bookrev: Tengu by John Donohue
Tengu is the third novel in John Donohue’s series of Connor Burke: anthropologist, martial 
arts student and instructor. It is an excellently paced read, tough to put down, and describes the martial arts involved from a realistic point of view: no levitating kicks with wires here, just hard work and lots of blood and sweat. The book title refers to a Japanese martial artist (nicknamed after a mythical Japanese mountain goblin) who holds old grudges against Burke and his sensei, Yamashita.
The Tengu puts in motion a complex plot, involving Muslim terrorists in the Philippines, the kidnapping of embassy marines and a Japanese student from a wealthy family, and various other players connected to Burke. This plan ultimately leads to Yamashita getting kidnapped and Burke (along with his brother, cop Mickey and partner Art) are sent to the Philippines to rescue the sensei. Burke is well portrayed as an unemployed academic who spends the majority of his life immersed in martial arts, looked upon as somewhat of an outcast (i.e., weirdo) by his family and society. (more…)
