Thursday 22 September 2011

Best book ever: Shiumi by Trevanian

The best book I ever read was Shibumi by Trevanian. Great characters, great story, great action sequences, great philosophy. By the time I finished the book, I had a favourite author. I went on to read all of his other books and to enjoy exploring his website www.trevanian.com.

I was saddened of course when the author (Rodney William Whitaker) passed away in late 2005.

But two good things have happened recently.

The first is that Trevanian's daughter (Alexandra Whitaker) allowed another author to write a new book based on Shibumi. This book is Satori by Don Winslow. I bought the book as soon as I became aware of its existence. It was a complete joy to see Nicholai Hel back in action again! In the "Author's Note" at the end of the book, Winslow has some very nice things to say about Shibumi, Trevanian, and his approach to writing the book. He has made a few mistakes with the characterisation, IMHO, but it was as good as could be expected now that the genius who created Hel is no longer with us.

The second is that Alexandra tells us on the Trevanian website that she is going to complete his unfinished work: Street of the Four Winds. I'm not sure how long this process will take, but as a Trevanian fan is is fantastic to know that at some point in the future I will be holding a new Trevanian novel in my hands. His legacy lives on.