Wolf's Bane (Destroyer Series, No. 132)

Rating:
Summary: Here we go again
Review: Another new writer and another reason for someone to screw with a series that has been in publication since 1972. Too many glairing mistakes, too many changes in the character development,and too many wasted scenes. About the only good thing out of it was a hint on where the series may be going if it can survive another writer who does not understand or care about the story line, the characters or the fans. Pick up your paycheck and let someone in there who can do the job right. I case you think this is harsh I have just started #133 and I am finding the same problems. Chuin help us all!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: easily earns less than one star
Review: Despite the negative reviews, I found The Destroyer #132 (Wolf's Bane) very entertaining. I've read over a hundred of the Destroyer series paperbacks and found this one in tune with the story and just as good as any of the others. It's worth the reading if you indeed enjoy the Destroyer series.

Rating:
Summary: Believer
Review: Gold Eagle must not have read any reviews. If they did we would not have seen this sad case filler book. At least this time the author didn't have Remo smoking but it is still bad.

Rating:
Summary: Better than expected, but still below average
Review: I actually put off reading this book for a couple of weeks. Remembering the last Destroyers Mike Newton wrote, I was expecting the absolute worst. To be fair, many of the reviews here are unduly harsh. At least Mike Newton went to the effort of making this newer book fit in the Destroyer timeline. Approaching this book was like a trip to the dentist. Like expecting a root canal, but had a cavity filled instead. Sure, it was still painful, but not nearly as bad as I expected.

Destroyer purists can nit-pick the book to death. Heck, they/we can find fault with pretty much any Destroyer book. Any casual fan of the series won't have a problem with this book. Even the devoted fans will have to admit that book did not "screw up" the timeline like Mike Newton's earlier books. This book does not rank in the top 10 Destroyers, but neither does it rank in the bottom 10.

As I mentioned, I started out with the worst possible expectations, and came away mildly surprised. The plot was decent, although the author failed to nail down Chiun and Remo, and did make some pretty glaring mistakes. Smitty and the sidekick had really, really, small parts to play, and Remo's natural attraction to the chicks was totally absent. Chiun was vulgar, and Remo needed a watch.

We also did NOT need a half chapter narrative on the history of Smith and CURE! So I'd rate this book as below average, but not the total disaster I expected

Rating:
Summary: Better than expected, but still below average
Review: I actually put off reading this book for a couple of weeks. Remembering the last Destroyers Mike Newton wrote, I was expecting the absolute worst. To be fair, many of the reviews here are unduly harsh. At least Mike Newton went to the effort of making this newer book fit in the Destroyer timeline. Approaching this book was like a trip to the dentist. Like expecting a root canal, but had a cavity filled instead. Sure, it was still painful, but not nearly as bad as I expected.

Destroyer purists can nit-pick the book to death. Heck, they/we can find fault with pretty much any Destroyer book. Any casual fan of the series won't have a problem with this book. Even the devoted fans will have to admit that book did not "screw up" the timeline like Mike Newton's earlier books. This book does not rank in the top 10 Destroyers, but neither does it rank in the bottom 10.

As I mentioned, I started out with the worst possible expectations, and came away mildly surprised. The plot was decent, although the author failed to nail down Chiun and Remo, and did make some pretty glaring mistakes. Smitty and the sidekick had really, really, small parts to play, and Remo's natural attraction to the chicks was totally absent. Chiun was vulgar, and Remo needed a watch.

We also did NOT need a half chapter narrative on the history of Smith and CURE! So I'd rate this book as below average, but not the total disaster I expected

Rating:
Summary: Remo Goes to the Big Easy
Review: I believe that this is the first Destroyer set in New Orleans, which is about time. Remo and Chiun are up against a loup-garou (werewolf) who has been enhanced by none-other-than Dr. Judith White (evil villain from the previous Destroyer installment). The loup-garou and his wolf-human pack have been hired out by a mobster to off and eat witnesses for the mobster's trial. Remo and Chiun need to save the one remaining witness from becoming the next wolf meal. The real entertainment in this book comes not from the main plot line, which is ho hum, but from the brilliant description and desecration of Louisiana politics. There is also a clever take on Mexican soap operas, though nothing like the one-paragraph soap-opera summaries that were absolutely spot-on in the early installments in the Destroyer series. It seems that the current ghost author is still getting his Destroyer legs. We see Remo interested in a female lead, and absolutely nothing happens between them. Also, the feel of the dialog between Remo and Chiun is not quite right. Alas, there is not as much of CURE director Harold Smith and his assistant Mark Howard in this book.

Rating:
Summary: Good News For True Destroyer Fans
Review: No, I'm not talking about #132 - although it wasn't nearly as bad as 108 -110. Hopefully the new writer will be more along the lines of Will Murray or Jim Mullaney.

The good news is The Assassin's Handbook #2 which is now available at WarrenMurphy dot com. Not only does it have an excellent novella written by Jim Mullaney, but also some other fun material (thus the subtitle: Chiun's Big Book of Rainy Day Fun). A few autographed pre-release copies may still be available if you hurry. I'm glad I got mine!

Rating:
Summary: Just getting started
Review: Ok this is the first book by a new writer, will let his style and word usage slide for now. There are some changes to the interplay between Remo and Chun, looking to see where that goes. Do not change the character of Remo too much.

Rating:
Summary: Not the worst, but very bad
Review: There should be a rating of zero stars for this book. I thought the other reviewers were being kind to give it one star until I realized that that is the lowest rating; and the reviewer giving it two stars was overly generous. This book was like a bad song sung off key. The characters are all there, but the lame story and the substandard dialogue were just awful. The author does not even do his homework about the area: Louisiana doesn't have mangrove swamps, Audubon Park is no where near the French Quarter, and Tchoupitoulas Street is not in the French Quarter. Chiun should do us all a favor and deal with the Gold Eagle execs and this pretender.