Rating: 
Summary: Short but sweet.
Review: This is a book I read over 5 years ago, but it made such an impression upon me that I have since read it twice again. The book is crafted with a pure art form. It's description of the Martial Arts is very good, and it's depth into the Characters of the book is outstanding. It is based upon one main character but doesn't focus from him the whole time, often switching from character to character, giving us an even deeper view of them. It is truly a gripping book and one I am sure to read again.</P>
Rating: 
Summary: Fair.
Review: A fair work of fiction, but the author doesn't know squat about historical or modern ninjas. He should have stuck to something he new.
Rating: 
Summary: Needed more action... less porno.
Review: As I am a big fan of martial arts, I read this book hoping for something slightly campy, lots of action and some good fight-scenes (kinda like a hong-kong, kung-fu flick)... what I got was a bunch of kinky sex and some realllly tedius/ boring flashbacks. I think this book was primarily aimed at horny kids and lecherous old men. The whole "good white-arts ninja"/ "bad black-arts ninja" thing got old real quick and didn't help matters much as well. After I finished it, my only thought was "There went several hours of my life I'll never get back..." I'd say pass on this one.
Rating:
Summary: Popular martial arts blockbuster
Review: Eric Van Lustbader's "The Ninja" has all the trappings of a cinematic thriller: a fast-moving plot, a villain skilled in the deadliest martial arts, suspenseful encounters, a narrative fuelled by passion and revenge, lashings of sex and spellbinding action scenes. Although it is regarded as a popular book, which is to say, "a good read" on account of its standard storyline and characterisation, its sophisticated language, with choice descriptions and refined diction, elevate to the altogether higher plane of literature.
Rating:
Summary: Popular martial arts blockbuster
Review: Eric Van Lustbader's "The Ninja" has all the trappings of a cinematic thriller: a fast-moving plot, a villain skilled in the deadliest martial arts, suspenseful encounters, a narrative fuelled by passion and revenge, lashings of sex and spellbinding action scenes. Although it is regarded as a popular book, which is to say, "a good read" on account of its standard storyline and characterisation, its sophisticated language, with choice descriptions and refined diction, elevate to the altogether higher plane of literature.
Rating:
Summary: Mystical Culture coupled with modern lifestyles.
Review: Excellent story especially if you admire the eastern culture and unlike most nations how Japan has managed to acquire great technological advances while staying in touch with its beautiful albeit mystical culture. The ninja is mystical Culture coupled with modern lifestyles,with a great tale of passion revenge and keeping in line of Eric Lustbader "Lust". This book has the right amount of every element especially extermely well developed characters. Its quite sophisticated and as one can see from the reviews wont please everyone.Its not a book for those who are soley intersted in the ninja action (not a hongkong Kungfu flick),but a serious absolutly entertaining and mature reading.
Rating:
Summary: Som kind of a hero, fighing with his past
Review: From the first time you read the book, you can't leave it, the confontation between Linnear's western and eastern side is fanastic. This, and the time-space switching create a feeling that goes deep in the readers mind
Rating: 
Summary: Good for it's time.....
Review: I bought this book because I am a Batman fan, and I found strong similarities between Nicholas and Bruce Wayne/Batman. Which is the only reason I kept on reading. Frankly I found the book to be a jumbled mess. I wasn't sure what Lustbader was trying to do. Was he trying to tell a story or muse eastern philosophy? The story involves Nicholas Linear the son of English/Jewish Colonel in the British army and a Chinese/Japanese woman. The story covers him both his life as a 33 year old man in the 1970's living in New York as well as his adolescence in Japan. In Japan Nicholas studies martial arts and is the rival of another man...why we don't know. There is constantly reference to a debt of honor that really isn't fully explained. In New York Nicholas is being stalked by a Ninja who is trying to kill him. We are given no idea how or why Nicholas is in the states and why he moved there. Also the story has Nicholas romantically/sexually involved with two women who are mentally disturbed and I was left puzzled as to why such an intelligent man would do something like that. And as many reviewers pointed out the sex is very explicit. I wouldn't call it erotic. Pornographic is more the right word. As most of the scenes were lengthy and had really did not advance the plot. There were two rape scenes. One involving incest that I found irritating and unecessary. The sex seemed to be just there for shock and titilation. The book was interesting...but I think tighter editing would have served it better.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Thriller Ever Written This Century
Review: I cannot say enough about the author's deep understanding of Japanese culture and post-war politics. Additionally, the action and sex scenes are graphic without being vulgar and add to the excitement of reading. The only negative is the fact that the Japanese economy is portrayed as a juggernaut when, in fact, it is a mess! So when you read this, pretend that you are living before 1989! Of course, when this book was written, conventional wisdom also held this view. Hindsight is 20/20.
Rating: 
Summary: Extremely entertaining!!
Review: I found this book to be extremely entertaining. I am a big fan of all things martial arts/ninja/samurai and i loved reading about their histories as well as the histories of Japan, China, etc. I liked the characters and thought the story was excellent. Plus, the fight scenes were great!! Some of the violence and sex were a little excessive, but overall a very good read! PS-Brandon Lee would have made a great Nicholas Linnear!
| 
