Hark! The craft is in the lotus!

Review: The Assassin Lotus by David Angsten



For a thriller author, Angsten bites off a mouth full and delivers a feast. His well-told tale stretches from Rome to the historical vistas of the Silk Road. He pits multiple religious traditions against a lineage of terrorist assassins. Subterfuge and cliff-hangers lurk behind every sand dune. People tumble faster than dominoes in this exploration of love, lust, reality, zeal and somatic insights.

As a thriller writer and practicing Buddhist, I find no fault with Angsten’s craft, style, content and intent. In fact, I laud him for trying to chew through so much of history while telling a gripping story. He makes the reader richer for it by reflecting purely delightful experiences of insight and radiance. Enjoy amateur sleuths that tour the ends of the world at a breakneck pace on the quest of a lifetime. Even several lifetimes, if history is to be believed. On’Ya author! This is a five-star feast for readers!

Now, as a writer, what about David’s craft lit me up?

A) Amateur sleuths – they’re allowed to stumble through the story, going head to head with more skilled assassins and finding a way to survive.

B) Globe-trotting – I love an exciting yarn that takes an historical turn through the sands of time on the Silk Road. It feeds my imagination and saves me a trip to Tibet or having to ride on a camel.

C) Soma – the magic elixir, the shortcut to Nirvana, however fleeting. This makes a noble quest though I never found a tea shop that had soma on the menu. Goes to show most readers will try anything once.

D) Weaving a magic carpet – The craft comes from sprinkling the history in little bits like bacon croutons and not getting trapped by your own backstory. When weaving so many richly colorful threads, it’s hard to stay story-lean. Angsten does a jewel of a job with that too. – Peter Prasad, author, The Goat-Ripper Case