This book suffers from the problem of middle-aged authors trying to capture the sound of teen slang. It never rings true. Remo & Chiun are hired to protect a teenaged government witness who is obsessed with following a popular rock band. Someone has an open contract on her, so Remo faces everything from amateur hitmen to seasoned professionals, all trying to make a quick million. Meanwhile, Chiun is plagued by teenage fans convinced he must be "Somebody". ( )

4/5/22

Thirteenth in the Destroyer series.

This one was pretty good. A young, oblivious woman comes forward to give Congressional testimony against her extremely wealthy businessman father, but she has to survive until then. Her father sends out a number of assassins against her, including two very fun Swedish brothers living in Africa who are the last heirs of an ancient rival assassin house. Remo and Chiun play the role of bodyguards for the young woman. I wish that she and her father had been developed a bit more; while she is the centerpiece of the plot, she's mostly a vapid cypher. Maybe that's the point -- there *is* nothing more to her personality. This was a send-up of Woodstock, the early '70s concert scene, and shock rock bands, so it had lots of amusing parodies of the counter-culture. While the plot revolved around an "acid rock" band, the band ("Maggot and the Dead Meat Lice") are reminiscent of some contemporary shock rockers (Marilyn Manson comes to mind), so many of the references are surprisingly current. I'd recommend this one.

Review copyright 2008 J. Andrew Byers ( )