Daughter of Fu Manchu

Fu Manchu #4

by Sax Rohmer

"The powers of Hell will meet tonight!"

Fear was in Nayland Smith's voice--for the signal had gone out from the Tomb of the Black Ape, and chiefs of the terrible cults of the East were gathering at a hidden oasis. Dacoits, Phansigars, Thugs, Hashishin would meet to do the dreadful bidding of The Daughter of Fu Manchu.

Fate gives Smith one chance to smash her plot--and one incredible ally...Fu Manchu himself!

Genres: Mystery, Pulp, Fiction, Adventure, Thriller, Crime, Espionage

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1931

About the author

AKA Arthur Sarsfield Ward (real name); Michael Furey.

Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward (15 February 1883 - 1 June 1959), better known as Sax Rohmer, was a prolific English novelist. He is best remembered for his series of novels featuring the master criminal Dr. Fu Manchu.

Born in Birmingham to a working class family, Rohmer initially pursued a career as a civil servant before concentrating on writing full-time.

He worked as a poet, songwriter, and comedy sketch writer in Music Hall before creating the Sax Rohmer persona and pursuing a career writing weird fiction.

Like his contemporaries Algernon Blackwood and Arthur Machen, Rohmer claimed membership to one of the factions of the qabbalistic Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Rohmer also claimed ties to the Rosicrucians, but the validity of his claims has been questioned. His physician and family friend, Dr. R. Watson Councell may have been his only legitimate connection to such organizations. It is believed that Rohmer may have exaggerated his association in order to boost his literary reputation as an occult writer.

His first published work came in 1903, when the short story The Mysterious Mummy was sold to Pearson's Weekly. He gradually transitioned from writing for Music Hall performers to concentrating on short stories and serials for magazine publication. In 1909 he married Rose Elizabeth Knox.

He published his first novel Pause! anonymously in 1910. After penning Little Tich in 1911 (as ghostwriter for the Music Hall entertainer) he issued the first Fu Manchu novel, The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu, was serialized from October 1912 - June 1913. It was an immediate success with its fast-paced story of Denis Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie facing the worldwide conspiracy of the 'Yellow Peril'. The Fu Manchu stories, together with his more conventional detective series characters—Paul Harley, Gaston Max, Red Kerry, Morris Klaw, and The Crime Magnet—made Rohmer one of the most successful and well-paid authors of the 1920s and 1930s.

Rohmer also wrote several novels of supernatural horror, including Brood of the Witch-Queen. Rohmer was very poor at managing his wealth, however, and made several disastrous business decisions that hampered him throughout his career. His final success came with a series of novels featuring a female variation on Fu Manchu, Sumuru.

After World War II, the Rohmers moved to New York only returning to London shortly before his death. Rohmer died in 1959 due to an outbreak of influenza ("Asian Flu").

There were thirteen books in the Fu Manchu series in all (not counting the posthumous The Wrath of Fu Manchu. The Sumuru series consist of five books.

His wife published her own mystery novel, Bianca in Black in 1954 under the pen name, Elizabeth Sax Rohmer. Some editions of the book mistakenly credit her as Rohmer's daughter. Elizabeth Sax Rohmer and Cay Van Ash, her husband's former assistant, wrote a biography of the author, Master of Villainy, published in 1972.

Reviews

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fourth novel in the Fu Manchu series takes a slightly different approach than the first three. This is likely due to the huge time gap between publications with the first three being published from 1913 to 1917. A full 14 years passed before publication of this fourth book in 1931. Consequently, this one seems to be more of a single-story novel rather than a chain of linked sub-stories. Another major change is that the previous novels were told from the first-person perspective of Dr. Petrie, whereas this one (and the next) is told by Shan Greville. He is the assistant of the Orientalist Sir Lionel Barton, who we’ve seen before in the first and third books.

Nayland Smith of course, joins Greville, Petrie, Inspector Weymouth and several other characters from the first three books but this time find themselves up against the Si-Fan council which seems to have been penetrated by a rival to Dr. Fu Manchu himself. In fact, the good doctor is thought dead after the events of the third book (again) and it is his daughter, Fah Lo Suee, who turns out to be as equally diabolical as her father, if not more so. She takes on various disguises just as her father has done but I won’t mention them here to avoid spoilers. Most of the action takes place in Egypt, including the el-Kharga oasis and include wonderfully pulpy things like zombie drugs, mummy tombs, hypnosis, poison sprays, and a multitude of assassins. And let’s not forget the Tomb of the Black Ape, which is worth the price of admission all by itself. A romantic angle involving Greville and a lovely lady photographer (unusual to be sure back in the era in which this was written), is in place as if our heroes don’t already have enough to fight for.

