The Death and Life of Nicholas Linnear

A good but not great entry into the Ninja series. Mr. Van Lustbader seems to have gotten away from what has made the Nicholas Linnear character his greatest fictional work. In this latest entry you could easily substitute "Bourne" for "Linnear" and you would, in essence, have the same story. Gone are the flashback sequences to old Japan linking the past to the present showing how the mysticism and spirit of old world Japan link and create the new world that Nicholas Linnear inhabits; and how Nicholas Linnear is a representation of that old world Japan mixed with the new. Simply throwing in a few quotes from Sun Tzu, a Japanese sword, and reference to spiritual mysticism does not a good Ninja story make. I hope this is simply a prelude to the novel Mr. Van Lustbader should write to continue the adventures of his greatest character. This entry teased me enough to yearn for a true Nicholas Linnear novel so I'll be rereading the Ninja this week.

Brief, exciting...perhaps too brief. Will there be more? Thirty pages that reads more like a chapter not so much a story.

I would like to thank NetGalley & Open Road Integrated Media for granting me a copy of this e-book to read in exchange for an honest review. Though I received this e-book for free that in no way impacts my review. Goodreads Blurb: "The deadly ninja Nicholas Linnear returns in his first all-new adventure in more than twenty years. This was to be one of the greatest nights of Nicholas Linnear’s life—a crowning achievement. After taking over his family’s company and quadrupling its size, he has gambled it all on a liquid natural gas trade with the Chinese, a deal worth untold billions. Is that why he just woke up in a pinewood coffin? In honor of the ebook publication of the original Nicholas Linnear novels—'The Ninja, The Miko', and 'White Ninja'—Eric Van Lustbader returns to the series for a new heart-stopping adventure. Drugged to the brink of death, Linnear reemerges in a desperate attempt to save his business and find the people who tried to bury him alive. No time has passed for Nicholas Linnear. The Ninja is as deadly as ever, and his blade is just as sharp." A brief, but utterly realistic, re-entry that plunges you immediately back into the brutal world of Nicholas Linnear, as though you'd never left it. Nicholas remains an Outsider wherever he is, all thanks to his mixed heritage. The Japanese barely tolerate him thanks to his father's legacy, the Chinese only use him for his prodigious business acumen, and the Americans only see his external appearance that signals his mixed heritage. Yet all his challenges made Nicholas into the man he is in this short story - lethal, sharp, a ninja to the very core. This mini story showcases the Nicholas that suffered to attain his dreams. The action spikes as the story opens, and it never stops until the story's close. He remains true to his character, and the arc of this story is impeccable. It starts up, climbs a bit more, plateaus for a short time, then climbs even higher before the climactic end. It is almost as if Van Lustbader had an idea for a chapter in one of his other books, was unable to fit it in without spoiling the flow of any of those tales, so he molded it into a short story. An excellent one at that. It certainly reminded me why I so enjoyed 'The Ninja', and why I'm anxious to get to his other books.