The Devil Doctor

2 Responses to “The Devil Doctor”

1. 

   T. Simons 24. Aug, 2010 at 1:50 am #

   “Imagine a person, tall, slim and cats, high-shouldered, with a brow like Shakespeare and a face like Satan, … But a great spirit, with all the resources of science past and present … Imagine before, terrible creatures, and you represent a mental picture of Dr. Fu-Manchu, the yellow peril in a man. “

   This is the second volume in Sax Rohmer’s Fu Manchu series and the first full novel, it can also be found alternatively titled as “The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu.” (The first volume, if you want to start at the beginning is a collection of short stories, and can be found either with the title “The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu” or “the insidious Dr. Fu Manchu”). Most of this review will apply Rohmer’s Fu Manchu series in general – skip to the last paragraph for comments on this particular band.

   These books are wildly * * racist, not only by today’s standards, but even by contemporary standards, when it was written. The protagonist, “Nayland Smith,” is not only an Aryan, he has removed a name only one letter from Wayland of Norse legend, every single villain in the entire series has a “racial vote,” “mixed blood”, etc., with Jewish characters are not only greedy villains, they shrug their shoulders literally “racist”, whatever that means, so on so on. Later books in the series to take this to an extreme, an entire book focuses on the protagonists of the contemporary analogue of the protection of a clear Father Coughlin (an American radio preacher for his anti-Semitic and defense of Hitler and Mussolini, known in the 30s ), and this is the trend approaches absurd, when a band later published in 1939, Fu Manchu is seeking, in essence, analogous to assassinate a Hitler, to prevent the European war, while the protagonists to stop him and the dictator to save. try

   That is, if you are a fan of the early twentieth century, Pulp Fiction, you probably need that to read in spite of these books. Dr. Fu Manchu is an iconic character, directed and hinted at throughout the 20th Century fiction, and a variety of villains in James Bond Dr. No for Merciless Ming geared to all on this source. The general environment of adventurism, mystical artifacts, bizarre murders, etc., was extremely influential in his own right – the Indiana Jones franchise, in particular, owes much to Fu Manchu novels (although Lucas and Spielberg had the good sense to ensure that the Nazis were bad guys * *).

   The plots are standard pulp tropics, and the reader finds, Fu Manchu commit murder on a range of (clearly non-white) cats’-feet east and bizarre animals, now numb our protagonists in different ways with different exotic Eastern drugs. Usually there’s a beautiful and mysterious woman Eastern beguiling and / or to support our heroes in their various forms, etc. is Fu Manchu himself always much smarter than the protagonists, and they rule only by luck that some aid of those Eastern beauty “inscrutability” of the Doctor’s motives, or play on the Doctor’s “strange oriental honor.” Conversely, if the author write to the doctor in a corner, he manages just gets out there about unexplained mysterious powers (essentially “A wizard has it”).

   The overall effect of the repeated demonstrations of the Doctor of intelligence, honor, power, etc., with the protagonists of “incompetence and racism combined wild, is unique in my experience of reading: In the course of the series is the doctor more and more and more likeable and respectable, and the characters less and less, to the point that I think a modern reader may legitimately to the doctor as a “hero” in the later books (especially those in the first of the Hitler analogy).

   This particular volume is not my favorite in the series, the events in it are fairly repetitive and predictable, without the wildly over-the-top silliness of the later books in the series, my favorite moment is probably when the Doctor taunts the protagonists once again fall exactly fall into the same trap they have twice before. However, it is interesting to read, both as a cultural artifact of 1920, racism and as a building block of the 20th century Pulp Fiction and worth reading as part of the entire series .
   Rating: 5.3
2. 

   D. Cannon 24. Aug, 2010 at 2:26 am #

   This book also goes by the title “The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu and I believe is the 2nd in the series.

   I really enjoy working Rohmer. He knows how to keep on the edge of your seat and I would say he is one of the best English voltage / crime writers of all time.

   is yes, this book is a little racist, but remember It was written long ago in a very different time in England. If the original Fu Manchu novel, liked it then you’ll also fallen.
   Rating: 5.5

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