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TENGU: The Mountain Goblin
"TENGU The Mountain Goblin is a
gem amidst the gravel bed of
thrillers that claim to feature martial
arts. Donohue knows the drama and
integrity of both martial arts and
fiction, blends them both together in
this solid, savvy novel that adds to
his literary and popular entertainer
reputation. Donohue satisfies
readers with sly humor, bone-deep
knowledge and clear eye."
James Grady, author of
SIX DAYS OF THE CONDOR
and MAD DOGS
While Sensei and Deshi were both
excellent reads, Donohue has truly
raised the bar in Tengu, the third
installment of his groundbreaking
Connor Burke series. Reminiscent of
Barry Eisler’s spectacular Rain Fall,
this action-packed thriller depicts a
gritty realism that only a seasoned
martial artist can accurately portray.
Appealing characters, engaging
dialogue, exotic locations, and
extraordinary insight into Asian
martial traditions all bring the
fascinating story to life. Once you
start reading this marvelous book it’s
damnably hard to put back down.
Highly and wholeheartedly
recommended.
Lawrence Kane
Author of Surviving Armed Assaults
_________________________________
Prologue: Demons
A famous physicist once said that it’s
impossible to examine the world
objectively: the very act of looking disturbs
the gossamer filaments that bind the
universe together and, as a result, they
vibrate with unanticipated harmonics. Our
mere existence changes everything.
We move through life thinking that the
distinction between ourselves and others,
between ourselves and the world, is
absolute. The Zen masters know better.
We are linked in ways that are both
intimate and fearsome.
I have come to believe that this is so. I don’
t think I could ever have anticipated the
events that would have brought me
somewhere far from my home, preparing
to kill the one person I most admired in
the world. Looking back, it is as if we were
drawn to that place by a chain that, for all
its invisibility, was stronger than the steel
of the sword that my master taught me to
wield.
Our progress through this world sets the
sea of molecules in motion. Like tide or
wind, our very passage through the world
creates unseen patterns in the fabric of
life. They churn and swirl. Some fade away
into quiet; others spawn into things of a
size and monstrous intensity we could
never imagine.
These, ultimately are the demons that
haunt us. They are not some force from
out there—they are creatures of our own
making. They grow, sometimes without our
awareness, spinning off into the darkness,
until the day their orbit brings us once
more into collision.
The old teachers were men alive to the
currents that swirled around them. Human
storm cells themselves, they churned
through life with an intensity that de-
stabilized the system. And they knew this.
So they searched the darkness, aching to
divine the pattern of the cyclones that
moved, just beyond the limen of
consciousness. The power they sensed
was something to harness, something to
defend against. Something to fear. And
the melancholy dignity they have passed
on to those who follow in their footsteps is
this: if you train hard enough, you can face
the looming force in the darkness and not
flinch.
The sensei, students of both motion and
stillness, know that the quest for mastery
and control creates new currents, new
powers, and new challenges.
These challenges become tests that
some survive. But all too often, only the
bystanders remain to tell the story.
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