Greetings. My nom de guerre is The Nightstalker, I am a student of shadow war, and this is my journal. My interests include: spy/crime/men's adventure fiction, heistology, black ops, assassins, ninjas, prison breaks, survivalism, secret societies, parapolitics, occultism, mind control and dark side philosophy. In this blog I will be reviewing books of interest, reporting on some of my projects and operations, and reflecting on the world from a shadow warrior's perspective. To kick things off, here is my review of a recent read entitled, appropriately enough, "Shadow Warrior #1". Enjoy.
The Hong Kong Massacre (Shadow Warrior #1), by Joseph Rosenberger
At the tail-end of the ninja craze in the late 1980s, the late, great Joseph Rosenberger, author of the incomparable “Death Merchant” series, created the “Shadow Warrior” series, starring 'Shadow Warrior' Scott McKenna. McKenna is essentially Richard Camellion (the Death Merchant) with ninja training: killing machine, master of weapons, stealth and disguise, and mystic warrior with his own code of honor.
Like the Death Merchant novels, Rosenberger loads up the book with technical details. In this case, that means loads of Japanese terminology, ninjutsu techniques and descriptions of ninja weapons. It also means detailed and often amusing descriptions of each kill, complete with the full names of each victim and the particular anatomical deformations they suffer at the hands of the killer-protagonist. It also means references to ninjutsu hokum like kata dan-te, “Dance of the Deadly Hands”, and saimin-jutsu, “Way of the Mind Gate”, that were lifted directly from the writings of ninja LARPer and known lunatic Ashida Kim. But it's all good fun.
Book #1 in the series, The Hong Kong Massacre, concerns the Shadow Warrior's brutal revenge on a a Hong Kong triad gang who killed a close friend. It also recounts the origins of the Shadow Warrior, going back to the fateful day when McKenna, the trust-fund brat son of a diplomat stationed in Japan, calmly informed his parents that he was foregoing college and the Ivy League track to train as a ninja (it was the 1980s, people did things like that).
But the details of the plot are secondary. What matters is they provide a good set-up for maximum ninja mayhem and ultra-violence, sprinkled with Rosenberger's trademark technical details, morbid mysticism, philosophy and humor. The action consists of several set pieces that showcase McKenna's ninja skills of infiltration, disguise, gadgetry and outrageously bold attacks (who but a ninja master could infiltrate buildings full of armed men, kill dozens without firearms and come out unscathed?). If you like ninjas and Death Merchant novels (and what cultured person doesn't?), you're going to love the Shadow Warrior. Recommended for fans of the genre.
Buy a copy of The Hong Kong Massacre here.
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