MA in novels

[KukSool]

I'm now in the 2nd book of the Rain series by Barry Eisler. It's so refreshing to read a good novel that has actual martial arts in it. Usually, if an author decides to give a character martial arts skills (rare enough as it is), they tend to gloss over the details & give only brief, vague descriptions of the action. I was wondering if anyone else here has read this series & if you can recommend any similar books, or any other good novels that feature martial arts.

[Grey Rain]

Just read a few reviews, will definitely pick up the first one and start reading it asap.

Thanks for pointing it out!

[Bloke]

The Nicholas Linnear Novels by Eric (Van) Lustbader. I think there are 5 or 6 in the series startting with the Ninja. he also wrote novels about a character called Jake Maroc set in china that has MA in them.

Give them a go - I remember enjoying them.

[Roual]

Tom Clancy's Net Force series of books has one of the main characters practising Silat.

Someone with more knowledge of the art would have to judge the accuracy of the information he provides, but he does describe how it is suppose to be an armed art and the basic movements can be changed very slightly to incorporate weapon work, also some of the background is described.

If anyone with more knowledge of Silat than me like reading, try one of the Net Force books and let me know how accurate it is :)

[Alex_JHH]

I just started reading one of the Lustbader novels, called Zero. It's pretty cool, check it out.

[Ular Sawa]

Tom Clancy's Net Force series of books has one of the main characters practising Silat.

Someone with more knowledge of the art would have to judge the accuracy of the information he provides, but he does describe how it is suppose to be an armed art and the basic movements can be changed very slightly to incorporate weapon work, also some of the background is described.

If anyone with more knowledge of Silat than me like reading, try one of the Net Force books and let me know how accurate it is :)

I read the first Net Force book some four years ago when I was stuck on a cargo ship for a few weeks. I think the author (not Tom Clancy) used to post here on MAP at one time. The type of Silat is not what I do but from the best of my recollection, it sounded somewhat accurate.

I am currently reading a four volume series called "Outlaws of the Marsh". There is quite a lot of martial arts in that as it was set several hundred years ago in China.

[TheMightyMcClaw]

Outlaws of the Marsh is my absolute favorite book. I recomend it for any who does martial arts, especially Chinese martial arts.

[aikiMac]

... if you can recommend any similar books, or any other good novels that feature martial arts.
"The Helm." I think the author is Stephen Gould. It's a sci-fi book about humans settling on another planet. The main character does aikido. His training and his fighting (he kicks some butt) is a major part of the story. In the first chapter a female sensei snaps someone's neck with a aikido move that's fairly well described -- :eek: !

[TheCount]

I think often the fact is the general details are enough to build a picture and it can make the martial arts sound far more formidable

[aikiMac]

I think often the fact is the general details are enough to build a picture and it can make the martial arts sound far more formidable
That's not a bad thing. ;)

[KukSool]

The thing is, it's like watching an action video with someone fast-forwarding every time you get to an action scene. It gets frustrating.

[butcher wing]

Lustbader!!

The Ninja
The Miko
White Ninja

There are more but after these 3 they get VERY silly.


These are other good ones by him

Black Heart
Zero
French Kiss


plus the Jake Maroc books

Jian
Shan


Also Marc Olden's books

Giri.

Can't remember his others, though.

John Donohue has a book called Sensei about a killer targeting MA experts.

David Morrell's Brotherhood Trilogy is worth a read, too.

[aikiMac]

Doh! We forgot the obvious: "The Three Musketeers" by Alexander Dumas. Excellent read! There's a sequel, "Twenty Years Later," that I haven't read.


And there's "The Destroyer" series of over 100 books by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir. The martial art therein is made-up (no, children, Sinanju is not real), but if you're looking for a humorous and easy read the books are good. Chuin is the man. I love Chuin.

[butcher wing]

[QUOTE=aikiMac]Doh! We forgot the obvious: "The Three Musketeers" by Alexander Dumas. Excellent read! There's a sequel, "Twenty Years Later," that I haven't read.


It's Twenty Years After, mate.

Man In The Iron Mask, too.

If you liked 3M i would heartily recommend the current Penguin Classics paperback of The Count of Monte Cristo.
:)

[Jelik]

I'm now in the 2nd book of the Rain series by Barry Eisler. It's so refreshing to read a good novel that has actual martial arts in it. Usually, if an author decides to give a character martial arts skills (rare enough as it is), they tend to gloss over the details & give only brief, vague descriptions of the action. I was wondering if anyone else here has read this series & if you can recommend any similar books, or any other good novels that feature martial arts.

Sarophia (fantasy story, www.sarophia.com) does ;-)

[SwordOfDamocles]

The Sano Ichiro mysteries by Laura Joh Rowland (Shinju, Bundori, Way of the Traitor, etc.). The martial arts sequences are fairly detailed and, for the most part, realistic. Besides which, they are just a really good read!

[Mark Barlow]

SHIBUMI & THE SUMMER OF KATYA by Trevanian.

KATYA is one of the few works of fiction I've run across that mentions savate.

[tellner]

I'm now in the 2nd book of the Rain series by Barry Eisler. It's so refreshing to read a good novel that has actual martial arts in it. Usually, if an author decides to give a character martial arts skills (rare enough as it is), they tend to gloss over the details & give only brief, vague descriptions of the action. I was wondering if anyone else here has read this series & if you can recommend any similar books, or any other good novels that feature martial arts.

Just read all four at the urging of Terry Trahan (http://weaselcraft.blogspot.com), one of the editors of selfdefenseforums back before it turned to slock. Actually, he had a lot of influence on the most recent one. Good books, well worth reading.

[tellner]

Tom Clancy's Net Force series of books has one of the main characters practising Silat.

Someone with more knowledge of the art would have to judge the accuracy of the information he provides, but he does describe how it is suppose to be an armed art and the basic movements can be changed very slightly to incorporate weapon work, also some of the background is described.

If anyone with more knowledge of Silat than me like reading, try one of the Net Force books and let me know how accurate it is :)

Now It Can Be Told. Actually, it was told years ago, but it's worth repeating.

Steve Perry wrote the first seven or eight NetForce books. You'll notice him in the credits being thanked for "helping bring the manuscript together". Some time back a V.C. Andrews fan sued the publisher over ghost-written books. The contention, which the court agreed with, was that it constituted fraud; the fans were being deprived of the authentic V.C. Andrews experience. Ghost writers working on series began to receive cover credit as Steve did around book four.

Steve has been an avid student of Guru Plinck for close to ten years. In all that time he's missed maybe four classes. The progress of the Silat in the books closely mirrors his own deepening understanding of the system.

Steve is also the author of one of the few science fiction series to include decent martial arts, the Matador books. They start with "The Man Who Never Missed (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0441519180/qid=1128716789/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-0056102-3821761?v=glance&s=books)" and "The 97th Step (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0441581056/qid=1128716820/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-0056102-3821761?v=glance&s=books)". Good stuff from his pre-Silat days. A prequel, "Musashi Flex (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0441013619/qid=1128716789/sr=2-2/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_2/102-0056102-3821761?v=glance&s=books)", includes a lot of Silat and will be out December or January.

[chasleeuk]

in chinese culture, martial arts novels are mega popular.

the best martial arts novels are written by Jin Yong, they are known as 'mo hup' or wuxia novels. a vast majority of chinese films are actually based on these novels for example crouching tiger hidden dragon...

The most famous is the Legend of the Condor heroes which is a trilogy combining real life chinese history with some real life schools and martial arts, most of the martial arts are over the top but the way they are described is just totally awesome!!!

[Shokku]

I've found it to be difficult to write a story containing intricate combat scenes, as I tend to go into great detail to the point where I've confused the reader completely. If not, it's too vague... I study trapping.

Perhaps I should read these as points of reference...

[chasleeuk]

http://www.spcnet.tv/readingrooms/

check out the jin yong translations...its wicked stuff

[KukSool]

[QUOTE=aikiMac]Doh! We forgot the obvious: "The Three Musketeers" by Alexander Dumas. Excellent read! There's a sequel, "Twenty Years Later," that I haven't read.


It's Twenty Years After, mate.

Man In The Iron Mask, too.

If you liked 3M i would heartily recommend the current Penguin Classics paperback of The Count of Monte Cristo.
:)


Which reminds me, Roger Zelazny's Amber series has some great sword action.

[RAGINGbuddha]

in chinese culture, martial arts novels are mega popular.

the best martial arts novels are written by Jin Yong, they are known as 'mo hup' or wuxia novels. a vast majority of chinese films are actually based on these novels for example crouching tiger hidden dragon...

The most famous is the Legend of the Condor heroes which is a trilogy combining real life chinese history with some real life schools and martial arts, most of the martial arts are over the top but the way they are described is just totally awesome!!!
I don't think there's a whole lot of people in the West that knows of JinYong. They should but its unfortunate. His novels are only being recently fan-translated into English and very slowly at that.

[Freeform]

Lustbader!!

The Ninja
The Miko
White Ninja

There are more but after these 3 they get VERY silly.


I thought they got silly with White Ninja ;)


These are other good ones by him

Black Heart
Zero
French Kiss


Black Heart was really good, I may have to go read it again. A slightly far fetched but in the same way that the Bourne books are :)

[thepunisher]

The Nicholas Linnear Novels by Eric (Van) Lustbader. I think there are 5 or 6 in the series startting with the Ninja. he also wrote novels about a character called Jake Maroc set in china that has MA in them.

Give them a go - I remember enjoying them.

Yeah, these books by Eric Van Lustbader are really good. I read a book called "Zero" by him some time ago and he really is a good MA/Action novel writer. Anyone who is into MA's should have read at least one book by him.

Christian

[aikiMac]

Just read "Across the Nightinggale Floor" by Lian Hearn. It's part 1 of a trilogy. Very good. Very good indeed. It's a fictional story set in an imaginary land based upon feudal-era Japan. (The author's intro admits that he based it on feudal Japan.) There's samurai, and servants, and assassins, and lovers, and haters, and people who get their heads and arms chopped off with swords. The martial arts is not the central focus of the story, but it's an important ingredient in the story.