The following book, The Mask of Fu-Manchu is a direct sequel to this one so be sure to read these in order. Both are often considered among the best of the series.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daughter of Fu Manchu by Sax Rohmer is the 4th book in Rohmer's Fu Manchu thriller / fantasy series. I've probably said this before when discussing the other books I've read, but it reminds me of my days of attending Saturday matinees at the cinema when my dad ran the theater. He always started off the movie with the 15 minute serial, some adventure that always ended with the hero facing a cliff hanger and making you go back the next Saturday to see how it would all come out in the wash.

Daughter of Fu Manchu is the literary equivalent of this serial. Each chapter is a mini-serial with the hero Naylan Smith and his friends, Inspector Weymouth of Scotland Yard, Dr. Petrie and archeologist Shan Greville battling with their enemies the Si Fan, lead by Fu Manchu's daughter, Fa Lo Suee. She has taken over this evil organization after her father was defeated (died) in previous book. The story starts at an archeological dig in Egypt where Shan works for Sir Lionel Barton. Barton has collapsed and Shan is rushing to Luxor to find Dr Petrie who may have a potion to cure Barton. Upon his return with Petrie and Weymouth, they discover Barton's body missing.

An investigation of the dig, especially the Tomb of the Black Ape turns up Barton and a dead Dacoit. The tomb has been ransacked and items removed, items that might be of import to the Si Fan in their plans to create an evil Eastern empire in Russia, including China and Turkey, etc. The hunt for this group will lead them to an encounter with the Si Fan in a house north of the dig, where Smith and Shan will be endangered. It's a steady theme as the story moves from Egypt to London. The battle is interminable with Naylan Smith and his friends always seeming to be a step behind, but at the same time, seeming to the tide before disaster strikes.

It's a non-stop action - filled story and somewhat confusing as it jumps from location to location. But always entertaining and with a nice surprise at the end. I'm enjoying reading this series and have a few more on my book shelf still to enjoy. (3 stars)

[Kent Clark · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've long wanted to read a Fu Manchu book and was excited to find this old copy for 5 dollars but it ended up a disappointment. Too many references to Egypt and the Middle East that I'm not familiar with. Too many characters to easily keep track of. Especially when they are all similar to each other. And too many patronizing references to other races and women. When the 'hero' referred to Fu Manchu as a 'threat to white supremacy' I was done. Besides that, the 'daughter' in the title isn't in it very much and I found myself sympathetic to Fu-Manchu. Who's supposed to be the ULTIMATE EVIL. Oh well.

[Rubén Lorenzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Las historias de Fu Manchú no hay que leerlas de seguido, pues son tan similares que al final saturarían. Por eso he recuperado la saga muchos meses después. En esta novela están los ingredientes habituales: intrigas, secuestros, drogas imposibles, una mujer bonita y perversa que en este caso es la hija del mítico villano, planes de dominación mundial, etc.

Con esta introducción os preguntaréis por qué le he puesto cuatro estrellas. El motivo es que me he divertido leyendo y las páginas han volado. No es especialmente memorable, pero sí una novela de peligro amarillo entretenida y válida.

¿A quién va dirigida? A quien disfrute de una aventura llena de conspiraciones y peligros que van gestándose en las sombras hasta ver la luz. A veces son igual de complejas las maquinaciones de los buenos y de los malos, de modo que la intriga, hasta cierto punto, está asegurada.

[Stuart Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Fu-Manchu is mostly dead and has been for the last 13 years. Now his evilly beautiful daughter, Fah Lo Suee, takes over the mantle of Dark Overlord and head of the nefarious Si Fan. The action takes us to Egypt, where Dr. Petrie arrives just too late to save the life of oddball Egyptologist Sir Lionel Barton. Sir Nayland Smith is now a member of Scotland Yard and is in London so Sir Lionel's associate Dr. Greville is called upon to aid in foiling the plot of the Yellow Lady. As usual this involves a great deal of ill-conceived plans, blundering headfirst into obvious traps, sandbagging, kidnapping, escapes from inescapable traps, clever disguises, hypnotism, reviving the dead, and malignant dwarves.

