Shibumi

  • Author Trevanian
  • Narrator Joe Barrett
  • Publisher Blackstone Publishing
  • Run Time 16 hours and 46 minutes
  • Format Audio
  • Genre Thriller / suspense fiction.
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What to expect

Nicholai Hel, born in the ravages of World War I China to an aristocratic Russian mother and a mysterious German father, and raised in the spiritual gardens of a Japanese Go master, survives the destruction of Hiroshima to emerge as the world’s most artful lover and its most accomplished and highly paid assassin. Genius, mystic, master of language and culture, Hel’s secret is his determination to attain a rare kind of personal excellence, a state of effortless perfection—shibumi.

Now living in an isolated mountain fortress with his magnificent Eurasian mistress, Hel faces his most sinister enemy, a super-monolith of espionage and monopoly. The battle lines are drawn: ruthless power and corruption on one side, and on the other, shibumi.

Critics Review

  • “Trevanian has both wit and intelligence…Something for everyone.”

    New York Times

  • “Riveting…storytelling by a genuinely original author.”

    Chicago Tribune

  • “One hell of a pleasure to read.”

    Washington Post

  • “It’s hard to imagine a more nearly perfect spy story.”

    Milwaukee Journal

  • “Barrett, with his pleasing low-toned voice, narrates with skill, taking the time to develop Hel’s personality along with his concubine, his deep-voiced Basque friends, the nasty Americans, and other multinational types. An intriguing listening experience with more depth than most books of this genre.”

    Kliatt

  • “Trevanian’s seventies-era storytelling loses nothing in this audio treatment….Reader Joe Barrett embodies the author’s voice ably, whether he’s enigmatic assassin Nicholai Hel, narcissistic agency head Mr. Diamond, or a laughable Basque sidekick.”

    AudioFile

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