Flashbacks detail Nicholas’s rigorous training in ninjutsu and his rivalry with his cousin Saigō . The enmity stems from a childhood duel and a deeper family blood feud involving Nicholas’s mother.
The narrative operates on two parallel timelines: post-war Japan and 1980s New York City.
Nicholas Linnear, a bi-racial man (English/Chinese) raised in Japan, has left a successful advertising career to reconnect with his "Japanese soul". After falling for a woman named Justine Tomkin , Nicholas is pulled back into his violent past when a coworker is murdered with a poisoned ninja shuriken . eric_van_lustbader_ninja.doc
Nicholas realizes Saigō is the "Ninja" stalking New York, targeting those close to Nicholas and Justine’s millionaire father, Raphael Tomkin . Core Themes & Stylistic Elements Go to product viewer dialog for this item.
The following report analyzes (1980), the seminal techno-thriller by Eric Van Lustbader that launched the Nicholas Linnear series and catalyzed the "ninja craze" of the 1980s. Overview of the Novel Core Themes & Stylistic Elements Go to product
Published in April 1980, is a sprawling erotic thriller that blends international intrigue, Japanese history, and martial arts mysticism. The book spent over 20 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list and is widely credited with popularizing the concept of the ninja in Western pop culture. Plot Summary
Book Review: The Ninja, by Eric Van Lustbader - Dial H For Houston ‘The Miko and ‘White Ninja’
Eric Lustbader is the bestselling author of ‘Second Skin, ‘The Kaisho, ‘The Miko and ‘White Ninja’, all starring Nicholas Linnear.