Bride of Fu Manchu

Rating:
Summary: Rohmer's finest hour
Review: THE BRIDE OF FU MANCHU (1933) is Sax Rohmer's finest Fu Manchu novel. Dashing, heroic narrator Alan Sterling is a worthy successor to Dr. Petrie (who appears older and wiser than the Petrie who narrated the first three books). It is to Rohmer's credit that he allowed his characters to age in real-time. Veterans were relegated to supporting roles or phased out entirely while younger, more vital characters carried on the work. The task in question is to prevent the dastardly Fu Manchu from unleashing bacterial warfare--years before Ian Fleming wrote ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE. The titular bride is Dr. Petrie and Karamaneh's daughter, Fleurette. Thought dead since infancy, she was spirited away by Fu Manchu to replace her mother in his service. Nayland Smith remains a patriotic defender of the Crown. Rohmer allowed the middle-aged Smith to take a back seat to his younger heroes, but the character remains an inspirational leader. THE BRIDE OF FU MANCHU is non-stop fun that more clearly demonstrates Rohmer's literary talents than any other book. The energy and exotic locales keep the story fresh and fast-paced all the way to the breathless conclusion.

Rating:
Summary: MORE FU FOR YOUR $$$
Review: This novel, volume 6 of Sax Rohmer's 14 Fu Manchu books, is perhaps the best of the lot so far for the simple reason that we see more of the good Dr. in this tale than in any of the others. The best parts of any Fu Manchu novel are always when Fu himself is present, talking and scheming and gloating and explaining, and in this book we see a LOT of him. This book marks another departure in the series, in that we have a new narrator (the third so far in the series): Alan Sterling, a botanist buddy of our old friend Dr. Petrie. The setting of the book is unique, too--the French Riviera. As the reader below has astutely observed, the plot of this book--spreading biological plague throughout the world--does seem to have influenced Ian Fleming in his later Bond novel, O.H.M.S.S. But there are other parallels as well. Fu Manchu's garden of deadly plants could be seen as a precursor to Blofeld's suicide gardens in "You Only Live Twice," and the character of Fu Manchu himself, as has been pointed out elsewhere, would seem to be an inspiration for the later Dr. No. Does anybody out there know whether or not Fleming was a Rohmer fan? Anyway, this is a terrific and fast-moving tale. The high point of the book occurs when Fu Manchu takes Sterling on a tour of his laboratory, showing him all the plant and animal monstrosities that he has created. This section takes up fully 1/4 of the novel, and is a real showstopper. We are also treated to the usual array of Burmese thugs, knockout drugs, opium use, hypnotism, "the Blessing of the Celestial Vision," a sea chase, and even (finally!) the arrest of Fu Manchu himself. Does Fu Manchu get convicted and serve a kajillion years in the slammer, as he deserves? With eight more books in the series to go, what do you think?!?!?!? Anyway, this is an exceptional entry in the Fu Manchu series.