The 97th Step

Matador #5

by Steve Perry

The story of Emile Khadaji's mentor, who lived a life of desolation and thievery before training as a warrior by the Siblings of the Shroud-learning lethal skills that would some day forge a legend and conquer an empire.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Space Opera, Martial Arts, Fantasy

339 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Librarians note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Steven Carl Perry has written over fifty novels and numerous short stories, which have appeared in various magazines and anthologies. Perry is perhaps best known for the Matador series. He has written books in the Star Wars, Alien and Conan universes. He was a collaborator on all of the Tom Clancy's Net Force series, seven of which have appeared on the New York Times Bestseller list. Two of his novelizations, Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire and Men in Black have also been bestsellers. Other writing credits include articles, reviews, and essays, animated teleplays, and some unproduced movie scripts. One of his scripts for Batman: The Animated Series was an Emmy Award nominee for Outstanding Writing.

Perry is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, The Animation Guild, and the Writers Guild of America, West

Reviews

[Ashleya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never been passionate about Sci-fi action packed novels but the matador series just blows my mind. I've read The Man Who Never Missed in the series so far but this one is my personal favorite. What can I say, great character development, action sequences, good plot, sprinkles of philosophy and wisdom.. everything to make a great read.

[Paps · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good prequel to the events of book one, we get to know the mentor character, how he wetn from a farm boy to the guide to the heroe. We see the influence of the brotherhood in the universe, how they work and the numerous attempts at overthrowing the confed. This book and other serve more as an explanation of the universe and how it works that centering on the characters involved.

[Mark Hansen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Before I begin, I need to say, that I have not read any of the Matador series, and I have not read the other books, nor do I care who Emile Khadaji is, so this book was very frustrating to me. There is so little dialog, and the characters outside of Mwilli/Ferret/Pen are so underdeveloped I counld not keep track of them let alone care about them. It is so heavily Second Person, Passive Voice, Past Tense, that it should be prescribed to cure insomnia. I ditched this book on the 271st page, so I can't really tell you if it ends well, but considering the rest of the book I am sure it goes on for another 20 pages with nothing happening.

[Hans van der Veeke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here we get to read about the life and times of Pen. And he has had several so it makes an interesting read. Having said that, there was also a big deja-vu part. It was almost like rereading ‘The man who never missed’ again. Also the search for himself takes a bit to long and the lengthy inner monologues does not help either in this part. So four stars is the max I want to give. And finally, why is he on the front cover with a bandage around his wrist? Can’t figure that one out.

[Bryan457 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of Pen, Emile Khadaji's teacher. He starts out as a smuggler and thief, then a series of misfortunes befall him, leaving him alone and bereft of hope. From this low point, he begins a journey of enlightenment that leads him to the brotherhood of the shroud, the 97 steps and ultimately to finding his purpose in life.

A great SF story full of martial arts.

[Dan Bindman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes a bit cliched, but for some reason one of my favorite sci-fi books. It is funny I have read some of the other Matador series, and they were pretty good but this is by far my favorite of that group. Really got drawn into Pen's life. And I found it very emotionally compelling all of the downs he experienced before he learned the 97 steps and could fulfill his destiny.

[Otis Campbell · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

Ever since the first book, we’ve been hearing about the mysterious, deadly martial art called the 97 steps of Sumito. Now, we finally get to see where it all began! The story focuses on a fellow named Mwili. Mwili is an incredibly talented, elite martial artist who comes from the planet earth, which has basically become a giant, overcrowded ghetto in this era. He gets recruited by a wealthy, high-ranking businessman who wants him to serve as a bodyguard. But Mwili isn't just learning to punch and kick; he travels to the planet Renault to study under the absolute masters of body control and philosophy to unlock the deepest secrets of physical perfection. While Mwili is trying to master his mind and body, the corrupt Galactic Confederation is busy tightening its iron grip on the galaxy. Mwili gets caught up in a web of high-stakes corporate espionage, political assassinations, and brutal underworld fighting. The real meat of the story is watching Mwili realize that his deadly skills shouldn't just be used to protect rich folks. He starts to lay the very first bricks of the secret underground network that will, decades later, train heroes like Emile Khadaji and Dirisha Zuri. It’s the origin story of the entire Matador revolution! If you’ve been fascinated by the spiritual, martial-arts side of this series, this book is like striking gold. It cuts back on the giant space battles and focuses heavily on intense, ground-level martial arts training, philosophy, and stealth. Perry writes some of the absolute best hand-to-hand combat scenes in 80s sci-fi, and this book is packed to the gills with them. It gives incredible depth to the rest of the series and makes you appreciate the later books even more.

[Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was another excellent entry in the Matador series, which I am thoroughly enjoying. This one was a direct prequel that leads into the first book in the series, The Man Who Never Missed. I don’t hear much about this series, but I have to say that I am really enjoying it. It’s right in the sweet spot of great science fiction for me, with interesting characters, great world building, plenty of action, some romance and passion, but also some philosophy and interesting insights into human nature. I am enjoying the series so much that I’m trying to drag out when I will allow myself to start the next book, in order to make the whole experience last longer, which is about the highest praise that I can give for an SF series like this.

As a side note, this series wasn’t published in the chronological order of when the stories were supposed to take place. For example, this book is the fifth book in the series, but it takes place before the first book in the series. I’ve been reading them in the order that they were published, which has been working well for me. That’s what I would recommend doing.

[Alton Motobu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Three separate short stories, somewhat related, thrown together to form a rambling, incohesive, and actionless novel centered around Mwili-Ferret-Pan (same man who undergoes transformations to become different people), bouncing forwards and backwards in time. Part 1 is the best where Mwili escapes slavery to become a thief-smuggler-crook named Ferret; full of exciting cliff hangers and escapes. Part 2 Ferret is recruited to become a zen master named Pan (in New Guinea on Earth); no action, just a description of his process of transformation. Part 3 Pan goes to another planet to overthrow the Confed empire but instead finds his true self; no action; 20 years pass but the Confed still exists, so Pan goes back to Earth. Each part gets worse than the previous part.

This is the 5th in the Matador series following THE OMEGA CAGE, which was a fascinating, unique adventure which I gave 4 stars. There are 5 more books in the series; I plan to keep at it but may quit if it does not get better.

[Caralyn Rubli · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story of one man's many journeys through life

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Covers the life of Pen. Fills in gaps from the book of the series and various characters from other books in the series are touched on. Found the book slow going especially Pen's early life but it picks up midway.

[annapi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a prequel to the Matador series, and tells the story of Pen, the man who trained Emile Khadaji, The Man Who Never Missed. I first read this long ago, and it's as entertaining now as it was then.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quick read. The writing is very typical of Steve Perry. It flows well and has a good mix of action and ideas. Nothing about it blew me away, but I wasn't disappointed.

[Jim Heivilin · Rating 4 out of 5]

More Matado goodness

Learn the history of Khadaji's teacher Pen (well one of the Pens). Best read after the first three are finished. :)

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in his Matador universe. The story of a man learning the ultimate marital art form. Quick and easy read, recommended

[Larry Holloman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book I ever read in the Matador cycle...and one of my favorites.