Black Heart

by Eric Van Lustbader

Book Overview

"Chilling, brutal, and satisfying...The reader becomes deeply involved."THE HOUSTON CHRONICLEThe sudden death of a major presidential contender in the arms of his beautiful mistress sends his best friend, Tracy Richter, on an epic journey of violence back into the heart of the Cambodian jungle and into a desperate web of intrigue in which every action masks a hidden motive. Featuring the deadliest killer since THE NINJA, and an exotic Oriental enchantress,...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0449202704
• ISBN13: 9780449202708
• Release Date: March 1984
• Publisher: Fawcett
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.

Customer Reviews

One of my all time favorites - very enveloping

I've really enjoyed other books by Eric Van Lustbader, but this is definitely my favorite by him, and a favorite out of many I own. I'm a fan of novels full of intrigue which holds my attention rapt, and this one does. It's a long read, around 760 pages, which I also love because it gives time for the various characters and complexities to enfold, and for a world to be created, rich with detail. It's violent, powerful, intense and yet the character development is well done in the way it emotionally connects you to the characters. One of the prior reviewers stated that > - well, they are right - if you are looking for porn scenes or fight scenes and that's it, then this isn't the right book for you. If you are looking for much more which incorporates pretty awesome fight scenes and sex/sensuality within a pretty complex storyline, then this is more your read... I highly recommend this book.

Lustabader at his best

Of all of the books that Lustbader writes tying East to West, Black Heart is the best. The story follows Tracy Richter, former special forces warrior and CIA killer. Richter has become a "kingmaker"; a man whose ambition powers the political elite. However, after the suspicious death of the man that he had been grooming for the presidency, Richter is again catapulted into the arena of death and deception that he had so long tried to leave behind. Black Heart,Like most of Lustbader's novels has a tremendous amount of sex and violence, but beneath that is a serious study of the culture of Cambodia and the political upheavals of the Viet Nam era that created his main characters and their problems. Lustbaders antagonist, Khieu Soka is an interesting, handsome and talented young Cambodian that is tortured by his past and his inability to integrate the two sides of his personality. Trained as a child to be an intellectual, devout, non-violent Buddhist he is forced as a young teen to become part of the Khmer Rouge and eventually is trained as a deadly assassin. Black Heart is a wonderful study in what it means to be human and for those interested in Southeast Asian history and culture, this novel is for you.

His best to date!

This book captures the essence of Lustbader. Tracy Richter encounters the deadliest antagonist ever portrayed in any of Lustbader's novels in his quest to unearth the facts surrounding the death of a presidential candidate. For any martial arts practitioner, I strongly recommend this book for the physical and spiritual aspects of the martial arts and the impact of these on the story line. "Black Heart" is much better than any of the Nicholas Linnear novels which are good in their own right. The character of Tracy Richter bears striking similarities to Nicholas Linnear but is a bit more human and fallible.