Satori

January 3, 2011
Nicholai Hel was already an accomplished assassin, a master of hoda korosu ("naked kill"), when introduced in Trevanian's 1979 Shibumi. Now Winslow (The Life and Death of Bobby Z.) dons Trevanian's mantle and cloaks Hel in a tangled series of adventures and misadventures in this exciting prequel. Hel's conditional ticket out of an American-run prison in 1951 Japan requires him to acquire a new face and identity and to carry out a probably suicidal mission to assassinate Soviet commissioner Yuri Voroshenin in China. In the guise of 26-year-old Michel Guibert, a French arms dealer, Hel enters a labyrinthine world of intrigue as various Chinese factions and foreign interests struggle for advantage. Winslow successfully fleshes out Hel's mixed heritage (aristocratic Russian mother, surrogate Japanese father and mentor), and eventually takes him to war-torn Vietnam, where Hel's expertise in applying Go strategy is as important to his survival as his physical skills. Winslow has crafted an impressive prelude to a highly esteemed classic thriller.

The late Trevanian's 1979 thriller, SHIBUMI, was a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. Now comes Don Winslow, with a prequel, featuring SHIBUMI's main character, Nicholia Hell. SATORI takes place in 1951, when Hell is released from prison in Japan. He had been jailed for killing his mentor, a Japanese war criminal, in an act of mercy. Hell is recruited to pose as a Frenchman to assassinate an Asian enemy of the free world. Hell is a master of the game Go and has unparalleled skill in the Japanese metaphysical martial arts. Narrator Holter Graham gives all the characters in this prequel special treatment. He emphasizes the mysticism in Winslow's work and brings listeners into the unfamiliar world of discipline and terror without missing a beat. A.L.H. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine