Kamikaze

by Michael Slade

Book Overview

He is a Kamikaze. His target: a survivor of the bomb crew that incinerated Hiroshima more than half a century ago. She is an executioner. Her target: those responsible for her father's murder during... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451219848
• ISBN13: 9780451219848
• Release Date: November 2006
• Publisher: Signet Book
• Length: 388 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.7"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Never a dull moment in the world of Special X...

Kamikaze - standing alone from Michael Slade's other books - is a good, easy read. It is well paced, stocked with action and suspense, and offers just the right amount of detail. This tale of revenge spanning generations offers readers a well-designed villain, and the ever-rotating cast of Special X heroes. And it's that feature that I like most about Slade's work. Like Ed McBain, he doesn't focus on the same individuals always staying one step ahead of bumbling law enforcement officals, but rather selects from a stable of well written characters, fitting each story to an appropriate hero. Compared to Slade's other work, though, Kamikaze seems a little bare bones. Now, even the author himself has said in the past that this particular book was on a deadline due to time-sensitive material, and I can understand that. This addition to the series lacks the heavy detail and huge amounts of historical backstory that previous books thrived on (I've been told by people who don't like Slade books that it is the long-winded style of description employed by Slade that turns them away). Despite not being quite as descriptive as his usual work, Slade stills puts out a very well written story, complete with believable characters and real locations and events. If you're already a fan of Robert Declerq and company, this is a wonderful followup to "Swastika". New fans won't need to brush up on the history of Special X to enjoy Kamikaze, though the previous titles are worth checking out.

Really very good

I can't give this one five out of five. Its definately a good, good read, but not among the absoulte best. Ergo, not five stars. Story involves Jackie Hett and Dane Winter (both from Swastika) and people and circumstances introduced in the last book. As the other reviews - and the back of the book - make clear, this is about revenge for World War II-era atrocities. Problem is this: Slade's books are about completely insane, nasty killers, or, sometimes a few of them. There's always a great twist involving one or more killer's identity. I had this one pretty much figured out (although not entirely) and that disappointed me because I NEVER figure Slade out early. So - the book's great, but a little predictable. Plus, the development of the psychos in this one isn't as good...fun...exciting...appalling...as I've come to expect. Theses problems aside, there are a hundred great things to say about the novel. Its just not his best.

Kamikaze cuts to the action.

KAMIKAZE is very much a sister novel to Slade's previous book, 'SWASTIKA'. Both share stories anchored in the past (WWII) with repercussions in the present. Where KAMIKAZE differs is in the pacing. SWASTIKA had a good even pace to it while the latest novel moves at an ever quickening pace. The most striking feature of the novel is the imagery. Whether you are reading about the flight of the Enola Gay or a complex tailing operation by the RCMP divisions, you feel as though you are right there with them. With its breakneck pacing, vivid imagery, and well researched history, KAMIKAZE is an entertaining read.

Special X #12 is a master stroke...

With Kamikaze, the twelfth serving in the Special X series, Michael Slade gives us a narrative style unlike any of his previous works. Written with a Japanese-like restraint Kamikaze is a thriller that unfolds like a fluid dance which make the thrills and chills that much more effective; where it's eleven siblings might swing an ax, Kamikaze slices with a katana. In Kamikaze we are introduced to Special X member Jackie Hett and her family of war heroes (including one of my favorite characters in this book). They are on a collision course with a madman hell bent on revenge, a revenge that has been sought after and planned for since World War Two. It's up to Jackie and the Special X squad to try and unravel the secrets of Kamikaze before it's too late. With a deft hand Slade constructs multiple stories in the past and present and holds them up as a mirror for the current state of the world, and manages to put together an excellent thriller in the process. Kamikaze may stand apart from the rest of the series in its style but it may also out shine them in its resonance.

Zen bayonet

This is a superb, elegantly styled thriller, part two of a double masterpiece centered on the Second World War. In SWASTIKA Slade explored the legacies of evil spawned in Nazi Germany. In KAMIKAZE he focuses on the repercussions of Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima. SWASTIKA evoked Teutonic precision and Wagnerian spectacle. KAMIKAZE reflects Asian aesthetic values with its intimate, organic juxtaposition of violence and philosophy. It's like a serene pond in an orderly garden, but instead of koi, piranhas wait beneath the surface to take off your fingers. The Mounties of Special X investigate deaths linked to urban terrorism, Japanese organized crime, and decades-old vengeance. Regular Slade readers will find familiar touchstones in KAMIKAZE, mostly through the continuing exploits of recurring characters. But it's advisable to check preconceived notions at the door--Slade has long defied pigeonholing, and here he offers anything but formula. Well-developed characterization and humanistic introspection neatly balance plot mechanics and technical descriptions. Still, the dread remains, and the cuts are deep. As Slade writes about one character: "The glittering blade of his sushi knife had been shaped on natural stone, and he slashed it across the cutting board with flourishes that were deft, swift, and uniform." That's a fitting analogy for KAMIKAZE, the work of an author who knows exactly what he wants and skillfully brings it to life. I immensely enjoyed the novel and heartily recommend it to any reader who appreciates refinement with his or her thrills.