SHIBUMI: Amazon.ca: Trevanian: Books

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Product Description

From AudioFile

Trevanian's seventies-era storytelling loses nothing in this audio treatment. In a story reminiscent of Ian Fleming, we are treated to exotic locales and a spy-versus-spy plot. Reader Joe Barrett embodies the author's voice ably, whether he's enigmatic assassin Nicholai Hel, narcissistic agency head Mr. Diamond, or a laughable Basque sidekick. The story includes a mountain-climbing manhunt, but overall this is a different breed of spy story--one with a philosophical and political agenda--but no less entertaining a listen. The recording quality is crisp but would benefit from the addition of subtle sound effects to bolster the atmosphere. D.J.B. 2006 Audie Award Finalist © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Description

A westerner raised in Japan, he survived the destruction of Hiroshima to emerge as the world's most artful lover and its most accomplished assassin. His greatest desire is to attain a state of effortless perfection . . . shibumi. But he is about to face his most sinister and corrupt enemy -- a supermonolith of espionage and monopoly bent on destroying
him. . . . --This text refers to an alternate Mass Market Paperback edition.

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Inside This Book (Learn More)
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First Sentence
The screen flashed 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 ... then the projector was switched off, and lights came up in recessed sconces along the walls of the private viewing room. Read the first page

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Customer Reviews

117 Reviews

5 star:		(91)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(6)

Average Customer Review

4.5 out of 5 stars (117 customer reviews)

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Most helpful customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The intellectual masterpiece, Jun 2 2004

By	"tpvirginia" (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shibumi (Mass Market Paperback)

For those who enjoy an action packed book with small, monosyllabic words like pow, slam, blap, and thork, this book is not for you.

On the otherhand, those who appreciate reading a well-woven story with intelligent, complex thinking and anti-heroic ideals, this may be your thing. It's old school!

I have read all of Trevanian's stuff, but they all pale in comparison to Shibumi. The Eiger Sanction was pretty good, Loo Sanction wasn't bad, everything else was a little disapointing.

I have read Shibumi at least 10 times over the years and I still enjoy going through it every once in a while.

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2.0 out of 5 stars Asinine, April 9 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Shibumi (Mass Market Paperback)

At least James Bond isn't an elitist vegitarian. Plotting obvious, "Anti-hero" subtext snooze-o-rama. Spelunking bits read like (...) boring/extraneous unless you're writing a dissertation. Is that what you want from a thriller? I didn't think so. We give this the finger.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Modern medieval anti-hero of the establishment., Oct 8 2003

By	C. Middleton (Australia) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Shibumi (Mass Market Paperback)

When this novel was first published in 1979, the leading critics had a difficult time classifying the work. It wasn't exactly an espionage thriller or an epic, but it seemed to touch upon many genres and themes. ~Shibumi~ is a fictional biography more than anything else, for its central character, Nicholai Hel, is the tale's main concern. A minor character in the story sums up the protagonist superbly at the end of the book by calling him half saintly ascetic, half Vandal marauder - a medieval anti-hero. Nicholai Hel is your vintage 'man-against-the establishment' with a mind like a steel trap and the tastes and lifestyle of an 18th century aristocrat. His pedigree is a throw back to the German/Russian elite, where generations of breeding and culture have contributed to his unusual character. Nicholai is a man without a country, a natural mystic, philosopher, linguist, master of Go, a complex Japanese board game of high strategy, and most importantly, a self trained assassin for hire who is expert in the arts of naked/kill. More than this, he is a seeker of spiritual perfection, his ultimate goal being that hard to define state or condition known as Shibumi.

Trevanian (Rodney Whitaker) is a first rate writer. His technical skill in the craft well exceeds many leading 'thriller' writers of today. When one reads about the art of naked/kill, the mystical states of Nicholai Hel, or even the machinations of the CIA and their unscrupulous methods for creating and combating terror, one gets the distinct impression that the author knows exactly what he's talking about and must have access to some kind of inside information. His writing is almost too believable. Throughout the reading, I had to continue to remind myself that this novel was written in 1979, well before the general public had any concern about terrorism. Other than the main character, this tale is about corruption in governments, who will go to any lengths to secure oil rights in the Middle East. The book is also about technology, which has aided civilization in many ways, yet has eroded our basic values. In many respects, Nicholai Hel is a modern Luddite, despising machines in all their forms, and the waste they create. Nicholai Hel is an 'everyman' character, a representation of the virtuous individual, alone and pitted against the dangerous technological and consumerist values of the herd. In the end, however, does Nicholai Hel win this battle over the modern, vulgar, techno-centred majority and finally attain 'Shibumi'?

This work should be considered a classic, for it has a timelessness about it, and can be read many times, for it will continue to offer intellectual stimulation as well as pure entertainment for many years to come.

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Most recent customer reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars 1 star since 0 stars is not an option.
Okay, first of all I guess this book wouldn't have been even half as bad if it hadn't been marketed as a thriller. Read more

Published on Jul 15 2003 by Forsyth

2.0 out of 5 stars Great Start, Then Crashes and Burns
I couldn't put the book down, as they say, for its first half. Although I knew I was reading a Japanese view of WWII, it was nonetheless fascinating if terribly incomplete and as... Read more

Published on Jan 30 2003 by Paul Vernier

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't read this book!
Don't read this book! You will never be able to enjoy another thriller again - Ludlum, Clancy, etc. pale in comparison to the master! Read more

Published on Jan 24 2003 by Steven Sugg

5.0 out of 5 stars A novel, not an unbiased history text
This review is not meant to stand on its own. The merits of this fine novel are detailed by many reviewers, and to repeat them here would be futile. Read more

Published on Dec 4 2002