up nicely to the confrontation where Smith holds a gun on the archfiend and Fu Manchu (as usual) has a surprise up his sleeve. Rohmer's writing has little of that overexcited, exclamation point-strewn style of the early books; it's cool, clear and understated. Still, this is a very minor if enjoyable part of the series.

"The Mind of Fu Manchu" (Dec 11, 2002) From 1959, where it appeared in the British newspaper supplement THIS WEEK, this is so short a story, just under ten pages, that it's little more than an anecdote. Still, it's interesting in its connection of Fu Manchu with UFOs, two topics seldom mentioned at the same time. The story was published as "Fu Manchu and the Frightened Redhead", which sounds rather like a Mike Shayne mystery, while Rohmer's intended title was "Secret of the Flying Saucer". None of these titles really give a hint as to what the storiy is about. I suppose "Fu Manchu and the Flying Saucers" would be a fair compromise. THOROUGH SPOILERS AHEAD But really, there's no other way to discuss a nine page story that is essentially there to just build up to a punchline. The beginning shows Sax Rohmer in smooth, effortless command of his craft, as a young woman named Pat Merton wakes up confused in a strange room and is returned to her hotel by a comforting stranger. Yes. Well, we know who this odd Swiss scientist with "long, narrow emerald green eyes" has to be and we immediately know something devious is up. Pat meets her squeeze, scientist Bruce Garfield (who has had Scotland Yard searching London for her), and there with him is a familiar friend, still tan and lean and with white streaks in his crisp hair, none other than good old Sir Denis Nayland Smith. As it turns out, scientists all over the world have been inexplicably disappearing (again...), this time all those who have been working on anti-gravity. Pat's abduction was not meant to hurt her but just to get Bruce out searching for her, so that Fu Mamchu's minions can rob the guy's hotel room of his little working model of a flying saucer. Humph. What nerve. Luckily, Nayland Smith is on the case, and between vague clues from the hypnotized Pat and his own long experience, they quickly sniff out one of Fu Manchu's hidden lairs and, sure enough, there is the saucer model. Here is where some funny stuff happens. Fu Manchu's voice is heard, explaining what these antics are about. He congratulates the young scientist on his work, and then generously gives him some tips on further research. As it turns out, Bruce has made more progress than the Chinese mastermind realizes, and these helpful suggestions are just what Bruce needs to go into full scale production of his anti-gravity ships. What is most startling is when Fu Manchu casually explains that many, but not all, of the recent sightings of UFOs were craft devised by our favorite supercrminal himself. "The others, I assume, were from distant planets", he adds. Yikes. Fu Manchu believes in life on other planets and that they have visited our world. Did anyone spot any half-naked dacoits sneaking around Roswell in 1947? Did any people abducted by aliens report that they seem to remember a tall, Asian man with green eyes and long fingernails doing the probes? And more importantly, it's been forty years since this story. Whatever happened to Bruce's anti-gravity flying craft, which he was ready to put into production? Don't tell me his model from this story is now in a crate in that giant warehouse where we last saw the Army stowing away the Ark of the Covenant!

EMPEROR FU MANCHU

(Oct 15, 2001)
           
 From 1959, this is the last book in the series to be written by its creator (not long before his own death), and while he does not conclusively kill Fu Manchu off, Sax Rohmer does end the book on Nayland Smith's triumphant claim that he finally has the means to break the Si-Fan and stop the Devil Doctor's plans for good. Perhaps it is best to let the stories stand as they are, with that resolution, rather than continue them past that point with other writers.
             
 EMPEROR starts well, but sags a bit in the middle before building up to a genuinely horrifying climax that foreshadows NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD by almost a decade. It takes place entirely in mainland China, with Nayland Smith (who must be in his seventies) carrying out his plots and counterplots as coolly as if he were back in London. The beginning of the story has Smith sending one of his agents to penetrate the 'bamboo curtain' and discover the identity of a secret warlor known as the Master. The young American agent is Tony McKay, part Chinese himself and able to pass convincingly as a fisherman from Hong Kong. McKay has exciting chases, captures, and tense encounters with Fu Manchu himself. And, because this is a Sax Rohmer story, he encounters and falls deeply in love with a beautiful young Chinese woman named Yueh Hua, or 'Moon Flower'. (awww...)
        
Nayland Smith has a bit of self-appraisal that I find refreshingly honest: "I'm only a moderately competent policeman. This man is a criminal genius. But I have had him on the mat more than once..."
        
Seeing Fu Manchu operating in his homeland is a change of pace. By this time, he has long abandoned both his vicious tortures (he admits here that they were embarassingly crude) and his goal of establishing a new world order ruled by Asians (by 1959, the colonial empires of Great Britain and France had pretty much collapsed). Now he is fiercely obssessed with destroying Communism, something he shares with Nayland Smith...but longtime readers know by now that Fu Manchu always has deeper, more ominous plans than what he publicly proclaims. He will not be happy until China once again has an Emperor on the throne, and it's not hard to guess who his candidate is.
             
 The doctor is more complex here than the simplistic human fiend he sometimes seemed to be in the earlier books. He plays with his pet marmoset, Peko, the first living thing to be injected with the elixir vitae, and he actually seems human for a few minutes-- teasing the little creature by asking if it wants bananas or nuts when it really craves wine. After giving Peko a little bit in a saucer, Fu Manchu says, "You are a toper, Peko. And I am not sure that is good for you."
              
Also, while our favorite villain is usually composed and chillingly calm, he flies into a murderous rage here with little provocation. A henchman asks if the Devil Doctor may have injured someone's spinal cord in a delicate operation, and Fu Manchu throws an unexpected tantrum. He asks if he should beg to be re-enrolled at Heidelberg, the Sorbonne and Edinburgh to learn surgery. Then he raised his fists overhead and cries, "God of China! Give me strength to conquer myself or I shall kill this man!" A minute later, he's back to normal and acts like nothing happened.
         
 Fu Manchu has these outbursts now and then, usually with little apparent cause. It seems likely that he has a storm of violent emotions seething just under the surface, the price of maintaining his normal icy calm. He sublimates his emotions to his great ambition, but that energy is just bottled up and looking for outlets. This may be one of the reasons that, for most of his career, he employs such elaborate and horrifying means to torture and assassinate his enemies-- he's blowing off steam.
        
The most memorale element of this book are the necropolites, the Cold Men. These are literally Zombies, the corpses of Burmese dacoits brought back to a semblance of life. Grey-skinned, with staring deathly fishlike eyes, the Cold Men are freezing to the touch and very difficult to destroy. Even though Fu Manchu controls them by hypnotic commands, these goons are still motivated by the lusts that they had in life-- food and drink, violence, women. The Doctor makes a serious error in judgement when he assembles a squad of these necropolites to raid a research station. In a thunderstorm, the Cold Men somehow begin to communicate with each other in a group mind, break free and go on a murderous, looting rampage. It would be nine years before the movie NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD was released, but here Sax Rohmer presents a similar grisly image of an undead mob running wild.