Enter The Dragon

ENTER THE DRAGON by Mike Roote (Leonore Fleischer, according to Hawk’s Author’s For Book Collector’s, 1992 edition). A novelization of the popular action film starring Bruce Lee, John Saxon, and Jim Kelly: Han is gathering martial artists for his tournament on an island near Hong Kong. Roper (Saxon), Williams (Kelly), and Lee (Bruce Lee) have received invitations. At the Shaolin Temple the Master has suggested that Lee accept the invitation, as Han has dishonored the Shaolin temple. Then Lee learns there is another reason he must attend; Han’s men were responsible for his sister, Su Lin’s death three years ago. Braithwaite, head of F.A.D.E. offers help if Lee discovers unlawful acts on the island. The problem is, there is an army of martial artists under Han’s command, and one man may fail if acting alone. There is a girl all ready on the island, placed there by F.A.D.E., Mae Ling, but she has not been heard from. Lee must find her, and maybe get assistance from Williams and Roper, if they are not recruited into Han’s army. This novel followed the film fairly closely, but not totally. Many of the fight scenes in the film were different from the book, as were many other things. But it was a fun book, even if I knew the outcome from the movie beforehand. I was curious about some of the names in the story. They almost tie in with another series, THE GIRL FACTURY, featuring Su-Lin Kelly, but the author of that series remains a mystery, as far as I know. The author’s name (Robert Franklin Murphy) isn’t listed in Hawk’s 1992 edition. Roote and Murphy were both writing during the same time frame. Just curious.