boyajian@akov68.DEC (JERRY BOYAJIAN) (10/26/85)
This discussion started out in net.movies as it deals with the film REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS. I'm cross-posting this posting to net.books since it has to do with the Destroyer books. I suggest that any follow-up to this message, at least any follow-up that concerns the book series rather than the movie, be posted to net.books *only*. > From: rtp47!throopw (Wayne Throop) > For all you Destroyer fanatics out there, this movie doesn't correspond > to any of the books. (Not that I have an encyclopedic knowlege of the > Destroyer series, but events in the movie don't *seem* to be from the > "origin" book, and yet it *is* the "Remo meets Chiun" story.) Despite > the discrepancies, I'd have to say that if you liked the books, you will > like the movie. Since Sapir and Murphy (Destroyer creators) don't like the first book, I'm sure that they figure it's just as well to "rewrite" Remo's origin. I should perhaps point out that they have written the film novelization, and that Destroyer fans should probably buy and read it as an alternate version of the first novel. > From: uwmcsd1!jerry > I also liked the movie, but haven't read any of the Destroyer novels. Is > there one to start with, etc.? Any suggestions? Well, it's a little complicated here. Sapir and Murphy have said in print that the first two novels in the series (CREATED, THE DESTROYER and DEATH CHECK) suck, with the third one (CHINESE PUZZLE) being the first that really sets the true (ie. somewhat humorous) tone for the series. *They* suggest that new readers start with #3, then go back to read #'s 1 & 2. Me, I'd suggest that you start from the beginning, bull your way through the first two books (actually, I don't think that the second book is all that bad, plot-wise), and then on through the series. I read them all in sequential order, and I think they work best that way. Since not all that many of the early books are in print, this may prove difficult unless you have a good used bookstore handy. It's not all that crucial to read them in sequential order, at least after the first 20, but the first 20 books sort of work themselves up to a climax that works best if you read them in order. Even *then*, it won't be bad to read them out of order, with some exceptions: There is a recurring character in four of the first twenty books, named Nuihc (read it backwards if you want a clue). These four books are sort of a series within the series and these *should* be read in order. They are #7 (UNION BUST), #10 (TERROR SQUAD), #16 (OIL SLICK), and #20 (ASSASSINS PLAYOFF). --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Acton-Nagog, MA) UUCP: {decvax|ihnp4|allegra|ucbvax|...}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.ARPA