This story is different from the previous ones in that it is told from the POV of a new character, young Egyptologist Dr. Greville. He is associated with Dr. Petrie and acts so much like him that it is easy to forget that this is a different person. He even has an easily startled girlfriend to moon over and get kidnapped. The move outside the direct perspective of Dr. Petrie to that of an outsider reminds us of just how weird and confusing the world of Fu-Manchu really is. Sadly, it also moves much of the action offstage, and vitally important plot points are settled with an info-dump after the fact while sitting in the parlor smoking pipes. "You're probably wondering how I just now showed up alive and dressed like an Afghan Prince when the last time you saw me was a month ago in a locked room with 13 trained assassins moving in to kill me. Here's how it happened..."

Much of the action is familiar and many familiar devices are used by Fah Lo Suee. Several old characters are reunited. All this rehashing of things is more easily understandable when you recognize that this book was written in 1931 and the previous story appeared in 1917. Rohmer was reviving a series abandoned for 14 years and it was necessary to reacquaint the readers both old and new with the basics of Fu-Manchu's world. He manages to introduce new elements anyway, including a schism in the Si Fan. He's still entertaining and maintains his offhanded offensiveness to the non-white races, this time focused heavily on Egyptians and Arabs. He is also unflattering to dwarves, but since they are related to Leprechauns and pure evil his position is perfectly acceptable.

[Dfordoom · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Daughter of Fu Manchu, Sax Rohmer

The Daughter of Fu Manchu, published in 1931, was the fifth of Sax Romer’s novels featuring the fiendish but brilliant Dr Fu Manchu.

Fu Manchu was one of the first diabolical criminal masterminds in fiction, and remains one of the most interesting of the breed. While the books have often been accused of racism Fu Manchu is in fact a rather complex character. It’s made clear that he is a man of honour, a man of his word. And on some occasions he even finds himself on the same side as his arch-nemesis Nayland Smith. It’s also made clear that he is a man of vast intellectual gifts.

At the beginning of The Daughter of Fu Manchu it is assumed that Dr Fu Manchu himself is dead, although there are those who have their doubts as to whether such a man could really have been killed. Strange events are unfolding in the Egyptian desert at an archaeological site. The leader of the expedition, Sir Lionel Barton, has died mysteriously but his assistant Greville (who is the narrator of the story) receives a message indication that perhaps Sir Lionel is not really dead.

Greville has confided in Dr Petrie, who sees uncanny similarities to earlier cases in which Dr Fu Manchu was involved. But surely he can’t still be alive? Dr Petrie can’t help wishing he could talk to his old friend Sir Denis Nayland Smith, a man who knows more about Fu Manchu than any man alive and who has been responsible for foiling several of his fiendish schemes. But no-one seems to know where Nayland Smith is.

Of course, as the title indicates, our heroes soon find themselves engaged in a battle of wits with the Lady Fah Lo Suee, the daughter of Fu Manchu. She is almost as brilliant as her father, and every bit as dangerous and ruthless.

There are corpses that are not really dead, ransacked tombs, exotic poisons, vast conspiracies and ancient secret societies as well as a variety of fanatical religious assassins. Rohmer’s style is pulpy and breathless! With lots of exclamation points! But he knows how to tell an exciting story.

And the stories have both a fascinating villain and a colourful hero who is just as much of a larger-than-life figure as the villain.

Sax Rohmer (1883-1959) wrote many books aside from the Fu Manchu books, including some rather good horror, and also the Sumuru series (a kind of female version of Fu Manchu). But it’s the Fu Manchu novels for which he is remembered. They’re great fun if you can accept their lack of political correctness (and that’s something you have to do for most of the pulp and popular genre fiction of the first half of the 20th century).

[Stuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

For some reason I have fallen into a recent binge of noir style mysteries: Sherlock Holmes, Cornell Woolrich and Sax Rohmer. There is a certain feel that is unique to the time periods 1890s-1950s.

The problem with the Fu Machu novels is their racist overtones. They are written from the perspective of a British Empire centered culture. The books express the view that the "civilizing" white world is the only light in a world of mysterious and exotic savages.

With that said, it doesn't mean the books should be abandoned and forgotten. Dr. Fu Manchu and his daughter Fah Lo Suee are unique characters despite their stereotype nuances. They portray an inner energy that make them truly malevolent villains.

