The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu (Fu Manchu #2) by Sax Rohmer

The second Fu-Manchu novel, originally published in 1916 by Sax Rohmer (Arthur Henry Ward) continues the tales of the “most diabolical evil genius of all time”. Published in the UK under the name, “The Devil Doctor”, the story is told once again from the first-person perspective of Dr. Petrie who acts as a sort of Watson to the more adventuresome Nayland Smith, a colonial police commissioner in Burma who has been granted a roving commission that allows him to utilize any group that can help him in his mission. When this book was written the western world was in the midst of the “Yellow Peril” and thus a diabolical mastermind intent on subjugating the West was a well-received idea.

Just as in the first book, this one is filled with the sort of idealized adventure often found in the pulps and it never lets up on the accelerator. It is sort of episodic in nature, reflecting the way in which the stories were first published so we bounce from one adventure to the next. Smith and Petrie come very close to catching their nemesis, but this is matched by the number of times they are themselves captured and must escape the clutches of Dr. Fu Manchu. 

A prominent character and one of Dr. Fu Manchu's primary agents is the "seductively lovely" Kâramanèh, a former slave to Egyptian flesh peddlers. A major question running through this book is whether or not Kâramanèh is really working for Fu Manchu or is trying to sabotage his efforts and assist Dr. Petrie whom she seems to be falling for. There are also some supernatural aspects to parts of the book (at least the main characters think so) including a jaunt through a haunted house as well as a visitation by a mummy!

As always with pulp books from that era, today’s readers will have to accept the inherent racism that dwells within these pages. If that can be done, there is a lot of fun adventure to be had.