The Destroyer (novel series)

The Destroyer
Author Warren Murphy
Richard Sapir
Country United States
Language English
Genre Adventure fiction
Media type Print (hardcover and paperback), e-book

The Destroyer is a series of paperback novels about a U.S. government operative named Remo Williams, originally by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir. The first novel was published in 1971, although the manuscript was completed on June 25, 1963.[1] The main characters were adapted to film in Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985).[2] The film series is being adapted a second time; on this occasion, it will simply be called The Destroyer and will be directed by Shane Black.[3]

Authors

The series was initially co-authored by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir, with each writing a portion of each book separately. In the late 1970s, the relationship between the two became tense, and Sapir withdrew. In the early 1980s, Murphy began using ghostwriters to help with the series, among them his wife Molly Cochran.[4] In the mid-1980s, Sapir returned to participating in the series.

In the late 1980s, Will Murray took over the sole responsibility of writing the series, having written several previous books with either Murphy or Sapir. After Sapir's death, Murray continued the series until the late 1990s. When Murray left after novel #107, three novels were written by interim ghostwriters (#108 & #110 by Mike Newton; #109 by Alan Philipson). Jim Mullaney took over for novels #111-#131, followed by two more by Newton. Tim Somheil was ghostwriter from #134 through #145.

The last Gold Eagle Publishing book, Dragon Bones, was released in October 2006. On July 11, 2006, it was announced that The Destroyer would be moving to Tor Books. Somheil was replaced by Mullaney, who co-wrote the new novels with Warren Murphy. The first Tor novel, The New Destroyer: Guardian Angel, was published in May 2007, accompanied by a re-release of three older novels collected as The Best of the Destroyer. The second new novel, Choke Hold, was published October 31, followed by Dead Reckoning in April 2008 and Killer Ratings on July 28 of that year.

In 2002 Murphy started his own publishing house, Ballybunion, as a vehicle for Destroyer spin-off books. Ballybunion, now known as Destroyer Books, has reprinted The Assassin's Handbook, as well as the original works Destroyer World: The Assassin's Handbook II , Destroyer World: The Movie That Never Was (a screenplay he and Richard Sapir wrote for a Destroyer movie that was never optioned), The Way of the Assassin (the wisdom of Chiun), and New Blood, a collection of short stories written by fans of the series.

In 2011 the rights to most of The Destroyer novels reverted to Warren Murphy. They are being released as e-books. Murphy is also reissuing many of the older titles in print format.[5]

Description

The series' hero is Remo Williams, a Newark cop framed for a crime and sentenced to death. His death is faked by the government so he can be trained as an assassin for CURE, a secret organization set up by President Kennedy to defend the country by working outside the law. The head of CURE is Harold W. Smith, a man selected by the President for his brilliant mind but also because of his integrity. Smith was a former law instructor at Yale and served in the Office of Strategic Services during World War II.

Remo's trainer and father-figure is Chiun, a deadly assassin and the last Master of Sinanju. It has also emerged that Remo is the Avatar of Shiva, as prophesied in the legends of Sinanju. In 1985, a revision of The Assassin's Handbook was published as Inside Sinanju, a companion book to the series. This is narrated primarily in the first person, from Chiun's perspective. It covers anecdotes as well as information on the various villains and history of the series.

The series' basic formula had taken shape by about the third book, but many elements have been introduced into later stories about the early days of Remo's training. In the first book, the word Sinanju is not used at all to describe the martial arts that Chiun teaches Remo. Zen, karate, aikido and judo are used instead. Remo has many trainers for other aspects of being an undercover operative; he is taught to use different types of firearms, and trained in close-quarters assassination. He smokes tobacco, drinks alcohol, and eats red meat, all activities that would later prove harmful or impossible as his body was changed by the harsh Sinanju training regimen. Remo uses a gun to shoot somebody, although it is only to wound, and all his actual kills are hand-to-hand. He does make a conscious choice not to use weapons, after a fight in which he kills a man who had been pointing a gun at him. He realizes that Chiun never carried a gun and is over 70, whereas MacCleary, who had told him to always carry a gun, is dead. The retelling of Remo's origin in the story "The Day Remo Died" in The Assassin's Handbook and in Destroyer #120-121 resolve later developments more fully with his origins.

