Dragons on the Sea of Night

Sunset Warrior Cycle #5

by Eric Van Lustbader

From the author of THE NINJA comes the fifth book in Eric Van Lustbader’s epic fantasy series, THE SUNSET WARRIOR CYCLE.He is Ronin no more.He is the Dai-San, the Sunset glorious and terrible to behold. Neither man nor god, yet the power he wields is beyond description. With it, he slayed the Dolman, the dark angel of Chaos.But the Dai-San is not invincible. He still has bitter lessons to learn. Along the darkest road of his struggles, the Dai-San was aided by his beloved bond-brother Moichi; and in his moments of relief he earned the love of Chiisai. They are his greatest allies, for they are unswerving in their they are his greatest weakness, for each has seen inside his soul and knows how he can be defeated.Now, in a world where nothing is as it seems and dangerous ambitions are brutally realized, Chaos finds an agent through which it can return and once again challenge its deadliest enemy, the Dai-San. And whatever the prize, Chaos will have its revenge…

Genres: Fantasy, Thriller, Post Apocalyptic, Science Fiction Fantasy, Ebooks, Science Fiction

400 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Eric Van Lustbader was born and raised in Greenwich Village. He is the author of more than twenty-five best-selling novels, including The Ninja, in which he introduced Nicholas Linnear, one of modern fiction's most beloved and enduring heroes. The Ninja was sold to 20th CenturyFox, to be made into a major motion picture. His novels have been translated into over twenty languages.

Mr. Lustbader is a graduate of Columbia College, with a degree in Sociology. Before turning to writing full time, he enjoyed highly successful careers in the New York City public school system, where he holds licenses in both elementary and early childhood education, and in the music business, where he worked for Elektra Records and CBS Records, among other companies.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/ericva...

Reviews

[Rob Fields]

Just found out that there's a fifth book in the Van Lustbader's Sunset Warrior cycle. Who knew?

[Jennifer Linsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first read the original Sunset Warrior trilogy when I was in high school, lo those many centuries ago. The adventures of the bladesman Ronin fascinated me, as did the scope and scale of his war. But what fascinated the teen-age me isn't as interesting, I've found, to the middle-aged me. Stories like this, or Moorecock's Eternal Champion, ever striving, ever getting kicked in the teeth, just aren't as breathtaking as they once were. Perhaps I've been kicked in the teeth too often to see it as romantic, anymore.

[Ruthanne Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been a fan of Van Lustbader for years but did not realize he wrote sci-fi/fantasy. I enjoyed this book so much I ordered the other 4 books in the series. Great characters. Great action. Well written, tightly plotted, highly recommended.

[Phil X. Katz · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing work

I have read many of Mr. Van Lustbader's later works, and now after reafing this I can see his evolution as a master of his craft.

If you ate a fan of the martial world and of great writing, you will love his work.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic story, great ending Van Lust Bader is a master storyteller.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

World building to the end even when it doesn't matter.

[Viking Jam · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://koeur.wordpress.com/2014/08/14...



Publisher: Open road
Publishing Date: August 2014
ISBN: 9781497654945
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 3.7/5

Publisher Description: he was but a man named Ronin. Trained as a swordsman, endowed with breathtaking skill, he was not destined merely to live and then die in a doomed city beneath a frozen world. Many years have passed since he first ventured into the void. Now he possesses powers beyond all imagining—godlike abilities both marvelous and terrible. Now he is revered and feared as savior and avenger, the tamer of monstrous beasts, the destroyer of the dark angel of Chaos—and dearly loved by his devoted bond-brother, Moichi Annai-Nin, and the beautiful, enigmatic, and lethal Chiisai. Now he is Dai-San, the Sunset Warrior.

Review: Having read The Sunset Warrior and not been too excited about this series, I decided to take a chance on “Dragons on the Sea of Night”. My issues with Sunset Warrior were many yet was very surprised how good this installment was. Gone was the confusing story-line, inexplicable plot twists and unappealing characters. This had great story-line progression, characters with great depth and really good scene development. It is almost like another person wrote this novel.

The magic is not over the top and coupled with Moichi and Sardonyx traveling far and wide it makes for an interesting and enjoyable read. There is a bit of info dumping at the end, almost like the author wanted to conclude this installment because he had a publishing deadline. Bjork the Bear was a good character that might have had a better and longer run in this novel. The Dai-San really doesn’t make too many appearances throughout the novel and isn’t too integral to the plot until the end. This is mostly about Moichi and Chiisai’s ultimate destinies intertwined with Chaos.

[John Purvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Dragons on the Sea of Night” was published in 2014 and was written by Eric Van Lustbader (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Van...). This is the fifth volume of the “Sunset Warrior Cycle”. Mr. Lustbader has written over 40 novels.

I obtained this novel for free in advance through https://www.netgalley.com for review. I would rate this novel as ‘R’ as there a few Mature Situations and there is Violence. The novel is written in the third person and the primary characters are Moichi Annai-Nin and Chiisai of Ama-no-moni.

Moichi and Aufeya Seguillas y Oriwata are on the way by ship to vista Moichi’s home. Moichi is looking forward reuniting with his younger sister, who he has not seen for many years. But what they find upon arriving in Ala’arat is far from what Moichi had expected. Soon after arriving, Moichi and Aufeya leave Ala’arat on a perilous journey.

Chiisai had come home to Ama-no-moni. There are deep feelings between she and the Dai-San, but he is unwilling to let those feelings grow into anything. Because the forces of Chaos seem to have found their way again into the world of humans, the Dai-San has to leave Ama-no-moni to confront them. Reluctantly, Chiisai stays behind. She follows Chief Minister Ojime who seems to be up to something, but soon finds herself controlled by Kaijikan, the Keeper of Souls.

Moichi, Chiisai, Aufeya and even the Dai-San are swept together to once again confront the forces of Chaos. I enjoyed the 7.5 hours I spent with this novel. It comes 34 years after the fourth book of the series, but picks up remarkably well where the prior book “Beneath an Opal Moon” ends. I do believe that this was written better than the predecessor. I thought that the plot was clearer and engaged the reader. Overall I give this a 4 out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at http://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

c1997: FWFTB: Ronin, invincible, bitter, lessons. The synopsis is slightly misleading I feel. This is much more about Moichi and I didn't mind that a bit. Of course, it helps that there are dragons and the good and nice type not the horrible man-eating kind although a bit of that did happen. I have always thought that Mr Lustbader is one of those under rated writers but he seems to be having spectacular success taking over the Jason Bourne series. Great characterisation and a great plot succinctly told. Definitely recommended to the normal crew. "He faced a sprawling savannah, bisected by a wide river of clear turquoise, beyond which midnight-blue slopes reached upward until they rose blackly into the sky."

[Jonathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Evil sorceresses are less fun when they turn good.