March Madness for March 9th welcomes Author Sessha Batto..."Shinobi."
Sessha is a sword-carrying Buddhist writer of angsty homoerotic fiction. She turned to writing full time after a twenty year stint in video production editing, scripting and creating motion graphics. Originally from Belfast, she lives in the States with her husband, son, very old cat and too many swords.
Cover
Will love be sacrificed when duty and honor rule all?
In modern day Japan, the ninja legends live on in a grim saga of political maneuverings, betrayal, sexual abuse, torture and dark homoeroticism.
The Shinobi clans lurk in the shadows, performing services that not even the hardened Yakuza will touch. Takahashi Yoshi fulfills his duty with soul-stripping resolve, each assignment driving a nail into a coffin of lost faith. After years of sexual abuse and torture in the name of clan honor, Yoshi must learn to trust, but the man who offers him hope is himself flawed. Sasaki Makoto has spent a career in torture and interrogation, exploring not only the dark secrets of his clan’s enemies, but also the darkness within his own heart.
How far must Yoshi run to escape his shame and torment?
In modern day Japan, the ninja legends live on in a grim saga of political maneuverings, betrayal, sexual abuse, torture and dark homoeroticism.
The Shinobi clans lurk in the shadows, performing services that not even the hardened Yakuza will touch. Takahashi Yoshi fulfills his duty with soul-stripping resolve, each assignment driving a nail into a coffin of lost faith. After years of sexual abuse and torture in the name of clan honor, Yoshi must learn to trust, but the man who offers him hope is himself flawed. Sasaki Makoto has spent a career in torture and interrogation, exploring not only the dark secrets of his clan’s enemies, but also the darkness within his own heart.
How far must Yoshi run to escape his shame and torment?
Review -
Beautiful, disturbing, haunting and compelling, all are very suitable adjectives for this novel. There are some very disturbing scenes of violence and sexual abuse in this book, but all of them are necessary to the story. There is nothing gratuitous about it.
And at the center of this story is a character who has had to execute and endure the most heinous acts in the name of his clan. Now Yoshi has reached the bottom of self-degradation. In a desperate act of salvation and survival, he reaches for a hand to help pull him out of the pit into which he has descended. And the hand that he finds, the hand he must trust, is that of a man almost as denigrated as himself.
The plot of this novel is flawless. Who else could even reach out to touch someone who has descended so far, but a man who has himself led a far from impeccable life?
Everything else aside, it is the struggle of these two characters with their own demons, and the desperate desire to redeem their own corruption and resurrect that which is still pure and clean within, that which is deserving of honor and mercy, that powers this novel of terrible beauty.
And at the center of this story is a character who has had to execute and endure the most heinous acts in the name of his clan. Now Yoshi has reached the bottom of self-degradation. In a desperate act of salvation and survival, he reaches for a hand to help pull him out of the pit into which he has descended. And the hand that he finds, the hand he must trust, is that of a man almost as denigrated as himself.
The plot of this novel is flawless. Who else could even reach out to touch someone who has descended so far, but a man who has himself led a far from impeccable life?
Everything else aside, it is the struggle of these two characters with their own demons, and the desperate desire to redeem their own corruption and resurrect that which is still pure and clean within, that which is deserving of honor and mercy, that powers this novel of terrible beauty.
Link -
links to purchase in all formats are here: http://sesshabattousai.com/Shinobi.html
Please remember you MUST leave a comment on this post to have a chance at winning this book!
PLUS...Join this blog and be in the running to win not one but TWO books written by your host Soooz under her pen name of Stacey Danson..."Empty Chairs" and "Faint Echoes of Laughter"
This looks like an absolutely fascinating and interesting and unusual novel, by an equally fascinating author. I think I would regret it if I didn't read this book.
ReplyDeleteAn unusual and beautifully written book. I don't think I knew before now that you were a 'Belfast Girl,' Sessha!
ReplyDeleteSounds like another fascinating book, Soooz.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully penned indeed. Sessha writes with such grit, it's painful to read and yet you don't want to stop.
ReplyDeleteeden
This is an intensely sensual, stunning piece of erotic fiction, written with heart and soul, it will take you places you never imagined. And I already have it. Just wanted to throw in my two cents.
ReplyDeleteI have it as well, and it is stunning. My emotions were on overload mode as I read Shinobi. It touched me with it's depth of feeling, and the sensuality is elegantly crafted .
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of this book, but it sure sounds intriguing!
ReplyDeleteaikychien at yahoo dot com
My thanks to all the folks that contributed by commenting on this post.
ReplyDeleteThe names are in the hat and I'm about to draw the winner of "Shinobi".
Congratulations to Aik. The ebook will soon be on it's way to you.
very bold for a writer to take on this edgy topic. sexual abuse and torture as official ritual is such a somewhat common thing for people to undergo in our culture here, too, that there is plenty to identify with even outside of japan. it must be very difficult not to offend someone when exploring such tricky topics when eroticism is included. what a feat to pull off to juxtapose all these elements.
ReplyDelete