Sapir, Richard Ben
Entry updated 2 June 2026. Tagged: Author.
(1936-1987) US author who published some borderline fantasy as by Richard Ben and, as Richard Sapir and in collaboration with Warren B Murphy, large parts of the Destroyer series of spoof thrillers featuring the Doc Savage-like adventures of Remo Williams, a White Superhero (and avatar of Shiva the Destroyer) trained in the paranormal combat arts of Sinanju. The Assassin's Handbook (coll 1982; rev vt Inside Sinanju 1985) as by Sapir and Murphy (in fact by Will Murray) is an amused (and amusing) companion to the sequence. Sapir is of sf interest in his own right mainly for The Far Arena (1978), a Sleeper-Awakes tale in which a Roman gladiator, having offended the Emperor Domitian, is cast upon an ice floe where he freezes until resuscitated in the twentieth century; his responses to the contemporary world are illuminatingly critical. In The Body (1983) the remains of Christ are apparently discovered; in Quest (1987) the Holy Grail is discovered and becomes the object of a violent modern-day quest. [JC]
see also: Cryonics; Suspended Animation.
Richard Ben Sapir
born New York: 27 July 1936
died New Hampshire: 27 January 1987
works
series
Destroyer
Gaps in chronology mark titles to which Sapir did not contribute.
- Destroyer #1: Created, the Destroyer (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1971) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #2: Death Check (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1972) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #3: Chinese Puzzle (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1972) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #4: Mafia Fix (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1972) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #5: Dr. Quake (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1972) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #6: Death Therapy (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1972) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #7: Union Bust (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1973) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #9: Murder's Shield (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1973) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #10: Terror Squad (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1973) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #11: Kill or CURE (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1973) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #12: Slave Safari (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1973) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #13: Acid Rock (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1973) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #14: Judgment Day (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1974) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #15: Murder Ward (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1974) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #16: Oil Slick (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1974) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/]
- Destroyer #17: Last War Dance (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1974) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #18: Funny Money (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1975) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #19: Holy Terror (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1975) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #20: Assassin's Play-off (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1975) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #21: Deadly Seeds (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1975) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #22: Brain Drain (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1976) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #23: Child's Play (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1976) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #24: King's Curse (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1976) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #29: The Final Death (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1977) with Ric Meyers (anonymous) and Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #48: Profit Motive (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1982) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- The Assassin's Handbook (New York: St Martin's Press, 1982) as by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir, actually ghosted by Will Murray [coll: Destroyer: pb/]
- Inside Sinanju (New York: Pinnacle Crossfire, 1985) as by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir, actually ghosted by Will Murray [coll: rev vt of the above: Destroyer: pb/]
- Destroyer #52: Fool's Gold (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1983) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #53: Time Trial (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1983) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #54: Last Drop (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1983) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #55: Master's Challenge (New York: Pinnacle Books, 1984) with Molly Cochran and Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #59: The Arms of Kali (New York: New American Library/Signet Books, 1984) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #60: The End of the Game (New York: New American Library/Signet Books, 1985) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #61: Lords of the Earth (New York: New American Library/Signet Books, 1985) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #62: The Seventh Stone (New York: New American Library/Signet Books, 1985) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #63: The Sky Is Falling (New York: New American Library/Signet Books, 1986) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #64: The Last Alchemist (New York: New American Library/Signet Books, 1986) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #65: Lost Yesterday (New York: New American Library/Signet Books, 1986) with Warren B Murphy [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #66: Sue Me (New York: New American Library/Signet Books, 1986) [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #67: Look into My Eyes (New York: New American Library/Signet Books, 1987) [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
- Destroyer #68: An Old-Fashioned War (New York: New American Library/Signet Books, 1987) [Destroyer: pb/Hector Garrido]
individual titles (selected)
- The Far Arena (New York: Seaview Books, 1978) as Richard Ben Sapir [hb/Leo Manso]
- The Body (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1983) as Richard Ben Sapir [hb/Paul Bacon]
- Quest (New York: E P Dutton, 1987) as Richard Ben Sapir [hb/Ed Emshwiller]
links
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