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Emperor of America
Rohmer's first effort at reviving the Fu Manchu property was eventually reworked as The Emperor of America. The original intent had been for the head of the organisation to be Fu Manchu's daughter. He kept Head Centre as a female criminal mastermind to combat Drake Roscoe, but was very unhappy with the book both as it started and in its finished form. He would later return to Drake Roscoe and his female supervillain for the Sumuru series. In the meantime, he tried again to focus his energies on what was first titled Fu Manchu's Daughter for Collier's in 1930, but with an older (now knighted) Nayland Smith as the protagonist once more. The results were infinitely better and jump-started the series in the process. In the 28 years from 1931 to 1959, Rohmer added no fewer than 10 new books to the Fu Manchu series, meaning the series totals thirteen books in all (not counting the posthumous collection
318 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1927
About the author
Sax Rohmer
528 books125 followersAKA 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 13, 2020
A secret organization seeks to take control of the American government in 1928, and only Commander Drake Roscoe, USN, and Doctor Stopford, RN, can stop them. With the help of a beautiful female foreign spy the curtil a half dozen plots by the nefarious Head Centre and his secret cabal.
Like a collection of throw-away pieces for the Dr. Fu-Manchu books, this has all the basic parts. There is a secret network run by a super genius, complete with secret headquarters, secret high tech devices, spies in high and low places, and sexy girl operatives. There is a military man seconded to intelligence with extra-legal powers, and his drinking buddy, a doctor late of the navy. Plots follow one after the other, with narrow escapes abounding.
Pretty clearly this was written as a serial. The chapters jump from one scene to another with little explanation, and the previous action is often repeated so we won't forget what we just read. Doesn't make for a smooth reading experience, and it really looks like a practice run for Fu-Manchu. Makes me wonder if Rohmer didn't take a bunch of notes from 1913 and throw them together in book form to make a quick buck.
Like a collection of throw-away pieces for the Dr. Fu-Manchu books, this has all the basic parts. There is a secret network run by a super genius, complete with secret headquarters, secret high tech devices, spies in high and low places, and sexy girl operatives. There is a military man seconded to intelligence with extra-legal powers, and his drinking buddy, a doctor late of the navy. Plots follow one after the other, with narrow escapes abounding.
Pretty clearly this was written as a serial. The chapters jump from one scene to another with little explanation, and the previous action is often repeated so we won't forget what we just read. Doesn't make for a smooth reading experience, and it really looks like a practice run for Fu-Manchu. Makes me wonder if Rohmer didn't take a bunch of notes from 1913 and throw them together in book form to make a quick buck.
November 30, 2024
Nu mi-a plăcut. Deloc.
Traducerea mi s-a părut foarte slabă.
O organizație secretă încearcă să pună mâna pe SUA.
Cartea cuprinde o urmărire continuă (reciprocă) între „băieții buni” și „băieții răi”, cu atentate peste atentate întrerupte sau acompaniate de dialoguri. Adică ceva care, pentru mine, constituie o plictiseală enormă (fie că e vorba despre cărți, ori despre filme). Nicio dezvoltare de personaj (exceptând vreo trei, cărora le-am reținut numele, dar n-am priceput mare lucru ce e cu ele și ce vor, de fapt, restul au constituit doar o înșiruire de nume pe care n-am reușit să le leg de nimic, ci doar apăreau și dispăreau), nicio prezentare a cadrului dincolo de elementele strict utile pentru a zice „acțiunea următoare se petrece în locul X, unde se află personajele A, B și C” - doar o cursă continuă, pe steroizi.
Am încercat s-o analizez prin prisma literaturii din perioada când a fost scrisă cartea. Am încercat să mă gândesc cum aș fi apreciat-o dacă aș fi citit-o în adolescență. N-a ieșit nimic. Oricum aș luat-o, din partea mea volum ăsta are un „nu”. Știu-știu, Dr. Fu Manchu, bla-bla... Sorry. Nu fac parte din publicul țintă al acestui tip de literatură.
Traducerea mi s-a părut foarte slabă.
O organizație secretă încearcă să pună mâna pe SUA.
Cartea cuprinde o urmărire continuă (reciprocă) între „băieții buni” și „băieții răi”, cu atentate peste atentate întrerupte sau acompaniate de dialoguri. Adică ceva care, pentru mine, constituie o plictiseală enormă (fie că e vorba despre cărți, ori despre filme). Nicio dezvoltare de personaj (exceptând vreo trei, cărora le-am reținut numele, dar n-am priceput mare lucru ce e cu ele și ce vor, de fapt, restul au constituit doar o înșiruire de nume pe care n-am reușit să le leg de nimic, ci doar apăreau și dispăreau), nicio prezentare a cadrului dincolo de elementele strict utile pentru a zice „acțiunea următoare se petrece în locul X, unde se află personajele A, B și C” - doar o cursă continuă, pe steroizi.
