Sensei

Starred review from March 24, 2003
Donohue crisply and elegantly blends Japanese martial arts and urban New York in his assured debut, a thriller about a vengeance-seeking Ronin, or masterless samurai. Dr. Connor Burke is an adjunct history instructor at a small Long Island university, a protégé of Yamashita Sensei, a reclusive but renowned martial arts teacher—and a likable lead character. When it becomes clear that the murder of another sensei
(a teacher) is part of a pattern, Burke becomes doubly involved, because he's a suspect and his cop brother Micky is one of the detectives investigating the case. As the novel whips along with the Ronin's motivation only gradually emerging, Burke takes the reader deeper and deeper into the arcane world of the martial arts: its techniques, disciplines and weapons; its spiritualism, customs and traditions. Lucid and dramatic fight scenes avoid the absurd hyperbole typical of a lot of martial arts fiction, while even minor characters, such as the university president and the members of Micky's family, are skillfully sketched. The author may telegraph the climactic scene too early, but he does a masterful job of depicting the ultimate struggle to capture or contain the Ronin. Both mystery buffs and martial arts fans will be well rewarded. Agent, Jacques de Spoelberch. (Apr.)Forecast:As a black belt in both Karatedo and Kendo, and as associate editor of the
Journal of Asian Martial Arts with four nonfiction martial arts books to his credit, the author is well poised to push this novel to the initiated. Blurbs from Charles Johnson, Dale Furutani and James Grady (author of
Six Days of the Condor) will help catch the attention of the uninitiated.