Unfortunately, the story is weak. It is told in long paragraphs of narrative, a characteristic of this type of literature, but poorly executed here. The story concerns Fah Lo Suee's plot to take control of the Si Fan, the global criminal organization formerly controlled by the long dead Fu Manchu. As events unfold, we learn that her father is alive and that he is not prepared to give up control just quite yet.

Both heroes and villains do dumb things and coincidences pop up from time to time to move the plot along. This really bogs down the center of the book.

Written in 1931, its final chapter is its best. Here we see the climax of the Si Fan civil war. It is understated and at first glance lacks a dramatic conclusion, but in the last chapter we see the strength of Fu Manchu and the hate/respect relationship between him and Nayland Smith of Scotland Yard. Rohmer even gives the venerable villain a positive motive. Fu Manchu began his rise to power on the hope of making China a better place.

The final chapter is also prophetic. It predicts the next world war (implying that it was set in motion by Fah Lo Suee before Fu Manchu could stop her). It also summarizes the Western European fear that Asia will rise and united from Turkey to Japan to become the new center of world power.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well these books are terrible in the best way possible: the writing is lurid, the heroes are racist, sexist, and generally clueless. So whenever I read Rohmer, I always root for the good Dr. Manchu.

Not sure if he intentionally made the villains so appealing. Their cubist decorated hideouts, the elaborate, intricate schemes involving hash, poison snakes, secret passageways, and evil acrobatic stranglers. The league of bad guys (Council of Seven/Si Fan) and their plans to get foreign intervention out of their home countries (oh horrors!)--if I was able to step into the pages of these books, would have me immediately join forces with them.

It's fun reading it the other way around, being pro-powers of darkness, since they almost always sort of triumph. Usually a few "good" guys wind up killed or in the hospital, and whatever nefarious plan is narrowly thwarted at the end, but all the bad guys manage to escape (usually one of the stranglers gets caught but they're expendable anyways) .

This book is fun because it involves Fu Manchu's half-Russian, all-bad, daughter, Fah Lo Suee. Her one mistake is wanting the imbecilic Greville "as a male concubine of this Eastern Circe!"

[Lynnelle Jellyman · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Daughter of Fu Manchu is the fourth of 13 books in the Fu Manchu series, four of which I inherited from my late Uncle Basil. Maybe I have need to have read the previous books in the series to fully appreciate this one, because I was rather underwhelmed.
It was easy to read and occasionally somewhat gripping, but generally the characters were shallow, the plot full of holes that conveniently couldn't be explained on account of one character or another's unconsciousness, and, most painfully to me, the writing, or more specifically, the dialogue, was incredibly disjointed and at times nearly impossible to follow. Yes, it is full of racial stereotypes, but as critic Jack Adrian wrote, "Rohmer's own racism was careless and casual, a mere symptom of his times". Apparently Rohmer himself wasn't even too fond of this book. Maybe this book was the bad egg of the series and I need to read another before I write them off...

[LordSlaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating, enjoyable, deliciously pulpy entry in the Fu-Manchu series. Instead of Dr. Petrie, a new narrator, a Mr. Shan Greville, assistant to noted adventurer Lionel Barton, who has appeared in previous novels, tells us this tale. That, and the fact that the first part of the novel is set in Egypt, and involves a mystery surrounding an ancient tomb, lends a novel freshness to Daughter of Fu Manchu, making it somewhat different from previous books in the series. The daughter herself is a supremely wonderful femme fatale.

Rohmer's writing, as always, is vigorous, descriptive, evocative. I particularly like this passage from the novel: "She drew a step nearer. The perfumed aura of her personality began to envelop me. Choice was being filched from the bargain. Those mad urgings which I had known in the green-gold room in Limehouse began to beat upon my brain. I clenched my fists. I could possibly buy the safety of the Western world with a kiss!"

Delightful stuff.

[Benn Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, unlike the first three "Fu Manchu" books, this one is more of an actual novel. That's about the only improvement over the previous entries in this series. We still never really see the novel's Big Bad, Fah Lo Suee, but a couple of times throughout the work, but the times she appears add little to the plot. For some reason, Sax Rohmer preferred to keep Fu Manchu, and his daughter, Fah Lo Suee, in the background, their presence largely unseen.

