Commando Ninja

by Brian G. Berry, Benjamin Combes

Novelization adapted from the number one action movie on YouTube, A Benjamin Combes film.

John Hunter, Vietnam Green Beret veteran, half commando, half ninja, his daughter has been abducted by a secret ninja organization, led by a ruthless Central American dictator whose sole ambition is to create a New World Order ... through the manipulation of time! Unfortunately for them, she is the only thing in this world he's willing to kill for again ...

114 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 20, 2023

About the author

a.k.a Brian Berry

Brian G Berry is new to the world of writing. He writes everything from 1980s inspired horror, SCIFI/Action-horror, to the strange. His biggest influences are the writers of the weird including Lovecraft, Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, to the pulp horror authors of the golden age 70s/80s- and a splattering of others. Author of The Pail, A Bloody Christmas, Splatter Fiend Series, Slasherback Series, Campfire Tales Beneath a Pallid Moon, Accursed Ground, Blood Lanes, The Night Mutilator, Thanksgiving Day Massacre, and his newest: SNOW SHARK.

Reviews

[Jordan Anderson]

As someone who grew up with thriller novels and loves over the top, testosterone fueled action flicks, Commando Ninja is everything I need in a novel.

Action? Check. Violence? Check. Humor that doesn’t try too hard but also never takes itself too seriously? Check.

And if that doesn’t convince you maybe the idea of Arnold’s John Matrix meets Kill Bill will. Seriously, this one is a wild ride from start to finish…complete with time travel and Velociraptors in the jungle.

Of course, coming from the mind of Brian G. Berry (and the original screenplay this novel is based on) that shouldn’t come as much of a shock. Berry continuously showcases his ability to craft some crazy stuff and it’s very rare that I’m disappointed. Commando Ninja keeps that trend going.

[Tara]

Even more fun than the movie! You’ve really just gotta love the way this author writes action and carnage. You get stuff like “vortexual funnels of lead that crashed into their backs, tore the muscles free, and sent them flying in ribboned wads.” RIBBONED WADS. You also encounter “showers of brain meat” on a very regular basis. And then there’s shit like this: “as the ocean of death behind him smoldered in the sun, Hunter’s assault extended that bloody sea with a river of bodies and a lagoon of gore.” Too cute! 😂 And let’s not forget when “all were harvested by the sickle of accuracy.” How does he think this shit up?? There’s also a consistently hilarious and entertaining plot which includes but is not limited to NVA combat raptors (!), but it’s the insane descriptions of bloodshed that make this such a blast to read. Write more action books, please!

[Mikepottz]

Military team moving through the jungle. Then an arm ripped off from the elbow. Blooding pissing into the water. Then appear Ninjas!!!! The military dudes have M-60s. Bullets raked torsos clean off, heads off shoulders, 100 dead in a minute. The jungle stained with brains and blood. Jenny 10 years old trained by her green beret ninja dad John from an early age. Intruders in her house. She pumps a shotgun into a chest and rams a sai into a mans butthole and then his temple. Unfortunately she is now kidnapped. John is pissed. John kills. John kills very well. Some memories from Nam. A "get to the chopper", remark. Thanks Arnold. John puts a knife in an eye and twists. Brain hemorrhaging. Swords jellying hearts, heads cut off. He kills hundreds. Ridiculous. Even better than Arnold's movie Commando. Then heading to the future. Only Brian can continue to write these.

[Coy Hall]

As a fan of the film, and a fan of the films Commando Ninja pays loving homage to, I couldn't be happier with this novelization. Berry captures the mood, tone, fun, exploding bodies, and jetting blood. I'm convinced he wrote this wearing a power glove, with a bandana knotted at the back of his skull, and with synth lines throbbing in his ears. Maybe he took breaks to unpause Operation Wolf and mash buttons, maybe not.

The story here is well known, drawing from Commando, American Ninja, Bloodsport, and any number of classics in the pantheon of VHS action. Berry does a wonderful job balancing the humor of the set pieces with straight-faced prose, never tipping his hand, writing with an earnestness that sells the joke, allowing the humor to rise organically and land.

The author's colorful descriptions of action and violence have always been a strength, and that ability shines here. Like the movie, fun and nostalgic!

[Thomas Hobbs]

I read this 80s style book based on a movie I haven't seen yet, and was amazed it was like a Rambo, Terminator, and an America Ninja all wrapped up in one story. Plus you have time travel. But technically Terminator was based on time travel. I hope there is a sequel!

[William Bevill]

I haven't seen the movie this is based on (also "Commando Ninja" - on YouTube) but reading it was a one-sitting ride. The story is awash in 80's gloriousness down to video games and references to plenty of films. You will no doubt recognize the Commando in this, and a refresher of the great Arnold film is always welcome before or after reading. And ninjas... need I say more? As I'm quite hooked on the American Ninja movies (Also, Steve James is the undisputed star, especially in the third film) I love the mashup of two excellent genres. The result is a blood-soaked story of getting one's daughter back and killing a lot of the people who took said daughter. The descriptions of death and dismemberment leave little to the imagination. The author paints a vivid tale of the carnage that would impress a Jackson Pollock fan. So much blood. I love the resurgence of 80's stories prevalent mostly in horror- I mean, who doesn't want a slasher in the remote woods of a summer camp story? But to find an author like Mr. Brian G. Berry also extending his homage to action books warms this reviewer's heart. One can expect more cyborgs, P.OW. camp rescues, and perhaps vigilantes, in these stories, and I will be here to read every one of them.

And did I mention there are also raptors in this story?