Warren Murphy’s series of Destroyer novels were one of my favorite pleasures as a kid who read everything. Reading them in retrospect, I have no honest explanation as of to why my parents allowed me to read them at the age of 8. They were awesome, don’t get me wrong. They still are, in fact. But they were full of so much sex, swearing, action, killing, and subversive and hilarious satire that it’s a wonder I didn’t end up trying to be a government paid assassin of some sort.
Revisiting the books over the years I constantly slap my forehead, wondering how I was given such negligent parents who allowed me to read it, but I was constantly grateful, too.
I’d play “Remo Williams” on the playground as much as Star Wars. They even took me to the drive in to see the wonderfully horrible “Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins,” starring Fred Ward as the new apprentice of Sinanju.
Well, I’m a more sheltering parent than mine were and have been looking for a way to share the exploits of the House of Sinanju with my son.
Well, in all of his infinite wisdom, Warren Murphy and his co-writer on this project, Gerald Welch, have given us stories in that world that are friendly to younger readers and will, hopefully, serve as a gateway drug to the real deal when I deem my kids old enough to check it out. Legacy is a series in the world of the Destroyer that follows the children of Remo Williams and their Sinanju training and their work thwarting evil plots.
The first book, Forgotten Son, faces them off against an army of invading Mexican Ninjas. The book maintains the same breathless humour and action that grace the adult series, but in a way that both me and a younger demographic will enjoy. Sure, it errs more on the side of conservatism when it picks its political satire these days, but if you can get through that, you’re rewarded anyway.
I would highly recommend picking this up for yourself and anyone else half interested in the series. And while you’re at it, go ahead and start picking up the original series for a re-read. The books are all quick, light reads that will make you happy. And, as I write this, the first book is free on Kindle for some reason.
Legacy: Forgotton Son is $4.99 for Kindle and $9.99 in print. Pick it up now.