A good action story throughout, combined with a trippy mindfuck, and completed with a lackluster ending. I really enjoy Morrell’s work, and did for 95% of this one, but the ending kinda fell flat and ruined this one a bit for me. Still a good book all in all, but the difference between 3 and 4 Stars. ( )

How do you tell if a book has samurai in it? Don't worry, they'll put a katana on the cover. A book about ninjas is a little harder, since they are invisible to anyone that hasn't just been killed by a ninja. How do you tell if a book is a thriller? Don't worry, they'll put a gun on the cover.

Professional protectors - the fifth profession.... get it! - Savage and Akira are teamed up to protect a travelling businessman. Things go horribly wrong and Savage is beaten to a pulp after seeing the businessman and Akira killed. Akira is also beaten to a pulp and sees the businessman and Savage killed. And so begins the twist in this David Morrell thriller.

A lot of thrillers take you from point A to point B very efficiently to the point of cliche. Some authors even churn out the same book dozens of times in this manner. The thing that keeps you coming back is the the taut writing, thrills and cool escapism. The strength of The Fifth Profession is that it starts with the standard thriller plot setup and then eschews that for a different plot entirely. It makes the entire story novel. See what I did there?

There are some annoying aspects to Morrell's novel. David has a habit of hammering certain points and descriptions at the reader, to the point I started assuming everyone had "karate" calloused hands. To some people this could be annoying and enough to throw the book against a wall - which I wouldn't be doing this since I read this on my iPad. To others the plotting and pacing will keep you entertained, as it did with me. ( )

A fast paced trip through, Japan, Europe and the U.S.A. with some good plot turns, interesting twists and lots of actions. The life of an “executive protector” is always interesting, but what do you do when everything you have known to be true turns out to be a lie. That’s the question facing Savage and Akira in novel. ( )

Had this book not started to drag considerably 2/3 of the way in, it would have gained a higher star rating. There were so many great twists and turns in the first 300 pages or so, I was really enjoying it. Then it bogged down way too much.

"Savage" is a protector--an extremely well-trained bodyguard. He is hired by a former movie star actress to rescue her sister from a wealthy, but very abusive husband. But in doing so, he is confronted with a man he saw beheaded six months previously. Ironically, this man, a Japanese protector, said he saw Savage killed also. Thus begins a tale of deception and oddities that was quite well plotted out. But when our two protagonists, who are also bringing the woman along because her sister's place was compromised, finally reach Japan, the book just slows to a crawl. Actually, that's not wholly true. There's a lot of running around and shooting, but it just drags.

If you like decent thrillers with a lot of Japanese history, you'll like this well enough. ( )

Savage, a former Navy SEAL, is hired as a private security specialist. He meets up with someone who's death he had witnessed several months earlier. Together they begin to piece their history. And this is where the excitement begins.

I have never read any of this author's books before. While dramtic and exciting, I did feel that it may have been somewhat dated. As it is 23 years old, I would be curious as to how an updated edition would read with all the changes in communication and technology.

However, this is still a good read for those who love excitement. It could conceiveably be two books instead of one LONG one. ( )