 | | | | Deshi: A Martial Arts Thriller |  | List Price: $29.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (based on 16 reviews)
Sales Rank: 5169955
Category: Book
Author: John Donohue
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks
Studio: Blackstone Audiobooks
Manufacturer: Blackstone Audiobooks
Label: Blackstone Audiobooks
Format: Unabridged
Media: Audio Cassette
Edition: Unabridged
Number Of Items: 8
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 6.3 x 4.2 x 2.7
ISBN: 0786128976
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780786128976
ASIN: 0786128976
Publication Date: March 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
In each life the wheel of karma turns. Asian scholar and martial artist Connor Burke, who continues to labor under the stern tutelage of the master warrior Yamashita Sensei, is drawn once again into a murder investigation when the police discover a link between the victim and a mysterious martial arts sensei named Kita Takanobu. Kita has created a powerful New Age synthesis of Tibetan mysticism and the lethal heritage of the samurai. Along the way, Burke also finds himself pulled into the strange orbit of the Tibetan Lama Changpa, a mystic and clairvoyant who sees the dark clouds drawing in around Kita but is helpless to prevent a tragedy, as he follows a trail that ultimately leads to Kita's elite mountain temple where he will face his most deadly challenge ever.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
 From another martial arts author April 9, 2008
Let me start by saying that I'm a dedicated fan of this genre. That means of course that I've read Lustbader, Trevanian, Eisler, and now both of Donohue's books. This particular book came by recommendation of my father, also a huge martial arts fan (and fellow practictioner). I can totally respect Donohue's effort, because I know first hand how hard it is to put together a compelling martial arts thriller.
I also recently published a martial arts novel. My book features a Judo/Kenpo master hunting a world-class sniper whose killing presidential candidates. It's more of a mainstream thriller inspired by Lustabader's early erotic martial arts violence. See "Process of Elimination" if interested. End of shamelesss plug!
As another author writing in this same genre, I was very excited to pick up Donohue's "Sensei" (and then "Deshi"). I posted a review of "Sensei" as well, should you care to read it.
In Deshi, Connor is once again called in by the police (his brother and partner) to help with a murder case. There's a lot going on in the book behind the scenes, involving Chinese spies, a Tibetan Lama, some hired thugs, and a martial artist with something to hide. It's weird for me to even say this, but the complication in the plot sort of gets in the way of the story. Even as I finished the book, and I came to understand who was doing what and why, I was left a bit confused. I guess it's because there really isn't any way to figure out the book until Donohue finally walks you through it. It's not one of those stories where you can pick out clues and figure things out. You simply go along for the ride and then listen quietly as the author finally clues you in. Still, I like the authenticity of the martial arts and can overlook the lackluster feeling that I came away with.
Overall, I liked "Deshi" better than "Sensei." The story is unique, and there is more action. Like his first book, "Deshi" is also a quick read (a couple of hours). But complaints aside, I learned some things, and never put it down until it was finished. I guess that earns it 4 stars (but just barely).
 Bored to Tears March 17, 2008
The only people who should read this book are the stuffy academics the main character belittles, as this reads more like a lecture than a piece of interesting prose. There is little sense of suspense or danger in his fight scenes. Donohues' martial technique descriptions don't live up to his reputation as someone well-versed in a variety of Asian martial arts. Save for his relationships to master and his brother, there is very little in the way of interesting character interactions, and the conclusion is anti-climactic at best. Even the detective aspect to the story barely held my attention. If you're someone looking for a story rich with martial arts content this book will disappoint you.
A koan wrapped in a novel.... December 7, 2007
Donohue's "Deshi" is, much like its subject, simple, elegant and direct. This book is not actually about martial arts, so much as a fairly standard murder mystery as seen through the lens of traditional japanese martial arts. The actual meat and bones of the mystery etc is not as important as the treatment, which says more about Donohue's (and his character's) understanding of traditional martial arts than do the well written and realised action sequences. It's a story of simple and very personal beauty.
I really didn't expect to enjoy this book so much, but was drawn in by the mostly excellent characterisation. I say *mostly* excellent, as there are characters that the author obviously feels very connected to, and they leap off the page (Art, I'm looking at you) but others seem in many ways to be simple plot mechanisms (Stark, for example).
The book is immensely readable, and as an ex-traditional martial artist, brought back to me many of the things I loved about traditional martial arts, and took many not-so-subtle digs at all the things I hated.
I'll be getting more of Donohue.
 Good...for the price June 12, 2007
Deshi was an ok book it didn't quite reach the level of Mr. Donohue's first book ''Sensei'' I felt that Deshi sort lacked that wonderful tension building and climax that sensei had. As well the characters seemed to aimlessly sort of ramble about in the book not quite capable of doing their jobs. Donohue writes well as usual and I truly enjoyed the fight scenes, but then again they seemed quite short and yes, even though this is a mystery/detective series I felt that a little more focus could have been given to that. I give it 3.5 stars and will buy his next for sure.
Good, but not as good as Sensei June 17, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This novel is going to be a little tougher to critique than Mr. Donohue's first outing, the remarkable "Sensei". I very much enjoyed reading this sequel to that excellent novel and also enjoyed being introduced to the characters again. There were a few flaws with this novel though, and this one felt more like a debut novel than his Sensei did.
As I noted in my review of Sensei, Donohue's protagonist, Connor Burke, is a finely realized and interesting character with substantial depth, complex feelings and motivations, and is an unusual hybrid of both college professor of Asian Studies and martial artist. In Sensei, his actions and reactions, to the unfolding plot events were both sensible and consistent with his character. Within this novel I felt the author stretched that sensibility and consistency a little too far for my comfort.
In this outing Connor, still a thinking man's hero, is drawn into another police investigation because of his unusual background and expertise in martial arts and Asian studies. The investigation, taking place in New York City, revolves around a series of murders of experts in Japanese calligraphy. Events proceed and eventually two dojos (martial arts schools) come into conflict with each other, spiritually and physically. The action scenes are excellent, the writing taut, and the book flows extremely well. In fact, I churned through this one very quickly, ignoring important things in my life clamoring for my attention, and enjoyed myself quite a bit.
I was disapppointed on some levels with this book however, probably because my expectations were so elevated after reading Sensei. Some of the characters in this book are finely realized, complex, believable and interesting. Yet many are not. Additionally some of the situations within the novel felt both forced and contrived and lacked a sense of naturalness and authenticity. Perhaps most disappointing was that the villains felt fairly cartoonish in the end and certainly did not behave rationally nor were their actions internally consistent with their depictations. Clever villains are so much more interesting than stupid ones.
I wish I could whole-heartedly recommend this book as an excellent read, but all I can really say is that it was certainly a fun read and I still enjoyed it despite some flaws. If you liked Sensei then go ahead and read this one, you'll still enjoy the further adventures of Connor Burke. If you haven't read Sensei, but like to read thrillers/mysteries/action adventure then I'd recommend reading Sensei before this book.
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