Am încercat s-o analizez prin prisma literaturii din perioada când a fost scrisă cartea. Am încercat să mă gândesc cum aș fi apreciat-o dacă aș fi citit-o în adolescență. N-a ieșit nimic. Oricum aș luat-o, din partea mea volum ăsta are un „nu”. Știu-știu, Dr. Fu Manchu, bla-bla... Sorry. Nu fac parte din publicul țintă al acestui tip de literatură.
December 28, 2023
Încep prin a spune că-i o carte ciudățică rău. Face parte dintr-o serie de povești orientale dar io n-am găsit nimic oriental la asta de față. De luat am luat-o pentru copertă, speram la un SF de modă veche, da’ nici asta n-am primit.
Este un fel de Alcris al poveștilor dubioase. Avem o Americă condusă de-un țărănel, cel mai bun prieten al său fiind un căpitan de vas bețiv, care-ncearcă să se impresioneze reciproc prin nimicuri.
Cum anume conduce nenea, habar n-am, m-a cam pierdut la capitolul logică. Există și o rețea subterană care-i atât de secretă că nici n-o sesizăm măcar, avem și reluări ca să nu uităm cumva ce trebuia să reținem și avem la un moment dat și revelația de-a fi întors ultima pagină.
Cred că-i cea mai tâmpită carte citită vreodată ș-am citit multe mizerii la viața mea.
April 21, 2023
This really is a terrible book.
A sinister plot to take over America organised by a supervillain, a hard-boiled hero whose talk is largely devoid of a first-person pronoun and, of course, a dame.
It obviously began life as a serial and so repeats itself a lot, a situation made even worse by our villains vast network of spies giving the leader reports every page or so recapitulating the action that we have just read.
If it reads like a sub Fu Manchu you would be right. Apparently, this volume was intended to revive the series but everyone thought it was dire and so Rohmer adjusted the villain. Sadly nobody thought it too dire to be published. AVOID!
A sinister plot to take over America organised by a supervillain, a hard-boiled hero whose talk is largely devoid of a first-person pronoun and, of course, a dame.
It obviously began life as a serial and so repeats itself a lot, a situation made even worse by our villains vast network of spies giving the leader reports every page or so recapitulating the action that we have just read.
If it reads like a sub Fu Manchu you would be right. Apparently, this volume was intended to revive the series but everyone thought it was dire and so Rohmer adjusted the villain. Sadly nobody thought it too dire to be published. AVOID!
September 28, 2021
The most bizarre thing about this book, which I found at a used book sale, is that it is in a volume (apparently part of a series) labelled "Masterpieces of Oriental Mystery". There is nothing and no-one "oriental" in this book at all. Nothing. The author did write "oriental" stories - but not this one. Oh well, forever a mystery.
The story was pretty good for its time. I do believe that one commenter's theory is correct - that this was originally a serial. Explains a lot of the repetition. To me, it was worth the read.
The story was pretty good for its time. I do believe that one commenter's theory is correct - that this was originally a serial. Explains a lot of the repetition. To me, it was worth the read.
January 18, 2022
Varies between points of high action and times when it plods along. If the author did not seem serious I would call it a farce of the Yellow Peril. While it does mot state it outright, I see images that remind me of Fleming's Dr. No.
It does seem a bit over the top in the excessive number of "reports."
It does seem a bit over the top in the excessive number of "reports."
March 6, 2025
3,5 🌟
Am senzația ca povestea are niște goluri, altfel, foarte antrenată!
Am senzația ca povestea are niște goluri, altfel, foarte antrenată!
May 25, 2013
This book is probably Sax Rohmer's most over the top novel, a mastermind controlling a vast criminal net-work in ever sector of American society, with what appear to be mobile phones, inter-active maps and computer keyboards, not bad for a novel published in 1927! Rohmer as usual has made his criminals here much more interesting than those solving the crimes and like so many of Rohmer's books this is clearly in sections of individual short stories and would have seen magazine publication as such, this means that the story jumps about abruptly more than it should do and makes the book end far too quickly in fact the end comes so quickly taking a couple of pages for what really needed at least a couple of chapters that it comes as a huge let down.
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May 30, 2016read some time in 1986
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews