His name was Remo, and all he wanted was to enjoy a Saturday-afternoon ballgame.

Another lighthearted entry in the Destroyer series, Blue Smoke and Mirrors revolves around the rather silly premise of a vibration suit that allows the wearer to walk through walls - among other things - being utilized by Russian spies to steal military technology. There's a lot of humor throughout the book, including lengthy dialogues between Remo and Chiun about baseball, a thinly-veiled Dan Quayle joke, a kleptomaniac Russian spy, and the standard big-breasted military intelligence officer who ends up tagging along for the ride. As a matter of fact, while there isn't enough to actually scream copycat, there are several elements in Blue Smoke and Mirrors - female military sidekick, bogus technology, lighthearted presentation - that might remind the reader of the Remo Williams film from a few years previous. Like Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, this is definitely a PG-13 version of the boys from Folcroft.

Other than that, it's all just an upbeat caper. No mystical visions, no dark brooding, and no body count, although in the end Chiun does apologize to Smith for the latter. Ghostwritten by Will Murray, Blue Smoke and Mirrors is a fun, easy read driven by character-based humor rather than over-the-top violence. This might annoy some fans of the series, but for others it will be a welcome change of pace.

On an interesting side note, the Russian spy in this one does a trick with a telephone that comes up again later in the Matrix franchise. ( )

This time, Remo and Chuin try to stop a Soviet spy who is stealing US secret technologies. The spy uses a battery-powered suit that makes him able to walk through solid objects and travel through telephone lines. Also appearing in this episode is Robin Green, a military investigator with very large breasts and red hair. ( )