Moreover, whatever scheme Fah Lo Suee had to take over the world, is vague, much like similar plans made by her father had been. The only thing we know is it involved resurrecting the Si Fan. Beyond that, and what was so important about an excavation site, is never made clear.

The best thing to be said for the book is it does catch and maintain your interest, but it doesn't feel like there's ever much at stake. But that's because we never know what the plans are exactly.

[Rick Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story has all the fun elements of an Egyptian adventure: tombs, sarcophogi, secret tunnels; along the Chinese elements of mysterious women and of course, Fu Manchu. Shan can't keep his eyes off Fah Lo Suee, and she toys with him mercilessly. It takes until the climax to find out what happens, whether he lives or dies, and with which woman. This is an enjoyable escape with lots of mystical oriental elements. I found myself wanting to go to Chinatown and search the back alleys looking for some Chinese food to complete the experience.

For additional reviews indexed by author, please visit The Mystillery Blog and try The Mystillery Reading Challenges!

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chanced upon a collection of three of these books at a charity shop and knowing little of Fu Manchu(except pop culture wise an awareness of the character ) I thought I would pick them up.
Given these where modern repressings I was unsure whether these where modern continuation novels or early reprints..I know now they where indeed reprints of the original tales.
Anyhow this is very much of its type..a kind of pulpish type tale which was fun and readable but ultimately not something I think will stick with me.
The machinations of Fu Manchu don't really hit hard in this book..maybe they do in others but Ultimately this was ok.

[Steven Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm taking this as a fun, light-hearted read. It's not as strong as The Hand of Fu-Manchu, but then again that was the first Sax Rohmer book I read. Smatterings of Egyptology mixed with Oriental settings and themes make for something a bit different, and certainly not terrible, especially since Forbidden Planet were selling it for 99p! Don't take it too seriously, and you'll be entertained.

[Deepti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good fun!

A book that jumps from one exotic location to another, that has so much action in it it,it deserves it's own web series! A book so overtly racist that it becomes a pantomime!.
I quite liked the Fu Manchu villains plotting devices! Very very fakirishly, snake charmingly cool!

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Not enough Fu, but his sexy daughter is a worthy fill-in. Gawd knows why she falls for our wimpy narrator, who's no Dr. Petrie. But there's lots of Nayland Smith, a couple genuinely creepy scenes, and a good last-act twist.

[Jeff J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, Fu Manchu TRIES TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD!

[Ken · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sadly this book has become a parody of the whole series. Rohmer changes a few characters around, but it’s the same formula. I won’t be pursuing the rest of the series.

[Hugh Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit slowly paced and too reliant on the Ex Machina to save the characters time and again. Still a good read.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reminded me of the 'Indiana Jones' movies.....

[Sunil S · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Same deal as the last two books. What's wrong with this author yet again? Eccentric characters, terrible ideals and opinions.

[Inga · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't even finnish this book.
Flat characters and predictable plot.

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Egypt and then London, the early 1900's — the era of Sherlock Holmes, Dracula, and the mysteries of Egypt — a time of shadows, secret societies, discoveries of hidden knowledge, and even a dead man who lives again. Into this setting comes a classic femme fatale, an oriental beauty with a sirenesque quality, who possesses not only beauty, but a high intellect: the daughter of Fu Manchu. The "Daughter of Fu Manchu" is the fourth in the Fu Manchu series by Sax Rohmer, a prolific English novelist, who is best remembered for his series of novels featuring the master Oriental criminal mastermind Dr. Fu Manchu.

In this fourth novel, we have a change of narrator: Shan Greville. If you have read the first books, never fear, Dr. Petrie is still there to help; in fact, in just the first few pages, Greville seeks Petrie's help for his dead chief, Sir Lionel Barton. As the mystery builds in Egypt, Nayland Smith appears just as things at their "dig" of the Tomb of the Black Ape are getting strange and sinister, including the disappearance of Sir Barton's dead body! Sir Denis Nayland Smith and his associates learn of a deadly organization that stalks the shadows. The sinister organization's goal is to undermine the balance of global power; it reminds them of Fu Manchu, but he is dead. At the head of this sinister, secret society is the daughter of Fu Manchu, an evil beauty with incredible hypnotic powers. She has convened "Si Fan," the ancient and powerful Council of Seven, who has power than none can withstand. Now it is up to Smith and his associates to save the peace and sanity of the world. Nayland Smith pursues his quarry across Europe, and the battle rages through the streets of London where the plot builds to a clever, quick finale.

