Tengu the Mountain Goblin (Connor Burke Martial Arts Series #3)

by John J. Donohue

Overview

[Japan] An intelligence analyst is murdered on temple grounds.

[Manila] Two embassy guards go missing and a bizarre execution video is discovered by a special-forces team.

[New York] Martial arts expert Connor Burke is hired as a consultant for an elite US Army training program.

[Mindanao Philippines] A young Japanese ethnographer from Harvard Universityis kidnapped by a terrorist cell of Abu Sayeff.

A renegade martial arts Sensei known as the Tengu has been recruited to train a splinter group of Asian terrorists with links to Al Qaeda. The Tengu mourns the vanished prestige and cultural heritage of Imperial Japan. He, like the men he trains, believes the West is responsible for destroying the spiritual essence of a once-great culture.

In a series of violent clashes spawned by the bizarre intersection of contemporary fundamentalist terrorist ideology and the personal vendettas of the Tengu, Connor Burke and his martial arts teacher Yamashita are pawns in a game that will ensnare them while they search for the most deadly of foes: the Tengu.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781594391231
Publisher:	YMAA Publication Center
Publication date:	10/01/2008
Series:	Connor Burke Martial Arts Series , #3
Pages:	300
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

A nationally know expert on the culture and practice of the martial arts, John Donohue has been banging around dojo for more than 30 years.

Fascinated with the themes of human action and potential he uncovered in his research, John began thinking about the fictional possibilities inherent in the world of the martial arts.

John has always been fascinated with other cultures and was attracted to the Asian martial disciplines because of their blend of philosophy and action. He began studying Shotokan Karatedo in college. He joined practical training with more formal education, completing a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Fusing the way of the pen and the way of the sword, while writing John has trained in the martial disciplines of aikido, iaido, judo, karatedo, kendo, and taiji. He has dan (black belt) ranks in both karatedo and kendo.

Editorial Reviews

"A gem amidst the gravel bed of thrillers that claim to feature martial arts..."

James Grady

"Donohue has truly raised the bar with Tengu, the third installment of his Connor Burke series. This action packed thriller depicts a gritty realism. Once you start reading, it’s hard to put down. Highly recommended!"

Lawrence A. Kane

Donohue hits poignantly and true on something that most martial artists will never feel: the deep emotional shifts as a student’s relationship with a sensei changes to something deeper. A well crafted martial arts thriller, which is something of a rarity.

Sgt. Rory Miller

While Connor Burke, an Asian studies professor and black belt, is off critiquing the martial arts training of a U.S. special ops group, a Harvard anthropology student, the daughter of a wealthy Japanese family, is kidnapped in a remote area of the Philippines. Her ransom is paid, but the terrorists also take the man who delivers it. The man is Yamishita, Burke's sensei, or teacher. Burke, his brother Micky, and his police partner, Art, go on their most dangerous mission to a remote part of the world where they have little hope of success. In his third thriller (after Sensei and Deshi), Donohue kicks out prose that is as fluid as the martial arts moves he so eloquently describes. Of course, Barry Eisler's John Rain series comes to mind as a read-a-like.

—Jo Ann Vicarel

Library Journal