Shibumi by Trevanian

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CutBaitNBlowSh*tUp4ALivin

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When reading up on my useless trivia before heading to see John Wick 3 in theaters, I was surprised to discover that Wick was based upon a character, Nicholai Hel, in the novel Shibumi, written in 1979. I got a beat to crap $3 copy, and read it. I loved it. Well worth picking up, but it is a heavy read (like the unabridged Stephen Kings The Stand is). I laughed out loud when I came upon an asterisk, describing how the author had previously released a book about a trapped mountain climber, and during the course of filming the movie a fine young climber was killed. Then on the next book, he detailed a method for stealing paintings from any well-guarded museum. Shortly after the Italian print version was released, three paintings were stolen in Milan using the exact method he described. So, for that reason, the authors asterisk states:
"...but these tactics will never be described in detail.
...
Simple social responsibility now dictates that he avoid exact descriptions of tactics and events which, although they might be of interest to a handful of readers, might contribute to the harm done to (and by) the uninitiated.
In a similar vein, the author shall keep certain advanced sexual techniques in partial shadow, as they might be dangerous, and would certainly be painful, to the neophyte."

Now, I could understand putting that on the back cover to gather attention, but he threw it onto page 160.
So, yes, the book was absolutely awesome and I cannot wait to read it again. I also wanted to read what else this author had published. The next book I came across was actually the mountain climbing one mentioned earlier (The Eiger Sanction), which was $2.99 at Second Chance Books (awesome store if you are a reader), and inside the cover I found this stamped. It was the main reason for starting this thread, but I certainly wish more people could read about how AWESOME the man that Wick is based off of is.

My favorite line from Shibumi:
Mr. Able smiled. "Frankly, I cannot imagine the MI-6 lads being an effective deterrent to Mr. Hel.

I immediately fell into a mental movie of Daniel Craig's 007 trying to take down Mr. Wick.

Anyways, without further bloating of the post, here is the photo.
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CutBaitNBlowSh*tUp4ALivin

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Trevanian also wrote a very good book called, "The Eiger Sanction" that was made into a very good, action packed Clint Eastwood flick.
I'm a couple chapters into that one now. I didn't know it was an Eastwood movie. I'll have to find a copy

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CutBaitNBlowSh*tUp4ALivin

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Well, I finished Eiger. I loved it. He is definitely one of my new favorite top 5 authors. I went overboard on eBay and bought everything else he published that I could find.
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Beau B

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Resurrecting this thread because it popped up under “similar threads” on one I was browsing…didn’t know that about John Wick, I’m going to look for that book.

edit- found on Amazon…$16 for paperback or $920 for hardcover. Decisions decisions.
 

CutBaitNBlowSh*tUp4ALivin

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Resurrecting this thread because it popped up under “similar threads” on one I was browsing…didn’t know that about John Wick, I’m going to look for that book.

edit- found on Amazon…$16 for paperback or $920 for hardcover. Decisions decisions.
eBay is your friend!
 

Beau B

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I watched John Wick (again..) last night. When he goes to the parking lot to burn off steam in his car after his encounter with the mob kids at the gas station the man that opens the gate for him is reading Shibumi!
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