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Praise for Enzan: The Far Mountain…
Multi-layered and satisfying, a welcome and well-developed addition to an accomplished martial arts series.
—Kirkus Reviews
A Zen master, a princess, and a martial artist burst out of their archetypes to reveal deep and likable characters.
—ForeWord Reviews
North Korean thugs, the Japanese family, an Hispanic gangster, a retired cop, a nymphomaniac girl, and a Zen monastery. Mix all these with a variety of agendas and you have an incredible basis for a “can’t put it down” novel. We rated this novel our max 5-heart rating.
—Heartland Reviews
Read Enzan and you’ll sense sharp swords somewhere in proximity. Read it, and you’re involved in the multi-layered, pulsating life that can only be found in a book about Connor Burke.
—Michael DeMarco, founder of Journal of Asian Martial Arts
What makes this book worth the review, and worth your reading time is ... Donohue’s wise, asides ... regarding martial arts, Japanese culture, and Zen influences. [They] lend Enzan its true promise—namely to render traditional martial arts practice as a way of living relevant to the warp and woof of the modern world. Doing so lifts John Donohue’s work into the mainstream of crime/adventure fiction.
—Arthur Rosenfeld for Huffington Post
A classic Japanese structured myth of a questing warrior... set in our modern thriller struggles. Authentic and exciting!
—James Grady, author of Six Days of the Condor
When it comes to martial arts action and suspense, John Donohue is the grandmaster. I’m a big Connor Burke fan!
—David J. Montgomery, mystery and thriller critic for Mystery Ink
It’s great to see Burke and Yamashita back in another martial arts action adventure. Told by a hard-hitting writer and martial arts expert, John Donohue is at the top of his game.
—Loren Christensen, (ret) police officer, Portland P.D., martial artists, author of Dukkha (series)
Donohue equals Eisler and Van Lustbader as a fiction writer who deftly mixes a crackling plot, martial arts action, and vivid characters, for an unforgettable thrill ride.
—Brian R. Sheridan, martial artist, author of American Life in the 1930’s
In this installment, Donohue skillfully weaves parallel narratives wherein the secrets of the past have powerful consequences for the present, and even the most jaded readers will be caught by surprise by the secrets that are exposed.
—Meron Langsner, award-winning playwright
A meaty story that can be read as a darn good thriller, or as a study in human nature, or as a commentary on the traditions and inner workings of the martial art. Pick it up on Friday night when you don’t have to be at work Saturday morning. If you’re like me, you’ll be up half the night reading—just one more chapter.
—Dr. Susan Lynn Peterson, author of Western
Herbs for Martial Artists and Contact Athletes
Also by John Donohue
Sensei
Deshi
Tengu
Kage
YMAA Publication Center, Inc.
Main Office
PO Box 480
Wolfeboro, NH 03894
800-669-8892 • www.ymaa.com • [email protected]
ISBN Paperback: 9781594392818
ISBN Ebook: 9781594392825
© 2014 John Donohue
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
Enzan: The Far Mountain was edited by Leslie Takao, and its cover was designed by Axie Breen. This book has been typeset in Adobe Garamond Pro and printed on 55 LBS FSC-Env100 Ant EDI Creme paper.
Publisher’s Cataloging in Publication
Donohue, John J., 1956-
Enzan : the far mountain / John Donohue. -- Wolfeboro, NH : YMAA Publication Center, Inc., c2014.
p. ; cm.
ISBN: 978-1-59439-281-8 (pbk.) ; 978-1-59439-282-5 (ebook)
“A Connor Burke martial arts thriller”--Cover.
Summary: Chie Miyazaki is wild and spoiled-- the pampered child of a cadet line of the Imperial House of Japan. When she disappears in the US accompanied by a slick Korean boyfriend, the Japanese seek out Connor Burke, student of renowned sensei Yamashita, for a quiet solution. Burke is swept along in a covert search and rescue operation that turns into a deadly confrontation with a North Korean sleeper cell. He experiences the power of his sensei’s decades old connections, and the secret that drove Yamashita from Japan now pulls him back into the service of the Imperial family.--Publisher.
1. Burke, Connor (Fictitious character) 2. Martial artists--Fiction. 3. Missing persons--Investigation--Fiction. 4. Princesses--Japan--Fiction. 5. Royal houses--Japan--Fiction. 6. Espionage, North Korean--Fiction. 7. Martial arts fiction. 8. Suspense fiction. 9. Mystery fiction. I. Title.
PS3604.O565 E59 2014 2014939377
813/.6--dc23 1407
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
To Aidan James Brough
As you take your first steps in life’s journey
(you can read this later)
Prologue
Life is a path: a thing of direction and purpose. Yamashita taught me that we forge ourselves in the Do, the Way, that we pursue. My relationship with my teacher is deep and complicated and reverent. Yet there are doubts ghosting around in my bones. On good days I hope we were formed for a purpose, but there is also a deep throbbing, a grim Celtic warning that life can be either full or futile. And there is no sense to how that will be revealed; we graft meaning on our lives as best we can.
My teacher has led me on a disciplined quest to find that meaning, although I didn’t know that for
