The Fifth Profession

David Morell has a long and impressive listing of interesting novels. Others have told me and recommended such writings as "The Brotherhood of the Rose", or "The Fraternity of the Stone", both of which are on my "to do" list, and which I am told are his really best writings. In "The Fifth Profession" he gives us two protagonists, one American, the other Japanese, who are beset by memories that prove not to be accurate, and their efforts to find the truth.

Essentially we learn a lot about Japan in the reading, such as the ronin, the tea ceremony, bushido, samurai, etc., yet the plot is full of action laced with suspense including a full dose of espionage, culture, honor, horror, all brought together for a unexpected fantastic ending. Well worth the time and effort to read. Kudos, David!!

E.J. Walden, author of "Operation Snow Owl"

the book was a good read. the only problem with the delivery was the fly was torn

THIS BOOK ARRIVED ON TIME AND IN EXCELLENT CONDITION

I have EASILY read this book no less then 7 times. It is well written and paced and holds your attention until the VERY END !! It’s one book that I truly hope NEVER gets made into a movie, because, as of this review, I cannot see ANYONE playing these characters that would do them justice and would only manage to lessen the book.

David at his best. love these chase stories. great mystry

A fellow student at an Executive Protection Academy I was attending spoke of this book, I purchased it when I got home and read it. It was obvious that Mr. Morrell did his home work on the EP profession, much what was stated was a topic in our training. I did like that the protection field was given some credit for it's historical background which dates back thousands of years before the first Police Department which was established in 1829.

I'm amazed that many reviewers mention the plot holes at the end of the book since that means they read to the end. David Morrell's latest book was recommended by my local newspaper and when I couldn't get that title I settled for what's surely the laziest excuse for an action novel I've encountered in 20 years. I finally abandoned it halfway through and I have hung in on some real stinkers just to see what happens. The dialog is wooden, the plot completely contrived, there are no surprises except worse and worse writing. In the version presented to me there were so many typos it was clear even Mr. Morrell couldn't stand to read the text after typing. Good decision David. It stinks.

My review is based on the audio version of this book. It was a theatrical recording, meaning voice actors read the dialog in character, which may have contributed to an overall feel of synthetic drama.

A few negatives that simply jumped right out at me:

1. It was a bit cliche'ed. Seriously, Savage and Akira?
2. The author tried to get way too much mileage from his research. The nuggets of background facts are great, but making it a point to highlight/explain a particular point each time it come up in the story struck me as amateurish.
3. The author's portrayal of the "fifth profession" came off as a bit naive and overindulgent. We get it. A protector's top priority under any circumstance is the principal. You don't have to hammer the point home every time the subject comes up.

All that being said, the story wasn't bad, and it did teach me a little bit of Japanese history. It's just the technical aspects of the delivery that fell short.