Villains

Remo and Chiun have encountered a number of colorful villains, both human and superhuman. Their foes have run the gamut of pulp fiction, from mobsters to mad scientists and satires of famous real-life people. Notable examples include:

Given their talents as assassins, few of their enemies have survived their initial encounter with Remo and Chiun, but some of the above have managed to escape and return in subsequent stories.

Other media

Film

In 1985, The Destroyer concept was adapted for the theatrical movie Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, starring Fred Ward as Williams and Joel Grey as Chiun. The film shows the first meeting of Remo and Chiun, and centers on a corrupt weapons manufacturer who is selling guns to the US Army.

In 2009, Dark Horizons indicated that a new Remo movie may be filmed with producers Charles Roven (The Dark Knight) and Steve Chasman (Transporter), in association with Columbia Pictures. Charley Parlapanides and Vlas Parlapanides are writing the screenplay.[6] In August 2014, Sony set Shane Black to direct the film, while Jim Uhls was set to write the script along with novel writer James Mullaney.[7]

Television

In 1988, an American television pilot, Remo Williams, aired but did not lead to a series. It was a follow-up to the first movie incorporating footage from the movie in the opening credits. It starred Jeffrey Meek as Williams, Roddy McDowall as Chiun, and Stephen Elliott as Harold W. Smith and is loosely based on the novella "The Day Remo Died".[8] Set one year after the events of the feature film, the pilot episode (titled "The Prophecy") was directed by Christian I. Nyby II and the teleplay written by Steven Hensley and J. Miyoko Hensley. The episode featured guest stars Carmen Argenziano, Judy Landers, and Andy Romano. Craig Safan, who scored the movie, returned to provide the music for the pilot; his score was later released by Intrada Records (paired with Safan's score for the TV movie Mission Of The Shark: The Saga Of The U.S.S. Indianapolis).

The television pilot had not been seen since 1988 until the Encore cable television channel began airing it in the summer of 2009.

Comic books

There have been several Destroyer comic book and magazine series published by Marvel.[9]

Audio book

Books 95–122 in the series were released in audiobook format by GraphicAudio.[10]

