The Dr. Fu Manchu (A Supervillain Trilogy): The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu, The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu & The Hand of Fu Manchu

I am not reviewing a particular book however I feel if a parent is trying to encourage his child to read, any of Rohmer's stories may will be a good place to start. I was 12 years of age when I read my first Sax Rohmer story, "The Green Eyes of Bast." I can remember exactly where I was and the feeling of creepiness that enthralled me. A combination of mystery and horror is a good combination to entrap the imagination of a youngster. With all else vying for your kids' attention these days getting them to enjoy reading just for the pure fun of it can prove difficult at best. I found that introducing my teenage son to Mr. Rohmer worked resulting in his reading becoming a habit that has stayed with him into adulthood. There are of course many other authors that may well do the same but Rohmer worked for me as well as my son. What the heck, why not give it a try? The Green Eyes of Bast - Sax Rohmer

This contains the first three Fu-Manchu books. The titles they give them are: The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu The Devil Doctor The Si-Fan Mysteries The breathless but brave and unrelenting goofball Nayland Smith and his stoic offsider and chronicler Petrie pursue the genius superman, the ultimate embodiment of the Yellow Peril, Dr Fu-Manchu. Helped along the way by his beautiful but unwilling servant Kâramanèh is a game of capture and escape and disguise around London. You have to give the good doctor credit for trying to kill 'em with poison gas stashed in a mummy's tomb. The guy can't be all bad. He has a monkey. Very entertaining. 4 out of 5 Fu-Manchu is back, and he has added to his collection of marauding monkey-like miscreants, and obtained a baboon killer. Not to mention a cane that hides an Australian death adder. Kâramanèh is still running around prominently, and very enigmatically. If she is trying to be sneaky, she definitely needs to lay off the perfume, according to Petrie's nose, anyway. Hound of the Baskervilles scenarios with writers of Chinese descent, haunted houses and more. Although Nayland Smith shows a few more signs of cleverness here, he still falls for a trap, and is about to be a rather nasty form of rat dinner. Cue Egyptian babe, resplendent in harem gear and packing heat. At the end, they could have even used a big old great dane, as a mummy-man is running around the ship they are travelling on to finish with. 3.5 out of 5 Not as good as the first two Fu-Manchu books, perhaps partly due to a fair lack of Fu-Manchu. He does have some excuse though, being shot in the head at the end of the last book, and hence assumed dead by our ertswhile heroes. It seems he is not, though, just in a bad way, and as such, abducts a top surgeon, and Petrie to assist. Or, at least his crew does, he is having problems just sitting up and talking with a bullet in his head. They set their sights on the Si-Fan organisation, the overlords of the good Doctor, and perhaps a mystery woman in charge. Fu-Manchu is in a bit of trouble with them himself, it seems. 3 out of 5

I wish someone had told me earlier how good these books are. I picked up a used paperback of "The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu" and, even before I had reached page 50, I knew that I had to have more. I therefore rushed out to find these omnibus editions. Sax Rohmer wrote the Fu Manchu stories between 1912 and the late 1950s. From a chronological standpoint, then, but also thematically, Rohmer serves as a literary bridge between Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories and Ian Fleming's James Bond. Put the political considerations aside, and enjoy these tales as a reflection of the times. They are worthy of a wider, modern audience.