Destroyer #3: Chinese Puzzle by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir

I never saw the big screen adaptation of the Destroyer. From what I've heard, that's no big loss. In any event, I'm a late arrival to this action-comedy series by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir. But after reading just this one installment, I understand why the series is so popular.

The plot is rife with Cold War intrigue, with a few twists to keep you guessing. It concerns a kidnapped general from the People's Army, and his attractive concubine. Remo and Chiu are dispatched to resolve this international incident.

Remo Williams is a regular guy. No, make that an exceptional guy. He's an old-school adventurer who happens to be learning a deadly martial art from a wizened master. Chiu isn't just exceptional--he's pretty much superhuman. We get some background on him in this book, concerning his native village in Korea, and the art he has mastered. He's also a hilarious smartass, who kept me snickering periodically.

There is an affection between these two heroes--that of a teacher for his gifted student, and the student for his incomparable master. And yet, we learn Chiu is prepared to kill Remo if ordered to by those they work for. Lucky for both Remo and the reader, this doesn't happen.

So whether you like action or humor, but especially if you like both, this book gets a strong recommendation from me.

Full Asylum by Michael Isenberg

I didn't plan it this way, but reading this book kinda' fits into my recent mini-007 meme.

Our hero, overqualified software engineer Gimbel O'Hare, is a James Bond fan. The 007 character and his adventures speak to Gimbel's quest for excellence in what he does. In fact, there's a couple times when Gimbel suffers some sort of psychological identity displacement and imagines that he IS Bond...

Oh, wait a minute. The name is Dunn. John Dunn. Not Bond-James Bond. His operative ID and the name of Her Majesty's Secret Service are altered, as well. And Gimbel's not the only guy suffering this fantasy/reality swap. But that's just one element in Isenberg's delightfully absurd satire.

O'Hare works for Byte Yourself, a software company which has jumped from an entrepreneurial start-up into an empire--much to the chagrin of competitors and bureaucrats. Those competitors and bureaucrats have joined forces to bring down Byte Yourself, and Gimbel O'Hare is caught in the middle of it.

Full Asylum weaves together British superspy mania, professional wrestling, paintball and a charming cast of characters in a tale of office politics gone viral. Or should I say, gone pandemic?

Here's a notable line of dialog from a book which takes pains to be upbeat, or at least humorous, most of the time:

"...It isn't easy when everyone responsible for enforcing the law works for the criminal."

In the spirit of Ian Fleming, Isenberg has some nifty names for some of his characters as well: Cherri Tarte, Dora Jarr, Lacey Briefs...

If you're in the mood for some social satire with a lighthearted touch and a positive attitude, give this one a read.

I Went There!

 Where I went was into the zany universe of Robblogger, in his smashing debut ebook, Don't Go There. But it's not really the debut ebook that's smashing. The smashing you hear are household appliances and other objects being hurled at Robblogger by his girlfriend, after he has frustrated her beyond the threshold of domestic civility yet again. Evidently, this happens quite often. In fact, Don't Go There grew out of one such Robbloggerish episode.

It seems the (extremely patient/longsuffering and saintly, I'm sure) Significant Other in question wanted to venture out beyond the smokey interior of the crib. The silly gal even suggested traveling somewhere outside Canada. This ebook gives you an idea of the logic and methods he used to talk her out of it.

It's not really a travel guide; it's an anti-travel guide. Armed with info gleaned from Google, Wikipedia and the US State Department, our cynical soothsayer slays the reputation of many potential vacation spots/travel destinations, doing his dangdest to dissuade daunting daredevils from endangering themselves from attacks of international lameness.

Here's an excerpt from the Switzerland chapter:

A land of mountains, more mountains, and to break up the monotonous mountains, some more mountains. They also had a couple of big tiffs in Europe awhile back and the Swiss chose not to get involved.
I don't like that. The Germans showed a little initiative, wanted everyone to wear brown trousers, and shiny boots. The rest of the world wasn't keen on high stepping so we spanked them a bit. They've been quiet since, and I think they apologized for the inconvenience.
Where were you, Swiss Miss? You could have been a big help with all those Swiss army knives. You could have shortened the whole Germany Strikes Back, The Return of the Fatherland by a couple weeks anyway.
You had a lot of nerve selling those army knives of Swiss when you did the equivalent of hiding under the bed during the storm. I liked you better when I thought you were fictional. I had one of your multipurpose cutlery dispensers when I was young. I can't remember if it had a white flag in addition to the cork screw. It probably should have.
I'm going to try and remain neutral, however. I'd hate to offend the Swiss and find they had become apathetic towards me. If I spark an international incident I'm sure their total lack of involvement and ambivalence would be crushing.
Actually I'm rewarding a point for this. Why, dear readers? Well I figure if I get caught fooling around with a buxom Swiss watchmakers wife, and she yodels and wakes her husband, he likely won't want to fight.

This is a great book to keep in the bathroom. And I don't just mean for those times when you run out of toilet paper (it's an ebook, anyway). Robblogger took me on a virtual rollercoaster of reactions from grinning to giggling to guffawing. His humor has such an appeal to me, I'm willing to forgive him for not knowing that The Sound of Music took place in Austria.