Gaijin

by Marc Olden

Rupert de Jongh, an English aristocrat and Japanese agent, and his adversary, Alexis Bendor, America's best cryptologist sent to crack his code and then to murder him, are tracking each other

Genres: Thriller, Action, Fiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Marc Olden (1933–2003) was the author of forty mystery and suspense novels. Born in Baltimore, he began writing while working in New York as a Broadway publicist. His first book, Angela Davis (1973), was a nonfiction study of the controversial Black Panther. In 1973 he also published Narc, under the name Robert Hawke, beginning a hard-boiled nine-book series about a federal narcotics agent.

A year later, Black Samurai introduced Robert Sand, a martial arts expert who becomes the first non-Japanese student of a samurai master. Based on Olden’s own interest in martial arts, which led him to the advanced ranks of karate and aikido, the novel spawned a successful eight-book series. Olden continued writing for the next three decades, often drawing on his fascination with Japanese culture and history.

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remember living in the late 70s and 80s when Japan and all things Japanese flooded American society? Besides Toyotas and Datsun's flooding the car market, Shōgun was published in 1975 and Shibumi in 1979, both major best sellers, leading to many, many more thrillers and so forth being published with Japan and Japanese culture paramount. I do! Olden's Gaijin (and many of his other works) reflected this burgeoning interest in Japan writ large, but that is not to say this is simply derivative of other works of the era.

I would call Gaijin a slow-burn thriller, if that is not an oxymoron. This took me a bit to get into, with all the backwards/forwards leaps in time, but Olden managed to build a nice sense of tension throughout. The tale starts in Hawaii, circa 1983, with a woman, Alexis, living her life and reflecting upon the events that transpired in WWII. Alexis worked for the OSS as a cryptanalyst and she was fluent in Japanese, a plus. Japan's premier spy, known as the Gaijin (foreigner in Japanese) ran into her in Switzerland (ambushed her really) when she and her team were hunting him; she escaped (minus an ear) and while officially the Gaijin died, she has her doubts.

We quickly learn that the Gaijin, an Englishman named Rupert de Jongh, now leads one of Japan's leading yakusa groups, e.g., organized crime, and just happened to be in Hawaii in 1983 and almost literally ran into Alexis there. She wants him bad, revenge and all, but no one seems to believe her. Then the story really starts.

Olden first introduces the Gaijin back in 1937 or so when he attended college at Oxford. He fell in with some Japanese students there and discovered Japan, fell in love with Japan, and indeed, might actually be some sort of reincarnation of a Japanese shogun or something. Anyway, he eventually moved to Japan and served in the war. Our protagonist, Simon Bender, is the son of Alexis. Something of a Gary Stu to be sure, Simon served with the special forces in Vietnam and now lives as a master thief; he also owns a couple of fitness clubs, one in Hawaii and one in NYC.

The time jumps take a bit to get into here, but Olden slowly and carefully develops both characters in some detail, their trials and tribulations over many years, while flashing forward to the now (1983) on a regular basis. The gist is the Gaijin wants Alexis silenced, as she many be able to bring some weight down on him, right when he is expanding his criminal empire globally, but especially in the US, with the help of the mafia. Alexis, on her part, wants the Gaijin dead. Simon does not really believe her at first, and really, who cares what happened in WWII anyway?

Several of the cover blurbs deemed this to have a blistering pace, but I found it more relentless than fast. Olden punctuates the narrative with horrific scenes of violence and mayhem that served to offset the at times very detailed depictions of the characters. The Gaijin is one nasty fucker, but Simon also can be nasty as well. Fun story and lots of nostalgia for me. 3.5 ninjas, rounding up for GR.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intricately plotted, thrilling piece of work. That being said, GAIJIN is a novel for patient readers only. Lots of exciting stuff happens, sure, but the overall plot advances at a snail's pace and Olden has a habit of getting bogged down in too much detail. As with his book ONI, most of what happens in GAIJIN is presented as backstory, and scenes that take place in the novel's present day are often few and far between, making the book a bit draggy in parts.
GAIJIN definitely feels like a product of the '80s, back when doorstop paperbacks were all the rage and readers weren't so insistent that every scene serve to further the plot. It would have a hard time getting published in this day and age, when people expect a chapter break every other page so they can check their text messages.
You'd think, based on the cover, that this is just some pulpy ninja thriller, but it's actually far more ambitious than that. A lot of research went into creating this story, and Olden rarely introduces a character that he doesn't invest a lot of time in developing. The violence can get quite nasty, and no character is ever safe from getting killed off, so don't pick this one up unless you've got a strong stomach. There is also a fair amount of racist language and attitudes, although no one group is specifically targeted. It's an equal opportunity racism that I guess is Olden's way of showing that everyone is a bit racist somewhere deep down. Make of that what you will.
Reading GAIJIN is like watching a beautiful tapestry come into focus. Olden creates some very interesting connections among his characters, and he walks a nice tightrope of telling a very complicated story without ever becoming confusing. Some of his dialog could use work, and certain aspects come across a tad too mystical for my taste (for example, the gaijin--an upper-crust British man--can seemingly tap into his previous life as a Japanese warrior), but such criticisms are hardly even worth mentioning. As far as martial arts-themed thrillers go, GAIJIN is top-notch.

[Steven Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I misplaced this book for a while, but got sucked into once again. Builds slow, but if you enjoy yakuza, Japan, and the mysteries of the Far East as only some authors are able to write you might give this author's books a read. Not quite as good as Lustbader at action, and definitely not as graphic as Lustbader, but good enough for a read but not to keep or reread.

[Julia Szczepańska · Rating 5 out of 5]

W głowie miałam całkowicie inne zakończenie

[Serena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gaijin is an ambitious novel with time jumps and intricate plots surrounding equally intricate characters. The pacing and suspense from one section to the next left me with an aching to know what happens next. Most of it was a yearning and a hope that the perturbing and sometimes abrupt though fitting violence would ultimately result in a sense that equal good could come out of it--and though my expectations were not necessarily met, the book was realistic.

Honestly, it felt a bit chopped up and rushed toward the end, but that was probably the author's desire to jolt the reader.

The novel is character driven, but sometimes too much so with back story given where unnecessary or impertinent as we spend more time in the past than we do in the present (well, the book's present of 1983).

[Ridhwaan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captivating..

[Sergio Velez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great character depth while keeping the plot open

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marc Olden can write, East meets West in this fantastic thriller with characters that leap off the page at you.

[Geena O'keeffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fasinating characters and unexpected twists and turns throughout! Thoroughly recommended!!