Review - Shibumi 6/10

Shibumi is a story of a prodigy, Nicholai Hel. He has a Russian mother and German father whom he never met. He is a genius who knows half-dozen languages and is welled versed in culture. Living through the 2 world wars, he matures and develops into the worlds most accomplished assassin.

I was torn on whether I liked this character or not and about half way through the book I even found myself rooting for the enemy. After all, the enemy, Mr. Diamond, is only doing his job bringing a murderer (who also murdered his brother) to justice. That changed for me though when Diamond becomes more ruthless and unethical than Nicholai.

My thoughts on Nicholai first the bad:

• Nicholai is full of himself, and he thinks he is a better person than the world around him.
• Nicholai is a murderer and has little regard for life.
• His pantheistic world causes him to think the Earth is god and thus greater than the human lives that live on it.
• He treats women like objects, and even pays for them like they were some sort of commodity.
  
  Good thoughts of Nicholai:
• He is a devoted, trustworthy friend.
• He only does assassination jobs of people who are terrorists and murderers themselves. He is sort of a vigilante for hire.
• He is intelligent and is always learning.

Despite the book’s some what heavy handedness, the story is not all that bad which is why I can just slightly recommend it. The hero in my mind needs his own dose of justice and never receives it.