The old-fashioned writing style in "Daughter of Fu Manchu" (as is true in all the Fu Manchu novels) can be a bit distracting until you get used to it, and for some people, the racial stereotyping can be upsetting to many modern readers. However, the book, its style, and even the stereotyping is a product of the time and place in which it was written. Rohmer is most famous for creating the infamous evil genius of Fu Manchu who became even more famous in those marvelous black and white movies of the 30's. Fu Manchu was portrayed in various films by Boris Karloff in these movies. Several of the first Fu Manchu novels are also available for free on the Kindle or search out the actual books in used bookstores - they are worth the time to discover the great, intellectual (and stereotypical) evil genius who is Fu Manchu.

[Michael P. · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is hard not to like this rather bad book. On the plus side, Rohmer has a knack for quick character touches that make you think a character is three dimensional, even when they are not--and none are. The story really moves, for the most part, and the few action scenes are page-turners. This is the first Rohmer I have read, but he gives the feeling that I have entered a bigger and more interesting than can be contained in one book, and indeed this is the fourth in a series. On the other had, the book has an incipient racism, using as it does the fear of the inscrutable evil hearted oriental. Having said that, there is far less overt racism than I expected. Half way through, the story stops dead while a new character is introduced with a recounting of what that character was up to when the first half of the book took place. This goes on for nearly the next quarter of the book. The scheme of Fu Manchu's evil daughter is never satisfactorily explained. What is she doing in Egypt and why should we fear it? I have no idea. Why does she shift the action to London? I also have no idea. She falls in love with the first person narrator upon first seeing him, and revises her plans to try to win him. Yeah, right. Because of the first person narrator, readers are kept in the dark too long because the real plot, in both senses of the word, takes place off stage. All this and more are wrong with the book, but reading it is an unexpected pleasure. I must study Rohmer more to figure out what he did right.

[Icy-Cobwebs-In-Space · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed for Hearts on Fire Reviews

“Daughter of Fu Manchu” ought to be utilized as a course in teaching writing, specifically, in teaching how to write an effective reader’s hook, and in how to maintain, escalate, and continue tension in enraptured readers. The initial pages contain an entire series of reader’s hooks, which is a very important tool in my perspective as a reader and as reviewer. I had rather the experience of a trout caught by multiple fishermen, in the sense that author Sax Rohmer leaves no escape from tension, from fear, thrills, action, nor adventure. In this particular entry in his beloved “Fu Manchu” series, Mr. Rohmer sounds the key of the Yellow Peril, of that great mad genius of the Far East, but sounds it gently and periodically.

Here the danger-and the terror, the thrills, and the anxious ponderings-stem from a new but related threat: a lady of elusive heritage and ethnicity, known to the excavators of an abandoned and possibly cursed Egyptian tomb as Madame Ingomar-a lady who is actually far more dangerous than any could have perceived, for she is none other than the dreaded heiress to Dr. Fu Manchu-the daughter herself.

I wish I could express better my total enjoyment of the Fu Manchu series. I mourn that Mr. Rohmer passed in 1959 (from a strain of Asian flu); what a joy if he were still alive and penning these wonderful novels! Such an excellent author; full praise to the publisher, Titan Books, for their foresight and continued good sense in bringing Mr. Rohmer to a new generation-and to the delight of us oldster fans!

[Felix Zilich · Rating 2 out of 5]

Во время раскопок в египетской Долине Царей археолог Лоуренс Бартон обнаружил загадочный артефакт, способный изменить судьбу всей Азии. Вечером того же дня его ассистент Гренвилль находит Бартона в его палатке умершим от кровоизлияния в мозг. Прибывший в Каир на следующий день доктор Петри уверяет Гренвилля, что эта смерть была вовсе не случайной, могущественная организация Си Фан следила за работой Бертона достаточно давно. Самое опасное из тайных обществ Востока уже много лет планирует покончить с господством белой расы. Сейчас во главе общества дочь доктора Фу Манчу по имени Фа Ло Ше и если покойный доктор был человеком твердых правил, то коварству восточной женщины нет предела.

