The Last Kamikaze

Determined to fulfill a forty-six-year-old vow to die for his emperor, veteran Japanese World War II pilot Saburo Genda plots to bomb the fiftieth anniversary ceremony at Pearl Harbor

In 1991, Japan and the U.S. prepare to mark the 50th anniversary of WW II with a treaty reestablishing Japan as a Pacific military power, but retired navy captain Saburo Genda, thwarted of a glorious death as a kamikaze in 1945, plans one final blow against his old enemies. A restored Zero will figure in the ceremonies held at Pearl Harbor--and Genda is an expert Zero pilot. As the story moves smoothly from Japan to Guam to the Arizona memorial, the technical material is accurate and unobtrusive; Genda and his American foil, antiterrorist expert George Sakai, are supported by a well-drawn cast of secondary characters. Yet the novel lacks perspective in a crucial area. In Morris's hands, Genda's refusal to acknowledge the resolution of WW II becomes a praiseworthy affirmation of his Japanese identity. The author's empathy for Genda's samurai code of honor slides into tacit acceptance of his series of cold-blooded murders, which leads to the terrorist destruction of a civilian airliner. The argument that principle legitimates behavior is as dangerous to fiction as it can be disastrous in the real world--and this thriller by the author of The Icemen leaves an unpleasant aftertaste.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Japanese airman Saburo Gendo was within moments of takeoff when his suicide mission was aborted by the surrender of Japan in 1945. Almost 50 years later, on the eve of a joint U.S.-Japan observance of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the still bitter, still proud old man seeks to fulfill his long-unmet duty to the Emperor, while also avenging his parents' deaths in the bombing of Nagasaki and his young wife's suicide after her rape by Occupation troops. Gendo's plans can only be thwarted by the efforts of American counterterrorism expert George Sakai, himself a nisei with painful wartime memories. A retired U.S. Navy captain and author of three previous novels (including Sword of the Shaheen , LJ 12/1/89), Morris combines an exciting adventure story with a moving account of two strong men attempting to come to honorable terms with the terrible price of war. A better-than-average thriller for popular collections. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 7/1/90.
-Elsa Pendleton, Boeing Computer Support Svces., Ridgecrest, Cal.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.