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bookfortbuilder's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Exactly what you’d expect from this type of book. Nothing new, not really surprising. Characters are 2 dimensional at best, except the women which are 1 dimensional. Everyone is white except the ancient Asian secrets of martial arts teacher. It’s not even a great parody if that’s what it’s supposed to be. This series was recommended to me because someone I know was written into the sixth book. I’m not going to excuse the misogyny and the racism by saying it’s “old school.” Just because it’s old doesn’t make it less racist or misogynistic.
posies23's review against another edition
4.0
Yes, it's dated. Yes, there are sections that will make you cringe because of the world view. But if you read it as a satire, which I really think it is, it's really funny. It's also a solid adventure novel in the "men's adventure book" vein. (Which makes sense, because that's exactly what it is. It would run for 150+ novels, 2 movies, comics, and magazines, right into the 21st century!)
irish's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
gengelcox's review
adventurous
fast-paced
1.5
I remember running across this book series in the spinner racks and on used bookstore shelves when I was a teenager and enjoying them at the time, possibly for the focus on the use of martial arts over guns and knives (I was a big fan of the TV show Kung Fu and the Marvel comic Master of Kung Fu), but also how this series didn’t take itself as seriously as other pulp action books, even ridiculous ones like Doc Savage. The humor between Chiun, Korean master of the original of all martial arts, and ex-policeman Remo Williams is what kept me coming back.
I’m not sure I ever read the first one back then, but I decided to start from the beginning because, one, I’m a completist who does things like that, and, two, why not? To answer that second question, it’s because the first book really isn’t that good. Or, to put it another way, Murphy and Sapir wrote the first book still in the mindset of going toe-to-toe with Mac Bolan, the Executioner, and hadn’t learned yet what set Remo apart from the other two-bit action heroes. There’s a new prologue in this digital edition, supposedly written by Chiun, that contains all the humor of the later volumes, but the novel itself lacks that spark.
klfjoat's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
True 70s pulp. The main male characters are as 3-dimensional as cardboard, though the writers have tried to give them depth with ridiculous faux-introspective ramblings. The female characters are 1-dimensional and written as the fever dreams of misogynists.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Physical abuse, Alcohol, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexism
acknud's review against another edition
3.0
Fun, quick, guy read. I have seen these books compared to women's romance novels as a romance for guys, (the romance being killing, karate, sex and violence)! It was a kill some time read but definitely nothing heady!
elden's review against another edition
3.0
Years ago I read a book about a superhuman spy who was trained in martial arts. I thought it was pretty good and forgot all about it. Every now and then I would think about it but could never remember what it was, until I found out that it was a single book in this series. I still don't remember what book it was but I plan on reading the books in the series until I find it.
Anyways I found this book to be entertaining, and I am writing this review after reading the 5th book in the series. This is definitely not a deep book but it was a fun light read, though when reading this series I felt that it is quite dated already and definitely is a series that will never be considered a classic.
Anyways I found this book to be entertaining, and I am writing this review after reading the 5th book in the series. This is definitely not a deep book but it was a fun light read, though when reading this series I felt that it is quite dated already and definitely is a series that will never be considered a classic.
shubba_the_emoreader's review against another edition
I have tried and tried! At first I thought it was ok but I just can't get into it :( Hopefully I will be able to do a book spotlight for the blog tour :(
opifex's review
4.0
All in all a pretty fun read. I felt that Chiun for all the impact he seemed to have on the story seemed to have remarkably little page time which was awkward, and Cynthia was a little to stereotypical naive rich girl for my taste (and being the only woman with any real presence in the story made her a little too noticeable for such a weak portrayal) but those were my only complaints. The action is paced reasonably well and the story is interesting.
whatmeworry's review
3.0
A cut above most of the other Men's Adventure series this has a nice line in humour and cynicism as well as a (reasonably) believable hero in Remo Williams. Lighter on action than I might have liked and a little slow in places (especially the middle third) but when Remo is on the page it crackles nicely.