После выхода первой трилогии про доктора Фу Манчу прошло уже 12 лет. За этот срок “желтая чума” стала одной из любимых тем для бульварной прессы, права на экранизацию книг про Доктора были куплены в Голливуде, но Сакс Ромер так и не стал хорошим писателем. Что еще хуже, он не придумал ничего умнее, чем вернуться к собственным истокам и наваять еще одну книгу про нашего любимого Доктора. Четвертую. А потом и еще штук десять.

Фу Манчу в этой книге очень мало. Подобно своим вечным антагонистам Смиту и Петри, он изрядно постарел и появляется только в финале романа и исключительно для того, чтобы навести новый порядок в Си Фане. (2007.01.15)

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book #4 of the 14 Fu Manchu books that Sax Rohmer gave us, and represents something of a departure from the previous three. For one thing, we have a new narrator in this book. Shan Greville, assistant of the Orientalist Sir Lionel Barton (who figured prominently in books 1 and 3), has taken over the narrating duties from Dr. Petrie. For another thing, a good deal of the book's action takes place in Egypt, as opposed to England. AND, this book seems to hold together more as a novel, rather than as a group of linked stories. Fu Manchu himself, believed to be dead after the events of book 3, barely appears in this volume, but his daughter, a chip(py) off the old block if ever there were one, has picked up were Pops left off, and makes things pretty hot for Nayland Smith, Petrie, Inspector Weymouth and some of our other old friends. As usual, the pace is swift, with some outstanding set pieces, including the infiltration of the Si-Fan council in the el-Kharga oasis, and the ultimate appearance of Pops Manchu himself. We are also treated to mummy tombs, zombie drugs, assassins of various sorts, hypnosis, poison sprays and so on. All in all, this is a very good entry in the Fu series.

[Leothefox · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm always mistrustful when a series resumes after a long hiatus and this book has done little to cure that. “Daughter of Fu Manchu” comes 14 years after “The Hand of Fu Manchu” and it's a rocky continuation at best. Dr. Petrie's narration is replaced by that of younger Shan Greville who ends up tagging along with Nayland Smith just the same.

Sax Rohmer still delivers energetic writing and we start off promisingly enough racing to a dig-site in Egypt where a man suffers “the living death”. Fu Manchu's daughter appears eventually and does the seductive villain bit... and mostly I found myself missing Fu Manchu himself.

Much of the book is taken up with Nayland Smith disappearing and then reappearing and telling the narrator about everything that happened while he was away, which becomes tiresome. Dr. Petrie always managed to get in enough trouble on his own to keep the books interesting, but Greville never seems to live up to that.

I'm a fan of the series, especially the first and third entries, by this one has got me slightly discouraged about continuing. This book had some moments and some ideas, but it can't compete with other writings inspired by Rohmer's character, namely Robert E. Howard's “Skullface”.

[Emlen]

I've decided to list Fu Manchu books (of which I've now read five) on Goodreads, but not rate them, because I'm not sure how to: they're quite enjoyable as insane, over-the-top conspiracy novels, and historically fascinating, and obviously I like them enough to keep reading them, but they're also really hideously racist (and, though less centrally, sexist), which makes me feel uncomfortable with giving them reviews that could be misinterpreted.
In any case, this is a very fine specimen. Fu Manchu himself doesn't show up till the end, and the main villain is his daughter, Fah Lo Suee, which puts a slightly different spin on the paranoia; but overall, plenty of the usual exotic poisons (including a great hallucinatory scene after the narrator is drugged with -- gasp! -- cannabis), elaborate and sinister plots (this time Si Fan is hinting at maneuvers in Russia and Turkey), mysterious Eastern death-cults (not just the usual Dacoits, but lots of others, even Tibetan monks, who apparently could be portrayed as sinister to a 1930s British audience), and horrifyingly/hilariously dated worldview.

[Mumbler · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow! I found this one great! this, the fourth, came after a fourteen year gap, when Rohmer, apparently, like Doyle, wanted to be done with his most famous creation. If he returned grudgingly, it doesn't show. except, if you speculate, you could interpret certain strategies of this book in that light. whether or no. those methods really worked on me!

the racism usually seems rote, the respect between the "racial enemies" always makes a good impression on me. the sexism in this one is painful, a few times, though.

"During their short acquaintance Rima and Mrs. Petrie had established one of those rare feminine friendships which a man can welcome."

what?? no idea whether Rohmer thinks stuff like that sells (which could be true, for all I know). or whether he just thinks stuff like that.

still loved the book, to my surprise. :)