Series listing

  1. Created, The Destroyer (1971)
  2. Death Check (1972)
  3. Chinese Puzzle (1972)
  4. Mafia Fix (1972)
  5. Dr. Quake (1972)
  6. Death Therapy (1972)
  7. Union Bust (1973)
  8. Summit Chase (1973)
  9. Murder's Shield (1973)
  10. Terror Squad (1973)
  11. Kill or CURE (1973)
  12. Slave Safari (1973)
  13. Acid Rock (1973)
  14. Judgment Day (1974)
  15. Murder Ward (1974)
  16. Oil Slick (1974)
  17. Last War Dance (1974)
  18. Funny Money (1975)
  19. Holy Terror (1975)
  20. Assassin's Play-Off
  21. Deadly Seeds
  22. Brain Drain
  23. Child's Play
  24. King's Curse
  25. Sweet Dreams
  26. In Enemy Hands
  27. The Last Temple
  28. Ship of Death
  29. The Final Death
  30. Mugger Blood
  31. The Head Men
  32. Killer Chromosomes
  33. Voodoo Die
  34. Chained Reaction
  35. Last Call
  36. Power Play
  37. Bottom Line
  38. Bay City Blast
  39. Missing Link
  40. Dangerous Games
  41. Firing Line
  42. Timber Line
  43. Midnight Man
  44. Balance of Power
  45. Spoils of War
  46. Next of Kin
  47. Dying Space
  48. Profit Motive
  49. Skin Deep
  50. Killing Time
  51. Shock Value
  52. Fool's Gold
  53. Time Trial
  54. Last Drop
  55. Master's Challenge
  56. Encounter Group
  57. Date With Death
  58. Total Recall
  59. The Arms of Kali
  60. The End of the Game
  61. Lords of the Earth
  62. The Seventh Stone
  63. The Sky Is Falling
  64. The Last Alchemist
  65. Lost Yesterday
  66. Sue Me
  67. Look Into My Eyes
  68. An Old-Fashioned War
  69. Blood Ties
  70. The Eleventh Hour
  71. Return Engagement
  72. Sole Survivor
  73. Line of Succession
  74. Walking Wounded
  75. Rain of Terror
  76. The Final Crusade
  77. Coin of the Realm
  78. Blue Smoke And Mirrors
  79. Shooting Schedule
  80. Death Sentence
  81. Hostile Takeover
  82. Survival Course
  83. Skull Duggery
  84. Ground Zero
  85. Blood Lust
  86. Arabian Nightmare
  87. Mob Psychology
  88. The Ultimate Death
  89. Dark Horse
  90. Ghost in the Machine
  91. Cold Warrior
  92. The Last Dragon
  93. Terminal Transmission
  94. Feeding Frenzy
  95. High Priestess
  96. Infernal Revenue
  97. Identity Crisis
  98. Target of Opportunity
  99. The Color of Fear
  100. Last Rites
  101. Bidding War
  102. Unite and Conquer
  103. Engines Of Destruction
  104. Angry White Mailmen
  105. Scorched Earth
  106. White Water
  107. Feast or Famine
  108. Bamboo Dragon
  109. American Obsession
  110. Never Say Die
  111. Prophet of Doom
  112. Brain Storm
  113. The Empire Dreams
  114. Failing Marks
  115. Misfortune Teller
  116. The Final Reel
  117. Deadly Genes
  118. Killer Watts
  119. Fade To Black
  120. The Last Monarch
  121. A Pound of Prevention
  122. Syndication Rites
  123. Disloyal Opposition
  124. By Eminent Domain
  125. The Wrong Stuff
  126. Air Raid
  127. Market Force
  128. The End of the Beginning
  129. Father To Son
  130. Waste Not, Want Not
  131. Unnatural Selection
  132. Wolf's Bane
  133. Troubled Waters
  134. Bloody Tourists
  135. Political Pressure
  136. Unpopular Science
  137. Industrial Evolution
  138. No Contest
  139. Dream Thing
  140. Dark Ages
  141. Frightening Strikes
  142. Mindblower
  143. Bad Dog
  144. Holy Mother
  145. Dragon Bones


In 2007, Tor Books published four books in the series; due to contractual issues, the titles were changed to "The New Destroyer," although the characters were unchanged. The numbering also restarted, so the first book is called "The New Destroyer #1," rather than "Destroyer #146."

  1. Guardian Angel (May 2007)
  2. Choke Hold (October 2007)
  3. Dead Reckoning (April 2008)
  4. Killer Ratings (July 2008)

The series also includes several novellas, now available online from many of the different e-reader companies:

  1. The Day Remo Died (a reissue of the story from The Assassin's Handbook)
  2. Savage Song (March 2012)
  3. Number Two (October 2012)

Even though both of the original creators are deceased, new books in the series are still being published:

150. The End of the World (December 5, 2012)
151. Bully Pulpit (February 18, 2016)
152. Continental Divide (forthcoming)

See also

References

  1. ↑ Objectif Cinéma : Warren Murphy - Novelist, writer of The Destroyer and Clint Eastwood's The Eiger Sanction
  2. ↑ Mathews, Jack (October 18, 1985). "Will The Adventure Go On For Remo Williams?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
  3. ↑ Erik Hayden (21 August 2014). "Shane Black to Direct 'The Destroyer' for Sony". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  4. ↑ Cochran, Molly. "About Molly". Molly Cochran. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  5. ↑ List of Kindle Destroyers
  6. ↑ "Today in bizarre remake news: Remo Williams; the adventure to begin again". AV Club. Retrieved 2012-04-28.
  7. ↑ "Shane Black to Direct 'The Destroyer' for Sony". hollywoodreporter.com.
  8. ↑ Sinanju.com: TV pilot "Remo Williams - The Prophecy" Summary and Images
  9. ↑ Destroyer Comic Books - Plots, covers, and more!
  10. ↑ "Destroyer". GraphicAudio. Retrieved 2012-02-10.

External links

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