Fu Manchu Books In Order

Publication Order of Fu Manchu Books

Dr. Fu Manchu is one of the fictional characters developed by the well known English author Sax Rohmer. The character is depicted in a mystery novel series under Fu Manchu, in the 20th century. The Manchu’ character has become very famous over the years and has also been featured on a number of television shows, comic books, movies, radio, and comic strips for almost 90 years now. He is actually a common symbol of the evil and mastermind criminals and has also lent his name to the famous Fu Manchu mustache. In all the novels of the series written by author Sax Rohmer, Fu Manchu is depicted as the super villain, who plots murderous plans with the help arkane methods. He does not prefer using the most modern weapons, guns, and explosives and likes to hire agents from the dacoits, members of the secret societies, and thugs, who like to use knives or some peculiar animals with natural chemical weapons like pythons, cobras, bacilli, fungi, and black spiders etc. In the 1993 novel of the series, it is seen that he claims to have obtained doctorates from 4 different universities in the west. In other novels of the series, is shown that Fu Manchu attended the Heidelberg University, the Edinburgh University, and the Soborne University. When one of the main protagonists of the series named Dr. Petrie, was involved in a first encounter with Manchu, he thought that Manchu was of the age of 70. According to this, Fu Manchu would have studied in the West for the first of doctorates, during the late 19th century.

The character and series of Fu Manchu were continued after the death of author Sax Rohmer by his biographer and assistant named Cay Van Ash. According to him, the literal meaning of Fu is Warlike. He further says that Manchu was the member of China’s imperial family, who were on the losing side during the time of Boxer Rebellion. As per the earlier books of the series, it is depicted that Manchu is a member of a criminal society named, the Si-Fan. He seems to be the mastermind behind the string of assassinations which targeted the Western imperialists. As the series progresses, it is shown that he tries to gain control of and operate the Sci-Fan. The secret society named Sci-Fan seems to be more concerned about the routing of the fascist dictators and, thereby preventing communism to spread all over. Fu Manchu carries out the activities of the Sci-Fan mainly through the funds coming from the criminal activities. The form of criminal activity of the Sci-Fan is the human trafficking and the drug trade. Manchu is able to extend his lifespan with the help of elixir of life, which is a formula for extending the life that he has been trying to prefect over the years. Throughout the course of the Manchu series, Dr. Manchu gets opposed by Dr. Petrie and Denis Nayland Smith. They follow the Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson tradition as Dr. Petrie gives the narration of the thriller and mysterious stories, whereas Denis Smith gets involved in the combat fights against Manchu. As per the initial novels of the series, Nayland Smith is introduced as the commissioner of police in Myanmar.. The character of Nayland Smith has been enacted by many actors in films and television series, over the years.

The Fu Manchu series written by author Sax Rohmer consists of a total of 18 books published between the 1912 and 2015. The last 5 novels of the series were released posthumously by Rohmer’s assistant and biographer, Van Ash. The first novel of the Manchu series was published under the title ‘The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu’. It was released by the Titan Books publishing house in the year 1913. The plot of this book is based in the United Kingdom and revolves around the lives of the characters Dr. Petrie, Dr. Manchu, and Denis Smith. In the opening sequence of the plot of the novel, the era of Sherlock Holmes, the Invisible Man and the Dracula during the year 1913 in London. The scenario of the city is full of dark shadows, dens of opium addicts, and the secret societies. In this deadly world comes the most interesting evil that the society has ever known in the form of Dr. Machdu. Meanwhile, Denis Nayland Smith continues to pursue his quarry through the back alleys of the city of London and across the continents. Soon, victim after victim begin to disappear due to the evil links Dr. Manchu. Now, everything lies with Nayland Smith, who is required to unravel the intriguing plot and truths about the case, before it’s too late to stop other victims from disappearing. This novel also includes a special feature provided by Leslie S. Klinger.

The second novel of the series written by author Sax Rohmer was published by the Titan Books in the year 1916. It was titled ‘The Return of Fu Manchu’. The plot of this novel is once again set in the United Kingdom during the year 1916 in London. It also revolves around the lives of the same set of characters as in the first novel of the series. Dr. Manchu is once again shown as a mastermind criminal, whereas Denis Nayland Smith is depicted as a police detective, who is on the trail Manchu. In the opening sequence of the plot of the novel, it is once again seen that the city of London is engrossed in dark shadows, several secret societies, and the dens full of the addicted people of opium. That time of era in London is also the era of Sherlock Holmes, the Dracula, and the Invisible man. During such times, the character of Manchu is once again introduced into the plot as the most evil criminal mastermind, anyone has ever seen. This time, Fu Manchu has returned along with his team of assassins from the dreadful Sci-Fan secret society. He thinks of subverting the entire realm of the United Kingdom even at the highest levels. But, it is also seen that He went on t keeping some secrets of his own, which he seems to protect at all costs. Now, it is to be seen how he continues with his evil activities by keeping his secrets throughout the plot of the novel.